Anissa Wiseman
Principal
51 SE 13th Street,
Bend, Oregon 97702
April 6, 2017
Principal’s Message:
Mark Your Calendar!
Dear Bear Creek Families,
Apr. 5 Early Release Resumes
(2:00pm dismissal)
Exciting things are happening at Bear Creek.
In April, we host the Book Fair, Parent Conferences, Turn Off the TV Week, Talent Show,
and Kindergarten Round-Up. Students also have Spring Pictures on April 10th.
•
Our Spring Book Fair is scheduled for the week of April 11th. This PTO
sponsored event is combined with conferences.
•
Due to changes in the school calendar, elementary schools are only hosting
one day of spring conferences. You should have received the conference plan
for your student.
•
Turn off the T.V. Week is a huge tradition at Bear Creek. The events kick off
April 18th. We will be hosting several activities for the entire family to
participate in and enjoy. Stay tuned for details.
•
•
The Sparrow Talent show is scheduled on Friday, April 28th . This talent show
is sure to be entertaining and fun for all. Don’t miss it. This is a fantastic event,
we have so many talented students!
Bear Creek Elementary hosts kindergarten registration on April 19th . We will
share information about the Kinder programs, answer questions, and take
registration all day. Registration starts on this date and continues for the rest of
the school year. We encourage early registration, so we can plan for the
programs next school year. Please bring your child’s birth certificate and
immunization records with you.
Apr.8 Boys & Girl Club Summer
prog. register Downtown (12-3pm)
Apr. 9 (end date)
PTO Whole Foods-Reusable Bag
Donation. Designate BCE @
checkout
Apr.10 Spring Pictures
PTO Meeting @ 6pm Gym
Apr.11-14 Scholastic Book Fair
Apr.14 No School/
Parent Conferences
Apr.18-21 TV turn off week
Apr.18 Family Fun Night
Jugglers @ 6pm
Apr.19 Family Hike/
Kindergarten Registration begins
My door is always open~
Anissa Wiseman,
Principal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apr. 20 Book Exchange @Gym
Apr.21 Bike Night @ 5pm
Apr. 28 Day of the Child/
PTO Talent Show to benefit sparrow
@ 6pm Gym
Looking Ahead….
.Earth Day Quote
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”.
~Native American Proverb
May 19 Parent Input deadline
(Classroom Placement)
May 24 Spring Concert Bear Creek
Student Body 2nd-5th grade
5:30pm @ BHS
Attendance:
We want to remind parents how important school attendance is for every child. If a child is here less than
90% of the time, h/she is considered chronically absent. At this time of the year, chronically absent students
have missed about 9 days of school. When students are not here, they are missing out on important class
discussions, questions, and opportunities for practice. We know that illness play a factor, but many
absences do not. Please support your child’s education and seeing that they are here on time every day.
Thank you for being our partner.
Lost and Found
Parents, while you are here for conferences
please take a few moments to visit the Lost
and Found. Many coats, hats and sweatshirts
are left laying around daily. Most go unclaimed
and you, the parents, end up buying new ones.
PLEASE, take a minute and put your child’s
name on the label so we can get these items
back to their owners. All items left after April
Conferences will be donated.
Boys and Girls Club of Bend Summer
Program open enrollment begins Saturday,
April 8. Registration Downtown Boys & Girls
Club 12-3:00pm. This program fills up quickly, so
be sure to sign up now to ensure your spot. If
you have questions about this program contact
Jamie Neill our FAN office 541-355-1863.
April is National Poetry Month
“I would define ... the Poetry of words as The
Rhythmical Creation of Beauty.” — Edgar Allan
Poe, from "The Poetic Principle." KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION!
Kindergarten Registration will be held at Bear
Creek all day on April 19th . Make sure to
bring your child’s birth certificate, proof of
address and immunization records.
Next Year’s Plans:
As we work to define our enrollment for the 2017-2018
school year, please notify the office as soon as possible if
your student will not be attending Bear Creek next school
year. Thanks!
We are started a new tradition at Bear Creek Elementary, last year. We celebrate the Day of
the Child-This year it is on April 28th. This is a fun and important day to recognize and support
children. At Bear Creek, we have some school wide activities planned for
everyone to enjoy this day. We will be having an assembly, organizing a
short parade on our campus, planning an all school recess with
popsicles, and finishing off with the book exchange.We look forward to
celebrating the Day of the Child here!
State Testing
All students grades 3,4, and 5 will take the smarter balanced assessments. We will begin to administer
these tests in the student’s classrooms using their iPads. Each classroom teacher will let the students and
families know their specific test date.
