Note from the Principal
Happy new school year everyone and welcome to our new Orchard Ranch Elementary School Blog called "News from the Ranch". So, in the spirit of trying new avenues for communication, i.e. Twitter and Facebook, and finding the best way to get information out to you, we are trying our hand at blogging. This will come home monthly and just serve as another form of communication. It is our hope that this new form of communication helps you know what's going on at Orchard Ranch and helps you feel more connected.I sure hope you are enjoying your school year, so far. As the craziness of the beginning of the year winds down, I just want to thank you for your patience as we continue to define our processes and procedures. It's a learning experience for us all, but we are glad to be going on this journey with you. As your neighborhood school, please feel free to reach out to us. If we don't know the answer, we will work to find it. Make sure to follow us on Facebook @RCSDOrchard Ranch and on Twitter @RCSDOrchard
We look forward to an amazing inaugural year, here at The Ranch!
Quick Thoughts
As a father of four, ages 7-15, I find it even more important to take time and enjoy your children. Life can get busy and before you know it, you're kids are grown up. The best thing you can do is be intentional with your time with them. Be intentional with your words. Be intentional with your love and dedication.Heat Wave
With this heat wave, we are taking precautions to ensure the safety of our kids. We are monitoring air quality and outside temperature throughout the day. If anything is too high, we bring the kids inside. Please make sure to send them with water, especially on days they have PE.
Drop off
Please DO NOT drop your kids off before 8:25. It's a safety issue as there is no one to supervise them! Our gates open around 8:40 and will close promptly at 8:55. Please plan accordingly. If you or your child comes after 8:55, they will have to check in in the office. Thank you for your patience. We are fortunate to have a relatively effective pick up and drop off areas. Please allow for the appropriate time to drop off and pick up. The safety of our kids is our number one priority. Patience in the the parking lot and streets around the school is appreciated. 
Crosswalks, Crossing Guards and the City
There has been conversation around the crosswalks, or lack there of, in the community surrounding Orchard Ranch. I just spoke with the city and I’m pleased to tell you that they are going to be installing two right now. The two that are going to be installed are along Brookstone Dr. at Loveland, and one at Starsmore. Unfortunately, there will not be a crosswalk at every intersection around the school, as they typically do not install them on residential streets as the speed limits are slower.
Please remember that crosswalks do not necessarily make it completely safe to cross. In fact, sometimes there are more accidents because people think that because there is a crosswalk they have this “bubble” around them. Please work with your kids about how pedestrians always need to yield to cars and know how to safely cross a street.
Because our school/neighborhood/development is still under construction, the city has to wait until the neighborhoods are built out, so that they can access traffic patterns and pedestrian traffic for future crosswalks in their study. Therefore, the more students that walk/bike to school, the more likely crosswalks could get installed in the future.
Thank you for your ongoing patience as we continue to grow in the community. As we hear more, we will continue to articulate the city’s plan to you.
On another note, the city is offering a crossing guard training to those parents that would like volunteer to do crossing guard duty before and/or after school. Please email me at JJoseph@rcsdk8.org if you are interested in volunteering.
Thank you again!
Parking Lot
Please make sure to use the right lane for drop off/pick up. The left lane is for traffic pulling out. DO NOT use the left lane to pull around and in front of someone in the right line.
PLEASE DON"T LEAVE YOUR CAR UNATTENDED IN THE PICK UP/DROP OFF line. It prohibits a positive traffic flow.
Thank you for your help!
We work with ALL kids!
One of the many rewards of this career is influencing children and helping them through the challenges of life. School is a small sample of what it may be like for them in the real world. So, as you know, there are many many personalities, circumstances, and behaviors that make up our world and our amazing school population. Please know that we don't give up on kids! We work with ALL kids! We support kids! We educate kids! Unfortunately, we can't tell you all that we do or are doing for them and the challenges they present, but know we are working on it. So, if you have a concern, please approach the situation with a calm mind ask yourself, "What if this was my child?"Other info...
