Bridge Bulletin

We hope you have fun plans for the three day weekend. The leaves are changing and the mornings are chilly. Fall is in the air. That means for some people it is time for pumpkin spice everything! Our teachers will be spending today (Friday) putting the final touches on beginning of year progress (BOY) reports.

Please read below about the progress report and how you will always have access to it - no more worrying that Johnny lost it on the way home or left it crumbled in the bottom of his backpack. The information below will also explain how to read the information on the progress report.

Below you will also learn about one of the most powerful pieces of our personalized learning model - small group instruction.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

NO SCHOOL

• October 9 - 13 (Fall Break)
• November 20 - 24 (Thanksgiving Break)
• December 18 - Jan. 1 (Christmas Break)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Sept 28 - 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

We do NOT use a traditional "report card" with letter grades. This progress report and the child's monthly PLP or KLP is the report of your child's learning at Bridge and a reflection of their progress. We believe measuring the individual progress of children is a true measure of a child's success rather than an arbitrary letter grade.

Our Beginning of Year (BOY) progress reports are due on September 28. However, some teachers may send these home earlier. Progress reports are sent as part of the student's personalized learning plan (PLP) or kindergarten learning plan (KLP) as a link via email. They are a link to a digital Google document that parents can view. Please reach out to your child's teacher If you do NOT receive the link by September 28.

At the bottom of the KLP or PLP are several tabs. One of the tabs is PROGRESS REPORT. When you click on that tab the child's progress report will open up. The progress report will show the EXPECTED benchmark range for the grade level scores for Imagine Literacy and Math and Acadience Reading and Math. For students in grades 3+ there will also be a writing benchmark.

Below the expected range for each of the measures the teacher will enter your child's composite score. The score will change to a specific color to indicate if your child is above (blue), at (green), approaching (yellow) or below (orange) the expected level for the child's grade.

Middle of Year (MOY) progress reports are due February 8, 2024 and End of Year (EOY) progress reports are due May 29, 2024. Each time the progress report on the PLP or KLP will be updated so you can clearly see your child's progress in each measure and compare it to the previous reporting period..

At the end of the year the final progress report is printed and placed in your child's cumulative file in the office. The email link you are provided for the KLP or PLP will always provide you with access to the progress report as they are the same document. This will be VERY helpful for the football parents who call during the summer and need a progress report to register your kids in football. Now you can just show them the progress report on your phone using the email link.

Bridge has many pieces in place that make up our personalized learning model; however, small group instruction is one of the most powerful pieces. It is also the piece that takes the most amount of planning, preparation and data analysis to ensure we are meeting the needs of each and every student.

Small group instruction, with fewer than 10 students in each class, allows students to have group discussions, provides time for deliberate practice, allows teachers to easily provide feedback and gives students the opportunity to reflect and evaluate their own learning. According to John Hattie et al, all of these practices have a very HIGH effect size on student outcomes. In fact, the research shows anything over an effect size of .40 is considered pretty darn good - the practices in our small group instruction all have an effect size of .70 or higher and just small group instruction alone, without the aforementioned practices, have an effect size of .47.

You can find more information about effect sizes on learning here:

https://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/

Bridge's teachers get a minimum of 16 hours per week of PPCD (preparation, professional learning, collaboration and data analysis) time to analyze data, plan lessons, research best practices and group students. This ensures they have the TIME to plan and prepare the necessary targeted instruction during small groups.

Teachers use data from Imagine Learning, Acadience progress monitoring, skills checks, station work and exit tickets from previous small group lessons to determine how to group students for small group instruction for both English Language Arts and math.

The groups are fluid meaning if a student acquires a skill he or she may be moved out of the group earlier than other students, or, if a student is struggling to grasp the skill the student may receive additional instruction on that skill.

Small group lessons are 30 - 45 minutes and students attend two each day - one for ELA and one for math. In some grades, students do not attend small groups on Fridays because of our Advisory rotations and PLP meetings with teachers.

Para-educators at Bridge must either pass the Para-Pro Praxis test through ETS.org within 60 days of hiring or have an associate's degree to be considered "highly qualified". Our salary is $16 - $18 hour depending on education and experience. Para-educators must be positive individuals who love kids and understand that sometimes kids have bad days but tomorrow is another day and the slate is wiped clean. All para-educators must pass an FBI background check. Training is provided in the classroom working alongside other para-educators and with by lead teachers and professional learning specialists.

This week's fresh fruit and vegetable program brought our students Candy Heart Red Grapes that tasted like cotton candy, FuYu Chocolate Persimmons, White Asparagus and peaches. My unofficial survey revealed the cotton candy flavored grapes were the favorite! 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 "THOROUGHNESS" - "Taking care of details and doing my best."

I will....

• Plan my work.
• Pay attention to details.
• Make a list so I don't forget.
• Finish what I start.
• Clean up along the way.

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 calendar for the school year can be accessed on our website using the link below:

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

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 volunteered 30 hours they can stop by the front office and ask for a VOLUNTEER FROG. There is no formal tracking program - just track the hours yourself. 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.

Volunteering or donating is OPTIONAL and is not required to be a student or a parent of a student at Bridge Elementary.

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

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.

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