As a school, we will begin testing on April 5th. The testing window will run until May 12th. You can support
your child by:Knowing the date that they will take their tests, and making sure that they get plenty of rest.
Results from these tests will not be available until next fall.
Classroom Placement Process for 2017-2018
Beginning in May, our staff will be meeting to place students into classrooms for the 2017-2018 school
year. At Bear Creek we are making every effort to maintain balanced student populations in all of our
classrooms. In balancing classrooms we will be considering gender, academic performance, special
needs, attendance, personality combinations, and other extenuating circumstances. Current classroom
teachers will divide their students into heterogeneous groups, based on the balancing criteria described
above. They will also examine which future classroom will best meet the learning style of individual
children. Specialists, office staff, and building administration will also have input into student placement.
This will be a long process, and could be delayed as we wait for funding and staffing information.
Parents will be notified of future classroom placement at our Open House in August. In the meantime,
we will be identifying which teachers will be teaching which grade level. A parent input form will be
available in our office for parents who wish to provide us with additional information and guidance as we
complete this process. Specific teacher requests will not be honored. The deadline for parent input is
May 19th.
Character Counts
We are focusing on empathy here at Bear Creek.
QUOTE :Empathy is about finding echoes of another
person in yourself. Mohsin Hamid
We will celebrate our study of great character at
the end of April. You can reinforce the character
focus with your child by:
(Discussing situations with them)
1.
How would that would make him feel?
2.
How would that make me feel?
3.
Look at her face: What do I think she’s
thinking right now?
4.
Is she maybe feeling lonely or left out?
5.
What else might he be upset about?
BEAR CREEK USED BOOK EXCHANGE
Thursday April 20th, 2017
3:30-5:30 Bear Creek Gym
Please join us for our Spring Book Exchange.
Students trade in their own gently used books before school
the week of April 17th, 2017. On April 20th all the books that
were brought in will be set out in the gym for students to
peruse and take home with them.
How to get Book Bucks
Bring your used books to Bear Creek before school (8:30-8:45)
from Monday April 17th till Thursday April 20th . You will
receive one Book Buck for each book you bring in to trade.
Spending your Book Bucks
Bring your Book Bucks and your parents Thursday night,
April 20th, to the gym and choose one book for each buck you
have.
If you would like to volunteer for this event of for book
collection on the mornings leading up to the Book Exchange
please contact Brooke Rydstrom at 541-355-1485 or
[email protected]
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)Tidbit:
Dear Parents,
We are moving into a very sensitive area of focus for Social and Emotional Learning and we want you to
be well informed. April is Child Abuse Awareness month, and we will be focusing specifically on childhood
sexual abuse.
National studies indicate that 1 in 10 children will be molested by the time they reach their 18th
birthday. Unfortunately, most incidents are not reported and therefore can be repeated. The
statistics are chilling, but there are things we can do to protect our children. Informed children are
safer children.
Beginning April 11, we will be teaching a short unit on body safety to all students. It will cover
safety with strangers as well as people the children may know. This safety unit, called
SafeTOUCH, will teach children to recognize the difference between “OK and “Not OK” touches,
how to say “NO”, and who to go to for help. This approach will be honest, yet non-frightening.
You are invited to attend the PTO meeting on April 10th to get more information, preview the
program children will receive, and ask any questions you may have.
We feel this program will help us work together as partners towards the common goal of protecting our
children. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Alicia Covell or Lindsey Manitsas at
Bear Creek (541-355-1400).
Communication Matters
I heard recently that most parents and children only talk to each other for about 30 seconds a day!
If you think about the amount of time you spend actually focused on an interaction with your family members,
how much would it add up to?
Here are some helpful ideas from Time magazine (essentially, take the time to talk):
http://time.com/65324/7-powerful-tips-for-great-parent-child-communication/
PTO CORNER:
Hello Bear Creek Families,
PTO would like to say thank you to Whole Foods. Our bag program came to a closure on April
9th. Thank you to all of our family and friends who shopped and supported Bear Creek.
April is packed with many great events. We start out with our Spring Scholastic Book Fair, April
11-14th. Come buy books to take home and enjoy. April 21st we brought back Bike Rodeo. Bring
your bike down to be fixed and checked for safety. Learn the rules of the road so that we are all
safe out there. Look for flyers to come home with more information about this event. The month
finishes off with the much anticipated Sparrow Talent Show, April 28th. Students get to watch
their fellow classmates show off their talents while supporting our Sparrow, Gemini.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting, April 10th from 6-7 in the Bear Creek
Gym.
