Good News Bulletin

It's that time of the season for open house events at ESD schools!

Thursday evening was the Back to School Open House at Singing Hills Elementary. The school saw a big turnout of parents, students and staff coming together to share all things about the school year and how things are going so far.

Catalina's Tacos set up outside and inside the building, parents were able to take tours of the school and classrooms. ESD board member Mary Powell was also on site meeting with parents and staff. Recently, Elizabeth Middle School also held its open house event where parents had a chance to get caught up on all things EMS.

Running Creek Elementary School will be holding its annual Back to School BBQ Open House on September 11th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Their event will include food, drinks, face painting, balloon animals, yard games, school scavenger hunt and much more. Kona Ice will also be on site available for purchase.

Open house events are something that ESD staff always look forward to hosting. It's a chance for parents to learn about the curriculum for the school year, meet the teachers, learn about the daily schedules, lunch, recess, meet with counselors, deans, gym and art teachers, special ed and more.

Thanks to everyone who turned out for this month's open house events and we look forward to the upcoming event at Running Creek Elementary.

Elizabeth Middle School has spirit and they have "the spirit stick" to prove it!

Earlier this month at the annual ESD Convocation Ceremony, staff from each school competed for the coveted spirit stick. When it came time for each school to come up with their own chant and demonstrate it for the group, it was clear that EMS was the loudest and most in sync.

EMS Principal Kimberly Runyan and Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Jared Lewis could not be more proud of their staff for taking home the spirit stick. For the remainder of the school year it will be displayed prominently for all to see and admire.

Congratulations Elizabeth Middle School!

Successful fundraiser!

We had a nice turnout this week for the Elizabeth High School Auto Building BBQ fundraiser. So far we have received about $100K in pledges!! We still have a ways to go to get the building completed, but the fundraiser was a big first step. We have about $200K that is still needed to finish the building, so keep an eye out for future donation opportunities. It will take a community effort to finish the auto building, but we are confident that it will happen.

A special thanks to Jace Glick for hosting the event and serving as auctioneer. He did an excellent job and really made it an entertaining experience! Also a big thank you to Smokey Trail BBQ for their donation that came in the form of feeding some delicious barbecue to all of our attendees. ESD Board Members Rhonda Olsen, Heather Booth, Mary Powell and Jonathan Waller were also present for the fundraiser and met with attendees and donors.

We have plenty of more individuals to thank, including our donors and will be sharing that list shortly. We are about one-third of the way there and look forward to keeping this effort going and hitting our goal so that EHS students can begin using the building for some engaging and exciting auto shop classes, helping pave the way for future careers.

Would you like to make a donation? Click the link below to donate to the project through MySchoolBucks:

https://bit.ly/4cCdlqM

We also could use help from contractors who might be willing to do work on it at a reduced cost. That includes HVAC, electrical, plumbing and insulation. If you are a contractor interested in helping, just contact Derek Spohn: dspohn@esdk12.org

The ESD Staff Appreciation Night and Back to School Barbecue was a big success with a huge turnout and the EHS Cardinals capped it off with a 14-0 victory over Glenwood Springs. The team followed that up with another dominant shutout victory this week over Sierra.

During halftime for Staff Appreciation Night, ESD district staff were recognized on the field for their dedication to the education of our students.

Prior to the game, American Legion Post 82 served up hamburgers, hot dogs and brats for the ESD Back to School BBQ. All together, over 400 were served for the event.

Parents, staff and students gathered inside and outside of Elizabeth High School prior to the football game to socialize and talk about the launch of the new school year.

A special thanks to American Legion Post 82 for serving up all of those happy customers and to EHS Yearbook for the amazing game action photos!

When Elizabeth Middle School Max Mottinger was competing this week at a Cross Country Meet, he was focused on his run and finishing with a solid time. But, one thing stopped him in his tracks at Evans Field. A wallet lying right there on the ground, full of cash and credit cards.

