The Berg Bulletin
From the Desk of Principal Lecoe
I am very thankful that the snow has calmed and just the cool temps remain, I am not completely sure we can say March went out like a lamb, but I am hoping for many April showers to bring our May flowers! I am also hopeful that we get some April showers to help our sod that was installed on the playground last summer to continue to grow and flourish. We are thankful to have new grass on the playground moving into Spring. Enjoy the spring weather as the temperatures begin to warm up and please continue to dress your child/children in layers as the North Dakota temperatures change throughout the day.
Contact Information
Principal: Tracy Lecoe
Administrative Assistant: Julie Henderson
Location: 307 3rd Avenue West, Dickinson, ND
Phone: (701) 456-0010
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Berg-Elementary-School-103268995495514
In an effort to better serve our Berg families, every year we ask parents to provide feedback on various aspects of the administrative and educational policies and practices at our school, such as schedules, services, performance, etc. Overall, parent surveys offer an opportunity for open communication, all in the best interest of the child. Please take few moments to complete our BERG PARENT SURVEY by April 8, 2024. We truly appreciate your assistance in helping our school grow! The survey results will also be a part of our High Reliability Schools (HRS) Level 4 evidence as we continue to work for HRS Level 4 certification.
Dates to Remember
NOW-May 3: NDSA (North Dakota State Assessment) Testing for Grades 3-5
Mar 28: NO SCHOOL (Easter Break)
Mar 29: NO SCHOOL (Easter Break)
Mar 31: Teacher Requests for 24-25 School Year Due (see reminder below)
April 1: NO SCHOOL (Easter Break)
April 2: School Resumes at Normal Time
April 3: 5th Graders Tour Dickinson Middle School
April 11: 1st Grade Music Concert @ 2:00 PM for Students/Faculty and @ 6:30 PM for Family and Friends in the Berg Gymnasium. Students should arrive no later than 6:15 PM. Please enter through Door #3 on the north side of the building. Pajama Day!!!
April 11: Trimester 3 Midterm
April 16: PAC Meeting @ 12:00 PM in Berg Conference Room and via Zoom
April 26: Early Release @ 1:00 PM
April 29: NO SCHOOL (Parent Teacher Conference Comp Day)
May 1: Reading Rodeo at Berg @ 4:00-5:00 PM
May 1-15: NWEA Testing (K-5)
May 6-17: DIBELS Reading Assessment
May 23: Last Day of School with Dismissal @ 1:00 PM
Trimester 2 Assembly
This semester we are proud to announce that 1,042 PAWSitive tickets were handed out to students for displaying positive, responsible, and helpful behavior. Way to go Mrs. Jepson and Mrs. Martin for handing out 216 and 211 tickets, respectively! We also had 83 Notable Achievement Award winners - these are given to students who have been recognized by their teacher as going above and beyond.
Lunch with the Principal
One (1) Notable Achievement recipient was chosen from each class to have lunch with Mrs. Lecoe.
Mrs. Morlock (K) -- Ryker Boersma
Miss Egge (K) -- Mia Rodriguez
Mrs. Martin (1st) -- Leslie Hopkins
Ms. Wyckoff (1st) -- Andrea Prim Chacon
Mrs. Jepson (2nd) -- Amariah Timoteo
Miss Wiege (2nd) -- Jynelle Mitchell
Mrs. Leiss (3rd) -- Anna Haukenberry
Mrs. Swenson (4th) -- Claire Engle
Mrs. Schulte (4th) -- Kiera Coyne
Miss Kaufman (5th) -- Grace Focht
Mr. Herrin (5th) -- Torri Brierly
Teacher Requests for 24-25 School Year
As stated in last month's newsletter, the deadline for submitting teacher requests is March 31st. Please email all requests to our administrative assistant, Julie Henderson at jhenderson@dpsnd.org. We try our best to honor parent requests, but please note that it is not a guarantee of placement.
7:45 Arrival Reminder
As the weather begins to get warmer, we have had some students coming to school before 7:45. Supervision and gate access to the playground begins every morning, regardless of weather, at 7:45 AM. We cannot guarantee the supervision of students that are dropped off prior to this time and want to make sure that all of our students stay safe. We kindly ask that children are not dropped off prior to 7:45 AM, as the gates do not open until this time. This differs slightly for students who ride the bus to school, as their arrival time is out of their hands, and at the sole discretion of the bus driver. Thank you for your help and cooperation in this matter.
