This year, the Goddard Education Foundation, alongside our Legacy Partners, Lange Real Estate, were thrilled to present the #265Family Award to 15 outstanding educators and staff members from across the district, from nominations submitted by grateful families, dedicated students, and fellow staff members, all eager to shine a light on the incredible work being done every day in Goddard Public Schools. The #265Family Award, honors these finalists who not only embody the spirit of our #265Family but also consistently demonstrate a significant, positive impact on our students, staff, or the entire USD 265 school community.
The Explorer Elementary School winner was Ryan Ryan, a 3rd Grade Teacher, who was nominated by Bri Talley, a parent. Her nominator wrote, "We have had the absolute joy and pleasure of sharing our year with Mrs. Ryan! Compassionate, loving, dedicated, gentle and inspiring. All words that wholeheartedly describe Mrs. Ryan. However, to us, they don’t mean near enough. Mrs. Ryan has put the spark back into our son’s love of learning. She has created a classroom environment where not only he, but his classmates know they are safe, loved, valued, and appreciated for who they are. She encourages every single child whose life she has had the opportunity to touch. She challenges them and is their biggest cheerleader.
When you send your little one off to their first day of school, there is always a set of “First Day Jitters.” Will they meet new friends? Will they enjoy their classes? Will they like their teacher? Will they be loved and valued for who they are?
This year, we haven’t had to worry. We know our son is in the absolute best care! We cannot thank Mrs. Ryan enough for the positive, lifelong impact she has had on our son this year. Thank you Mrs. Ryan for bringing back life into our son’s creativity and love for school. You are so loved and appreciated for everything you do! Goddard Public Schools is so much better with you in it! "
Congratulations again Mrs. Ryan, for all you do make Goddard Public Schools a family!
To nominate a staff member for the #265Family Award visit - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsMNl3z277aZNiN859FaFgJAPZq79zwU47Oi1uH8pqqESvPg/viewform?usp=header
To learn more about how Lange Real Estate serves our #265Family visit https://langere.com/2025/03/14/lange-real-estate-a-proud-legacy-sponsor-of-goddard-public-schools/
There’s a new recording studio at Explorer Elementary, and it’s right inside the 2nd-grade classroom!
Congratulations to Explorer Elementary teacher Leah Whelan and the 2nd grade teaching team on receiving an Innovative Teacher Grant from the Goddard Education Foundation (GEF).
With the help of this GEF teacher grant, Mrs. Whelan is bringing an exciting opportunity to 2nd grade students by creating portable recording studios for the classroom. “These portable recording studios give our young learners a chance to build fluency, learn how to use their voices to convey emotion, and be able to play it back to hear themselves ready! We believe this will be a great tool for students to see what they personally need to work on whether it's building fluency, recognizing punctuation, or changing their voice when a character is talking in a story, they can actually hear how they do that from the recording and be able to make changes. With these recording studios, we are empowering students to take an active role in their education while hitting a variety of standards,” Whelan shared.
This project puts a modern twist on practicing reading aloud, empowering students to use technology and take an active role in their education. It’s an innovative way to support our district-wide goal of creating strong, fluent readers.
The Goddard Education Foundation is so proud to fund creative ideas like this that will impact students for years to come! Thank you, Mrs. Whelan and the Explorer Elementary 2nd Grade team for bringing this vision to our #265Family!
Learn more about past Innovative Teacher Grants and how you can support future grants at https://goddardpsks.sites.thrillshare.com/o/gef/page/teacher-grants
Explorer Office will be closed for Summer break June 13th - July 13th!
Have a fabulous Summer Tiger Cubs
Congratulations to Explorer Elementary's amazing Physical Education teacher, Erin Lawrence!
Mrs. Lawrence is always innovating to bring diverse and engaging activities to her students. Thanks to an Innovative Teacher Grant from the Goddard Education Foundation, over 450 students at Explorer Elementary will have the opportunity to dive into new adventures in PE. With her “Movement and Fun For Everyone” grant, Mrs. Lawrence was able to purchase new portable nets, cornhole boards, and more P.E. equipment to make learning fun and active!
"This equipment allows our students to work on standard-specific skills that help build not only their physical, but their mental, and emotional well-being too,” shared Mrs. Lawrence. Making the connection that movement isn’t just about playing new games; it’s about fostering a lifelong love of activity and developing teamwork and social skills. Students will learn skills in PE that they can take directly into real-world settings and community events.
We love seeing how these grants directly empower our educators and enrich our students' experiences in Goddard Public Schools!
Learn more about past Innovative Teacher Grants and how you can support future grants at https://goddardpsks.sites.thrillshare.com/o/gef/page/teacher-grants
Love for Luke May 5th-9th! Join us in showing love and support for Luke, a 4th-grade student who was recently injured in a significant playground accident.
Hello Explorer Families,
Staff appreciation week is May 5th - May 9th. Join in the fun and show appreciation for our OZ-SOME Staff!
Last day for Book Fair Shopping! Join us tonight from 4:15-6:30 in the Explorer Library!
Special thanks to Joel Condray, author of A True Kansas Treasure and math teacher at Challenger Intermediate, for sharing his True Treasure with third and fourth grade students. "The treasure is much more than dinosaur bones. That's cool, but even better was spending time with my grandpa," Mr. Condray said. Check out more information about his book and his grandpa's discovery at www.truekstreasure.com.
Book Fair shopping has begun and will continue until Thursday!
GLOW RUN is next week!
All donations are due Tuesday, April 22nd!
Our run is on Thursday, April 24th during your child's PE time--reach out to your child's teacher if you're unsure when they run!
If the school body raises $12,000, everyone gets to play Bingo in the Library in May!
THANK YOU,
Mrs. Whelan ♥
EHS Lady Tigers Basketball Camp
Girls Grades 1st -8th
May 19th-23rd
Please Scan QR code to register
Girls basketball camp opportunities.
The Explorer Library is excited to host a Scholastic Book Fair Monday, April 14 - Thursday, April 17. The fair will be open during school hours Monday - Thursday. It will also be open for special after school hours on Thursday, April 17 from 4:15 - 6:30. We hope you will "POP" into the library for a good book! Every purchase directly benefits our library to purchase new books! Thanks for your continued support!
Please join us tonight for the April PTO Meeting.
Please join us Tuesday, April 1st at Carousel Skate.
6:00-9:00 PM
Author Visit for 3rd and 4th graders. Joel Condray, author of A True Kansas Treasure and math teacher at Challenger, will be coming to Explorer on Monday, April 14. He will be talking about his book as well as giving a dinosaur bones presentation.
All order forms and money are due to the library on Friday, April 11.
MonArt Fourth Session enrollment is now open. Please see attached flyer for enrollment instructions.
Kindergarten and Pre-K Enrollment is right around the corner. Please save the dates and plan on attending. We hope to see you there
New Student Enrollment Opens Online on Friday, April 4th.
Coin Wars are coming to an emotion near you! March 24th to April 2nd.
