Bruneau Elementary Newsletter
May 30, 2017 Issue 13
MK Nature Center Field Trip
Building a Beaver Dam
Searching for Worms
Making Animal Tracks
Project Based Learning Presentations
This year, Bruneau-Grand View elementary students have been participating in a learning style referred to as Project Based Learning, or PBL. The “elevator-pitch” version of PBL can be summed up as, “The act of learning through identifying a real-world problem and developing its solution. Students show what they learn as they journey through the unit, not just at the end.” PBL is designed to give students the chance to apply the skills they learn in school in order make them personally relevant to real-world situations in our community. Your child also learns important skills through PBL such as how to think critically, solve problems, work in teams, and make presentations.
- Public presentation: Public presentation mimics real public audiences and it raises the bar. Work that a student does to show off has to be great, while sometimes work done only for the classroom just has to be “good enough”. The final presentation is the most important piece to PBL.
Rigo Lewis's Bulldog Ant Report
Jacob Bachman's Trip to Florida
Lupita's Sustainable Garden
5th Grade Focus
Ira Black
Joslynn Burk
Garrett Kunsky
May Students of The Month
Ily Gennette & Mackley Prow
Tyler Lisle & Rigdon Kunsky
Tony Gallardo
Kid Questions
Community Groups
Tom Thelen tells us that it’s easiest to care about people that we know. It’s easier to stick up for people that you know. This is why we use Community Groups… so that you can get to know more people here at our school, so that we’re more likely to stick up for one another and step up when we see something that’s not right.
During the last week our community groups defined Community at Bruneau Elementary.
How we define community:
* A group of people that helps each other to make our school better.
*We work together to reach our goals.
*A big family! Everybody knows each other.
*We are crew, there are no passengers here.
*We live by the Golden Rule; treating others as we wish to be treated.
*We respect each other by being kind, using our manners, and taking turns.
*We practice team work.
*We love our Bruneau community. We are family.
Miss Wampler's Community Group
Mrs. Pearson's Community Group
Mrs. Hanes's Community Group
Duct Tape The Teachers
6th Grade Transition Plan
BGV’s 2017 5th grade transition plan includes the following:
1. BGV will identify 5th grade student concerns through (a) student survey and (b) student essay. • Survey questions: https://goo.gl/forms/DHwXAyH9M8OUgvTU2
2. 6th grade teacher will come to Grand View Elementary and Bruneau Elementary to introduce herself and meet the students in their own environment, as a means to meet the students and introduce themselves.
3. Current 5th grade students will shadow 6th-grade classes on May 19th.
4. Rimrock will host a Fall 2017 Parent Night, for incoming 5th grade students. • August 16, 2017 • Dinner provided to families • Students will have their schedule, in order to physically walk through their day with their parent. • Lockers will be assigned, and students can practice using their lockers.
Professional Development
Developing a positive culture (what we do) and climate (how it feels to be in our school) is a top priority for our elementary schools. BGV staff have been studying and implementing the philosophies from the Arbinger Institute since 2014. In doing so, we are working to make Bruneau Elementary a great place to be a student, teacher, and parent.
A study of 500 CEOs revealed that 75% of career success is dependent on soft skills, leaving only 25% truly dependent on the technical skills that we focus on so heavily - that means that many of us entered this field of education without the soft skills needed to work well with one another and develop a healthy climate for our students and families. The purpose of the Arbinger training is to help us communicate effectively and treat those around us with respect - as individuals.
Arbinger's clientele list is extensive and well-respected - they've been helping organizations experience success for more than 35 years. The Arbinger Institute's programs and methodology are based on 45 years of research in the psychology of human behavior and motivation. Our schools have been spending significant time and energy the past three years focusing on developing an outward mindset in which team members are focused on the school' goals, objectives, and constraints, they are able to work more cohesively towards a defined mission.
If you're interested in learning more about the Arbinger Institute, Mr. Cantrell has materials from the Arbinger Institute - including Leadership & Self-Deception, which is Arbinger's most well-known book. Please feel free to stop by the office for your free copy.
Bruneau Sand Dunes Field Trip
Where did the Bruneau Sand Dunes come from?
Geologists believe the dunes seen today may have started with sands from the Bonneville Flood about 15,000 years ago.
The combination of 1) a source of sand; 2) a relatively constant wind activity; and 3) a natural trap have caused sand to collect in this semicircular basin for over 12,000 years.
Bruneau Dunes State Park is home to the tallest freestanding sand dunes in North America, with the highest reaching 470 feet.
Dunes Scavenger Hunt
Climbing the Dunes
Sledding at The Dunes
Kindergarten & Fifth Grade Graduation
Bruneau Elementary 5th Grade Graduates: Goya Lemus, Garrett Kunsky, Jose Godinez, Samantha Elizarraras, Piper Colyer, Joslynn Burk, Brynn Burk, Ira Black.