President’s Day – Snow Make-up Day # 2 / 2009-2010 Calendar

Branson schools have been closed five times this academic year due to inclement weather.  We made up the first day on Jan. 20^th and our second make-up day is scheduled for Feb. 16^th.  The remaining three days have been added to the May calendar and currently our last day is projected for May 28^th.  This district is also looking at approving next year’s academic calendar which tentatively shows school starting on Aug. 20, a two week Christmas Break (Dec. 19- Jan.3) and a week off for Spring Break. This will be presented and approved at the scheduled March meeting of Board of the Education meeting.

Annual 10,000 Point Challenge –

Starting Feb. 16^th, all students: second, third and fourth will be challenged to earn 10,000 AR points in ten weeks. At the end of the ten week challenge, I’ve agreed to do something crazy (not wear tights).  A suggestion box will be placed in the library for your students to suggest what that silly event should be.  As each week passes, an announcement will be made on Fridays to let students know how many points they have accumulated. Our goal is to keep students motivated to read as the school year draws to a close.  The reading incentive will end May 1^st.

Communication Arts – Common Assessments Window

This past week our 3^rd and 4^th grade students were administer our Spring Communication Arts Common assessment.  This assessment mirrors the MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) exam which is tentatively set for the end of April.  The results of the exam help set priorities for instruction and re-teaching. If you have questions about how your child performed on the exam, please feel free to contact your classroom teacher.

Spelling Bee

This Friday, Branson Elementary West will be hosting our annual Spelling Bee.  Each classroom has already held a competed and has selected their top two candidates to compete in our school/ grade level competition.  The winner of each grade level will advance to regional level competition.  2^nd Grade Spelling Bee – 9:00 a.m., 3^rd Grade Spelling Bee – 10:30 a.m. and 4th Grade Spelling Bee at 1:10 p.m. We have special guest judges and we encourage everyone to come out and support our students. 

3^rd Grade Field Trip: Peter and the Wolf – 3/26

Next week thousands of third graders from the Southwest region will be attending the annual performance of Peter and the Wolf and Drury University.  This is a great opportunity for our students to attend an excellent production and learn about the different instructions, which represent the character in the play. Permission slips have been distributed and students will be coming back to Stockstill Park for lunch, weather permitting.

Team Impact  http://www.team-impact.net/about.htm –

First Baptist Church of Forsyth is sponsoring Team Impact at a number of schools in the region to help reinforce the importance of making positive choices and living a drug free life.  Branson Elementary West will be hosting Team Impact on Feb. 27 @ 1:30 pm for an all-school assembly.   Team Impact’s assembly programs use former professional & collegiate athletes performing feats of strength to communicate age-appropriate messages for hundreds of thousands of students each year. The program includes high energy music and student participation.  Check out their website for more information. 

Book Fair Week / Technology Night / Family Book Fair

The PTO is making preparations to host our Spring Book Fair for our students and families during the week of March 2nd. I appreciate their leadership and volunteer spirit.  We’ll host our book fair in room 502.  Technology night is March 5^th in the West building to showcase how teachers integrate technology into our curriculum. With Book Fair and Technology Night overlapping in the same week, we plan to open the book fair on the evening of March 5^th for parents and visitors.  Our 3^rd Quarter Family Book night with Mrs. Matzat and Mrs. Pingleton will be hosting their event on March 10^th in the East building.   I appreciate your partnership with our school as we continue to design opportunities for our student and families. 

Weather Change The weather has officially changed.  Please be sure your child is properly dressed each day before getting on the bus.  If the weather is 20 degrees or above, students will be going outside for recess to play and exercise.

Kindness / Compassion   Over the past few weeks our Student Character Council has organized a “hygiene drive” for Christian Action Ministries.  Students have been bringing in toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant.  We hope that this act of kindness continues to root in our students and transfer to other areas of their life. If you can help by donating items, it will be greatly appreciaated.

NWEA – Winter Testing  During the week of January 12th, teachers will be administering our Winter NWEA exam in Reading, and during the week of January 19th, teachers will be administering our Math exam.  These exams help gage student growth from the begining of the year, providing meaningful information to teachers about which concepts have been mastereed and which need to be revisited.  If you’re interested in reviewing your child’s first semester progress, please feel free to contact your classroom teacher for a mid-year parent/teacher conference.

Snow Day Make-up

Just a reminder that if we would have a snow day between now and January 16th, school will be session on January 19th, Martin Luther King Holiday.  Making snow days up early provides an extra day of instruction before the state exam and prevents us from having school in June.  Thanks for your support.

Christmas Break  School will be in session for a full day on Dec. 19th before we adjourn for Christmas Break.  School will resume on Monday, January 5, 2009.  If you’re traveling over break, please be sure to buckle-up, have fun, rest and get ready for an awesome 2009.

Jan. 12th – Honor Roll Celebration  On January 12th, we’ll celebrate our Honor Roll and Principal award recipients for the 2nd quarter at our Monday morning assembly which is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.  This is a great time to recognize student achievement and individual character.  We hope you can join us.

