VRHS - Family Newsletter

Welcome back VR!

I cannot wait to see the students back in the hallways and get the 2026-27 school year rolling. Our teachers have been in their classrooms this week, and we are all excited to see our returning students again, as well as welcome a new group of freshmen to the Vista Ridge family. As we prepare for another fantastic year, I wanted to share some exciting first-day information and important changes:

August 3rd - Freshmen First Day: We are thrilled to have a huge group of upperclassmen Pack Leaders here on Monday (during their break nonetheless) to welcome the class of 2030 to the Pack! The day will start promptly at 7:20 AM in the main gym. We will begin the day with a pep rally and teach our new class how we do rallies and what it means to be in the Wolfpack. The rest of the morning will be Pack Leaders giving tours, playing games, and welcoming 2030 to Vista Ridge. Following lunch, freshmen will follow an abbreviated schedule going to all classes and meeting their teachers.

August 3rd - Non-Freshmen New Students: From 12:30 to 1:30 all new students at Vista Ridge will have an orientation session with myself and our Pack Leaders in the main gym. We will teach them what it means to be in the Wolfpack, as well as give tours and answer any and all questions. I went to three different high schools growing up back in the Stone Age, and I empathize with students being new and not freshmen. Let's get them off to a terrific start and make them feel comfortable at Vista!

August 4th - Whole School Returns: We will welcome the whole Wolfpack back to campus with a first period pep rally to celebrate the beginning of a terrific year. We will then follow an 8-period schedule so that every student can attend all classes and meet all teachers. The rest of the week will be a Blue Day (Wednesday, periods 1-4), Gray Day (Thursday, periods 5-8), and a PLC Late Start (Friday, 1-8 starting at 8:20). Students should all report to their first period class prior to us calling each class to the gym.

New Weekly Schedule: Fridays this year will be 8-period days with an hour late start (8:20am). The week will consist of Blue/Gray days Monday through Thursday, with Friday having all 8 periods. We are bringing back weekly late starts on Fridays in order for teachers to plan during their PLC (Professional Learning Communities) time. School will begin at 7:20am on all other non-late start Fridays. Block days (Blue/Gray) may shift to Fridays with a late start when we have Monday holidays or snow days. These situations will be communicated via email from the school.

PLC & Wolf Time: You will notice a 36-minute period on your schedule between 1st & 2nd period and 5th & 6th period called Wolf Time (Monday through Thursday). This is a period where we ensure that no student is falling through the cracks at Vista Ridge. We will use this time to catch up on work, discuss academic progress with teachers, and receive or request help in classes that may be giving a student trouble. Attendance is mandatory, as students will receive course credit for attending and completing a minimal number of assignments. Teachers use their Friday PLC time to look at student data and find trends where students may need additional help. They create interventions and apply these interventions to students during Wolf Time to increase scores and understanding. Students will be asked to download an app from Powerschool that will notify them where to go during Wolf Time if they are requested by teachers for interventions. They will also receive emails if this is not possible. Wolf Time is a priority for Vista Ridge as we are committed to making sure all students are successful, seen, heard, and loved.

I'm thrilled about the opportunities this new school year will bring, and I look forward to seeing all our students thrive at Vista Ridge. Here's to an amazing 2026-27 school year!

Sincerely,

Tom Payne

If your student is absent or late to school please let us know

You can call our Front Office at 719-494-8800 or email our Attendance: vrattendance@d49.org

If your student is out due to an appointment please bring in a note from your doctor. You have up to 72 hours to excuse an absence.

Please refer to the Vista Ridge Handbook pg.26

August 4th First Day for All students

August 6th Back to School Night from 5:00pm to 7:00pm

August 7th Color Dance at 6:00pm

August 8th Football Parent meeting 9:00am

August 13th Board of Education Meeting 6:30pm at Sand Creek High School

August 14th Lifetouch Make Up Photos

Breakfast is served daily from 6:45-7:20 even on PLC late start Fridays.

*Breakfast and Lunch are free to all students*

Vista Ridge is a closed campus for underclassmen during lunch. Only juniors and seniors are permitted off campus.

Join us Wednesday September 2nd at 5:00 for the H.O.W.L. (Helping Out With Leadership) meeting at Vista Ridge High School. If you haven't seen the school this would be a good time to come, there will be a tour of our school by Mr. Payne.

