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".  

 Tamara Emge-  SAC Chair

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

a: I work with Katie Lynch (Principal) to set upcoming meeting Agendas.  I also preside over the SAC meetings, send agendas and minutes to the SAC members, and work to support the school in increasing parent engagement 

Q: Why did you join the SAC?

a: If you know me at all, you would know I have a love and a passion for law. You would also know that my family is open-enrolled at NRE- and that I am not shy in telling people how awesome this school has been for my son. Not only has he grown academically since transferring to NRE, but we have seen immense growth in his social and mental health as well. My family is deeply grateful to the community, administration and staff at NRE, and my joining SAC is my  way to offer support back to the school that has given us so much!

Q: What are some interesting facts about you?

a: I used to race motorcycles- and still love riding them today. I also have a passion for horseback riding and have participated in barrel racing, equestrian jumping, and extended trail riding. I am the daughter of an immigrant- and my first language is French, although I was born here in Colorado.  I LOVE spending time up in the mountains. I have 4 sons. Their ages are, 23, 21, 19 and 8. My 19 year old is an Army soldier. I love to paint and I have a passion in my soul for nature- foraging wild edible and/or medical herbs and mushrooms. I make my own natural remedies for things such as cuts, bruises, burns or rashes from them. I love that I have passed my passion on to several of my children, and love watching them recognize plants and the uses for those plants while on hikes throughout Colorado. 

Dear NRE Community - 

Welcome back from Thanksgiving Break! I hope you all had a great week with your child(ren) being off of school. I did a lot of hiking, cooking, and spent a ton of time with family. The weather was beautiful and I'm always appreciative of the Colorado weather because 9/10 days you can be outside enjoying the scenery. 

On the very last of school before break, Mrs. Golenski and I were talking about a variety of things and I happened to mention the critical shortage of blood in the state of Colorado. Mrs. Golenski donated during break and sent me a picture and on the last day of break, Patrick (my husband) and I donated blood too. Vitalant makes it very easy to donate, they are located nearby (in the Mod Market plaza), and they are very friendly. They highly recommend making an appointment which can be done by calling 877-25-VITAL or going to https://www.vitalant.org/. They are running a promotion right now that they will give you a $10 amazon gift card if you donate plus you get to help save a life (which I think is amazing). Patrick and I donate regularly and we call it a date where we donate and then go out to lunch or dinner afterwards. 

On Monday, we had a wonderful treat when Jaime Brown and Wendy Eggen came in and made delicious acai bowls for our staff! They were so yummy! We had a variety of fruits, almonds, coconut, chocolate chips, and granola to put on top and they were such a nice treat. Thank you for spoiling us again PTA! We included some pictures to give you an idea of how great they were.

I have been in many classrooms this week and science was one of the common themes that I have been talking with students about and watching them doing experiments. Mrs. Fank had students exploring with conservation of mass using vinegar and baking soda and it was amazing to see how well the students focused on their lab, worked with one another, and figured out error analysis part too. There was even a group that realized the transfer of energy of a closed system and the gasses that went into the balloon leaving the beaker a much colder temperature. I love watching the excitement of learning on students' faces when the sharing of knowledge takes place.

Lastly, today was a 5th graders birthday and she happened to mention it to Mr. Marshall. If you haven't met him yet, you are missing out! Mr. Marshall is not only loved in 5th grade but even kids in kindergarten know him and smile in delight if they see him in the hallways. Well today was another special day because Mr. Marshall was performing in the Mandarin class in a TUTU!!! Yes, this is true and not only did this happen, but I have pictures to share with you for your delight :) I'm sure he will be so happy that you all have these as well.  So Happy Birthday to Lilly on behalf of the tutued Mr. Marshall!

Enjoy your weekend and be safe!

~Katie Lynch

The holidays tend to be hard for many people. If you are struggling, suicide is not the answer. Please seek help. Suicide prevention is important every day of the year. 

The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free & confidential support and be reached simply by calling or texting 988 or chatting 988lifeline.org. 

For more resources regarding suicide prevention, visit the Suicide Prevention Resource Center or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.