Inside this issue:

BC At-A-Glance 2

Health Room News 3

PTO & Community Giving 4 -

9

Classroom Clips &

Pumpkin Run

10 -

13

BC monthly Calendar 14

BVSD 15 -

19

Bear Creek Elementary

2500 Table Mesa Drive

Boulder, CO 80305

Kent Cruger, Principal

October 25, 2013

Bear Tracks

From the Principal This is usually the time of year when I feel the need to send out a reminder about various rules/policies/fundraising drives etc. so that we continue to function like a well-oiled community. However, I am finding no need for such reminders, so instead I will simply thank you for all your continued efforts as parents. For example: Thank you for your generous support of Bear Creek. I have never seen a year where parents have stepped up so eagerly, and our fundraising goal has never been reached so quickly. Thank you! Wow! Thank you for continuing your efforts at car free commuting. Even on the few days it has been cold or drizzly I continue to see many students and families riding bikes and walking to school. Keep it up! Thank you for safe driving in the parking lot. I appreciate seeing how cautious parents have been when driving in our lot and not seeing cell phones in use. As winter conditions arise, please be even more cautious and give yourself plenty of extra space to stop. Thank you for getting your students to school and on time. Our percentage of students who have been tardy is way down this year as is our percentage of students who have been absent, particularly our new kindergarten students. A few years ago I learned rather alarming data about the impact of early attendance issues on future success for students. When students who dropped out of high school were traced back to their elementary years, researchers often found these students had significant attendance issues in elementary school. Some of these students came from schools like Bear Creek and were not who you might imagine to be typically "at-risk" for later problems. I thank parents for doing an exceptional job of modeling the importance of attendance. If parents model that frequent vacations during the school year or taking Fridays off to make for long weekends is acceptable, students are more likely to take the same position when they start deciding for themselves the importance of regular attendance. Thank you for you positive engagement with staff. As we conclude the first round of parent-teacher conferences I have heard from many teachers about the positive and supportive and thankful comments parents have shared with the teachers about all the hard work they are doing with students. Thank you for monitoring and supervising your children’s behavior before and after

school. Students have been truly incredible this year in terms of their peaceful solutions

to conflict and their attention to following school rules.

~Kent Cruger

BEAR CREEK CALENDAR

AT - A - GLANCE

Thursday, October 31

9:00 Halloween Parade & Parties

Thursday, November 7

Super Science Night 6:00-8:00

Monday, November 11

NO SCHOOL - Veterans' Day

Monday, November 18 - Wednesday, November 20

CalWood Rescheduled Date

Thursday, November 21

Excalibur @ 1:00

Friday, November 22

Report Cards Go Home

Monday, November 25 - Friday, November 29

Thanksgiving Break

Thursday, December 5

Open House @ 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday, December 11th

Spotlights Concert @ 8:50 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Friday, December 13

Geography Bowl 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 17

Open House @ 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 18 & Thursday, December 19

5th Grade Program 11:00—12:20 p.m.

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Lifelong Learning, which is part of BVSD's Community

Schools Program runs many wonderful activities for students in

schools across the district. If you go to their web-page

http://www.bvsd.org/lll/Pages/default.aspx you can find great kid

classes, many of which will happen right at our school!

Please check the Community Board and table in our front

hallway where other activities that are not sponsored by the

school or Lifelong Learning can be posted. Oftentimes these

activities happen at Bear Creek, as groups can rent some of

our spaces after school.

Halloween Parade Note:

We request all parents who want to view the parade and take

photos to please go to the gym on Thursday morning, not the

classrooms. The parade will begin with Kindergarten at 8:45AM.

Most classroom parties will follow.

To stay safe this Halloween:

-Walk with friends or a family member

-Make your rounds at twilight

-If out after dark, stay on well-lighted

streets

-Don’t eat candy that is not properly packaged

Also, please note Bear Creek’s Policy regarding Toy Weapons:

Toy Weapons may not be brought to school. This includes but is

not limited to water pistols, rubber knives, swords, guns, darts,

war and self-defense toys, etc. Students are not allowed to have

toy weapons as part of their costume.

Open Enrollment Open Houses

BVSD open enrollment begins Monday,

December 2, 2013 and closes on Friday,

January 17, 2014. Bear Creek will be having

three Open House Tours; December 5 and

January 16 @ 9:30 AM and December 17 @

1:00 PM. All tours will last about 45 minutes

with a Question & Answer time to follow. To register please call

the office @ 720.561.3500.

