Retirement Year for Three Graland Greats
At the end of this school year, the Graland community will say goodbye to three Master Teachers who have announced their retirement plans. Let’s learn more from these Graland greats, Bob Elisha, director of facilities (22 years), Di Nestel, director of programs (29 years) and Diane Street, receptionist (26 years).
At the end of this school year, the Graland community will say goodbye to three Master Teachers who have announced their retirement plans. Let’s learn more from these Graland greats, Bob Elisha, director of facilities (22 years), Di Nestel, director of programs (29 years) and Diane Street, receptionist (26 years).
If you could go back in time, what moment at Graland would you enjoy again?
Diane: My favorites are the days that each of my grandkids came in and interviewed for Graland. Chase interviewed with Di and he talked about how high he could jump in his new shoes. Lela interviewed with Cam Monroe and they sang Taylor Swift songs together. What a great start!
Di:Some of the times I feel we are our best are ones that happen every year: the Sam Loewi games, the Kindergarten Rodeo, the Gates Invention Competition. I cry every time we do the Special Olympics. Those traditions are the things that bind us together.
What has changed most since your first years at Graland?
What has changed most since your first years at Graland?
Diane:The Gates Program and how it has grown and changed -- the whole program is phenomenal.
Bob: The physical plant of the school has changed so rapidly over the past 20 years. The old gym and cafeteria being replaced, the Foundations Center is our theater, the Fieldhouse, the Corkins Center. To be part of that progress is great.
How do you hope students, families and colleagues will remember you?
Di:I believe that every single one of my colleagues does what they do because it is in the best interest of kids. I hope families know that all the decisions we make are with kids in mind. They might not always agree with them, but they agree about our good intention.
Bob: For me, its my stewardship -- that they see me caring for a place, and they take a bit of that into their lives to understand what it means to care about their things, home, and families.
What’s in store for your retirement years?
Diane: My husband Butch retired three years ago from the National Park Service and there are many parks that he wants to show me, starting with Yellowstone and Redwoods. Another big part for me will be spending as much time as I can with my grandkids.
Di: I have always said when I retire I want to take a vacation in September, when everyone goes back to school. I enjoy my life as is, and just want to do more of what I am already doing: hiking, golfing, snowboarding, traveling, gardening. And I don’t have to get up at 5 in the morning to work out before I go to school; I will still work out, just at a sane time.
Bob: For the most part, my life has been about a school campus and cycle, so it will be hard to break those routines. I have a bucket list for travel, including a dream trip to Ceský Krumlov in the Czech Republic with the whole family. I like to garden, so I want to volunteer at the Botanic Gardens or with Habitat for Humanity. I would love them to say, “Here are some pruners, spend six hours.”
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
