4/3/2025

April 3 2025

Save The Date

4/4 - PTO Meeting - 8:30 am
4/5 - 4/6 - Colorado Rockies Tickets
4/10 - Cuba Cuba Restaurant Night - 11 am - 9 pm
4/11- Silent Auction
4/24 - Mornings with Mom & Art Market
Make sure to check out all of the fun enrichment opportunities at the bottom of this blast!

School Information

Garden Club - Only 4 Spots left!

Heritage is starting their very own garden club! Starting Tuesday, April 8th - May 13th from 3:30-4:30 pm. To reserve your spot, please visit MySchoolBucks. If you have questions, please email Mrs. Goacher at mgoacher@dcsdk12.org.

Morning with Mom

Join us on April 24th at 7:45 a.m. for a special morning with Moms, Aunts, Grandmas and more! Each student can invite one special person in their lives to come to school to enjoy muffins, coffee and juice! See you at the Heritage cafeteria!

We need volunteers to serve and set up. We sincerely appreciate your support and hope to see some of our Heritage Dads helping out at the event! For questions related to volunteering please email our Volunteer Coordinator at PTO.volunteers@heexplorers.org

TO VOLUNTEER:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D4BAAAE292-56074125-morning#/

Art Market

It is Art Market time again! 5th and 6th graders will have the choice to participate in the 4th Annual Art Market during Mornings with Moms on April 24th. Please see this form for information and a permission slip for your child to be a part of the fun! Artists will have the opportunity to be paid for their art! That's right this is not an art fundraiser, but an opportunity for our 5th and 6th graders to experience the life of a working artist. Please have your child’s permission form turned in no later than April 21st. Please also pay attention to the dates for after school sessions. These are of course optional. (April 10, 16, and 21st).

Staffing Updates

Exciting News

Please join us in welcoming our new team members to the Heritage community for the 2025-2026 school year:

Math Interventionist: Allison LeFrancois – Allison joins us from Lone Tree Elementary and brings a wealth of experience, having taught multiple grade levels. She holds advanced degrees in mathematics and is eager to launch a new math intervention program to support our most impacted students while our very talented Derek Shaw focuses on our most advanced mathematicians!
ELD: Sara Bolser – Coming to us from Sand Creek Elementary, Sara will be leading our English Language Development program. She is also joining our school community as a parent, with her kindergartner enrolling this fall!
Kindergarten: Annie McGinnis – Annie is a recent graduate and is excited to begin her teaching journey alongside our expert team. We can’t wait to see her passion and energy in action!
First Grade: Sophia Freestone – Currently student teaching at Summit View Elementary, Sophia is no stranger to our community. She’s a proud former Heritage Elementary student! We’re excited to welcome her back as an educator.

Security Specialist: Mark Liveris- Mark, a retired police officer, is eager to bring his expertise to our school community. He looks forward to ensuring a safe and welcoming environment while building strong connections with students, staff, and families. Mark will officially start on April 10th.

Internal Move:

I am thrilled to share that Tami Kennedy will be looping with her current class next year! Research shows that looping provides tremendous academic and social benefits for students, and we are excited to see the impact this will have on her learners. Additionally, Tami's expertise will be a fantastic asset to our 1st grade team. Congratulations, Tami! We can't wait to see the great things ahead!

We are adding a third section of 3rd grade to align with our current three sections of 2nd grade. With 6th grade shifting to two sections, Tiffany Johnston will be moving into this new 3rd grade position. Mrs. Sexton and Mrs. Reykdal are thrilled to have her join their team, and we can’t wait to see the amazing things they accomplish together!

Please join us in wishing all the best to the following staff members in their next adventure:

Farewell to Mr. Lightning (Rian McLean)

Please join me in thanking Mr. Lightning (Rian McLean) for his dedication and contributions to Heritage! He will be moving back east to join his family and embark on a new career in cybersecurity. His last day with us will be Wednesday, April 9th. We wish him all the best in this exciting new chapter!

