Gold Rush Elementary

Inspiring Purpose, Compassion & Excellence

First graders were excited to share their creativity, research, and science knowledge with peers and parents during Wednesday’s Zootopia event!

Over the past several weeks, students have been immersed in a life science unit focused on how young organisms are very much, but not exactly, like their parents and resemble other organisms of the same kind. As part of their studies, students enjoyed a field trip to the zoo where they made careful observations about a variety of animals and their habitats.

Using what they learned, each student selected one animal to research extensively. On Wednesday, students proudly presented their projects to an enthusiastic audience of parents, peers, and staff members. Visitors learned about different animals’ habitats, traits, and preferred foods through both written research projects and impressive 3-D animal sculptures.

This engaging project integrated essential reading, writing, and science concepts while also encouraging creativity, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. We are incredibly proud of the hard work, enthusiasm, and confidence our first graders demonstrated throughout this experience!

Thank you to all of the families who joined us in celebrating our young learners and their amazing accomplishments.

Gold Rush was proud to celebrate our alumni throughout the week! It was truly a celebration of their hard work, growth, and accomplishments over the years.

During the high school convocation, graduate Anderson Evans was awarded the first annual Feeder Schools Scholarship for Gold Rush. We could not think of a better representative of our school community! His positivity, resilience, and dedication make him an outstanding role model for our current students.

On Wednesday, we were excited to welcome all graduating seniors back to Gold Rush. Alumni enjoyed walking through the school, reflecting on familiar memories while also noticing the many changes and updates to the building. Current Gold Rush students enthusiastically lined the hallways, clapping and cheering as the seniors took their walk down memory lane.

Friday’s official graduation ceremony was yet another reminder of the incredible growth and achievements of our alumni. We are proud of the diverse interests, goals, and future paths our graduates are pursuing. No matter what their next steps may be, it is clear that each Gold Rush student possesses the skills, drive, and determination needed for success.

We are incredibly proud of each and every one of our graduates and look forward to seeing all they accomplish in the future. Congratulations, Class of 2026!

With summer break quickly approaching, we wanted to provide a quick reminder about changes to school schedules coming next school year. This information was shared from the District earlier this week.

Beginning in August 2026, DCSD is implementing dedicated Professional Learning Communities (PLC) time for our teachers. This means that DCSD elementary and middle schools will have a 45-minute delayed start every Friday. This is already occurring in DCSD’s high schools.

Gold Rush Rolling Start and Start Times for 2026-2027

* Monday - Thursday: Rolling Start 8:20-8:30AM & Start Time 8:30AM

* Friday: Rolling Start 9:10-9:20 AM & Start Time 9:20 AM

* Friday - Delayed Start Due to Weather: Rolling Start 9:50-10:00 AM & Start Time 10:00 AM

* The first delayed start Friday will be August 21st

We recognize that having a delayed start time on Fridays will require some adjustments for families, however we are certain the trade-off will be worth it. In addition to what we have seen at our high schools, research from across the country shows how much of a difference PLCs can make in the academic outcomes for all students.

DCSD is the highest-scoring school district in the Denver metro area, and until now, the only one without dedicated PLC time. Think of what we’ll be able to achieve when our educators are using their dedicated Friday morning PLC time to full effect!

Your child(ren)’s teachers will gain focused time to work together, analyze data to make student-level adjustments in their teaching, and align their use of our curriculum to ensure learning goals are met.

You may have questions about how this change affects other aspects of the school day, and we have answers for those, too:

• Transportation: All school buses, including special education buses, will start 45 minutes later on Fridays. Bus routes will run exactly 45 minutes later.

• Child Care: Elementary students will still have access to Before and After School Education (BASE) on Friday mornings.

• School Breakfast: Breakfast will still be offered to students.

• Preschool: There will be no impact on preschool schedules. Currently, preschool staff already use Friday mornings for planning and PLCs.

• Delayed Starts Due to Weather: If a delayed start is called on a Friday due to inclement weather, that day's PLC time for staff will be canceled. The inclement weather delay means school will start 90 minutes (an hour and a half) later than the school's normal (Monday-Thursday) start time. There would not be any additional delay for PLC time. Gold Rush would start at 10 AM on Fridays when a delayed start is called by the District due to weather. The rolling start would be from 9:50-10:00AM.

• These, plus additional information about special education, inclement-weather delays, instructional time and more can be found on the DCSD PLC webpage.

In case a visual reminder helps you, we also made a downloadable 2026-2027 school-year calendar with the late-start Fridays identified so you can post it on your refrigerator.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Shultz and her committee for their outstanding work on this year’s school yearbook. Their dedication and attention to detail helped create a keepsake that beautifully captures both the big moments and the everyday memories that made this school year so special.

Yearbooks will be distributed to students on Thursday, May 28. If you are unsure whether you purchased a yearbook, please check your MySchoolBucks account for confirmation.

A limited number of additional yearbooks will be available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Friday, May 29 at 7:45 a.m. The cost is $25 per yearbook, payable by cash or check only. Please note that purchases are limited to one yearbook per family.

• Teachers are excited to share your child's academic, social and emotional progress on his/her Elementary Progress Report (E.P.R.). EPRs will be released on Tuesday, June 2, at 9:00AM.

• Click here to access your child's EPR via the EngagED Parent Portal.

• Click here for additional District information and support.

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