Bridges Community School
April 2019
Mark Your Calendars
Apr. 4 - Cub Connection 5:30pm-7:00pm
Apr. 9 - District Student Art Show
Apr. 9 - Site Council Meeting
Apr. 11 - Children's Theatre/The Hobbit (Grades 3-5)
Apr. 12 - Monarch Meadows (4th Grade)
Apr. 16 - The Works Museum (2nd Grade)
Apr. 16 - Are You Smarter Than...? (Mankato West HS 6:00pm)
Apr. 19 - No School
Apr. 25 - Spaghetti Dinner/Silent Auction (Kato Ballroom 4:30pm-7:30pm
Apr. 26 - North Mankato Taylor Library (3rd Grade)
Apr. 26 - Rising Scholar Field Trip (Gustavus)
Apr. 27 - Regional Science Fair
May 1 - Spring Bus Evacs (Grades K-3)
May 2 - MLC Children's Theatre / The Cat in the Hat (Grades K-2)
May 3 - Math Masters (5th Grade)
May 6 - Music Informances (Shaw/Townsend/Ertman)
May 6 - 5th GradeTrip / Parent Meeting (Mandatory)
Kindergarten Registration
2019-20 Classroom Requests
Handbook 2018-2019: Bridges Community School has a strong team approach to building community with high quality staff. The compact provides an opportunity for parents to support educational decisions the Bridges team and individual classroom teachers make regarding curriculum and opportunities for learning. Final decisions for class placement will be the decision of Bridges staff based on specific learning variables and parent requests will be considered. Parent requests for classroom teachers should be written only in specific instances directly related to an educational concern.
Requests for classroom teachers must follow the protocol set up by Bridges Community staff.
Requests must be in writing and turned in before May 1 of the current school year to be considered for the following school year.
The request should define an educational purpose supporting your child’s need.
Requests should not be for the purpose of keeping or putting friends together.
Bridges class lists for 2019-2020 will be completed May 7. Class lists may be subject to change as determined by Bridges leadership over the summer. Class lists will be posted in August.
Tentative Staffing List for 2019-2020 School Year
Kindergarten:
Mrs. Hagedorn and Mrs. Shaw
First Grade:
Mrs. Sletten and Mrs. Larson
Second Grade:
Mrs. Miller and TBA
Third Grade:
Mrs. Hatlestad and Mr. Hatlestad
Fourth Grade:
Mr. Olson and Mrs. Townsend
Fifth Grade:
Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Ertman
Intervention:
Mrs. Morris
Resource:
Mrs. Struckman
Music, Media, Phy. Ed, Art:
TBA
BAC Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction
1. We are still looking for many silent auction donations, family contributions, and business sponsors. Please considering helping in any way you can to make this event a success. Email BAC bridgesadvisorycommittee@gmail.com for more information on how you can help.
2. All spaghetti dinner ticket packets will be distributed at conferences.
3. We will need volunteers for the day of the spaghetti dinner, April 25 at the Kato Ballroom! A volunteer sign up will be emailed out in April, but PLEASE save the date and consider volunteering for set up and working the night of the event.
4. We will be having a cereal walk this year instead of a cake walk! This means that your child will win boxes of cereal instead of cake! Who doesn't want a lot of extra breakfast cereal in their pantry?! We will have a donation box in the Bridges office for cereal donations.
Thursday, Apr 25, 2019, 04:30 PM
Kato Ballroom, Chestnut Street, Mankato, MN, USA
From the School Counselor, Mrs. Olivo
This month in my classroom lessons we focused on self-control. We focused on strategies that we can use to get ourselves back to the Green Zone when we have feelings that make it hard for us to focus and do our best work.
In Kindergarten we reviewed each of the Zones and then practiced how to take deep breaths (breathing in through our nose and out through our mouth). We practiced ocean breathing and volcano breathing. In First Grade after reviewing the Zones and practicing deep breathing, we did something called a Body Scan where we practiced tightening different muscles in our body and then relaxing them. In Second grade, we reviewed the Zones and practiced some strategies that can calm us down including dancing around, ocean breathing, square breathing and squeezing lemons (squeezing our fists for 10 seconds as if we were squeezing the juice out of a lemon and then releasing our fists). Second Grade students then created their own toolbox with tools that help them calm down when they need to get back to the Green Zone.
