8/14/2025
August 14 2025
First Day Follow-Up & Drop Off Routine
Arrival: All students enter through the front doors or the mobile doors near the bus loop only.
Breakfast eaters (1st–6th grade) go to the cafeteria before going to class.
Kindergarteners and those not eating breakfast go straight to classrooms. Kindergarteners will receive assistance if they are getting breakfast.
Breakfast Hours: 8:25–8:35 — arrive by the soft start bell at 8:25 if your child will eat at school.
Goodbyes: Parents wave from the carline or front of the building. Students walk in independently to build confidence and independence.
Deliveries: Drop heavy or large items at the front office — staff will deliver to classrooms.
Teacher Access: No impromptu conferences at arrival. Email your child’s teacher to schedule a time. This helps protect instructional minutes and teacher plan time.
Dismissal: Students will also exit through the same doors as arrival.
Thanks for partnering with us to create smooth, positive mornings for our students!
The most recent federal data show that in the 2020-21 school year, at least 14.7 million students nationwide were chronically absent. This means that chronic absence has almost doubled from the more than 8 million students, pre-Covid-19, who were missing so many days of school that they were academically at risk. Chronic absence — missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason—excused, unexcused absences and suspensions—can translate into students having difficulty learning to read by the third-grade, achieving in middle school, and graduating from high school. Read this research summary for more details.
Join the Explorer Choir!
Open to 3rd–6th Graders — No Audition Required!
We’re performing the National Anthem at a Colorado Rockies Game!
Game Day: September 16
Tickets Starting at: $19
Performing with: Summit View & Sand Creek Elementary Choirs
Buy tickets to the game: [HERE]
Rehearsals
Wednesdays after school
Time: 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Location: Music Room
First Rehearsal: August 27
How to Join Choir
Register through MySchoolBucks: [HERE]
Questions?
Contact Ms. Katelyn Hess
khess1@dcsdk12.or
Running Club
The goal of our Running Club is to give students the opportunity to start their day with movement and energy! We aim to encourage healthy habits by helping students discover and enjoy a lifelong physical activity—running or walking. It's been such a fun and positive way to kick off the school week!
It is open to the first 75 participants in 3rd-6th grade. Please click this link for more information. To sign up please go to: MySchoolBucks.
News from the Artroom!
Welcome back artists! To get our creative energy flowing there will be a coloring contest to start off the year! This coloring sheet commemorates the legacy of Heritage and our 25th birthday as a school! Coloring sheets will be sent home with your student. You can also click this link if you'd like to reprint it at home. This is completely optional! If your student wants to enter their coloring sheet, make sure they have their name and teacher’s name on the back. Entries will be turned in to their teacher, or in the contest turn-in box outside of the artroom. These are due by the end of the day on Friday August 22nd.
There will be a winning coloring entry from each grade. Winning art will be enlarged to a poster and put on display in the Gym, (thanks Ms. Lelo)!
SAC
We are looking for a parent representative to join our SAC (School Accountability Committee). This is a 2 year commitment and we meet 3-4 times a year from 11:00-11:40.
SAC responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Advising the principal concerning the preparation of the school's Unified Improvement Plan (UIP).
- Making recommendations to the principal concerning priorities for spending school funds.
- Helping school staff increase the level of overall parent engagement with the school.
- Assisting the district in implementing, at the school level, the district's Parent and Family Engagement Policy.
- Working to recruit people to serve on the School Accountability Committee.
- Meeting at least quarterly to discuss whether school leadership, personnel, and infrastructure are advancing or impeding implementation of the school's improvement plan.
- Report out to PTO
If you are interested, please email Katie Lawson at kmlawson@dcsdk12.org.
Save the Date - PTO Meeting 8/22
Save the date for our first PTO meeting on Friday, August 22nd at 8:30am in the library! Everyone is welcome to join to learn more about the PTO, upcoming events and volunteer opportunities!
PTO Social Media
Stay in the loop with PTO news by following us on Facebook and Instagram. Follow Heritage PTO on social media for updates on community events, volunteer opportunities, fundraisers, and all other things PTO! Note that there are different social media accounts for the Heritage School and Heritage PTO.
Instagram: @heritageexplorerspto
New Heritage Spiritwear!
Heritage has NEW spiritwear that is delivered directly to the school! Participate in Friday spirit days and show your Heritage pride! Get your order in by August 24th, and it will be delivered to your child by
September 15th! Many different logos, colors, and sizes available.
Prost - Monday 8/25
Let’s Cheers to the new school year at Prost (53 Centennial Blvd) on Monday, August 25. Stop by any time for food and drinks! Let them know that you’re with Heritage and 20% of sales come back to us.
MOUNTAIN VISTA GOLD CROWN BASKETBALL TRYOUTS
Gold Crown basketball is a competitive basketball program that is associated with the high school that the player will eventually attend. All boys and girls that go to elementary/middle schools that feed Mountain Vista are welcome to come tryout to be part of the basketball pipeline to Vista. The number of teams that are formed will be based on the skill level of the participants in each grade. For additional details please follow us on Facebook (Mountain Vista Gold Crown) and/or Instagram (mvgoldcrown).
Location: Mountain Ridge Middle School
Times subject to change based on number of players that register for each level. $25 per player, includes:
Vista Basketball t-shirt.
Register for MV Gold Crown Tryouts
Girls
4th/5th/6th Grade: August 20th -21st 6:00 to 7:30pm
7th/8th Grade: August 20th -21st 7:30 to 9:00pm
Boys
4th/5th Grade: August 25-26 6:00 to 7:30pm
6th Grade: August 25-26 7:30 to 9:00pm
7th Grade: August 27-28 6:00 to 7:30pm
8th Grade: August 27-28 7:30 to 9:00pm
(If additional girls sign up for other grades, updates will be made accordingly)
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!