Please join us in congratulating the following outstanding volunteers! They were all recognized at the most recent Character Assembly in front of their children.
Aubry Canales is the dedicated mother of Sophie in the 1st grade and Max in (Sped Pre-K). She runs AR program and takes pictures of students for different projects. We are so glad to have Aubry as a part of the Nickajack family and appreciate all that she does for the school in regards to promoting literacy through the AR program.
Renee Kovach is an outstanding parent volunteer who splits her time at the school and work. She is a mother to Katie in the 1st grade and Michael in the 2nd grade. Renee helps on the Box Tops committee and is on the Nickajack Dash committee. The Dash was a big success this year. Renee works full time and travels twice a week. Regardless of her hectic schedule she still has time to be on two committees at Nickajack. Renee's dedication in the midst of her schedule is what makes her an outstanding parent volunteer! She is not able to be here today because she is traveling, but her kids Katie and Michael are here to accept her award.
Portia Carter is one of the most generous and dedicated volunteers that Nickajack has ever had and this is her first year here! She is the parent of twin kindergarten students, Marley and Maddox. She is always one of the first parents to volunteer to bring in supplies and food items for special events in each of her classrooms. She also loves to read in both her classes. Portia and her husband, Wayne, graciously opened up their home and threw a special holiday party outside of school for the students and families in their children's classes so that the families could bond during this time. While Portia is a first year Nickajack parent, she was still compelled not only to make a difference in her own children's classrooms, but she wanted to impact all of our children. So she stepped up and is chairing a PTA Committee, the Volunteer Committee, which is responsible for securing volunteers for various PTA, Foundation and school events. She also coordinates the PTA Recognition Initiative, where outstanding parents are nominated and recognized for their efforts. She also comes in very regularly to shelve books in the media center and her name can been seen on every volunteer sign up to work or to donate. The book fair committee was very overwhelmed by her generous donation of time and resources. All of this while as an orthodontist, she runs a very successful orthodontic practice here in Smyrna! Her practice partners with our PTA as a Gold PTA Pal and it sponsors both PTA and Foundation events such as the Kickball Classic and the Nickajack Dash fun run. Portia has such a positive attitude, is always a supportive parent and is so devoted to making Nickajack the best place to be! Portia is also a forward thinker and is already working on a project that she would like to head up for next year that will encourage our young readers to be young authors! We are so pleased and very fortunate to have Portia and her family as a part of the Nickajack family.
Beth Figaretti, mom to Anna in Ms. Newman's 1st grade class, has been a repeat volunteer at the book fair for several years now, and her help is greatly appreciated during the busy morning times. Beth immediately begins assisting students when she arrives, helping them find appropriate books as well as count their money. When we say 'count their money', we mean counting what sometimes is a large piggy bank of savings, all in small coins, filling up a large ziplock bag! As the morning hours come to a close, Beth helps guide the students to make their purchases and return to class so they don't miss instructional time. We thank Beth for all her selfless help with the fairs!
Adrian Villareal, is father to Alek in Ms. Newman's class 1st grade class. He is the epitome of a dedicated volunteer. He started helping with the book fair last year, and has become a wonderful morning shift staple! The morning times are busiest at the book fair, and Adrian stays very busy helping many students find the right book, count their change, and answer many questions. He is always happy to stay the extra time to help restock the books and merchandise, and other various tasks that come up. Adrian is helpful, kind, and patient with the students, even when it gets a little hectic. If you have ever visited the book fair in the morning, you have probably seen Adrian assisting the students, and you would know that his help is greatly appreciated by all! We thank Adrian for all his help at the fairs and how he carries himself as a role model to many!
Jennifer Brevick is mom to Lily in Mrs. Gilmore's Kindergarten class and Natalie in Mrs. Copeland's 2nd grade class. She has been a repeat outstanding volunteer, for several years now, at the book fair, while running the registers for us at our busiest times in the morning. As the students pour into the book fair each morning, it is great to have her as part of the team, jumping behind the registers to help shoppers with their purchases and questions. She works full time, so we feel extra lucky that she is able to volunteer at the book fair as we know she juggles so much every day. We thank Jen for all her help at the fairs that made them a success!
Heather Graham has been nominated as an outstanding parent volunteer. Along with Alice Anne Bailey, who was also received an award, she is a room parent who does an incredible job communicating with the parents. They both send out emails about upcoming events, coordinate the monthly birthday celebrations, and are always "ready and willing to lend a hand wherever and whenever needed". She helps with PTA-related needs and events on campus and off campus. She is the mother of Avery in Ms. Love's first grade. Nickajack is so thankful to have such a compassionate and dependable room parent who is dedicated to helping out as much as Heather does!
Ella Buckley is the mother of Deana in Ms. Love's 1st grade class.. She consistently offers her assistance and support in the classroom and for PTA events. She has volunteered to help in the Science Lab for STEM events and Career Week. We are thankful for Ella's phenomenal and continued support at Nickajack Elementary!
Josue Garcia & Doris Ramirez have been nominated for outstanding parent volunteers. Mr. Garcia & Ms. Ramirez are parents of Josue Garcia- Ramirez in Ms. Adrienne's and Mrs. Hunt's Classes. Mr. Garcia & Ms. Ramirez are behind the scenes outstanding parent volunteers by always providing the necessary classroom materials when requested. They are also devoted Box Top Label Collectors. Mr. Garcia & Ms. Ramirez are just learning English, but manage to assist Josue with his homework and always communicate with Josue's teachers about absences and his needs. In addition to taking care of Josue, they also have 2 young daughters ages 2 and 3, whom they also devote a lot of their time. Mr. Garcia & Ms. Ramirez are outstanding parents on many levels and well deserving of this recognition!
