Berthoud Eagle

November 2012

Principal to Parent Happy November! We have had a very busy first trimester starting with our literacy testing, Parent Information Nights, Fall Fundraiser, Tipi Week, Field Day, great Parent/Teacher Conferences, Fall Carnival and Red Ribbon Week! Thank you for your continued support of Berthoud Elementary. Our ongoing partnership is vital to all that we do. Each fall the staff and members of the School Accountability Committee (SAC) review our School Improvement Plan (SIP) and set goals for the coming year. Goal setting is a great process for our school. We take information and data from various qualitative and quantitative sources to help us set reasonable targets and develop an action plan to meet those goals. The SIP is a document that is part of the district and state accountability process; it lists data from last year, and goals we have set and work to accomplish each year. The following are the goals for the coming three years: to reduce any performance gap in reading for special needs, and free or reduced meals students by half, increase the number of students who have an advanced proficiency level in writing, and generally move all students forward in writing for a variety of purposes. Additionally, we will focus on the development of math vocabulary for all students and research how the brain acquires mathematical concepts in order to increase our students growth in math. We will continue to use the acronym for remembering students expectations: SOAR Safe, On-task and responsible, Achieving your best and Respect as part of our Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) program. You may also have heard your student refer to bucket filling which is a way to be respectful and kind to others. Our ultimate goal is to provide the best possible educational experience for your children. We feel we have had great successes in the past to build upon, and are always learning and looking for new or different ways to accomplish our goals. Beyond our formal goals are our additional aspirations that your children love learning, see school as valuable, enjoy being part of our learning community, and feel safe and cared for. With the holiday season starting this month, I want to wish you a peaceful, fun and relaxing time with family and friends. We have much to be thankful for and great things to celebrate: A special Veterans Day celebration and recognition, Visitors Day, and Thanksgiving are a few of the opportunities we have this month. Have a great month! Thank you to Ann Yuska for chairing a very successful Fall Carnival. Many thanks, to Suzanne Cavey for chairing the carnival dinner, Cecilia Jamieson for chairing the raffle/silent auction, Amie Burrows cake walk, Suzy Bullet/Kari Holden- ticket sales and the many volunteers who participated. Many thanks to the Carnival Committee who worked every Friday morning in the VITAL room to make it all happen. Thanks to all of our families that attended! What a great annual night of fun!! The raffle and auction brought an air of anticipation and high hopes to all who participated! An amazing amount of work went into providing the dinner, games, prizes, auction items and raffle. I am amazed at the efforts of our volunteers (both adults and students) and the generosity of our community in providing items for the raffle and auction. Mrs. LoJeske

Our Thanks To Linda Pennock, Lisa Beard and those who participated in the management and support of our Fall Fundraiser prizes and items being delivered. Thanks to Toni Cox and all parent volunteers who provided a delicious meal and treats during Parent/Teacher Conferences and classified staff recognition. And to all of our kind and supportive parents and family members who give their time and energy every day! Thanks to our counselor Melissa Stapleton for organizing our Red Ribbon Week in October, to those families that participated in the spirit days, and our staff for encouraging anti-bully and drug free messages to our students in various ways. If anybody has any photos from the first day of school, Fall Carnival, or Field Day they want to submit for the memory book, please contact Julie Bunch at 532-1082 or bunchmania@gmail.com. Report Cards This is a reminder that report cards this year will be going out electronically through parent portal each trimester. If you have not yet signed up for parent portal you will be receiving your authorization code by November 1st; please make sure a parent will be able to access parent portal for this vital information. You will receive a parent portal message when the report cards are available to view and print; this will also be posted on Facebook. Volunteer Sign-In Volunteers please sign-in with your barcode card electronically in the Vital Room each time you come to help out. It is not necessary to sign-in in the front office. The log in the Vital Room to keep track of the hours that you are volunteering is now done online. Please make sure to keep track of your hours and sign in and out each time you volunteer when you are helping in the school and keep a paper log of the time spent helping from home. Thank you for all that you do! From the Lunchroom We are starting a new incentive for our students and their health; to-go breakfasts. This incentive is for all students that are running late or from the bus that do not have time to sit down in the cafeteria for a school breakfast; these kids will be given their breakfast in a sack to take to class and eat. If you are running late or ride the bus and have not had breakfast, please stop by the kitchen before 8:48a to grab a to-go breakfast. The cost is as follows: $1.35 for all grades, families on Free/Reduced breakfast is free. If you have any questions please call the kitchen at 613-7508. Wellness Tip A Good Start: Did you know that breakfast is the most important meal of your childs day? It provides nutrients and energy he/she needs to concentrate in school. Research even shows that kids who eat breakfast get better grades, pay more attention in class, and behave better. Help your youngster begin their day on the right foot.

