NES MOUNTAIN MEMO
December 6, 2019
From Principal Reckert
Dear Nederland Elementary Families,
We are certainly in the throes of winter, even if the calendar still says we’re two weeks away from the solstice. Our maintenance and custodial staff work hard every day to clear as much snow and ice as possible. In our wintery environment, it means there are still icy spots on our grounds. Please be careful when you visit the campus.
The Hug ‘N Go area is one to use special caution, especially this time of year. Please remember these Hug ‘N Go guidelines:
Please drive slowly.
Keep your attention on children. Please refrain from using cell phones.
Remain in your car. If you need to park, please use a parking spot.
Stay in a single file line. Please do not double park, as it causes more safety issues.
Please move forward as much as possible so we can accommodate many cars.
If you have parked in the lower lot, please escort your child across the Hug ‘N Go Lane.
If your child is older, please consider parking in the neighborhood and walking to the building to pick up your child to alleviate some congestion.
We are looking for volunteers in the morning and afternoon. If you’re interested in helping to make the Hug ‘N Go Lane run smoother, please let me know. I’m more than happy to give up my principal parking spot to regular volunteers!
Lastly, Indian Peaks Drive is the safest way to travel to and from Peak to Peak Highway, as it is paved and plowed better than the neighborhood roads. We had a number of cars swerve off the road into the ditch last year on Navajo Trail. Please take the paved road if you don’t live in the neighborhood.
Thanks for helping to keep kids safe in all weather!
Have a great weekend,
Laurel
EVENTS
Monday, December 9th - Resiliency Assembly for grades PreK-5
Tuesday, December 10th - 5th-grade instrumental music concerts at NMSHS
Wednesday, December 11th - PTA meeting 4:30-6:00 pm
Friday, December 20th - Last day of school before winter break
Tuesday, January 7th - First day of school after Winter break, Blue Sky Bridge Parent Presentation at 6:00pm
Who's Who on the NES Staff?
Jamie Curry, First Grade Teacher
A little about me:
I am in my 8th year of teaching in BVSD and my 6th year at NES. I am so happy to be teaching at NES with the wonderful staff, supportive community, and amazing students!
A little about my family:
My husband Ray and I live in Nederland with our dog Yuki. We love the mountains and enjoy hiking, camping, watching the hummingbirds, and snowboarding during the winter. We are both grew up in Colorado and can’t imagine living anywhere else!
Favorite Book: A Separate Peace
Favorite Hobby: Snowboarding
Favorite Color: Turquoise / Purple
Favorite Food: Cheeseburgers
Favorite Animal: Wolf
Favorite Quote: Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. ~Lao Tzu
Jill Morimitsu-Mahon, First Grade Teacher
A little about my family:
Ms. Jill is the proud mother of two adult daughters. The oldest works for a public affairs firm in Washington DC. The youngest is a senior at UNH studying social work. Ms. Jill also owns a sweet dog named Derby and a new guinea pig named Picasso.
A little about me:
Ms. Jill is a native of Colorado, who graduated from the University of Colorado. With over 25 years of experience, she has taught kindergarten, first and second grade and one year in fourth grade. She and her family have lived in the Nederland area for 24 years. In her free time, Ms. Jill enjoys walking her dog, playing tennis, skiing, and hiking.
Favorite Book: Giving Tree
Favorite Hobby: Tennis
Favorite Color: Pink when she was in 1st grade
Favorite Food: Ice Cream
Favorite Animal: Dog
Favorite Quote: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." William Butler Yeats
Noteworthy
Toy Drive
Peer Leaders are helping collect new toys to help local Nederland families for the holidays. If your family would like to donate, please send in a new, unwrapped toy for any age. Have your child drop it off in the collection box at the entrance by the office. When they arrive in the morning, all they need to do is put the toy in the big box wrapped like a gift.
Please send in toys by Friday, December 13. Toys will be distributed to local families by the Ned Food Pantry on December 14.
Thanks for spreading holiday joy to help Nederland families.
Part-Time Nurse Needed
Do you have an RN or LPN? We’re looking for someone to assist with a student on a part-time basis. Please contact Stephanie Faren at 720-561-5579 or Stephanie.Faren@bvsd.org if you’re interested in learning more.
PTA Update
Hello NES community!
The next NES PTA meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 11th at 4:30 pm. We will be meeting at Kathmandu. Come by, say hi, learn what the NES PTA does. We promise it isn't like the PTA meeting in Bad Moms. But, if you would come to a meeting like that, let us know. We'll manufacture some drama for you.
