Bridge Bulletin

Happy Friday and Happy Fall Break! Fall break is an educator's favorite time of year. Starting a new school year is exhausting and fall break arrives just at the time where we wonder "do we have enough energy to continue doing this?" Then, the miracle of fall break comes - educators rest, have some fun, get refreshed and re-energized to continue our quest to create a rich, positive and supportive learning environment for kids.

I hope your family has an opportunity to enjoy this beautiful weather - perhaps a trek up the mountains to see the fall leaves! I will be getting re-energized over fall break by hiking parts of the Appalachian trail and viewing fall leaves in the Smoky Mountains.

ROAD TO SUCCESS READING INCENTIVE PROGRAM - this launched on Wednesday with a visit and kick off by Miss Roy! See below in the newsletter for more information.

FREE REDUCED LUNCH - If you haven't already PLEASE take a moment to complete the Free/Reduced application on Aspire. The data from this application determines if our school qualifies for our FFVP (fruit/vegetable program) and FREE dinner after BASE. In addition, the data also helps determine how much money Bridge gets for our Title I program. You can find the ASPIRE link here:

https://www.bridgecharter.org/aspire

HELP FOR BRIDGE FAMILIES AT THANKSGIVING - CWC would like to help any Bridge staff or Bridge families in need of a FULL Thanksgiving meal! We are SOOOO grateful for their generosity. Please see below in the newsletter for more information and a link to provide your contact information if your family is in need of help.

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 to remember "Don't take it personally" when kiddos are experiencing overwhelming emotions.

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!

Lani Rounds

Principal

NO SCHOOL

• October 14 - 18 (Fall Break)
• Friday, November 1 (teacher workday)
• November 25 - 29 (Thanksgiving Break)
• December 19 - January 3 (Winter Break)
• Monday, January 20 (Martin Luther)
• February 14 and 17 (teacher workday and President's Day)
• March 6 & 7 (parent teacher conferences)
• April 14 - 18 (Spring Break)
• May 26 (Memorial Day)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Family Fall Survey Opens October 1 (closes October 13)
• Makeup Picture Day - October 23 (school dress code required)
• FREE Family Skate Night Classic Fun Center - October 23, 5-8 pm
• Halloween $5 Costume Donation Dress Up Day - October 31
• December 10 - "EllaMental" play for 4th - 6th grade
• Roy Fire Department Assembly - February 24, 9:00 - 10:00 am
• Parent Teacher Conferences - March 6 & 7
• 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

Helene Lam, Miss Roy 20224, visited classrooms on Tuesday to launch the "Road to Success" reading incentive program. Students will track their at-home reading minutes on a monthly form and turn the form in at the end of each month. Miss Roy will gather the forms on the first Tuesday of the following month and enter the data into Beanstack. Once students hit certain milestones their teachers are notified and the students are provided a prize! At the end of the school year, one lucky winner at Bridge will win a brand new bike! You can find more information about this program, including the amazing sponsors, at:

https://www.rtsutah.org/about-us/our-story/

"Road to Success is a free incentive reading program for K-6 students. We are devoted to seeing students improve academically by rewarding their educational accomplishments in partnership with Miss Roy and the school. We know that students who develop independent reading habits early will more readily achieve their future academic and career goals.

Road to Success provides your school with the Beanstack Platform, a user-friendly website and mobile app to track student’s reading minutes. Your student will be enrolled in the Road

to Success Challenge on Beanstack where they can earn fun prizes for reading and earn entries into our end-of-year Bike Giveaway and Grand Prize Electric Scooter Giveaway! Beanstack has other great features to motivate your students to read like badges, streaks, and other challenges!

Our Road to Success program will run from October until March 24. RTS will also host their annual my529 Read-a-Thon that runs from April 1st to May 1st. One lucky, top-reading student from the school will be randomly selected to win a $1,000 scholarship thanks to the generous sponsorship of my529.

We are so excited to be part of your child’s reading journey and can’t wait to cheer them on!"

IS IT BULLYING? During our social emotional learning (SEL) time, Ms. Chelsea, our social worker, will be visiting classrooms to talk about bullying. There is often a huge misconception regarding "bullying" and individuals often think anytime someone is unkind it is bullying. Bullying has specific components and the flowchart shown in the graphic below is a great place to start when talking to your children about incidents and determining if it was "bullying" or someone being "mean".

