Mountaineer Monthly
April 2022
On April 26th & 27th, all students in grades 3 - 5 will participate in the New York State Assessment in Mathematics. These tests take place over two days and are untimed for all students. Please help your students prepare for these days by ensuring that they have a good night's rest and arrive to school on time. Thank you for your support.
Planning is underway for the BES Summer Academy. This 6 week program will run from July 11th - August 18th, Monday - Thursday from 8:30 - 12:00. Students will be invited to attend based on their academic needs. Much more information will be forthcoming.
Please consider attending the April meeting of our PTO to find out what is all about. Many of our current officers will be leaving us as their children transition to the middle school and we are in need of new officers and volunteers for the 22-23 school year.
Thank you,
Tracy
One School, One Book
From April 1st through May 6th Berlin Elementary will be celebrating the importance of literacy and reading aloud through a One School, One Book school event. As a community BES will be reading the book, Friendship According to Humphrey written by Betty G. Birney. Special guest readers will be reading the chapters aloud throughout the event and a link to the read aloud videos will be shared on the BCSD website and Facebook page to encourage family participation.
A number of fun activities and weekly trivia questions are also a part of this event. Each student will receive a copy of he book at the end of our readings as well.
Counseling Corner with Mr. Shaw
Hello everyone!
It’s incredible that we are already in April now!
Second Step lessons are in their last section - problem solving! In this section, students are learning how to use their ability to identify their emotions and calm down to help them solve problems they may face both in school and outside of school.
The day before ELA assessments, Mr. Shaw and 5th grade ELA teacher, Ms. Philip teamed up to do a lesson on mindfulness and positive self talk for the 5th grade students. Mr. Shaw and Ms. Philip wanted the students to be mindful of when their thoughts become negative (“I can’t do this”, “What’s the point?”, “I’m just going to fail”) and asked students “What would you say to a friend if they said this to you?”. Students came up with some positive responses (“You’ve got this!”, “Keep trying”, “Push the weight off your shoulders and rise up”). Mr. Shaw and Ms. Philip then reminded students that they can tell themselves those positive things as well and told the students to ask themselves, “What would I say to a friend who told me this?”
Attendance:
You may have received an email from a company called iTutor. This is a legit company and if you are receiving these emails it means your student(s) are eligible to receive one hour of tutoring for every day they may have missed during quarantine and/or for medical appointments (with notes provided from the professional - could be doctor, dentist, counselor, etc. however the note must come from their office). These sessions are paid for by the school district and can be used however the student feels may be necessary (homework, things they’re struggling with, preparing for the math assessment for our older students).
Making up these absences is incredibly important for both the student and the school district. We want to do our best to help our students excel and if students are able to get this outside help with their academics, they may feel more prepared going into their next school year. According to a report done by the United States Office of Civil Rights (2021), “Emerging evidence shows that the pandemic has negatively affected academic growth, widening pre-existing disparities. In core subjects like math and reading, there are worrisome signs that in some grades students might be falling even further behind pre-pandemic expectations.”
Through helping our students with their academics with iTutor, the school district is better able to prepare for student’s academic needs in the new school year. For some students, using iTutor to make up for lost days will help them catch up or come close to catching up with their classmates to be more on track for next year. For others, it may not help, and we will be able to see that as their academic progress continues. By keeping an eye on these students, we can prepare to do our best to help them during not only the rest of this school year, but the end of next school year.
The pandemic has also had an impact on everyone’s mental health, including our students. “Last May [2020], nearly three in ten parents surveyed in a Gallup poll said their child was “experiencing harm to [their] emotional or mental health,” with 45% citing the separation from teachers and classmates as a “major challenge.”” (US Office of Civil Rights, 2021). Students whom are continuing to deal with these mental health challenges may find it difficult to want to come to school and/or focus while they are in school. Please, do not hesitate to reach out to the counseling staff and/or your student’s teacher to get support for your student. If we are unable to see them in a timely manner, Mr. Shaw has a list of outside counseling resources both in the area and telehealth that he can share with you (for both students and adults!).
Written by Mr. Shaw
Source: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/20210608-impacts-of-covid19.pdf
The Month Ahead
April 7 - After School Enrichment 3:15 - 4:15 pm
April 12 - BES PTO Meeting in the Library @ 6:30 pm
April 13 - After School Art Club - Grade 4
April 15 - 22 No School, Spring Recess
April 25 - School Reopens
April 26 & 27 - NYS Mathematics Testing
April 26 - Board of Education Meeting, BMHS Library @ 7:15 pm