Bridport Community Newletter

Hello, BCS Community!

We have really settled into routines here at Bridport. Many classrooms will be beginning to wrap up the first academic units, and our fall screening window is closing soon. Students are starting to see themselves as learners and leaders in our school.

Some highlights of the week were:

• Watching K/1 students rock literacy stations with Ms. Way and Ms. Angela
• Hearing all about Starbase from our fifth grade- they are headed for their last session this Tuesday!
• Reflecting with 3/4 about how they can be their best selves in all parts of the day, and hearing their ideas to problem solve the tricky times.
• Singing about Magic E with 2nd grade!
• Playing with balloons in PE with Preschool.

Finding the joy in each day takes deliberate practice, and is something I challenge us to all do in the upcoming month of October.

Best,

Jenny

As the weather turns less ideal, and drop offs/pick ups become busier, please keep in mind safety during pick up and drop off times. Always take heed to school busses- and be aware of any children who may be walking into school. If you are parking to drop off your child in PK, please help us by staying safe in the parking lot during these busy times of day.

Please have your child to school by 7:55AM, and pick up is at 2:45-2:50PM.

If your child will be absent or late for any reason, please contact Linda by calling 802-758-2331

Per district policy, if a student will be missing more than 3 days of school for any reason that is not illness (vacation, trip, etc), you must get approval from our superintendent, That can be done by writing a letter or email directly to her- wbaker@acsdvt.org.

Find ACSD's attendance and truancy policy here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18rseXgsC6j_1Tm6bZ1ugXjliPHaX7A80/edit

We value every minute we spend with your child(ren) at school and want to ensure access, success and belonging for every child at BCS.

Two weeks ago, our district shared an overview of our ACSD safety practices and our efforts to keep our community safe. You can find that information here. At BCS, we practice safety drills designed to ensure that our students and staff are familiar with how to be safe in an emergency. Some months, we practice what to do if we need to evacuate the building. Other months we practice what to do when unsafe people or hazards enter our school.

We are required to practice two options-based drills - one in September and one in January. Options-based drills introduce students to various strategies in response to a threat, such as when to evacuate from the school or barricade in a classroom. Please know that all options based drills are trauma informed and age appropriate. This means the drills are performed in a way that is sensitive to the emotional well-being of our students.

We will be holding our first options-based drill on Thursday, 10/3 at 10:45AM

On Thursday, classes will practice what to do when they hear the word “lockdown”. During this kind of drill, all of the perimeter doors to the school building will be locked and will remain locked until the danger or issue outside or inside the building is removed. To enable everyone to remain safe, no one will be allowed to enter the building or leave the building until the drill is completed.

Students will remain in the building and will go to the nearest room when the announcement is made at the start of the drill. Classroom doors will be locked and students will remain in the room until the drill is complete. Students will be quiet and follow the directions of the teacher and remain quiet during the drill.

We know that this is an emotional topic for parents and caregivers and want to assure you of a few things:

• The adults in our building work together to plan and ensure students feel safe and we remind them that the drill is practice.

• We talk with students in a developmentally appropriate way before and after each drill and our practice is developmentally aligned.

• We are available to support families. We will share resources below to help you talk with your child about these experiences and invite you to reach out at any time.

I want you to know about it in advance and be able to talk with your children about it when they come home. Here are a few resources to support those conversations:

1. Talking with Your Children about Safety Drills (Johns Hopkins)

2. Talking with Children about Violence: Tips for Parents and Educators (NASP)

3. Lock Down Social Story - This is a social story created last year from Mary Hogan's principal Jen Kravitz to help teachers and students. Feel free to use it with your child.

If you have questions or would like to connect please reach out to me directly

Teachers and administrators met this summer to review family and teacher survey responses regarding the progress reporting system. Aspects of the system were fine-tuned based on that feedback.

Thanks for your input.

