congratulations to our bulldog best winners january-...

February 2018 Volume 9, Issue 6

Congratulations to our Bulldog Best Winners January- HONESTY

FEBRUARY

1 PTO Meeting, 10:00 3 Sci/Tech Fair 12 100th day of school 14 Valentine’s Day 17 Father/Daughter Dance; 6:00 pm 19 No School 21 Check E. Cheese Spirit Night 22 Spring Pictures 1st Grade Program and Open House; 6:00 pm 23 Bulldog Best POP Party 28—March 9 Book Fair

MARCH 1 PTO meeting; 10:00 8 Field Day 9 Early Release 12—16 Spring Break 23 Bulldog Best POP Party 27 Sky Zone Spirit Night 29 Kindergarten Field Trip

Kindergarten

Cason Rollins

Cooper Reece

Emery Carpenter

Sam DiLoreto

Julia Freire

John Mair

Lillian Mills

Hayden Milam

Ava Byrd

Remy Nguyen

Marguerite Garcia

Kailyn Christian

Aiden Stroble

Sabrina Holloway

Diego Chamale

Adrienne Arrocha

Lilia Mejoumuv

Skyler Hall

First Grade

Elaine Horton

Landon Eve

Mason Ellis

Nicholas Garcia

Lincoln Hales

Madison Hulen

Sodalish Sou

Christian Nance

Bryce Nichols

Bailey Moses

Juliet Gratz

Luke Vickery

Benjamin Tamez

Riley Nish

Lance Pinkard

Hadley Bodo

Alessandra Castillo

Jamil Husseini

Isaac Robles

Melissa Hausherr

Bailee Jones

Second Grade

Genesis Anaya

Felix Bloch

Jenny Todd

Easton Sifuentes

Logan Carpenter

Avery Foxhoven

Beckett Trepl

Dakota McCarthy

Trae Hernandez

Brianna Pimentel

Noble Vaclaw

Evangeline Lewis

Ian Masten

McKenna Johnson

Blake Vickery

Lauren Hernandez

Third Grade

Logan Huynh-Le

Christina Hill

Marshall Pierrel

Marissa Stern

Grant Rodges

Madelyn Jenae Verrett

Danette Adjei

Alex Shaver

Lydia Bench

Bryce Fortunato

Logan Treloar

Hattie Ahmandi-Parham

Alexa Kooker

Brayden Pardue

Jack Mykytiw

Kate Speer

Isabela Fajardo

Kailon Che

Avery Ibarra

Kyleigh Saltzman

Fourth Grade

Gabby Limon

Jovee Schoppe

Mackenzie Johnson

Gabriel Garcia

Alexander Ford

Asna Shaik

Josephina Reyna

Collin Scott

Ryan Donovan

Joilyn Alvarado

Xavier Mendoza

Maika Margraf

Kristina Sosa

Aubree Abercrombie

Ariel Giddens

Carson Quadrini

Elissa Roesh

Erick Stoker

N.E.A.T. News

Never, Ever Absent or Tardy

Students who are chronically absent can face many challenges. These challenges in-

crease as children grow and begin to enter the work force. The challenges that these

students may face can also have an impact on the community.

• The workforce challenge: Absenteeism contributes to high school d ropout

rates, leaving students without the academic credentials and skills needed to com-

pete in a 21st century workforce.

• The soft skills challenge: Regular attendance is the precursor to the “soft skills”

that businesses will continue to expect and require. Students who don’t develop the

habits associated with good attendance in the early years will find it difficult to develop

them as adults.

• The productivity challenge: Students who miss school often struggle more

with developing good work habits and organizational skills. This may lead to lower

levels of productivity and work quality.

MORE N.E.A.T. NEWS... Tardies

This is a reminder that the tardy bell rings at 8:05 A.M. Students will be counted tar-dy if they are not in the school building at that time. Students arriving after 8:05 A.M. will need to report to the front office to be signed in as tardy. After 8:15 A.M., a par-ent should accompany the child into the building to document the reason for the tar-dy at the front office. It is very difficult for a student to begin a successful day when they arrive late. As stated in the Birnham Woods Elementary Handbook, "Students with excessive tardies or early dismissals may be subject to administrative action." If your child receives 15 tardies, he/she will owe Academic "Make-Up" Time for the number of instructional minutes he/she missed due to the tardies. This will take place during the student's lunch/recess. This academic time will be supervised by an administrator or other staff member.

We want to help your child build successful habits that impact their academic perfor-

mance. Good attendance will help children do well throughout their school career

and in the world of work. If you are facing tough challenges that impact your child's

attendance, we are here to work with you and assist you!

