May 5

This week's Spotlight goes to Waffles and Luna, the dog stars of the Pets 4 Stress program!

It's no secret that pets can contribute to a happier life. Studies show that dogs reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and improve people's overall health. After a Nido student did a puppy petting project during exams, HS Counselor Mr. Ian Lally moved forward, sought approval from Nido’s Administration and the Health Unit, and started Pets 4 Stress. Today, alongside HS Counselor, Mr. Robert Kostrzeski, the initiative has taken off! A minimum of fifteen students visit the Wellness Center and HS Counseling offices to spend time with the four-legged staffers. Students can take the dogs for walks or just enjoy playing with them.

Luna and Waffles are the dogs of our High School counselors and advisors of the program, Mr. Lally and Mr. Kostrzeski. They explain that they have trained the dogs to be calm, playful, and friendly. In fact, Luna senses students' anxiety and approaches them so they can pet her. They sit, stay, and rarely bark, and students genuinely love them.

Every Friday, Luna, and Waffles enter campus and they go to the Wellness Center from 7:30 to 8:00 am, where there are usually 5 to 10 students waiting to play with them. Then, they return to the HS Counseling Office, and students can walk them or just pet them during their Study Hall, break, Flextime, or lunch periods. When they see the students, this dog duo approach them with happiness and joy, eager to be pet and held. Students smile back and hug them every chance they get. During the day, they remain in the Counseling Office and are taken out on a leash for walks on campus if students choose.

Mr. Lally and Mr. K explain that the response from the community has been incredible. “Students love it, and most importantly, students who suffer from high anxiety or other mental health conditions ‘need’ it. At times, several students wish to leave campus as they become overwhelmed or have test anxiety. However, once they interact with Luna and Waffles, they are able to relax and return to class! Students have said that they make it out of bed in the morning looking forward to seeing the dogs,” they explain.

The club’s advisors say that they are currently looking into launching the program in grades 3 to 5 due to its success in High School. “We hope to expand to the other divisions with friendly, hypoallergenic, calm, friendly dogs and hope other divisional principals will welcome the idea, keeping in mind student safety,” they say. Congratulations to our Pets 4 Stress advisors, our lead students and our wonderful doggies Luna and Waffles, for helping the student community! 

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May 12

This week's Spotlight goes to our retiring Elementary School Principal, Layne Hudes!

Layne arrived in Nido in 2019 after working as an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in the New York public school system. Previous to that, she worked internationally in England. After working as an educator for over 30 years, she will retire at the end of this school year. “I’ve had a very long and happy career and I'm incredibly grateful and fortunate. I believe that Nido’s Elementary School is the most heavenly spot in our school, and I’m so grateful that I got this job with this group of people. They are my family. There is no faculty or staff in the ES, only family,” she says.

Even though Layne missed key community-building events of our school due to the social unrest and COVID, she truly believes that one of Nido’s assets is the sense of community. “What I learned from Nido is that building relationships is the most important thing. As hard as everything was, if we build those relationships, then we will connect and display the Nido values,” she says.

Layne explains that even though the pandemic was, and still is very hard, seeing those connections when in-person classes began was extremely fulfilling. “When i came back to campus it was incredible, students were so happy to be back. Just walking among them was a happy experience. Nido students are such an incredible source of positive energy. I love when they say hi,” she says.

During her time at Nido, she has worked tirelessly on her vision for her division, but she says that what she is most proud of is the work of her teachers. “What I am really proud of is the things that are happening that the teachers are owning. An idea I had during COVID –to build an interdisciplinary curriculum grounded in science, social studies, and tech around UN sustainability goals– caught fire, because my teachers are so committed. All of the teachers are working really hard to explore the mission, it's all about giving the kids the opportunity to connect, act and explore,” she says. “I’m so proud of how far we’ve come, given what these past three years have looked like. The fact that we’re moving at the pace that we are, given the circumstances, it’s incredible. I’m proud that I've created a community that even in adversity and under tremendous pressure, they have been able to roll up their sleeves and get their work done,” says Layne.

“What we will miss the most is the people, and Chile. We love Chile,” says Layne with a smile. Thank you, Layne, for being passionate about curriculum, supporting teachers and students to build a strong sense of community, and for advocating #TheNidoWay in our Elementary School. We wish you the best in this new stage of life. Please come back and visit! 

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May 26

This week's Spotlight goes to sixth-grader and winner of Nido’s Vocalist of the Year award, Miranda!

Miranda is currently a sixth-grader at Nido, who also happens to be a singer and a very good one. She was recently recognized as the best vocalist in the 2022 Nido Musician of the Year Awards. She had to submit an audition to enter this competition and was later chosen to be a finalist in her category. Then in the Finals concert, she performed live in front of a panel of experts. “Music inspires me to become a better person. It’s how I express my emotions,” says the Nido singer.

Originally from Chile, Miranda is one of three triplets and, alongside her brothers, has attended Nido since Pre-K. She explains that “no one in my family is particularly musical, but I have been singing since I was five. Nido has given me the opportunity to grow musically over the years and [my music teacher] Mr. Gibbs has pushed me to become a better singer. I am looking forward to any future musical opportunities.”

Besides school work and after-school activities, she takes singing lessons at a music academy every week. There, she gets to sing her favorite songs by her favorite artists: Adele and Aretha Franklin. She chose Adele’s song “When We Were Young” to perform in the Finals Concert for the Nido Musician of the Year 2022. This is the second year in a row that she has won. Last year she became the youngest winner ever. “I felt very happy and proud, but I also felt very proud of the other people in the other categories. It was a tough competition and everyone was great,” she says. After her victory, Miranda was invited to perform “When We Were Young” at the High School and Middle School assemblies, where she received ovations. Even though singing is her favorite thing to do now, Miranda says that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, a dermatologist, in fact, and sing in her free time. Her favorite subjects in school are math and humanities.

The future looks bright for this Middle Schooler. Her hard work and determination are admirable. We’re lucky to have Miranda as a part of our community and we wish her the best as she continues to pursue her passion! A true example of the #TheNidoWay.