Max stopped his run, picked up the wallet and handed it over to his coach. From there, the wallet made its way back to the original owner, much to that wallet owner's delight and surprise.

EMS Principal Kimberly Runyan says the owner was so thrilled that a middle school student had such a high level of integrity to make sure the wallet was turned in and even went on to say that the act restores his faith in young people.

Max did end up getting a nice reward from the owner of the wallet.

This just goes to show that it's the little acts of kindness and integrity that make a big difference, and show the best parts of someone's character. Congratulations Max! Thank you for being a great representation of of ESD students.

For the Elizabeth High School graduating class, this particular sunrise was something special. It was a time of reflection, appreciation and friendship.

The EHS Senior Sunrise is an annual tradition, where seniors gather to enjoy a breakfast provided by the EHS Student Council and watched what proved to be a stunning sunrise. The morning was filled with games, laughter, photo sessions and more.

The event was a chance for the students to get together, bond and create lasting memories together. The high school experience always goes by so fast, but some moments, you just want time to stand still and recognize the value of education and friendship.

Here's an update from Karena Dohman, ESD Director of Early Childhood:

"On Friday August 23rd the Early Childhood Department for Elizabeth Schools District came together for a team meeting for the first time with our mental health consultant. The teams came together from Running Creek Preschool, Singing Hills Preschool and Childcare. We worked with our mental health consultant on Informed Practices including helping our children in our classrooms be successful within their own brain development as well as helping our teachers cope with stress. We practiced breathing techniques, and shared tools for visual schedules for the classrooms. They will continue to meet monthly with new subjects each month."

Sep. 2 - No School - Labor Day

EHS Cardinal Club Meeting 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Sep. 3 - EHS Boys Soccer JV vs. Ellicott 4:00-6:00 p.m.

EHS Boys Soccer Varsity vs. Ellicott 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Sep. 4 - EHS Volleyball C Team vs. Discovery Canyon 4:00-5:00 p.m.

EMS Volleyball 7th grade vs. Mountain Ridge 4:00-5:00 p.m.

EMS Volleyball 8th grade vs. Mountain Ridge 4:45-5:45 p.m.

EHS Volleyball JV vs. Discovery Canyon 5:00-6:00 p.m.

EHS Volleyball Varsity vs. Discovery Canyon 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Sep. 5 - Late Start - Teacher Collaboration (Thursday all day)

EMS Football A Team vs. Manitou Springs 4:00-6:30 p.m.

Sep. 6 - EHS Volleyball C Team vs. Woodland Park 4:00-5:00 p.m.

EHS Volleyball JV vs. Woodland Park 5:00-6:00 p.m.

EHS Volleyball Varsity vs. Woodland Park 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Sep 9 - ESD Board Meeting - Business Session 6:00-8:00 p.m.

EMS sports calendar

EHS sports calendar

**Reminder to all parents: Be sure to check the websites of your individual schools for more information about upcoming events.

Elizabeth High School: https://www.elizabethschooldistrict.org/EHS

Elizabeth Middle School: https://www.elizabethschooldistrict.org/EMS

Singing Hills Elementary School: https://www.elizabethschooldistrict.org/SHE

Running Creek Elementary School: https://www.elizabethschooldistrict.org/RCE

The Elizabeth Education Foundation partners with Elizabeth School District in numerous ways throughout the year to support students and teachers. This volunteer-led, independent fundraising foundation provides scholarships for graduating seniors, classroom grants for teachers, and the STARS Awards for outstanding citizenship among students.

Learn more about the EEF at its website.

American Furniture Warehouse maintains a year-round opportunity to help Elizabeth Schools anytime you buy home furnishings.

When you check out at any AFW location, just mention "Elizabeth Schools" or the Partner ID, EC1SD, and AFW will donate 2% of the purchase to the Elizabeth Education Foundation. Additionally, anything purchased of the Beautyrest, Serta or Simmons brands results in an additional 2%. This includes online orders, too.

See the attached flier for more details.