The N.E.A.T. Award goes to...

Congratulations to our January NEAT Classes!

Kindergarten: Ms. Smiedala

First Grade: Ms. DeVolder and Ms. Hobbs

Second Grade: Ms. Dover

Third Grade: Ms. Chandler, Ms. Wooldridge, and Ms. Topper

Fourth Grade: Ms. Lozano

This award is given to each class with the NEATest attendance each

month. Keep up the great work!

Pre-K

It's fun filled February! The Pre -K Pups are having a fabulous 2018 so far and we are looking forward to the fun events this month has to offer such as the 100th Day of School and Valentine's Day. A letter in regards to Valentine's Day will be coming home soon. Keep reading to your child often. Ask them to retell the story in their own words as well as identify the characters, the setting, and the problem. Have them read weekly their High-Frequency Reader to you as well. In writing, we highly encourage your child to print their first name without a model. If you see your child struggling to write their name, please have them practice at home. My canvas website is up and running. If you have not registered through parent ac-cess, please do so to keep up with current events in the classroom. Thank you for your continued support.

Kindergarten students are making great gains this semester! We are excited about all the ways in which they have grown. A big focus this semester is reading and writ-ing. Please make sure to read to and with your child each and every day.

In Math, we are learning about addition and subtraction. Counting to 100 is an end of year goal that we are working on daily. Information will come soon about the 100th day of school. Kindergarten will celebrate by having a 100th day parade.

Please look for a note to come home soon regarding Valentine’s Day. We will not be

having class parties, but we will be exchanging Valentine cards with our classmates on Wednesday, Feb.14th.

Kindergarten

First Grade Can you believe we are more than half way through the 2017/18 school year? It is so amazing to look at the progress our first graders have made so far this year. We are continuing to push for growth as we enter the next 2 marking periods. In language arts this month, we will be focusing on literary nonfiction and will move into traditional literature. Writing will be centered on informational and procedural texts. In math, we are working on addition and subtraction to 15. Science will be div-ing into fun topics such as rocks, soil, and water. In social studies, we will be learning about important historical figures and then we will move into fables, folktales, and leg-ends. We are so excited to continue aiding the growth of each child as the year con-tinues.

Second Grade

We love our 2nd graders and our 2nd graders love learning! In their ELA class, stu-

dents will be reading fiction, then literary non-fiction. Writing will be expository, mostly

informational or procedural. They will practice using vivid verbs and adverbs. In Math,

we will review addition and subtraction with 2 digits, then transition to 3 digit numbers.

Towards the end of the month, we will get in shape with our Geometry unit. While the

weather outside is ever-changing, we will track and record it, then focus on water and

the water cycle. During Social Studies, students will come to understand that our

world is better, because of the hard work, inventiveness, and risks taken by African

American civil rights leaders, presidents, and patriots.

Third Grade

February is a packed month for third grade with a lot of things going on across all

subjects. For reading, students will be preparing for their middle of the year reading

benchmark to be held March 1st by practicing informational expository stories. Ex-

pository text is the opposite of a narrative text, in that it is fact -based with the pur-

pose of exposing the truth. As our third graders practice reading this text, they will

try their hand at expository writing.

Students will continue learning about Earth Science. We have looked previously at

natural resources, soil, and land forms and how the Earth transforms slowly and rap-

idly to create these land forms. Slow changes of weathering really transform the

Earth. We will then transition into discussing weather patterns in our area, and then

compare it to weather patterns in other parts of our world. Students will also learn

about adaptations in social studies.

Continued on the next page...

Third Grade Continued

Fourth Grade “Top Dogs”

For math, February is a big month for learning about fractions or parts of a whole.

Students will use strip diagrams, number lines and arrays to show the parts to the

whole. It’s a lot to take in this grading period with new words like numerator, de-

nominator and equivalent. It is really important that students know their multiplica-

tion facts!

Thank you for sharing your students with us and all of your support at home.

In fourth grade reading, we are currently learning about procedural text. In writing,

we are continuing to revise and edit our essay drafts for organization, compound and

complex sentences, mechanics, and grammar. Math is continuing two digit by two

digit multiplication while reviewing the components of division. Thank you for en-

couraging your child to study their multiplication and division facts! In science, we

are moving to nonrenewable and renewable resources. As we are digging deeper

into the colonization of Texas, we are gearing up to go to The Sam Houston Histori-

cal Museum in Huntsville on February 15th and 16th.

