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Bear Pause
Please pause to catch up with school news!
Volume 15 Issue 7 February 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., Feb. 2 Environmental Club 3:30-4:30
Fri., Feb. 3 Recognition Assemblies
9:00 Honor Roll Breakfast
9:30 Intermediate Recognition
10:30 Primary Recognition
Mon., Feb. 6 PTA Meeting 5:30 pm
Thurs., Feb. 9 Student Council 3:30-4:30
Fri., Feb. 10 Ms. Otterbein to Weis Market
Tues., Feb. 14 Red/Pink Day
GOTR 3:30-4:30
Wed., Feb. 15 Chick Fil A Night 4-8 pm
Thurs., Feb. 16 Environmental Club 3:30-4:30
GOTR 3:30-4:30
Fri., Feb. 17 ½ day Professional Development, schools close 3 hours early
Mon., Feb. 20 President’s Day – schools & offices closed
Tues., Feb. 21 GOTR 3:30-4:30
Wed., Feb. 22 Area Music Festival Rehearsal
NEHS induction 5:30 pm
Thurs., Feb. 23 GOTR 3:30-4:30
Student Council 3:30-4:30
Science Center Family Night 4:30
Fri., Feb. 24 Western Day
Tues., Feb. 28 GOTR 3:30-4:30
Thurs., Mar. 2 Character Day
GOTR 3:30-4:30
Environmental Club 3:30-4:30
MAP Winter Testing Schedule
Wednesday2/1
Math / Monday
2/6
Math / Tuesday
2/7
Math / Wednesday
2/8
Math / Friday
2/10
Reading
9:30
KDG / 10:30
Grade 3
1:15
Grade 2 / 9:30
Grade 5 / 9:30
Grade 4 / 9:30
Grade 1
Monday
2/13
Reading / Tuesday
2/14
Reading / Wednesday
2/15
Reading / Tuesday
2/21
Reading / Wednesday
2/22
Reading
10:30
Grade 3
1:15
Grade 2 / 9:30
Grade 5 / 9:30
Grade 4 / 9:30
KDG / 9:30
Grade 1
Dear Parents,
Construction is underway! I’m sure you have noticed by equipment outside that construction has begun as scheduled for the installation of air conditioning. The ceiling tiles have been removed in the hallways and all work being done meets all safety guidelines and will not interfere with students’ health, safety or instruction.
Please look for invitations to come home shortly about our Title I summer program. The program will be held off-site, due to construction, at a neighboring school to be determined. The program will run from July 5th – July 31st and all students attending will receive transportation. More information will follow!
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.
Bear Creek Park and Shoreline Cleanup
Save the Date – Saturday, April 22nd from 9-2 pm. Volunteers of all ages and abilities are welcome and needed. Trash bags, gloves, snacks, water, and lunch will be provided. A limited number of tools are available for loan, but please bring your own if you have them.
Service learning hours and community service hours are available for students. For more information, call 410-285-1202 or email or visit the web at www.breadandcheesecreek.org
Library News
Please be on the lookout for a Character Day Flyer coming home Mid-February. Students will have the opportunity to dress as their favorite storybook characters on Thursday, March 2nd. Do you have a few minutes to demonstrate your support for BCPS? Please consider taking the annual Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey. The survey takes about five minutes to complete, is confidential, and will be available in English plus 14 additional languages for parents, community members, BCPS staff, and students. The survey will be available at the BCPS website, www.bcps.org, from February 1-28. Taking the survey is a quick way to demonstrate your support for BCPS and to help us meet our goal of preparing and graduating globally competitive students!
PBIS News
It is hard to believe we have finished two marking periods. Hopefully, your family has established helpful routines for getting out the door in the mornings and getting homework done in the afternoons. If not, it is never too late to start a new habit. Pick one obstacle to work on, set up a new routine, post a note or set a reminder if you need to, and then check in to see if it is working for the family. There is still half the school year left if you make changes now.
This month is also a good time to remember those we love and for whom we are grateful. While we all know it is important to offer praise and positive feedback to children, it is equally important HOW we offer praise. Offer praise for effort, persistence, hard work, thought processes, and/or their demonstrated learning. Do NOT offer praise for intelligence or grades. Praising your child’s effort is important, because effort is within the child’s control. Students can increase their effort on the next assignment or try a different strategy for their next project. Encourage a growth mind set (i.e., I can do better next time) and not a fixed mindset (i.e., I am smart/dumb.). When students are praised for being smart, sometimes they think they always have to look smart and then they don’t want to take risks when learning new things because they become afraid of making mistakes. Taking risks is important; we all make mistakes. That’s ok. Our brain is a muscle and we can make it stronger!
To be effective, praise must be specific and sincere and must occur 3-5 times more often than criticism. Please tell your children clearly what they did that was helpful. This allows them to better understand which behaviors you want to see so they can repeat them in the future.
· Thank you for being responsible by bringing me your folder and your planner to check.
· Thank you for being respectful by turning down your music when your brother asked.
· Thank you for being ready by putting your backpack by the door and packing your bag for football practice. This helps the family be on time.
· Thank you for trying again on your homework even when it became difficult. Why don’t we work together on the last question?
· You did a nice job of asking others what they wanted to do when we were picking out a game.