CitizenshipThis past month our students have been participating in a number of citizenship activities to learn more about the freedoms of our country and the sacrifices of our veterans.  Two weeks ago, we saluted over 40 veterans who served our country in the armed forces. This past Monday LTC. Don Koonce spoke to the students about his love for our country and how it started with a great education.  Mr. Koonce also brought a WWII veteran to meet the students and staff.  We live in an awesome country.

PTO – Cookie Dough Pick-upLast week, PTO organized the most efficient “Cookie Dough” pick-up in the history of cookie dough.  Families walked into the Intermediate gym, were greeted with thanks, checked-in where runners picked up their “goods” and took it to their cars.  Congratulations to the PTO for another successful sale and pick-up.

Parent Advisory – Summary This past week I met with a few of our parents to dialogue about the achievements of our building and to answer any questions that they had.  Overall, they were excited about the direction of our school and the achievement of our students, but questions focused on class size and future boundary lines.  It was a positive exchange with our parent community and if you have any questions about building level achievement or any other issues, please feel free to call or stop by the office.

Common AssessmentsThis week and during the first week of December our students will be engaged in a grade level common assessment.  This is a common test administered to all students to measure how much students have mastered during the first semester of the year.  We use this data for trends and adjust lessons prior to the MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) exam in April.  If you have a question on how your student is performing, please feel free to contact your classroom teacher.

4^th Grade Privilege TimeSchool Mission:  We are a learning community that inspires greatness for all.  This week we are starting fourth grade privilege time for students who displayed greatness thus far in the year.  Students who have achieved a 95.1% attendance rate for the 1^st quarter, have C’s or better on their report card and have no discipline referrals will be given special privilege time.  Privilege will allow students to bypass the gym in the morning and choose a special zone:  computer lab, library or the 600 hallway to hang with their friends under teacher supervision.  Students can lose this privilege if they fall behind in their classroom work, start to miss school or are disrespectful.  The privilege list will evaluated each four weeks during mid-quarter and end of quarter reporting.  We think that this will be special for our students who are showing great character at school.

Mid-Quarter Mid-quarter grades will be due on Nov. 21^st and we’ll plan to send them home on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break.

MAP Action Plan – Week 1 (Dec. 1^st)Over the years we have developed a twelve week MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) review to help prepare our students for the types of process questions measured on the MAP test which we administer each April as part of No Child Left Behind. This also will expose parents to the rigor of the exam.  Starting Dec. 1^st, teachers (3^rd / 4^th) will be sending this review home with students to start the process of getting everyone ready for this important exam.  Most teachers assign this as homework and collect a grade to ensure accountability.  However, the best part of this intentional assignment is the review / model / dialogue that takes place between students, parents and teachers. 

 Parent PortalThe parent portal is open and ready for parents to view their child’s lunch account, classroom grades and attendance records.  Over the next couple of days, the office will be activating each account which in turn will send out an email with a password explaining how to access this information.  This is a new service for our families and we hope that it helps close the information gap between school and the classroom. Mrs. Sheets will be hosting a parent portal workshop on December 1^st at 5:30 p.m. in West cafeteria to help parents navigate this new program. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the school for more information. 

Astronaut to answer students’ questions from space   Last week, NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus, a graduate of Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, MO launched into orbit aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor for a four-month stay aboard the International Space Station. During her stay, she will be contributing to a Missouri S&T blog called spacebook (http://spacebook.mst.edu) aimed at getting more kids interested in science.   I would encourage you and your family to use the spacebook blog as a learning tool.

 Bus/Pick Up PassesJust a reminder to write your child’s teacher a note or call the office in regard to any transportation changes. Write the child’s first and last name, teacher’s name, and give specific instructions where they need to go after school.  Student safety is our highest priority and communicating proper instruction ensures their safety.  Thank you.

Thanksgiving Break Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break with your families.  School will be closed Wednesday, November 26 and resume learning on Monday, December 1^st. We’re thankful for the opportunity to serve your students with the best possible education. 

Fire Prevention Week  This past Monday the Branson Fire Department stopped by the school and conducted Fire Safety Assemblies for each grade level.  They talked about the importance of having families develop a fire safety plan for their home.  The assemblies were fun and very informative.  Special thanks to the Branson Fire Department for investing in our kids and community.

McTeacher Night  On Tuesday Night, Branson Elementary East / West participated in McTeacher Night on Hwy. 248.  With your great support we earned $640.00 which the schools will split evenly between buildings.  Thanks for supporting our schools and our community partners. 

End of 1st Quarter / Early Dismissal  Can you believe that Oct. 17th is the last day of the first quarter?  Students have made a tremendous amount of progress learning new concepts, meeting new friends and establishing their daily routines.  The last day of the first quarter and third quarter are early release days.  Students will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, October 17th.  The afternoon is designed for teachers to collaborate, plan and prepare for parent conferences. 

Parent Conferences October 23rd and 24th have been reserved as official parent conference days where teachers meet with families and share accomplishments made during the first quarter and set goals for the upcoming quarter.  Parents, if you have not scheduled your parent / teacher conference, please contact your child’s teacher for more information.   Dismissal these two days will be at 11:45.