22-23 Important Dates/Information

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our joint PTA/SAC meeting last month!  It was wonderful to see new faces and to engage with the wonderful NRE community on the important topics discussed!

There will not be a SAC meeting for the month of December. 

We are excited to announce that we will have a presentation by Angela Frank, the Vice Chair of The State Advisory Council for Parent Involvement in Education (SACPIE) at our next meeting Friday, January 13th!  As always, SAC meetings are open to every member of the NRE community, and we encourage you to attend either in person (7:30am in the library) or online via Zoom. We hope you will be able to join us!

Many people are unaware of the School Accountability Committee (SAC) and the roles a SAC plays within a school.  In hopes of remedying this issue, (and to hopefully make attending  and participating SAC meetings more appealing) , we have decided to add a little section below called "Meet your SAC Members".

 Virginia Wallace-  SAC Recorder &  DAC Liaison

Q: What does Someone in your role(s) on the SAC do?

a: I create the meeting minutes of our SAC meetings as the Recorder.  I also attend the monthly Douglas County DAC (District Accountability Committee) meetings as the DAC Liaison and report the information from those meetings back to the NRE SAC.

Q: Why did you join the SAC?

a:  My son is on an IEP and the amount of help he gets from the teachers and staff has been life changing for him. Serving on the SAC has given me a way to speak up for him, learn more about the school, foster better connections with the teachers and principal and also give back to the school. 

Q: What are some interesting facts about you?

a:  I was born in the Philippines and moved here when I was 18 months old. I also lived in Australia for 7 years and worked for a travel company. While I worked I was able to travel around the world to places like Indonesia, China, around Europe, New Zealand, Japan and more. I also have a  side homemade craft business where I get to do craft fairs throughout the year. I love crafting, cooking, spending time with my family and travelling whenever we get a chance. 

Dear NRE Community - 

This week has flown by and I cannot believe we only have three more days left in the semester. We are half way done with this school year! I am not ready for my first born to graduate and go to college... wait, yes I am :)

On December 9, 5th grade students went to Young Ameritowne. Students spent about 2 months preparing for this day. They elected a Mayor and Judge and voted in laws. They participated in running successful businesses, balancing checkbooks/accounts and spending money they earned. Our students did a wonderful job of representing Northridge. Mayor Kai took the job seriously and did a great job holding down the town.  It was a trip to remember!

Our Watch Dog Dads do such a great job of reading to students, helping with lunch duty, and making sure students get to/from school safely. This week one of our WWDs helped one our parents out too! Here is Mr. Lin helping get a car that was stuck in "park" in our car loop get into drive (with a penny) and then with the help others pushed the car out of the way. When I thanked Mr. Lin and told him he saved the day, he replied, "Because I brought in donuts for the staff?" We laughed together and then I shared how I was impressed with the penny trick and gettinig the vehicle out of the carloop to help the traffic flow. I love how our community comes together to help others. Thanks Mr. Lin!

NRE was able to bring back Book Buddies this year and each class is paired up with another class to help build community amongst students. Most often students are reading with one another but sometimes they are working on science, holiday projects, or even learning how to tie shoes. Below you will see pictures of students in Mrs. Spillan's class with their book buddies learning how to tie shoes. The innonence and focus with their buddies makes my heart so happy. While my oldest is ready to turn 18 years old, she still remembers her book buddy and still see her in the community where they get excited even after all these years later; I love it!

Third grade finished out the week with their week with their Native American studies and projects. They presented their learning to their classmates, rotated through the classrooms, and got to see each other's hard work. I was impressed with their presentations, projects, and their learning. Great work 3rd grade! 

Lastly, there are pictures of students with Dash. Dash is the name of our Pronghorn and students can use their PRIDE dollars to purchase different items and one of these items or experiences is pictures with him. Dash's personality is hilarious and he was exhausted by the end of it! The funniest part was watching "him" try to get up from the couch afterward because his head is pretty heavy and he was stuck and needed some assistance :)

Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

~Katie Lynch

Proposition FF - Healthy Meals for All Students

In November, Colorado voters passed Proposition FF, the Healthy Meals for All Students Program. DCSD is excited about this program as it will provide many benefits to students such as ensuring that every child has the food and fuel they need to be fully ready to learn, and eliminating the stigma that is sometimes attached with receiving free meals (children feeling labeled or judged for receiving free lunches). While DCSD needed to take some time following the election to evaluate the potential challenges associated with implementing Proposition FF (longer lunch lines, ensuring students have time to eat, staffing shortages, and supply chain shortages), DCSD is committed to overcoming those challenges and plans to opt in to the Healthy Meals for All Students program for the 2023-2024 school year.