Some Archuleta County students will be headed back to school in just over a week, with the Pagosa Peak Open School (PPOS) resuming class on Monday, Aug. 19.
PPOS will also host its Back to School Night on Thursday, Aug. 15, starting at 4 p.m.
PPOS is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grades that uses a project-based learning curriculum in a restorative practices environment.
New families can meet their teachers, check out classrooms, sign up for after school and turn in enrollment paperwork at the back-to-school event, School Director Emily Murphy states in an email to The SUN.
“I look forward to seeing all our families at this event,” Murphy writes.
All grades, kindergarten through eighth, will begin class on Aug. 19, with the same daily schedule as last year of Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Murphy explains in her email that PPOS will be offering a paid after-school program from 3:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. every school day.
This will be Murphy’s first year as school director, taking over for Angela Reali-Crossland, who served the PPOS school director for the past five years.
Murphy has been serving as assistant director over the past year and worked directly with Reali-Crossland throughout the transition.
“After five years with Pagosa Peak Open School, School Director Angela Reali-Crossland has decided to move onto new adventures, leaving the school in the hands of its current staff, and with myself taking over the director position,” Murphy writes. “I am grateful and excited to say our staff is returning; some in new positions, all with their talents, experience and passion for our students and work at PPOS. Joining our team this year will be Brian Tunin, our new physical education teacher; and Alison Beach, our new English Language Arts teacher.”
Murphy notes that PPOS is “sad to see” that the Pagosa Community Initiative will be moving its after-school program downtown.
Linda Hayduke will be running PPOS’s after-school program, Murphy notes, which will include hands-on collaborations and is based around the Destination Imagination SkillFire curriculum.
“This time with Linda will surely be fun and educational for our students,” Murphy writes.
Murphy also notes that Forge will be taking over the school’s warehouse space and adding additional after school programming for the entire school. The programs will include gymnastics, Ninja Warrior courses and martial arts.
She explains that Friday’s will be “Forge Days,” with every student receiving programming with Forge two Fridays a month.
“We are happy to have this partnership with such a great community program,” Murphy adds.
For more information about PPOS, or to enroll a student, visit the school’s website at pagosapeakopenschool.org.
Supply lists available
Supply lists for kindergarten through second grade are available on the schools website at pagosapeakopenschool.org, and teachers for third through eighth grade will be purchasing their own supplies, Murphy explains.
Murphy notes that parents of third- and fourth-grade students can make a classroom supply donation via Venmo to @Wildflowers24-25, and parents of fifth- through eighth-graders can make a class supply donation through Venmo as well to @msreuppos.
clayton@pagosasun.com
