Bridge Bulletin

I hope you enjoyed the three day weekend. I know many families used it as a time to complete their end of summer campouts and vacations. I hiked up to see the beginning of the salmon run at Causey reservoir via the Skull Crack trail. There were some salmon, but the high water year, or a mud slide, or something odd had a severe impact on the creek and the fish were having a tough time finding a channel to navigate upstream. Still the hike, as always, was absolutely beaUTAHful! We are so lucky to live in such a spectacular place with so much beauty just minutes away.

This week students started advisory rotations in grades 1 - 6 and teachers started meeting with students in grades K-6 and sending home the student's Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) or Kindergarten Learning Plan (KLP) (addressed in last week's newsletter) via email. By the end of the month you should receive an email with a link to your student's KLP or PLP. If you do not receive a link please reach out to your child's teacher. The KLP has undergone a sizable transformation and will include a lot of progress data this year regarding your student's Acadience reading and math progress so you will always know the progress he or she is making. The KLP is brand new this year and now our kindergarten parents will be able to track their kindergarten child's goals and progress all year as well.

VOLUNTEER HELP NEEDED

We need some Watch Me Learn tickets cut. This is a project you can do at home. Please stop by the office and grab a bundle if you want to help! Look below and see how our volunteer program works to earn your recommended 30 hours per family.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

NO SCHOOL

• September 22 (Teacher work day)
• October 9 - 13 (Fall Break)
• November 20 - 24 (Thanksgiving Break)
• December 18 - Jan. 1 (Christmas Break)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Sept. 11 - P90 Reading Begins (K-4)
• Sept 26 - BOY Progress Reports available on the PLP or KLP

Please keep reading for more information about this past week and events for the upcoming weeks.

As always, thank you for CHOOSING Bridge and sharing your kids with us! We know you have lots of options in education and we are honored that you have made the choice to have your students attend our awesome school!

Lani Rounds

Principal

Advisory rotations started today, Friday, September 8, for grades 1 - 6. They occur every week, 8:45 - 10:45 am. During advisory time teachers pull their advisory students into an advisory meeting to review their personalized learning plan (PLP), to discuss goals, progress towards goals and discuss next steps. Students are asked to articulate their goal - being able to share their goal, establish where they are, where they need to go and how to get there, is one of the most effective ways for a child to make academic growth. In fact, this has been established as having a higher effect size than nearly any other thing they do at school. Another students do doing their PLP meeting is discussing traits of a good learner and providing an example of what a good learner looks like. These traits are tied directly to the visible learning traits they learn and practice each week during their visible learning class. The trait for the upcoming week is also shown at the bottom of our newsletter each week. The updated PLP is shared with parents via email as a Google link.

Advisory rotations not only include time spent meeting with the teacher to review the PLP but also includes time for students to work on assignments or tasks directly aligned with the student's goals. In some grades this is called the "PLP Folder". In grades 1 - 3 students attend a virtual field trip (VFT) during advisory rotations, students in 4th grade expand their social studies knowledge and our 5th and 6th students participate in a STEM activity.

At Bridge our kiddos transition to a lot of different learning spaces in our school. These spaces include areas within the classroom such as stations, computer aided learning, small group instruction, whole group instruction, and spaces outside of the classroom including the library, kivas, PE, lunch, and recess. During transitions students are asked to transition with "zero ribbits" which means with little or no noise to ensure learning can still happen for the other students in the school while these students are transitioning to their next activity.

When a class is transitioning with "zero ribbits" they are rewarded with a purple ticket. The purple ticket is taped in the window near the office. On Fridays the office counts the numbers of purple tickets for each grade level. The grade with the most purple tickets receives a FREE dress down down the following Wednesday. We announce the winning class on the intercom about 1:00 pm on Friday and you can hear the hooting and hollering from the winning class throughout the school when the winner is announced! Zero Ribbits is just one way we reward our kiddos for being respecting the learning environment of others. Today the winning grade was 2nd grade and they get a FREE dress down day next Wednesday!

Our Watch Me Learn (WML) program encourages students to use the traits of a good learner that they learn duirng their visible learning classes. Students are rewarded when a teacher or other staff member see a student showing one of the traits - for example a teacher may say, "Joey, I like how you showed initiative and took opened your reading journal without prompting." Then, the teacher would give the student a WML tivket with "Initiative" checked on the ticket.

Students can choose to save 10 tickets and turn them into the office for a token for the token machine, a free dress down coupon, a new book or they can put their tickets into the red box for a Spinner Winner drawing. The donation money from our $2 Dress Down Days on the last Froday of the month fund our WML prizes.

