Bear Tracks
October 14, 2016
A Note From the Principal:
Dear Bear Tavern Staff,
Den Groups were awesome last week. I'd like to thank everyone for participating and for giving it their all. The students were really happy (I received a lot of questions from kids about when we can do them again) and it was great for the staff to see how things came together in year 2. It was a great day and I'm appreciative.
We have a lot of great things going on and we are doing a lot of hard work, so please make sure that you are taking care of yourself - drinking plenty of water during the day, finding ways to be active and taking time to relax, whether that looks like formal mediation or relaxing, or simply 'shutting down' for a few minutes to recharge (at your house or at Maureen's after school today!). The school year is certainly a marathon, so make sure that you are taking time to enjoy yourself as you work hard every day!
Important Note - On Monday, we'll be in the library for a brief word from the HVEF about grants, etc, then a quick update from our safety committee about Violence & Vandalism prevention week. After those updates, you will have an important mission. Please see your mission details below. Feel free to make preparations over the weekend to make Monday as productive as possible!
CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE YOUR MISSION.
(if you are interested in using PowToon to make something in your classroom, just check out the site and let me know if you want any help. It was pretty easy and the kids would live it)
Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Chris
Key Information:
*Special Schedule AM* - In our original Special Schedule for AM activities, we did not have a "Win" or extended HR period. This left many of our special area teachers without a planning and took away rehearsals for one of our chorus/band groups (and rehearsals are extremely limited leading up to the winter shows). I worked with Principal's Cabinet and created an adjusted special AM schedule. It is also changed on the Google Site.
Trout & Tropical Fish are Here - I'll send out information, but the trout eggs have arrived and we now have three sets of five Amazon fish. The fish are Neon Tetras, Saffron Mollies and Red Swordtails, in case you want to find out more about them. The hope is to add some more soon. Fourth grade will perform daily tests, etc., but any grade level can get involved and incorporate the fish. There are countless ways to tie them into our curriculum or generate thinking, observation and researching skills.
Slow Chat Topic 2 - We are throwing out our second topic in the BT Slow Chat. Last time, we discussed movement. For the next few days/weeks, we'll be talking about student choice and engagement in a number of areas. The chat will be appropriate for all grade levels and can be done when you want. Just go to Twitter and search #BTSlowChat to check in. You can share ideas, pictures, documents and more. We had great participation in the first chat; let's keep the momentum going!
Veteran's Day & Operation Gratitude - Veteran's Day will be celebrated on Wed Nov 9th. Information will be sent to staff and families to invite Veterans as special guests, but we'll also have a "Veteran's Information sheet" to honor Veterans who are no longer with us or who can't make it to BT on the 9th. Stay tuned, but please think about it in advance if you are interested in contributing some patriotic decorations. Also, I'd like to have one student from each grade level read an essay/letter again. We have been invited to participate in Operation Gratitude (letter writing) this year. It would make sense to streamline so that those submissions could be what is read. We would just have to bump up the 'due date.' Stay tuned for more information, but in the meantime CLICK HERE for the Operation Gratitude guidelines and information. Google Form, Honoring Sheet Color, Honoring sheet B&W
Den Group Days - Thank you to everyone for making our first Den Group Meeting a success! The kids had a great time and I heard from many staff members and students how great it was to see the students from last year and how much they have grown as well as to welcome the new members. Below are the future dates. Please work to make sure that everyone can participate; as we said last week, this is such a critical part of what we do to build community. I'm grateful for everyone's hard work and postivity in making the first one so successful and want to build upon that momentum!
Thursday 12/22/16 - AM Schedule
Friday 1/13/17 - AM Schedule
Tuesday 2/7/17 - PM Schedule
Monday 3/13/17 - PM Schedule
Friday 4/21/17 - PM Schedule
Upcoming Dates:
10/14 - Wear PINK!
10/17 - Faculty Meeting (Library 3:45)
10/17 - Bee Bots (club), Fyre Coding (club), Magic Glass (club), Martial Arts
10/18 - Bus Evac Drill - 8:20 am (anyone welcome to come out & assist; not mandatory)
10/18 - Let Me Run, Girls on the Run, Art Enrichment, YMCA Hip Hop Dancing
10/19 - Art Enrichment, Basketball Basics (club)
10/19 - PTO General Meeting
10/20 - Let Me Run, Girls on the Run, Soccer Shots, TGA Tennis
10/20 - 3rd Grade Historical Titusville Walking Tour, Pre K Howell Farms Trip
10/21 - Pre K Collab Day, Overman/Loughlin Washington Crossing Park, 2nd Grade Pumkin Patch
10/21 - Oktoberfest - PTO
10/24 - Bee Bots (club), Fyre Coding (club), Magic Glass (club), Martial Arts
10/25 - Let Me Run, Girls on the Run, Art Enrichment, YMCA Hip Hop Dancing, Makey Makey Arcade (after-school enrichment)
10/26 - Art Enrichment, Basketball Basics (club), Minecraft (club)
10/26 - Pre K Duncan Field Trip, Extra Faculty Meeting (90 min)
10/27 - Let Me Run, Girls on the Run, Soccer Shots, TGA Tennis, Yoga
10/27 - 2nd grade trip Planetarium, GoMATH Parent Meeting (7 pm)
10/28 - Superintendent Visit