Weekly Newsletter

Good Evening Fabulous 4th Grade Families!

We had a great first week and I cannot wait for next week! This week we learned about how some things in our classroom work. We learned about and practiced PRIDE in different areas of our building. We did some fun activities and we started learning about each other. Overall, it has been a great week of learning how our classroom community works and how we will be working together throughout the year to achieve big goals academically, socially, and emotionally!

You may have heard about how I stressed them out with one of our activities yesterday 😊. This is hopefully the only time of the year that they will feel that our classroom is stressful, but I intentionally start the activity we did in a stressful way so that students realize on their own that working in a stressful and loud classroom makes it hard to learn and do our best. The activity is introduced as a math assessment. However, it is really an activity that I use to have the students build our class agreement (more traditionally thought of as class rules). We will be finalizing our class agreement on Monday using the truths they discovered through Friday's activity, as well as learning questionnaires that they filled out individually last week.

This year is getting off to a quick start and there are a lot of important things happening already! Please make sure to read this newsletter completely to learn more about me, our classroom, and the exciting things coming up.

I value your partnership in your child's learning immensely! Please reach out anytime with questions or concerns! Contact information can be found in the Welcome to 4th Grade slideshow below. Please take the time to go through the slideshow I prepared, as it contains a lot of important information that I will not have the opportunity to share in-person this year.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

8/21: First Late Start Friday

8/21: Back to School Carnival from 5-7pm (I will be at the whipped cream flip from 5:30 - 5:50)

8/24: 16" x 20" foam board due for our first social studies project

8/26: Watch Dog Dad Meeting from 5-6pm

8/26: Cold Stone Teacher Scoop

I enjoyed meeting you on Monday! I am so lucky to have such an amazing class, with such great families! Thank you to everyone that has already extended so much kindness and support. We are going to have a great year!

Please review the Welcome to 4th Grade slideshow below for a lot of important information. If you didn't get a copy of my Meet the Teacher flyer or our Team Flyer, you can view them below as well.

Please review for important information regarding our classroom!

Important Reminder: Friday Late Starts are Now in Effect!

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! As we settle into our new routines, we want to remind all families that our 45-minute Friday Late Start schedule is now officially in effect for all DCSD elementary and middle schools.

Why the change?

This dedicated time allows our teachers to participate in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). By collaborating weekly, our educators can better analyze student data, share best practices, and ensure every student at Northridge Elementary receives the targeted instruction they need to thrive.

Quick Facts for Fridays:

• Start Time: School begins 45 minutes later than the Monday-Thursday schedule.

• Transportation: Bus routes run exactly 45 minutes later on Friday mornings.

• Child Care: BASE is available for elementary families needing morning care.

We appreciate your support as we implement this valuable time for teacher collaboration and student growth. For more details on logistics, please visit the district’s PLC webpage. Here’s a downloadable 2026-2027 school-year calendar which lists late-start Fridays.

Students are dismissed through our classroom door at 3:30.

After this last week, I think we are all experts!

Thank you for filling out the Emergency Closure Form, the Technology Agreement, and the Parent 3.2.1! You all are amazing!

Students need to bring a 16" x 20" foam board to school by Monday, August 24th for our Colorado map social studies project. Thank you in advance!

If your kiddo wants to attack me with whipped cream, buy tickets between 5:30 - 5:50!!

If you would like to volunteer to help at the carnival, please sign up here.

Treat your student to a delicious Friday snack! Popcorn Fridays are coming, and you can purchase popcorn pre-orders for the year directly through MySchoolBucks.

4th grade social studies is all about Colorado history!!! Last week we started learning about symbols of Colorado. The students learned that America turned 250 years old and Colorado turned 150 years old. We are known as the Centennial State because we were recognized as a state exactly 100 years after the United States was recognized as a country!

This coming Saturday, August 22nd, from 7 - 8:30 pm Highlands Ranch will be celebrating our 150th anniversary with a free event at Civic Green Park! The event includes live music, food trucks, and a drone show! For more information, visit this site.

Different volunteer opportunities are listed below. Please sign up for anything that you are interested in. Involved families make our school better! If you are interested in volunteering, you must sign a Parent Volunteer Form. The form can be found on the Volunteer Website as well as outside the Front Office.

Please email me if you are interested in being the room parent. This volunteer is responsible for planning the classroom parties (with guidance from me) and sending emails to parents a couple times a year.

If you have a special talent that you think would enhance the learning in our classroom, please feel free to email me.