Berthoud Eagle

March 2012

Principal to Parent This month we will conclude our Transitional Colorado Assessment Program, formerly CSAP, by continuing our testing of third grade students in math and writing; our fourth and fifth grade students will be tested in reading, math and writing; and fifth grade will also have three hours of testing in science. These tests are fairly comprehensive and give us great information about how each student is progressing in all of these academic standards. It also assists us in evaluating our curriculum and instructional practices. Additionally, all schools are evaluated on their progress toward the state goals of having virtually all students meeting proficiency standards in reading, math, writing and science by 2013. For all of these reasons it is important for each student to be present and do their very best to show what they know on these exams. We want our students to approach the tests with excitement about this opportunity to do great work, but not anxiety about this being for a grade or something of which to be fearful. Please help your student do his or her best by getting a good nights sleep, a hearty breakfast and having a healthy attitude each day! It is especially helpful if appointments are made after school hours during the two weeks we will be testing. Many of our days will have testing in both the morning and afternoon. Hopefully we will all stay healthy during testing! Our actual testing days: Third grade: March 14th, 15th, 21st & 22nd Fourth grade: March 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd & 23rd Fifth grade: March 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd & 23rd

Mrs. LoJeske

Class Placements for Next Year Many factors are included in the complex process of designing class lists. We use academic and social needs, parental input, gender balance, learning styles and dynamics created when certain children are grouped together. A Parent Input form, which is used to provide us with information about your childs specific needs, is now available in the front office if you wish to have additional information considered in the process. Please return it to the office by April 20th and please do not request a specific teacher.

Summer Bridge Books During conferences order forms were available to order a Summer Bridge book for your child/children. Contact your childs teacher if you did not receive an order form or stop in to the office to pick one up. Please turn in your order form by March 15th.

Pop-In with Dr. Cabrera Every month Dr. Cabrera visits an elementary school to give parents a chance to meet him and visit when they come to pick up their students. It is called, Pop In with Ron. Popcorn will be served to those parents and their children who visit with Ron. Ron will be at Berthoud El. on Monday, March 19 after school from 3:30 to 4:00 pm in front of the school.

Thompson School District Annual Art Show The Thompson School District Student Art Show will take place from March 2nd April 18th at Aims Community College 2012. This years show title is iMake: Invent and Discover to Create. There will be a closing reception on April 13th from 4:30 until 7:30. Berthoud Elementary's Art Department is happy to announce the following students will have their art work framed and will be displayed at the Annual Thompson School District Art Show: Haley Hanks, Margret Klein, Joseph Killian, Logan Kilgroe, Kali Thoren.

Parent Volunteer Information

Thompson School District appreciates its volunteers! Volunteers are a necessary and greatly appreciated resource in our schools. Balancing this treasured resource with the safety of our students is of utmost concern. With more than 4,000 volunteers in the district, managing the number of parent and community volunteers is also a challenge. Our new online volunteer registration and management program will help us keep track of our growing number of volunteers and allow us to keep them informed about upcoming volunteer opportunities. Beginning February 27, current volunteers will log on to the district website www.ThompsonSchools.org and click on the purple volunteer button on the right side of the home page then register online. The registration process takes less than five minutes. The district will conduct criminal background checks on all registered volunteers. Principals will be notified if a volunteer is not approved. New parent volunteers should complete a school volunteer registration form first and then go online to register. Community and other non-parent volunteers need to complete the community volunteer application located on our VITAL volunteer page on the district website. When they are matched with a volunteer position, they will be instructed to register online. It is important that all school volunteers register online. Board policy states that ...a volunteer is an individual, except a student enrolled in a district school, who provides an act or service without compensation. This requirement applies to all volunteer service, whether it is only for a single occasion or will occur on a sporadic or regular basis, and regardless of the program, event or activity involved. Have you registered online? If you have any questions, please contact Chris Ingold at 613-5072.