Katy Weihe is mom to Ian, in Ms. Caputo's 2nd grade class, and to Kylie, now in 6th grade at Griffin Middle School. In addition to helping the NES Foundation and running the KC Club, and now even volunteering at Griffin Middle School, Katy has been co-chairing the PTA Book Fair for several years. As hectic as her schedule is, Katy always is patient and kind, and willing to assist with anything. Thank you to Katy for all that she does at the fair and at Nickajack!
Dina Gundersen is mom to Claire in the 2nd grade. She has been a repeat outstanding volunteer, for several years now, at the book fair, while running the registers for us at our busiest times in the morning. As the students pour into the book fair each morning, it is great to have her as part of the team, jumping behind the registers to help shoppers with their purchases and questions. Dina works full time, so we feel extra lucky that she is able to volunteer at the book fair as we know she juggles so much every day. We thank Dina for all her help at the fairs!
Jen Leppert has been nominated for an outstanding parent volunteer award. Her son Carmine Leppert is in Mrs. Krause's 2nd grade class. She has served as room parent, she has been a member of copy shop and the nominating committee, assisted with spirit wear, and chaired candy grams this year. She has also volunteered for teacher luncheons, book fairs, sneak-a-peek, back to football Friday, field day, staff appreciation, and curriculum nights. She is always there to lend a helping hand and has jumped in at a moment's notice to help out the PTA and the school. She does all of these things with a loving heart and a wonderful attitude. Jen is truly one of our superwoman volunteers that we appreciate at Nickajack Elementary!
Alice Anne Bailey has been nominated as an outstanding parent volunteer. Along with Heather Graham, who was also received an award, she is a room parent who does an incredible job communicating with the parents. They send out emails about upcoming events, coordinate the monthly birthday celebrations, and are always "ready and willing to lend a hand wherever and whenever needed". She helps with PTA-related needs and events on campus and off campus. She is the mother of Brook in Ms. Wood's 2nd grade class and Ansley in Ms. Lasiter's 4th grade class. Nickajack is so thankful to have such a compassionate and dependable room parent who is dedicated to helping out as much as Alice does!
Rebecca Montgomery, the mother of Ace in Mr. DeFazio's 5th grade, has been nominated to receive an award for an outstanding parent volunteer because she deserves it. She was very instrumental in putting the casino night together while working a full time job. It is amazing how she finds the time to do anything extra because of her commitment to being a single mother and raising her kids by herself with no family around. She gladly helped with the teacher appreciation week as she responded quickly. Rebecca is a great help at Nickajack Elementary and is the epitome of being task-oriented while completing multiple goals to help the school.
Mr. Sam Spalding is the father of Taylor in the 5th grade. In the Special Needs Preschool and he was the FBI reading dad a couple of years back. He did great! The class can be intimidating at times but Mr. Spalding thought nothing of it. He read and was interactive with the kids. He even offered to come back anytime, not just as a special reader on the FBI dad's day but anytime. He has stuck with that offer and has come back several times since then. He is a strong male presence in this school and is always willing to help with whatever he can. Mr. Spalding has not forgotten about the teachers he has assisted or the students; therefore, his willingness to lend a hand will never be forgotten. A lot of people cannot and prefer not to connect with the unique minds of special needs kids however, he has a raw talent for this feat. For that alone, Sam is considered a super great volunteer where his awesome spirit of volunteerism means a great deal!
Stefanie Taylor is a new parent to Nickajack. In addition to helping the teachers here at Nickajack, Stefanie is also very supportive of her daughter, Avery who is in the 4th grade. She is often seen heading out to the jogging club in the afternoons with Avery, and she is always attending school events with her. Even though she is new to Nickajack, she sought out to get involved at Nickajack determined to make a difference. She stepped right up to chair a committee and has been a very active and successful Copy Shop chairperson. Each quarter she organizes the volunteers and sends out a schedule of the copy shop for the staff so they know when they can expect to have their requests processed. She helped get volunteers organized for training on the copy machines and each day she comes by at the end of the school day to make sure all copy requests have been handled. Stefanie has been a great help in the classroom for this year. As one of three room moms this year, she has been instrumental in making sure that things get done for the classroom that need to get done! It is a lot to juggle and we appreciate her dedication. It is great to have parent volunteers like her here as an asset to our PTA and our school! Thanks Stephanie for making a difference!
Marge Crittenden is mom to John in the 4th grade. She has volunteered at the last 2 book fairs. In addition to assisting with set up, break down, and assisting shoppers, Marge also built our newest Teacher Wish List board, which was previously outdated and too small. Marge is always open to taking on additional tasks and learning as much as she can, with a smile on her face! She also served on the Silent Auction committee this year and was instrumental in bringing on some quality items. We thank Marge for volunteering with the book fair and for all that she does for Nickajack!
Faye Yost is a dedicated mom to Malia and Jadyn at Nickajack, Mak at Griffin Middle School, and Kai at Campbell High School. Faye has been a terrific asset to have at Nickajack, both as a parent volunteer with many years of experience that brings great knowledge and resources, and now as a school employee in the media center. She is always gracious and helpful with any question brought to her, and is very actively involved with the PTA. She is also the editor of the Nickajack BEAT newsletter. Whether it is a question of what class a student is in, or can she let the book fair borrow her folding table, or creating a signup sheet for a coworker or volunteer, Faye is always quick to assist with anything that is put in front of her. This is done all while juggling a full time job and a very busy family! We thank Faye for all her help with so many things and being the "go-to" person at Nickajack!
