Werner Weekly

• Sept. 1- PTA Meeting, 9-10 am
• Sept. 7- No School, Labor Day
• Sept. 8- Kindergarten Back-to-School, 5-6 pm
• Sept. 9- 3rd Grade Back-to-School, 5-6 pm
• Sept. 9- 1st grade Back-to-School, 6-7 pm
• Sept. 10- 2nd grade Back-to-School, 5-6 pm
• Sept. 10- 4th grade Back-to-School, 6-7 pm
• Sept. 25- Fall Fun Festival, 4:00-7:00

• Back-to-School Nights- Our teachers will be hosting Back-to-School nights in the next few weeks. These times are for parents to connect with their child's teacher and learn more about what to expect this year. Please note that we do not have child care available, so please plan accordingly. If you have any questions, please check with your child's teacher.
• PTA Meeting- Our first PTA General Meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 9:05 am. See more details below in the PTA Section.
• Save the Date- Our biggest event of the year, our Fall Fun Festival, will be on Sept. 25. Stay tuned for more details and ways to help!
• Enrichment Opportunities- Please check out our website and Community Section (below) for opportunities for enrichment activities. As we get more flyers, we will add them to the Werner Weekly.

Last Week's Updates:

• Werner Orientation Slide Deck- If you missed today's orientation, you can access the slide deck here. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Camp (hcamp@psdschools.org).
• Safety and Security Reminders-
• Please check in at the main office during school hours. Adults must have a badge unless escorted by a staff member.
• Gov't Issue ID- Please make sure you have a gov't issue form of identification when checking in at the office.
• Visitors/Volunteers- Please read our district policy and procedures for visitors and volunteers on this PSD site. If you hope to volunteer (e.g. field trip chaperone, party organizer, small groups, etc.), you must register at this site and complete a background check. If you have any questions, please ask your teacher or the office.
• Animals- Not all students can be around animals, so please help us by waiting off school grounds with your pets or leave them at home. Service animals are okay to have on the school grounds. Animals may be allowed with special permission from our school administration for special presentations, etc.
• Walk your bikes- We ask students to walk their bikes and scooters while on school grounds for safety purposes.
• North Parking Lot- Please do not use the north parking unless you are parking in an accessible parking spot and have the appropriate placard. For more details for arrival and dismissal procedures, please the see info below.
• School Accountability Committee (SAC) Help Needed- If you are interested in joining our SAC, please contact our principal, Hayden Camp (hcamp@psdschools.org). Our SAC meets about 5-6 times a year to discuss our school improvement efforts. It's a great team for learning more about Werner from a big-picture view. For more information, go this site.
• Student Rights and Code of Conduct- The Student Rights and Code of Conduct is a guide to district policies and regulations for students in Poudre School District. Please direct any questions you have about these policies to your school principal.
• Werner Spirit Gear- See the order form and details below. Orders are due August 25.
• Werner Dines Out- Our next Werner Dines Out is this Wednesday, Aug. 26, at Papa John's! See the flyer below for more details.

Each year, parents/guardians and secondary students must acknowledge that they have reviewed the Student Rights and Code of Conduct. Parents/guardians are not given access to ParentVUE until they electronically sign the acknowledgment.

Here's how to complete your acknowledgement:

• Parents/guardians:
  • Log into the ParentVUE parent portal.
  • Read the Acknowledgement text box.
  • Click on the link at the bottom of the page to download the Code of Conduct.
  • Write your name on the signature field exactly as it appears on your ParentVUE account.
  • Click “Yes.” Parents/guardians will not be given access to ParentVUE until they electronically sign the acknowledgment.
• Parents of secondary students (6-12): Your student will also be asked to acknowledge having received and reviewed the Code of Conduct when logging into StudentVUE for the first time this school year.
• Families new to PSD who have never accessed their ParentVUE account will receive a separate email with instructions for how to log into ParentVUE.

Drop-Off Procedures:

• School begins at 9:00 am with the tardy bell at 9:05 am. Students may arrive no earlier than 8:45 am.

• Make sure students are prepared to immediately exit with their backpack, etc.