-PTO
PTO/Sparrow Talent Show
Students are auditioning for our third annual Talent Show. PTO is hosting an evening Talent
Show, on April 28th at 5:00 pm, in the gym. Please join us for the evening Talent Show in
support of Gemini, our school Sparrow. Get excited to see the variety of talent that Bear Creek
has!
$2 Admission! A variety of pizzas/salads/beverages will be available for purchase. All profits will
be donated to Gemini’s Sparrow Club account to help with ongoing medical expenses.
Marathon News:
The annual Bear Creek Marathon
take place May 15-26. Students
and staff run or walk our half mile
trail at each recess for two weeks.
Parents are welcome to participate
in the before school times. Just
remember to check in at the office.
Please, no dogs on the trail. If you
would like to help 'stamp' cards at
recess please contact Mrs. Clair.
[email protected].
Mark your calendar! The 2nd-5th grade Bear Creek student body
will be performing for our annual Spring Concert at the Bend
High School auditorium on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at 5:30
pm. Students will need to check-in no later than 5:00 pm to get
organized and into their seats before the concert, which will run
approximately 1 hour. Please have your child wear black and/or
white concert dress—please no athletic clothes. Chaperones needed.
Please contact Mrs. Summers at [email protected] or
541-355-1445 if you would like to chaperone, or have questions.
Thank you so much for your continued support in Bear Creek’s music
program. We are excited to perform for you!
DUAL IMMERSION PROGRAM:
Spring brings many assessments for students across the nation. Bilingual students often worry about testing in a
language they aren’t yet comfortable speaking or reading. Talk with your child about the purpose of testing
(gathering information for teachers to help students learn). Remind your student that her job is to do her best, and
that our teachers understand how hard it is to take tests in one language, when your brain thinks with two
languages. Ask her what she could do if she doesn’t understand the test, and brainstorm different strategies for
getting help.
Save the date! Our 5th grade bilingual students will earn their Bronze Seal of Biliteracy on Thursday, June 15th.
Join our Dual Immersion community online! For tips and advice, and to stay connected to our bilingual
classrooms, special events, and to other DI families, “like” us on Facebook at:
BLS Dual Immersion
Congratulations to the Flying Rainbow
Carrots for making it all the way to the
Semi-Finals!! They made it to the last
round before losing in a double tiebreaker. They surpassed 34 other
teams to get there. Way to represent
Bear Creek, girls! We're so proud of
you!!
~ Mrs. Roberts
TURN OFF THE TV WEEK!!
PLEASE JOIN US APRIL 18-21 FOR OUR
19TH ANNUAL ‘TURN OFF THE TV
WEEK”!! Turn off the television, computers
and video games for the week
and join other B.C. families! (all students
must attend with an adult 18+)
WE HAVE CHOSEN ACTIVITIES FOR BEAR
CREEK FAMILIES TO HAVE FUN!!
____TUESDAY, APRIL 18=FAMILY FUN
NIGHT! Juggling at Bear Creek Gym 6:00
-7:30PM. Free, thanks to our PTO!
Come learn to juggle from our friends at WE
CARE Sports! ____WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19= FAMILY
HIKE TO THE TOP OF PILOT BUTTE!
6:00-7:00 PM. MEET IN THE BUTTE
PARKING LOT BEFORE 6:00PM FREE!
_____THURSDAY, APRIL 20= Book
Exchange in the gym. 3:45-5:00. Use your
book bucks to trade for some ‘new to you’
family books!
_____FRIDAY, APRIL 21= Bike Night! At
Bear Creek. 5-7 pm. Bring your bike and
helmet for a fun-filled event! Food truck,
riding demos. and bike obstacle course.
Free! Friday, April 21st, 5:00-7:00pm at Bear Creek
Elementary!
Bike Night is a celebration of bicycles for elementary kids.
A tradition born in 2002, the bike rodeo, as it used to be
called, was created in the name of Terry Bonynge, a Bear
Creek teacher who passed away early in life. Ms. Bonynge
rode her bike to school often thus the staff created a bike
safety awareness day in her honor. The Annual Pole Pedal
Paddle event has the family category named after Mrs.
Bonynge.
Bike Night includes:
• Bicycle obstacle course
• Bike riding on our campus
• Bike registration with the city of Bend
• Bicycle mechanics performing repairs
• Guest “Trials” riders will demo. Some of their skills
• FOOD TRUCK!
VOLUNTEERS AND HELPERS WILL:
• Help with set-up and clean-up
• Teaching new riders
• Being a riding buddy - riding along with kids
• Helmet giveaways and fittings
• Manning an information booth to support the event
• Spotters (supporting riders as they try new riding
obstacles)
• Cheerleaders!