Compassion is kindness in action!

Steps:

• Look at someone’s face or body.

• Think about how they might feel.

• Say or do something to help them!

Examples:

• “I’m sorry you are having a hard time.”

•  “I hope you feel better. Want to play with me?”

• “How can I help?”

• “You seem _____ (name emotion).”

• “I am here for you.”

Actions:

• Play with them

• Smile at them

• Help them up

Dear NRE Community - 

We had a very busy but fun week at NRE! We celebrated our Mental Health staff while having Wish Week and the students SO much fun to watch each day with their creativity (thank you for supporting them with this).

Each day this week we had students come up and share words about how Miss Nicole, Mrs. Hilton, Miss Cassie, and Miss Bekah help them. Their quotes were from the heart and were from kindergarteners through sixth graders. Some of their quotes were as follows: "I appreciate Mrs. Nicole and all she does. She is one of the best teachers I know in this school and out of all of her work, thank you." "Our school is so lucky to have someone that when we are feeling mad or sad and we can call Mrs. Hilton to come help us to benefit our school to express our feelings. We can feel what we need to feel. When we need to feel sad or something. For kids to be able to learn and focus they need to be able to express their feels if they are sad or mad to be able to learn again." "Miss Cassie is really fun and she is really good with kids and is all around nice." "Miss Bekah you are so nice to the school. You help everyone when they have a hard time and you're nice. Thanks for helping the school!" These four women are amazing and there are no words to describe what they bring to NRE. Our students and staff are so lucky to have these ladies help us work through really hard problems and situations to be able to get back to learning. Thank you Mental Health Team for all you do for NRE!

Wish Week this year was amazing yet again! It was so fun to watch everyone dress up and our Student Council did a great job of planning the week. We had students dressing as their favorite teachers, famous people, bringing anything but a backpack to school, and supporting Lucy (Wish Week kid) all week long. Kids were cheering for each other and building one another up as we started our Valentine brigade too. MVHS did a wonderful job of including elementary schools as part of this week too. We had our very own Mrs. Ivie representing when her son Samson sang opera at the Mountain Vista Wish Week Idol on Monday night and he was AMAZING! Tuesday was the community fair which was awesome too! The bottom line is our whole community PK12 came together for a greater purpose and Lucy's wish will be granted amongst many other children. I will give the grand total raised once it's been tallied later in the month. I tried to capture as many pictures as I could below. 

Next week is Valentine's Day and each year we do parties with a purpose. This year we are partnering with Backpack Society who does so much for NRE and our surrounding community. We are collecting boxes of cereal that we will give to Backpack Society that will go directly back to our Douglas County community. We already have filled a giant box and a table! We will continue to accept boxes through Tuesday when we will knock them down like dominoes through the hallways. It's been so fun watching kids bring in coins for Lucy (Wish Week) and boxes of cereal and each morning with smiles on their faces. We have phenomenal students, families, and teachers!

Lastly, if you didn't figure out the clues in last week's blast we have a GAGA BALL PIT!!! What is a Gaga Ball Pit? I didn't grow up around them and I had never really heard of them but I was approached by a father at the school and a girl scout in the same week back in the fall about building a pit. I was amazed at how wonderful and easy the project went with the determination of these families. The pit is open and ready for use. Students have loved learning the game and rotating through at recess. I've included the rules to the game below in case there are any questions althrough there are many different variations depending on where you are in the world. A special thank you to those that do not want to be names for all of the planning, work, and financial donations to make this happen for kids. NRE is lucky to have you a part of the community and what's even better is the dad is an NRE graduate :)

Sincerely,

Katie Lynch

The official game rules of The Gaga Center:

• All players start with one hand touching a wall of the pit.

• The game begins with a referee throwing the ball into the center of the pit.

• When the ball enters the pit, the players scream 'GA' for the first two bounces, and 'GO' on the third bounce, after which the ball is in action.

• Once the ball is in play, any player can hit the ball with an open or closed hand.

• If a ball touches a player below the knee (even if the player hits himself or herself) he or she is out and leaves the pit. If a player is hit above the knees, the play continues.

• If a ball is caught on a fly, the player who hit the ball is out.

• Players cannot hold the ball.

• If needed, a second ball can be thrown in the pit to expedite the end of the game. The last player standing is the winner of that round.

• You can add variations to the game such as playing with more than one ball, play in teams, expand the ‘hit’ area to above the knee, catching the
  ball to eliminate the person that hit it, and any other variation you can come up with! A suggestion for school recess time is to play rotation
  instead of elimination. This is done by allowing a certain number of players in the pit, and forming a line for the rest that want to play. Then, as one person gets out, the next person in line goes into the game. This way, everyone that wants to play should get a chance during a short period of time.

Mental Health Supports:

If you are concerned that your child or another loved one may be experiencing changes in their mood or have suicidal behaviors or thoughts, please remember:

• Stay with the child or person until you are sure they are safe

• Call 911 if there is an immediate threat to the child or others 

• Call or text 988 for mental health crisis support

  • You can also chat with someone using the link: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

• Colorado Crisis Services: 1-844-493-TALK (8255) 

  • Trained Crisis Counselor Hotline: (844) 493-8255 or text “TALK” to 38255

  • Chat online (open from 4:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. daily): Click Here

  • Walk-in Locations (open 24/7): Location List 

  • Information About Types of Services and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Colorado Crisis Services 

• DCSD Mental Health Intervention website

• DCSD Sources of Strength website

• Mobile apps for wellness and recovery

• Let’s Talk Colorado (Douglas County Government and Tri-County Health campaign)

Douglas County has an anonymous reporting system available at all times. Anyone with a concern for someone’s well-being or safety can use Safe2Tell (1-877-542-7233) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Below is a list of community centers in our metro area:

• Colorado Crisis Center Walk-In Locations

• AllHealth Network: 303-730-8858

• Denver Springs: 720-410-6319

• Highlands Behavioral Health System: 720-348-2800

• Peakview Behavioral Health: 888-235-9475