In Third Grade we played a game called "Watch, Listen, Do" that required serious focus and self-control. Between rounds of "Watch, Listen, Do" we practiced strategies that help our focus and self-control including deep breathing, visualization and squeezing lemons. Afterwards we tried again and found better success! Fourth Grade students also practiced some focus and self-strategies while learning about mindfulness and how mindfulness can help our self-control and get us back the Green Zone. Finally, Fifth Grade students learned about the importance of self-talk (the things we think to ourselves). We talked about the difference between our inner critic (negative thoughts) and inner coach (positive thoughts).
For the month of April our focus will be teamwork! As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at 507-207-5238 or by email at aolivo1@isd77.k12.mn.us. Thanks!
Spring Has Sprung
Bridges Parent Pick Up Protocol
All students are dismissed at the end of the day at 2:40. Teachers dismiss ACES students from their classrooms at 2:35 and take the rest of the students outside to line up for pick up. Students are dismissed to their bus line at 2:40 and walkers are dismissed.
Parents wishing to pick up early from school or parents who pick up at the end of the day must follow the protocol to ensure your child’s safety.
Students are dismissed by their classroom teacher to a parent or legal guardian.
Parents wishing to have an alternative adult pick up their children must notify the office of who that person is so the office can notify the teacher. (Routine alternate adult pick ups can be set up at the beginning of the year.)
Babysitters - please leave their name and days for pick up with office staff.
Grandparents - please leave their name with office staff.
Friends - when student is going home with another family. (We cannot have other parents volunteer to take a student home without parent permission.)
Relatives - please leave name with office staff.
We cannot release students to adults other than the parent or guardian without notification even if the child is able to identify the adult.
We will release a student to an adult registered as an emergency contact in the event we cannot get in touch with the parent or guardian.
Parents calling in to let us know they are running late must understand that their children will be brought to the office at 2:45 and should be picked up as soon as possible. Late pick up cannot be a habit or pattern due to business that is conducted after student hours by Bridges staff. ACES is available for routine or daily late pick ups.
Rain Days and Below Zero Days
Students should enter door 2 on rainy days and below zero days in the morning between 7:45-8:00. They can go to the auditorium where they will have staff supervision until time for school to begin. The main entrance, door 1, will be opened at 8:00a.m.
Students will remain in their rooms on rainy days and below zero days until 2:40 pick up. Parents should pick up their children in their classrooms at the end of the day. Bus students will be excused when buses arrive and ACES will be excused at 2:40.
Students will have indoor breaks and recess on rainy days and below zero days.
Illness and Attendance
If your child has had a fever or has been vomiting, we ask that you keep them home 24 hours after symptoms are gone without medication. Please call the school office attendance line: 207-5204 if your child is ill or has a doctor's appointment and will be in after. Please contact the school office if your child will be out of school or late for any reason. If you let your child’s teacher know through email, please email Tammy Hayes as well at thayes1@isd77.k12.mn.us
Head Lice: Please report so the office is aware of it. District Policy states parents are notified if three cases are in one classroom. A request to treat is made by the school nurse. Parents are not mandated to pull their child from school for treatment but it will be advised.Late Start Days
Lunch
Parents are welcome to eat lunch at any time. Please let the office know by 9:00a.m. on the day that you plan to eat. Lunch for parents and visitors is $3.75. We do not have any cash in the office so please bring correct change. Parents and siblings may not use student pin numbers.
School lunch times:
Kindergarten - Lunch 11:00-11:20 Recess - 11:20-11:40
First Grade - Lunch 11:30-11:50 Recess - 11:50-12:10
Second Grade - Lunch 11:15-11:35 Recess - 11:35-11:55
Third Grade - Lunch 11:45-12:05 Recess - 12:05-12:25
Fourth Grade - Recess 11:40-12:00 Lunch - 12:00-12:20
Fifth Grade - Recess 11:50-12:10 Lunch - 12:10-12:30
Community Group and All School Meeting
Bridges Community School
320 Garfield Avenue, North Mankato
Phone: 507-387-2800 / Fax: 507-387-3143
Lead Teacher: Robin Courrier
Secretary: Amanda Robinson
Nurse: Tammy Hayes