Meet our Librarian, Kelly Shumaker!  Kelly was raised in Colorado and lived here until high school, then moved with her family to Arizona.  After graduating high school she went onto Northern Arizona University earning a degree in Elementary Education.  Kelly began with student-teaching 2nd grade, then moved to another school and took her first job as a 1st grade teacher. She enjoyed the school  so much she taught there for 8 years until her husband got transferred for work.  Over the next 6 years they went from Arizona to Houston to Los Angeles to San Antonio. She was no longer teaching and took on the most important job, being a Mom! Over the six years of moving around she gave birth to her son Cody. Their final move took them to Denver just in time to give birth to her daughter Chloe.  When Kelly and her family joined Renaissance, Kelly jumped right into volunteering.  She helped out in the classrooms and later began volunteering in the library with Ms. Diana and Ms. Martha.  When Martha left, it was an easy transition for Kelly to take on the position as the School Librarian.  With her degree in Elementary Education and some previous experience working at a library while in college, she was the perfect fit!  This was great for Kelly because it provided a good balance of being able to work and see her kids everyday.  

Kelly has Kindergarten through 5th Grade Crews in the library once each week for 45 minutes.  During that time she will teach a library lesson as well as read and discuss the book of the week.  6th graders rotate in and out throughout the week to have discussions and to pick out choice books, or books that relate to what they are studying in class. The Kindies are always fun and Kelly does things a little different with them by laying out books for them to walk around and choose.  Kelly says, “Kindies are so cute when they come in starry eyed and excited! They usually are thinking they are buying books which is funny, but I am trying to teach them they are just borrowing!” In January the kindergartners will get a chance to learn about how they can pick books from the shelves on their own.  

There is a good chance you have noticed the decorated wall outside the library door. This is where Kelly lets her creative side shine! She began decorating this spot during  her first book fair. It was such a huge hit that she has been transforming it over and over.  Each theme gets students engaged and excited about what is going on in the library.  You may also see Kelly dressed up around book fair as her favorite storybook character.  She makes the library a  fun place  for  students to explore and enjoy.  When asked about her favorite part of her job, Kelly said, “I love the connections I have made with students. Especially now that I am in my second year, I am seeing their interest in books develop.  It is great seeing kids choose a book for themselves and then pick something that may be out of their comfort zone.  Such as, a book that is too hard for them to read but they know someone at home can read it to them.  Or there are older students who will come and look for a book that is easy for them, that way they can have a brain break, or maybe they will read it to someone younger at home.  It is these conversations with students that are the most fun and really help me get to know them.”

Not only is Kelly our librarian, she is also our school’s Assessment Coordinator.  It is Kelly’s job to make sure that we are compliant with the Colorado Department of Education’s standards for the CMASS testing that takes place in the month of April.  When Kelly is not busy at the school, her family enjoys hiking and skiing.  Kelly’s son Cody who is at Renaissance Secondary is active in the Theater. Kelly’s husband Brian, her son Cody and daughter Chloe all participate in Karate. 

​Kelly is a wonderful part of our school community, and we are very lucky to have her.  If you have not had a chance to meet Kelly yet, stop by the library and say hello! 

We love being able to highlight the work that our volunteers do, and celebrate all that great work and the awesome results that those hours create.  Megan Blatter was the stage manager to support Mr. Josh in the recent success of the "One Act Plays" with Mr. Josh. We appreciate all of her work and dedication as she helped pull things together with Mr. Josh.  When Megan was asked about "Why Renaissance?" this is what she had to say:

This is our family's 10th year at Renaissance and we absolutely love it!  When our oldest child was getting ready to go to kindergarten, we looked at all the schools in the area to find the one we felt would be best for our family, and we knew right away that Renaissance was it! 

We have 5 kids: 2 REMS alumni, 2 current students (in Ms. Billie's and Ms. Kathy's crew), and one future REMS student.  We have lived in Castle Rock for 15 years.  My husband, Landon, is a dentist.  Before our kids were born, I taught elementary school in Newton, Massachusetts. 