As always, if you have any questions about PBIS, please feel free to ask! We are thankful for the time you spend helping your children get homework done, for the care and concern you show regarding your child’s education, and the guidance you give your children around the choices they make. Thank you!
Counselor’s Corner
National School Counseling Week 2017, "School Counseling: Helping Students Realize Their Potential," will be celebrated from Feb. 6-10, 2017, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems.I am so honored to be your school counselor, here at Bear Creek! Watching your children grow and learn every day is a very special privilege I get to have! Thank you for being amazing advocates for your students and please continue to contact me with any questions or concerns that come up! Together we can make sure every student at Bear Creek realizes their potential.
Caitlin McGing – School Counselor
From the Nurse
Baltimore County Department of Health, Dentistry will be coming to our school to offer the Dental Sealant Program to second and third grade students. Dental sealants help prevent tooth decay on the chewing surfaces of molar teeth, where most cavities form. Dental sealants protect these areas by sealing out plaque and food that causes tooth decay. This service will be offered to your child free of charge. Parental consent forms will be coming home with your child several weeks before the Dental Sealant Program is to start. Students will not be able to participate without a signed parental consent form.
If you have any questions, please call the Baltimore County Department of Health at 410-887-2780 for more information.
PTA News:
Congratulations to our Box Tops Contest Winners: Primary-Mrs. Pace's class and Intermediate-Mrs. Metzbower's class! Each class will have a movie and popcorn party from the PTA! Keep Collecting Box Tops for another contest later this year!
Upcoming Dates:
February 6 - Meeting at 5:30 pm
February 15 - Chick Fil A Night 4:00-8:00 pm
March 6 - Meeting at 5:30 pm
March 9 - Paint Night
March 15 - Chick Fil A Night 4:00-8:00 pm
What’s New with You….
Kindergarten
The Kindergarten children are working hard reading, writing, and working on many Math skills. Many of our friends have reached the 200 step mark in the “100 Book Challenge”. Encourage your child to read and record their time. The goal is now 300 steps now that we are in the 3rd quarter. We were excited to get new tooth brushes from the dental hygienist that visited and learn more about keeping our teeth healthy. We have completed unit 4 in Wonders and are moving on to unit 5. The stories will be posted on BCPSone website so we encourage you to read them with your child. In Math we used pan scales to compare heavy and light objects. We had fun experimenting with objects around the room. Please don’t forget to check grades on the BCPS One system. If you need your activation code, please contact your child’s teacher. We are trying VERY hard to have perfect attendance daily so please make sure you are washing hands at home and sending your child to school unless he/she is sick!!! A note must be sent with your child upon their return noting the sickness. We love when they are HERE with us!!
Grade One
January flew by and we are already into the 3rd quarter! In reading, we are working to become more fluent readers. We are starting our “How To” unit and will be reading and writing lots of how to texts. Practice these at home by reading directions or reading a recipe and making something with your child. We will also be reading biographies and learning about important inventors. In math, we’re working on measurement and data. We will be answering survey questions and creating graphs. We will also be using different tools such as inch tiles, paper clips, and popsicle sticks to measure things around the room. Please remember that physical activity is important too and we will go outside as long as the weather permits; your child should be wearing a coat, hat, and gloves to school every day. We understand that winter can bring on many illnesses. If your child is healthy, he or she should be reporting to school on time every day. Make up work cannot replace teacher instruction and the rich discussion that is shared in class. Thanks for all you do at home to support your children here at school!
Grade Two
It's hard to believe the school year is half over. The second graders have come so far in their reading and writing skills. We will soon be wrapping up our unit in Language Arts on how interactions we have with the people, places, and things in our world affect us. As a culminating event, the children will be learning about the weatherand creating an infographic to explain how extreme weather affects us. A blizzard is a lot more than a few days off of school!
In math, we have begun our unit on data analysis. In this unit, students engage in all the phases of data analysis as they pose questions, collect and sort information, and make representations of data as a way of sharing their findings with others. They work with Venn diagrams and line plots, and they read and interpret a variety of representations of numerical and categorical data.
We just wrapped up our unit in Social Studies on North America. See if your child can name the three main countries of North America. We are beginning our third unit in Health, Safety and Protection. This unit aims to give students an overview of important safety practices. Some of the topics addressed include fire safety, how to handle emergencies, playground safety, safety near water, and outdoor safety. Ask your child how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle to make the environment safer.
Grade Three
Third graders are continuing to learn about various inventors and how those ideas are inspired from observations in nature. Students will use this knowledge to research an inventor of their choice. In Math, students recently started Unit 3 which focuses on the relationship between multiplication and division. Students are applying their knowledge of the properties of operations, analyzing various patterns, and connecting these skills to math in everyday life. All third grade classes will begin the Science Unit, Safe Racer, which focuses on students working in teams to engineer a vehicle. This unit will focus on the force, design and energy. Again, please continue to have your child practice their multiplication and division facts nightly, as well as, continue to read at home for their 100 Book Challenge Goal. The goal by the end of this quarter is 300 steps.
The Third Grade Team
Grade Four
In the areas of reading and language, students are reviewing test taking strategies that will help them correctly answer selected response (like multiple choice) and brief constructed response questions. Using various types of texts, students have been drawing conclusions and evaluating what they have read.