There have been some exciting activities recently at Nederland Elementary School (NES). On December 15, there was an all school Holiday Sing-a-long led by music teacher Kirk Kubicek. It was also Pajama Day at school which was a reward for all the students for filling up the giant bed jar for positive behaviors. Parents were invited to join the Holiday Sing-a-long.

Accompanied by Mr. Kirk on the ukulele, the students sang “Here Comes the Snow,” “It’s a Beautiful Day,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “White Winter Hymnal,” “One Day,” “In December,” “Jingle Bells,” and, of course, the NES school song “We Are The Panthers.”

It is always sweet to hear children singing and the young Panthers (preschool - fifth grade) from NES did a wonderful job.

On December 18, NES students had very special physical education classes. PE teacher Loren Tillotson, known as Ms. T. to her students, invited the Colorado Avalanche Amateur Hockey Development Team to NES to teach the students hockey skills. Five players/coaches came to help the kids, and the kids had a blast.

The coaches taught basic stickhandling, stickhandling around obstacles, shooting accuracy and passing skills.

The kids were fully engaged the entire session. The students thought the time was “awesome, great and fun!”

In January these students will have a chance to work with these coaches again to learn more hockey skills and have more fun at Ned Rink.

This is the first year the Colorado Avalanche Amateur Hockey Development Team has gone into schools to teach hockey skills and promote the sport. They go to different schools in the state. They enjoy the time with the students and donate the equipment that they use to the school as well.

The students at NES have had some special activities before the winter holiday break. After all the hard work they have put into the first semester these events are welcomed.