Mill Creek Magic Messages
News and Updates from Mr. Ortman and Mr. Murtha 9/24/2021
6th Graders Take on the Ropes Course Challenge!
This past Monday and Tuesday, September 20-21, we saw our 6th Grade students return to a staple activity of their beginning of the year 6th Grade experience - the ropes course! The 6th Graders traveled to Elbow Lane Day Camp on consecutive days to learn about and participate in ropes course challenges. While ropes course involves a great deal of fun, it also teaches and reinforces important lessons/skills, such as teamwork, focus, trust, self-challenge, grit, determination, and supporting one another. Our 6th Grade students did an amazing job with these lessons/skills and certainly left the experience stronger in each area. The students challenged themselves at their own level... and, for that, we are very proud of them. We also know from the smiles on their faces that they had a very enjoyable experience!
Save the Date - 6th Grade Halloween Howl on Friday, October 22!
Important Dates
- Friday, October 1 - Creekers' Code Friday (wear burgundy and silver!)
- Tuesday, October 5-Thursday, October 7 - Scholastic Book Fair
- Friday, October 22 - 6th Grade Halloween Howl, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Click Link Below to Access HSA Dues Letter for the 2021-2022 School Year...
Principal's Post
Dear Mill Creek Families,
Please see information below about the implementation of a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in CB elementary schools, including Mill Creek. This includes use of a Universal Screener, which will be administered to students, grades K-6, next week.
Central Bucks School District is committed to ensuring that each child makes significant academic progress. To do this we have begun a research-based process to link academic support with specific student learning needs. This process is known as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support or MTSS and provides all students with timely and targeted instruction based upon the results of universal screening tools in reading and mathematics.
Universal screening helps school staff to determine which students may be “at risk” or in need of enrichment. These screenings can include recent results of state or district tests as well as specific academic screening tests; these screening assessments are typically administered to all students two or three times per year. Student and grade level scores are reviewed by the MTSS School Team. Using the data, teams identify students or student groups in need of targeted, skill-specific, intervention or enrichment. The use of universal screenings refines and strengthens our efforts to help all of our students be successful by allowing us to take positive and preventative measures as early as possible.
The universal screening tools in math and reading are very similar to tools we use every day to help us determine where students might have gaps in knowledge and need assistance. It replaces the tools we have used in previous years such as the Developmental Reading Assessment or DRA, the Leveled Reading Assessment or LRA and the CB Math Benchmark Assessment.
The Star Assessments by Renaissance are completed by students electronically in class. More information for parents is available on the Renaissance website at Parent's Guide - Star Assessments | Renaissance. As in the past with our prior assessments, you will be notified if your student is selected for participation in an intervention or enrichment program.
Thank you for your willingness to assist us in building a system of student supports that is linked directly to data. This will ensure that each of our students has the opportunity to receive the assistance they need to achieve academic and success. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.
Respectfully,
Shawn M. Ortman
Principal
From the Desk of Mr. Murtha
I had the pleasure of chaperoning Day 1 of the 2-day 6th Grade Ropes Course earlier this week. It was incredible to see our 6th Grade students not only work on cooperation, focus, and communication but also see them take what I would call "reasonable risks." For one student, that may have involved getting all the way to the top of the rock wall. For another, it may have been to making it halfway up. And for another, it may have been to reach the first "checkpoint" on the wall. We all have diverse levels of comfort based on the activity/situation, and the Ropes Course event encouraged our students to challenge themselves to reach a little bit "higher" based on their own "comfort zone" rather than measure themselves against the "comfort zone" of someone else. So, whether a student made it all the way to the top or made it to some other level of the obstacle, it likely involved a "reasonable risk" for them as an individual.
I work to encourage teachers to take "reasonable risks" with their instruction. For example, if a teacher has a unique idea for a lesson that they can tie into the curriculum, go for it! What's the worst that can happen? In most cases, the worst would be a "flop" of a lesson and some lessons learned for the next "reasonable risk." Or... it could lead to an educational experience that really connects with students and enhances their understanding and growth!
I love to see our students take "reasonable risks" too. Maybe talk to a peer with whom you have never spoken before (could make a new friend or at least learn about someone new). Maybe volunteer to present something in class even though you know it will feel just a bit uncomfortable standing up in front of your peers. Maybe try a new activity (e.g. drawing; playing an instrument)... could end in failure (which is a form of learning in and of itself), or it could lead to something amazing!
Thank you, Mill Creek 6th Graders, for reminding me of the value in taking "reasonable risks" this past week!
Mr. John C. Murtha
Assistant Principal
Creekers' Code Winners!
Congratulations to our K-6th grade students being recognized this week for upholding our Creekers' Code tenets!
- Cooperation
- Respect
- Excellence
- Effort
- Kindness
- Empathy
- Responsibility
- Support
Winners will be invited to the main office to select a prize. These recognized students are:
Instructional Spotlight - Ms. Zachmann, Art
Red Ribbon Information...
Crushing Stigma – Building Mental Strength for Life
The Central Bucks School District and NAMI Bucks County PA are pleased to partner together to offer this program to our community. The event is open to students, adults, and families, and free childcare will be provided for all or a portion of the event as needed. Register for event updates and childcare at www.CBSD.org/crushingstigma_register.
Information from our School Nurse...
Counselor's Corner
New Attendance Information!
School Lunch Information...
In April 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service extended the program that will provide for free meals for all students, regardless of income, for the 2021-22 school year. This has been made possible by nationwide waivers that provide for free meals for all students through June 2022.
All menus are available to be viewed online up to 2 weeks in advance by visiting cbsd.nutrislice.com.
Students are entitled to one complete reimbursable breakfast per day and one complete reimbursable lunch per day. Any second entrée will be charged to the students’ lunch account. We encourage all families to put money on their students account through MySchoolBucks.com as there will be no cash transactions this year in an effort to serve the students as safely and swiftly as possible.
We are thrilled to continue to safely serve students delicious, fresh and nutritious meals at no charge, and we are equally excited to re-introduce our favorite programs to deliver fun, exciting and tasty experiences to students throughout the coming year.
Contact Information
Mr. Shawn Ortman
Principal
267-893-3600
Mr. John C. Murtha
Assistant Principal
267-893-3600
Mill Creek Elementary School
Email: sorman@cbsd.org
Website: http://www.cbsd.org/Domain/19
Location: 638 Bellflower Boulevard, Warrington, PA, United States
Phone: 267-893-3600
Twitter: @CBMillCreek