Thank you for sending your children to school daily and for impressing upon them the importance of excellent attendance. Thank you for keeping in close contact with your child’s teacher and for reinforcing at home what has been learned in school. Know that the teachers, as well as all the adults at Bridges Community School are here to serve not only the students, but our families too! If you ever need us, we are here. We care about you and our work together!

A reminder there is no school for students on Monday, Jan. 20 and Monday, Jan. 27.

Our Bridges Spelling Bee will be on Friday, Jan. 24 starting at 12:30 for some of our 4th and 5th graders to compete and our K-3rd graders to cheer on classmates. Parents of Spelling Bee participants are invited to come to cheer on our participants in the gymnasium. Please enter the building through door 1.

Working Together, Mrs. Rittmiller

https://forms.gle/NsZAJa5fJ3DK3Urd6

Garrett W. - K, Ella A. - K, Jace P. - 1, Ingrid L. - 1, Levi D. - 2, Taelynn F. - 2, Madison W. - 3, Kynlea P. - 3, Kahle G. - 4, Aubrey E. - 4, Alex R. - 5, Jaydan P. - 5

Vanessa H. - K, Lexi G. - K, Maren M. - 1, Silas Z. - 1, Lilliana G. - 2, Iyaan S. - 2, Colin O. - 3, Avery D. - 3, Cecilia G. - 4, Lyle D. - 4, Norah B. - 5, Iris T. - 5

Mrs. Julie is looking forward to watching our students grow and learn each and every day! Outside of school she enjoys being with her family! She also likes vacationing, traveling, site seeing and being outdoors as much as she can when the weather is nice!

Mrs. Olivo is an advocate for all students at Bridges! Outside of work, she enjoys time with her family! She also enjoys going on vacations!

Mrs. Mary is excited to see the kids mature and grow this year. Outside of school she enjoys baking, playing Bingo and spending time with her grandkids.

Mrs. Hollerich is excited to watch her first graders learn and grow! She is excited to meet her new students and their wonderful families! She is so grateful to be a part of the Bridges Community!

Outside of school, Mrs. Hollerich enjoys spending time with her family, watching hockey, reading, traveling, and taking her dog, Bella, for walks.

Mrs. Olivo is currently on an intermittent FMLA. During the month of January and moving forward, she will continue to have her intern, Ms. Anderson, supporting our Bridges students in small groups and classroom lessons.

Here is a little more information about Ms. Anderson:

Hello! I am in my last semester of the Professional School Counseling master's program at MSU-Mankato. I have always loved working with kids and wanted to be in a helping field, so school counseling is a perfect fit! I have learned a lot from Annika Olivo this year; I've gotten some great experiences leading small groups, planning and teaching classroom lessons, and working with students individually. Outside of this internship experience and taking graduate classes, I enjoy reading (especially fantasy), taking walks, and spending time with friends and family. I feel privileged to be an additional support for students here at Bridges. I have loved getting to know students and staff and hope to continue to build connections throughout the rest of the school year! I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about me and my role at Bridges!

The Cognitive Abilities (CogAt) Screener testing window will be open from February 3rd thru the 14th. The CogAt will be given to all 2nd grade students and new-to-district students in grades 3-5 who have not yet taken the CogAt.

The CogAt provides insight into students’ abilities and guides educators in making appropriate educational decisions for students. Mankato Area Public Schools use the CogAt in the following ways:

• to help educators differentiate instruction for the needs and abilities of a student;

• to understand discrepancies between a student’s ability and achievement; and

• to use as a measure in identifying students for placement in Talent Development Services, including cluster and Rising Scholar classrooms.

In grade 2, the CogAt is untimed. Students in a typical 2nd grade class generally take less than one hour to complete the CogAt, In grades 3-5, the CogAt will take approximately 45 minutes. The CogAt has three sections: verbal analogies, quantitative analogies, and nonverbal matrices. There will be short breaks between sections.

If you do NOT want your child to take the Cognitive Abilities Screening Form, please contact your school no later than Wednesday, January 29th.

Looking for a way to connect to MAPS? We strive to connect our community to our district and schools. Subscribe to this newsletter to get the current information and links to events.

Follow MAPS Facebook and Instagram for student celebrations:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ISD77MAPS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isd77maps/

MAPS Website: https://www.isd77.org/

Bridges BAC Website: BAC website link: : https://bridgesbears.weebly.com/faq.html

We have All School Meetings on Fridays during the school year starting in the gym at 8:30 am. Parents/guardians are invited to attend. We discuss our life skill, have spotted awards and many times there is an interactive game, talent or speaker.

The lottery will close on Friday, January 24. On Monday, February 14th notifications will go to families regarding the lottery. Families will have until March 1 to accept a spot. We are always excited for new Bridges Bears to join our building!

Just to remind you, if you are planning to stay at Bridges next school year, there is no need to do anything. We will plan for you to continue at Bridges!

Update on Global Studies and Our Dream Team:

• Grade levels continue the work on the crosswalk and our connection pillars.

• We will have the addition of a world language.

• Our music and art specialists will be connected to our global studies.

• We will add greetings in different languages for each month.

• We will incorporate our core knowledge learning into All School Meetings.

• We are looking at enhancing our library and classroom resources as well as artifacts.

• We are starting to make more partnerships for "being there" and "being here" experiences.

Our Site Council plays an important role and is part of the next steps in this process. After the lottery closes on Friday, January 24, we’ll have a clearer picture of application numbers. As we continue to finalize the process of the reorganization of Bridges as a Global Studies focus, site council will be a part of the process. We will continue to update you as we learn more.

Jody and Tabatha

The Greater Mankato Mental Health Hub has launched! This hub was developed by Greater Mankato Area United Way's Youth Mental Health/Suicide Prevention Committee and is hosted by the Center for Rural Behavioral Health at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The hub is meant to be a tool for parents and caregivers to easily find information on crisis support, local mental health services, parent education, and more.

Find more information HERE.

January:

Jan. 20 - No School/MLK Day

Jan. 24 - Bridges Spelling Bee (12:30) Bridges Gymnasium

Jan. 24 - Application Deadline for Bridges Lottery

Jan. 27 - No School/Prep Day

Jan. 31 - Bridges Carnival (6:00)

February:

Feb. 3-7 - School Counselor Week

Feb. 3 - A&I Literacy Night (4:00-5:30)

Feb. 10 - Site Council (3:00)

Feb. 12 - 2 Hour Early Release

Feb. 14 - Bridges Lottery Day

Feb. 14 - Children’s Theatre (K-1)

Our team of caring, passionate, and committed professionals wants you! Applying for available positions is simple, fast and secure. Our online application system allows you to start and save an application, submitting it when you are sure that it’s complete. We have current openings as a resource paraprofessional and a lunchroom/recess supervisor for 2 hours a day!

Find your next career here in MAPS!