Childrens Day Childrens Day started several years ago in Loveland, when local senior citizen Annie Hall had it proclaimed at the local and state levels. This year March 7th has been designated as Childrens Day. Please join us and the local community as we celebrate our wonderful and amazing children!

Lost Items We have had a lot of clothing, coats, and other items in our Lost and Found bin this year. We encourage you to write your childs name on their belongings. This will make it easier to return found items to students.

A Big Thank You Goes To: Susie Bullett and Kari Holden for chairing the Book Fair, and all of their volunteers who made it run so smoothly! Toni Cox and the other parent volunteers who prepared a fantastic luncheon for teachers and staff during parent/teacher conferences. All of our families who made it to Parent Teacher conferences last month! Our great 3rd grade students & teachers who did a super job completing the reading part of the TCAP! Everyone involved with the great After School Clubs!

Volunteer Appreciation We will be honoring our many amazing volunteers on Friday, April 20th. Berthoud Elementary has benefited from hundreds of hours donated by our volunteers!! If you have volunteered this year, please look for further information coming your way. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to thank you for all you do! Spirit Days Our first spirit day will be on Friday, March 9th. Wear neon or bright colors. March 30th is Sports Day (wear your favorite jersey or t-shirt).

Kindergarten Parents Thompson School District Transportation and the Berthoud Police have asked us to remind parents to avoid parking in the bus loading zone when dropping off and picking up your student/s. This request is for both morning and afternoon sessions. We hope to ensure your childs safety by following this simple request. Thank you!

Get Pumped! The Jog-a-thon is coming on April 11th, 12th and 13th! All parents and family members are welcome to join the students in walking and/or running laps in the school yard. You will soon be receiving information regarding pledges and prizes. We will offer a variety of new and improved prizes this year! This is a great spring fundraiser and all proceeds will go towards funding for healthy activities for our students. Students and families usually have a great time participating and volunteering! Please consider helping out in any way you can. Below is the schedule. If you have any questions, please contact Cecilia at jdoylee@aol.com or 532-5514. Jog-a-thon Schedule During Recess: Wed. April 11th Thurs. April 12th 4th Grade: 11:15-11:35 3rd Grade: 11:40-12:00 KA: 9:30-9:45 1st Grade: 11:00-11:20 2nd Grade: 11:50-12:10 KB: 2:30-2:45

Fri. April 13th 5th Grade: 11:25-11:45

Go Green with Hays Market and Your Local Schools Every time a customer uses a reusable cloth bag at Hays Market, they will donate 0.2 per bag to local schools. Hays Market Berthoud used over 350,000 plastic bags last year. With 100% participation that would be $7,000 to Berthoud schools. Payments will be divided out equally to the four schools in Berthoud.

News from the Lunchroom Only 3 more months left of school. TCAP testing is coming up later this month, so be sure to have a wholesome breakfast and lunch for your children to make it a better day for them. Just a reminder breakfast is being served starting at 8:15 a.m. If your child is a bus rider and is running late, they can still come in and have breakfast. Children on Free/Reduced lunch can come in and have breakfast for free, so take advantage of this free offer. Also, please contact me if it is a struggle to pay for breakfast and lunch for your child. You may be eligible for Free/Reduced meals. Having a good meal will help your child learn. Monica Koldewyn, 970-613-7508

Scholastic Book Fair Update The Scholastic Book Fair exceeded the $5,000 goal that we were trying to reach! The book fair had total sales of $5,120 and we collected $17 in donations for Scholastics One-for-Books program. This money combined with PTA donations were used to purchase books for the teacher classrooms. Additionally, Scholastic will match our One-For-Books money by donating 17 books to charities. The school has earned $2,800 in scholastic dollars which can be used to purchase books or equipment for the school. $150 of these scholastic dollars were earned as part of their incentive program that we participated in by hosting Popcorn for Parents at the book fair. Thanks to all who attended the book fair and supported our school! Update from the Computer Lab All the students at BES have been busy learning about computer technology this year and have had a lot of different learning experiences that include keyboarding, research, writing and drawing. Grades 2-5 have all learned how to save personal work files to their server folders, and 1st graders are able to save files with some help. This task allowed us to work on projects over several computer lab sessions and has taught students the importance of good file management. Projects we have worked on include integration of literacy, science, history and math. We have also been learning how to conduct research on district resource websites such as Proquest and Worldbook Online. This coming semester, students will be learning more about digital citizenship including online Internet safety, Internet searches, digital etiquette and cyber-bullying.

