^{Photo: New year, new adventures! Principal Anne Heckman and our newest Tiger were so excited to welcome our Tigers back!} 

Dear RSES families,

We have had a successful start to the school year and are settling into our collective routines.

I want to celebrate some successes we have had regarding chronic absenteeism. In the 2024-2025 school year, 25.8% of our students were "chronically absent." The state defines chronically absent as a student missing 10% or more of student contact days. For ECSD, that translates to 17.1 days. Think about that: in one school year, a quarter of our students missed 10% of schooling!?! That is too high!

With the district's implemented efforts last year of sending families emails and prerecorded phone calls from me, tsk-tsking you all to get your kiddos in school, our chronically absent rate dropped by almost 10% to 16.2%! What an improvement! Thank you all for

your communication and support. Having your kids in school more DOES lead to improved success in their schooling overall and achievement post-graduation. Please continue to schedule vacations and appointments during our days/weeks off. Prioritize your child(ren) being in school every day. Let's work together to reduce our chronic absenteeism to 12% this school year.

Thank you for all you do to support your child(ren) and our school every day.

Appreciatively,

Anne

Skip the Cooking & Support RSES! 🐯

Join us for our first Restaurant Night of the school year! Grab the family, skip the kitchen, and come enjoy dinner together. And this year, we have a sweet addition—Rocket Fizz is partnering with us, too! 🍬🎉

10-20% of sales from Restaurant Night will benefit RSES!

Come hungry, bring the family, and help support our Tigers! ❤️🖤

Note: RSES can no longer provide before-school care on Wednesdays due to lack of resources. Please do not drop off your student before 8:40am. 

Wild West Day Update! 

Wild West Day is always such a fun event for our RSES community. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to give back directly to Red Sandstone Elementary! Whether you can donate a little of your time, contribute baked goods, or simply attend with your family and enjoy the fun, your support helps make this event a success and benefits our school and students.

Interested in volunteering or donating baked goods? Please sign up here.

National Geography, History, and Science Bees 

If you're a 3rd-5th grade student with an interest in one of these areas and enjoy competition, this might be for you. Please see the attached letter for more information about this opportunity. 

Annual Information Update 

Complete the Annual Information Update to ensure your child's school has the appropriate emergency contact information on file. This information is extremely important in the event of an emergency and we need to reach you, but it also ensures you receive information from your school(s) and the district. You can update this information through your PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you need assistance, please contact your school's registrar.

Our communications efforts rely on the information in PowerSchool. When there is actionable information (such as late start or a snow day), we will make every effort to communicate across a variety of platforms. When information isn’t anything you need to take action about, but it’s still something we want you to know, we will email you to avoid blowing up your phones with texts and phone calls.

Opt-In for Text Messages!

In the event of an emergency, especially one requiring immediate attention or action by a parent or guardian, we push out text messages in addition to email notifications. Opt-in by texting “YES” to 79041. Please note, the mobile number you text “YES” from must be on file with ECSD in PowerSchool to be able to opt-in, so make sure to complete your Annual Information Update first.

Attendance Matters 

When it comes to school, every day matters. We need your help in making sure students establish healthy sleep practices, morning routines, and positive attitudes toward learning. Together, we can ensure that every student has the foundation they need for academic success and future opportunities.

There are fewer than 160 student contact days remaining in the 2026-27 school year. Let’s make them count by not missing out on any of the exceptional learning opportunities and fun our schools offer!

Good news! Communicating with families in their home language is getting easier every day; however, not all translation tools are appropriate for every occasion. AI can help us in many ways, but when you have to communicate private, sensitive, and urgent information, human interpreters are still the best choice. To help you decide which tool is better suited for the situation at hand, check out the Translation Tool Matrix (CLICK HERE) created by ECSD’s team of interpreters. Reach out to your school’s interpreter if you have any questions!

As we begin the new school year, we want to help keep our Tigers healthy and ready to learn! Please take a moment to review the How Sick is Too Sick guidelines for helpful information about when students should stay home from school. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our school community healthy! 

Dear Families,

My name is Mike Boeke. I am the new music teacher at Red Sandstone. I am new to
the school but have been teaching music for many years. Sharing the performing arts
with people, young and old, has always been my passion.

I am excited to share our upcoming music experiences! This month, students will
explore rhythm patterns with classroom percussion instruments, learn new songs from different genres, and practice active listening skills through movement and performance in the musical classroom.

Kindergarten and 1st grade will be focusing on steady beats, high/ low sounds,
changing dynamics and musical movement. We will also be exploring non-
pitched and pitched percussion instruments.

2nd and 3rd grades will be focusing on reading basic rhythm notes, singing,
movement and the families of instruments.

4th and 5th grades will be focused on melody, harmony, and reading musical
notation. We will be utilizing the ukulele and our voices.

My goal is for every student to leave the music room having learned something new
while making music with friends and classmates..

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at michael.boeke@eagleschools.net.

Hello, creative tigers! I’m Ms. Miz. During our first few weeks in Art class, we will focus on establishing our daily routines and expectations. All grade levels will also begin creating their own sketchbooks. Below, you will find a great resource to help spark conversations with your child about the artwork they bring home this year.

STEM Corner: We are off to a fantastic start this year! Here's a peek at what each grade is digging into; 

K-1: We are learning about animals! September 22 launches Fat Bear Week and we'll be exploring habitats, movements and needs

2nd Grade is getting hands-on with simple machines and building their own pinball machines (Shout out to Ptarmigan Sports for the shoebox donations!)

3rd Grade is delving into natural disasters in prep for the always fun event - Great Jello Earthquake 

4th Grade is leveling up their tech skills with some handy Google Slide tricks before working and presenting their biomimicry project

5th Grade will be testing their engineering chops by designing and building bridges - max 100 popsicle sticks - and working through strength to weight ratios 

SEL classes provide students with opportunities to develop skills that support their academic success and lifelong well-being, including understanding and managing emotions, developing empathy, making positive choices, solving interpersonal conflicts, and building confidence, perseverance, and resilience.

In the SEL classroom, I use Second Step, a research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program. The program aims to foster a safe, supportive learning environment and promote student success. Throughout the school year, students will learn about Growth Mindset and Goal Setting, Emotion Management, Empathy and Kindness, and Problem-Solving.

Throughout the year, some grade levels will be offered additional and optional lessons and activities from local organizations that support positive youth development. These opportunities allow students to explore topics and develop skills that complement our SEL curriculum.

I will continue to offer Lunch Bunches to students. During this time, I provide a small-group setting where students can connect, practice social skills, build friendships, and talk about topics that are important to them.

I will also meet individually with students based on their needs and recommendations from classroom teachers.

NEW THIS YEAR!

We are excited to share that Ms. Asia and Mr. Beall will co-teach a class where cooperative games put SEL skills into action! Through group games and challenges, students will have opportunities to build communication skills, develop teamwork, strengthen problem-solving skills, and increase engagement. We are excited to bring this experience to our students and further strengthen the sense of inclusion and belonging at RSES!