Health Room Update

~ Lice ~

Head lice (Pediculosis) have been identified in some students in some classes in our school. Below are facts on this

condition from a recent summary article based on worldwide information and literature review from the American

Academy of Pediatrics (August 2010), our local health department, as well as the

Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Head lice are common and ever present, especially in the 3-12 year-old population.

Prevalence in Australia is 13% and in the UK 2%. US and local data are not available.

Resistance has developed more recently secondary to our use of DDT in the past.

Head lice are not a health hazard, do not spread disease and do not indicate poor hygiene.

There is concern with over diagnosis and overtreatment when not diagnosed properly. This has led to resistance

and potential harm concerns of pediculicide use in children when overused for a benign condition.

A louse survives less than a day away from the scalp and eggs can’t hatch when away from the temperature near

the scalp. Eggs further than 1 cm from the scalp in our climate are not viable. They cannot jump or fly.

It is likely impossible to avoid all cases, especially in the younger grades, but teach children not to share combs,

brushes, hats, scarves.

Diagnosis should be done by those experienced in lice. Treatment is best in consultation with a health care pro-

vider to treat when needed and to not over treat.

Known treatments: (Use of any of the following needs to be done with consultation from public health information,

your health care provider and product information and precautions).

* Pediculicides such as Permethrin 1% (some resistance, and likely needs a repeat treatment in 7-10 days); pyre-

thrins from chrysanthemums (some resistance and retreat at day 9); malathion (prescription only); benzyl alcohol

(prescription only); Lindane (prescription only)

* Natural products such as anise, ylang ylang, alcohol and coconut oil were found effective by one investigator,

but since they are not FDA controlled, no further info is available.

* Occlusive agents such as petroleum jelly, mayonnaise, tub margarine, olive oil and other natural oils as well as

Cetaphil have not been tested scientifically.

* LouseBuster is an expensive machine needing a trained person to use, but has shown some effectiveness. Reg-

ular hot air blow dryers may blow lice and create more infestations, so are not a substitute for the LouseBuster.

Gasoline, kerosene or animal products should never be used

* anual removal of nits may help after other treatment with no evidence yet that products work which claim to

loosen the glue attaching the nit to the hair shaft.

Recommendations: (also see links below or contact your local health department.)

* Anyone in the household of someone found to have a live ice infestation should be checked and treated if

there are live lice or nits within 1 cm of the scalp or if they share a bed. Clean hair items and pillowcases.

* Mass school screenings are not proven to help with incidence over time, nor are they cost effective.

* Most likely to help is for parents/guardians to check their own children regularly and discuss treatment with

their health care provider.

PTO PULSE

TLC Donations We have received a few questions about our Tools For Learning Challenge fundraiser as to whether we are still accepting donations. The answer is YES! While we have already met our goal for the year, we are still accepting donations. The money raised over the goal amount will be used for capital improvements. For example, we bought new swamp coolers in August for the classrooms using surplus money from last year. Thank you also to the parents who asked their employers to match their donations. We are always grateful to receive those checks as well! King Soopers Neighborhood Rewards Cards The King Soopers Program is a free and easy way to support Bear Creek! Using this program, you can buy gas and groceries and earn 5% back for your children.

1. Get a King Soopers Rewards card from the Bear Creek front office or the PTO. The cards are preloaded with $2.50 to $5. Cards with a zero balance will deactivate if they haven’t been used in 90 days. If your card is deactivated, you must get a new card from Bear Creek.

2. Go to King Soopers. 3. Load $, up to $500, onto your card at customer service or the cashier using your Visa, AmEx, cash, etc. prior

to grocery scanning. You will still earn your credit card rewards. 4. Pay for your groceries with the King Soopers Reward card. It works like a gift card - fast and easy! 5. Bear Creek gets $ for your children!!! 5% of every dollar you spend with your King Soopers Rewards card

goes to Bear Creek Elementary. 6. Repeat the same thing at any King Soopers affiliated store... City Market, Kroger, King Soopers and Kroger

gas stations and the Loaf ‘n’ Jug. Use it to buy groceries, gasoline, pay for prescriptions at the pharmacy or buy your cup of coffee at the King Soopers Starbucks!

