We are delighted to be featuring our wonderful principal, Kristen Nelson, this month for our spotlight. Her dedication and care for our students and school is unmatched and we are so lucky to have her leading R.H. Dana into the future. Let's see what she had to say when we asked her to tell us about herself.
Name: Kristen Nelson
Birth Date & Place: November 17, Redlands, CA
Favorite Childhood Book: Any Nancy Drew book!! I wanted to me a detective when I was younger!
Favorite Color: Blue of course!!! RH Dana blue!
Favorite Song: "Dancing Queen" by ABBA
Favorite Ice Cream: Chocolate or chocolate chip although I worked at 31 Flavors when I was in college and lost my love of ice cream. They say it returns when you get older so I am waiting!
Favorite Hobby: Golf, travel, reading, gardening, exercising, and I hope to learn how to play pickelball!
Pets: Snuggles - a Maltese. We recently had to put down his twin brother Dash. So now I have to say hi to every dog at drop off and pick up to help me not miss Dash as much.
What do you love about being a principal? I LOVE the job. The students are the best part of course. They are funny and intelligent and interesting. I also love the families they come from and love making a school a better place for everyone. I always think elementary schools should be a happy and exciting place to be and I love seeing kids learning while they are having fun.
What are you afraid of? I really don't have many fears. I guess I one of my few fears is the environment and climate change and what world these kids will be growing up in. Hence why we redesigned RH Dana to include an environmental focus.
What are you proud of? I am proud of starting the dual language immersion program at RH Dana! It wasn't easy but with the all the wonderful staff and families who joined in to make it successful, it has been so gratifying to watch this school grow and thrive again. I am proud of the families who trusted us and brought their kids to this school, and I'm proud of this staff for welcoming this change and working so hard.
What are you looking forward to? I am looking forward to watching RH Dana continue to grow and flourish well into the future! It is a great day to be a Whale!