Gold Rush Elementary

Inspiring Purpose, Compassion & Excellence

The energy is building, and we are absolutely thrilled to kick off another incredible year of learning, discovery, and growth! Your children are the heart and soul of our school, and we cannot wait to see our hallways filled with their smiles, energy, and curiosity this August.

Behind the scenes, our dedicated teachers and staff have been hard at work setting up vibrant classrooms and prepping for a seamless, successful kickoff. To help your family prepare for day one, please take a few minutes to review the essential details and reminders below.

Here’s to partnership, growth, and a fantastic year ahead—let’s make it our best one yet!

All students must register for the upcoming school year using Online Express Check-In between Friday July 17th, and Monday August 10th. In addition to registering your child, you will update your contact information, pay school fees, complete the student directory and order a yearbook (listed under "Optional Fees''). Click here to login to Express Check-In, click here for information on how to navigate Express Check-In and click here for password assistance.

Please note that the Emergency Dismissal form must be printed and turned in to your teacher during Meet Your Teacher (Grades 1-5), Balanced Beginnings (Kindergarten) or the first day of school. For assistance please contact one of the individuals below:

Shala Goehl - GRE Registrar

sgoehl@dcsdk12.org

303-387-7707

Anita Rudman - GRE Administrative Assistant

anita.rudman@dcsdk12.org

303-387-7704

We know that your child is eager to know who his/her classroom teacher will be. Starting July 27th you can view your child's teacher assignment in Parent Portal. Click the schedule tab and then select your child in the upper right corner. You can look forward to receiving a welcome letter from your teacher via email by Friday, July 31st.

We believe that it is important for students to have the opportunity to meet their teacher and visit their classroom before the first day of school. Families are welcome to visit their classroom on Tuesday, August 11th, and drop off school supplies. Please plan to drop off any medications taken during the school day and physician forms in the main office. Students will take their school picture in the gym after visiting their classroom. You can click here to order pictures online. The picture day ID is EVTBFFCRC .

We want to ensure that families are able to spend time with the teacher in a small group setting, so we ask that parents sign up for a specific time. Click here for our online scheduler, which opens July 27th and closes August 7th. The password is digger. The sign up is first come first serve, so please sign up as soon as possible if you have a preferred time or you wish to align siblings’ times. School supplies ordered through the PTO will be delivered to your child’s classroom. Click here for a map of teachers’ classrooms.

The first full day of school for students in grades 1-5 is Wednesday, August 12th. Students will meet their teachers on the front blacktop on the first day of school for an opening flag ceremony that begins at 8:30 AM. Click here for a map of your classroom location for our opening ceremony. All teachers will have a sign with their name. Students will enter school with their teacher at the end of the ceremony.

On the second day of school students will enter the building at their assigned locations between 8:20 AM-8:30 AM and walk directly to their classrooms. These locations are different from where students met for the opening Flag Ceremony. Click here for year long classroom arrival locations. Teachers and older students will assist our younger students. Parents of preschool students need to walk their children through the preschool playground to the preschool door and sign their child in.

Kindergarten students have a transitional start to the school year called Balanced Beginnings. Balanced Beginnings is an opportunity for students to get to know classmates and partake in engaging activities in a small group setting. Classroom teachers begin to build community and learn each child's social, emotional and academic strengths and needs. The goal is to ensure students are comfortable and familiar with their new environment before their first full day of school.

Kindergarten students will meet with a small group of students on either August 12th or 13th for two hours. Parents will drop their child off at their classroom's exterior door. Students in Ms. Andersen's and Ms. Rimbulas' classes will meet at the school's front door.

Students will take their picture with their parents between 11:00 AM-1:00 PM on their selected day. Please plan to drop off any medications taken during the school day in the main office. Once you access your class assignment via parent portal on July 27th parents can then sign up for a time for Balanced Beginnings. A link to sign up for Balanced Beginnings will be sent on July 23rd. Times are on a first come first serve basis.

Kindergarten students’ first full day of school is Monday, August 17th. A staff member will meet students at their classroom's exterior door between 8:20-8:35 AM. Students in Ms. Andersen's and Ms. Rimbulas' classes will meet at the school's front door. Kindergarten parents are invited to a Tears and Cheers Breakfast in our cafeteria at 8:45 AM on August 17th.

Mark your calendars for Back to School Night!

Back to School Night is a great way to get to know your child's teacher and learn about the coming school year. Please see the schedule below:

Principal's Celebrations & Goals 4:15-4:30 PM @ Gym

Classroom Presentation - Session 1 4:35-5:05 PM @ Classrooms

Classroom Presentation - Session 2 5:05-5:35 PM @ Classrooms

Outdoor Education Parent Meeting - 5th Grade Only -5:40-6:30 PM @ Gym

Back to School Night is for parents only.

We hope you will join us for these informative sessions!

ARRIVAL

If you are returning to Gold Rush, you are aware that all students enter the building between 8:20-8:30 AM on Monday through Thursday and 9:10-9:20 on Fridays starting August 21st. Students have a later Friday schedule starting August 21st this year to accommodate the work of Professional Learning Communities (see information below) . Grade levels/classrooms are assigned a specific entrance. All entrances are monitored at identified start times by GRE staff.

Classroom teachers will show students how to enter the building and proceed to their classroom on the first day of school. Additional adults will be present to assist students the first week of school.

It is imperative that students are not dropped off prior to identified start times unless they have a previously scheduled meeting or activity as supervision is not available.

Monday - Thursday

8:20 - 8:30 AM

Fridays Starting August 21

9:10-9:20 AM

DISMISSAL

We also had great success with our staggered dismissal times for primary and intermediate students. Please see GRE’s dismissal schedule below.

3:25 PM

Grades K-2

3:30 PM

Grades 3-5

**Rolling car loop begins

At 3:25 PM Kindergarten teachers will walk their students out their exterior classroom door. Students in Ms. Andersen's and Ms. Rimbulas' classes will dismiss at the lower exterior door. First and second graders will follow out the main entrance and plan to meet parents at the same place they lined up during arrival. Please see the map below or click here.

At 3:30 PM 3-5 teachers will walk students out of the building. Third graders will dismiss out the main entrance and fourth and fifth graders will dismiss out the back gym doors. Teachers will escort students to the shade structure on the front blacktop if they are getting picked up in the car loop.

Parents can park and meet their child at their teacher's identified location or use the rolling car loop. The car loop for all students will begin at 3:30 PM. Parents cannot park in the car loop or bus loop at any time before or after school.

The Douglas County School District is implementing dedicated Professional Learning Communities (PLC) time for staff starting August 21st. This means DCSD elementary and middle schools will have a delayed start every Friday starting August 21st. This is already occurring in DCSD’s high schools.

Gold Rush Rolling Start & 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

* The first delayed start Friday will be August 21st

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

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!

Staff 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 be no 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.

2021 South Swift Fox Way, Parker, CO, USA

303-387-7700

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