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Please pause to catch up with school news!
Volume 15 Issue 8 March 2017
Cheryl Thim, Principal School website Melissa Moser, PTA President
Leah Scarafile, Assistant Principal http://bearcreekes.bcps.org
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CALENDAR and Things to Know and Do
Thurs., Mar. 2 Character Day
Mon., Mar. 6 PTA Meeting @ 5:30 pm
Thurs., Mar. 9 Paint Night 5:30 pm
Mon., Mar. 13 Gr 5 to Biztown
M-F, Mar. 13-17 Scholastic Book Fair
Tues., Mar. 14 Spring Pictures
Wed., Mar. 15 Chick Fil A Night 4-8 pm
Fri., Mar. 17 Green Day
Tues., Mar. 21 NEHS Meeting 3:30-4:30
Mon., Mar. 27 Gr 5 to Eco Trekkers
Tues., Mar. 28 Gr 5 Middle School Visit
Wed., Mar. 29 Ident A Kid
Fri., Mar. 31 3rd Marking Period Ends, Elementary & Middle close 3 hours early
Mon., Apr. 3 PTA Meeting 5:30 pm
Fri., Apr. 7 Twin Day
Easter/Spring break begins at the end of the school day
Dear Parents,
We are thick into the 3rd quarter of the year. We have just about completed our Winter MAP assessments for students in grades k-5. We’ve noted some great gains in math and some small gains in reading. The gap between our males and females is closing in attendance which is great news. The concerning news however is that the attendance rate has dropped below 94%. The state holds schools accountable for meeting the 94% attendance rate. We urge you to evaluate your child’s attendance and make sure that your child is only absent for school when he or she is too ill to attend. Attendance is an indicator of success in college and career and it is critical to our students’ success in acquiring important content and skills every day. We need your support to help us ensure that we meet that 94% attendance rate. Help us keep our goals and our school great! Shout out to our PTA for partnering with us to provide June Fest tickets incentives to each homeroom that meets the attendance standard each week as a group. Make sure your child is helping his/her classmates achieve that goal!
NOW is a great time to discuss attendance, behavior or academic concerns you may have with your child’s teacher.
OTHER NEWS
We are excited to bring the Maryland Science Center to our school 2/23 thanks to our Title I funding. Shout out to Mrs. Longo and Mrs. Sheppard for arranging this and promoting it and thanks to all of our families who came to INQUIRE AND INNOVATE! Engaging students today, leaders for tomorrow!
BCPS Stakeholder Survey will be online through Friday March 3, 2017 for TEAM BCPS. Parents are invited and encouraged to take the survey which can be done via smart phone, table, or computer. It takes just five minutes or less to complete, is anonymous and available in 16 languages! You may take the survey more than once to reflect your experiences and roles with each child who attends BCPS.
Student Safety:
· With the recent warmer weather we have noticed an increase in the number of students arriving too early to the building once again. Students should not be on the school property prior to 8:30 for safeties, and 8:45 for all others. There is no supervision prior to that time and they are subject to risk. Arguments, inappropriate language, fighting or bullying can occur without proper adult supervision. This puts students at risk and it creates a school disruption before the day begins. Students who are not safeties or siblings of safeties who arrive too early will be moved to a “warning” status as they have been reminded numerous times are violating school procedures. Please help us start their day on a positive note by providing supervision prior to the start of the day. Students may arrive early if they are with a parent!
· Students are expected to cross at the crossing guards. We will not allow our students to cross illegally, however, we continue to have parents and siblings crossing students between parked cars. If they are not physically escorted by a parent or older sibling, we cannot allow them to cross illegally.
Student ID Badges
Every student at Bear Creek currently has a student identification badge. Effective March 1st, if your student loses their ID badge, there will be a $5.00 charge for your student to receive another badge.
Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Registration
Prekindergarten registration will be held Tuesday, May 2nd and Kindergarten registration will be held Wednesday, May 3rd by appointment only. Please call the school at 410-887-7007 for an appointment.
Prekindergarten students must turn 4 years of age by September 1st and kindergarten students must turn 5 years of age by September 1st. If your child is enrolled in our current prekindergarten class, your child will automatically be registered for kindergarten.
Library News
The Scholastic Book Fair is scheduled from March 13-17. Students will shop during their library special time. Ms. Otterbein, Ms. Boller, and Mrs. Winkler’s students will shop with their special travel group. We will host a parent afternoon from 3:30 to 4:30 on Wednesday, March 15. Hope to see you there!
Monday: Ballard, Price, Pace
Tuesday: Lugenbeel, Caron, Kreitz, Cabrera, Mayotte, AM Pre-K
Wednesday: Yost, Sacks, Sibol, Rizza, Celmer
Thursday: Smith, Goldenberg, Rahnis, Rider, PM Pre-K
Friday: Metzbower
One week prior to the event, every student will also receive a flyer with the date and time they will shop.