In Utah, charter schools ARE public schools and they are tuition free. We receive taxpayer funding similar to traditional district schools with the exception that we cannot do the "bonding" that schools do on the ballot providing them the funds to build and improve schools. Instead, we pay for our mortgage, building operations and improvements with our regular funding.

Charter schools in Utah each have a specific focus. At Bridge, our focus is to provide a personalized learning experience for students and to help students learn to take ownership and accountability for their learning. We personalize learning through computer aided instruction, small group learning and personalized learning plans. We help teach students to take ownership and accountability for their learning through visible learning traits, goals and progress on the PLP and KLP, and their advisory meetings with teachers.

As a public school we have to accept ALL students. We do not get to choose who comes to our school. The lottery process is simply the tool we use when we have more students who want to come than we have spots for in our school.

Bridge's unique learning model, especially our classroom pods, rotations and continual movement, is not the best model for all students, but it is a great model for many students. The true beauty of charter schools is the CHOICE it provides parents. Parents now have the ability to do their research and find the school that works best for their child. Hopefully it is Bridge. However, if you find our model is NOT the right fit for your child, please talk to your child's teacher and perhaps we can help make adjustments to make Bridge work for your student, or perhaps we can make suggestions for another school that may better fit their unique needs.

This week's fresh fruit and vegetable program brought our students Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Honeycrisp Apples! Ask your kiddo which snack was their favorite this week!

Each week students attend a Visible Learning class where they learn about traits of a good learner. For the upcoming week students will learn about the trait "REFLECTION" - Reviewing my learning to see what works and ways I can improve."

I will....

• Look back
• Listen to feedback.
• Learn about myself
• Plan my next steps
• Reflect often

By using these visible learning traits each day students will become lifelong learners who are set up for success. Please use this same verbiage at home and recognize when your student is using this trait.

The Utah Indoor Clean Air Act (UICAA) prohibits smoking and vaping at ALL elementary schools; this includes the premises on which those facilities are located (Utah Code 26-38-2).

Students must be picked up curbside or a parent must come to the front of the school and escort a child to their car. We will NOT release a child to walk across the parking lot and through the construction zone to your car. Parking there is your prerogative but you MUST walk over to the school and escort your child to your car. PLEASE help us keep your children safe.

DOORS ARE LOCKED Ring the Bell - the bell is located near the window to the left of the front doors and is labeled with pointing arrows. There is a picture of this right here >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Once you ring the bell the office is notified with a phone call and a video. They will verify you are a person that should be admitted to the school. There is NOT a buzzer - the office will talk to you through the speaker and the little light to the right of the door will turn green to notify you the door is open. Then, once you get into the school the office door is ALSO locked. Wait patiently and the office will unlock this door for you as well. Currently, this light does not turn green - we are working to get that fixed. Instead, watch the office staff and they will signal to you to open the door.

BASE - Students must be on the BASE list to attend our after school program. On the flip side, if a student is on the BASE list, they will be kept in class for BASE. BASE runs Monday - Thursday, 3:30 - 4:30 pm. Pick up is AT 4:30. Our staff are scheduled to leave at 4:45 pm. PLEASE arrive no later than 4:45 to pick up your students. Dinner is served at 4:15 pm. Students who are checked out prior to 4:15 pm are NOT served dinner. Is is a requirement of the CACFP state contract as the FREE dinner is tied to the academic after-school program and students must attend 45 minutes of after school instruction to receive the free dinner. To make changes to your child's BASE schedule please call the school (801)499-5180 or email Mrs. Archuleta at Stacey@BridgeCharter.org

Student Check Out - all individuals who check out your child MUST be on the Aspire system and must bring ID to the school. If you need help with Aspire you can ask the front office for assistance (801)499-5180.

Day Care Parking ONLY - The fence along the west side of the north end of the school is for dar care vans ONLY. Please do not park there. These vans have NO WHERE else to park and cannot navigate our parking lot.

Label Jackets and Water Bottles - it is that time of year and our lost and found will start filling up with water bottles and jackets. Every couple of weeks we throw out the water bottles and donate the jackets and lost clothing items. Help us get your items to the right owner and label your kids' items.

