2 Bear Pause
`
Bear Pause
Please pause to catch up with school news!
Volume 14 Issue 8 March 2016
Cheryl Thim, Principal School website Melissa Moser, PTA President
Leah Scarafile, Assistant Principal http://bearcreekes.bcps.org
2 Bear Pause
CALENDAR and Things to Know and Do
M-F, 2/29-3/4 Hearing & Vision Screening
Wed., Mar 2 Storybook Character Day
Fri., Mar 4 Professional Development – elementary/middle schools close 3 hrs early
Mon., Mar. 7 Gr 5 Science MSA 9:30–11:00
PTA Meeting @ 6 PM
Tues., Mar. 8 Gr 5 Science MSA 9:30-11:00
Thurs., Mar. 10 Gr 5 to JA Biztown 9:00-3:00
Mon., Mar 14 Spring Picture Day
M-F, Mar. 14-18 Scholastic Book Fair
Wed., Mar. 16 Chick Fil A Night 4-8 PM
Thurs., Mar. 17 Green Day
Tues., Mar. 22 NEHS meeting, 3:30-4:30
Fri., Mar. 25-Apr. 1 Spring Break
Mon., Apr. 4 School Re-opens
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Thurs., Apr. 7 Safety Day
Paint Night 6-8 PM
Fri., Apr. 8 3rd Marking Period Ends – elementary/middle school close 3 hrs early
Sat., Apr. 16 Bear Creek Park & Shoreline cleanup
Happy third quarter families!
We are thick into the third quarter now and we’ve analyzed our winter scores in reading and math. As a school we have met the system’s targets of 50% growth in both math and reading. Our attendance for second quarter was 95.5%. Keep up the great job getting your children to school and on time! Teachers continue to use daily assessments to provide feedback for instruction, flexible groupings, re-teaching and enrichment. Please stay in contact with your child’s teachers via email, daily homework folders, phone calls etc… Do not wait until the quarter is ending to get a handle on missing assignments or behavior concerns. Now is a great time to talk with your child about goals for the remainder of the year; opportunities to improve and prepare for the next grade.
We are very pleased and proud to induct 17 students into our National Elementary Honor Society Chapter, February 24th. Congratulations to the following students:
Kaydence Averella Austin Re
Emmett Carnahan Janelle Sturdivant
Sadatu Cole Chloe Taylor
Nathan Defalco Alanna Zornak
Reese Dolber Hawkat Aziz
Abby Kuhn Aaliyah Dorn
Kira Linville Erianna Hoyle
Kala Love Melissa Scheufele
Addison Malkowski
Take Home Books
We are excited to let you know that the office of Title One is providing all Bear Creek students with a pack of books to keep! The books were chosen based on your child’s science curriculum. In addition to these wonderful books, your child will be coming home with a bookmark to help start conversations at home as they read. Expect the books to come home prior to spring break! Happy reading!
Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Registration
Prekindergarten registration will be held on Tuesday, May 3rd by appointment and Kindergarten registration will be held on Wednesday, May 4th by appointment. Please call the school at 410-887-7007 to place your prekindergarten or kindergarten student on the appointment list.
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 at Bear Creek.
PBIS News
The PBIS committee is hoping spring is finally around the corner, although, it is hard to believe we are nearing the end of the third quarter! In order to finish the year strong, students need to be focused and disciplined. 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. This does not mean that we are never frustrated, angry or sad, but it does mean 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 as the weather turns warmer.
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. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Counselor’s Corner
As we prepare for the PARCC exams and Spring Break, it becomes very important to try to keep our routines the same as much as possible. Doing well on a test is often more about our preparation before it than during it. Eating a healthy breakfast, getting a good night sleep, packing our bags the night before, and being on time to school are all examples of how to include your daily routines into test preparation. If you can start these habits now, it will not only pay off for you, but for your student as well! During Spring Break, be sure to include as many educational opportunities as possible during the time of day they would typically have school. Here are some ideas for free educational activities:
· Take a car ride to a historical sight. Be sure to chat about everything you pass, businesses, homes, other schools, weather, nature.
