Thursday Thoughts
Mrs. Bollinger's Weekly Update 10/12/23
Hello STEAM @ Tope Friends and Families ~
We are definitely seeing Colorado’s flexibility with what Fall weather looks like. Please make sure that your child is dressing appropriately with layers. Please note that we do not have a Lost and Found. We want to promote responsibility with our children. Years ago, when we did have a lost and found Mr. Peralta and I would bring all of the lost and found items to the cafeteria for children to peruse and claim on a quarterly basis. Marc and/or I would bring bags and bags of items to a local donation center. WHAT DO WE DO? WE make sure that items that are misplaced are returned to children. WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please make sure that all clothing/lunchbox items are labeled, so that they can be returned to the rightful owner.
On Tuesday, we held the School Accountability Committee meeting. We met and discussed our school-wide goals, our data (past and present) and a little bit about our new curriculum resource for reading and STEAM. Usually, these meetings are twice a year. I have had some more parent interest and am considering quarterly meetings. Please email me and let me know if you would like to be part of these meetings.
The upcoming “Butter Braid Fundraiser” is not a PTA fundraiser. This is a school-wide fundraiser. The purpose of the fundraiser is to help us build a fund to support school resources and our STEAM program. We lost Title allocation after the 2020-2021 school year due to our decrease in Free and Reduced population. Therefore, we lost our Title funding. We continue to remain innovative and work to elevate and build our STEAM programming every year. These funds will allow us to continue to do this. Thank you for your support with this fundraiser-- BONUS- They are delicious and excellent to have on hand for the holidays!
We look forward to starting our first day of conferences tomorrow. Today staff members were working diligently to ensure that they are prepared and ready for an informative and productive time to help build an understanding of your child as a learner in this moment.
Conferences are right around the corner. They are an important part of a good school to home connection. We love meeting with you and sharing your child’s learning experiences.
Here is the content to expect~
Meet and Greet
Classroom communication plan
Data- You should be able to understand where your learner falls in math and reading
Writing (grade level sample)
Homework
READ PLANS
PBL/STEAM/Learner Profile discussions
PTA Sign Up
Here are the guidelines that we have set~
Please show up and please show up on time -- many of our teachers have back to back conferences and we cannot accommodate late arrivals.
Please come prepared with any questions and/or concerns.
Please come as part of the team committed to academic, social and emotional growth for your child.
Please monitor siblings and children during the conference.
There is limited time, please ensure that all communication is centered and focused around your child
We are scheduled only a set number of hours for conferences. Each child is allocated 20 minutes per conference. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate multiple conferences per child because we simply do not have adequate time. It is also important that children of divorce or separation see that parents can come together to support them within those 20 minutes. We ask that you please put aside any personal struggles in order to support your child’s future for those 20 minutes. If you anticipate that there might be contention, Mrs. Bollinger is available to sit in on most conferences.
Create a BEAUTIFUL life with your child, Carrie Bollinger
Note from the Health Office
The health office is in need of gently used tops, bottoms and underwear in sizes 7 and up. All donations are greatly appreciated!
Butter Braids Fundraiser
https://store.myfundraisingplace.com/RegisterSeller/27c15af2-5a96-4c35-881a-e8df91a27c88
We will be holding a Butter Braids fundraiser from October 9-23. All proceeds will benefit STEAM activities and field experiences at Tope. Register here for your personal online store, or collect orders via the paper order forms that were sent home with students. ALL money collected must be turned in to the office no later than Monday, October 23rd
Free Shipping deadline extended!
The deadline for FREE SHIPPING for school photos has been extended to October 18th.
Please friend us on our STEAM @ Tope Facebook page! We are working to update our page and let you peek inside our walls weekly! We also love to hear about extraordinary things that our students are doing outside of school so share those with Mrs. Wells to get them on the FB page!
October Words of the Month
October brings a new set of traits. STEAM @ Tope learners can effectively collaborate and communicate! Every morning our WHOLE ENTIRE SCHOOL settles in for a minute to listen to our Mindset Announcement. We encourage you to follow along with this learning and support it at home. All Announcements can be found in the link on our website.
October-
Communicate - We share and receive messages in a way that is respectful to ourselves and others.
Collaborate - We work together with anyone at any time no matter what the situation for a greater purpose.
PBL UPDATE
PBL UPDATE
Our 5th grade students are in the midst of their PBL! Their problem solving statement is ~
How can our STEAM @Tope community contribute to the cause of protecting the Dolores River Canyon Country?
