There are some new administrators and staff on board at Nederland Middle Senior High School (NMSHS) this year. They have all started the year with enthusiasm and are ready to learn, teach and become a part of the Panther community.

Mark Sibley has taken the lead as interim principal at NMSHS. This is Mr. Sibley’s 30th year in Boulder Valley School District (BVSD). He has been a business and math teacher at Centaurus High School. For the last 22 years he has been the assistant principal at Monarch High School. Mr. Sibley was also the athletic director at Monarch for 14 years.

The school district asked him to be the interim principal while they continue to search for a permanent principal for NMSHS.

Mr Sibley says, “Change is good, Not always easy, but good.” He says that coming to Nederland has been refreshing and he is so impressed with how authentically the students come up to him and introduce themselves.

It is a big change coming from a large high school to a small middlehigh school. Mr. Sibley says that the teachers and staff are incredible with how many preps they have and how they pitch in where help is needed. “It’s a community up here,” he says.

During his year at NMSHS Mr. Sibley will continue and support the new Career and Technology program. He is also here to support the staff and students and keep things running smoothly. He wants kids to have a great experience in high school.

In his free time Mr. Sibley enjoys spending time with his family. Three of his children are in college and one is in high school. He likes fly fishing and being at his cabin near Conifer.

Mr. Sibley has felt very welcomed by the NMSHS community and is looking forward to a positive and successful year in Nederland.

One of Mr. Sibley’s first tasks when he was hired as interim principal was to hire an assistant principal/athletic director. Sean DePaula was hired to fill that position.

Mr. DePaula grew up in Lakewood and Golden, Colorado. He received his B.A. degree in integrative physiology from CU-Boulder and his MA in education administration from Argosy University.

He had been a middle school science teacher for six years and an athletic director and assistant principal for three years. Mr. DePaula has also coached soccer.

Mr. DePaula is excited to be living in the mountains and closer to family again. He is thrilled to be part of a school that is both a middle and high school. Of course, being in a school that has both a middle and high school means there are unique challenges. Mr. DePaula wants to help build on the successful programs that are already in place.

He says that he is spending most of his time learning the system. Each school district does things differently and being new to Boulder Valley School District he readily admits he has to learn the position. He needs to see what is working well in the school and what is not working so well. Having Mr. Sibley’s years of experience as an assistant principal and athletic director in BVSD has been invaluable.

Mr. DePaula hopes that all students do things that make them happy. He wants middle and high school to be an enjoyable time for kids. He cares deeply that kids have great opportunities.

When not in meetings or organizing the next sporting event, Mr. DePaula and his wife, Heidi, love to spend time hiking, kayaking, playing board games and eating great food. And they already fit right into Nederland because they have two dogs who they dearly love.

Jill Pries is Nederland Middle Senior High School’s school counselor. Ms. Pries has worked in BVSD for 11 years supporting a school counseling office at one of the Boulder area high schools.

After some years she decided she wanted to pursue a Master’s degree in school counseling. Her goal in doing this is so she can work with students to help them attain their potential and achieve their goals. Ms. Pries received her Master’s degree in school counseling through the University of Northern Colorado’s Denver campus.

This is not necessarily an easy task after raising her own children and seeing them graduate from high school. Ms. Pries says that she has drawn on her professional training, career experience and parenting background when working with students.

She does love working with the students at NMSHS and learning about their personality traits, intentions, strengths and interests. Then they take it a step further and explore how these characteristics form their social skills, educational habits and career goals for the future.

Ms. Pries finds that the students at NMSHS are creative and authentic. When I asked her what advice she has for the students she said, “Find ways to stay engaged with your learning. Respect yourself, know your ideals and hold yourself to high standards in relating to everyone around you.”

Ms. Pries is appreciative of how welcoming parents have been and how kind and supportive the NMSHS faculty is. She says that everyone works hard for the best outcomes for the kids.

In her free time Ms. Pries loves to go hiking and spend time with her family and friends.

Jessamine Mernin came to NMSHS this year to teach 6th grade reading and social studies and 7th grade English language arts.

Ms. Mernin has spent the last three years in Longmont and was eager to come to the mountains, to a small community and to a school like NMSHS.

She grew up in rural, central Pennsylvania and attended Penn State University. While at Penn State University she earned a B.A. in English and a M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction.

After earning a degree in English Ms. Mernin did not jump into teaching right away. She actually resisted it for a while. She says, “It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to travel and teach that I realized I loved working with young people and am passionate about learning! Teaching was a natural fit and gave me the flexibility to create and contribute, while doing something purposeful.”

She is now in her seventh year of teaching in the traditional classroom. She has taught English, English language arts, humanities, AP language and composition and social studies to almost all levels in middle and high school.

Ms. Mernin’s goals this year include creating a classroom community that is kind and inclusive. She wants all students to know that their voice matters.

She is impressed by Nederland middle schooler’s eagerness to learn and overall resilience to re-integrate themselves back into the school routine. She says that middle schoolers are “fearless risk takers, and curious thinkers, which makes for a terrific learning environment.”

When not planning lessons and grading papers Ms. Mernin likes to hike, spend time with her little border collie, sometimes trail run and read every day. She tells her students and it is wise advice for everyone, “Read voraciously!”

Ms. Mernin would like to thank the Nederland community for the warm welcome she has received. And share how happy she is to be here.