Bridge provides many opportunities for students to progress through the work based on their own learning. Students use a PLP folder to help them complete work aligned with their PLP goals. Our compute assisted instructional systems (Waterford and iReady) provide just in time adaptive instruction with ongoing assessment. Students also receive ongoing assessment through Acadience reading and math to monitor their progress. All of these methods provide students and educators with timely feedback in order to monitor student growth and create data-based instruction.

CAIS - Bridge uses iReady and Waterford to provide reading and math instruction and assessment for students. These adaptive programs assess students then provide instruction aligned with the student's academic needs. The programs provide teachers with data to help them create instruction and activities aligned with student needs. These programs also provide immediate feedback to students allowing them to progress through the instruction and activities based on their own work.

PLP Folders - Students in grades 1-6 each have a folder of work aligned with their PLP goals. This allows students to complete work independently to help them gain the skills necessary to achieve their reading and math goals. Typically students work on these folder during advisory rotations on Fridays.

Acadience Reading and math - Acadience reading and math are two of the state required assessment programs for students. Students are assessed three times each year for a benchmark assessment. This data is shared on the student's progress report. Then, based on this data, students receive ongoing progress monitoring to ensure each and every student is making adequate progress. Depending on the student's reading and math scores as compared to a national grade level norm, students are monitored weekly, twice monthly or once monthly. Teachers use this data to determine what the child needs to continue making adequate progress. This data is shared immediately with students so they are better able to reflect and align their dedication to daily work in the classroom and practice at home, with the outcomes on these assessments.

Waterford & iReady (CAIS)

PLP Folders

Acadience Reading & Math Progress Monitoring

In Utah, parents are super lucky to have many choices for their child's education. As a charter school, Bridge is just one choice. Parents can also choose their neighborhood school, a private school, a charter school, or an online option. Not every option is best for every student. Parents must play an active role in finding the school and program that works best for their child.

At Bridge, we use a unique model of personalized learning that includes lots of movement, flexible seating, a variety of learning methods including small group instruction, computer aided instruction, whole group learning, specials, and differentiated work in stations all provided with a large variety of educators to support your child. For those of you who have decided that Bridge is the right choice for their child, THANK YOU! For those of you who want to see if there is a better fit, you can contact your neighborhood school or use the link below to find all the charter school options available for your family:

https://ucap.schools.utah.gov/ContactDirectory

The research is very clear - in order to become a fluent reader, a skill essential to lifelong success, students need to practice reading! "Learning to read takes practice. Loving to read takes enthusiasm."
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!

RAISING READERS - WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

The state has released the 2023-2024 report card. Bridge works very hard focusing on student growth. We work with the student where they are and help them make progress. This is super important for students who struggle as well as students who are accelerated learners. We are so proud of our students and educators! There are SEVERAL areas of growth in which Bridge exceeded the state averages! There are many other areas the state does not post such as a school's growth in Acadience reading or math in grades K-6 in which we have growth scores that are well above the state averages.

READING ON GRADE LEVEL MAKING TYPICAL OR BETTER PROGRESS

State = 68% Bridge = 71%

RISE GROWTH IN MATH

State = 51%. Bridge = 53%

RISE GROWTH IN SCIENCE

State = 51%. Bridge = 52%

ELL STUDENTS MAKING ADEQUATE PROGRESS

State = 37%. Bridge = 39%

ELL STUDENTS READING PROFICIENCY GROWTH

State = 12%. Bridge = 17%

Yes, we have areas in which to improve and we are working hard to get all of our scores up. In fact, we are even bringing in outside consultants, to help us exceed the state in all areas.

You can use this link to find the report cards for the schools across the state:

https://reportcard.schools.utah.gov/

Christian Worship Center (CWC), in conjunction with businesses and members of the community, will be providing FULL MEAL boxes for Bridge staff and Bridge families in need for Thanksgiving. If your family could use help please use the link below to provide your information. Boxes will be delivered on Tuesday, November 26.

SURVEY LINK

New this year! The first Tuesday of the month, starting in October, we will meet in the gym as a school community, 2:30 - 3:15. 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.

Use the link below to complete the Tuesday Talk & Talent form. Videos, or links to videos if you use Vimeo or YouTube, must be emailed to Mrs. Rounds. Mrs. Rounds will notify you once the form is submitted, the video is verified, and a date is selected for the video to be shown during Tuesday Talk.

TUESDAY TALK & TALENT FORM

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!