There are many reasons we love Renaissance.  First is the excellent staff!!!  Our REMS principal, teachers and staff just can't be beat!  Renaissance has also given our children some amazing opportunities for leadership, learning, and growth.  Just a few of the many, many examples are voyages, expeditions, art, drumming, rock climbing, archery, and performing arts.  

Some of my favorite ways to volunteer at REMS have been going on expeditions and belaying.  This year I also got involved as stage manager for the One Acts and the musical because of my second son.  Two years ago, Mr. Josh encouraged him to audition for Beauty and the Beast, and so he did.  Then, last year, he was in The Addams Family.  The experience was life-changing for him!  Even though my son moved on to middle school this year, I decided that I would still love to be involved.  Being the stage manager for the One Acts was so much fun!  It was so great seeing all of the kid's hard work come to life during the performances!  It was amazing watching each kid shine in their different roles!  Now, we are beginning rehearsals for the musical, Matilda, which will be performed in May.  The kids are so excited already and I know they're going to do a fantastic job!

It's wonderful to be a part of such an amazing community at REMS!!!

Thanks to Megan and all the fabulous volunteers that have taken time out of their busy lives to help make the experience for our children and students awesome!

​Trang Nguyen has been an Educational Assistant at our school for nearly two years, and she is a Rockstar! She and her family have been a part of the REMS community for seven years. Her son, in 10th grade, and her daughter, now in the 8th grade, both attended our school for several years. Trang started volunteering after seeing how much her children benefited from Renaissance and she wanted to give back. As an avid photographer in her ‘hobby time,” she has taken come impressive photos of the children at REMS over the years. In fact, she was actually the yearbook photographer for a period of time, and enjoyed watching the kids’ faces light up as they flipped through the pages and saw themselves during many of the experiences at school. She has also chaperoned many voyages and naturally headed into the gym to help belay children during climbing weeks. When Trang’s kids moved on to other schools, Trang knew she wanted to get back to work and decided that the EA position was right for her. 
As an Educational Assistant, her role is very diverse, allowing her to move all over the school and to be utilized by many. For instance, she schedules meetings for the Special Education team, allowing them to focus on their work with the children while she works on the task of getting everyone’s schedules to match up. She also provides extra support to the SPED team in several other ways with students. She works on the schedule and meals for the Community Lunch each week, providing help in organizing the program with kitchen staff.  She takes care of lunch preorders with the classrooms so that when lunch rolls around the kids can walk in, grab their food and start eating. This gets all our students through the cafeteria in a short amount of time and keeps things rolling in smooth order, in what might otherwise be crazy with 450 students trying to eat at the same time. 
The support she provides to the classroom is priceless! She helps with reading fluency in 2nd grade and she supports writing in 3rd and 5th grade. She also provides math support in the classrooms in 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Trang provides coverage in the classroom when teachers are needed in meetings or when there is a need for them to be out of the classroom from time to time. You have also probably seen her on crosswalk duty many times; and when she is not doing all of that, she is looking for a need in the school and trying to fill it! 
Trang and her family are very service-oriented. As accomplished musicians, her children go to the community care center every other Sunday and play the piano or violin for the residents. If you have not heard them, you are missing out; they are amazing! Her family also participates in laying the wreaths on the National cemeteries for holidays. Trang and her husband have been married for 19 years and enjoy family time above all else. Whether they are hiking together, watching their kids participate in orchestra, completing community service, or enjoying their holiday tradition of watching Polar Express on Christmas Eve, they understand the value of being together and treasure it!
We are so blessed to have Trang in our midst. Thank you for all you do and for being another reason Renaissance is so great!

