May has been a-MAY-zing in so many different ways, but the best is getting to celebrating the joys, successes, and growth of our students and staff here at West Grand this school year. 2024-2025 has been a great year. Yes, there are always challenges and we are always working toward continuous improvement, but I am so proud to be a West Grand Mustang! Enjoy a glimpse of some of the amazing things from May!

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!

This month we recognized several examples of Excellence in Education at our board meetings. There were two board meetings this month which gave us two opportunities to celebrate.

Those nominated and recognized include:

1. West Grand Teacher of the Year announcement -- Erin Drape
2. Staff: Kim Shiflett, Jaime Franklin
3. High School State Track Qualifiers: Joe Probst, Blake Terryberry, Brooke James, Taylin Harthun, Makaila Gifford, Callie Freitag, Sanjay Geffers, Tearri Luna, Devon Mahorney, Coaches: Chris Brown, Cheryl Brown, Ryan Tripicchio, and Fernando Enriquez

Great job, Mustangs!

Recognition at the West Grand Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, May 13.

Recognition at the Special Board meeting on Tuesday, May 27.

Check out the QR code below if you want to see the full document of the strategic plan:

Congratulations to the Class of 2025! We are proud of you. We wish you the best as you journey from West Grand to your next chapter in life, whatever that may be!

The complete folder of pictures can be found here.

Showcasing the K-12 educational journey, the class of 2025 walked side by side with the kindergarten class (WGHS Class of 2037) down the halls of the K8 building. Students and families lined the hallways to congratulate and recognize the graduating class. It’s a powerful reminder of the full K–12 experience and the lasting connections formed along the way.

Bringing in our next kindergarten class is another great milestone to recognize and celebrate! We appreciate our partnership with Kremmling Preschool, setting the stage to cross the hallway into the Kindergarten class. We recognized this by having the preschoolers complete a "Kindergarten Signing" during Kindergarten round up this past month.

Welcome, Class of 2038!

May was a busy month with a lot happening and a lot to celebrate in thinking about life after high school and exploration for our high school students. We had a strong finish in the C&C Department!

Highlights include:

1) College Bounds -

• Taylor Martinson - Dakota Wesleyan , Basketball & Study Ag.
• Orion Ilgner - CU Denver, Music
• Gavin Jackson - Tennessee State, Business
• Joe Probst - Colorado State, Track and Engineering
• Makaila Gifford - Colorado State, Healthcare Pathway
• Evelyn Amaya - University of Northern Colorado, Pediatric Nursing

2) 8th graders at KFFR Youth Week, DJ Takeover

3) Career Fair @ MPHS and KFFR Student Panel on Benefits of Work Based Learning

4) Scholarship Awards Night - West Grand Seniors awarded over $215,000 in scholarship monies from local, regional, and state groups

Karla Gonzalez, Callie Freitag, Makaila Gifford, Evelyn Amaya and Lydia Johnson all passed their National Board exam and now have CPCT-A credentials to add to their name!

These girls have worked extremely hard for this and have attained something most people don't accomplish until they are years out of High School. They are now able to get jobs that average starting at $28/hr and their credentials place them ahead of the normal entry positions in the healthcare industry.

*Pictured are the students listed above as well as District Nurse and PCT Teacher, Chelsea Gaines

Check out the PDFs for this month's ML connection newsletter.

This past month, there have been three "signings" for WGHS graduates as they officially committed to continuing their academic and athletic careers after graduation. They will always be Mustangs, but now they get to ride for another team. Congratulations!

Congratulations to all of our High School Mustangs who qualified and participated at the state track meet! To qualify, you have to be in the top 18 in the state for your division.

State Track Participants:

• Boys: Joe Probst, Blake Terryberry, Sanjay Geffers
• Girls: Makaila Gifford, Callie Freitag, Brooke James, Tearri Luna, and alternative Devon Mahorney

Some Mustangs also brought home some hardware from the state meet:

• Joe Probst: 1st in the 110 hurdles and 1st in the 300 hurdles
• Blake Terryberry: 2nd in the shotput

Great job, Mustangs!