Have you ever wondered what the PTA does? Volunteers provide time. The NES PTA organizes events like Trunk or Treat, the Book Fair, Ned Shred, teacher conference meals, and canned food drives. We provide financial support. The NES PTA provides money for teacher grants, assemblies, field trips, student scholarships, and support for families in need.
We need your help. To help maintain the current level of support to NES, the PTA needs volunteers to help organize/set-up activities and to fundraise. See below for opportunities to get involved and ensure the activities your student enjoys can continue.
Ned Shred - coming up in January of 2020. Volunteers are needed for the day of the event. Get kids in and out of gear, through rentals, and ready to enjoy the slopes. Contact: Scott Rainer (scottjrainey@gmail.com)
Silent Auction - yes, this happens in May but we need to start soliciting for donated items NOW. This silent auction is our major fundraiser for the year and ensures that the NES PTA can continue to support various school programs and activities. Help is needed to contact business, pick up items, enter items into the auction system, and help set-up the silent auction. Contact: Jess McElvain treasurer@nespta.com
Enjoy your weekend,
Jess McElvain, NES PTA Treasurer
MUSIC NEWS
It has been a fun fall in the music room. We are just finishing a ukulele unit where kindergarten through 5th graders all got to strum and sing. What a wonderful instrument for all of us! We had a string quartet perform for the 3-5 graders (Thank You to the PTA for funding their visit!). We will all have a 'Visit from the Mastra' in the new year, and the 4th and 5th graders are going on a field trip to the Boulder Philharmonic Discovery Concert in February.
We're starting a recorder unit in January with 3-5 grades. If your child already has a recorder, please send it to school in January. If you are a 3rd grader and/or cannot find your recorder from before, please send $5 to school with your student and I will order in bulk from Doug and Barb at Brightwood. If $5 is a hardship for you, I can find funding. And, if you want to contribute a little more to cover other's fees, that is greatly appreciated.
As always - I welcome any musical guests that might want to visit the music room, perhaps someone visiting your family for the holidays? Also, we will have a special Holiday Music Sharing in your child's classes, so please feel free to share any music/traditions and they will share it with their class.
Wishing You All a Wonderful Musical Holiday Season
Ms. Susan, Nederland Elementary Music ♪
The Counselor's Corner
December Classroom Lesson:
The focus of December is “Self-Advocacy" and “Asking for Help.” Self-advocacy means learning how to speak up for yourself and ask for what you need in order to meet your goals. It involves letting the person know what you need.
Parent Resources:
December 2019 RAK Kindness Calendar
How to Teach Your Child How to Self-Advocate
Donations Needed for Nederland’s Food Pantry Holiday Event:
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Shampoo
Conditioner
Lip balm
There will be a box in the school’s entryway that donations can be dropped off in. We are hoping to gather enough items for 120 households. All donations need to be dropped off by the morning of December 13th. Thank you so much for supporting our AMAZING community!
Questions? Please contact Kristen Kron.
Email: Kristen.Kron@bvsd.org
Phone: (720) 561-4825
Social Emotional Learning at NES
Social-Emotional Learning at NES ( Dec 2 - 6, 2019)
Our Lizard Brains cause us to act quickly and impulsively~ without thinking things through first. We must develop strategies for slowing ourselves down and thinking about how best to control our bodies and select our words before we wiggle, giggle, grab, blurt or interrupt. Kinders through Second Graders practiced a variety of self-control techniques this week, read Clark the Shark and Waiting Isn't Easy and learned how to carefully separate their speech from their original unkind thoughts through a social filter. Ask your child how they got through the marshmallow challenge!
Third through fifth graders learned how their Wizard Brains help them plan, stay organized, and use time management to reach their goals. Through fun games, they organized their classroom and bedrooms, estimated how long it would take them to complete certain tasks, utilized checklists for getting ready for school in the morning and big picture, stepwise thinking to plan for a trip. These executive functioning skills take over 25 years to develop in our brains, so we must continuously give children opportunities to practice these skills in order to develop their neural pathways. Read more about impulse control at: Developing Better Self Control in your Child
~Ann Sherman, Social Emotional Learning NES, Parenting Matters Coordinator TEENS, Inc
Nederland Elementary
Attendance Line: 720-561-4802
Transportation: 720-561-6241
Email: Juanita.Gloe@BVSD.org
Website: http://nee.bvsd.org/
Location: 1 Sundown Trail, Nederland, CO, USA
Phone: 720-561-4800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BVSDNederlandElementary/?hc_location=ufi