On many occasions, my children have come home and told me “I love Ms. Margie!” Many parents, like myself, know the Instructional Assistant in their child’s classroom, but I was blown away in learning how much they help so many other classrooms and how integral they have been to step up in so many different roles whenever the needs arise.  Ms. Margie has been extremely valuable for the educational success of so many of our students at Renaissance and our community is so fortunate to have her as a part of it!

Margie grew up in Littleton as the youngest of four children and graduated from Heritage High School.  As a child, Ms. Margie enjoyed gymnastics and says she was quite the expert jump-roper at recess time!  Recently, she has seen the popularity of jumping rope at our own recesses and she has enjoyed watching her students participate in something she loved as a child.  After high school, Margie attended the University of Colorado in Boulder along with her husband, Bob, and graduated with a degree in Finance. After college, Margie and Bob moved to California where her husband was an engineer who worked as a civilian, for the Air Force. Throughout their time alongside Air Force families they built great friendships and had an amazing appreciation for their friends’ ability to move from place to place in the most efficient way … it came in handy to have military friends when it was time to pack and move!  While in California, Margie got into IT and was a project manager for different billing systems.  Margie and Bob eventually moved back to Colorado to be with both sides of their family. Margie continued to work in IT billing and worked for ReMax and Williams, an oil and gas company.  Margie really enjoyed her experience in the IT world.  During this time, Margie and Bob had two children, Lacy and Keith, now 27 and 23. When her children were just 5 and 3, Margie’s mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Margie resigned from her job to help care for her mom and spend time with her children. 

Ms. Margie got connected to Renaissance by being neighbors with Janelle Lewis. Years ago Janell asked Margie to help her coach Girls on the Run. Margie helped coach Girls on the Run for six seasons before Janell asked her if she’d be interested in becoming an Instructional Assistant, and much to our benefit, Margie applied and came on board!  During her time here at REMS, Ms. Margie has said that the students are, by far, the highest on her list of favorites.  Margie also loves working with a dedicated staff.  “The staff is just wonderful. I worked in IT for many years and teachers are absolutely the hardest workers I know … they’re my heroes.  They do so much more than teaching!”  Margie has really enjoyed the climate that Debora has helped create at REMS, “Ms. Deborah is willing to change things up, like Workshop Wednesday, for example. Deborah sees the need beyond just the typical classroom ways to learn. When you’re able to see beyond the classroom walls you’re able to create something quite special!” Ms. Margie loves the Adventure Ed program and wishes her own children could have experienced it. She knows her son would have thrived in the program.

Lace up your walking shoes and take a moment to stretch because Margie’s typical day at Renaissance is one of movement and connection to numerous areas of our school. Ms Margie wears many different hats and works with so many students in various capacities.  “In the morning I help a variety of kids of all ages with speech therapy who may need some extra practice. I then work with the fourth graders for math with Ms. Jenny’s crew. I then go and work with Ms. Gina’s crew. I help her with writing and then I go into fifth grade and help them with writing, too. I go back to Ms. Gina’s in the afternoon and help with reading fluency and then go back to fifth grade and help them with reading.  Towards the end of my day I’m with the third graders, helping them with math. I close the day by helping Ms. Billie with closing circle and dismissal.”  In addition to her full schedule (and also assisting Gina with the Battle of the Books club), Margie is ready to fill in where needed if Deborah or a teacher needs help. “Wherever they need me, I go.” When Renaissance fund raises at our auction or during Renaissance Adventure Day, we are fundraising to keep educators like Ms. Margie here at Renaissance helping students in so many different ways.  We are so fortunate to have the assistance she provides for our teachers; our school is certainly unique in this way!

When Margie is not running from crew to crew, she loves spending time with her family and her lovable thirteen year old Labrador dog, Scooter. Their favorite activity is to enjoy hiking the Colorado mountains. Margie and her family have actually hiked (some several times) at least six Colorado 14ers and plan to keep adding to the list.

We are so grateful to have Ms. Margie as a part of our Renaissance community!