Bridge Point of View

December 22, 2017

Bridge Point Elementary

MRS. MEEK'S WEEKLY MESSAGE

Dear BPE Families,

Happy Friday, BPE nation! It's the moment we've ALL been waiting for… Winter Break! Thank you to our Booster Club for making the 12 Days of Giving a huge success for our teachers and staff. This year the Booster Club partnered with me to surprise our teachers each day with small gifts of appreciation, snacks, breakfast and finally a gift card. We are blessed to work in the most amazing community with fantastic kids and families. The staff was positively overwhelmed and couldn't feel more thankful for your generosity.

Yesterday, we were given the beautiful gift of music when the African Children's Choir filled our souls with song. Thank you to Susan Thomson for putting this idea into action for us. It was truly meaningful to see our students connect with children from another continent whose experiences in life are ones we hope our children never have to endure. In spite of their struggles, the African Children's Choir shared a message of strength, love and hope that will be carried in our hearts forever.

May all the special moments of the season be cherished by you and your family for years to come. Enjoy your time together, be safe and find some time to reflect on the goodness of life.

See you in 2018,

Heather Meek

BPE NEWS

Counselor's Corner

This week we completed our second No Place for Hate activity! Last year was the first year for BPE to do dress up days before Winter Break. This year our NPFH student council members decided to build on these days and make them very intentional with opportunities for meaningful conversation. Fifth grade student council members stood up during assembly each day this week to talk about ways to promote inclusion, be an ally, and prevent bullying. These kids worked so hard creating scripts and thinking of ways to end the year on a positive note. Though we know dress up days are fun and exciting (and maybe a little chaotic), our goal was to use these days as an exciting way to get all students involved and provide teachers an opportunity to incorporate conversations surrounding inclusivity and anti-bullying in morning meetings and throughout the day.

This week we also wrapped up our December counselor lesson about perseverance. We read the Principal's Book of the Month, After The Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again, and discussed the importance of perseverance and always moving forward. We also talked about how we can shield ourselves from giving up and motivate ourselves to persevere by using positive self talk.

Sincerely,

Addie Edwards and Amy Ashorn

The Shelf Life: Library Updates

Every fall, thousands of students participate in the Global Read Aloud. This project was created by teacher Pernille Ripp with the goal of using books to connect kids around the globe. Over a six-week period, teachers and librarians read aloud to students and help them share their thoughts with other children who are reading the same books.

This year, first and second grade took part in the GRA by focusing on books written by Australian author, Mem Fox. After reading three of her most popular books, students shared their thoughts with other classes using Padlet and took a Google Lit Trip around Australia to learn more about the country and its food.

Finally, we wrapped up Global Read Aloud by creating letters to send to other students who also participated. We received responses from all over the globe, including Canada and Thailand! It's been a fun experience for all and has left us feeling a little more connected to our fellow students around the world.

To see some pictures from our Global Read Aloud project, visit the library blog.

Sincerely,

Kate Ricter