Congratulations to Katie DiPetro
Please join me in congratulating Katie DiPetro on an exciting new opportunity! For the past couple of years, she has been looking for a position within her children’s feeder and the feeder where her husband works. We sometimes forget that our staff members have families and personal commitments, and we are thrilled that this move will significantly reduce her travel time and simplify her life. Congratulations, Katie...we’re so happy for you!

Best Wishes to Mrs. Goacher
Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Goacher on her next adventure, teaching in Dubai next year! This is an incredible opportunity, and we couldn’t be more excited for her. Best of luck in this new chapter of your career!

All the best to Mrs. Mitchell

Please join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Mrs. Mitchell for her dedication and love for Heritage and all things social emotional wellness. Social emotional wellness will continue strong at Heritage as the district is moving towards our counselors covering those lessons. Mrs. Mitchell, we are so glad you are finishing the year with us and we deeply appreciate all you have done. You are truly valued and loved and have carved a special place in everyone's hearts!

Auction News

Auction Volunteers Needed!

Our 15th annual silent auction is April 11, 2025! We are in need a group of volunteers to join us in collecting and organizing donations, contacting businesses for donations and more! Many of these jobs can be done at home or on weekends!

Sign up here if you are able to help!

Coordinators needed

It's hard to believe that we are already thinking about events for next school year. We are in need of a few parents to help be the coordinator for our Explorer Kick Off Night and Fund Run. If you are interested, please email Katie Lawson, kmlawson@dcsdk12.org

PTO Updates

PTO Meeting Tomorrow

Join us TOMORROW for our next PTO meeting in the library. There are a lot of opportunities to help the PTO that will be discussed! Additional support of the Heritage PTO can be made by providing a $25 donation at: https://ptoheritage.org/pto-payments/ols/products/heritage-pto-membership

Colorado Rockies Tickets

Grab your family, friends, or even your baseball team and enjoy Rockies Opening weekend with the Rockies/A’s series! Saturday April 5, 6:10pm, and Sunday April 6, 1:10pm. Buy tickets using our link and a percentage of each ticket sales come back to Heritage!

Cuba Cuba - April 10

Cha Cha your way to Cuba Cuba (9567 S University Blvd) on April 24 11:00am-9:00pm. Let them know that you’re with Heritage and 20% comes back to us!

Ongoing Heritage Fundraisers

Click for more information: https://ptoheritage.org/ongoing-fundraisers.

Activities & Enrichment Opportunities

Lego Club K-6 Starts Tomorrow - Register TODAY!

In this Sonic the Hedgehog Lego Class, you'll be constructing high-speed adventures with Sonic, Tails, and the gang while learning the secrets of speed and agility. This session meets every Friday starting April 4 - May 16 from 3:30-4:30 at Heritage. To register, please visit strategickids.com. If you have any questions, please call 720-402-7758.

Play Ball! Come watch a Rockies game, either May 9-11 or May 23 & 25. To purchase tickets, click the link: https://www.mlb.com/rockies/tickets/specials/schools/douglas-county-schools

Grab your tickets to see the Colorado Avalanche game on March 27th! To purchase tickets, click the link: https://avalanche.ksetickets.com/DouglasCountySchoolsSpring2025

Grab tickets to enjoy a show at the theatre. Tickets are 50% off using code: FDCS2425. To purchase tickets, click the link: https://www.lonetreeartscenter.org/

Community Events through The Foundation

The Foundation for Douglas County Schools has some great Community Events already lined up for our school community!

Detailed information can be found on the Community Event page of The Foundation's website. All tickets can be purchased directly from that page as well. Current offerings include tickets to the Colorado Rockies, Rapids, Avalanche, Air Force Falcons, Elitch Theme Park, Lone Tree Arts Center, DCPA and more - check back often for new opportunities to be added!

These are fun, discounted opportunities, and a portion of each ticket purchased goes back to DCSD!