Northridge Elementary Weekly Blast

Apr 10 - PTO General Meeting

Apr 10 - Popcorn Friday

Apr 15 - SAC Meeting

Apr 17 - Parents' Night Out - Auction

Apr 24 - No School

Apr 30 - Wellness Night

• Please avoid making appointments that require student absences during the testing window.

• For more information about state mandated assessments, please visit the NRE website: NRE State Mandated Assessments

• 25-26 State Assessment Excusal Form Walkthrough Parent/Guardian

On Tuesday March 3rd, many of our 4th graders will be taking the National Assessment of Academic Progress (NAEP) assessment in either math or reading. For more information about this assessment please visit: Colorado Department of Education - NAEP.

We truly value your perspective as we plan for the future of Northridge. Please take about 15 minutes to complete our NRE Parent Survey—your feedback is incredibly important to us and helps us better serve our students.

Parent Survey

March 27, 2026

Dear Northridge Families,

In the coming weeks, our staff will begin the intentional process of building our class rosters for the 2026-2027 school year. We recognize that class placement is a deeply personal and sometimes emotional milestone for both students and parents. Please be assured that we approach this task with the utmost respect and integrity, keeping our students’ needs at the heart of every decision.

Our primary goal is to create balanced, heterogeneous learning communities that promote success for every child. To achieve this, we carefully consider several key factors:

• Academic grouping and learning styles

• Special needs and required accommodations

• Social, emotional, and behavioral dynamics

• Gender balance

• Parental input

While our staff provides expert insight into individual student needs, we also value your unique perspective as a parent. We invite you to share thoughts regarding your child’s specific learning environment. Please note that while we do not accept requests for specific teachers, we do want to hear about the considerations that will help us find the best fit for your child.

If you would like to provide input, please submit your request using this form no later than Friday, April 10, 2026.

Thank you for your trust and partnership as we begin this important work.

Sincerely,

Erin Lehnert

Principal, Northridge Elementary

Thank you to everyone who sent in pictures from your Spring Break adventures. It was fun to see what different families did to fill the time off. Below are the pictures I recievied from students and families. There is also the slide show of the staff pictures!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new Volunteer Coordination Website! We know your time is precious, so we’ve created a "one-stop-shop" designed to make supporting our school simpler than ever.

Whether you have an hour to spare or want to lead a major event, this platform allows you to:

• Browse at a Glance: See all upcoming opportunities across the entire school in one organized list.

• One-Click Sign-Up: No more digging through old emails or paper flyers; just click, claim your spot, and you're set!

Our community is powered by the incredible energy of our families. We invite you to head over to the new site today to see how you can help make Northridge Elementary an even better place for our students!

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a Wellness Night for students and families on April 30th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. This event aims to promote self-care, emotional well-being, and healthy habits in a fun and interactive way. Throughout the evening, we’ll have various stations and activities focused on mindfulness, relaxation, healthy habits, and emotional support. It’s a great opportunity to learn new ways to support mental and physical health as a family.

We are looking for parent and community volunteers who would like to host a booth or activity during the event. If you have a skill, hobby, or area of expertise related to wellness—whether it’s art, yoga, nutrition, or mindfulness—we’d love for you to share it with our school community!

If you're interested in volunteering or have ideas for a booth, please reach out to Halie Snider at hsnider@dcsdk12.org. We look forward to working together to make this a memorable and valuable event for all!

Potential Booth Ideas Include:

• Mindfulness and Relaxation Stations
• Crafts/DIY projects (e.g., calming jars, positive affirmation cards)
• Movement and Active Play Stations (e.g., yoga, dance breaks)
• Nutrition and Healthy Snacks
• Mental Health and Self-Care Education
• Creative Expression (e.g., art or music stations)

PTO In Action

New PTO Board Members Needed!

PTO is searching for some NRE parents who are interested in serving the community as a PTO Board Member for the 26/27 school year. PTO Board Members serve from May to May. We are searching for the next PTO President and a few other positions. Please email PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com if you are interested in learning about the opportunities! It’s a great way to get involved at NRE!

iPad or other Tablet Donation Request

PTO is looking for an older iPad or tablet to use at events when we need to collect credit card payments. If you have one at home that you’re no longer using, please consider donating it to the PTO If you’re willing to donate, please email PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com.

“Treasure Box” Donations

PTO is willing to help you clean out your toy bins! We are collecting small toy items to restock our prize “Treasure Box”. Think of small toys your kids might get as prizes from Chuck-E-Cheese, birthday party favors, valentines, etc. Items might include: rubber duckys, bouncy balls, fidgets, unused stickers or temporary tattoos, unused pencils/erasers, slinkies, etc. If you’ve got some items you’d like to recycle, please donate them to PTO! It is a win-win, you have less clutter in your house and PTO saves money by not needing to buy new prizes! (Although, we can’t promise you that those prizes won’t end up back at your house at some point!) Drop off your items at the office anytime. Thank you!

Upcoming Events

FREE Rockies Tickets!

The PTO now gets free Rockies tickets for select 2026 games—and they’re available to NRE families at no cost! To get a shot at tickets, make sure you're opted in to PTO text messages. When tickets are available, you’ll get a text with instructions on how to request tickets. Tickets will be given out on a first come, first served basis.

Not signed up yet? It only takes 10 seconds— click here. Be sure to sign up now - the April ticket text will go out on Monday, March 30!