Bridge has a new check in system for all visitors and volunteers. When a person wants to visit or volunteer at our school they will need to produce a current ID - driver's license or state ID and use our check in system at the front desk. The system will ask a few questions and then scan the sex offender database to determine if the individual is legally able to be in an elementary school. You can find the procedures for this system on our website under Visitor and Volunteer Procedures at: https://www.bridgecharter.org/policies-procedures

The calendar for next school year is now approved. You can access it on our website using the link below:

https://www.bridgecharter.org/2023-2024-calendar

Weber Human Services SMR is available for 24/7 crisis support and short-term stabilization. To request help or make a referral, dial 988. Weber Human Service's works with families to improve functioning, develop and maintain healthy communication, and enhance ability to cope with future crisis.

We LOVE parent and grand parent volunteers at school! If you would like to volunteer, please check with your child's teachers. If you want to volunteer but aren't excited about coming into the school, we have LOTS of opportunity for outside volunteer work including:

• Cutting Watch Me Learn tickets (stop by the office)
• Pulling weeds in the rock areas and park strips (we have all the area in front of the school and up 4800 S along the school fence).
• Using rakes and shovels to redistribute the gravel from the bottom of the retention area in front of the school to the top area to cover the black landscape screen.
• Parking lot duty before and after school (just check in at the office, put on a yellow vest and talk to Travis in the crosswalk for instructions)

Once your family has logged 30 volunteer hours they can stop by the front office and ask for a VOLUNTEER FROG. Then, write your family's name on the frog and tape the frog on our volunteer pond in the front foyer.

If you want to volunteer but do not have the time, you can donate $90 to cover the 30 hours. If you choose to donate, complete the volunteer form. You can donate in the office or by using our DONATE icon on the home page of our website.

Absences MUST be excused within 24 hours of the absence. You can do this by leaving a message on the Attendance line at school (801)499-5180 or by using the Excuse Absence online form. You can find this on our website by clicking on the Excuse Absence icon or using the link below:

EXCUSE ABSENCE

Bridge Elementary is committed to maintaining a school climate that is safe, welcoming, and free of harassment and discrimination. The School prohibits all forms of harassment, and it does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, creed, religion, age, marital status, or disability.

We encourage anyone who believes they (or someone else) have been subjected to harassment or discrimination at the School to file a complaint with the School’s Principal, Lani Rounds. The School will promptly investigate and resolve all such complaints in accordance with School policy.

If you would like to learn more about how the School handles complaints of harassment or discrimination, please review the School’s Notice of Nondiscrimination, Civil Rights Policy, and Bullying and Hazing Policy on the School’s website at https://www.bridgecharter.org/policies-procedures

Title I was initially passed in 1965 under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It is the largest federal assistance program for public schools. These supplemental funds provide students the opportunity to receive a fair, equitable and high-quality education to help close achievement gaps.

Bridge Elementary receives our Title I funding based on the percentage of students that qualify for free or reduced lunch. For this reason we encourage ALL families to apply for Free/Reduced lunch through Aspire to ensure every single student receives the services needed, including access to free or reduced meals if appropriate.

Title I provides avenues for parent input and participation. We do this through our surveys and the link to the form on our website which allows parents to submit questions and suggestions.

You can find more information about Title I as well as a form to ask questions or provide suggestions regarding Title I, on our website at:

https://www.bridgecharter.org/school-events

Principal - Lani Rounds - Lani@BridgeCharter.org

Student Support - Stacey Archuleta - Stacey@BridgeCharter.org

• Morning Supervision and BASE
• Behavior Support and Bullying
• 504 Plans

Lead Secretary - Lalani Williams - Lwilliams@BridgeCharter.org

• Aspire
• Lottery
• Registration

Social Worker - Chelsea Silverwood - Chelsea@BridgeCharter.org

School Nurse - Vicki Ross - Vicki@bridgecharter.org

Special Education

Dianne Kelsey Lead SpED Teacher - Dianne.Kelsey@BridgeCharter.org

Nancy Fulmer - Part Time SpED Teacher - Nancy@BridgeCharter.org

Julie Christensen SpED Director - Julie@BridgeCharter.org

ELL Coordinator - Nichol Lloyd - Nichol@BridgeCharter.org

Meal Issues - Jodi Jensen - Jodi@BridgeCharter.org

Classroom Teachers - see website - https://www.bridgecharter.org/teachers

• Daily activities for your child
• Student progress
• Questions about student schedule

The mission of Bridge Elementary is to provide students with a personalized learning experience and empower them to take personal ownership and accountability for their own academic performance.

Email: info@bridgecharter.org
Website: bridgecharter.org
Location: 4824 Midland Drive, Roy, UT
Phone: (801)499-5180
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BridgeCharter