Friday Features - 11/21/18

Your Weekly BGS PTO News & Happenings

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It may have been a short week, been it's been high on impact!

Our BGS Bears gathered Monday for our traditional Thanksgiving Feast. Special shout-outs go to:

Mangia Buono and Bridgewater Bakery who helped us rearrange the Feast to Monday on very short notice. From turkey & stuffing to the pumpkin bread, bellies were full and happy!
Our fantastic BGS families who donated desserts and created colorful centerpieces to sweeten up the day. Congratulations to the Khoury family for their prize-winning turkey-from-a-book centerpiece!
Our amazing volunteers who came through when our date changed - we couldn't have done it without you!
Our unflappable co-chairs, Briana George & Alison Beebe, who fielded all of the questions behind the scenes, rolled with the crazy weather, and helmed the ship for this very special event.

We also had a wonderful turnout of treats to help make Tuesday evening's late night of conferences special for our teaching staff. Thanks to all of our families who either contributed dishes or helped to fund extra purchases. Special thanks to Aarthi Karthik & Briana George for their leadership.

As we wind down a hectic week, we want to be sure to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. We're so thankful to be part of this special Bradley Gardens community and are grateful for all of your help to make our school a great place to learn.

- Kelly & Briana, PTO Co-Presidents

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Crafts with Frosty & Kids' Holiday Shop

We're kicking off the holiday season with a new twist on two favorite events. Join us Saturday, Dec. 1 from 9 AM - 12 PM for our Holiday Extravaganza where we combine Crafts with Frosty & our Holiday Shop.

Stop by any time that morning to:

Do small holiday crafts & play games with Frosty to get in the holiday spirit.
Check out our Kids' Holiday Shop. We'll be open for a special preview sale so that you can help your kids shop for gifts for friends and family. Gifts include mugs, jewelry, toys and more, including special gifts for Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and all the special people in your child's life.

Our usual in-school Holiday Shop hours will be Monday, Dec. 3 & Tuesday, Dec. 4. Further details will be coming home after Thanksgiving.

If you'd like to help make spirits bright at the Saturday Holiday Extravaganza event or during our In School Holiday Shop hours, you can sign up for a time slot to set up, help kids shop, or breakdown the events here: http://bit.ly/18ShopHelp. Note that teacher names have been added to the various time slots, in case you prefer to volunteer during times your child's class will be attending.

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Retro Spirit Wear Sale - Supplies Limited

If you missed your chance to order spirit wear, now's your chance! We've opened up our "Spirit Wear Vault" have some great deals on selections from years past. Supplies are very limited, as it's only what we have on hand.

All items are for sale on our SignUp Genius Store here: http://bit.ly/SpiritVault. Claim your gear before it's all gone!

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Make Room for New Toys - Donate to the BGS Toy Sale

Our annual BGS TOY SALE will be held on Saturday, December 15th from 9:00am-1:00pm at the school. This fundraiser is a great way to clean out your closets, help raise money for the school and benefits the local community. Many look forward to this event because you can find toys in great shape at bargain prices just in time for the holidays.

Donations of gently used toys (sorry - no stuffed animals this year) can be dropped off at the school, Thursday, December 13 from 4 - 7 PM or Friday, December 14 from 9 AM - 2 PM, then 4 -7 PM. Tax receipts will be available.

This event cannot be a success without your donations and volunteer hours. Stay tuned next week for the SignUp Genius if you'd like to help us out with sorting, pricing or setting up before the sale or helping staff the sale itself.

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Read-a-Thon Reminders

We're still wrapping up final pledges to the Read-a-Thon. If your child still has pledges outstanding, please keep the following reminders in mind:

Donors who pledged offline and still have donations pending will continue to get reminders from the Whooo's Reading program until their donation is received.
Cash pledges or checks made out to BGS PTO should be sent to school in an envelope marked "Whooo's Reading Chair". Be sure to note who the pledge is supporting by indicating the student name and class.

Thank you again for all your generous support!

Calendar Changes

Quick reminders:

Track Friday, originally scheduled for Nov. 23, has been cancelled due to low interest.
BGS Barnes & Noble Night, originally scheduled for Dec. 11, will be postposed until Feb. 26.

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News from Around the District

Homework Focus Group Registration

Thank you for your recent input through our surveys.

We are now gathering face-to-face feedback from students, parents, community members, and staff through open focus groups. You must sign up through the form below in order to attend.

Each focus group session centers on a specific grade span (K-4; 5-8; or 9-12). There is one Open Session which does not focus on a grade span. Each session will last two hours. Participants will work through a series of activities to provide in-depth feedback on current practice, the benefits and impact of our current practice, and potential improvements to our practices.

Each meeting is open to everyone, but you MUST sign up through this survey in order to attend as we have to staff each session appropriately based on the number of participants.

If you have students in grades 3-12, you may also bring them to participate at the same time in a separate student group, but they must be signed up as well. Students should attend their grade-appropriate session. The form allows you to sign them up as you register for each session.

The sessions are as follows:

> K-4 - Tuesday, December 4, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., JFK All Purpose Room

> 5-8 - Wednesday, December 5, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., Eisenhower Cafeteria

> 9-12 - Thursday, December 6, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., High School Small Cafeteria

> All Grade Levels - Wednesday, December 12, 12 p.m. - 2 p.m., Wade Administration Building, Conference Rooms A/B

Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/Ce6LoUpKNnIR9MgF2. This registration will close at 5 pm on Wednesday, November 28th.

Thank you again for your collaboration.