Jan 10, 2025

Grant Ranch Families,

We were so thrilled to welcome our Grizzlies back into the building this week for the beginning of semester two! Middle school students and teachers have been hard at work establishing expectations and diving into new learning in their new classes. Please read this entire message to learn about some exciting events and activities we have coming up at Grant Ranch.

Megan Bohanan, interim principal

CAREGIVER CORNER:

Refer your Friends and Neighbors to Grant Ranch School! Current families are our greatest resource! As SchoolChoice opens in January, please let your friends and neighbors know:

SchoolChoice opens January 15th
School Tours will be held:
- Wednesday, 01/15 2:30-3:30
- Friday, 01/17 9:00-10:00

CMAS Opt Out

Grant Ranch will begin CMAS testing on April 8, 2025. CMAS measures student proficiency on the Colorado Academic Standards. These standards provide clear and consistent guidelines on what students should know and be able to do at the end of the year, across grade levels and subject areas.

Grades 3-8 will take English language arts and math assessments, with the addition of science in grade 5 and 8.

If you would like to opt your student out of CMAS, please complete this form (English opt-out, Spanish opt-out, Vietnamese opt-out, French opt-out) and return it to the main office by 02/01/25 OR go to Parent Portal (English), Parent Portal (Spanish), Parent Portal (Vietnamese), Parent Portal (French)- see directions linked.

Title 1 Teacher Notification - 6th Grade Science

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law.

The law states that any school that receives funds for educationally disadvantaged students (Title I funds) must inform parents if their child is assigned a teacher for four or more consecutive weeks who has not met applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which they have been assigned to teach.

As of this writing, Alejandro Delgado, CDE certified math teacher, has yet to obtain his science endorsement.

He is, however, currently working to obtain the endorsement and we have full confidence in his ability to teach effectively in this assignment.

If you have any questions regarding Mr. Delgado’s qualifications, please feel free to contact me.

For additional information about the requirements for teacher qualifications under the ESSA, please visit the Colorado Department of Education's website at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/fedprograms/ti/index .

THIS WEEK’S GRANT RANCH EVENTS:

January 14th- School Spirit Skate City Night! 5:00-7:00 - Join us at Skate City for a night of skating, games, and contests! Admission is $7, skate rental is $5, meal deals are $5.

The school will earn back $3 back for each skater in the door for 50-124 total skaters, $3.50/skater for 125-199 total skaters, and $4/skater for 200+ total skaters in attendance!

If we skate 150+, the class with the most skaters will win a $150 Skate City gift card! Teachers can use their gift card toward field trips, STEM events or concessions.

If the admission costs are prohibitive, please send me an email or call me so we can assist your family in attending this event.

Monthly Attendance Classroom Competitions
- Starting in January, we will begin tracking the elementary and middle school classrooms with the highest attendance each month. Students and teachers will get to celebrate and be recognized at school and in our Bear Essentials.
- We will hold a raffle for the caregivers of students in the winning classes for a gift card!
- Current leaders (as of 01/09/25)
  - Elementary- Ms. Mettler’s ECE
  - Middle School- 8th grade
Middle School No Tardy Party - Every two weeks, starting on 01/17, we will celebrate all middle school students who have less than 5 tardies across all classes. Students will have the opportunity to decide how they want to celebrate, including root beer floats, ice cream, popcorn, additional recess, etc!

UPCOMING GRANT RANCH EVENTS:

Tuesday, January 28th 4:30-6:30- Grant Ranch Caregiver Learning Night - Please join us for a night of adult learning to best support your Grizzlies! We will have two informational sessions: 1. Raising Media Smart Kids and 2. Keeping Kids Safe. Please see the flyer for more information. Dinner and childcare will be provided! We look forward to seeing you here!

MS Volleyball Schedule - Please come out to cheer on our volleyball team!

February 21st 6:00-8:00- Sweetheart’s Family Dance - Join us for a night of dancing and fun with your Grizzly! Please see the flyer for more information and to sign-up to volunteer.

ALL students MUST be accompanied by their caregiver for the entire dance!

April 14th 5:00-7:00 pm: Grant Ranch Skate City Night

EVENTS CALENDAR FROM THE STUDENT EQUITY COMMITTEE:

Jan 6 - March 15

Jan 29: Lunar New Year, Year of the Snake
TBD Whole School Dance (PTO)
March 17-21 Quarter 3 Spirit Week
March 21 Quarter 3 Award Assembly

March 17 - June 3

May 2: Dia Del Nino (PTO + us + Sandra Castor)
May 16: Field Day
May 23 Back up Field Day
May 27-Quarter 4 Spirit Week
Quarter 4 Award Assembly
Field Day
Continuations

UPCOMING DPS and COMMUNITY EVENTS:

January 22nd 5:00-7:00 MLE District Advisory Committee (DAC) (Bruce Randolph School) Families of multilingual learners (MLLs), please join the MLE DAC for their January meeting on Safety, Bullying, and the Discipline Matrix. Dinner and childcare will be provided. Please see the flyer for more information and to register.

Important Links and Numbers

2024-25 School Year Calendar

GRS 2024-25 Student-Family Handbook

Discovery LInk Registration

DPS Transportation: 720-423-4600

If you have any questions about any of the information that has been provided please contact the Main Office at 720-424-6880.

Grant Ranch Bear Essentials - Jan. 10, 2025