7. Pick up a card to give to a neighbor or relative. The card can be used all over the country, at any King Soopers affiliated store. The more people participating in the program, the quicker the dollars add up!

PTO Meetings Bear Creek PTO meetings are open to all Bear Creek Elementary School parents. We meet at school on the first Tuesday of every month, from 1:30 pm to 3 pm. The next scheduled meeting is: Tuesday, November 5, 2013.

THANK YOU parents for providing food for

Parent/Teacher Conferences and for Teacher Appreciation Snacks:

Kathy Croasdale Erin Vanzura Marin Clark Allison Baker Leslie Glebe Lori Fuller Mindy Munger Meghan Chamberlin Ragan Cahill Jane Brooks Amy Desautels-Stein

Donna Axel Deepa Puthenvedu Janine Fitzpatrick Lenora Reynolds Jayne Brooks Camila Weise Rebecca McLean Celine Dauverd Cheryl Matsumura Sally Oettinger Jen Fowler

New desks at Bear Creek purchased

with Carnival proceeds. Thank you!!!!

The Great Pumpkin Contest

Pumpkins may be dropped off Monday, the 28th before school in the library.

Pumpkins should be no bigger than a basketball.

Pumpkins are decorated only NOT CARVED.

Judging will take place on Wednesday by student council and a small prize is possible.

Pumpkins will need to go home on Thursday.

Dear Schools,

Once again Share-a-Gift will be distributing toys to children in need over the holiday season. Need may be

even greater this year due to the flood. Our holiday toy collection will begin December 2, the Monday after

Thanksgiving break, and will continue until Wednesday, December 18. We are notifying schools now so they

can get this on their school calendars. I will contact you later this month with a note for your November school

newsletter. Thanks for again helping support this worthwhile cause.

Cathy Conery

Share-a-Gift

SHARESHARESHARE———AAA---TOYTOYTOY DRIVEDRIVEDRIVE

ONE DAY ONLY Bring all your extra candy to the Bear Creek office on Friday,

November 1st. Help Mr. Soole get more play equipment!!!

It’s time again for donating those too-small, somewhat-worn, but still-warm

coats to the annual Share-A-Coat program. Other items such as hats, gloves, sweaters, mittens,

snow-boots, etc. will also be accepted for donation.

Each year the Boulder Valley Rotary Club, with cleaning services donated by Art

Cleaners in Boulder, collects coats from many of our local schools, cleans them and

distributes them to families and children who are in need of them.

A box has been provided at our school, so please send coats you are no longer using to

school with your student. Both children and adult size coats are needed!

The Boulder Valley Rotary Volunteers will pick up the coats from our school and deliver

them to the cleaners. Coats will be picked up from your school on 11/7, 11/21 and 12/5.

The last pick-up is scheduled for December 5.

A cash donation will be made by the Rotary Club to a local charity that provides

assistance to people in need in the name of the schools that collect the most coats.

Let’s see what we can do for the less fortunate children in our community, and perhaps

even win top honors! Thanks for your support!

For more information, please call Bob Harberg at (303) 941-1664.

The NutcrackerThe NutcrackerThe Nutcracker

Congratulations to Bear Creek students and alumni who successfully auditioned for the Boulder Ballet's

2013 production of The Nutcracker!

The following students from our school were selected to perform in the Thanksgiving weekend shows:

Eva Fuller - Mouse

Katherine Cordrescu – Soldier & Mary Mary Cast

Savanna Howell – Angel & Miss Muffet Cast

Gabe Brenza - Party Boy & Jack & Jill Cast

Anna Kauffman - Snow Frost & Mirliton Corps

You can see them perform along with the Boulder Ballet professional dancers, to live music by Boulder

Philharmonic, at Macky Auditorium, November 29-December 1st.

This year Bear Creek families have the opportunity to support the Bear Creek PTO when you purchase

tickets for this festive event. Bear Creek PTO will receive 20% of all tickets sales when purchased

through this promotion. Below you will find a flyer detailing the event along with the purchasing form.

Please return this form to the office by the November 1st deadline. Thank you for supporting the

arts and Bear Creek!

SShhaarree--AA--CCooaatt

2013 Pumpkin Run

A big thank you to Mr. Soole and his volunteers for a fabulous Pumpkin Run!

