Principal Chat
Happy Spring Break! I hope you and your family are able to do something fun this week - we have so many walking trails and hiking trails that are nearby. Getting out in nature and sunshine is SO good for your soul. One of my favorite places with kids is the trail around the 21st Street Pond. The loop around the pond is just a mile but the trail extends east towards Ogden and west along the river towards West Haven. It's a terrific trail for bikes, scooters, strollers and walking. Plus, you can fish in the pond!
Visit Trails Foundation of Northern Utah (TFNU) to see all of the fabulous nearby trails available! TRAIL MAP
ATTENDANCE BUBBLE PARTY PERCENTAGE UPDATE
- Kindergarten = 90%
- 1st Grade = 91%
- 2nd Grade = 90%
- 3rd Grade = 91%
- 4th Grade = 91%
- 5th Grade = 90%
- 6th Grade = 91%
YEARBOOKS ON SALE - Yearbooks went on sale on April 1 and continue through April 30. Ordering online during the month of April is the ONLY way to order a yearbook. We do not sell yearbooks at the school and we will not have any to purchase after the order closes. Please use this link and code YB25 to order: https://www.purchaseyearbook.com/BridgeYB25
STAFF HIGHLIGHTS - Further in the newsletter we highlight individuals at Bridge and the important role they play in creating a positive, supportive and engaging learning environment our students. This week we highlight our amazing Curriculum and Professional Learning Specialists!
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 about the Part #2 about the importance of allowing kids to fail! Research shows that embracing failure actually creates growth.
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!
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Lani Rounds
Principal
NO SCHOOL
- April 14 - 18 (Spring Break)
- May 26 (Memorial Day)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Yearbooks on Sale - April 1 thru April 30
- Purple Up for Military Kids - April 23 (wear purple)
- Tuesday Talk and Talent - May 6
- Attendance Bubble Party - May 13, 2:30 - 3:15 pm
- Level Up - May 15, 2:00 - 3:00 pm
- Field Day (yearbooks, last day of school, short day) - May 29 school out at 1:30 pm
- North Shore Aquatic Center - FREE for Bridge Family and Friends - June 11 - 6:30 - 8:30 pm
As a school of choice, Bridge recognizes our model is not the right fit for every child. Nearly all children flourish with the small group and personalized learning experience Bridge offers and some children thrive in the collaborative learning pod experience complete with multiple transitions daily. However, other students may find the large learning pod with lots of movement and lots of students, provides sensory overload and is not the ideal learning environment for the them. If you have not yet had an opportunity to visit during school hours, please reach out to your child's teacher to schedule a time to come and observe your child's learning experience and environment. Parents and guardians need to carefully determine if the learning model provided by Bridge is the model that fits best for their child.
Our current year-to-date- attendance rate for the school year is about 91%. Our first incentive was to bring our March attendance rate to 93% for a down day. Unfortunately, we only hit 92% schoolwide for the month. The grade with the HIGHEST attendance rate was 4th grade and they were at 93%!!! Our 4th graders earned a FREE Dress Down Day for Tuesday, April 1!
Our next incentive will reward the grade with the highest attendance percentage between April 1 - May 9 with a FOAM PARTY! This will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2:30 - 3:15. You can see pics of what a foam party looks like at: https://www.bubbleraveevents.com
The next Tuesday Talk is Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
The first Tuesday of the month we meet in the gym as a school community, 2:15 - 3:00. 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 or the background music chosen for the video must be kid-firendly.
Email Mrs. Rounds Lani@BridgeCharter.org AT LEAST one week before the first Tuesday of the month to give her time to proof the video and include it in the presentation.
At Bridge, instead of having a "maturation night" for 5th grade students which other schools typically do, we opt to provide parents the information so they can determine how much they want to share with their child and at which age they want to share it. For many girls, by the time they are in 5th grade they have already started menstruation and it is a little too late for a lesson on maturation. At Bridge, our administration and board believe parents can best determine what students should know about maturation and puberty, and when a child should know it.
Our maturation committee met and reviewed information from different sources. They determined, and our Board approved, to use the maturation information provided by Provo School District. The maturation information includes videos and packets for girls and boys that you can download and share with your child.
This is the link to the MATURATION information.
Utah is at the forefront of providing lots of educational options for families. Charter schools, like Bridge, are just one of the choices. For students with special needs, Utah has the Carson Smith Scholarship available. The Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program allows a parent of a special needs child to apply for a scholarship to help cover the cost of private schools and special programs. Information about this program and the list of approved private schools and programs can be found on the state's website at:
Attendance at school is SO important and the attendance data is reported to the state of Utah through our Aspire system. Chronic absence is defined as a student missing 10% of school days (excused or unexcused) in a school year (so 18 days or more). Consider these facts about how attendance impacts student success.
- Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September end up missing nearly a MONTH of school
- Absenteeism and its ill effects start early. Read more...
- Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade.
- By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
- Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence.
- When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.
If your student MUST miss school consider these options:
Ask your teacher for resources that you can use at home to keep your children learning. ALL students have access to iReady reading and math (grades 1-6) or Waterford reading and math (kindergarten).
- Identify who can support your children’s learning at home, especially if you must go to work.
- Encourage your children to call classmates and stay connected to the teacher to find out about what they missed.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) 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!
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. Our Visible Learning (VL) class alternates with our Second Steps SEL lessons. One week students will have a VL lesson and the next week an SEL lesson. These two programs align perfectly with our Culture of Learning at Bridge.
You can find all the traits on our website at: https://www.bridgecharter.org/visible-learninga
Please discuss these traits at home and help empower your children to take personal ownership and accountability for their own academic performance. You can find information about our Second Steps program, including the scope and sequence, on our website under Curriculum and Assessment: SECOND STEPS
Keri Toponce - Curriculum Specialist
I LOVE being a Bullfrog! I have been in education for over 15 years as a classroom teacher, curriculum writer, and curriculum specialist. One of my all time favorite experiences was helping Mrs Rounds open Bridge Elementary. We learned a lot and every year our school gets more and more spectacular!
I am so lucky to have the most incredible daughter, the most loving husband, and the noisiest husky. I love exploring new places, spending time with my family, and building lego sets. :)
Nichol Lloyd - Professional Learning ELA
I have the wonderful opportunity of working with our incredible teachers here at Bridge. I get to help teachers with their professional development needs. Just like we have learning that meets the needs of our students, we have individualized learning for teachers as well. I am honored to be a part of Bridge, learn from all of the Bridge teachers, and help teachers implement effective teaching strategies in their classrooms.
In my spare time, I enjoy being outdoors with my family, going to Bear Lake, traveling, cooking, reading, cleaning, and my newly developed hobby of archery with my husband. Fun fact about me is that I don't collect anything because I hate clutter—except for cookbooks and recipes!
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.
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. All absence are reported through our state system, Aspire. Once a child has 10 unexcused absences the school may 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.
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)
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:
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.
As an added bonus, minutes can be tracked for the Road to Success reading incentive program!
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