Crosswalk Update
As we have shared, per the North Dakota Department of Transportation's (NDDOT) ND 22 and 3rd Street traffic signal study in Spring of 2023, the crosswalk count did not meet the warrants in place. With that, we have rerouted Berg's arrival and dismissal routes to the traffic light on 3rd St W to show the number of pedestrians that do cross before and after school. The NDDOT has agreed to conduct another study at the end of April, early May, to see if warrants are met for crossing pedestrians. We thank you for your cooperation in using the traffic light crosswalk to show that the traffic light is warranted. If we do not meet the crosswalk quota, the stop light will be removed and replaced with stop signs on the east-west sides. The plan would then be to install an overhead rapid rectangular flashing beacon (RRFB), that would be pedestrian activated to stop traffic on ND 22 and allow pedestrians to cross. We are thankful the NDDOT is willing to do another pedestrian count, as the traffic light is a necessity for safe school crossing.
Also, as the weather begins to warm up, we want to make parents aware that there may be upcoming walking field trips around town to nearby locations and to the public library. Please rest assured that every step is taken to guarantee the safety of our students and staff and to enhance the educational experience.
March Read-a-Thon Update
Along with celebrating reading and music during the month of March, students also participated in the Read-a-Thon sponsored by the Berg PAC. We can't wait to see who our final top student readers and fundraisers are! As of March 26th, over 38,570 minutes have been read by students and $5,435 has been donated by friends and family supporting our students. This event will run through Thursday, March 28th so there is still time to get those minutes in! The funds collected will go towards purchasing an electronic sign in the front of Berg Elementary. Thank you ALL for your help and amazing generosity during this annual event -- it is greatly appreciated!
Solar Eclipse on April 8
An exciting event is happening April 8...The Solar Eclipse! Although this is an exciting historical event, there are also safety measures that need to be considered for vision health. As the Solar Eclipse is scheduled throughout Berg's entire lunch recess block, to ensure vision safety for all students and staff, indoor recess will be held this day.
Eclipse glasses have been gifted to the school so classroom teachers may take students out in small groups to view the eclipse for a short amount of time, but it will not be a classroom requirement. If you do NOT want your child to view the eclipse, in the event the classroom teacher takes students to view, please let the classroom teacher and office (Julie) know by Friday, April 5, 2024. In the event the eclipse is viewed, it is essential that the glasses provided stay intact over students' eyes the entire time and will be the students' responsibility to follow the instructions given. This partial eclipse with start at 11:44 AM and end at 1:59 PM.
Please Return Device Chargers to School
Devices were sent home with students in case of a possible snow day on Monday, March 25th. It is very important that your child's device AND the accompanying charger be returned to school asap. Should either of these not be returned to school, parents will be charged for the replacement cost. Device chargers can cost up to $50, and replacing a device along with their accessories, can end up totaling over $500. Thank you for your assistance in getting all of these items safely back to school.
P.E. Updates from Ms. Stockert
With the changing weather, please make sure that your child is bringing and/or keeping a pair of gym shoes with them to school every day. Examples of shoes that are not suitable for gym use include: Dudes, Crocs, sandals of any kind, and boots (snow or otherwise). All children should have rubber-soled tennis shoes for gym -- thank you for your help in keeping our gym floor clean and unscratched.
Music Notes with Mrs. Sickler
It is hard to believe it is April already! In music class we are working hard at mastering reading all the rhythmic and melodic elements we have learned throughout the year! We are singing, playing recorder, xylophones, glockenspiels, percussion instruments, and the fifth graders are playing ukuleles!
1st Grade Concert Information
The first grade will be presenting their concert on Thursday, April 11th for their family and friends at 6:30 p.m. in the Berg Gym. Students will need to arrive at 6:15 p.m. and all may enter through Door #3 (north side by the gym). The 1st graders will also be performing for the staff and students that afternoon. If you will be unable to attend the evening performance to watch your child due to a work conflict, please call the office to arrange plans to attend the afternoon performance. The theme of the concert is dreaming and wishing on stars, so I invite the first graders to wear their pajamas for the performance! Students may wear pajamas for afternoon performance as well, but please remember to send shoes for PE! **To join in the 1st grade fun, we invite ALL students and staff to wear pajamas!
Counselor Corner with Mr. Ascheman
I hope you all had a great March and are ready for April to begin. This month we will be discussing and researching career information. We will also be beginning our section on responsible decision making. For these lessons students will be learning topics like making good choices, recognizing right from wrong, thinking about the consequences before making a choice, etc. Have a great April everyone!
Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
The next Berg Parent Advisory Council meeting will be held Tuesday, April 16 from 12:00-1:00pm in the Berg Conference Room and via ZOOM link emailed to parents. We welcome parents to attend anytime, so please join us! A ZOOM meeting link will be shared via email the day of the meeting for all parents to join. This is a wonderful opportunity to become involved in planning activities for our Berg students and staff!
NEW!!! SIGN UP FOR TEXT NOTIFICATIONS!
There is now a Berg PAC group that parents can join for text communications. All you need to do is text @bergpac to 81010.