• Winter Break: Dec. 23 - Jan. 3
• SELS Board Meeting: Jan. 6
• SELS PTC Meeting: Jan. 15
• Celebration of Learning: Jan. 16
• MLK Day, No School: Jan. 20
• Middle School Minimum Days: Jan. 23-24
• Community Meeting: Jan. 28

Save the date for the Family Dance on February 14! This is a fun, annual event full of fun, food, a live DJ, and of course, nonstop dancing! This event is put on by the SELS PTC with the support of parent volunteers. Stay tuned for ways you can help!

Together We Are Crew,



The SELS PTC

After spending the fall hiking in the mountains, Minczeski crew member reflected on the SIERRA norm they used most on our adventures. Each student created a mountain pillow, which they designed and put together. This project, coupled with their hard work of hiking in the mountains, is a perfect example of how this crew can accomplish a variety of challenges.

The kindergarteners in Telfer Crew got their hands dirty creating a community gift for the school! They learned how to use tools safely so they could build, which taught them about teamwork and giving back.

Gallagher Crew News

Local author, Rick Mitchell, visited the Gallagher and Welch Crews recently as an expert on Truckee's history. His book, created in partnership with Sierra State Parks Foundation and Tahoe Truckee School of Music, is an interactive and musical journey through the lives of young pioneers.

Welch Crew News

Local author, Rick Mitchell, visited the Welch and Gallagher Crews recently as an expert on Truckee's history. His book, created in partnership with Sierra State Parks Foundation and Tahoe Truckee School of Music, is an interactive and musical journey through the lives of young pioneers.

Students in the Hansen Crew ventured out on a snowshoe hike up Chickadee Ridge. They learned about the small but mighty Chickadee that survives in the Tahoe area by hiding seed all throughout the forest. They had magical experiences feeding these adorable birds. Their crew is wrapping up their Bills and Gills Expedition by completing a biome slideshow, presenting opinion-based writing pieces, and putting the final touches on creative art pieces!

Students in the Brisbin Crew are putting their all into high-quality work in preparation for their final product. They are designing food chain games and in art class they are putting their learning to art, creating scientific drawings of a native bird or fish.

They also learned about Mountain Chickadee ecology at Chickadee Ridge. The students became comfortable in their snowshoes as they climbed up to the saddle, where they conducted experiments on food preference and color attraction—ask them about their findings!

The Worster crew just built round 1 of our ancient civilization team bridges and then tested them on Friday. We are in the improve phase of the engineering design process and were grateful for advice from our guest expert engineer Bill Quesnel. Students had some great reflections and are already planning for improvements and round 2! 

Students in the Groden Crew created escape rooms based on different parts of the world, as part of their Cartographers and Commanders Expedition. Students from other crews were invited to try out the escape rooms while solving clues and learning about world regions like Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and more.

As a part of the Hall Crew's character expedition, Who Am I, students created miniature "quilts" to reflect on experiences that have shaped them as a person.

Students chose from various questions such as: 

• Reflect on a place or a time in which you felt you belonged. What and who created belonging for you?
• What stories did you hear from family members growing up helped you connect to them and your family history?
• What meaning does your name hold for you?
• What cultural traditions and celebrations are important to you? How do they make up important parts of your identity?

They created visual artifacts to represent their answers before presenting to peers.

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