Bridge Bulletin
September 9, 2022
Principal Chat
Thank you for another fabulous week with your kids!
This week we had our second fire drill. It went MUCH better than the one last week. We had all kids and staff evacuated and accounted for in 5 minutes. Three of Roy City's police officers came to observe and provide suggestions. They were impressed with our organization and the speed in which we evacuated and accounted for over 600 people (540 kids and 80 staff).
September is Deaf Awareness Month. At Bridge, we have several students and staff who have a hearing impairment. This means we are also blessed to have several individuals fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) at school. These individuals share ASL with students and other staff. Most recently, Sundari, a para in 2nd grade, signed the morning affirmations with the 2nd grade class and Miss Patty, a para in 3rd grade, shared the sign for the FFVP snack with the 3rd grade students. During Thursday BASE, our K - 2 students learned to sign the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mark you calendars for the following days of NO SCHOOL -
- Friday, September 16 (teacher workday)
- October 10 - 14 (Fall Break)
- November 21 - 25 (Thanksgiving Break)
Did you know that at the end of this newsletter is a WHO TO CONTACT list for names and the contact information of individuals responsible for specific areas at Bridge?
Please keep reading for more information about this past week and information for the upcoming week.
Enjoy the weekend! If you have a chance, take a hike at Causey Reservoir on the Skull Crack trail and watch the salmon run. It's a spectacular sight and a beautiful hike!
Lani Rounds
Principal
$2 DRESS DOWN DAY IS ONLY ON THE LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH!
Visible Learning - Determination
"Overcoming obstacles in order to reach my goal."
Specialist Teachers at Bridge
To help us meet this key element of our charter, our classroom teachers primarily teach language arts and math. The other subjects, required by the state core curriculum, are delivered by our specialists. Bridge has seven specialists that help provide instruction in fine arts, library, health, PE, visible learning traits, STEM, socials studies, science and writing. Our specialists are a KEY component of our personalized learning model!!
Writing
Library
Fine Arts
Social Studies
Visible Learning
Health
Air Quality and Outdoor Recess
You can check the air quality using this link and selecting the Weber County tab:
Drinking Fountains
Student Restrooms - YIKES!
The newest "fad" is to smear Nutella all over the bathroom - sinks, toilets, walls and doors. Nutella is not cheap so if you notice it missing from your home perhaps your child is the Nutella perp. Last week in the girl's restrooms, all of the toilet paper was used to TP the bathroom. Then, an apple was shoved into the toilet causing it to overflow.
Word on the street is these destructive pranks are from challenges students see on, or hear about from, Tik Tok. At other schools they have used a very strict restroom policy where students are escorted to the restroom and the restroom is checked at the beginning and the end of their restroom visit. We do NOT want to move to this invasive measure. However, without help, such as you laying down the law about bathroom etiquette and students telling us WHO is making the mess, we may need to move to these Draconian measures.
P90 Reading Program
During P90, students will work on phonics skills and/or reading comprehension skills using one of our research-based reading programs. The skills needed are determined based on Acadience data and a reading diagnostic assessment given to all below grade level students in 1st - 3rd grades. The reading diagnostic is a new state requirement and provides our staff with excellent information to identify exactly WHAT reading skills we need to focus on for your student.
The P90 program was piloted last year with our 1st grade students midway through the school year. The data was so promising we decided to include this as another piece of our learning model for grades 1-3. This program is one of the areas in which we are using our School Land Trust funds to help increase the percentage of students reading at grade level.
P90 is just ONE MORE WAY in which we personalize instruction for students.
Parking Lot Success
One rule that is REQUIRED is that students are NOT allowed to cross the parking lot without be accompanied by their parent or guardian. Many times parents attempt to wave their child to the car from the parking lot and our amazing parking lot staff have to intervene. Often this ends in the staff being yelled at and sometimes threatened, the child left not knowing who to listen to (the person trying to enforce the rules to keep them safe or the parent who refuses to get out of their car to get the child) and one very upset parent.
Remember, our parking lot staff are just trying to keep everyone safe - they are not trying to "ruin your day and make you late for your next thing." Just this week a parent, attempting to wave their child to their car, informed the parking lot assistant "I will have your job!" Since it was 100 degrees outside, our parking lot staff assistant was probably more than willing to give his vest and sign to the parent, but, his first commitment was to the child's safety so he carried on with the business of keeping everyone safe and traffic moving as best as possible.
We don't only use parking lot exit time to determine how well things go, but our parking staff count the number of swear words, middle fingers and eff bombs they receive during drop off and pick up and the numbers have decreased noticeably this week. THANK YOU again for being patient and kind!
If you would like a turn helping staff keep our families safe, PLEASE stop by the office, don a yellow vest, and volunteer to assist in the parking lot.
Bridger's Hop Shop
After earning 10 tickets a student can turn their tickets into the office for one of several items:
- Dress Down Coupon
- Token for token machine
- New book
- Entry into the "red" box for the Spinner Winner drawing
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program - FFVP
We LOVE this program and feedback from parents and students indicate our families LOVE the program too!
Mad Science and Power Chess Started Today
If you have signed your student up for Mad Science or Power Chess, these groups started today, Friday, September 9. Mad Science is a six week program and Power Chess is a 12 week program.
Online Lunch Payments
When payments are made online we must complete several steps to get the payments moved to Aspire. We do this every Monday and Wednesday. After we run the online report it takes another day for the money to post to your student's Aspire account. Please allow 3 - 5 days from the day you make the online payment to the day the information posts in Aspire.
The link to make payments online is found on our website by selecting the MEALS icon.
Volunteers
- Pulling weeds in the rock areas and park strips (we have all the area in front of the school and up 4800 S along the school fence).
- Using rakes and shovels to redistribute the gravel from the bottom of the retention area in front of the school to the top area to cover the black landscape screen.
https://www.bridgecharter.org/volunteer-opportunities
Once your family has logged 30 volunteer hours they will have a frog put into our Volunteer Pond in the foyer.
If you want to volunteer but do not have the time, you can donate $90 to cover the 30 hours. If you choose to donate, complete the volunteer form. You can donate in the office or by using our DONATE icon on the home page of our website.
Outside Provider Resources
You can also find this on our webpage at: https://www.bridgecharter.org/community-events
Excuse an Absence
COVID Protocol
https://www.bridgecharter.org/policies-procedures
If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID they should remain home in isolation for five days from the first date of symptoms. When they return to school, they should wear a mask for five more days. If a student or staff member is in proximity (within 6 feet for 15 or more minutes) to an individual in the home who tests positive for COVID, the exposed individual should wear a mask at school for at least 10 days following exposure.
Title I
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 through a video on our website at:
Who to Contact for What
At-Risk Programs Coordinator - Sara Tucker - Sara@BridgeCharter.org
- Morning Supervision and BASE
- Behavior
- 504 Plans
- ELL Coordinator
Lead Secretary - Lalani Williams - Lwilliams@BridgeCharter.org
- Aspire
- Lottery
- Registration
School Nurse - Vicki Ross - Vicki@bridgecharter.org
Special Education
Diane Nelson Lead SpED Teacher - Diane@BridgeCharter.org
Julie Christensen SpED Director - Julie@BridgeCharter.org
Meal Issues - Jodi Jensen - Jodi@BridgeCharter.org
Classroom Teachers - see website - https://www.bridgecharter.org/teachers
- Daily activities for your child
- Student progress
- Questions about student schedule
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