Bear Tracks
December 2, 2016
A Note From the Principal:
Dear Bear Tavern Staff,
The next few weeks are going to be awesome. I am getting Bear Tracks out a little bit late tonight, because I just got back from the North Pole on the Polar Express that left from New Hope. It was really great and got me thinking about the ‘Holiday Season.’ While winter break is three weeks away, before we know it, the season will be behind us. Regardless of our religious beliefs, etc. there is something special about the cheer and spirit of the Holiday Season and we have to remember to take our time and to enjoy it. It will fly by if we are not careful and do not work to spread some joy throughout the building.
That said; we are in December, and we have so many great things going on, but I want to be sure that we all circle back and reinforce what is working and the ‘fundamental’ ideas with which we started the year. I’d like to see a uniform push to discuss and have students reflect upon the School-Wide Beliefs and Expectations that we set up in September/October. They are very fitting and will help to ensure that while we work hard to innovate and create, we also focus on culture and community. They can be used to guide us through so many issues and situations.
For example.. It is December and the “Santa Hat” dilemma will soon be upon us as it is every year about now. So in an effort to get out ahead of it; I will ask us all to apply the school-wide beliefs to the situation and to the students. I will leave the final decision about ‘in class’ wearing of hats to each teacher, but recommend that we use the R and E to encourage student participation in discussions and decisions. What I mean is, if students cannot be Respectful, Responsible, Role Models, they cannot handle wearing hats. Certainly also, if they get in the way of them or anyone around them being an active learner, they are not working and said student(s) should be asked to remove them. If we can encourage students to be responsible citizens, the majority of the time, they will rise to the occasion. That being said, you know your students well and can set more specific expectations/guidelines if they are needed. Just as we are trained to not set up classroom rules with “NO..” i.e. “No Calling Out,” or “Do not put your hands on others,” it actually calls attention to the action and makes it mysterious. Like we did last year, we will monitor and I will get involved if needed, but my official position will be that I expect students to show Bear Tavern PRIDE each day - September, December, or June.
Remember that this morning is the deadline for Holiday Buddies is this morning. Let me know if you need help/information.
Thanks for all of your hard work. It is amazing how much each of us juggles between curriculum needs, lesson implementation, assessments, feedback and meeting the social/emotional needs of the BT students. What we do is incredibly complex, but couldn’t be more important. Keep it up!
Sincerely,
Chris
Key Information:
- Bulletin Boards - CLICK HERE to see the bulletin board sign ups for the year. Feel free to sign up for December/January. You can go it alone or work with a group, but the better our bulletin boards look, the better our school looks. Let's work together to make the hallways engaging and exciting.
- Governor's Educator of the Year - If you are interested in nominating a colleague, forms are due to me by 12/9. Nomination Form / Eligible Educational Support Professionals.
- Christine's Hope Update - We should know by Monday how much money we raised with our Pennies from Heaven collection. I think it went well and I am shocked by how many students got excited to do good things to earn spare change. I can't wait to share how much we collected in order to help organizations to help those in need. CLICK HERE for the letter that went home to families 11/4/16 that give an overview of the service projects in each grade level. Remember that anytime I send an email to all families, the staff is copied. If you get an email from "Bear Tavern Elementary School <noreply@hvrsd.org>." then it was sent to families and is worth a read so that you are in the loop.
- Padlet - We are learning more about "Blended Learning" in our administrative council (when I'm at the board office on some Thursdays), and I was asked to make a screencast video that could be used for PD. SO I chose padlet and created a short video tutorial about how to set it up and use it in your class. While this one is made to share with the administrators, it will provide instruction on how to get started. Take a look if you are interested. Let me know if you have questions. CLICK HERE.
- OUR TIME IS NOW - The bulletin board in the lobby will change today and will say "Our Time is Now to Dream Big." Please feel free to find a creative way to post student work, notes, ideas, dreams, etc. onto the board. You can use regular paper, special pictures, post-its, etc. First come, first served, but you are welcome to post whenever you'd like.
Upcoming Dates:
AFTERNOON ENRICHMENT/ACTIVITIES:
Monday - Bee Bots, Fyre Coding, Magic Glass
Tuesday - Makey Makey Arcade, Art Enrichment, Title 1 Tutoring (Math)
Wednesday - Minecraft Moding, Art Enrichment, Title 1 Tutoring (Writing)
Thursday - Yoga
THE WEEK(s) AHEAD:
Friday 12/2 - Outdoor Classroom/ Garden Mtg 8 am
Friday 12/2 - Deadline for Holiday Buddies 9 am CLICK HERE for form
HOUR OF CODE - 12/5 - 12/9
Recreational Games (set up in gym) - 12/5 - 12/9
Tuesday 12/6 - Grandpals - Niefer 10 am
Tuesday 12/6 - Den Groups Committee Planning Mtg. 3:45 pm
Thursday 12/8 - 5th Grade Field Trip - Franklin Institute 9 am - 2 pm
Thursday 12/8 - Grandpals - Miller 12/8
Friday 12/9 - Crazy Socks and Scarf Day (students are welcome to bring in a can of soup to support the 5th grade "Bags of Warmth")
Tuesday 12/13 - Grandpals - Niefer 10 am
Thursday 12/15 - Grandpals - Miller 10 am
Thursday 12/15 - 4th & 5th Grade to PAC - Concert Prep (8:50 am - 12:20 pm) / Winter Concert (PAC) 7 pm
Friday 12/16 - *AM Special Schedule* Winter Concert 9 am Gym
Friday 12/16 - Collab Day (no PreK)
Monday 12/19 - Staff Meeting (Winter Celebration @ Farina's House) 4 pm - Winter Buddy Exchange
Tuesday 12/20 - Grandpals - Niefer 10 am
Wednesday 12/21 - STAFF HOLIDAY BREAKFAST provided by Chris (come hungry) 8 am
Wednesday 12/21 - 3rd Grade Formal - 1:30 pm
Thursday 12/22 - *AM SPECIAL SCHEDULE* Den Groups
Thursday 12/22 - K Holiday Celebration APR 1:20 pm / 1st Grade Winter Stations (1st Grade Classrooms) 2 pm /
Friday 12/23 - Early Dismissal (Winter Break) / Pre K PM only / 5th Grade Holiday Brunch APR 9 am