· Visit the inner harbor and go to the visitor’s center for free daily activities.
· Go to the public library.
· Make a scavenger hunt indoors and outdoors.
· Invite friends over and play school.
· Crafts (check pinterest for ideas).
· Pick up litter in the neighborhood.
· Wash your family vehicle together.
· Take the pets for an extra long walk.
If you need any assistance coming up with a home routine for your family, ideas for spring break activities, or for any and all questions, please call me, Caitlin McGing 410 887 7237.
PTA News
Bear Creek Elementary PTA will be holding officer elections in June. The deadline to submit your name for a board position is May 15. While this is early to think about elections, if you are interested in potentially running for a board seat, we would like to encourage you to attend meetings now and begin to get involved in your local PTA. We have at least three current board members vacating their seats after this school year and would like to see more parents active in the organization. If you are interested in talking about how you can help the PTA at Bear Creek, please contact Melissa Moser. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, March 7 at 6:00 pm in the library.
The PTA is excited to partner with teachers to sponsor our first Paint Night! This will be a great night to get creative with your family. Look for cost details to come home soon! Our very own Mrs. Lugenbeel will be our paint instructor. Mark April 7th on your calendar now!
Upcoming Dates:
March 7--PTA Meeting at 6:00 pm
March 16--Chick Fil A Night 4:00-8:00 pm
April 7--Paint Night
April 11--PTA Meeting at 6:00 pm
April 20--Chick Fil A Night 4:00-8:00 pm
Melissa Smith-Moser, President
Lisa Phillip, 1st Vice President
Tanya Masters, 2nd Vice President
Melissa Previti, Treasurer
Shaylon Kennedy, Secretary
Nikki Berry, Spanish Speaking Liaison
Please visit our website to view the entire bulletin.
What’s New with You….
Prekindergarten
We have been busy in Pre-K catching up from our snow days! We had fun preparing for and celebrating Valentine’s Day. We finished our unit on Amazing Animals and have been working hard to learn our letters and their sounds as well as to hear rhyming words. We have also been practicing sorting by various attributes. Finally, as always, we are practicing cutting and are working hard to identify all of the letters in our names and to practice writing our names.
March will be very busy for us as well! We will begin the month by celebrating Storybook Character Day and Dr. Seuss’s birthday! We will finish our unit on Growing and Changing in which we are learning how animals, plants, and people grow and change. We are working with the letters Jj, Hh, and Yy and are learning the sight words have and I. At the end of the month, we will move into Unit 7—The Earth and Sky, and finish the alphabet as we study the letters Qq, Ww and Zz!
In Math, we have been learning to sort by various attributes and are beginning to work with measurement. Of course, we are also always working on counting, both rote and using one-to-one correspondence, and making and comparing sets.
March will be busy! Have a great St. Patrick’s Day!
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is reading up a storm in class and hope you are too at home! We are learning about various types of weather and making personal connections. We are hoping for Spring weather real soon! In Math we are working on counting and making arrangements of numbers. For example, we are discovering the different ways we can make 6 by making various combinations of numbers. We are using nouns, verbs, and adjectives in our writing. See how many different words your child can use to describe something in your home. Ask them to find a noun or act out a verb.
Grade One
Spring is slowly approaching, and I know First Grade is hoping for some warmer weather! We have been researching weather in science class, so ask your child about the weather and what kinds of precipitation there is and what senses we can use to identify weather. In reading, we just finished up Unit 4 about identifying how animals are unique, and have started Unit 5, 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 just recently finished Unit 5 about measuring and time, and have started Unit 6 which put us right back into solving both addition and subtraction story problems. The story problems in math are becoming trickier, so the more practice they receive at home, the more successful the students will become at school! Try making up story problems at home and having your child solve them. 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
Our second graders have been busy writing and illustrating a class book about how to be a “bucket filler”. Being kind to others and showing your respectful, responsible, and ready behavior are goals we strive for each day. Please talk with your child about how to be a “bucket filler”. Information about ordering the class book was sent home. Please return the order form, even if you are not purchasing a book. If you have any questions, or would like to see an example of a book, please contact us at school.