March: Stay in Touch (Communications)

Happy Monday, Future Pumas! It has been a pleasure meeting some of you at last week’s Annual Peak Gala and the recent Middle School Parent session, and we look forward to meeting more of you in the coming weeks.

If you were just accepted to Peak to Peak, this is a monthly newsletter we send from February through May to ensure you and your student are ready to join us in the Fall. You may want to take a look at the February newsletter we shared last month to get caught up.

In this month’s newsletter, we’re introducing you to the communication channels at Peak to Peak, sharing the new 25-26 school year calendar, and highlighting upcoming events for our incoming families.

Communications at Peak to Peak:

Peak to Peak strives to provide streamlined communications to parents and guardians to keep you informed. These monthly newsletters are a way to keep you connected until you are added to our general mailing list and receive all regular communications from the school. These communications include: 

• Weekly Digest- This is a comprehensive communication that contains everything you need to know about upcoming events, announcements, action items, engagement opportunities, etc. It is a web-based newsletter so you can view it at anytime, and can also go back to see if there’s anything you missed. It’s broken down into All School News, level-specific news (elementary, middle, and high) and student celebrations, so you can read what’s important to you without being overwhelmed. You’ll get an email and text notification every Friday when it goes ‘live’!
• Elementary Newsletters- Your student’s homeroom teacher sends out a weekly communication specific to their classroom every Friday. In those, you will find grade-level announcements for the upcoming week, such as classroom information, field trips, and classroom volunteer opportunities. It’s important to still read the Weekly Digest as these two communications won’t often overlap!
• High School Counseling Updates- All High School students and families receive an additional communication on Tuesdays. In those, you will find counseling-specific information about community service opportunities, college visit information, FAFSA resources, and more. This is your go-to resource for college planning and preparation.

If you ever have a question or concern at Peak to Peak and don’t know who to contact, there are a few places you can start:

• Questions about enrollment? Contact our registrar (p2p.registrar@bvsd.org)
• General questions about registration? Contact the main office (p2p.office@bvsd.org)
• Questions or concerns about something happening in your student’s classroom? Contact their teacher (see our staff directory).
• Something else? This account (p2p.comms@bvsd.org) is happy to point you in the right direction.

At Peak to Peak, you may hear us reference the Communication Framework. A group of parents and staff worked together to establish this framework as a guide for effective, respectful, and efficient conversations when an issue arises. You may periodically receive reminders about the Communication Framework in our Weekly Digest. Keep in mind that when you are seeking information or answers to questions, we always welcome dialogue with any member of our community.

The Peak to Peak Website (www.peaktopeak.org):

The Peak to Peak website contains a wealth of information for families. On the homepage, you will find a “Quick Links” section with some of our most accessed pages. We also recommend that you spend some time familiarizing yourself with the “Parent/Guardian Hub” linked at the top of our website (if you’re using a laptop/desktop) or by clicking the three bars at the top right of the screen, then selecting “Parents/Guardians” at the bottom (if you’re using a mobile device).

This “Hub” has just about everything you might need as a parent of a Peak to Peak student, including calendars and bell schedules, safety information, frequently accessed forms, student handbooks, and more! There’s a lot of information there, but we’ve tried to make finding what you need as easy as possible.

All new parents and guardians will receive instructions for initiating your account on the Peak to Peak website in late-July or early-August. Your account will be set up for you during the summer, so there is no need to take any action now. The only account-protected page on our website is our Community Directory, which includes a list of all student names, addresses, and parent/guardian contact information. We update this Directory in October each year.

School Calendars:

The 2025-25 school year calendar has been approved by our Board and can be found in the Parent/Guardian hub of the website. We strongly encourage you to add any holidays and days off to your calendar, which you can easily do using the links at the top of that page (available in Google and iCal formats). Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, Peak to Peak will be adopting late-start Wednesdays in alignment with the rest of the Boulder Valley School District. On Wednesdays, school will start at 8:55 am (K-12) and release at 3:05 pm (elementary) and 3:15 pm (secondary). The school day will start at 7:55 for all students the rest of the week. 