Plus, PTO texts keep you in the loop with all the important reminders and updates. Stay connected and don’t miss out!

PTO General Assembly Meeting

All are invited to attend the final PTO General Assembly Meeting of this school year. Come and hear about what’s going on and share your ideas. Bring a friend! Friday, April 10 from 8:45-10:15 in the NRE Library.

Silent Auction

The annual PTO Silent Auction will take place April 10-17 and will culminate at the SweetPlay Family Night Out on April 17. There will be lots of great items up for bid! New this year, PTO is asking each grade level to help make a basket for the Auction. Please click the following links and look for ways you might like to contribute:

Kindergarten - complete! Thank you!
1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade - complete! Thank you!

5th & 6th Grade

SweetPlay Family Night Out

Mark your Calendars in SHARPIE and HIGHLIGHTER for the SweetPlay Northridge Night combined with our annual Silent Auction Event on Friday April 17th from 5-8:30pm.

Once again SweetPlay (formerly Candeeland!) is closing to the public this year so the whole place will be reserved for Northridge Families. A buffet dinner is included with admission, along with open play, organized games and tons of fun with friends. Visit the in person portion of the silent auction (also available online) hosted in our double party room, and bid on exciting items.

Watch for flyers coming home in Thursday folders this week, more information around the school in the coming weeks, and visit this link for all details and to register for the event.

Restaurant Nights

Local restaurants host “spirit nights” where a designated portion of the proceeds from your order will be generously donated back to NRE PTO. All you have to do is mention NRE when ordering. It’s a win-win-win: you get a night off from making dinner (or treats), local restaurants get our business, and PTO receives a donation. Stay tuned for more dates - we are adding more to the calendar all the time!

4/3/26: Kona Ice

4/9/26: Fujiyama

4/10/26: Desert Donuts

4/14/26: Freddy's

4/28/26: Panda Express

5/7/26: Red Robin

5/19/26: Mici Italian

5/28/26: Mod Pizza (all day), McDonald's (11am - 2pm), Kona Ice??

Volunteer Opportunities

NRE has a new volunteer site to see all available volunteer opportunities. Please check it out here! Specifically, you can find information about the following volunteer needs we have:

• Rockies Ticket Chairperson - PTO is seeking help to manage the distribution process of getting free tickets to NRE families!

• Lost and Found Manager - organize the Lost & Found on a weekly basis and help reunite lost items with their owner by looking for names, etc.

• Fall School Supply Chairperson - PTO will partner with a company called School Tool Box to provide school supply packs for purchase for the fall. These school supply packs make school supply shopping super simple for families and a portion of the proceeds comes back to PTO. We are in need of a passionate individual to lead this project.

• And several more opportunities! Please check it out!

Ongoing Fundraisers

Celebrate Your Artist!

Do you have piles of amazing art from your student at home and nowhere to display it!? Would you love to have it all in a beautiful and convenient book to enjoy? Plum Print has given Northridge the opportunity to support our school while we transform our children’s artwork into custom books! Not only will they donate 20% of the sale back to Northridge but they have also provided a $25 off code for us! Please take a look at the flyer below and use the code NORTHRIDGE when you place your order. This will give you $25 off your order and send 20% back to NRE!

NRE SWAG!!

NRE PTO is partnering with a company called “Mostly For Nerds” (MFN) to provide NRE Swag! You can now purchase tshirts, hoodies, hats, etc. MFN is also generously donating $5 per item sold back to NRE PTO. More items will be available in the future, and if you have a request for items that you’d like to see available, please let us know. Check out the online store now!

Paint the Rock - Reserve the Rock to celebrate a special occasion. First sign up for your date here, then make your $20 donation to PTO through MySchoolBucks.

Additionally, PTO has volunteers who are willing to paint the rock for you if you’d like! Follow the steps above, then email PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com to inquire about volunteer availability. When we find a volunteer who can paint for you, then you can make an additional $50 donation to PTO.

King Soopers - Did you know!?

King Soopers donates back to the community through their Community Rewards Program. There is no cost to families to participate and it takes 1 minute to link your King Soopers account to NRE PTO! We are really hoping to take full advantage of this great community partnership! See the very easy steps in the flier below.

PTO In Action

Looking for fun, engaging, unplugged summer activities for your child this summer? Consider Stone Canyon's Summer Camp programs! Join us for a summer of fun, adventure, and friendship. Find registration links and more information here: https://www.stonecanyonedge.org/summercamp

Located in Larkspur, we offer week-long Overnight Camps for 9-15-year-old campers and 3-day Day Camps (including transportation to/from camp out of Castle Rock) for 6-9-year-old campers.

How to Receive Emergency Messages from DCSD

Log into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal and click on the “person” icon in the top right-hand corner of the page. Navigate to “Contact Preferences” and review your contact information. If you see an incorrect phone number or email, please update it in Infinite Campus, or contact the registrar at your child’s school to request an update.

If one of your New Years resolutions is to "volunteer more",

I have some great opportunities for you! :)

Lunchroom Volunteer Sign Up

We are asking for volunteers in the lunchroom again this semester.

The Lunchroom staff is in need of another person in the

lunchrooms most days for the rest of the year.

Please look over the dates and see if you can help out! We would love to have you! The lunchroom staff appreciate you so much!

Please consider signing up for a regular weekly shift if you can or just sign up when you have a day free :)

*Please see the sign up genius for guidelines while

volunteering in the cafeteria.