Pioneer Post
BJHS Weekly Newsletter for Nov. 14-27, 2016
NO SCHOOL NOVEMBER 21ST-25TH! THANKSGIVING BREAK!
Upcoming Bidwell Events
Monday, November 14 - PTA Meeting - Library - 6:00pm
Tuesday, Novemer 15 - Girls' Basketball - @ Notre Dame - 7th at 4pm, 8th at 5pm
Thursday, November 17 - 6th Annual Turkey Feast - MPR - Both lunches
Girls' Basketball vs Sycamore - Gym - 7th at 5:45pm, 8th at 6:45pm
Friday, November 18 - Progress Reports go home
No Tardy Party - Gym - Primetime
Coffee with the Principal - Library - 8:30am
November 21-25 - Thanksgiving Vacation - No School
December 16 - Coffee with the Principal - Library - 8:30am
6TH ANNUAL TURKEY FEAST!
The Turkey Feast will occur at Bidwell on Thursday, November 17. You are invited to attend for a cost of $3.50. The Feast includes: turkey gravy over mashed potatoes with homemade whole wheat roll, fresh green salad, fresh fruit basket, cranberry, pumpkin cookies & milk. Bidwell has two lunch times: 11:22am to 11:58pm for 6th and 7th grade. and 12:16pm to 12:52pm for 8th grade.
BIDWELL NIGHT AT THE OBSERVATORY
The Bidwell Science Department is excited to announce the Bidwell Night at the Observatory in upper Bidwell park on Tuesday, November 29, from 6:30-8:30 PM. Come one, come all, to see the spectacular sights of the night sky.
(If it is raining or overcast, the alternate date is Thursday, Dec. 1.)
SCIENCE NEWS
7th grade science is looking into the basic unit of life, the cells. We are exploring the differences between plant an animal cells by exploring the different organelles and their functions. Students will discover how cells function by using microscopes and creating scale models.
PRINCIPAL'S LETTER
Dear Parents & Community
We have so many things to be grateful for as we enter the holiday season. Our teachers are working harder than ever to provide a quality education for our students. Recently the entire staff met to discuss the school’s behavioral referral process and interventions that can be beneficial to student learning. Our staff has also started to collaborate on creating across content area unit assignments as it relates to STEAM . We are very excited to share our result in the near future on these two important areas and use it to drive future professional development.
The students of Bidwell participate in many acts of giving for children and families within our community during the holidays. These activities include: Food and Toys Drives with barrels placed in the main office and ASB classroom for collection.
We are pleased to announce the creation of a new academic tutoring program after school. “Pioneer After School Scholars” is the name and it aims to support students who are experiencing a need to improve academically. This much anticipated program is being led by teachers Stormie Sutton and Kris Calderon. Tutoring days are: Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays. For more information, please visit our school website..
Our after school program, BLAST serves 130 students. We are proud and in admiration of the students who are here on campus, some days, until 5:30 p.m. This makes for a long day for students, but the dedicated staff of teachers and adult aides under the direction of Stephanie Johnson keep students safe and engaged with ample time for homework assistance.
Let us look forward to a new year full of promise and potential. It is an honor and privilege to serve you and your students as Principal at Bidwell where “Pioneers Strive for Excellence!” If there is a specific need you find regarding your student’s progress, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can expect semester grades in the mail to arrive during winter break.
Happy Holidays from Bidwell!
Leonardo Lopez
ENGLISH
The end of the semester is on its way and the Bidwell English department is busy heading into the home stretch. After finishing up our spooky stories unit, eighth grade students started right away on their biography research projects. For this important assignment, students have been doing research on influential people and organizing their information into a five paragraph research paper. They’ve learned more about what makes for a source credible, how to annotate articles, and using Cornell Notes to keep their paragraphs organized--all skills we hope will follow them to high school. Our last unit of the year is the novel by Jack London, The Call of the Wild which we will read over the course of several weeks approaching winter break. In seventh grade, students are finishing up their short stories unit, continuing to reinforce their grammar skills, and writing paragraphs using textual evidence to support claims. Shortly after Thanksgiving break, students will begin reading Touching Spirit Bear and learning about a new trend in the justice system called restorative justice. This approach works on healing both the victim and criminal rather than focuses solely on punishment. We look forward to getting into the holiday spirit with your students and getting ready for semester two.