Visitors Day Please join us for lunch on Tuesday, November 13th for our annual Visitors Day. This event provides our parents, families, friends and community members with an opportunity to share a Thanksgiving lunch with our students. Our menu will include: Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, roll, fruit and milk or a PBJ sandwich. The cost of lunch is $3.60. More information will be sent home in the very near future. We hope you will be able to join us! Read Aloud Day Read Aloud Day is November 13. Sign up to read in an elementary school today! Get the form to submit your name by going to the district webpage at www.thompsonschools.org

Inclement Weather Please make certain that your child/children dress appropriately for the changing temperatures and snow. We want students to be able to go outside, as the weather permits, but they must be dressed warmly enough for them to be safe and comfortable. If the temperature is 15 degrees or less (including the wind chill) then students will be let in to their classroom at 8:40 am. They will also spend recess inside if the temperature is lower than 15

Spirit Days This month on Friday, November 9th we will wear blue or a BES shirt to celebrate school spirit. Also wear red, white and blue on Monday, November 12th, (Veterans Day is Sunday 11th) to honor the courage and sacrifice of our veterans. Please encourage your child to wear these patriotic colors.

Box Tops Update Great job everyone! We have now collected over 6,027 box tops in only two months! Remember our goal for the year is 20,000 box tops. With your help, we can reach our goal and use the money to purchase much needed items for our school. Keep the Box Tops coming in! See the November collection sheet at the end of this newsletter. Please send all clipped Box Tops and finished collection sheets back to school in your child's folder, or drop them off in the VITAL room. Thank you for your support!!! - Jessica & Melissa

Coin Drive November 26th December 7th Berthoud Elementary will be raising money for Christmas in Berthoud which is a community charity drive to provide for families in need this Christmas. Families will receive food, clothing, toys and gift cards to help them have a Christmas. Students may bring loose change in to their classroom which will be deposited in to a larger container.

Original Works is back! You have the opportunity to have your childs art work put onto things like T-shirts, mugs and much, much more. All proceeds will be used to get new supplies for the art room. Forms are due back by November 2nd and art will be here in time for holiday gifts on December 6th. Please contact Michael Willy at 613-7568 if you have any questions.

End of Day Messages for Students If you have a student who has a change in their regular after-school transportation plan, please discuss the change with them prior to them arriving at school. It may also be helpful to put a reminder in their agenda or send a note to their teacher if they happen to be a younger student. If an emergency situation arises, please feel free to contact the office 613-7500 and we will get a note to your child. A signed note from a parent must accompany your child in order for them to have permission to ride on a bus with another child. The note should be turned in to the office so that we can provide a bus pass for your child.

Emergency Procedures Our priority is the safety of your children and the staff. Therefore, if an emergency should arise, we will follow our emergency procedures according to the emergency we are facing. This means that if you call the school, you will receive a voice message. The school will be under lockdown and no one will be able to enter or exit. Please know that our responsibility is to make sure your child is in a designated safe area and that the children remain calm. With nearly 400 students, it would be impossible to field phone calls. We need the phone lines to remain open so that the school district and/or staff members are able to communicate with the front office. If for some reason, we need to implement an emergency closing, we will follow the contact information you provided to us on the emergency closing form. If you have not returned the blue Emergency Closing form, please return it a.s.a.p. It is of utmost importance that you return the form for your childs safety in the event we need to execute an emergency closing. Please contact the office if you have any questions or concerns.

