Trailblazer Tribune
BRIDGE VALLEY'S NEWSLETTER
September 30, 2016
Save the Date!
The following are quick reminders for upcoming events:
· Monday, October 3rd - No School - Rosh Hashanah
· Tuesday, October 4th – 5th Grade Ropes Course (Day 1)
· Thursday, October 6th – 5th & 6th Grade Visiting Author
· Friday, October 7th – 5th Grade Peace Valley Nature Center
· Monday, October 10th – 5th Grade Ropes Course (Day 2)
· October 10th - 14th - Celebrate Education Week
· October 6th-14th – Fall Book Fair
· Wednesday, October 12th - No School - Yom Kippur
· Saturday, October 15th – Bridge Valley Fall Festival
· October 17th-21st – Art Goes to School
· Friday, October 28th - Halloween Parade - 9:30AM
· Friday, October 28th - Halloween Parties - 2:00PM
· Friday, October 28th - 6th Grade Halloween Howl - 7:00PM
The Harlem Wizards vs BV Teachers!
Celebrate Education Week 2016
October 10th – 14th
Celebrate Education Week is an opportunity to visit your child’s classroom and watch your children in action as they learn something new, participate in a curricular activity, or give a special presentation for visitors. This year, Central Bucks invites you to join us the week of October 10-14, 2016.
We invite you to come and join us, remembering that this is an “adults only” visit as small children may disrupt instruction during this time. The chart below provides target times to come and visit so that we may concentrate efforts, and accommodate parking, traffic flow, etc. If you are unable to join us on the dates and times listed or a time is not specified for your child’s particular grade level, please note that you are more than welcome to visit anytime during the week.
The schedule for Bridge Valley Celebrate Education Week is as follows:
*If a specific teacher is not listed and there is a specific activity you would like to observe in their classroom (i.e. Art, Resource Room, Speech, etc.), you are welcome to contact that teacher individually to setup a time to visit or arrive at your convenience this week.
Halloween
Friday, October 28, 2016
The parade will be held at 9:30AM. The students will be parading outside around the main bus parking lot. If you plan on attending the parade, we ask that you stand along the curb that surrounds the perimeter of the bus lot. Please plan to arrive no earlier than 9:00AM. If it is raining, the parade will be canceled.
Classroom parties will begin at 2:00PM and last until 2:45PM, unless an alternative time has been arranged with the classroom coordinators. Parents who have already volunteered to assist with this event, should plan on signing in at the school office.
CB and BVE Perform Well on 2016 PSSAs
To read more about the successful performance of our school and district on the PSSA, check out today's article in the Intelligencer Central Bucks, New Hope-Solebury score high marks on PSSAs.
Volunteers Needed ~ BVE Fall Book Fair
PIRATE Book Fair -- Fall 2016
"There is more treasure in books, than all the pirates loot on Treasure Island" - Walt Disney
It's time to help our students 'hook' a good book! Volunteers will run the registers and help students navigate the balance between books and book-marks and gadgets.
Please click here to volunteer and be a good matey!
Pirate Book Fair: Where Books are the Treasure!
Parenting Toolbox
Welcome back to school. Each month your school’s newsletter will feature some information elementary counselors are sharing about anxiety and children. We hope you will be able to find resources each month to add to your parenting toolbox.
What is anxiety?
Healthy anxiety
Motivating
Fluctuates in response to stress
Mild – enhances performance
Excessive anxiety
Persists over an extended period of time
Does not fluctuate as a response – is more chronic
Interferes with performance
In the coming months we will provide strategies for parents in helping children learn to navigate through anxiety in a healthy way. Your job as a parent is NOT to rescue or prevent your child from feeling distress. Your job is to model, teach, and support your child with active coping skills. Your reaction to your child’s response to stress is what he/she sees first.
Elementary Report Card Committee Update
At the end of last school year, Mr. Cochran asked if I would sit on the Elementary Report Card Committee. Created by the district, this committee's purpose is to come up with the perfect report card. Led by Dr. David Bolton, the 41-member Committee is comprised of staff developers, principals, assistant principals, elementary school teachers and parents. We meet for 2 hours every other Monday at the district office to collaborate and discuss sample reports cards from the surrounding areas, discuss common themes and provide input as to what would make the perfect report card for each of us. There are a number of positive impressions I have garnered from this committee that I would like to share: the high level of constructive collaboration and sharing of ideas, the academic expertise of our educators, and most importantly and really way above these first two thoughts, is how deeply and passionately our educators care for our children, our schools and our district. I cannot stress this enough.
The plan is to have a draft document for grades 1-6 by winter to present to the board for approval in order to train teachers, parents, etc. before the 2017-2018 school year. While we work to come up with a revised report card, you will notice that some changes have been made for this year's report card:
Grades 1-6:
· Reduced number of success standards from 19 to 11 in grades 1-6.
Grades 5 & 6 only:
· Addition of letter grades in all content areas.
· Standards will be evaluated through a +, S, - system instead of E, M, A, and LP
As the year progresses, I will continue to bring you updates on the Elementary Report Card Committee's progress. Leaving you with one additional note - in addition to chocolates at every meeting, I have the benefit of seeing former principal Dr. Garvin, former assistant principal Mrs. Carter and new assistant principal Mrs. Fantaskey at these meetings.
Kelly Imperato,
BVE Parent Representative
BRIDGE VALLEY FALL FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, October 15th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
We will have lots of fun activities for the whole family!!
- Lootbag
- DJ Ed Z
- Games and Prizes
- Face Painting
- Color Hairspray
- Temp Tattoos
- Pumpkin for each child with all decorating supplies
- Bake Sale
- Cake Walk
- Scarecrow Contest
There will be food and drinks for sale and free coffee for the adults!
This is always a very popular event where all Bridge Valley Families and kids can
get together…come for an hour or stay all day!
If you would like to join the Fall Fest Committee, please contact Kerry Eron at fruity@comcast.net
Fundraising (Passive)
Please register your Giant Rewards Card for free money for our school.