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Bellmont Elementary
BE BRAVES - Respect, Community, Growth
BES Upcoming Events
- February 20 - March 7 - 2nd Grade and 3rd grade - IREAD-3 Assessment - please have your children present.
- Monday, March 11 - End of 3rd Quarter Grading
- Tuesday, March 19 - Preschool Round-up - 4:00-6:00
- Tuesday March 19 - 1st Grade to Petting Zoo - 4th grade Planet Pizza
- Friday, March 22 - Friday, March 29 - SPRING BREAK - No School - Kids return on Monday, April 1
- Monday, April 1 - 3rd Grade to McMillen Health Center
- Thursday, April 4 - 2nd Grade field trip to McMillen - 8:00-11:00
- Friday, April 5 - 1st Grade to McMillen Health Center
- Monday, April 8 - TOTAL Solar Eclipse - NO SCHOOL - NO eLearning
- Friday, April 12 - Donuts with Grown-ups event 7:00-9:00
- April 15 - May 10 - 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade ILEARN Assessment - please have your children present.
- Wednesday, April 17 - Kindergarten Round-up - 4:30-6:30
- Friday, April 19 - 4th Quarter Mid-Term
- Friday, April 26 - 2nd Grade Field Trip to Science Central - 8:00-1:00
- Tuesday, May 14 - 4th Grade to McMillen Health Center
- Thursday, May 16 - Step it Up Fundraiser DAY of Awesomeness - 10:00-2:00
- Friday, May 17 - 3rd Grade to Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo
- Monday, May 20 - 1st Grade Field Trip to Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo
- Wednesday, May 22 - Student last day of school
- Sunday, May 26 - BHS Graduation
- Thursday, August 1 Back-to-School Night
- Wednesday, August 7 - First student day of 2024-2025 school year
This month, our school will administer the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD-3) to your child. Based on the Indiana Academic Standards, IREAD-3 is a summative assessment that was developed in accordance with Public Law 109, which requires the evaluation of foundational reading skills for students who are in grade three to ensure that all students can read proficiently before moving on to grade four.
Foundational reading skills: Beginning in kindergarten, these are the skills needed by students in the initial stages of reading development and beyond. These skills focus primarily on the ability to decode words and comprehend the basic meaning of what is read. Students who lack the foundational skills assessed on IREAD-3 are likely to have difficulty understanding the reading selections and answering the test questions. Students with adequate foundational reading skills will have greater success applying higher-level skills as they read to learn. Foundational reading skills assessed on IREAD-3, which include:
Standard Assessed
Description
Vocabulary:
Word Recognition, Fluency, and Vocabulary Development
- Questions may include identifying beginning, middle, and ending sounds, identifying synonyms, antonyms, homographs, suffixes, and using context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words in a text.
Nonfiction/Informational Text: Comprehension and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text
- Questions may include comparing and responding to grade-level informational text by making connections and/or predictions while reading, and identifying important information within text (e.g., problem and solution, cause and effect, main idea).
Literary Text:
Comprehension and Analysis of Literary Text
- Questions may include comparing and responding to grade-level literary text by recalling and/or describing story elements (e.g., plot, character traits and development, problem and solution), and identifying the theme and narrator of different literary genres.
What are the ramifications for students who do not Pass IREAD-3? In accordance with PL109, students who do not pass will continue to receive instruction in Grade 3, will be officially reported as a third grader, and will fully participate in the Grade 3 ILEARN assessment. Students that do not pass the IREAD-3 assessment in the spring will participate in the summer retest. The summer retest is for students who did not pass in March and have since been provided with remediation in reading and students who were absent during the March window. If your child does not pass IREAD-3 during the spring administration, our school will offer remediation services prior to the summer administration of IREAD-3. Details regarding the summer administration will be forthcoming. Should you need further explanation, please contact your child’s teacher.
