A diverse community of lifelong learners in Lacey, Washington
In This Section
January 2025
Every month, we send an email newsletter to our families, staff, and students highlighting the upcoming events, news, and more! Read the latest issue below, or check out past issues from this school year.
The Joy of Learning is evident in NTPS science classes, where students of all grades engage in activities that cultivate curiosity. Students learn to observe, hypothesize, and experiment while working together with their classmates.
For example, anatomy classes are part of Envision Career Academy's biomedical sciences pathway, one of four career and technical education (CTE) pathways offered at Envision. Students at all our high schools get hands-on experience and virtual learning using an anatomy table to explore digital 3D representations of life-size human bodies.
In this month's Joy of Learning video, we join the Seven Oaks Elementary School newspaper crew. With the guidance of Teacher-Librarian Caitlin Cecil, students are producing the school's first-ever newspaper, with artwork, articles, comics, and photos of classroom and after-school activities. It's a fun and creative way to support school spirit while learning more about writing and editing!
Wishing all of our families a happy and healthy new year! I look forward to continued joyful learning throughout the rest of the school year.
It’s time to Read Around Lacey! From January 17–31, elementary students can visit participating local businesses and read aloud a short writing sample or book excerpt. A business representative will listen and then share the importance of reading and writing in their work.
There will be no school on Monday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This National Day of Service encourages all Americans to volunteer to serve others and improve their communities in honor of Dr. King's legacy.
NTPS Military Department invites all active, veterans, reserves, and national guard spouses/partners to our Military Connect Coffee Circle. Come join us for an opportunity to connect with others from 9:30–10:30 am on Tuesday, January 28, in the NTPS District Office Boardroom. Timberland Library will share an overview of their services. RSVP so we can provide enough light breakfast items. Children are welcome, but childcare is not provided.
Share the heritage and cultures of our community at the Lacey Cultural Celebration from 10:00 am–6:00 pm on Saturday, February 1, at Saint Martin's University (5300 Pacific Avenue SE, Lacey, WA 98503). Enjoy music and dance performances, traditional arts and crafts, food from around the world, and more. See more information on the Lacey Parks Culture & Recreation website.
Please join us for a virtual presentation from 5:30–6:30 pm on Wednesday, February 5. An Armed Forces Community Service Financial Readiness Program Manager will provide military families with an overview of classes offered and more. RSVP to receive the meeting link. Questions? Contact militarysupport@nthurston.k12.wa.us.
Our community reading initiative welcomes award-winning author Varian Johnson for Lacey Loves to Read 2025. Varian is the author of several novels for children and young adults, including The Parker Inheritance, which won both Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awards. He will visit Lacey for a special meet-the-author community event at 6:00 pm on Thursday, February 13, in the North Thurston High School Koval Center Auditorium. Learn more about Lacey Loves to Read 2025, including our recently announced bookmark contest winners!
Help celebrate National Mentoring Month by becoming an NTPS Lunch Buddy! Lunch Buddies dedicate 30 minutes to one hour each week at a local school during lunch or recess to play games, talk, and have fun! You need to be willing to listen, empathize, encourage, and empower your mentee.
Supportive relationships help students grow and develop. Youth with mentors are more likely to experience increased graduation rates, better attitudes about school, and improved attendance, academic performance, and behavior.
The 2025 legislative session begins on January 13. The NTPS School Board has approved the district’s legislative priorities, which focus on equitable access to learning opportunities, quality programs, and future success. Read our 2025 legislative priorities.
Thank you to everyone who attended the October 15 Community Conversation on Accelerating the Future. Community members and partners discussed increasing student involvement in specialized course options such as Advanced Placement, honors, and dual credit. This Community Conversation relates to NTPS Strategic Plan Goal 4: Continuous Growth—All Students, All Subjects.
After each Community Conversation, the NTPS School Board issues a board determination to lay out the next steps. The board determination from the October 15 meeting is now available on the Community Conversation webpage.
One afternoon last month, many incredible Timberline High School students stayed after school to tie fleece blankets for those in need of warmth in our community. THS Leadership students delivered the blankets to City Gates Ministries in downtown Olympia to help provide some warmth and comfort during the cold months. Visit our district’s Facebook and Instagram pages for more examples of learning and fun in our schools!
We’ve invited community organizations and professionals to offer free educational workshops, panels, and workshops for our families. Choose a topic or age level relevant to your family and sign up! Find details on the Family Education Opportunities page.
Current opportunities
Bilingual Preschool Storytime (ages 3–5 and their guardians)
Success in the Early Years (for guardians of ages 3–5)
Winning at Parenting (for guardians of K–5th graders)
Tweens & Teens (for guardians of 6th–12th graders)
Our School Board meetings are an excellent place to hear the latest news from around the district. Be sure to review our Board meeting highlights to learn about the December 10 meeting, where the Board:
Recognized the South Sound Reading Foundation for our longstanding partnership, and heard updates on meaningful student opportunities to collaboratively engage and apply learning to solve challenges in their classrooms, schools, and communities. The Board also heard from Envision Career Academy students about many of the great things happening at the school!
Next up in our school video series is South Bay Elementary! Watch the Welcome to South Bay video to learn about a caring community built around student success.
January is School Board Recognition Month. Our School Board directors play a crucial role in supporting student learning by creating a clear vision and establishing strong policies for our district. We appreciate your service as champions for public education!
Each month this year, we will feature a staff member who embodies our 2024-25 district theme, Joy of Learning! Aaron Gore is a transportation specialist with the NTPS Transportation Department.
"Joy is what Aaron brings to all of his interactions with our students and our staff," said NTPS Transportation Director Garrett Kendall. "Aaron has an amazing ability to connect with students and get them excited about learning. Whether it's creating a fun and positive environment on the bus or engaging with them about their day at school, Aaron continues to positively impact our kids and invests in them as both people and students. I am extremely proud to have Aaron on the team."
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am in my fourth year with NTPS in the Transportation Department. I was formerly a FedEx courier for nearly 20 years. My wife and I both work in Transportation. I am a bus driver, and my wife Shemaiah Gore works as a bus aide on a special needs route. Our goal is to hopefully be on the same bus one day (if we can handle it!). Aside from transportation, I have a small photography business that my wife supports me with as well.
What do you like best about your job?
One of the best parts of my job is the interaction and impact I can have on children. Even though my wife and I do not have any, we love children! Being a bus driver puts you in a position to impact a child's life by keeping a positive interaction with them, even when circumstances and times in their life may not be the most ideal. I can help them focus on the positive things they do have going for them and be a listening ear. They also keep me in good spirits with their "sincere words."
What does the Joy of Learning mean to you?
To me, the Joy of Learning means that education includes a lot more than reading books and taking tests. It involves each of our interactions as adults, in whatever role we may play in our students’ lives, to make education a joyous experience. Leading by example, encouraging with positive reinforcement, and showing sincere interest in what our young ones are interested in, by listening and interacting with them—that goes a long way in a student’s mind when it comes to WANTING to get on the bus for school, GO to class, PARTICIPATE in class, DO assignments, etc...
Knowing someone actually takes interest in them helps them find joy in learning!
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