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
Girls' basketball GAME Tuesday at Notre Dame. 7th grade plays at 4 pm and 8th at 5 pm.
Upcoming home game Thursday, 5:45 - 7th and 6:45 - 8th against Sycamore.
Player of the week for 11/11/16 was Carly Thompson!
BLAST UPDATE
Kids and teachers have been having a BLAST at BLAST! we have been able to help our students organize their backpacks through what we called a "fall cleaning." We found a lot of trash and also a few bits of treasure. Our students are taking advantage of our homework hour with the teachers and are truly learning time management skills.
We have also had the privilege of having our CAVE Aide Ruiz do a science experiment with us this week. The students learned about Emulsification and what molecules and atoms are. Keep an eye out for us! The newspaper came and watched our experiment so we may be famous!
During our activity time we are still the reigning champions of dodgeball! We won 4 games to 2, but Chico Junior gave us a run for our money bringing over 37 kids to our 25. We are really enjoying having the trophy in our classroom for the third game in a row. The last dodgeball game is December 2nd at Chico Junior, and then we move onto basketball. Stay tuned for future BLAST updates!
Emulsion science experimENT! CAVE Aide Ruiz teaching BLAST kids what it looks like to be a science major.
LEADERSHIP
The Leadership Class has been very busy lately. Besides running a successful Magazine/Cookie Dough fundraiser that grossed over $40,000, we also put on, with the help of PTA, our Fall Dance that boasted over 500 Bidwell students dancing the night away. Last week's Fall Spirit week also came to a close with an amazing Spirit Rally that was planned entirely by student leaders which included a performance by the Bidwell Band. The next couple months don't show any sign of slowing down. Among the many events and activities we are planning are our Holiday Spirit Week and a school-wide canned food drive.
The Leadership Class has also decided to adopt-a-family through the Northern California Catholic Social Services. This is part of the community service portion of the class. Students will be bringing gifts and food to support a needy family during the holiday season.
For more information on any of our events, or to offer your help at any of our events please contact Bill Battaglia at bbattagl@chicousd.org
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ASB Student Store
Great News! The ASB Student Store is stocked!
Come to Room 406A between 9am and 1pm to purchase any of our new items.
We now have two different types of Bidwell Hats, Beanies, Dry-Fit Pullover Hoodies and Cotton Hoodies, both with a hand warming pocket!
These would make GREAT gifts for the Holidays or just to stay warm this winter season. We accept cash, checks and all major credit cards.
The Gold Nugget Store
Bidwell’s Gold Nugget Academic Incentive Program has been a great success!
Students are really trying to put forth their best efforts to earn Gold Nuggets! They can make purchases from the Gold Nugget Store twice a month with the Nuggets they have earned. When they make a purchase they are automatically entered into our monthly raffle where they can win a $5 gift card to places like Dutch Brothers, Jamba Juice, Starbucks and more.
The store will be open again on Friday, November 18th during both lunches. Look for our ambitious Leadership students set-up outside of Room 406A.
The next Raffle will be held on Wednesday, November 30th.
DON'T FORGET
It's still important to label your student's jackets, sweatshirts, lunch boxes, and other items with their name! We have a number of items in the Lost and Found that cannot be returned to their owners because they aren't labeled. Help us help you claim your lost items!
SIGN UP FOR REMIND!
Sign up for important Bidwell updates! Simply text @ldebock to 81010 and follow the prompts! You can also sign up for email updates by sending an email to ldebock@mail.remind.com.
BIDWELL’S LOST AND FOUND
Bidwell Junior High School
Email: lgizzi@chicousd.org
Website: http://bjhs.chicousd.org/
Location: 2376 North Avenue, Chico, CA 95926, United States
Phone: (530) 891-3080
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BidwellASB/?fref=ts
Twitter: @BidwellASB