Mustang Musings

The start of the 2025–2026 school year has been fast-paced and full of energy. It’s hard to believe six weeks have already passed, and October is here! Our local and broader community has experienced much in this short time, but one constant bright spot remains—welcoming students through our doors each day. Their presence reminds us why we do this work and fills our schools with hope. Below, we’d like to share a few highlights from August and September that lifted our spirits and brought us joy.

Past newsletters will be posted on our district website.

Also, if there are specific items or questions you have, please reach out to Mrs. Bauer at bauere@wgsd.us or 970-724-3217.

We are Grand Today. Greater Tomorrow.

Go Mustangs!

The West Grand Board of Education continues the tradition to recognize Excellence in Education throughout the district each month at the beginning of the board meeting. In September, the Board recognized the work of the principals and the directors to start the school year.

Opening our doors each August to staff, students, and families takes work both operationally and academically. This group of leaders and directors poured into getting this school year started smoothly. It was a challenge with all of the transition in both structure and personnel, but the team did a great job and this recognition is well deserved!

Those recognized included: Breanna Winter, Jenn Stuart, Eileen Finnegan, Nellie Thomson, David Wolfe, Paula Talco, Kris Smith, Dillan Sammons, Karen Taft, Jackie Pesch, Lacey Paeglow, and Josh Pedersen.

How will YOU be part of our success here at West Grand? That’s the question we’re asking all of our stakeholders as we continue striving to be Grand Today and Greater Tomorrow.

Our staff, Board of Education, and District Accountability Committee (DAC) have already taken the pledge—now it’s your turn!

Will you join us?

Take some time to give us intentional and thoughtful feedback as parents and families through our SCAP survey.

THANK YOU for taking the time to provide your views about your child's school! The information from your response to this survey will be very helpful to school and district leaders in working to improve the learning experience for all our students. The survey is anonymous. No one will know your identity, not even the University of Colorado Denver researchers administering the survey. If you have children in more than one school, you can take the survey for each school if you wish to do so. We estimate the survey will take about 10-15 minutes to complete on average. Click on this link to complete the survey:

https://ucdenver.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e3cnr0T6O22aAsu

Back 2 School Night was a blast! From the hot dog dinner (thank you Mountain Parks Electric & Guzman Energy) to Mustang Cheer spirit, staff introductions, and meeting teachers—it’s clear we’re ready for an amazing year.

The staff have been working, the hallways are buzzing, and students are in classrooms learning and growing.

Each month, the Multi-Lingual (ML)Connection Newsletter is also shared. Check out the PDFs of this newsletter below

The West Grand Early Childhood Center (WGECC) has some great things happening! Check out their update attached below:

We work hard to provide students with exposure, exploration, and experiences for life after high school, no matter what that pathway may be for each student. Students have support during school throughout the year in thinking about and preparing for their next step.

Upcoming October opportunities include:

• October 5 - Western Slope College Fair in Aspen
• October 7 - West Grand FAFSA Night
• October 7 - Colorado Mesa University visits West Grand Campus
• October 7 - 9 Colorado Free Application Days
• October 8 - Rocky Vista Univ. Medical School Presentation to West Grand and MPHS
• October 23rd - West Grand Fall Scholarship Fair

On September 17, students and various community members of all ages participated in Ag Adventure, put on by the West Grand FFA Chapter. Students filled out age-appropriate bingo cards to help them learn. The children had the opportunity to pet and/or meet all the animals present, which included sheep, goats, chickens, cattle, rabbits, a dog, and a horse. The West Grand FFA Chapter loves to teach students and enjoys hosting this event!

Congressman Neguse visited West Grand School District the last week of August. While here, he visited with several teachers and spoke to Jr. High and High School students during Social Studies classes about civic engagement and the work he does. Students had several great questions for the Congressman. It was a great opportunity for our students to learn about our democratic process and hear about it from a primary source!

First grade students in Ms. Tagle's class just finished a unit on 2D and 3D shapes. Students demonstrated their learning with a hands-on activity including playdough and toothpicks!

With the new POD structure, the 4th and 5th grade started the year with a community building activity. They had to put together a 200 piece puzzle as a group without any picture or instructions to go by.