LINK TO VIDEOS

This week our students got to try McIntosh apples, Hawaiian papaya, sugar snap peas and watermelon radishes. Fun fact - Apple Computers (Macintosh) was named for the McIntosh apple - allegedly Steve Job's favorite snack!

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!

Each week 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.

Next week students will review the six traits. When students return from fall break they will learn about Reflection - "Reviewing my learning to see what works and ways I can improve."

I Will -

• Look back.
• Listen to feedback.
• Learn about myself.
• Plan my next steps.
• Reflect often.

Please discuss these traits at home and help empower your children to take personal ownership and accountability for their own academic performance.

Please take time to complete the Free / Reduced lunch application on Aspire. Once you login to Aspire the application is a link on the right hand side. A family of four can make almost $58,000 annually and qualify for reduced meals. Use this link to find the INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

Use this link to find information on setting up your ASPIRE account or contact the office at (801)499-5180.

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. PLEASE BE PATIENT - WE ARE USING A NEW SYSTEM.

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. Once a child has 10 unexcused absences the school can 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.

We need YOUR help keeping our kids and families safe! Please be observant, patient and kind when navigating the parking lot. For your safety, and the safety of your kiddos, do NOT park across the street on Midland Drive and attempt to cross through the middle of the road - especially do NOT drop your kids off or expect them to navigate this road without an adult holding their hand. Please do not park in the pharmacy parking lot - it is private property and they are very unhappy with folks who take up the spaces they have for paying customers. The neighborhood to the south of us is undergoing construction and is not a safe place to park. Owners claim it is "private property" and will call law enforcement to have cars moved.

Roy City will not provide us a crosswalk nor allow us to stop traffic on our own. Our school entrance is too close to the corner to allow traffic to stop safely. It is up to ALL of us to make sure our kids are safe! Patience is the key! If you cannot be patient during pick up then please, park your car, come into the school and check your students out a few minutes early. While we hate kids to miss school time, we prefer that they are safe. Another idea is to sign your child up for BASE, then come in at 4:00, after the parking lot is empty, and check your child out of BASE early. They will not get free dinner as they must be present in the gym at 4:15 for dinner, but you will not need to navigate the parking lot during the busiest times.

DAY CARE VANS - Please allow day care vans ALL of the space along the north fence! They cannot navigate the parking lot and get to their next school on time. They NEED this space.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be patient, observant and kind. This is the only way we can make sure all our kiddos and families are safe during drop off and pick up.

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

Bridge Elementary is committed to maintaining a school climate that is safe, welcoming, and free of harassment and discrimination. The School prohibits all forms of harassment, and it does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, creed, religion, age, marital status, or disability.

We encourage anyone who believes they (or someone else) have been subjected to harassment or discrimination at the School to file a complaint with the School’s Principal, Lani Rounds. The School will promptly investigate and resolve all such complaints in accordance with School policy.

If you would like to learn more about how the School handles complaints of harassment or discrimination, please review the School’s Notice of Nondiscrimination, Civil Rights Policy, and Bullying and Hazing Policy on the School’s website under RESOURCES at https://www.bridgecharter.org/policies-procedures

Weber Human Services SMR is available for 24/7 crisis support and short-term stabilization. To request help or make a referral, dial 988. Weber Human Service's works with families to improve functioning, develop and maintain healthy communication, and enhance ability to cope with future crisis.

The mission of Bridge Elementary is to provide students with a personalized learning experience and empower them to take personal ownership and accountability for their own academic performance.

Email: info@bridgecharter.org
Website: bridgecharter.org
Location: 4824 Midland Drive, Roy, UT
Phone: (801)499-5180
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BridgeCharter

Principal - Lani Rounds - Lani@BridgeCharter.org

Assistant Principal - Sara Tucker - Sara@BridgeCharter.org

Student Support - Stacey Archuleta - Stacey@BridgeCharter.org

• Morning Supervision and BASE
• Behavior Support
• 504 Plans

Lead Secretary - Lalani Williams - Lwilliams@BridgeCharter.org

• Aspire
• Lottery
• Registration

Social Worker - Chelsea Silverwood - Chelsea@BridgeCharter.org

School Nurse - Vicki Ross - Vicki@bridgecharter.org

Special Education

Dianne Kelsey Lead SpED Teacher - Dianne.Kelsey@BridgeCharter.org

Julie Christensen SpED Director - Julie@BridgeCharter.org

ELL Coordinator - Sara Tucker - Sara@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 or issues in the classroom