Burchfield's Bulletin
September 18-22 (School Days 20-24)
- The 9/11 awareness throughout the building was a good way to start the week.
- Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers attended meeting to assist them with their new reading curriculum. We all know there will be bumps and curves to slow us down when we make changes to something new and different. I just want to say thanks to these 8 teachers willing to take the risk and step out of their comfort zone. Ultimately, they will be helping make recommendations for next year's reading curriculum. That is a lot of pressure but I will say they are taking this process serious. I value their expertise and can do attitude even when things are hard. It reminds me that that is exactly what we should be asking our students to do every day. Listen, follow directions, and don't give up. The hard work will produce great results.
- The Scholastic Book Fair continued as well as the Big Kahuna Fundraiser. I know it seems like we are asking parents for a lot of funds right now but truly the products they are receiving in return for the funds are good for them and great for us in the long run. Thanks for encouraging the things that support learning AND funds for our school.
- We moved on to making preparations for Grandparents' Day. I appreciate how most of you really worked to make sure your bulletin board was looking good with great student work. I really appreciate the paras and interventionists who jumped in to get the common bulletin boards ready for guests and quite frankly our students to see. Kudos to everyone who took the time to provide at least one of their favorite children's book. I saw several people on Friday admiring and noticing books they too loved. Some of the books were truly "Old School." Right, Genevieve? I had a super hard time selecting one book. With our focus being on reading, I thought it might be fun to let a class display their favorite books in the display case until we got 3D work from a class for display. When your class is ready to display either favorite books or 3D work, let me know and we'll make room. Back to Grandparents' Day preparations I have to say a huge thanks to Dave and Sheri who secured tables for lunch on Friday. They also picked up (literally) tables from the other schools on Thursday which was a huge feat. The set up on Thursday afternoon was so much easier with the help of so many of you after school. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you, Lindsay, for securing a trailer, too.
- Friday was amazing. I know it is caused a bit of anxiety for some but you were great. The students were great. The grandparents were so very appreciative of our efforts - building looking good, space to spread out and eat, pictures taken, and transportation to the door! Please reiterate with your parents how much you appreciate their involvement in getting the message to grandparents. Also, make sure to let your parent volunteers know how much we appreciate their help in so many areas. Friends, a Thank You card can make a big difference in someone's life.
GREAT NEWS FROM DAVE MASON
I am seeing GREAT things in the classrooms I have visited so far. Please remember I only get to see a snapshot of your entire lesson or activity. The feedback I provide is not only for you to reflect upon, but also for me to gather more information of what I missed or have questions about. Please come see me and let’s have a conversation if you have any questions or need to expand upon parts of the lesson I missed. Through open and honest conversation can we improve and in turn our students become successful.
ART PROJECT!!!! Ok Academy of the Arts at Bransom….we have a fun art project we will start very soon that will require the input from every person on our campus and we will present the finished piece at our Veteran’s Day celebration in November. The project will not require a lot of extra time or effort from you, just a little paint on some paper (values of red, grey and blue) and you and your students can work on it anytime you have some down time/reward time in your classroom. More info to come this week.
Also, opening this weekend is the new groundbreaking film, “Loving Vincent”, an animated movie about the life and works of
Vincent Van Gogh. This is the best part; the film was created entirely on individual canvases in oil paints in the style of
Vincent Van Gogh! It is visually breathtaking! I have attached a link to the movie preview as well as a behind the scenes documentary on how the animators created the film.
Mrs. Burchfield and I are trying to put together a plan for us to have a movie watching party at a local theater for interested staff members. More to come and here are the links to the film and behind the scenes short:
2016-2017 ACADEMIC RESULTS
Remember that the Approaches % indicates the % of students who are likely to succeed at the next grade level but only with targeted academic interventions. The Meets % indicates the % of students who have a high likelihood of success at the next grade level but only with short-term. targeted academic interventions. The Meets % is the % of students that we would consider on grade level. The Masters % indicates the % of students who are highly likely to succeed at the next grade level.
WEDNESDAY FACULTY MEETING
We will also be looking at results by student groups so please identify students in the following student groups in your class:
Hispanic
Special Education
Section 504
Economically Disadvantaged
Gifted and Talented
At-Risk of Failure
ACCOUNTABILITY
Index #1 - Basic Achievement among all students on all tests (How many passed?) 670/831 = 81% or 81 points (State Target=60) All Student Groups and All tests (7 points lower than 2016)
Index #2 - Student Progress of 4th and 5th graders (How much growth did Bransom students make from previous state assessment?) 292/800 = 37% or 37 points (State Target=32) All 4th and 5th Grade Students, Hispanic, and White Student Groups (6 points lower than 2016)
Index #3 - Closing Performance Gap (How did our typically lowest performers do? (Ethnic Groups & EcD)) 480/1200 = 40% or 40 points (State Target=28) Economically Disadvantaged and Hispanic Student Groups (5 points lower than 2016)
Index #4 - Post Secondary Readiness (Are our students on track to graduate college ready or post secondary school ready?) 143/300 = 48% or 48 points (State Target=12) All students, Hispanic and White Students (same # points as 2016)DUTIES and BIRTHDAYS
DUTIES
Beck and Verreault in the gym
Wilson in da Vinci Hall
Wollard in Escher Hall
BIRTHDAYS
September 18 - Happy Modisette
September 21 - Kim Mickels
CALENDAR DATES
This Week:
Monday - Constitution Day
Tuesday - Curriculum Night: Session 1- 5:30 Session 2- 6:15
Wednesday - Big Kahuna Fundraiser Ends; Faculty Business Meeting
Friday - 5th Grade to Bass Hall; 1st Day of FallUpcoming Dates to Remember:
September 25: P.E. Stampede at Kerr Middle School (Come by and at least sign-in. The school with the most participation wins $1000 and a free jeans day. Let's win AGAIN this year.)
September 29: Last day of the 6 weeks grading period
October 5: Bobcat Pride Breakfast; Report cards go home and are final in Skyward
October 6: Student holiday; Teacher Professional Development
October 9: Student and Teacher holiday (Earned Off Day) - Columbus Day; School Board Meeting
October 10th and 12: Units of Study meetings in the library after school
October 12: Opportunity Fund Breakfast
October 14: Founders' Day
Academy of the Arts at Bransom - Where the Arts Make the Difference
Website: http://bransom.burlesonisd.net/
Location: 820 South Hurst Road, Burleson, TX, United States
Phone: 817-245-3600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BransomBobcats/
Twitter: @BransomBobcats