Only one more week of school and then we are off for Thanksgiving Break. Bridge has a lot to be thankful for - generous donations from organizations allowing us to purchase a Buddy Bench, decodable chapter books and a 3-D printer for our STEM classes (more information about that coming soon). We are grateful for the ability to have parent volunteers helping in our school this year. As we analyze data we are grateful for the progress students are making in reading and math. We are grateful for an entire staff of individuals committed to making Bridge a positive and supportive learning environment.

And, most importantly, we KNOW you have lots of schools from which to choose, including your neighborhood schools and many charter schools in other cities. We are SO grateful you have chosen Bridge Elementary for you child's education!

Please keep reading the bulletin for important updates and information.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Lani Rounds

Principal

Bridge was blessed with the donation of a Buddy Bench from Avery's Dream Foundation. Please take a moment to watch the video to see HOW the bench is used at school. Talk to your kids about the bench - how they can use it to MAKE a friend or BE a friend.

https://youtu.be/kBaAW4F6SEM

Almost immediately after it was unveiled kids were using it. I watched a little girl sit on the bench and shortly after another child asked her to play and off they went together. A parent sent in the following email. This is more evidence that YOUR child can make difference in the life of another. Please teach your children to BE KIND and what a difference a little action like asking someone to play, can have on a child's life.

Hello, I just wanted to reach out to say how thrilled I am about the Buddy bench. Everyday I ask my child how his day was and more times than not he would say “not so good, I didn’t play with anyone today.” But today he told me he heard about the Buddy bench and went searching for it and sat and immediately had kids coming up to play with him. It makes me so happy knowing there is now a place to go when looking for a friend. I want to thank the school and the donator for providing a special place just for that.

We are super excited to offer another opportunity for background checks for our parent volunteers. You do NOT need a background check to come and help at school BUT you do need a background check to help out at the school or on a field trip if you will be out of the sight of staff. For example, if your child's class goes to the zoo on a field trip and you would like to chaperone a group of students, you would need a background check in order to be alone with your child and other students. If you would like a background check please stop by the school on December 7, 9:00 - 11:00 am. You must bring a form of state ID with you, for example a driver's license.

Imagine Learning is a big part of our personalized learning experience. Students use Imagine daily for reading and math. But, more importantly, teachers use the data to help identify areas of need and then create intervening lessons to use during small group or assign intervening lessons through Imagine learning. Our students are expected to complete 100 minutes of Imagine reading and math each week. Teachers closely follow usage to ensure students are meeting the weekly goals. The program does NOT count idle minutes or time students spend creating their avatar. If your child is logged in but not engaged in the program, the minutes do not count.

Students can also use Imagine Learning at home, however, a word of caution - if you student IS using Imagine Learning at home, PLEASE do not give them any answers as they are adaptive programs and if they answer something correctly the program thinks the child KNOWS the information and moves them forward. For math, grades 3+ have access to a live teacher online if they get stuck. Please check with your child's teacher for information about using Imagine Learning at home.

Students who are not reaching their goal in the classroom because of absences or failure to remain engaged, are encouraged to use Imagine Learning at home to reach their goals. This is NOT a requirement - homework at Bridge is optional and students can choose to do it to help them achieve their goals. Thoroughness and determination are two character traits we teach. Our hope is students will WANT to achieve their goals and will work hard to accomplish them, even if it means doing school work at home.

In addition to tracking minutes, we closely monitor the number of lessons a child passes. For math, the research has shown that if a child passes 30 lessons during the school year they will have completed about one year of growth in math. Ask your child how many math lessons they have passed. Almost every grade has a visual counter, from ice cream cones in kindergarten, knights and a castle in 2nd grade, to a bear chasing students in 5th grade. Many students have Imagine Learning math lesson completion as a goal on their personalized learning plan (PLP) and have Imagine Learning Math as an activity they can complete at home to help them achieve their goal.

Please mark your calendars and plan on joining the Ready 2 Teach team at Bridge for lunch on December 9 at 12:00 noon. During your visit you can learn about how their substitute program works, get your background check AND get free lunch while you are at it. We pay our subs $14 hour.

For more information on subbing at Bridge please visit

https://www.ready2teach.com/substitutes-wanted

Mad Science is a private organization that rents space at our school on Friday, 1:30 - 2:30, to offer a hands-on after school science class to students in grades K-6. The next class will begin in January. Look for information on our social media page in December to sign up your students.

We are SO excited to have parent volunteers in school! Please remember to log your hours and/or the money you donate towards your volunteer time. You can log your hours by clicking on the RED BUTTON on this page: https://www.bridgecharter.org/volunteer-opportunities

Once a family has 30 hours they are added to our Volunteer Pond in the front foyer of the school.

Just a couple of reminders:

• Only Bridge logo jackets and hoodies can be worn during school (any type of jacket can be worn at recess). Sweaters are NOT a dress code item to be worn during school except at recess.
• All bottoms - pants, skirts, jumpers must be BLACK or TAN only. Blue and gray are NOT the dress code appropriate colors for bottoms - this is NOT new - our bottom colors have ALWAYS been black or tan only.
• Leggings worn under dresses/skirts must be black, tan or white only. Striped, colored, polka dots, etc. are cute but are not dress code.

You can find ALL of the rules on our website at:

https://www.bridgecharter.org/policies-procedures

Or use this link to download the Dress Code Specifications: DRESS CODE

INITIATIVE teaches students to "RECOGNIZE AND DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE I AM ASKED TO DO IT".

Practice these "I WILL" statements with your student:

• Do what is right BEFORE I am told.
• Not put off until later what I can do now.
• Do my part for the team.
• Be part of the solution rather than the problem.
• Look for ways to help others.

Our mission is to empower students to take ownership of their own learning. By learning, practicing and embracing these visible learning traits, students will have the skills needed to become accountable for their own lifelong learning. You can find the six Visible Learning traits on our website at Visible Learning