• Students should exit the passenger side of the car if dropped off in Drop-Off Lane.

• Keep pulling forward in the drop-off lane until you get near the front entrance.

• Students will proceed directly to the classroom door and may leave their backpack and go play on the playground.

• Breakfast will be available in the cafeteria and students will go through the office to access cafeteria. Breakfast begins at 8:45 am.

• Parents may walk their students up to the building if they need assistance (please park in appropriate areas). If you need to assist your very young child out, please park in south parking lot, or along surrounding streets (Roma Valley, Highcastle, or Mail Creek)

• Students arriving after 9:05 will need to enter through the main office.

• If your student rides their bike, please remind them to walk it while on school grounds.

Pick-Up Procedures:

• Students are dismissed at 3:43 p.m.

• Students will walk out the exterior classroom door to where you have agreed to pick them up (Pick-Up Lane in South Parking Lot, Highcastle Lane parking area, Roma Valley Lane, Mail Creek Lane north of school).

• If you are picking up in the Pick-Up Lane, please wait patiently in your car and keep pulling forward. Please do not get out of your car while in the Pick-Up Lane. If you have difficulty finding your student, please find a staff member. Staff will be on duty to help direct students. Staff will help students find you and get in the car on the passenger side.

• If you are parked along one of the surrounding streets, parents may wait on school grounds after 3:35 pm. (Please note, there is no parking along Mail Creek Lane adjacent to the parking lots.)

Other Notes:

Please do not drop-off or pick-up in the north parking lot unless you have a disability parking placard. This lot is for staff parking and buses.

Please do not bring your pets on school grounds. If you do have one, please wait off school grounds. Service animals are permissible.

Please avoid using a cell phone while dropping off and picking up.

Be patient, understanding, and kind. Our staff will do our best to load kids safely and efficiently into cars.

PSD schools are cash-free. You can pay for fees, activities, and other charges online at any time using a debit card, credit card, or bank account, with no additional fee. Cash and check payments are accepted at the cashier at the Support Services Center, 2407 LaPorte Avenue, Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If getting there is not possible, call (970) 490-3648 or email finance@psdschools.org and staff will arrange another option. Colorado provides free school meals to all students, so families often skip the Free and Reduced-Price Meal application. Please complete it anyway. To receive fee waivers, a student must be approved for free or reduced-price meals and have a Permission to Share form on file. Please visit the Student Fees and Charges page on the PSD website to learn more.

Throughout the year, we ask our community for photos that could be used for our yearbook and/or social media. This relates to school events only (e.g. classroom parties, field trips, school events, spirit days and enrichment opportunities). You can upload pictures to our 2026-27 Werner Photo Album throughout the year. Please be mindful to not include photos of students that may not have permission.

We often get questions about what are some of our favorite things for staff. You can find out more at this Staff Favorites link. This is also located under the "About Us" tab on the Werner website.

PTA President | Alison Aristoff

PTA Vice President | Nikki Erickson

PTA VP of Fundraising | Tabitha Nikolaev

PTA Treasurer | Ashley Kure

PTA Secretary | Juliana Potts

PTA Secretary Shadow | Sam Boran

PTA Past-President | Gladys Kanode

Connect with us at PTAWernerElementary@gmail.com

There Is No Wrong Way to PTA. How Do You PTA?

Thank you for supporting the Werner Elementary PTA!

Dear PSD families and staff,

As Poudre School District explores potential changes to our schools, including school closure and consolidation, I wanted to reach out directly to share our thinking and why taking action now is critical for our students.

There are fewer school-age children in our community than our schools were built to serve, and that trend is expected to continue. This is not a challenge unique to PSD, and it is not the result of families leaving us for other educational options. It is a demographic shift underway across Colorado and the country. But it is our responsibility to respond to it, and to do so in a way that protects what matters most for students.

