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PRINCIPALS' POINT  
 

Principal - Mandy Leensvaart
Assistant Principal - Ryan Craven

 

By now, you are probably aware of the unofficial results from the election, click here
to review the updated results. These tentative results indicate a tough road ahead for
our school community and further budget reductions. For the 2011-2012 school year,
our budget is set and we do not anticipate any changes to the current school year.
However, we will begin planning for the 2012-2013 school year and will be looking
to the school district for specific information about budget implications in the months
ahead. In alignment with our school mission statement, we will continue to provide
open communication in a caring environment to all of our parents. You can expect
to be invited to community meetings in the spring and additional forms of written
communication throughout the year.

Regardless of the tough decisions ahead, we will travel this road united together and
rely on our students as our compass. It is more important then ever that we work
together in a spirit of collaboration and support with our parent community, maintain our
relentless focus on the needs of our students, and continue to protect Saddle Ranch
Elementary. It will be our character that defines us during this challenging time, not the
election results. We are proud to be a member of our school family and are thankful for
supportive parents like you! Saddle Ranch Elementary has always been a special place
for students and always will be.

Reading Minutes Update
Before fall break, we challenged our student body to collectively read 100,000 minutes
outside of the school day. We kicked off this challenge with a school-wide silent reading
time. Students have done an outstanding job of recording their minutes and turning
them into Mrs. Smith in the library. So far our students have read over 64,000 minutes.
We have almost reached our goal, and we are incredibly proud of the academic
commitment our students are demonstrating.

School Closures and Delays
With the snow day yesterday, we wanted to review a few policies to keep everyone
safe and informed about potential school closures and delays. When a strong winter
storm moves through, we ask that our families use local television and radio stations,
the district website (www.dcsdk12.org), or the Douglas County Schools weather hotline
(303-387-SNOW) for the latest updates. These means of communication would also
have information about a delayed start; we will begin ninety minutes late or 10:10 AM
instead of 8:40 AM. A delayed start also means that all before school clubs would be
canceled and that childcare would open ninety minutes later. Douglas County makes
decisions based on feeder schools, so please look for the ThunderRidge Feeder
information.

Character Education
During the month of November, we are celebrating the character trait of gratitude.
Students will be encouraged to express thankfulness for all they have. We encourage
families to discuss this character trait at home.

We are grateful for your family and our entire school community.


 



 

A Few Important Reminders

  • Please remember that we have designated handicap parking spots in the front kiss ‘n go lane. These spots should not be used as a drop-off point and need to remain clear for the families that need them.
  • A reminder that we discourage families walking their dogs on school grounds during arrival, dismissal, and during the school day.  Our goal is to keep students safe at all times.

 

We are grateful for your family and our school community.