The School Accountability Committee (SAC), or H.OW.L. for Vista Ridge, is a group made up of parents, teachers, community members, and the school principal who work together to support student success and help improve the school.

The H.O.W.L. has a few important responsibilities:
Review and give input on the school’s goals and improvement plans
Provide feedback on school performance and priorities
Support communication between the school and families

The H.O.W.L. gives parents and community members a voice in decisions that affect students and the overall school environment. Your input helps make the school stronger, more responsive, and more focused on student success.

Cell Phones

District Policy

Students in grades 9 – 12 are prohibited from using personal electronic devices during instructional time. Instructional time includes the entire period of a scheduled class and other times when students are directed to report to and participate in any school-based activities. All personal electronic devices, including earbuds, and Apple watches, shall be kept in designated locations, as determined by administration, and turned off during instructional time. Personal electronic devices may be used during non- instructional time, e.g. lunch, as determined by administration.

• Students will be asked to put their cell phones in a cell phone holder during class. If they do not have a cell phone that is absolutely fine, but consequences will be escalated if they are found with a cell phone and were not truthful.
• We are not responsible for lost or broken phones.

Lunches

• Lunch time, either A or B Lunch is based on the 3/7 class you have. 9th and 10th graders do not have off-campus privileges and must remain at the school. Off Campus privileges can be revoked for upperclassmen if they are routinely tardy to their class after lunch.

• **NO LUNCH DELIVERIES** Students may not have lunch delivered to the school by anyone not on their emergency contact list in PowerSchool. Any lunch that is delivered will be held in the front office until the end of the school day. We are not responsible for missing orders or loss of money due to orders not being picked up.
• FREE LUNCH IN THE CAFETERIA IS AVAILABLE FOR ALL STUDENTS EVERY DAY

Tardies

• We will continue to track tardies for a consequence list every two weeks. If your student has one tardy every school day for that week, they will be placed on the consequence list.
• Parents/guardians can excuse the first period tardy of the day (not during the day). Remember, you have 72 hours to excuse tardies and absences.
• Example:
• January 7th- January 17th = 9 school days
• If you have a total of 9 tardies during that time, you will earn a consequence.

Check out our VR gear!

Trying to avoid student loan debt? Concurrent Enrollment provides on- and off-campus college courses for 2-year and 4-year degrees and hands-on career training through the Career Start Program. Earn free college credits, weighted HS grades, and 2 semesters of HS credit for each 1-semester college course.

Traditional Concurrent Enrollment consists of students taking individual college courses through Pikes Peak State College that work towards their future certification, degree, or career path in general. At VRHS, students have taken 100s of different classes including but not limited to, English, communication, business, welding, computer programming, environmental science, astronomy, EMT, pre-nursing, art history, social work, psychology, sociology, and many more! All grade levels are eligible. Each student is advised on transferability, degree/certification applicability, and workload. If you are interested in applying please navigate to our steps to apply page.

Career Start inspires high school students to start exploring career and technical education opportunities, gain knowledge and skills toward career goals all while earning college credits and certificates. If you are a qualified junior or senior and have a passion for designing, building, repairing, rescuing, welding, or caring for others, check out the Career Start Program.

Are you interested???? Click the link below to get your application process started!

Follow these steps to apply for Concurrent Enrollment

Follow these steps to apply for Career Start (advising for this program will start Nov/Dec 2025 but you can view the information so you are ready to apply!)

Students! We have some great colleges coming to Vista Ridge. These college reps will share information about their institutes and answer any questions you may have. Be on the look out for more information!

Sign up to attend College Visits

Morning Drop off

The Front Loop will be closed starting at 7:00am to allow busses easy access to Vista and a safe drop off for our students. If you are dropping off your student please follow the carpool path and enter on Wolf Ridge.

Please DO NOT drop off kids north bound in front of the school on Black Forest Rd. and have the cross the street. There is no safe cross walk area. In addition U-Turns are illegal, and subject to a ticket from CSPD.

You can fill our the FREE/REDUCED application any time your financial situation changes

If you are enrolled in the Free and Reduced Benefits Program you are eligible for other financial benefits.

• Transportation / Bus fees
• School athletics
• School classroom fees
• Testing fees
• Field Trips

You must apply every year and you can qualify mid-year as well. Please see the BENEFITS page to fill out the information to see if you qualify.

