Bridge Point of View

September 15, 2017

Bridge Point Elementary

MRS. MEEK'S WEEKLY MESSAGE

Dear BPE Families,

One thing I miss most about not teaching in the classroom is facilitating book clubs with my students. Book clubs in my classroom always brought excitement towards reading and a purpose for us to connect as a learning community. This past summer I spent a lot of time thinking about how cool it would be for me to start a Principal Book of the Month Club.

Starting a Principal Book Club this year is very important to me. My goal is to offer something that gives me a forum to engage with all students, promotes my love of reading, provides opportunities to pose discussion questions that foster social-emotional themes taught during guidance, and helps develop amazing readers, thinkers, and speakers. After careful thought, I think I found a way to give all kids at BPE the opportunity to be a part of this program.

On Monday, during assembly, I plan to roll out the book club to students. In library this week and next week, students will learn how to respond to a question I pose using Flipgrid. Students will have until the last day of the month to create a video response. Once I have watched the video, I will add a small statement and make the video visible to their peers. Each child that participates will receive a limited edition Principal Book of the Month pencil. :)

This month's book of the month title is The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. To respond to this book, students can click here or scan the QR located on the Principal Book of the Month bulletin board located in the main hall outside the nurses office. There will be more to come on this in library next week. For now, I wanted to make sure I shared my new idea along with the name of my book recommendation for September.

Happy reading,

Heather Meek

BPE NEWS

Trustees ask voters to consider Penny Swap & Drop

Approval will lower District's total tax rate by 1.25 cents and increase amount of local tax revenue that stays in the community

SEL Highlights Relationship Skills

Counselor's Corner

To further build on our September Life Skill of Respect, all students are signing a Resolution of Respect during their Counselor-led SEL Lessons this month. The Resolution of Respect is the first step to BPE becoming a No Place for Hate® recognized school. The No Place for Hate® initiative through the ADL provides a framework for schools to build a positive and inclusive community where respect is the norm. You can read more about the ADL and the No Place for Hate initiative here.

Our 5th graders have officially started their Leadership Jobs for September! During Fitness and Recess, dozens of 5th graders can be seen serving BPE as teacher helpers and working on recycling, lost and found and the life skills board. Parents, if you have a 5th grader and want to help them keep up with their jobs, you can review the sign up sheets here. Sign up sheets are also posted on the Leadership Bulletin Board outside of the Counseling Center.

The Shelf Life: Library News

The beginning of the year means a focus on expectations and procedures, even in the library! To spice up this timeworn topic, Ms. Ricter added in some new technology to the third, fourth, and fifth grade lessons this year. In third grade, students went on a QR code Scavenger Hunt around the library to review the library expectations.

Fourth and fifth graders brainstormed ideas about different library rules with a group and then used the Quizizz app to test their knowledge. They had lots of fun using this app, which is similar to Kahoot, especially since it shows a silly meme after each right or wrong answer!

To see more photos, go to the library blog.