Olander School for Project Based Learning

10/21/2026

News from the Nest 🪺

Our Ospreys have been flying high and working hard! Check out the photos below for a peek inside the classrooms and clubs to see what our amazing flock has been up to:

🚲 Olander Bike Club: Our cyclists crossed the finish line for their Fall 2026 season last week! Over 40 students rode an incredible 1,450 miles, with some reaching over 120 total miles for being in the club for 3 years! A huge thank you to our teachers, parent volunteers, and Safe Routes to School for hosting.

🐻 Kindergarten: Our littlest Ospreys have turned into true animal experts! They are beginning their research on native, wild animals' PBL and doing an incredible job.

🛠️ First Grade: First graders put on their engineer thinking caps! They have been hard at work revising their magnificent tools.

🕰️ Second Grade: Second grade historians created amazing trading cards featuring important people from Ft. Collins history and had an absolute blast trading with each other!

📚 Third & Fourth Grade: So much literacy in action! Third graders enjoyed a special visit from a wonderful storyteller, while 4th graders spent ALL Block independently reading and writing about characters who show perseverance.

❤️🎾 Fifth Grade: Keeping their minds and bodies strong! After some epic rounds of four square, they had a wonderful visit from UC Health's Healthy Hearts to learn all about making healthy choices.

Way to go, Ospreys! We are so proud of our busy nest. Let us know in the comments what your student has been enjoying in school this week! 👇

10/19/2026

🎃 Olander PTO Halloween Costume Swap! 🎃

Halloween is just around the corner! Do you have any costumes your kids have outgrown or no longer use? Check out our Olander Swap happening this week!

Bring what you can, and take what you need!
📅 When: Monday–Friday, Oct 19–23
⏰ Time: 2:15 PM – 2:40 PM

How it works:
🧺 Bring Items: Drop off clean, school-appropriate costumes or accessories in good condition.
🏷️ Browse by Size: Tables will be labeled by size to help you easily find the right fit.
🎭 Pick a Costume: Take a costume in the correct size needed for this year!
⚠️ Important Note: Children must be accompanied by an adult.

📧 Questions? Email Corinne at [email protected].

10/12/2026

Fundraising Update 🪹💙

What an incredible week to be an Osprey! Here are the latest updates from our community (click through the photos to see the fun!):

💸 Flying High Past Our Goal! Our Olander Fundraiser officially wrapped up last Friday, and thanks to you, we raised an unbelievable $25,504!

🏫 Feathering Our Nest: We are so endlessly grateful for your effort. These funds will go directly to our staff for classroom needs, exciting PBLs, and overall community enrichment.

🏃‍♂️ A Colorful Celebration: To celebrate this massive fundraising effort, we hosted our 2nd Annual Color Run!

🎨 Smiles & Splatters: The event was full of smiles, fun, and so much color.

Thank you to our amazing community for keeping our nest thriving! Go Osprey! 🦅💙

10/07/2026

The Bird's Eye View & Color Run Countdown: We are SO close! 🎨🏃‍♂️

Our Ospreys have been flying high with their fundraising efforts, raising $13,304 so far! WOW! An incredible 10 out of our 12 classes have already unlocked their first two prize levels—earning a bracelet or Osprey tattoo AND an Edison's Ice Cream coupon! 🍦✨

We still have a few days left to keep pushing toward our goal, so keep working hard, Ospreys! We can’t wait to reveal our final total this Friday at our 2nd Annual Color Run!

Here are 3 easy ways you can donate to help us cross the finish line:
💳Online: olander.mainn.co (Track live progress & goals!)
💲Venmo: -Olander (Please include your child's teacher name in the memo!)
💵Cash or Check: Send in your child's fundraising envelope by Friday, Oct 9th (payable to Olander PTO).

🗓 Event Details:

🕐When: Friday, October 9th | 1:30 PM – 2:23 PM
📍Where: Olander Elementary School for PBL
📣Families Welcome: Come cheer, run along, or volunteer!
🚗 Parking Notice: The Olander parking lot will be closed for the safety of our runners during the event. Please plan on street parking throughout the Silver Oaks neighborhood.

Let's make this Color Run colorful, fun, and unforgettable! Drop a 🎉 in the comments if you're ready!

10/07/2026

News from the Nest 🪺🦅

What an incredible week of learning and soaring high at Olander! Here is a look at what our Ospreys have been up to across the nest:

🎟️ 5th Grade & Class Celebrations: 5th graders unlocked surprise scratch-off reward passes for extra recess, mints, and stuffy passes, while Ms. Molander’s class celebrated their class reward with a trip to the Kinder Tree!

📝 4th Grade: 4th graders turned into writing detectives, color-coding key paragraph components before writing their own strong paragraphs.

🌍 3rd Grade: 3rd graders are exploring the seven unique continents and can't wait to receive their new atlases, generously provided by our PTO!

🏛️ 2nd Grade: Local history came alive with visits to the historic cabins at Heritage Courtyard, Sugar Beet Park, and a Fort Collins history scavenger hunt at the Museum of Discovery!

⛵ 1st Grade: 1st graders designed, tested, and revised aluminum foil penny boats, showing awesome perseverance and teamwork throughout the design process!

🐣 Kindergarten: Our youngest learners practiced fire safety with a visiting firefighter for Fire Prevention Week and enjoyed nursery rhymes with Mother Goose!

