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Volume 15 Issue 1

September-October 2018 October 2018 Dear Parents and Students, September has welcomed a new year at Bethany Charter School. It is my intent that you and your child have a rewarding experience while your child is a student here. In order for school to be a place for children to grow and learn, a place to respect and be respected, a place to experience the excitement of learning, it is important that the students, parents, and school staff form a cooperative. Working together, there is no limit to what we and our children can actualize. This newsletter is sharing a very important message around the learning system at Bethany Charter School. Hours of intimate conversations and brainstorming between the Bethany Board of Directors and the teaching staff at Bethany Charter School have evolved into a vision for our school. STUDENT VISION BCS aims to support and develop students who are lifelong learners with a passion for inquiry and exploration. An ideal student will be well-rounded, curious and free-thinking, recognizing that there are many different ways to approach a problem and many different ways to see the world. They are patient and supportive of their fellow learners, pursuing knowledge and mastery of skills with humility, rigor, respect for traditions and institutional knowledge and a willingness to explore new possibilities and challenge assumptions and standards. Above all, BCS hopes to foster in our students both kindness and responsibility for the care-taking of the self, of others, of the broader community, and the planet. TEACHER VISION A great teacher is a passionate, life-long learner who embraces multi-disciplinary, passion-based learning opportunities for students, focusing on the unique strengths and quirks of every child. A great teacher understands the complex dynamics at play in each individual student's life and learning and strives to honor that complexity with patience and care. A great teacher approaches curriculum broadly, with flexibility and will look for ways to engage student interests and imagination to help guide the classroom lessons. A great teacher fosters their students' growth as free-thinkers, welcoming creativity and challenges to their authority as a necessary part of the learning process. A great teacher, like a great student is open to new ideas and approaches to teaching and assessing skills. A great teacher celebrates mistakes as opportunities for growth. A great teacher nurtures social dynamics in the classroom, modeling healthy communication, problem-solving, independence, and grace. SCHOOL CULTURE VISION BCS strives to establish a school culture rooted in integrity, responsibility, empathy, and acceptance. We recognize that all individuals thrive in an environment where they can be authentic, feel appreciated, and have fun. We believe that the school should act as a laboratory wherein students learn through exploration, pushing themselves beyond their perceived limitations, making mistakes, and collaborating with each other and with staff. Our school culture should foster leadership through service and responsibility, encouraging students, staff, and the broader community to constantly seek out opportunities to make a positive difference in all we do. We believe that healthy, respectful debate that celebrates different ideas and perspectives is necessary for the development of good citizens and friendships. We understand that adults have a responsibility to model kindness, healthy communication, inclusion, and respect and must hold themselves to this high standard. RIGOR AND RELEVANCE BCS offers an academically rigorous learning environment in which children have the opportunity and support from their teacher to achieve academic goals and standards. The focus on academic rigor and relevancy of learning should be working with all children in a manner that addresses the whole child through hands-on learning experiences that “challenge the mind” and “connect learning to real world context” “Utilizing developmentally appropriate practice and by promoting instruction that focuses on the growth and learning of individual children across all developmental domains in a manner that addresses “the social and cultural contexts” in which they live. Academically rigorous, developmentally appropriate learning environments are those in which teachers provide children with multiple learning opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills needed for success at Bethany Charter School and be-yond. After reviewing this vision, I invite feedback from our parents. Let us work together to make this the best year to be a Bobcat. Sincerely, Mrs. Frank

PRIDE:

A family of Bobcats

P= Practice Kindness

R= Respect

I= Inspiration

D= Determination

E= Excellence

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Page 2

B OB CA T PRI NTS

Classroom News !!!

Kindergarten Newsletter: September 2018

Our year is off to a great start! Initial

assessments are done, and we are working

hard to learn our letters and sounds. Most

students are able to write their first names,

and we are learning when to use capital

letters.

Two students really impressed me this

month when they counted all the way to

100. Way to go, Lincoln and Brianna! Other

goals include learning to tie our shoes,

which a few already do perfectly, and

reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, which

Austin, Aubrey, Amira, and Brianna can

already do.

Scientifically speaking, our subject of study

is “Weather and Sky.” We have compared

the daytime and the nighttime sky and have

begun charting the weather.

We have a student teacher in our class this

year. Miss Gardner joins us from Corban

University, and she is very close to earning

her teaching license. She has been teaching

many of our language lessons, and has

tackled the new math curriculum with

enthusiasm. We look forward to having her

with us this first semester.

We also have Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Koenig

in our classroom during the day helping us

with math, reading, and writing.

Please keep reading to your child every

night. Quiz him or her on the letter sounds.

Let’s work together to get these kids

reading!

~Mrs. King

This year has started out fantastic! Our

group is getting used to the new school year,

each other, and their new responsibilities as

third and fourth grade students.

We are sad to see Mrs. Koenig (the former

Miss Sinn) not in our room anymore, but very

excited to welcome Mrs. Brister to the team!

She is a tremendous addition to our room and

is always there to help a student with their

assignments or myself with the class work-

load. Thank you for all you do, Mrs. Brister!

