BFPP NEWS
Friday, October 15th, 2021
Principal's Corner
Hello BFPP families,
At BFPP we have a core value and practice of partnership with our family community by including them in the design, decisions and implementation or our program. We want to build a program that is responsive to the needs and desires of the community we serve. This started at the beginning of the program, and is a continued practice. We regularly include families in providing input and feedback through a variety of tools. This helps us stay connected to the needs and values of our diverse family community. Whether in a survey (see below), Thought Partner Meeting (also below, mark your calendars), or conversation, we hope to include your voice in how things work. That is partnership!
Please take some time--approximately 5-7 minutes--to complete the survey below. We will be using your feedback to inform our first Thought Partner Meeting on 10/26 and to build our Quarter 2 program calendar. Thank you!
Warmly, k
Thought Partner Meeting
Upcoming Events
- 10-19 i-ready Informational Meeting 2:00-2:30pm
- 10-21 LEO K-8 Informational Meeting 3:15-4:15pm (K-2nd: 3:15-3:45pm, 3rd-8th: 3:45-4:15)
- 10-22 Family Survey Due
- 10-26 Thought Partner Meeting 4-5pm
- 11-5 Purple Friday – No Classes
- 11-11 Holiday – Veteran’s Day – No Classes
- 11-12 End of Q1 – End of 1st Quarter Classes
- 11-15 Beginning of Q2 – 1st day of 2nd Quarter Classes
K-2 LEO Families
We are grateful for your patience, as we got Dreambox and Lexia up and running for your students. To help with ease of access to both, we have created a “Landing Page” which is pinned to the top of the page in your students’ Seesaw journal. Please watch the short video below showing how to get to Dreambox and Lexia from Seesaw (as well as the monthly calendars).
Click here to watch the video!
To learn more about Dreambox and Lexia:
Dreambox – This math program is adaptive to your student and provides engaging math interaction via games and activities. To watch an overview video from Dreambox, please click this LINK.
Lexia – This reading program is also adaptive but will begin with a placement test designed to place students in a starting program level. To watch an overview video from Lexia Core 5, please click this LINK.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best,
The K-2 LEO Team
3-8 LEO Families
Journals as a Support with Edgenuity:
Even though your student(s) is working in an online platform for all or some of their courses, we felt it was important to provide an optional journal as support for their courses. A composition notebook with lined paper as well as a Science/Math journal with grid paper is available for pickup for your student. These are optional, as you may already have a system in place. But please know that these resources are available and can be picked up during regular pickup hours at BFPP (Tuesdays from 9-10am, Thursdays from 9-10am and 4-5pm).
How to Monitor Your Student’s Progress in Edgenuity:
We are happy to share two options to support you in monitoring your student’s progress through Edgenuity.
One option is called the Family Portal. Please watch this video to see what the Family Portal looks like and what it offers. Family Portal
If, after watching the video, this is an option you would like, please complete the Family Portal Sign-Up Form HERE.
A second option is to use your student’s login information to log into Edgenuity. Please watch this video to see how you can find a very useful
Course Report for your learner. Logging into student account and using Course Reports
If you have any questions, please reach out to Janie.overman@bellinghamschools.org.
Movement in Early Childhood (and beyond!)
Dancing and moving are fun, and children LOVE to have fun. Teaching in a way that allows and encourages movement and bodily expression enhances brain development, creativity, and social emotional intelligence. One form of creative movement that I include in many of my Early Childhood classes is the BrainDance, which was created by Anne Green Gilbert in 2008:
"The BrainDance is a body–brain exercise with infinite variations. This flexible framework is based on early movement patterns and involuntary reflexes that build our brain and body. Moving through the eight BrainDance patterns at any age improves cognition . . . by increasing the protein in our brain cells, reduces depression by increasing the flow of serotonin and dopamine, maintains flexibility through the release of synovial fluid, develops core strength, reduces fatigue and stress, and increases attention and focus."
-From BrainDance to Support Emotional Learning by Anne Green Gilbert
The basics of the BrainDance involve moving through developmental patterns that humans would naturally go through during the first 12 or so months of life, and include breath, touch, growing from small to large and back again, moving one side of the body at a time, and a few more.
