Dear Ryan Elementary Community,

I'm excited to be heading into another full week of school.

Last Friday, we hosted a fun and energetic spirit assembly for our K–5 students. Our students were fantastic audience members and brought great energy as we all danced to our Ryan Rhino song—what a way to end our first full week of school.

Today, we conducted our first fire drill of the school year. As part of our ongoing commitment to student safety, we are required to practice fire drills monthly, along with other safety protocols. To learn more about our safety procedures, please visit: Safety - Boulder Valley School District.

We have several updates for the 2026-27 school year that I'll continue to communicate in the coming weeks. A few highlights include:

STEAM Buddies: Now in its third year, this program pairs younger and older students to foster connection and collaboration. Students meet with their buddies every Wednesday afternoon to engage in creative, team-based activities. This year's pairings are:

Kindergarten with 3rd grade

1st Grade with 4th grade

2nd grade with 5th grade

Recess and Inclusivity: During the 2024 summer, our recess team and school administrators participated in a two-day Playworks training, funded by BVSD's Bully Prevention Grant. Playworks has been supporting schools for 28 years in creating inclusive, engaging, and peaceful recess experiences.

Schools that provide all recess equipment do this to promote safe and inclusive play. We're now in the third year of implementing this, and it's made a significant difference. 

Updates on our playgrounds: Please note that our gaga ball and sand pit is currently closed for repairs—we appreciate your patience as we work to get it back in action.  In addition, our Buddy Bench was moved this summer by visitors.  It will be moved and secured as soon as the grounds team can get back to our school.  Our head custodian and BVSD teams are actively addressing the bees.  We are doing the best they can to keep them away from the areas students play.

Join Us—Your Voice and Participation Matters! 

Back to School Night is this Wednesday, August 26th and is your chance to meet your child's grade level teachers, explore their classrooms, and connect with other Ryan families. It's a wonderful way to start the year together!  Click here for the plan for the night.

School Accountability Committee (SAC) meets around 5 to 6 times during the school year.  Curious about our school goals, student achievement, and how decisions are made? We'd love to have you join us—or simply drop in to learn more. Your perspective helps shape our school community.  Please email me if you are interested in joining this parent/guardian committee.

Thank you for being such an important part of our Ryan Elementary community. If you have questions or need anything, please don't hesitate to reach out.

It’s a great day to be a Rhino! Go Rhinos!

Warm regards,
Stephanie Jackman
Principal, Ryan Elementary

stephanie.jackman@bvsd.org

Ryan Elementary and Composition Shop Bookstore are THRILLED to announce an upcoming author visit to our school!

Newbery Award authors Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko will visit Ryan on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Katherine and Gennifer will be discussing the newest book in their Dogtown series, I Am A Good Dog! This is especially exciting because it’s also the release day for the book. It will be a book birthday party students won’t want to miss!

The authors will autograph and personalize all pre-ordered books! Book orders are due Friday, August 28.

Please use this LINK TO REVTRAK to pre-order any of the 3 books in the series.

The newest book, I Am A Good Dog! is $17/book, the first two books in this series, Dog Town and Mouse & His Dog are also available for $8/book.

The application for the Free & Reduced Price School Meal program for the 2026-2027 school year opened Tuesday, July 21. Breakfast and lunch at BVSD continue to be free in the coming school year thanks to the Healthy School Meals for All program. Every BVSD student is entitled to breakfast and a hot lunch entrée, which includes unlimited salad bar access each school day. Second entrees can be purchased when available with money from the student’s meal account. 

IMPORTANT: Even though meals are free, we strongly encourage every possible qualifying family to apply for the Free and Reduced Price School Meal program; doing so might qualify families for additional services and reduced fees, as well as impact funding for your school. Some families qualify for the program as a Direct Certification through the state because of their existing SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid benefits. Families who qualified through Direct Cert should have already received a notification letter via email.

Dear Ryan Elementary Parents or Guardians,

Are you interested in having your children carpool, walk, bike, or ride the RTD bus to and from school with students from other families in your school? Now is the time to join your school’s secure SchoolPool network. https://mywaytogo.org/s/140580026 

WayToGo - SchoolPool, which is a program of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), is once again providing BVSD with its own Transportation Network. Each of BVSD’s 53 sites has its own secure network. It’s free and there is no obligation to participate. Instructions on how to register for SchoolPool are listed below.

Click on your school’s link to get started: Ryan Elementary

Using this secure website, you can register to find and contact interested families from your school. You can register with your home address or with a nearby intersection. WayToGo’s primary goal is to improve safety by reducing traffic congestion and pollution, so rest assured your information will only be shared with other families at your school who have signed up. It will not be shared with third parties.

For more information on SchoolPool, please click on this link or email SafeRoutes@bvsd.org.

Sincerely, 

BVSD Transportation Services

SchoolPool Instructions

Click on the link for your school to log-in or to create a new My Way to Go account.

After creating an account, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your account by clicking on the “Confirm Your Account” button. 

After clicking “OK” to verify your email address, complete your SchoolPool Registration.

Verify your information.

Provide your household address or major intersection.

Who attends this school?

Add any notes you would like to share.

Finish SchoolPool registration.

This will take you to your school’s map, where you will see other families who have signed up.

Check back frequently for new matches. After you register, log in at MyWayToGo.org (and not your school’s registration link as this will create a new record for yourself) and click “SCHOOL” at the top, then your school name.

Note, this tool works best on a computer rather than a smartphone or tablet.

