Northridge Elementary Weekly Blast

May Dates:

2- Popcorn Friday

2-8 - DCSD District Art Show

7 - 4th Grade Play

• Garin/Crawley - 5:00PM to 6:00PM
• Golenski/Slabotsky - 6:30PM to 7:30PM

9 - Breakfast with Buddies (please RSVP)

14 - SAC Meeting

15 - Discovery Play

16 - 3rd Grade Business Day

20 - Field Day

23 - Last Day of School

• 6th Grade Graduation
• Kindergarten Graduation
• NRE Family Picnic

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DAAA82EA6FAC52-56204233-field#/

*Calling all NRE Volunteers!

Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast!

May 16th at 8:45 in the Library

We want to celebrate all you do for our school and community!

Lunchroom Volunteers, Watch Dog Dads, Classroom Parents, math and reading helpers, field trip helpers...we want everyone!

Please join us at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast!

We will have food, appreciation, and more!

The week of May 5th, 2025, marks the final week for LEGO Club

Last Day to check out books is May 9th!

Please return all books before May 19th!

Please email Mrs. Peck if you have any questions

about your children's lost or damaged books.

mpeck@dcsdk12.org

Our School Accountability Committee (SAC) meeting took place this week. You can find a recording of the meeting at this link.

Our final SAC meeting for the 24-25 School Year will take place on May 14th at 8:45am in the NRE Library. All are welcome and encouraged to join us.

To better serve our community, the School Accountability Committee (SAC) has put together a brief survey. This 7 question survey is designed to help guide the SAC in planning future meetings and topics that matter most to our families.

We’d greatly appreciate you taking 1–2 minutes to share your input by completing the survey linked below.

SAC Engagement Survey

PTO Pulse

PTO In Action

NRE Staff Pancake Breakfast

While PTO puts on great free community events, supports various learning platforms, and purchases supplies for classrooms, we also LOVE to spoil our teachers and staff! During the Professional Development Day on Monday, PTO brought in Flippin Flapjacks for a tasty pancake, eggs, and sausage breakfast to kick off their day. See the pics below!

Upcoming Events

Breakfast with Buddies - RSVP Required TODAY, May 2!

All NRE students are invited to bring parents, guardians, grandparents, or any special guests to Breakfast with Buddies on Friday, May 9, from 7:45–8:30 AM in the NRE Gym.This free event is our way of saying thank you for the amazing support you've given the NRE PTO this year!

RSVP is required by TODAY May 2 to help us plan for food. Thank you!

National Teacher Appreciation Week - Next week

National Teacher Appreciation Week is next week, May 5-9. Check out the flier below for some fun ideas for thanking and celebrating our awesome NRE staff. Also take a look at this list of “staff favorites” for some other ideas for thanking our NRE staff. Let’s use the last month of school to appreciate all that the NRE staff does for our kids!

GiftCrowd - End of the school year staff thank you opportunity

GiftCrowd has become a special way to give end of the school year gifts to our amazing NRE staff. If you haven’t tried it yet, now’s the perfect time! Families can contribute any amount to staff members they’d like to recognize. The combined gifts let teachers choose one or more gift cards they’ll love. Gift Crowd giving will end at 3:30pm on May 23. At that time, the gifts will be sent to their respective recipients. Click here to join in the gift giving fun!

EPI Fall School Supply Sale!

Educational Products, INC (EPI) is providing the NRE community the opportunity to purchase school supply packs for next fall. The sale will begin in May, more details to come soon!

FREE Rockies Tickets!

The PTO now gets free Rockies tickets for select 2025 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 to email PTOsecretaryNRE@gmail.com. Tickets will be given out on a first come, first served basis.

Not signed up yet? It only takes 10 seconds— click here

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

Ongoing Impact: Year - Round Fundraisers

Wee Meditate

Wee Meditate is an evidence-based meditation/mindfulness platform created just for kids. A subscription to Wee Meditate provides web-based access to an entire library of meditations, music, and bedtime stories, all designed to help kids feel better. As a Douglas County business, they are donating 10% back to NRE PTO when our fundraising code is given at checkout. Please see the attached flier for more information.

Plum Print - www.plumprint.com - $25 OFF

Transform your children’s artwork into custom books. Northridge earns 20% cash back

for every sale made with discount code: NORTHRIDGE

King Soopers Rewards

Enroll into the King Soopers rewards program - every time you shop at King Soopers Northridge will receive a small donation! Please read the program enrollment directions in the flier below.

Pride Rock

Paint the Rock to recognize birthdays or other special occasions for $20.

• To make a reservation, you must FIRST signup here

• Submit $20 through MySchoolBucks or by check. Happy painting!

• For an additional $50 donation, you can hire PTO to paint the rock for you. Make your reservation and then email PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com with your request and PTO will find a volunteer to paint for you.

