Gardens' Greetings

Happy New Year to you and your families! I hope you enjoyed the time off and were able to spend some quality time together! I enjoyed my time visiting with family and indulging on cookies and chocolate! I love how for just a short moment, all the stress and sadness of the world can dissipate when we are met with the magic of the season, through a child’s eyes.

We are in the last few weeks of this marking period. Report cards will be published to Power School in early Feb. You will be able to use your parent portal log-in to view your child’s grades for the second quarter of the year. The report card is a performance-oriented one that presents your child’s progress as measured against the specific learning objectives established for the grade level. Certainly if you need help understanding it, please reach out to your child's teacher or the school. If you have any difficulty accessing it, be sure to call the Main Office.

During these colder months, remember to dress your child for colder weather. Our intention is to go outside as much as possible. Days under 32 degrees (with wind chill) or inclement weather days will keep us inside during recess. But, all other days, the children need to play and we want to assure that they will be warm enough and have a coat/ jacket. If your child is missing some winter accessories, our lost and found is certainly growing. Labeling their clothing helps us to be able to return what is found. Feel free to stop in and check out the lost and found cabinet regularly. It is located right outside the gymnasium doors.

As always, Bradley Gardens is committed to having a variety of events for parents to attend. At the end of the month, we will hold a Fitness Night for families, with proceeds donated to purchasing adaptive playground equipment. These nights are family nights and we welcome both students and parents. We will also be having a Science Fair for grades 3-4 and a choral presentation from grade 4. Look for more information about these fun days and nights!

Please read the Counselor's Corner and the Nurse's Notes for tips on staying healthy and active in the winter months.

Kindergarten

Kristen Pillera & Ashmita Dikshit

1st Grade

Anagha Ulavapalli, Advaith Uttham kumar & Akshana Chevireddy

2nd Grade

Lillian Roccanova, Omar Ellethy & Evan Cobucci

3rd Grade

Chase Kedziora, Javed Qureshi

4th Grade

Violette Cornfield, Ria Mukherji, Samantha Sabanos

Guidance

Anika Patel

Cafeteria

Sreecharan Sidharthan & Camila Yat Bohach

PE

Kenneth Graham

Music

Olivia Wilson

Library

Hannah Bartlett

The Bradley Gardens Family will be doing our Annual Super Bowl Canned Soup Drive from January 28, 2019 to February 1, 2019. Students can bring their donations to the Super Bowl Teamed Tables located outside the gym. Be sure to have your child put the can on the table with their favorite Super Bowl pick.

As we settle into the winter months, it becomes more difficult to find ways to work off built up energy. These days can often feel long and never ending. Getting outdoors can be an excellent opportunity to keep your children healthy. Perhaps you are not aware, but it is the viruses that we give each other, not the cold weather, that causes colds and flu.

Here are several benefits to playing outdoors during the winter months:

• The more time we spend inside, the more we are exposed to potential harmful germs and dirt caught in our homes. This exposure can potentially led to illness.
  
• Being outside in the cold helps to strengthen our autoimmune system and builds our resistance to allergies
  
• Playing outdoors during the winter helps to develop gross-motor skills and engages our large muscle groups, which can help increase balance, flexibility and strengthen our joints
• By allowing your child to play outdoors during the winter months, it will stimulate their imagination. The change of scenery will spark new and creative ideas, not to mention it will keep them off of technology.
• Have fun!!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Children are getting less daily exercise today than in the past, yet it has become even more important for them to get physical activity because of the increased incidence of childhood obesity and diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, which until recently, was an illness that only adults faced. Studies have shown that for every 1 hour of exercise done, an individual may gain 2 hours of life expectancy. Helping our children to be physically active is important! It is a way to increase fitness by taking care of the body that not only adds to life expectancy, but helps to add a “zest” for life….enthusiasm for living!

As a way to support and encourage fitness in our children , the PTO, together with the Wellness Committee and our physical fitness devoted P.E. teachers, Mr. Chartowich and Mr. Urban, we will hold our annual BGS Fitness Night in the gym on the evening of January 30. Our school has held fitness nights (called by different names throughout the years) for the past 20 years. The night is really a fun opportunity to get out and get your children moving while they socialize with their school mates. Our P.E. teachers spend a lot of time and effort to make the evening an inclusive way for the children to exercise and challenge themselves and have fun doing so.

Exercise (along with healthful nutrition and mindful eating) is vital for fitness and is part of what children will continue to need in order to have full and happy lives. There are many options to get the recommended 60 minutes or more of daily physical activity. Free play is one of the best ways, and is an important reason why we have recess at school each day. Engaging in activities such as jumping rope, riding bikes, or playing running games are great forms of exercise. Here’s a list of some individual sports or other organized activities that your child (and/or you) may be interested in trying:

* Swimming

* Gymnastics

* Running

* Martial arts

* Horseback riding

* Dance

* Ice skating

* Cheerleading

* Skateboarding

* Hiking

* Tennis

* Golf

* Yoga or other fitness classes

Helping your children find some form of activity that they are interested in doing and encouraging them to “stick with it” can help them to be fit and healthy. You may also help them value the importance of physical activity to their overall health. Hopefully they will continue the good habits that you help them form and will be healthy, fit adults.

Fondly,

Nancy Ambrose

Email: bradley@brrsd.k12.nj.us
Website: http://www.bg.brrsd.org/
Location: 148 Pine Street, Bridgewater, NJ, USA
Phone: 908-725-8444
Twitter: @BRRSDBradley