Students that may be afforded opportunities for exemptions include: Students with exceptional needs, students who have been previously retained 2 times, students with disabilities whose Case Conference Committee has determined appropriate and English learner students whose Individual Learning Plan Committee has determined appropriate.
Things you can do as a parent to help your child prepare for IREAD-3:
· Read every night with your child for 15-20 minutes.
· Pick a book that is ‘just right’ for your child. Take turns reading pages to each other. If your child gets stuck on a word, have them use clues to figure it out or find chunks of sounds they know within the word.
· Ask questions about what was just read. Talk about the characters and their feelings. Make predictions about what you think might happen next. Talk about if you were right. Find the evidence to support whether or not your prediction was correct. Discuss the problem the characters are facing and look for the solution. Attached are some book marks with talking point to discuss with your child as they read.
Test Window
- Tuesday, February 20; Thursday, March 7 - Practice Test (Per the State, students are required to take the practice tests as well)
As there is only a small testing window, it is very important that your child be present for all sessions including the practice tests. We look forward to partnering with you as we enter the testing time of year. Please call the office or your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
Use this bookmark to help your child while reading.
Use this bookmark to help your child while reading.
Use this bookmark to help your child while reading.
ILEARN
For parents of students in grades 3, 4, and 5 please click on the ILEARN assessment links below to learn more about this assessment. The ILEARN assessment will take place April 15 - May 10. It is important that students are in attendance, so please mark your calendars. Please do not schedule appointments during this time frame. It is important that all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are in attendance.
North Adams Spring Break
North Adams Community Schools Spring Break will run from Friday, March 22 through Friday, March 29. Students will return to school on Monday, April 1 - and No this is not an April Fools😄
Donuts with Grownups Event
We are looking forward to welcoming families to school for an exciting family outreach event! All students at Bellmont Elementary, and their Middle School siblings, are invited to bring a special grown up, or grownups, to join us for Donuts with Grownups on Friday, April 12th from 7:15 am to 8:00 am with an opportunity to visit student's classrooms from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. Each student and their special guests will receive a free donut, juice, book, and photo opportunity!
This form will close at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you!
Donuts with Grownups
Friday, Apr 12, 2024, 07:15 AM
Bellmont Elementary School
Read Across America Dr. Suess' Day
March 4 through March 8 is Read Across America week. We will be doing some special dress up days to celebrate the week. The schedule is attached below.
Kindergarten Round-up Interest Form
It is now that time of the year to start looking Kindergarten Round-up for the 2024-2025 school year. Bellmont Elementary will be having our in person round up on Wednesday, April 17 from 4:30-6:30. If you have a child that will be 5 on or before August 1, 2024 please take the time to fill out the interest form below. If you do not have a child, but you know someone that does, please feel free to share this interest form.
March Lunch Menu
Counselor's Corner
March 2024
Counselor’s Corner
Mrs. McKay
Bellmont Elementary
School Counselor Grades PreK-2
260-724-3137 x3005 mckayc@nadams.k12.in.us
Click the link below to view Mrs. McKay's March Counselor's Corner Newsletter
2024-2025 Preschool Interest form
As mentioned in an earlier message we are collecting interest for our 2024-2025 preschool and B.E.S.T Daycare. If you, or anyone you know, have children ages 3-5 please fill out this interest form. We will have our in-person Preschool Round-up on Tuesday, March 19 from 4:00-6:00 at Bellmont Elementary. Please feel free to share this link.
Dress up days for Disability Awareness Month
BRAVES DAY
During our last BRAVES Day we handed out Bellmont merch to the kids. Here is a group picture of the entire elementary with their Bellmont shirts. Of course, we had an awesome time afterward playing dodgeball with the DPD.
Construction at BES
I thought I would share with you our progress on the construction of our Multipurpose Room. I will try to add monthly pictures to this newsletter. We will be using this space for an elementary cafeteria as well as a space for our daycare and a space to have speakers or gatherings at the elementary. As you can see from the pictures, we are in the very beginning phases of the construction. We are projected to be in this space December of 2024.