Bulldog Paw Prints
Week Ending November 17, 2023
Playground
Our students continue to really enjoy and make use of our new playground equipment both during and outside of school hours. With that enjoyment, however, we have had a few injures resulting from play on the monkey bars.
Students are following our safety rules of using hands (not legs) to dangle from them, and they are walking on the bridges and platforms (not walking on top of the equipment). That's great! The monkey bars pose a challenge to some of our students who may not have as much arm and/or hand strength as others. As a result, muscle fatigue may set in much more quickly for some, and others may not be able to "hand walk" through the monkey bars in the same way or with the same speed as others. The lack of strength and/or fatigue can lead to a student falling from the bars to the wood chips leading to injury, including a broken bone.
We continue to monitor students during their recess time for safety, and safety reminders are provided throughout. While it's easy to tell when a student's cardio capacity is fatiguing while running (their speed slows to a walk and/or to standing still), it's more difficult to monitor when a student's muscle fatigue is setting in. We will continue to work with our younger students on taking breaks and engaging in a variety of play during recess to prevent injury.
Our director of buildings and grounds (who is also a certified playground safety inspector) has conducted another site safety check of our equipment and the depth of the wood chips. The equipment is constructed and approved for children aged 5-12, and it continues to be solid and free from loose or broken parts. The wood chips are functioning as intended and are at the expected safety depth.
As an extra layer of support, please talk with your children about adding in some breaks at recess and some variety as well. Going through an injury, especially a broken bone, is not a fun process to navigate.
Our BA Turkey: The feathers state what each of our students is thankful for.
School Attendance
Our Student Support Team will be digging further into our school attendance data starting next week, and we will continue that after Thanksgiving break. Part of that analysis will be looking at absence reasons (illness, family vacation, appointment, etc.), the number of days of absence, and the number of days students have been late/tardy to school.
As you saw in the video, a student is considered chronically absent when (s)he has missed 10% of school days (for any reason) and that our district goal is to have students attend school at least 95% of the time. At this point in the school year (the end of our first trimester), 11% of our Belle Aire students are considered chronically absent.
We will continue to work with our families falling into this category to better understand any barriers, any medical resource needs for health, etc. It's always our goal to partner with you and provide support, and that will continue to hold true with attendance as well.
Our students have been enjoying doing our morning announcements.
Gr. 2 Disguised Turkey Writing Prompt
Kindness Club (repeat item)
District Calendar, 2023-2024
Mark Your Calendars
Monday, November 13: 2:00 Dismissal for Students
Tuesday, November 14: Let's Code It Club (3:05-4:05 p.m. for those enrolled)
November 22 - 26: Thanksgiving Break
Monday, November 27: 2:00 Dismissal
Tuesday, November 28: Let's Code It (after school); Gr. 3 Lunchtime Book Club; PTA Mtg. (7:00 p.m. at the school)
Wednesday, November 29: BAM Theater
Thursday, November 30: Chess Club (3:00 - 3:30 p.m.)
Friday December 1: Hot Dog/Chicken Hot Lunch (for those who ordered)
=-=-=-
Friday, December 8: Report Cards Go Home
Monday, December 18: Winter Sing (Parents Welcomed, Details to Come)
Friday, December 22: Classroom Holiday Parties
Winter Break: December 23 - January 7
Monday, January 8: First Day Back From Break