Food science has been making crabapple jelly. Crabapples were donated by the Belcher family.

High School Chemistry students and a couple volunteers helped with the annual river watch sampling. Students collected macro invertebrates.

A little rain delay couldn't dampen these spirits!

1st graders practicing determination as they worked to get a dinosaur out of an ice cube during guidance lessons

We have started off the 2025 school year with full stands and an excited Rowdie crowd at our home events. Let's keep those stands rockin' for all of West Grand events!

We are in the middle of Homecoming week and there is a fun-filled, activity packed weekend ahead. Don't miss out on any of the fun! Join us as we show that Mustang Spirit!

Our district website has a plethora of information for staff, students, and families alike! Most of the information you would need is linked somewhere on this website.

Potential items you might check out on the website include:

• Calendars (see next post for example) -- Google calendar of events and year long school calendar
• Handbooks
• Alma information and "How Tos"
• ParentSquare information & "How Tos"
• District Strategic Plan
• Student Centered Accountability Program (SCAP) -- improvement planning
• Board of Education Information -- including agendas and minutes
• WGSD Policies
• Employment Information -- come be a part of the West Grand team!

As mentioned above, if you go on the District Website, you can go to "Calendar: Events" and it will take you to the K6 and Jr/Sr High School Public Events Google Calendars. You can choose to see one or both buildings. This is the best way to stay up-to-date regarding events and schedules as they often change.

ParentSquare is an application that we have used for several years now communicating as the entire district, separate buildings, each classroom, and with individuals.

You can set up your account to go directly to an email, a phone number text, or the app (free download).

The "Week at a Glance" is sent out each Sunday afternoon via ParentSquare. It gives you an update of events happening during the week, note from building principals, and other pertinent information for the upcoming week as well as resources and general information.

We received positive feedback from this last year and are continuing to share it. Make sure you are signed up for ParentSquare so you don't miss out!

WGSD has a Facebook page where we post information, highlight classrooms and students, and share highlights via social media. Follow us: District Page

The West Grand Booster Club also does a great job sharing pictures and athletic updates every week on Facebook. If you are a Mustang fan, following their page is a great way to have athletic updates from all of Mustang sports: Booster Club Page

WGSD partners with Colorado AeroLab for after school and summer programming. There are a lot of great opportunities for students outside of the school hours with this collaboration. While the school shares out information regrading AeroLab, you can also visit their website at: https://www.coloradoaerolab.org/

Here are the numbers and administrator emails for each office:

1. District Office
1. 970-724-3217
2. Superintendent Bauer, bauere@wgsd.us
2. Elementary Office
1. 970-724-1000
2. Principal Winter, winterb@wgsd.us
3. Jr/Sr High Office
1. 970-724-3425
2. Principal Stuart, stuartj@wgsd.us

Over the past several months, our community—and communities across our state and country—have experienced some difficult events and tragedies. Each of us responds to these situations in different ways, and children, depending on their age and experiences, may process them very differently.

While we have caring staff and support available here at school, the most important place for students to talk about these events is with you, in the comfort and guidance of your own home.

To support you in those conversations, we want to share a few resources:

• Healthy Children - Talk with Kids About Tragedies in the News

• Tips for Talking to Children after a Disaster

• Helping Children Deal With Grief | Child Mind Institute

Local Mental Health Support:

• Crisis Line: 1-844-493-8255 | Text “TALK” to 38255

• 988 Colorado Mental Health Line

• Find a Provider: buildinghopegrand.com/Get-Help/Find-a-Provider

Please know that even in the midst of hardship, there is light and hope. One of the clearest reminders of that hope is your child walking through our doors each day here at West Grand. We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of their lives and to partner with you in supporting them.

Be on the lookout for information for Parent Teacher Conferences from each building. We are trying a little different scheduling to hopefully engage the most families we can!

The Board of Education meets regularly on the 2nd Tuesday of the month (unless otherwise posted) starting at 6:30pm in the WG Board Room. Board meetings are public meetings and open to an audience. Meeting agendas are posted on the district website as well as by the district office each month.

The WG District Accountability Committee (DAC) will be hosting a "Meet the Candidate" Night for the upcoming Board of Education directors election in October. Stay tuned for more details!