ALL STUDENTS RECEIVE FREE LUNCH EVERY DAY - BUT YOU MUST FILL OUT THE BENEFITS PAGE TO QUALIFY FOR FREE/REDUCED FEES

To ensure students have access to the tools and educational resources they need, our district requires parents and guardians to review and approve the App Agreements Policy and Internet Use Agreement. These agreements help protect students’ privacy and guide safe, responsible technology use.

The process is simple and fully digital through PowerSchool:

Instructions to Access the Agreements:

1. Select the student.
2. In the left-hand menu, click on "Student Profile."
3. Select "Student Forms."
4. Locate the appropriate form and click on its name:
   • D49 - App Agreements Policy
   • D49 - Student Use of the Internet and Electronic Communications

This displays the form as it appears for students, parents, and guardians, and it can be completed online.

Approving these agreements helps ensure your child can fully participate in learning activities that involve digital tools, apps, and internet-based instruction. Thank you for supporting safe and effective technology use in our schools.

We have begin ticketing cars in all lots that are not properly marked by student stickers. If you do not have a sticker, on the bottom driver side windshield, you will be ticketed. Please make sure you stop by and get your parking pass! Parking tickets will fall in line with other delinquent school fees and could hold students back from participating in school events to include Homecoming, Prom, and Graduation.

DO NOT park in the Reserved parking spaces, you could lose parking privileges if you do.

Students found parking in any of the Staff Parking lots will be issued tickets.

This also applies to all before and after school activities.

You will need to fill out a new Registration Form for the26/27 School year, and pay the $50 fee for the parking pass, this is good for the whole year.

If you purchase a parking pass any time after December 5, 2025 the cost will be $25.

Please check your Parent Portal to make sure all information is current and correct. Please check your contact information, address, and those who can pick up your student from school. We will not release students to those who are not on the contact list.

As a reminder, students are not allowed to order food to be delivered to the school.

Moving forward we will refuse delivery and ask the drivers to document that the delivery is not allowed at VRHS. We are not responsible for money lost due to refused deliveries. If a delivery happens to get dropped off and miss the refusal process, we will hold the food in the office until after dismissal. We are not responsible for cold or missing food.

However, parents/guardians who are listed in PowerSchool and present an ID may come in and drop off food for their students in the office.

As a reminder, all school breakfast and lunch is FREE for all students.

Administration:
Principal - Mr. Tom Payne (thomas.payne@d49.org)

Asst. Principal - Mrs. Melissa Hernandez (melissa.hernandez@d49.org)

Asst. Principal - Mr. Dan Jordan (daniel.jordan@d49.org)

Asst. Principal/Athletic Director - Mr. Eddy McGee (eddy.mcgee@d49.org)

Asst. Principal - Mrs. Becki Sims (rebecca.sims@d49.org)

Dean of Students - Mr. Michael Haase (michael.haasse@d49.org)

Dean of Students - Mr. Cale Csizmadi (cale.csizmadi@d49.org)

School Counselors - Grade Split:

Freshmen Counselor-Karla Castro (karla.castro@d49.org)

Sophomore Counselor -Devin Allen (devin.allen@d49.org)

Junior Counselor -Itziar Iriberri (itziar.iriberri@d49.org)

Senior Counselor -Nichole Navarro (nichole.navarro@d49.org)

Student Success Advocate -Abby Domier (abby.domierbonnin@d49.org)

CE & College Counselor -Alexis Corral (alexis.corral@d49.org)

Choice and Success Advisor -Heidi Cephus (heidi.cephus@d49.org)

Front Office/Support Staff:
Office Manager - DeDe Bolke (dede.bolke@d49.org)

AP -Admin. Secretary - Jennifer Conley (jennifer.conley@d49.org)

Athletic Secretary - Beth Vigil (elizabeth.vigil@d49.org)

Registrar - Myrna Rascon-Caro (myrna.rasconcaro@d49.org)

Discipline Secretary -

Lead Security -Trevas McFail (trevas.mcfail@d49.org)

Counseling Secretary -Tracy Denson (tracy.denson@d49.org)

Attendance Secretary - Alex Burciaga (alexandrea.burciaga@d49.org)

Attendance Secretary - Mary Martin (mary.martin@d49.org)

Nurse - Karen Vanhorn (karen.vanhorn@d49.org)

Health Room Assistant - Vicki Frey (vicki.frey@d49.org)