Principal Chat
Hold on tight - fall break is coming up soon! Between fall break, Thanksgiving break and Christmas break, the next three months of school will FLY by at the speed of sound!
Our first Tuesday Talk and Talent was a huge success! The kiddos learned our new school song (thank you Mrs. Rich and 1st grade), we watched the talent of several of our amazing students (soccer, dance, martial arts, tumbling and original Bullfrog chant), and our Frog Squad was introduced! If you would like your kiddo to be part of Tuesday Talk & Talent please read further below in the newsletter.
FREE Martial Arts for October is closed. A new one will open for November very soon. Stay tuned - information will be posted on our website, newsletter and social media.
FREE REDUCED LUNCH - If you haven't already PLEASE take a moment to complete the Free/Reduced application on Aspire. The data from this application determines if our school qualifies for our FFVP (fruit/vegetable program) and FREE dinner after BASE. In addition, the data also helps determine how much money Bridge gets for our Title I program. You can find the ASPIRE link here:
https://www.bridgecharter.org/aspire
FALL FAMILY SURVEY - This week (on Tuesday) the links for the Fall Family Survey were sent to your Aspire email. You received a separate link for each grade level your child is in. This data is critical for us to know how we are doing and where we need to improve. The survey takes just a couple of minutes to complete. PLEASE help us improve our learning environment and take those few minutes to complete the survey.The final data is shared with our staff, the board and our families.
LOST & FOUND - Please remember to label your student's jacket/coat/gloves/hat with their name. We bagged the entire Lost & Found on Monday for donation and out of 100 items there was ONE jacket with a child's name written inside.
HELP FOR BRIDGE FAMILIES AT THANKSGIVING - CWC would like to help any Bridge staff or Bridge families in need of a FULL Thanksgiving meal! We are SOOOO grateful for their generosity. Please see below in the newsletter for more information and a link to provide your contact information if your family is in need of help.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION - Ms. Chelsea, our social worker, provides a fabulous Community Connection every other week to help support kids and families. See below in the newsletter for ideas on helping your kids TAME those big emotions.
ICYMI - this is the link to our website for all previous news bulletins:
https://www.bridgecharter.org/bridge-bulletinb
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
NO SCHOOL
- October 14 - 18 (Fall Break)
- Friday, November 1 (teacher workday)
- November 25 - 29 (Thanksgiving Break)
- December 19 - January 3 (Winter Break)
- Monday, January 20 (Martin Luther)
- February 14 and 17 (teacher workday and President's Day)
- March 6 & 7 (parent teacher conferences)
- April 14 - 18 (Spring Break)
- May 26 (Memorial Day)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Family Fall Survey Opens October 1 (closes October 13)
- Miss Roy Road to Success Reading Program Kick Off in Classrooms - October 9
- Makeup Picture Day - October 23 (school dress code required)
- FREE Family Skate Night Classic Fun Center - October 23, 5-8 pm
- Halloween $5 Costume Donation Dress Up Day - October 31
- December 10 - "EllaMental" play for 4th - 6th grade
- Parent Teacher Conferences - March 6 & 7
- Yearbooks on Sale - April 1 thru April 30
- Field Day (yearbooks, last day of school, short day) - May 29
Visible Learning - PPCD - Para Support - Small Group Instruction
Bridge creates a culture of learning that encompasses every educator and every student. Each learner is supported by a community committed to creating the culture, structure, policies and instructional practices that engage them in their journey towards college, career and life readiness.
Visible Learning - by teaching students traits of a good learner and providing feedback to them for using these skills, our Visible Learning program provides students with the tools needed to become lifelong learners. Students are rewarded through Watch Me Learn (WML) tickets when they are using these traits. Tickets are traded into the office for prizes including books, tokens and dress down coupons.
PPCD - our teachers are provided 16+ hours each week to prepare (P), attend professional learning opportunities (P), collaborate with their peers (C) and provide data analysis (D). This time allows teachers the ability to analyze student data and prepare the activities and instruction that best fits the needs of the student. This PPCD time is paramount to our personalized learning model. Without this time our teachers would not be able to meet the needs of all our learners.
Para Support - each grade level has a cadre of para-educators. These "paras" are essential to our personalized learning program. Our paras provide instruction and support when the teachers are otherwise engaged in small group instruction or PPCD time. Nearly all of our paras are considered "highly qualified" by the state of Utah meaning they have a minimum of an associates degree, 48 hours of college or have successfully passed the Para Pro Praxis test.
Small Group Instruction - data analysis is an essential part of our model. Teachers use the data provided by computer aided instruction (iReady or Waterford), Acadience benchmark and progress monitoring (reading and math) and formative classroom assessments to determine what each student needs. Students are grouped based on need and teachers provide instruction and activities that align with student needs while also ensuring the activities are rigorous enough to help all students stretch.
In Utah, parents are super lucky to have many choices for their child's education. As a charter school, Bridge is just one choice. Parents can also choose their neighborhood school, a private school, a charter school, or an online option. Not every option is best for every student. Parents must play an active role in finding the school and program that works best for their child.
At Bridge, we use a unique model of personalized learning that includes lots of movement, flexible seating, a variety of learning methods including small group instruction, computer aided instruction, whole group learning, specials, and differentiated work in stations all provided with a large variety of educators to support your child. For those of you who have decided that Bridge is the right choice for their child, THANK YOU! For those of you who want to see if there is a better fit, you can contact your neighborhood school or use the link below to find all the charter school options available for your family:
Schools cannot do this alone! We can provide students with instruction on how to read and provide them with some practice, but in order to become proficient readers, students MUST practice reading at home.