Monthly Glance March

2 5 9 6 7 12 13 27 30 Class Picture Day (All grades excluding Carmichael, DeGrande, Kincaid & Ostler) Class Pictures Day (Carmichael, DeGrande, Kincaid & Ostler) Spirit Day; Wear neon or bright colors 4:00 PTA; general meeting Children's Day! CSAP TESTING 3/12 - 3/30 4:00 SAAC meeting st nd 1 and 2 grade Showcase Spirit Day: Sports Day (wear your favorite jersey or t-shirt)

Thompson School District R2-J Notice of Intent to Destroy Exceptional Student Services
SpecialEducation records for students, w ho have not received services in the T hom pson SchoolDistrictR2-J forfive or m ore years, w illbe destroyed in June 2012. In order to m aintain confidentiality, these records w illbe shredded. If you or your child( ren) have SpecialEducation records and w ish to claim them , please contact:

Thompson School District R2-J

Sue Machan Exceptional Student Services Technician 970-613-5062

THE DEADLINE FOR CLAIMING RECORDS IS JUNE 8, 2012

PTA

E X PRE S S N E WS LE T T E R

Berthoud Elementary School

March 2012

Next meeting March 6 th 4-5 pm in Mrs. Spratts Room

Welcome All!

Refreshments and free Child Care will be provided; Members in attendance will be entered to win a door prize

Can you believe it is already March? It has been a busy and productive winter for all of us here at Berthoud Elementary! Thanks to all of you that came out for our annual Scholastic Book Fair! It was a huge success, and we couldnt make it happen without your hard work and participation! We have also been busy with the bulb fundraiser, memory book, teachers luncheon, and even planning events for next year. Please plan on attending our upcoming meeting for more detailed information, and also to participate in our annual PTA officer elections. Thanks for all you do to support our school!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 6th- PTA Meeting March 7th- Childrens Day March 20th- SAAC meeting

NEWS:
Elections for the 2012/2013 Spirit Feb. 9th- Chick-Fil-A officers willthbe

PTA Elections Coming in March

Night

held at the general meeting on March 6 . Nominations can still be submitted, and all PTA members are eligible to cast a vote.

Feb. 16th-17th.much money the Curious about how - Scholastic Book Fair,

New Fundraising Info:

Scholastic Book Fair and the Spring bulb catalog raised for our school? Come to the meeting and learn about PTA funding and how its used. answers and have your voice heard! See you there!

and Parent/Teacherplace to find The PTA meeting is a great conferences

QUESTIONS, IDEAS, OR COMMENTS?

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! MEMORY BOOK PICTURES

If you have fun pictures that you think should be included in the memory book, please put them on a CD (on the CD please write which grade or event the pictures contain) and leave for Julie Bunch in the Vital room. Or call Julie at 970-532-1082 to make other arrangements.

Contact Us:
Pres: Ann Yuska 970-535-4875 Sec: Melissa Barcewski 970-532-3081/Kari Holden 970-6901831 VP: Dawn Williams 970-532-3695 Treas: Susan Worrell 970-532-3802 Dont forget to look at the Berthoud Elementary website. Its a great source of information! www.berthoudelementary.wikispaces.com

March 1st is the deadline to purchase tickets for $45. Otherwise, you can still purchase tickets this weekend for $50.00. Purchase tickets online by going to www.berthoudbash.org.