Restaurant Nights

Fujiyama - 2nd Thursday of every month - next one May 8th

Desert Donuts - 2nd Friday of the month - next one May 9th

Mod Pizza - May 21

Qdoba - May 22

Krispy Kreme Digital Dozens - Starting May 1st, we will be participating in a Krispy Kreme Digital Dozen fundraiser! The fundraising campaign will run throughout the summer ending on August 31st. We have a goal to hit 100 dozen sold during this timeframe! The price of a dozen is $15.00 with $7.50 (50%!) donated back to Northridge Elementary School PTO for each dozen sold! Please use this link to the ordering website between May 1st and August 31st to get your dozens and support NRE! https://www.groupraise.com/offer-campaigns/57591-northridge-elementary-school-pto-krispy-kreme-digital-dozens

Last Day of School - PTO is coordinating with several nearby restaurants to host “Spirit Nights” on our last day of school, May 23. If you plan to buy lunch from somewhere nearby for our end of the year picnic, or take your family out for dinner to celebrate the start of summer, let us know where! We will contact those local businesses and ask them to join in our “NRE Spirit Day”. Email PTOvicepresidentNRE@gmail.com with ideas.

Volunteer Opportunities

Breakfast with Buddies Setup/Cleanup - PTO is looking for some volunteer help to set up for and clean up after Breakfast with Buddies. Setup May 8 from 3:45-4:30. Clean up May 9 from 8:30-9:00am. Please email PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com if interested in helping.

Fall Event Committees - PTO is forming committees for our fall events. If you would like to help plan the Veteran’s Day Breakfast, Breakfast with Buddies or the Holiday Shop, please reach out so we can get you plugged in! PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com

Paint the Rock - PTO is looking for volunteers to paint the rock for families using this paid service. Funds support NRE PTO. Interested? Email PTOtreasurerNRE@gmail.com.

Dear Northridge Families,

Hello NRE Families! Get ready for a rundown of some fantastic things happening at our school. Just a heads-up that this week's letter is a little longer as there's lots to share!

Our 5th graders had the opportunity to attend the 2025 Colorado Rockies STEM Day. They arrived in time to see Steve Spangler’s science presentation and then stuck around to see the Rockies WIN!!! I heard mixed reviews as some kids aren’t really into sports and others thought it was really cool. One thing they all agreed on ……is that it was HOT!

Our second graders recently explored ecosystems and adaptations firsthand during a wonderful field trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens. They enjoyed a beautiful Colorado day outdoors, connecting with nature and even capturing their favorite moments through watercolor paintings. Check out some pictures below!

Our Kindergarten classes started a count down to the last day of school but instead of numbers, they are using the letters. With 26 days to go the classes celebrated “A Day” with “arts and crafts”. They have been having fun with a new letter everyday and activities have included “D - dance party”, “E-Exercise”, “F - (stuffed) furry friend” “H - hat day” and “I- inside out day”. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for Q and Z! Check out some of the pictures below.

As you may know, NRE hosted a Wellness Night on April 24th. Our counselor, Halie Snider, along with her team did an amazing job of bringing in a variety of wellness providers. There were activities for kids such as making calming tools, coloring, identifying strengths from the sources of strengths wheel and even meeting 3 therapy dogs. Other resources included therapists, health coaches and healthy activities. If you missed it this year, but sure to look out for our next Wellness Night in the Spring of 2026.

I want to extend a special note of gratitude to our wonderful PTO. Their ongoing commitment to providing enriching opportunities for our students is truly invaluable. They also have a knack for making our staff feel appreciated, and this week was no exception. The Flippin Flapjacks pancake breakfast was a delightful and much-enjoyed treat. Those pancakes were exceptionally good! Thank you, PTO, for your thoughtful gesture.

On a personal note, Cory and I had a wonderful time exploring Santa Fe. We ate lots of wonderful food (mostly enchiladas), hiked and just relaxed.

Here's a little something you might not know about me: I'm a bit of a "bird nerd"! For several years now, a Says Phoebe has built her nest on our front porch, and every spring, Cory and I eagerly await her return to lay eggs. We were so happy to spot her back this week and welcome her home. I haven't managed to snap a photo of her yet this year, but I've included a picture of the eggs she laid last year.

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to another great week next week!

Smiles,

Erin

Perseverance Scholarship Golf Tournament – Join Us!

Come be part of the Annual Perseverance Scholarship Golf Tournament on Monday, July 21st, at 8:00 AM at Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course in Castle Rock!

Kick off the school year with a fun-filled day on the course while supporting this worthy scholarship fund. Registration is filling up fast, so sign up today!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Click here for registration and payment.

Summer Lunch Program - English

Summer Lunch Program - Chinese

Summer Lunch Program - Russian

Summer Lunch Program - Spanish

Register your student for a summer to remember today! Energetic and attentive staff, a wide variety of activities, and the potential for lifelong friendships await when you arrive at our beautiful 99-acre location in Larkspur, CO.

We offer week-long Overnight Camps for 9-15-year-old campers and 3-day Day Camps for 6-9-year-old campers.

More information can be found at www.StoneCanyonEdge.org/summercamp

Bus #58

• May 12-16

Mental Health Resources

Below is a list of resources, should you have a concern that a loved one (or yourself) may be experiencing behavioral changes, mood swings, depression, or suicidal thoughts over the break.

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

• 988 - Suicide and Crisis Hotline

• Call or text “988” any time, 24/7 for free, confidential support.

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

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

• Chat online (open from 4pm-12am 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

• Mobile apps for wellness and recovery

• Let’s Talk Colorado

• iMatter (free virtual counseling sessions)

Douglas County has an anonymous reporting system available at all times. Anyone with a concern for someone’s well-being or safety can use Safe 2 Tell (1-877-542-7233) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.