If you have a student in elementary school, you may also find the grade level calendars to be a helpful resource. These include grade-specific information like field trips, library day, class pictures, and more. You can add these to your own calendar as well using the Google or iCal links on each page. (View the grade level calendars here: Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade.)

Elementary Homeroom Placement Procedure Form for 2025/2026 (for rising 1st - 4th graders only):

Soon, our staff will begin creating homeroom lists for next year. It is our goal at Peak to Peak to balance homeroom classes based on students’ academic, behavioral, and social strengths and needs. Decisions regarding student room assignments will be made collaboratively among the current teachers, special program teachers and administration. Current needs, special factors, and previous situations are taken into account to best inform class placement for the following year. Lists are created, revised, and reviewed multiple times before they are finalized in August. This process is taken very seriously by staff members, and an extensive amount of time is spent trying to create favorable outcomes for students and teachers in the following year.

If you would like to provide input for your child's homeroom class placement, please complete the form by Monday, April 7th.

Morning-Only Bus Transportation Interest:

Are you considering morning bus service next year? Please fill out the New Family Interest Form so we can gauge the demand for our open enrollment families. The survey will be taking responses until Friday, March 21st. Registration will be at a later date.

Upcoming Events: 

You are always welcome to attend any of our public events to get a “sneak peek” at what to expect next year. Check out our K-12 Upcoming Events calendar and join us for an upcoming soccer game, Board of Directors meeting, musical performance, and more. See below for events and deadlines that are specific to you: our incoming families.

📅 March 11th, Registration for Before and After-School Care through Champions opens for the 2025-2026 school year! New: Champions will also offer before-school care starting in the 25-26 school year! Visit the Champions website for more information and to register. For all questions about registration and care, you may contact Crystal Smith, Champions Area Manager at Crystal.Smith@discoverchampions.com.

📅 March 21st, Bus Interest form is due (linked above)

📅 April 7th, Elementary Homeroom Placement Procedure Form is due (linked above)

📅 April 10th at 5:30-7:30 pm, in the Cafeteria, Kindergarten Readiness Workshop (Parents/Guardians only) Designed to introduce you to kindergarten at Peak to Peak, including topics such as typical schedules, helpful tips for student preparation, and overviews of entry-level expectations. You will get to meet and work with the kindergarten teachers, see the classrooms, and receive additional support materials.

📅 April 16th at 3:30 pm, Visual & Performing Arts Center Grand Opening. Join us for an open house, including student performances, an art show, tour of the new facility, and more! Everyone in our community is invited to Sponsor A Chair and leave a legacy in the new VPAC.

📅 April 22nd at 6 pm, in the Cafeteria, Transition to HS Parent/Guardian Night (for families of incoming freshmen)

📅 April 28th at 5:30-7:00 pm, in the Cafeteria, 6th Grade Welcome Picnic

In Next Month’s Newsletter: 

• Volunteering
• Food Services (Breakfast & Lunch)
• Policies: Cell phones, dress code, attendance
• Transportation Registration

Additional Resources:

• If you missed our virtual Town Hall meeting last month, we invite you to view the recording at your convenience to learn more about the State of our School.
• Peak to Peak's Curriculum is designed from the ground up for graduates to meet or exceed the entrance requirements of top colleges and universities. The elementary, middle, and high school programs have been carefully crafted as a unified, coherent, and challenging curriculum, which progressively builds each student's foundation of knowledge and mastery of skills, while preparing them for university life. The curriculum is more fully described through the documents found on the K-12 Curriculum page of our website where you will find links to the elementary curriculum documents and the middle and high school course description books. You can additionally find more information about Peak to Peak's character education program, local and national student trips as a facet of the curriculum, summer reading and assignment expectations, our testing program, and the graduation requirements. 
• This newsletter, and all future newsletters, can be found on the New Families Page of our website.