School Closing Info

If the power is out at Berthoud Elementary, our phones will not be in service. If we have internet capability, then you will receive a message on your home phone, cell phone and email through Parent Portal. Please try one of the following options to determine if school will be closed: School Closure Line: 970-613-6788 District Website: thompsonschools.org Berthoud El. Website: berthoudelementary.wikispaces.com Berthoud El. Facebook status Radio Stations: 102.5 FM, KOA 850 AM, KUMC 91.5 FM Local News stations will have school closings posted on their website and during newscasts school closures are usually posted at the bottom of the screen. District News Open Enrollment 2013-2014 School Year Open enrollment applications for Thompson School District students K-12 are available at all schools, at the district administration building (800 S. Taft Ave., Loveland. Monday-Friday 7:30a-4:30p), or online www.thompsonschools.org The window for turning the applications into the school of choice is Nov. 26 to no later than 3 p.m. on Dec. 21. Students in the Thompson School District are all assigned to attend a specific school based on the geographical area of their residence. The Board of Education recognizes that students may benefit from having a choice of schools to attend within the district that is not limited by the boundaries of attendance. Parents/guardians wishing to have their student attend a school outside of their attendance area must go through an application process. Students, kindergarten through 12th grade in the fall of 2013, may be allowed to attend any school or participate in the program of their choice on a space-available, first-come, first-served basis provided they meet the districts guidelines, are eligible for enrollment, and follow the approval process established by the Board of Education. Schools will notify parents no later than Jan. 10 if they have been accepted. Applicants not accepted will be placed on a wait list. Applicants accepted must sign and return acceptance forms to the school of choice no later than 3 p.m. on Jan. 25. The open enrollment process is not complete until the student has been registered at the approved school. Kindergarten Enrollment 2013-2014 School Year District change in registration; we will be registering early this year for incoming Kindergarten! If you or your neighbors have a child that will be ready for kindergarten next fall, please bring the childs birth certificate and latest immunization record to the school during our registration on Wednesday, February 1st, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The child must be five years old prior to October 1st. District Science Fair The first annual Thompson School District Science Fair will be held on January 12, 2013. All students are invited to participate. To participate, the student and parents/guardians must fill out and return the required paperwork prior to beginning an experiment. For more information and for link to the required forms please see: http://thompson.k12.co.us/Bulletin_board/science-fair/scienceFair.html. All forms are due to Carol Swalley at the district office no later than November 30, 2012. If you would like to volunteer to be a judge at the fair, please contact Carol Swalley at 613-5058.

Monthly Glance November 1 2 4 5 6 6 6 9 9 12 13 13 13 19-20 21-23 26-12/7 27 End of 1st Trimester No School; Teacher Work Day Daylight Savings; Turn clock back 1 hour Hearing and Vision Kdg-1st Hearing and Vision 2nd-5th 7:30a PTA Exec. Meeting 2012 General Election Day Spirit Day: Soar like an eagle Wear blue or BES shirts 6:30p Family Movie Night: TBA Wear Red, White and Blue to honor our Veterans (Veterans Day 11/11) Read Aloud Day Visitors Luncheon 4:00p PTA; general meeting No School; Teacher Exchange Day No School; Thanksgiving Break HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Student Council Coin Drive for Christmas in Berthoud 4:00p SAAC meeting

Please join BES in honoring our veterans by wearing Red, White, and Blue on Monday 11/12/12

Santa Cops are seeking families to assist The Larimer County Santa Cops organization is seeking applications from families who might be in need of gift assistance during the holidays. Santa Cops first delivered toys to children in Larimer County some 20 years ago and the program has grown into an organization that provides toys to approximately 4,000 children each year at Christmas time. Recipients must be a resident of Larimer County to apply for services. Each year, uniformed officers from the participating agencies deliver gifts to applicants. Applicants must apply in person in either Loveland or Fort Collins and provide the following information: A photo ID for parent; birth certificate for each child; proof of address (for example: electric bill or phone bill); and gift ideas for each of your children (less than $20). For locations and times for applying, please visit www.santacopslarimercounty.org or call (970) 4985553. The front office at BES also has a hard copy of this information if needed.