If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of this form of movement, check out this link. And if you’d like to get started right away, I’ve also included some videos for your family to follow along.
Braindance Videos in all kinds of styles:
- Intellidance Wave Hello Brain Dance
- Brain Dance with Gary Reed
- Brain Dance with Jessica DiLorenzo
- Intellidance® Presents: Hip Hop Preschool BrainDance
- Brain Dance Hokey Pokey for Kids by Intellidance®️
I hope you enjoy dancing together and I’ll be seeing you around!
--Teacher Carol (Maestra)
Early Learner's World Archives
i-ready- Foundational Reading Skills Assessment
We are in the midst of planning for administration of the district's i-ready assessment, which will take place during the week of Oct. 25-28. I-ready is a new reading assessment tool that gives information about a student's early reading skills.
We will have an informational session next Tuesday, October 19 from 2:00-2:30. Families of students in first and second grades who would like more information, want to attend the informational session, or would like to have their child participate in the assessment can fill out this i-ready sign up form and we will be in touch!
Annual State Assessment Opportunity
Students in grades 4-8 at BFPP will have the opportunity to participate in taking state assessments this fall to measure English language arts (ELA), mathematics and science proficiency. These assessments typically happen in the spring but were postponed because of the pandemic. Fall tests will reflect the grades the students were in during last school year, 2020-21.We encourage students, families and staff to keep these assessments in perspective and to remember that state tests are only one benchmark.
We will be sending more information soon, but wanted to let you know that these assessments will be offered.
Parent Advisory Committee
The PAC is a representative group of families from across the school district. They meet regularly to share insights from the family perspective and hear from Dr. Baker and the district. We're looking for two folks to represent BFPP at these meetings.
Meetings occur from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Thursdays, with some being via Zoom and (hopefully) some in-person at the District Office.
Meetings for 2021-22 are scheduled as follows: Oct. 14, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19.
If you are interested in being a BFPP PAC rep, please contact Principal Kate.
Math Enrichment Opportunities
This is a perfect time to learn with exploding dots, a visual way to play with so many mathematical ideas like fractions, negative numbers, and even polynomial division.
Also, BFPP will again have a Math Olympiad team for MOEMS (4th-6th graders) and a team for MathCounts (6th-8th graders). A practice packet for these tests is available at BFPP. If your child is interested or you want to find out more, please contact Rachel Throolin to get on her email list!
Museum of Northwest Art
The Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner is free and open 10-5 Monday through Saturday. The current exhibition, Future Artifacts by Dan Friday, showcases the vibrant works of Coast Salish Artists.
In preparation for your trip (or upon your return!), check out these free art lessons from the museum's robust collection inspired by northwest artists.
NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
What is NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, empowering approach to creative writing. The challenge: draft an entire novel in just one month. Why do it? For 30 wild, exciting, surprising days, you get to lock away your inner editor, let your imagination take over, and just create!
NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program (YWP) takes that joyful, focused approach to creative writing and makes it accessible to young writers, educators, and families. How does it work?
Participants aged 17-and-under can sign up for accounts at ywp.nanowrimo.org.
To work on a novel, you can join an official event (like NaNoWriMo in November), set a word-count goal, and try to reach it by the end of the month. The YWP allows participants to set individualized goals. 1,000 words? 10,000? 100,000??? It's up to you!
Young writers can write directly in their YWP writing space (or in a separate document), find inspiration in our noveling resources, and tap a worldwide community of fellow writers for support in the forums.
Holiday Supports and Resources
Information about community holiday supports can be found on the Family Support Services page of the district website.
Salvation Army is taking sign-ups for their Christmas program now- They start early, and stop taking applications on October 29th.
Pitsco Education Holiday Card Contest
To enter the contest, download and print out an entry form, take a picture of your completed entry, and email it to Heidi Zollner by Wednesday, November 3rd.
Newsletter Ideas and Contributions Welcome
Do you have a news item to share with our school community at large? How about ideas on how to help this newsletter better meet our school's needs? Please let me know- I'd love to hear from you!
-Heidi Zollner