Right now, 5th graders are learning about the problem through field experience and experts in the field. They are quickly transitioning into experts in the field and will soon be considering creating their own solutions to this problem! We look forward to seeing their innovative solutions come to fruition!
Students who have frequent opportunities to engage in science tend to have high perceptions of belonging both within their classroom and outside.
Students are hypothesized to solidify their identity as a “science person” by 2nd grade.
Upcoming Events
12 - NO SCHOOL
13 - NO SCHOOL - Parent Teacher Conferences 8am-4pm
13 - Tope Day at GET AIR
16 - NO SCHOOL
17 - Parent Teacher Conferences 4pm-8pm
18 - Watch DOGS Dad Kickoff Event 6:30-8:00 pm
23 - Last day to turn in Butter Braids forms
STEAM Update from Mrs. Morrison
😎SOLAR ECLIPSE - This Saturday, October 14th
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html
NUCLEAR SCIENCE WEEK
https://www.nuclearscienceweek.org/
3-2-1 Blast OFF
All third through 5th graders were equipped with materials for making Pool Noodle Rockets last week at a STEAM week presentation by the local Atomic Legacy Cabin and Office of Legacy Management. Students were given a challenge to build a Pool Noodle Rocket that will be launched at our upcoming Rocket Launch event during Nuclear Science Week! Students can build their rocket at home and bring it back to school. We will have a launch event on October 25th in the field after school. All rockets are due to school by October 24th. Nuclear Science Week. Students were given the materials and will be answering these questions about their rocket.
Engineering Questions:
1. Record your results: How far did your rocket travel?
2. What can you do to improve your results?
3. How do NASA engineers use nuclear science to power spacecraft and satellites?
4. What did you engineer your rocket to do?
5. What did you learn about rockets and nuclear science?
If your student wants to store their rocket at school for the event, please have them bring it to Room 11, Mrs. Morrison’s room. Students of any age can build a rocket and participate.
PTA and SAC
Our next PTA meeting is scheduled for OCTOBER 10th at 4:15pm. Childcare will be provided. There are THREE ways to support PTA.--
You can become a member and:
1) Just be a member of support (NO COMMITMENTS )
2) Member to attend meetings AND/OR support with events
3) Member and hold an office on the board.
SAC- Our first School Accountability Committee will be on OCTOBER 10th at 5:15. If you are interested in the following content, we hope that you are able to attend!
(What does it mean to be a school that is at “PERFORMANCE”? What assessments do we take at Tope and why? Brief introduction of HMH Into Reading-- our new Reading program, School goals for improvement this year)
STORYBOOK PUMPKIN PATCH ~
The storybook pumpkin patch will begin sprouting in the Tope Library on October 23 and all pumpkins will be judged on October 26.
READ-A-THON ~
The PTA Read-a-Thon will happen in November this year. All funds raised will help fund ART at Tope and Keeping the A in STEAM! We have a school-wide goal of $3000 to pay for our Art Teacher Mrs. Foster.
Watch D.O.G.S. Kickoff Event
Fathers and Father-figures,
On (Wednesday, October 18, 2023) from (6:30 – 8:00 pm) we will be having our annual ‘Dads and Kids’ Pizza Night at our school. We will meet here at the school cafeteria at (6:30 pm) for FREE pizza and drinks. At (7:00) we will have a presentation about our WATCH D.O.G.S.® (Dads Of Great Students) Program. WATCH D.O.G.S.® is an innovative program being used by schools across America which helps them to be positively impacted by the committed involvement of fathers and father-figures in their student’s life. Our goal is to recruit more WatchDOG dads each year and to have you spend at least one day this year at the school to be a positive male role model and to provide an extra set of hands, eyes and ears.
Dads, granddads, uncles, step-dads and adult brothers . . . this is your chance to contribute to your child’s education directly at their school!
In order to participate as a watchdog, you need to do three things:
Fill out the bottom portion of this slip and return it with your student (ASAP) saying that you will attend the pizza night so we’ll have an accurate head count for the food.
OR Email topewatchdogs@gmail.com with your RSVP (how many dads and students)
Complete background check tasks. This presentation will explain how!
3. Mark your calendars, and we’ll see you (Wednesday, October 18, 2023) from (6:30 – 8:00 pm.
Sincerely,
(Tope WATCH DOGS TEAM)