Northridge Elementary Weekly Blast

Aug 11 - Meet the Teacher from 4PM to 6PM

Aug 13 - First Day of School

Aug 18 & 19 Picture Day (Look out for further communication)

Aug - 22 - Back to School Carnival from 5PM to 7PM

Aug 27 & 28 - Vision and Hearing (All Students)

Aug 27 - SAC Meeting from 8:45AM to 10:15AM

Week of August 13-15

Route #53: Northridge/Sand Creek/Mountain Ridge/Mountain Vista

Week of August 25-29

Route #58: Northridge/Mountain Ridge/Mountain Vista

Summer Happenings

Over the summer, PTO hosted several restaurant nights at local businesses. Thank you to everyone who came out to support NRE PTO and our community businesses!

Additionally, PTO gave away over 350 Rockies tickets to the NRE community in June, July and August! We will have more free tickets available for September - if you’d like a chance to score some of these free tickets, you must be opted in to PTO text messages. When tickets are available, you’ll get a text with instructions on how to claim. 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!

PTO Corporate Sponsorship Program

PTO is in the process of securing Corporate Sponsors for this school year. If you own a business or are connected with a business that would have interest in knowing more about what this program entails, please email PTOvicepresidentNRE@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events

Back to School Carnival

Mark your calendar for the largest PTO Community Appreciation Event of the school year: Back To School Carnival will be on Friday, August 22 from 5:00-7:00pm at NRE. This event is FREE to attend and there are several free activities: Bounce houses, face painting, cotton candy, popcorn, games, and more. There will also be some activities that are supporting our PTO fundraising efforts: Chuck-A-Puck with Colorado Eagles/Colorado Avalanche Goalie Coach Matt Zaba, Giant NRE Staff Guess Who, and the chance to flip whip cream at our NRE teachers! Food trucks will also be onsite with the option to purchase food for dinner. You definitely don’t want to miss this amazing event!!

The Carnival Planning Committee is seeking several volunteers to make this amazing night happen. Kids are welcome to tag along with you when volunteering, and several opportunities are appropriate for age middle school and up. Sign up today!

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!

8/08/25: Desert Donuts - stop in anytime between 7:00am-9:00pm

8/14/25: Fujiyama - 4:00pm-8:00pm

8/16/25: Dave's Hot Chicken - 11:00am-2:00pm

8/28/25: On the Border - 11:00am-9:00pm

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!

Volunteer Opportunities

Back To School Carnival - There are several volunteer opportunities to help with Back To School Carnival. Little ones are welcome to tag along and help, and some volunteer roles are appropriate for middle school students. Sign up today!

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

Dear Northridge Community,

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! We are absolutely thrilled to kick off a new year of learning and growth. I'm so looking forward to seeing all your familiar faces and extending a warm welcome to our new families joining the Northridge extended family.

I truly hope you all had a wonderful summer – I certainly did! I enjoyed some exciting adventures like rafting, camping and concerts, cherished time visiting family, and even continued my own learning journey by attending four different conferences.

Welcoming Our New Staff!

We are incredibly excited to introduce some wonderful new faces joining our Northridge team this year:

• We're also incredibly excited to welcome Tessa Armijo as our new Assistant Principal! Tessa joins us from Pueblo, Colorado, bringing a wealth of experience, having served as both an elementary school Dean and a middle school Assistant Principal. Her children will also be attending school in our feeder system, and we're so happy to have her and her family join our community.

• Tiphanie Hannan has stepped into a new role as a Kindergarten teacher. Many of you may already know Tiphanie, as she's been a dedicated NRE parent for six years and has previously served as a Kindergarten Educational Assistant and a long-term substitute. We're thrilled to have her bring her experience to this new position!

• We're welcoming Sarah Baird to our 1st-grade team. Sarah joins us from Parker Performing Arts, where she taught Kindergarten for three years. She's excited about moving to 1st grade and is also a soccer coach in her free time. Fun fact: she's a proud graduate of Highlands Ranch High School!

• Alaina Crawford is our new 3rd-grade teacher. Alaina is also a product of Douglas County schools and a Thunderridge High School graduate. After earning her undergraduate degree at CU Boulder, she pursued her Master's in Education in New York. We're honored that she has chosen Northridge to begin her teaching career.

• Alex Russell is our new 6th-grade Language Arts teacher. Alex comes to us from Oklahoma, where he taught 6th-grade literature for 11 years. We're delighted to welcome him and his children, who will be attending school in our feeder system.

• Jeff Brown, our awesome Building Engineer, is making a career change! Many of you may already know him, but you might not know that he used to be a fourth-grade teacher. Jeff is now returning to the classroom to teach sixth-grade math. He's been getting ready for this new role by attending the DCSD MathFEST and is excited to apply what he learned.

• Veronica Olesen has joined our mental health team as our new Social Worker. Veronica brings valuable experience from previous school social work roles and most recently served as a Behavioral Health Clinician at Children's Hospital. We're excited for her to share her expertise and knowledge with our students and staff.

• Hannah Patterson has joined us as our new Health Assistant. She recently moved to Colorado with her family and brings prior experience as a health assistant in a school setting. She's excited to get started and support our students!

• Marianne Kokes is taking on a new role at Northridge this year as a part-time Interventionist, supporting student learning. Many of you may already know Marianne, as she's been a consulting teacher with us for the last couple of years. She's also a retired teacher from DCSD, and we're incredibly fortunate to have her expertise on our team!

• Danny Cortez is our new Building Engineer. Danny has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to ensure our building is perfectly ready for our teachers and students. Please be sure to say "Hi" if you see him around campus!

Back to School Information

To help you prepare for the start of the school year, please see the documents below regarding our Meet the Teacher event and the First Day of School details.

Again, I am so excited for this new year and truly look forward to partnering with each of you for what I know will be a super school year!

Smiles,

Erin

Hello Kindergarten families! We are so excited to meet you all next week. As we get closer we thought we would send a few reminders.

Wednesday, August 13th OR Thursday, August 14th

• Sign up for either 9:00-11:30am OR 12:30-3:00pm (link below)
• Only students need to come.
• We will serve a small snack. Students are welcome to bring a water bottle if they would like.

Friday, August 15th

• No school for kindergarten students ONLY.
• Expect an email in the afternoon from your child's teacher letting you know which class they will be in.

Monday, August 18th and Tuesday, August 19th

• Students will meet in the kindergarten courtyard at 9:00am. Teachers will meet students there.
• Students will eat lunch at school. Please send a lunch from home for the first few days to help as we transition to eating at school.
• Students will be dismissed in the kindie courtyard at 12:00pm.

Wednesday, August 20th

• Kindergarten will begin following the normal schedule.
• 8:35am - 3:30pm

Here is a link to the sign up for a time for Kindergarten Readiness. We have also linked the presentation shared at Kindergarten Orientation last Spring. We look forward to an amazing year in Kindergarten!

NRE Kindergarten Team

Please take time to familiarize yourself with the school policies and procedures. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher or the front office.

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.