Wow--March already! My apologies for not getting you a February newsletter. Between having influenza A, the death of my Father-in-law that had been living with us, and then our cold snap, I lost track of the newsletter. I am grateful for my administrative colleagues in the district that covered in my absence and for the staff that kept things running as smoothly as possible.
I just truly can't believe that we are in March! We have been busy trying to wrap up our ELPA assessment for our English Language Learners. The cold snap really impacted our testing window. ELPA is a state required similar to ISASP but it focuses on the areas of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. Our EL teachers have been working hard to give our students a positive testing experience.
We will be gearing up for parent/teacher conferences and are excited to meet with you again to share more about how your Bears are doing. The district expectation is that we have 100% attendance for parent/teacher conferences so we will continue to reach out if you have not been able to schedule a time to meet with your child's teacher. You can access the link to sign to sign up here: https://www.myconferencetime.com/bryant
During March, our students will be finishing their work with Honesty from last month and then getting started mid-month on Cooperation. The grade levels will be addressing the following once that switch has been made.
Kindergarten--students will practice their listening skills as they Cooperate to pass along a secret message, they will put Cooperation skills like communication and attention into practice in a ball-toss challenge, they will Cooperate in teams to complete a scavenger hunt, and they will use Cooperation skills and serve in specific group roles in order to create a paper chain as a team.
1st grade--students will work Cooperatively to help each other create a story from an image, will practice Cooperation by focusing on communication skills such as giving clear instructions and listening, will Cooperate in a way that helps other achieve a common goal, and will practice the communication skills needed to Cooperate with others.
2nd grade--students will practice Cooperation skills like sharing ideas and taking turns while collaboratively drawing, will Cooperate to create music using different sounds, will Cooperate while working with classmates to create a new animal, and will create a chain to showcase their individual strengths.
3rd grade--students will look at other people's perspectives and practice respectful, persuasive communication skills, will Cooperate and share their perspective to create a picture and story to go with it, will practice Cooperation by completing challenges to get them from point A to point B, and will Cooperate with one another in order to help their teammates guess hidden words.
4th grade--students will Cooperate and apply conflict resolution strategies to complete a challenge as a team, will work in groups to complete a short skit about Cooperation using I-statements to resolve conflict, will work Cooperatively to create a flag representing each group member as well as something they have in common, and will work Cooperatively to answer questions during an interactive game resolving conflicts.
5th grade--students will work in groups to create a Profile of a Leader showcasing what a true leader looks like, will collaborate to lead others through positive resolutions to potential conflicts using the Tree of Choices, will Cooperate to create recess activities for a younger grade level.
Thank you for partnering with us in your child's education. I am grateful for the students, staff, and families that we have at Bryant. I am also excited to let you know that the district approved the addition of an Assistant Principal at Bryant for next school year. We have grown a lot in recent years so this addition will be of great help to teachers, students, and families.
Dr. Holcomb