🎨 Art Spotlight: Mrs. Fields launched her very first Artist Spotlight feature, shining a bright light on artist Shane Sutliff! Check out the exclusive interview on our story!

We are so proud of our students and teachers for making every day at Olander an adventure. Drop a comment below to cheer on your Osprey! 💙🦅

10/02/2026

🦅 The Bird's Eye View: Looking ahead! 🦅

Hello Osprey Community! 💙💛

It's time to spread our wings and soar high! Yesterday we kicked off our weeklong Olander PTO Fundraiser, leading up to one of our absolute favorite traditions: the Color Run! 🎨🏃‍♂️💨

Your Olander student(s) will be bringing home a fundraising sheet and envelope today. Throughout the week, classrooms will be working together toward earning awesome whole-class prizes!

💳 3 Easy Ways to Donate & Support:
1️⃣ Olander PTO Website: Donate quickly online and track real-time updates and classroom prize goals! https://olander.mainn.co/
2️⃣ Venmo: Send directly to -Olander (Please include your child's teacher's name in the memo!)
3️⃣ Cash or Check: Send cash or checks (payable to Olander PTO) back in your child's fundraising envelope on Friday, October 9th.

🎉 Color Run Celebration Details:
🗓 When: Friday, October 9th | 1:30 PM – 2:23 PM
📍 Where: Olander Elementary
🙌 Families Welcome: Come cheer on our runners, run alongside them, or lend a hand as a volunteer!
🚗 Parking Info: The Olander parking lot will be closed for the event, so please plan for street parking throughout the Silver Oaks neighborhood.

🙋‍♀️ Volunteer Opportunities:
We’d love your help! Sign up to volunteer here: https://olander.mainn.co/(Scroll down to "School Needs").

📩 Questions? Contact Corinne Baker (Olander PTO President) at [email protected].

On behalf of our Olander PTO, thank you for helping our Ospreys fly higher than ever! 🦅✨

10/01/2026

Wow, thank you sponsors! We cannot wait to see how much our students raise and then celebrate with our second annual Color Run next Friday! 💙

We are blown away by the generosity of these amazing sponsors of this years Osprey Color Run. The money they’ve donated goes towards event shirts, color powder and event supplies. Anything leftover and all the funds raised by our families next week, will go straight to supporting teachers, staff and students.

Thank you, and make sure to go support these businesses as you’re able!

09/29/2026

News from the Nest 🪺

Catch up on all the incredible learning and high-flying fun happening around Olander this week! Check out the photo gallery below to see our Ospreys in action:

🎨 Preschool Tunes & Name Art: Preschoolers had a blast making music with Ms. Scarlet and explored new art tools to craft their names using glue sticks and colorful paper squares!

📝 Kindergarten Comprehension: Our youngest learners flexed their reading comprehension skills by carefully observing details and accurately labeling pictures!

🏛️ 2nd Grade History Models: 2nd graders kicked off their PBL unit by building models of influential figures from Fort Collins history!

🏰 Marble Jar Celebration: Mrs. Tomlinson’s 3rd graders filled their marble jar and celebrated with a cozy Fort Day in class!

✏️ 4th Grade Grammar & Giggles: 4th graders practiced their parts of speech by collaborating on Mad Libs and filled the room with laughter over their silly creations!

🔥 5th Grade Campfire Connections: 5th graders gathered together during morning meeting to build strong classroom community around the campfire!

💙 Building Understanding: Avery gave an inspiring presentation on Williams Syndrome, helping our nest learn about invisible disabilities and how to support all our peers.

🎨 4th Grade Art Inspiration: 4th graders dove into art history by studying Edvard Munch’s famous painting, The Scream!

🏃‍♂️ RMHS Guest Runners: Running Club got an extra boost of inspiration thanks to guest runners from the Rocky Mountain High School Cross Country team who joined us for a run!

🕯️ Osprey Way VIP Lunch: Cafeteria role models who consistently show the Osprey Way were celebrated with a cozy, candlelit lunch alongside our principals!

Which update made you smile the most? Let us know in the comments below! 🦅✨

09/23/2026

News from the Nest 🪺💙

Our Ospreys had an incredible week of hands-on learning, community connection, and outdoor fun! Here’s a quick peek into the nest:

🥾Family Hike: A massive thank you to all the families who migrated out of the nest to join our community hike last week!

🚲🏃‍♀️Bike & Running Clubs: Taking full advantage of our beautiful campus and Spring Canyon Park to stay active on wheels and on foot!

🚗Innovation Station: Students collaborated as a team to construct a giant roadway system during their library time.

🌳Kindergarteners explored Spring Canyon Park, discovering the Kinder Tree, building forts, and finding a snake skin!

🛠️1st Grade kicked off their PBL unit by interviewing community members about creating efficient tools.

🪴2nd Grade learned about local sugar beet history with Dr. Kevin Dorn and showed off 3D-printed beet fidgets!

📸3rd Grade looked sharp and brought their best feathers for Picture Day!

📚4th Grade took their 1st-grade book buddies under their wings to share a love of reading.

🔬5th Graders put on their scientist hats to investigate decomposers in Mystery Science!

We are so proud of our busy flock. Have a great week, Olander! 🦅✨