MUSIC

As the music classes begin the spring semester, many new units will begin. Record-ers are the main focus for third and fourth grade students. All recorders that were pre-purchased are handed out. If your child still needs a recorder they can be pur-chased at any music store and online. Kroger also has recorders that may be used for this unit. Please make sure the recorder is a Soprano recorder and of a quality that will not break easily. All students are expected to have a recorder during the unit. Kindergarten through second grade students are working on their yearly instrument

unit. The instrument unit includes learning about the four families of instruments as

well as playing various type of Percussion instruments. In addition students are

learning to recognize instruments by sound and visual.

ART Social media update in art! The BWE Art Facebook page is transitioning to Instagram. Our Facebook page will be ending the end of January and all updates will be through Instagram. Please follow us on Instagram at bwe_art.

Art has been busy learning about Pop Art and Andy Warhol! Each grade level is doing printmaking and Pop Art currently. First grade is working with brayers and printing ink to make prints of texture plates, and kindergarten is doing Pop Art handprints. Our second, third, and fourth graders are learning how to use Styrofoam printing plates to make their own prints. They will also get to use a brayer and printing ink to make several prints of their own work.

In February we will do a Jim Dine unit with each grade level and incorporate it into our

Square 1 Art project! All projects this year will be BRAND NEW! Square 1 is the

fundraiser the art department does each year to raise funds to keep doing the awesome projects that we do (clay, weaving, painting, printmaking, and so much

more!). Order forms will go home towards the end of March with your child ’s artwork

proudly displayed. You can then order the keepsake artwork and it ’s delivered to the school. Products arrive in time for Mother ’s Day! It’s the perfect gift.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Our third and fourth grade students have just completed a basketball unit, and they

have now started a soccer unit. They have also started fitness testing. Wow, they

have been busy! Our k, 1st and 2nd graders are continuing to work on coordination

building activities, as well as fitness related games. Thanks for having your students

dressed properly for exercise and games when they come to the gym.

LIBRARY

February will be a busy month at the BWE Library. Bulldog Bingo will end on Friday, February 9th, so please be sure to encourage your Bulldog Readers to complete a row of Bingo or two before our reading program ends. Yes - Bulldog Readers can try to complete EVERY square of their Bingo card for a Bulldog Blackout, but all Bingos must be awarded by the end of the day Friday, February 9th. No late Bingo cards will be accepted. Each row completed on the bingo card, receives a special bookmark from the library and a chance to win a free book from our book fair which begins Feb-ruary 28th. Fresh BINGO cards are always available during library time if your stu-dent has lost his/her paper. During the month of February we will also be preparing for our March Madness Scho-lastic Book Fair. Students and Teachers will be reading and/or book talking 16 books from our Scholastic Book Fair flyers in preparation to vote on their favorite books dur-ing each day of the book fair February 28-March 9th. Students will votes for their fa-vorite titles in each March Madness Bracket the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Fi-nal Four, and finally the March Madness Championship. This was a big hit last year with both students and teachers, so be ready to hear about some of those great titles that will be for sale at our Scholastic Book Fair. Our March Madness Book Fair will begin on February 28th. The theme for this book fair is Paws for Books to celebrate reading and our favorite furry friends! Since we are the BWE Bulldogs, we will take this opportunity to not only celebrate reading, but also reach out to support our local animal rescue organization -- the Texas Animal So-ciety. Bulldog families will be invited to shop the Scholastic Book Fair each day from 7:35-3:00. When shopping, families are welcome to stop for a photo at our Clifford the Big Dog photo booth and/or drop off donations for the Texas Animal Society. Do-nations can include dog food, cat food, puppy pads, kitty litter, etc. to be used by local families who serve furry friends in need of shelter before adoption. When your family donates an item to this service project, your name will be placed in a special Paws for Books drawing to win a basket of books on the last day of the book fair. Thank you for taking the time to Paws for Books, supporting our BWE Library, our Scholastic Book Fair, and the Texas Animal Society!

News from your PTO

COUNSELOR CORNER

School Hours

8:05 a.m. — 3:10 p.m.

Doors open at 7:35 a.m.

Attendance

Students are considered tardy after

8:05 a.m. and absent after 9:00 a.m.

unless a doctors note is provided

when the student arrives.

Please call the front office if your stu-

dent is going to be absent. Send in a

note when they return to school.

Transportation

Changes

All changes must be made in writing,

signed by a parent and dated by 2:15 p.m.

NO student wil l be released from the

office after 2:35 p.m.

Anyone picking up a car rider that does not

have a car rider sign must park and show

your ID to the front office. You will then

need to get back in the car rider line or

wait for the line to end for your student to

be released to you. This is for the safety of

your student.

congratulations to our bulldog best winners january-...

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