PBIS News
It is difficult to believe we are half way through the third quarter. Now seems to be the time of year we have to dig deep and show self-discipline to make it through the longer winter months. It has been a little easier with the unseasonably warm weather. Being self-disciplined is tough but necessary. We need to be able to control our bodies so we can get our work done, at school and in life. While we still get frustrated, angry, or impatient, having self-discipline or self-management skills means that when we feel these feelings we handle them in appropriate and caring ways. Please talk with your students about staying focused and on-task during the school day, especially since they will be able to blow off more steam outside after school in the warmer weather. As adults, we can model determination and self-discipline for our students and teach it to them in everyday life. Parents can –
· Reflect back what you see when your child becomes frustrated and help them generate ideas for how to solve the problem. It may sound like, “I see you biting your nails and your voice is getting louder. You seem frustrated. What do you need?” or “You have a confused look on your face right now. Can I help you solve the problem?” Children learn a great deal from having to come up with or generate many different solutions and then decide which one to use. This is often better than adults trying to solve problems for them by telling them what to do. Helping students learn to solve problems takes more time, but is important.
· Share with your children healthy strategies that you use. “Sometimes when I am frustrated, I ask a friend to help me think about the problem. They might have an answer that I didn’t think of yet.” or “Sometimes if I don’t understand a book I am reading, I start back from the beginning of the page and see if I missed important information.”
· Model good determination and hard work. “Waiting at this red light (or in this line at the cashier) is frustrating, so let’s play I Spy while we wait.” Think about how you persist or stick with tasks and how you can teach these strategies within your family.
· Reward your student(s) if you notice that they are working to improve, even if they haven’t perfected the skill yet. “I appreciate how you kept working on your math homework tonight even when it became difficult. I know it’s hard. Let’s look back at number 8 and 9 together.”
Please help us make Bear Creek a safe and healthy community for all students. Discuss your child’s choices with them and encourage them to report those things that are unsafe or unhealthy. Thank you for the support of our PBIS program.
PTA News:
The PTA is hosting a family Paint Night on March 9th. The cost is $25 for two painters and $10 for each additional painter. Chick Fil A will be on site for families to purchase dinner. Fliers have been sent home with students. Please return them with payment to secure your spot.
Our monthly meeting will be held on March 6th at 5:30pm in the library.
Chick Fil A Night will be held on March 16th from 4-8 pm. Please present the flier for our school to receive credit.
What’s New with You….
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is learning about the seasons. The amazing temperatures are confusing us but we have learned what to expect in each and will write about our favorite one. Ask your child which season is his/her favorite. We are beginning our shape unit in Math and will be learning about 2D and 3D shapes. We are combining shapes to make new ones. We will begin working on our class book soon and will become authors and illustrators. Be on the lookout for more information to come home soon for your child to pick a letter and animal to write about. Keep reading at home. We have many friends reaching their goal of 300 books soon! Please remember that homework is important and reading sight words nightly is very important!
Grade One
Spring is slowly approaching, and I know First Grade is hoping for some warmer weather! In reading, we just finished up Unit 4 about identifying how animals are unique, and will be starting Unit 5 soon, reading biographies and “how to” books. We are learning how to build and create certain objects and also learning about inventors from the past! Reading is extremely important, so continuing to read and ask comprehension questions at home always helps us when we are in school! In math, we are working on measurement and time. Challenge your child at home by having them measure objects, or even have them try to read the clock for you! Ask your child questions about the clock, they should know a lot! As always, as the weather is still cold, please still send your child to school in a jacket because we like to go outside for recess. Continue reading 100 book challenge every single night to increase our steps and reading abilities!
Grade Two
We are well into the third marking period, and our students are working hard to take ownership of their learning. At this point in the year, the children are comfortable using their devices in reading, math, and other content areas. Please encourage your child to demonstrate respectful, responsible, and ready behavior each day. Be sure to check their calendar in their homework folder to see the color they earned that day.
In math, we are focusing on patterns and number sequences. This unit will build the foundational skills for multiplication. Students will be using connecting cubes to identify how many floors and rooms are in their “buildings”. Please continue to assist your child with their math homework, and have your second grader explain their thinking. Also, practicing basic facts will help your child become a more fluent mathematician.
In reading, we are comparing and contrasting the settings and events in fiction stories, as well as discussing the differences and similarities between poems and pourquoi tales. We will soon become authors and illustrators of a class book that will be available for purchasing. More information to follow!
Our current Social Studies unit focuses on the continent of Africa. Students will learn about the different African leaders as well as their contributions to their country. Our next Science unit is called Bee an Engineer. Students will learn about the pollination process in addition to how to create a pollinator. Be on the lookout for field trip information that relates to this science unit!
Grade Three
In Reading, we have begun our fourth unit, Historical Perspectives. This unit focuses on how the past and how people started out in or immigrated to America. We have been working hard in small group this year, but we still need your help at home! Please continue to encourage your child to read for 100 book each night. Ask them to read aloud to you and work on asking them questions about what they read. In math we are heading into fractions! This unit we will be working on parts of a whole, measurement and data, fraction comparisons and fractions on a number line. Please contact your child’s teacher if you need any resources to help your child at home. We have finished our unit of Safe Racer. Congratulations to the winning team in Mrs. Yost’s room for making it to the county competition!
Grade Four
We are prepared and ready for PARCC testing!!
A great way to engage your 4th grader and review for the PARCC is on the Internet 4 Classrooms website. This website has a huge variety of games with math skills to make review more fun! Some skills to practice are fractions, area, perimeter, data (mode, mean, median and range) and graphing. As always, we will reward students with 10 bear paws for being responsible for practicing these important skills. Just bring us in a copy of any game from the website below!