At last night's Board of Education meeting, I spoke about where we are and what comes next. You can watch those remarks here:

• Superintendent Kingsley’s Board Meeting Report
• Superintendent Kingsley’s comments on the path forward

At the Board's request, we have worked to define our “why” as clearly and simply as we can. Here it is:

• There are fewer children in our community because families are having fewer kids, and our region does not have enough affordable housing.
• There are roughly 10,000 empty seats across the district, and they are unequally distributed.
• Small schools cost more to operate. Every school needs a principal, a nurse, a librarian, child nutrition staff, and core teachers whether 200 or 500 students walk in the door. That is why our smallest schools cost about $19,000 per student, compared with about $6,500 at our fullest schools, and why PSD invests an extra eight million dollars a year to keep basic services at small schools.
• Fewer, fuller schools are more vibrant schools. PSD will be able to sustain a full counseling team, keep class sizes steady, and offer a richer slate of art, music, PE, and gifted and talented programming. Every student gets that same access, no matter which school they attend.
• Waiting to act will make this harder, not easier. PSD is projected to serve about 2,500 fewer students by 2031, roughly ten percent of today's enrollment. Declines in enrollment mean declines in funding. As a result of diminishing budgets, the district is already reducing staff positions at a high rate. Additionally, we have more part-time staff who work without benefits or whose work is split across multiple school sites. Our staff are constantly being pulled in more directions and we are asking them to do more with less.
• Districts across Colorado and the country are facing the same challenges and have closed or are considering closing schools, including JeffCo, Denver, Boulder Valley, Douglas County, Adams 12, and Thompson School Districts.
• This work in PSD has been shaped by our community. Parents and guardians, principals, teachers, employee association representatives and community members volunteer on the Comprehensive Planning Committee and have spent sixteen months studying this challenge together.

If you’d like to learn more about the data that is informing this work, I invite you to join one of the upcoming PSD Comprehensive Planning by the Numbers community engagement sessions to be held on:

• September 14, 2026 from 6-7:30pm at Fort Collins High School, Auditorium, 3400 Lambkin Way, Fort Collins, CO 80525
  
• September 15, 2026 from 6:-7:30pm at Rocky Mountain High School, Auditorium, 1300 W Swallow Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526

I want to emphasize that no decisions about specific schools have been made. The Comprehensive Planning Committee is working through the criteria that would guide any recommendation about school closure or consolidation. A recommendation is expected to come to the Board of Education in October. The Board makes the final decision, and any changes would take effect for the 2027-28 school year.

I know what these words mean to a family whose child loves their school, and to staff who have built something real inside those buildings. I do not take that lightly. My commitment remains that we will share what we know when we know it, that we will keep asking for your input, and that every decision will be measured against one question: what gives our students the strongest possible education.

You can find detailed information, including our full explanation of enrollment trends and frequently asked questions, at psdschools.org/long-range-planning.

While what we face now is challenging, I am optimistic about our future because I believe deeply in the power of the PSD community to come together to do hard things in service of all students and for the betterment of the entire district.

With appreciation,

Brian Kingsley
Superintendent
Poudre School District

Hello PSD families,

We are excited to introduce the new PSD Busing Portal (busrequest.psdschools.org) —a faster, more streamlined way to access student transportation information!

Beginning Saturday, August 29, families with bus route modifications will receive an email notification directing them to their student’s most recently published:

• Bus route

• Stop location

• Stop time

The portal also allows eligible families to submit a new transportation request or update an existing request.

Families with ParentVUE should access the portal using their ParentVUE account. Early childhood families and others without ParentVUE may request their student’s route information by entering an email address already associated with the student’s record.

Because routes and stop times may change, families will receive weekly notifications when updates occur. You may also check the portal at any time for the most recently published information. Every Friday at 5:30 p.m., the portal will be updated with bus routes for the following week.

Visit the PSD Busing Portal

Questions or need assistance? Email busrequest@psdschools.org.

We hope this new portal makes it easier for your family to stay informed and prepared!

One of many ways information is shared is through the PSD Insider community newsletter, which features timely information about the latest happenings in the district. This is emailed to families and interested community members that sign up. To sign up, or review past newsletters, go to the PSD Communications website.

Email: hcamp@psdschools.org
Website: https://wer.psdschools.org/
Location: 5400 Mail Creek Lane, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Office Hours: 8:00-4:30

Phone: (970) 488-5550

Attendance: (970) 488-5551
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wernerwildcats/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/werner_elementary/