Principal Chat
Holy fast - that's how this year is progressing! It is already the middle of March which means there are only NINE more Mondays and TEN more Fridays left of school (we have Spring Break in April and Memorial Day in May). This is such an important time in the school year as teachers make sure all the core standards are covered and our students are prepared for our end of year testing which begins the first of May.
AVERSION TO SOCIAL MEDIA? - If you don't "do" social media you can still see what's going on at Bridge by scrolling to the bottom of our website where we have a live feed of our Facebook/Instagram feed. https://www.bridgecharter.org
SPRING PICTURES - These will be taken on March 20. It is a FREE Dress Down Day so students can wear their fun spring clothing for pictures if they choose.
FREE MARTIAL ARTS ENDING - Due to scheduling conflicts, our FREE after-school martial arts program will end the last week of March. We are so thankful for the time, energy and resources Master Jason has dedicated to bring this free program to our students.
SPRING SHIRT ORDER - The order for Bullfrog shirts is now open. It closes on March 16. You will order and pay online. Shirts will be shipped to the school and distributed approximately the first week of April.
https://www.customink.com/g/erz0-00cx-yzd7
FIELD DAY DONATIONS - Our field day is an awesome event that we host on the last day of school. We have bounce houses, a magician, games and prizes, fabulous BBQ lunch, face "painting", yard games, school movie, yearbook signing and a water event. We use our dress down funds to help support this BUT donations are super helpful. The Roy Les Schwab already location donated $500 to help with field day!!!! These are the items we still need:
- Water shooters (pull the plunger and fill the tube with water) from the dollar store (each 4 - 6 grade kiddo gets one).
- Prizes for the game booths. These are like the kind you get in a bag from Zurchers, Oriental Trading or the Dollar store. We have small, medium and large prizes.
- Cans of soda for the ring toss.
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 3rd Grade Para Educators!
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 about the importance of HUGS!
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
- Tuesday Talk & Talent - April 1, 2:15 - 3:00 pm
- Roy FD Assembly - April 7, 9 - 10 am (grades K - 3)
- Utah Opera Assembly (grades 4 - 6) - April 9, 9:00 am
- Spring Pictures (FREE dress down day) - March 20
- Road to Success reading program ends - March 24
- Yearbooks on Sale - April 1 thru April 30
- Field Day (yearbooks, last day of school, short day) - May 29
- North Shore Aquatic Center - FREE for Bridge Family and Friends - June 11 - 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Customized Supports
Bridge's model aligns perfectly with the state's Personalized Competency Based Learning (PCBL) framework.
At Bridge, each learner is provided with appropriate and timely support to achieve growth or competency and to engage in personalized learning pathways. These customized supports are based on data about the learner's demonstrated strengths, interests and needs. Customized supports include P90 reading, small group learning, adaptive computer-based learning, WIN (What I Need), and I & E (Interventions & Extensions) and one on one assessment.
Sara Tucker - Director
I am SO excited for the coming year! I am hopping up and down with joy for the opportunity to be the Head Bullfrog, the Director, starting next year! This is my third opportunity to be the Director of a school and I know this will be the best yet! I have been an educator for over 24 years and an administrator for over 10 of those years. I have taught third, fourth, and fifth grades, Gifted Education and English as a Second Language.
When I am not working with our Bullfrogs, I am with my sweetie traveling, enjoying photography, reading, cooking, and being the best Auntie!
Thank you for trusting us with your Bullfrog and continuing on this journey with us!
Susan Lindsey - Assistant Director
I am Susan Lindsey and I am super excited to be the Assistant Director for the upcoming school year. I love the kids, young and older, and the amazing unique learning model that we embrace at Bridge. I have been teaching here since the school opened and believe in what we are doing. I believe that education should never stop.
When I am not at school I enjoy spending time with my kids, grandkids and horses.
After spending a day without Internet a week or so ago, we were pleasantly surprised with the level of engagement and the way teachers and staff punted to still provide rigorous instruction with support. Staff engagement with students and student engagement with learning was magical! In fact, it was SO magical, we have decided to have TECH-FREE Tuesdays starting the week of March 17. On these days students will not have ANY screen time (the only exception is morning supervision) - stories will be read using a real book rather than a narrated book on the TV - students will not use iReady or Waterford - teachers will use more "old school" methods of providing instruction. We are super excited to begin this journey and will provide close observations and data collection to see if this plan has merit.
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:
There are MANY great options for junior high school for your student. Many of the lotteries for junior high charter schools are already open for enrollment. If you choose a neighborhood, district school, PLEASE contact them ASAP so you do not miss out on the registration process. This is not a comprehensive list:
Wallace Stegner Academy (Sunset) brand new campus - https://wsacharter.org/our-campuses
Weber School District - https://www.wsd.net
Ogden School District - https://www.ogdensd.org
Davis School District - https://www.davis.k12.ut.us
Quest Academy (West Haven) - https://www.questac.org
Venture Academy (Mariott-Slaterville) - https://www.venturelearning.org
Ogden Prep Academy (Ogden) - https://ogdenprep.org
Syracuse Arts Academy (Syracuse) - https://www.syracuseartsacademy.org
Utah Military Academy (Riverdale) - https://www.utahmilitaryacademy.org/main/campuses
DaVinci Academy (Ogden) - https://secondary.davinciacademy.org
Mountain Heights Academy (online) - https://mountainheightsacademy.org
Utah Virtual Academy (online) - https://utva.k12.com
Connections Academy (online) - https://www.connectionsacademy.com/utah-online-school
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.
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.
The next Tuesday Talk is Tuesday, April 1, 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.
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
This week our students had an opportunity to try a something super fun - Mandarinquats which are a hybrid of Kumquats and mandarin oranges! Students also had the opportunity to try white asparagus and Hawaiian papaya.
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!
Jason Odekirk
Tabitha Gabbert
Sandra Shepherd
Emily Verschuren
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