BVSD is using Apptegy, an app-based messaging tool that all families can download to communicate with schools, their teachers, and the district. Before school begins, all guardians will receive a text message and email from BVSD with information on how to download and login. When you receive them, please follow these instructions to begin seeing updates from your schools and communicating directly with your teachers via the app.

The app features a live feed of news and updates, the ability to receive push notifications, and 2-way communication between teachers, coaches and parents.

Read more: Download the New BVSD App: All school updates in one place

Download the app for free on Google Play or Apple App Store.

Download for iPhone

Download for Android

Learn more about how to sign in on the BVSD.org/app webpage.

Ryan STUDENT COUNCIL kicks off next week! ALL interested 4th and 5th grade students should plan on attending an info session on TUESDAY, September 1, from 2:50-3:30pm, in Mrs. Lewandowski's classroom (#100). 

STUDENT COUNCIL will hold weekly meetings, on Tuesdays, from 2:50-3:30 throughout the school year. We will also participate in a handful of Ryan community events throughout the year. Details and a calendar of events will be shared with interested students at the info session on 9/1. 

Healthy kids make the best learners! Please send a water bottle, two snacks, and a change of clothes with your child each day. Thank you for helping us keep your child happy, healthy, and ready to learn!  

If your student needs any medication at school, whether for an emergency or ongoing use, you and your child’s doctor will need to complete the medication administration form. Please also review the medication plan with the school health team before the medication is brought to school.  If you had general questions around immunizations, etc please check out the BVSD Health Services Website

We are excited to start off another great year of PTA! The families and staff at Ryan Elementary School are committed to building community and creating a positive learning environment where our children can grow and thrive. The PTA is an active part of the school and the community, funding field trips, teacher requests, community events, and more! 

Our first community meeting will be September 9th starting at 6:30 in the Library. All are welcome to join!

To join or renew your membership, please click here.

Have you linked your King Soopers card yet?

King Soopers Community Rewards donates thousands of dollars annually to our PTA, nearly 10% of the PTA income. The Ryan Community would be so grateful if you would enroll your card for Ryan Elementary. Enrolling is absolutely free. To connect your account, I've listed short steps below, you can view detailed instructions here, or you can email us with any specific questions.

Link your King Soopers Card!

PTA Website

PTA Facebook

Ryan Parents Facebook

Ryan Spiritwear Store 

Mrs. McCracken with our Ryan Mascot heading in to our first assembly of the school year!

Ryan Students being greeted by our Ryan Mascot into the assembly

Our Admin Team with our Ryan Mascot, kicking off the school year at the assembly

Our new Music Teacher, Mr. Shemwell, leading a song during the assembly

To read the full handbook click here: Ryan Family Handbook 2026-27

Please Note:

*Student birthdays are celebrated at school with a shout out during announcements, a coupon for Cow-A-Bunga ice cream and Rush Bowl, a pencil and a dance party! If you want to bring something into the classroom, we suggest a non-food item. Please arrange with your student's teacher. Please refer to page 11 in the handbook.

*Please remember, a student is not able to ride a bus that they are not assigned to. Please refer to page 8 in the handbook.

PLEASE remember to label your child's items, it helps us to get the items back to the owner and limits the amount of items we will be donating each month.

Please come and check the Lost and Found bin often, it is located in the vestibule outside of the office next to the Longmont Dairy milk cap collection bin.

Daily Attendance

Good attendance in elementary school helps kids build strong reading skills, make good friends, and feel confident in class. Showing up every day turns school into a fun routine and sets up long-term success.

If your child will be absent:

Please let us know online via your Parent Portal in Infinite Campus OR call Ryan’s attendance line at 720-561-7002 by 8:05 a.m. If your student is arriving late, please note that in the comments section online. Always notify the office of an absence or late arrival, not only the classroom teacher.

Attendance - Ryan Elementary School. Please include the following information in your voice message: your name, student’s name, grade & teacher, and the reason for the absence.

CDPHE’s How Sick is too Sick? guidelines (en español) on when students should stay home from school.

Volunteering is a fun, simple way to get involved within the Ryan community. We have all sorts of opportunities to get involved. Whether you volunteer regularly in your teacher’s classroom, bring breakfast and coffee to teachers for late start or volunteer for the book fair, the impact can be huge. Not only does it benefit the school but it benefits your kids and families in our community as well!

Click here to find out more about volunteering in the Boulder Valley School District

We ask that each individual interested in volunteering and interacting with students on a ongoing basis under line of sight supervision by BVSD staff, complete the appropriate Raptor application; ENGLISH or SPANISH.  Please note, there is a $32.00 background fee due at the time of submission. Raptor applications expire one year from approval date.

Volunteers and field trip chaperones who are not under line of sight supervision are required to complete a CBI Fingerprint Check through a third party vendor, paid by the volunteer/partner/school AND must sign a BVSD Volunteer Agreement (Spanish).  Volunteer fingerprints are valid for 5 years, at which time they will need to be renewed.

Printable Calendars

2026-27 General Calendar PDF (English)

2026-27 General Calendar PDF (Spanish)

2026-27 Specials Color Rotation Schedule

2026-2027 Academic Calendar PDF (English)

2026-27 Academic Calendar PDF (Spanish)

2026-27 Preschool Parent- Teacher Calendar PDF (English Printable)

2026-27 Preschool Parent- Teacher Calendar PDF (Spanish Printable)

2026-2027 Preschool Academic Calendar PDF

Ryan Elementary School | 1405 Centaur Village Dr. | Lafayette, CO 80026 | 720-561-7000  | https://rye.bvsd.org/