Library News

Thank you to all who attended our book fair and made it such a huge success. We earned

$3,880 in Scholastic credit (55% of sales). We will use these funds to expand and update the

library and classroom book collections. A special thank you goes out to all of the volunteers

who helped set-up, close up, and run the book fair: Jeanne Kaufman, Donna Axel, Debbie

Gangwish, Ragan Cahill, Patrice Stout, Courtney Williams, Nicole Rudman, Heather Burhop and

Jayne Brooks. Without your help the book fair would not have been possible. If you didn’t make

it to the book fair or are still in the market for great books, our next book fair will be at Barnes

and Noble on Sunday, December 1st. We are looking for performers for this event, so if your

child would like to sing, dance, play an instrument, juggle, etc. let Mrs. Brockway in the library

know.

NONDISCRIMINATION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

In accordance with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, Colorado law and Board of Education Policy AC

(Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity), Boulder Valley School District does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, religion, ancestry, need for special education services, age, marital status, genetic information, or physical characteristics in admissions, access to, treatment, or employment in educational programs or activities which it operates. Complaint pro-cedures have been established for students, parents, employees and members of the public. The following person has been identified as the compli-ance officer for the district:

Superintendent

Boulder Valley School District6500 Arapahoe Rd.

Boulder, CO 80301

720.561.5114

Superintendent@bvsd.org

Outside agencies

Complaints regarding violations of Title VI (race, national origin), Title IX (sex/gender), Section 504/ADA (disability), may be filed directly with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 1244 N. Speer Blvd., Suite 310, Denver, CO 80204. Complaints regarding violations of Title VII (employment) and the ADEA (prohibiting age discrimination in employment) may be filed directly with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission, 303 E. 17th Ave., Suite 510, Denver, CO 80202, or the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 1560 Broadway, Suite 1050, Denver, CO 80202.

In accordance with the BVSD policy on distribution/posting of non-curricular material-Bear Tracks will print

curricular items about our school. Many outside opportunities available, (i.e. Science Matters, second language

programs, parenting workshops, community sports, non-profit organizations, etc.) may be posted on the hall

bulletin board with prior approval of the Principal, but may not be included in Bear Tracks. Be sure to check

the Parent’s Board in the school for information regarding outside opportunities. All articles can be submitted

to Carolyn Walker at carolyn.walker@bvsd.org.

Additional information about Bear Creek can be found on the website at

http://www.bvsd.org/schools/bearcreek/ .

Submission Deadline Publication Date

November 6 November 8

November 20 November 22

December 11 December 13

November 2013

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

3 4 5 6 7

Super Science Night

6:00 - 8:00

8 9

10

11

NO SCHOOL

Veteran’s Day

12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21

Excalibur @ 1:00

22

Report

Cards

23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

5th Grade to CalWood

Thanksgiving Break

The Importance of Parent-Child Communication

The way that we communicate with our children, both verbally and nonverbally, has a

profound impact on their compliance with our requests, their sense of self, our mood and

theirs, and ultimately, the parent-child relationship. Too often, conflicts begin as a result

of a real or perceived slight in the way we communicate with each other. Being

thoughtful with the words we choose and our intentions in terms of what we want to

express, can help us to be more effective communicators.

Some basic strategies to improve our communication techniques with our children

include:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: It is important to treat our children with the same level of

respect that we want them to show others.

Provide positive feedback: We need to remember to let our children know what

they’re doing right to reinforce those behaviors.

Teach and model making positive self-statements: Identify and challenge your

children’s negative inaccurate beliefs about themselves.

Encourage your child to share his/her opinions: Some of the most effective

discussions with our children are when they do most of the talking.

Be a good listener: Often our children are looking less for advice and more for

someone to really listen to them.

Foster pleasant discussions: Too often, what we talk to our children about is their

behavior, homework, and doing their chores. Try initiating fun, interesting, and

heartfelt conversations as well.

Be aware of nonverbal communication: Our facial expressions, eye-contact (or

lack of), the tone and volume of our voice, body language, etc., all influence the

messages our children receive.

Learn more about effective communication strategies and submit your questions and

opinions for the panelists live or online.

What: Improving Family Dynamics Through Better Parent-Child Communication

When: Monday, December 2, 7:00-8:00pm

Where: Boulder Valley School District Board Room (6500 Arapahoe, Boulder),

televised live on Channel 22, and streamed live at www/bvsd.org

Cost: Free

More info: www.BoulderPsychologicalServices.com