Sage Wheatley is the Champion Barrel Racing for the CSHSRA (Colorado State High School Rodeo Association) rodeo year 24-25. She will be headed to Nationals in Rock Springs Wyoming in July! Go get 'em, Sage! We'll be cheering you on!

Our WG K8 students were treated to a great hands-on learning experience from several partners throughout the county for the Touch a Truck event!

A big THANK YOU to all of the agencies who supported this event and made it happen for our students

Students from the K8 visited the Grand County Library here in Kremmling in the middle of this month. Students got the explore the library, learn from our amazing librarians, and get excited for the summer reading program. We're grateful for our partners in Grand County Library. Make sure you and your students visit them this summer!

Take a listen to the KFFR Public Affairs Interview with Mrs. Bauer: https://kffr.org/public-affairs-with-west-grand-superintendent-elizabeth-brauer/

The last days of school were filled with field days, Literacy campout, picnics, and the Kona Ice truck visit. It was a great way to end the year!

Congratulations to WG Elementary student Irie Boettcher!

Irie was recently recognized by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for her outstanding artwork! As part of the DARE program, WG 5th grade students participated in a poster contest designed to raise awareness about missing children across Colorado. Each student created a drawing representing a missing puzzle piece — a powerful symbol of those still missing.

Out of entries from students across the entire state, Irie’s artwork earned 2nd place! She was honored for her achievement during our 4th Quarter RIDE Assembly.

Pictured with Irie are GCSO/WG SRO Deputy Elthorp, CBI Analyst Melissa McGaw, and CBI Agent Tammi Krebs.

Earlier this month, middle school and high school students participated in the annual Town Clean-Up. Students and staff break up into groups to divide and conquer various services projects and trash clean up all around Kremmling. It is a great way for our students to give back to our community and to serve others. We are grateful for the town's partnership with this tradition.

WGHS celebrated the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, recognizing current members and proudly welcoming 10 new inductees into this prestigious organization. The four pillars of NHS—Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character—are truly embodied by our WG students.

Students who exemplified Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Empathy (R-I-D-E) were recognized at the elementary's fourth quarter RIDE assembly.

Mrs. Moonen's forensics class completed their semester final crime scene investigation! This semester was a murder investigation with the victim being Ms. Harmon! The picture shows their first day where they were brought into my room without any context and had to go through the steps of collecting evidence and closing out the crime scene! They spent the next few days interrogating, collecting fingerprints, and reviewing evidence to find out who committed the murder against Ms. Harmon. What a great hands-on experience for students to put their learning to work!

*Not to worry, Ms. Harmon was not hurt during this experience! ;)

This spring, instead of performing a concert, the 3rd - 5th grade music classes invited parents and families into the music classroom for a demonstration of what they learned. Students showed rhythm, musicality, and excitement for music. It was a great way for students to showcase their learning in the classroom!

3rd graders got to explore the great outdoors right outside our backdoor the last days of school!

Here are some 4th grade students showing off their economics projects.

The 5th grade students took a trip out to Wolford Reservoir to do some fishing. They had a great day, catching 17 fish total.

The annual Grand County Law Day was a success! 5th grade students traveled to the county seat in Hot Sulphur Springs to take a more in depth look at how the various branches of local and state government work together.

The elementary students weren't the only ones who experienced great hands-on learning and field trips the last few weeks of school. Here are some examples including: Science day at Elitches, planting trees behind the greenhouse (Cherry trees) and two apple trees by the helicopter, and welding for a 3D art project.

Make sure to update your student's registration information so we can get schedules built for the fall! This is for all returning and new students!

It's important to understand and know which staff members will be in which areas and roles. Please see the short videos discussing this as well as the infographic sharing what the role assignments will be for the next school year.

Staff Assignments Video Intro

Admin Structure Video

All students, staff, and families are invited to ride on the District's Kremmling Days Parade Float. The parade is on Saturday, June 21 at 10:00am. We will gather in the HS parking lot by 9:30am to get ready. Wear any purple, gold, or Mustang gear you may have!

As there are events, updates, or information, we will continue using ParentSquare and our District website (www.wgsd.us) as the place to find this information over the summer months.

Athletes -- your coaches should be communicating with you via ParentSquare with any summer opportunities.