This spring, our very own Mrs. Nevarez was honored with the prestigious Texas Instruments Foundation Innovations in STEM Teaching Award! 🎉🔬
Karre received $10,000 — half as a personal award recognizing her past innovation, and half as a STEM grant to fund exciting new projects in her classroom. And when you hear what she has accomplished and what she has planned, it is easy to see why she was chosen.
A Legacy of STEM Innovation 💛
Karre's award recognizes decades of dedication to STEM education, including:
🤖 Coaching over 30 FIRST LEGO League Teams
🌱 Starting an A.L.L. STEM program
📚 Designing and teaching a Science Inquiry & Innovation elective
...and so much more.
As Karre shared, "Being recognized by Texas Instruments and Alpine School District means a lot. After decades of teaching, refining, and advocating for STEM, this recognition has deep meaning."
For Karre, one of the greatest joys of teaching is watching her students grow into confident problem-solvers. "It's the capstone of years spent encouraging students to see themselves as engineers, problem-solvers, and innovators. Watching them realize they can solve problems once thought impossible is powerful," she said. 🔥
What's Next — The Future of Her Classroom 🚀
Karre has big plans for her grant funding! She is reinventing the STEM experience in her Science Inquiry & Innovation elective in two exciting ways:
💡 Personal Passion Project Lab — A semester-long, AI-supported lab where students tackle real-world problems and learn to use emerging technology responsibly. Inspired by DevOps principles, the lab will emphasize collaboration, shared responsibility, rapid iteration, data-based decisions, and treating failure as feedback. This shifts students from one-time projects to continuous, authentic innovation.
🔬 Reinventing the STEM Fair — Using the DevOps model and AI integration, Karre is transforming her STEM Fair into a startup-style space of innovation and investigation built around students' personal passions.
As Karre puts it, "This is the future of STEM education — not just preparing students to use technology but empowering them to shape it with responsibility and confidence."
We couldn't agree more. Congratulations, Karre — thank you for sustaining the spark in everything you do!
🎶 Huge News! Ms. Lindsley is a 2026 Spark Award Finalist! 🎶
Out of hundreds of entries nationwide, Ms. Lindsley has been chosen as one of just 10 finalists for the prestigious 2026 Spark Award by Alfred Music and MakeMusic!
This incredible honor recognizes her big impact and dedication to sparking a lifelong love of music in her students and our community.
Let's Vote!
The public voting round is officially open, and she needs our support to win!
When: Right now! Voting runs from May 16 – 23, 2026.
How often: You can vote once per day!
Where to vote: 👉 makemusic.com/spark
Please click the link, cast your daily vote, and share this post to help us celebrate Ms. Lindsley!
From our Phenomenal PSTA: We are quickly approaching the end of the year! Please join us for our next PTSA meeting on Monday, April 20th at 9:30 am in the conference room. This is a general membership meeting - all are invited and we need your help as we vote in our board for the 2026-27 year!
Donate here: https://www.successfund.com/mrjhweareluckytohavegreatteachers2026
Raiders of the Lost Parts represented MRJH well at FIRST LEGO League State Champs!
We had a great day and when all was said and done we won 3rd place in the Robot Design category. That was out of 44 teams that qualified for State (182 teams went to qualifiers across Utah), and Mrs. Nevarez came home with the outstanding mentor award.
https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/alpinedistrict/L2VtYmVkL2FsbD9zY2hvb2xzPTMwJnNpbmdsZT0xJnZlbnVlcz0xMg%3D%3D
Donate via the link and please share with your neighbors and communities. Thank you for your support!
https://www.successfund.com/mrjhweareluckytohavegreatteachers2026
Hello MRJH Families!
We are starting our no-fuss and super easy fundraiser to support and celebrate our teachers and staff - ☘️We Are Lucky to Have Great Teachers!☘️ Please consider donating to provide treats and meals for Teacher Appreciation Week, monthly faculty appreciation events, and classroom grants. Let's show our teachers and staff how lucky we are to have them!
Donate here and please share with your neighbors and communities.
Thank you for your support!
MRJH PTSA
Do you like building, painting, designing, or messing with tech? Ever wondered what’s hiding in that mysterious room above the auditorium? Want to run lights, wear a headset, call cues, and be in charge backstage? Then Stage Crew is your place. Apply now! Get details in Mrs. Smith's Room, E114. Applications due March 31.
THEATER COMPANY
Imagine a class where every day = rehearsal with your friends. Laughing, creating, performing… basically living your best life on stage. Yeah—that’s Theater Company. Auditions due March 31. Pick up info in Mrs. Smith's room, E114.
MUSICAL THEATER
Love singing, dancing, or just being part of something big and fun? Join Musical Theater! GOOD NEWS: No audition required this year. Just sign up for the class or talk to your counselor.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Join our hands-on, brand new class! Students will explore props, scenery, costumes, camera angles, lighting, sound, makeup and hair design and more! All grades welcome. Recommended for students applying for Stage Crew.
7th Grade Orientation Open House THIS WEEK!
Mountain Ridge Jr. High Counselors and Administration are excited to invite our future Huskies and parents to attend our 7th Grade Orientation Open House on Thursday, February 19th, from 3:30-7:00 pm.
Join us for a school tour and get a head start on the upcoming school year!
Explore elective courses
Learn about band & orchestra registration
Practice opening a locker
Submit your locker request form and choose a preferred locker partner
Meet teachers and get help with class selection
Class registration opens on February 17th—don’t miss this opportunity to prepare for 7th grade!
