Dear Parents and Nanuet Community,

What a special video we have for this month’s Golden Spotlight! Our fifth-grade students and teachers will touch your hearts as they share their experiences with the novel Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. It’s clear this compelling story deeply moved our students as they learned about a middle school student with a significant disability who overcomes enormous challenges. Thanks to a generous grant from the Board of Education’s Innovative Teaching Initiative, students and teachers had the opportunity to meet both the author and a local disability advocate—an experience that strengthened their understanding and expanded their learning. This unit of study is a terrific example of how the power of reading and storytelling can open minds to limitless possibilities.

I hope you enjoy this edition of our e-newsletter. While we weather these cold days, this will surely warm your heart.

Sincerely,
Lisa Brady, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Welcome to the January Golden Spotlight! This month, we stop in at A. MacArthur Barr where our fifth-grade students just completed an ELA unit that transported them from the classroom and into the story.

Saying hello is one of the simplest and most powerful acts of kindness! The 2025 Great Kindness Challenge took place at George W. Miller Elementary and Highview Elementary at the end of the month. Throughout the week of Jan. 27, several events and activities nurtured kindness and empathy within the Nanuet community. Check out pictures from the kickoff assembly and the Hat's Off to Kindness event at Highview.

RULER Knight Ruled! The Highview Elementary community landed in yellow on the Mood Meter during the school’s 'Family RULER Knight,' which was attended by 89 families earlier this month. The event provided an excellent opportunity for our third and fourth-grade students to engage their families and friends in the RULER approach to social and emotional learning practiced in their classrooms. Read more and see photos in our Facebook post.

At Highview Elementary, our students are motivated and inspired to read, thanks to the school’s “Strive for 25” campaign. Each year, our third and fourth-grade Knights share the common goal of reading 25 books between September and June. Each year, our third and fourth-grade Knights share a common goal: reading 25 books between September and June. See photos from Instagram.

Congratulations to the D.A.R.E. Class of 2025! Over 150 fifth-graders from A. MacArthur Barr Middle School were recognized this month for successfully completing the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. Joined by their families, teachers, administrators, local officials and law enforcement, students shared essays, poems and words of encouragement inspired by what they learned during their time with D.A.R.E. and School Resource Officer Anthony Culianos.

Team members from the advocacy organization BRIDGES spent time with sixth-grade students at the beginning of the month. The visits, part of the 'Walk in My Shoes' program, included activities designed to spark discussions about visible and invisible disabilities. Check out our Facebook to learn more about the sessions and see photos of the activities.

Congratulations to our A. MacArthur Barr Middle School WordMasters! Last month, our fifth and sixth-grade club members participated in their first WordMasters Challenge for the 2024-25 school year, and the results were “impressive,” according to club adviser and teacher Candace Langer. Check out our Instagram post to find out how they did.

January is National Mentoring Month, and at Nanuet, our varsity athletes are leading by example! Through Varsity Athletes Against Substance Abuse (VAASA), high school students mentor our middle schoolers on the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Throughout the year, VAASA members visit A. MacArthur Barr Middle School to speak with students in health classes. Read more in our Facebook post.

Music to our ears! Forty-six students from Nanuet Senior High School were selected to take part in the Rockland County Music Educators Association (RCMEA) Senior All-County Music Festival held at North Rockland High School earlier this month. Our student-musicians performed with the band, orchestra and mixed chorus. Click here to find out who and see photos.

The Nanuet Family University presents a screening of the film, 'Screenagers,' This new version of the original movie addresses concerns that school-aged students, parents and educators are facing. The film will discuss the impact of exposure from screens beginning in early childhood. Examples include smartwatches, video gaming and social media pressures. Nanuet School Social Workers and an Instructional Technology Facilitator will be available to answer questions following the film. Submit questions here.

Nanuet School District families with preschool-age children who will be four years old by Dec. 1, 2025, and are interested in the Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program are invited to attend our UPK Information Night on February 4. There will be a presentation on the process, including a review of the application process, available programs, and UPK curriculum. We ask that any parents who wish to attend please RSVP here.