The ACSD K-5 reporting system strives to:

1. Provide opportunities for caregivers to connect and collaborate with teachers about how their child is doing
2. Create a record of student progress towards grade level standards for families, teachers and schools.

Connection and Collaboration

Teachers will meet with parents/guardians for parent-teacher conferences TWO times during the year. These conferences will be 20 min. long, in person or virtual/by phone. They will be focused on goal setting and the student’s learning and progress. Conference windows will be: October - November and March - April

In early February, after the winter progress reports are sent home, teachers will reach out to families to answer any questions they have about the report and their child’s progress.

Student Progress Reports

Students will receive progress indicators on a 5 point scale for each subject area and a 4 point scale for Approaches to Learning skill development.

There will be comments from all teachers addressing the student’s developing Approaches To Learning skills (ATLs).

Progress Reports will be sent home in January and June.

Grade Level Standards Documents

Parents/Guardians will be given At A Glance documents at the start of the year specifying the end-of-year grade level learning expectations (standards) in each subject area. If you ever need a copy, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Students’ progress will be discussed in relation to these standards during conferences and are used to determine proficiency in the January and June reports.

In October, students will be working with the book Lets Talk about Race by Julius Lester. This book helps students understand that everyone is the same on the inside. The differences are in the details of each person’s own stories. It allows students to explore their own thoughts about race and what makes each person unique. It’s a fine book for starting a discussion about race and judging people based on their skin color, hair, clothes, etc.

Here are some resources we will be using to talk about the book as well as some links to watch the book at home.

Tuesday 10/1- 5th Grade to Starbase

Thursday 10/3- Friends of Bridport Central School (FOBCS) Meeting 6-7:30- Library

• Virtual Link to join us-

October 9- Early Release Day

October 10-11- No School

October 18th- Fire Safety Visit

October 19th- Craft Fair

Do you volunteer in our schools? Join Superintendent Wendy Baker for a discussion about how to streamline, strengthen, and improve our volunteer program at ACSD schools. We will schedule a time to meet this fall to gather your feedback. Interested?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1H6laR0CJwNAVk9RKvXDYd2kvHeiw0vzwBb_9qcRNwg4/edit

As a reminder, all children are entitled to free breakfast and lunch!

All school meals will be free again for ALL students.

But, it's still VERY IMPORTANT to complete the free and reduced meal application form. Our district gets $475,000+ each year based on the % of students who qualify for free/reduced meals. So, if you fill out the form, you help us qualify!

A paper application will come home with your child, or apply now online.

Last Friday afternoon, we tested our district text messaging system. To receive texts, you must opt-in. If you think you signed up to receive text messages but did not receive one last Friday around 4pm, please contact your school to make sure your wireless phone number is in our student database. If you want to receive text messages you can sign up by Texting “yes” to 67587. You will get a reply confirming your registration. (If you ever want to stop receiving texts, just text STOP.) The district and school will only use text messages for important, time sensitive communication.

ACSD 5th grade boys and girls interested in working on their basketball skills and playing more games, we have a great opportunity for you. Mini-metro basketball has been around for more than 30 years. Come try out for the 5th/6th grade Tiger teams! We have both boys and girls teams. Games are every Sunday starting the first week of November. We will have one or two practices a week throughout October in Middlebury. Practices during the school/rec basketball season will be once per week, and will not conflict with school or Rec practice schedules. We work on fostering a positive environment and focus on skill and team development.

Tryouts will be on October 5th at the MUHS gym as follows:

5/6 Boys 2:30 PM – 4 PM

5/6 Girls 5 PM – 6 PM

The Middlebury Basketball Association provides uniforms free of charge. Registration fees will be ~$75 per athlete. Players will need to travel for some games, we will also host games in Middlebury at the Town gym. Parents will be asked to commit to volunteer for a minimum of two 1 hour shifts during the season on a Sunday when the games are hosted in Middlebury.

For more information please email info@middhoops.com.