The recommendation is 20 minutes daily outside of school. This can include a student reading aloud, an adult or independent reader reading to a younger reader, or an independent reader reading silently with the child being provided an opportunity to discuss their reading. Kids can read to their dog, cat, guinea pig, siblings, parents, grandparents, etc. They can record themselves reading and then listen to it again. They can re-read a paragraph or page to improve their fluency and decoding skills. Visit the link below to find ways to help your child improve their reading and develop a love for reading.
Christian Worship Center (CWC), in conjunction with businesses and members of the community, will be providing FULL MEAL boxes for Bridge staff and Bridge families in need for Thanksgiving. If your family could use help please use the link below to provide your information. Boxes will be delivered on Tuesday, November 26.
New this year! The first Tuesday of the month, starting in October, we will meet in the gym as a school community, 2:30 - 3:15. During this time one grade will showcase something amazing they have completed and our Frog Squad will provide a message about kindness or one of our Visible Learning Traits. Additionally, students will get to showcase their own talent via a pre-submitted video.
Student talent can showcase any type of talent - singing, sports, dancing, stand up comedy, magic, etc.. The video must be less than one minute long and the content must be school appropriate - for example, if the student is singing the lyrics must be kid-friendly.
Use the link below to complete the Tuesday Talk & Talent form. Videos, or links to videos if you use Vimeo or YouTube, must be emailed to Mrs. Rounds. Mrs. Rounds will notify you once the form is submitted, the video is verified, and a date is selected for the video to be shown during Tuesday Talk.
Social Emotional Learning and Visible Learning - Family Connection
Social Emotional Learning resources for families and students to promote a stronger sense of self identity, mental health, and create a safer school environment. Our Visible Learning Traits (flexibility, determination, reflection, taking initiative, thoroughness, and enthusiasm) tie into Social Emotional Learning at Bridge!
This was our first week for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program (FFVP). This week our students got to try Saturn (Donut) peaches, golden kiwi fruit and white asparagus. This program is designed to give students an opportunity to try a fresh fruit or vegetable they may not otherwise have exposure to. This is a grant from USDA that Bridge is SO fortunate to receive!
Each week students attend a Visible Learning class where they learn about six traits of a good learner - Reflection - Initiative - Flexibility - Thoroughness - Enthusiasm - Determination (RIFTED). Teaching these traits is one way we help students learn to take accountability and ownership of their learning.
Next week students will review the six traits. When students return from fall break they will learn about Reflection.
Please discuss these traits at home and help empower your children to take personal ownership and accountability for their own academic performance.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Attendance is taken every morning by 8:45 am. The computer identifies all students who are marked "absent" and then, sends a message to all parents if the student is not marked "EXCUSED". This is done for safety reasons as well as to remind parents students must be excused from school if they are absent. PLEASE BE PATIENT - WE ARE USING A NEW SYSTEM.
Absences MUST be excused within 24 hours of the absence, otherwise it is considered "unexcused". Once a child has 7 unexcused absences parents are sent a Notice of Compulsory Education Violation and are required to meet with administration regarding the absences. Once a child has 10 unexcused absences the school can contact the Division of Child and Family Services for educational neglect.
It is super easy to excuse an absence. Either call the office (801)499-5180 and listen for the prompts or use the EXCUSE ABSENCE icon on the front page of our website.
We need YOUR help keeping our kids and families safe! Please be observant, patient and kind when navigating the parking lot. For your safety, and the safety of your kiddos, do NOT park across the street on Midland Drive and attempt to cross through the middle of the road - especially do NOT drop your kids off or expect them to navigate this road without an adult holding their hand. Please do not park in the pharmacy parking lot - it is private property and they are very unhappy with folks who take up the spaces they have for paying customers. The neighborhood to the south of us is undergoing construction and is not a safe place to park. Owners claim it is "private property" and will call law enforcement to have cars moved.
Roy City will not provide us a crosswalk nor allow us to stop traffic on our own. Our school entrance is too close to the corner to allow traffic to stop safely. It is up to ALL of us to make sure our kids are safe! Patience is the key! If you cannot be patient during pick up then please, park your car, come into the school and check your students out a few minutes early. While we hate kids to miss school time, we prefer that they are safe. Another idea is to sign your child up for BASE, then come in at 4:00, after the parking lot is empty, and check your child out of BASE early. They will not get free dinner as they must be present in the gym at 4:15 for dinner, but you will not need to navigate the parking lot during the busiest times.
DAY CARE VANS - Please allow day care vans ALL of the space along the north fence! They cannot navigate the parking lot and get to their next school on time. They NEED this space.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be patient, observant and kind. This is the only way we can make sure all our kiddos and families are safe during drop off and pick up.
Safe UT - See Something? Say Something?
Bridge is a member of Utah's Safe UT. SafeUT is a crisis chat and tip line that provides real-time crisis intervention for students, parents/guardians, and educators through live chat and a confidential tip line—right from your smartphone. This also allows students or parents to report potentially violent or concerning issues they see or hear about that may impact the staff or students at Bridge.
You can access the information from our website under RESOURCES at:
https://www.bridgecharter.org/safeut-see-something-say-something
or directly at https://safeut.org/students
Weber Human Services - Stabilization and Mobile Response (SMR)
About Bridge Elementary Charter
Email: info@bridgecharter.org
Website: bridgecharter.org
Location: 4824 Midland Drive, Roy, UT
Phone: (801)499-5180
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BridgeCharter