We are also excited to have Mrs. Finicle as a

part of our team. She will be teaching science

to the third and fourth graders every day from

1:15 to 2:00 PM. She brings a wealth of

knowledge and experience in education to our

class and our school team here at Bethany and

we are grateful to have her with us. Thank

you, Mrs. Finicle!

An enormous part of being third and fourth

grade students is responsibility. While we try

to not assign homework, students are

expected to keep up with their assignments in

class with the ample time they are allowed. If

they do not, they will be bringing homework

home. As the year progresses, I will be

communicating with you more often via

“remind,” a sort of classroom “tweet.” Please

sign up for this as it will give you information

you need to know to keep up with classroom

highlights and work your student should be

caught up with. We are also “test piloting” a

new math program. Again, I am excited

about this new program as students can work

on their assignments online (in the future; this

has not been set up yet), and there are

different math “tracks,” that challenge every

student at their ability level. Again, this

program is still being “test piloted,” so the

above mentioned advances will be coming in

the future.

If you have any questions, please don’t

hesitate to contact me at

bianchini_corey@silverfalls.k12.or.us. I

am looking forward to having a great year

with your students.

Sincerely,

Mr. Bianchini (and Mrs. Brister)

Mrs. King

With help from Mrs. Wilson &

Miss Gardner

Miss Turner

With help from Mrs. McDonnell

Mr. Bianchini

With help from Mrs. Brister

Our year is off to a great start in first

and second grade! We are reading,

writing, and doing math every day.

I am excited about our reading

groups; I enjoy this opportunity to

provide more personal instruction

and track progress. We are also

getting started with homework, so

please be sure to check folders for

math pages and words for the week.

Homework is intended to be

minimal and is for the purpose of

review/practice. Please also check

gray folders for calendars. The

self-reflection behavior calendars

are a great conversation starter if

you want to hear about your child’s

day at school.

I want to extend a big thank you to

all of those who signed up to

volunteer in the classroom. We

appreciate you, and are excited for

what we can accomplish in centers.

3 B OB CA T PRI NTS

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5

Mrs. Merklin

With help from Mrs. Koenig

Greetings Parents!

Each fall we approach the school year with great excitement for

our new students! We are really enjoying getting to know the 7th

graders, and it’s been fun adding them into the classroom. We

have been working hard on team building to make our classroom

community the best it can be, and this will continue to be a focus

throughout the school year.

One thing we love to do is get out of the classroom and do some

hands on learning and have some fun. We will be going to Bau-

man Farms next week to do just that! On Wednesday, Oct 10th ,

we will be spending the day learning about the farm and taking

part in their harvest activities along with an extra Agriculture

lesson just for us. Please get your permission slips and $5 in

ASAP. Students will need a sack lunch and appropriate clothes for

the weather that day as well.

Last Wednesday your students should have brought home raffle

tickets to sell for the school Carnival. Please encourage your

student to sell the tickets, as this is one of our classroom

fundraisers for our class trip. Our classroom goal is $1000 in

ticket sales. Those funds go straight into our classroom funds for

our big trip to Bend May 29 – 31!

Our new math curriculum is going well! Parents, did you know

that your child can access their book, helpful videos, and practices

online? Just go to myhrw.com and they can log in with their user

name and password. Ask your student, or contact me if you need

more information.

A shout out to the families who have donated books to our

classroom library: Otte, O’Neill, and Pack! Thank you SO much!

I work hard to get the students high interest books to keep them

reading – all book donations count toward fair-share hours and

they are gratefully received by me and the students. I have a list of

book requests if anyone would like to purchase some for our

class.

Happy fall and thanks for sharing your amazing students!

Mrs. Merklin & Mrs. Koenig

B OB CA T PRI NTS

Mr. Castro

With help from Mrs. Finicle

Greetings from the 5th and 6th grade classroom!

I am coming into my 3rd year here at the great

Bethany Charter School. Some big changes are

happening in this year. I am excited to be working on

Go Math which is a great way to teach our students a

deeper understanding of math while priming them for

success on the SBAC test!

Science this year will have a heavy focus on problem

based science and we will be touching on all the

aspects of STEM.

While we are sad to lose our dear Mrs. Wilson to the

kinder class, we want to welcome our the new

assistant/co-teacher Mrs. Finicle to our class. She has

taken over Literacy/Language Arts class and helps

out during math.

I have more field trips planned including one to the

Oregon Garden and of course another round of

outdoor school is happening this year! Hope to see

you around and reach out to me for volunteering

opportunities!

Excelsior!

Mr. Castro & Mrs. Finicle

6

Welcome to our new staff members! Hello Bobcat Families,

My name is Kathleen Kelley and I am working 2 days a week, Tuesdays and

Fridays, as the school’s special education teacher.

It has been wonderful here so far. I appreciate the K-8 model, enthusiastic

and dedicated teachers, and the warm and helpful office staff. Yes, and of

course, the students here at BCS. They are responsible and interested

learners and thinkers.

Please stop by and say hi. I’m located next to the Kindergarten room, in the

glass house!

Kathleen Kelley

Welcome to the Bobcat Den, Mrs. Kelley!

Kathleen Kelley

New Special Education

Specialist

We have a new assistant teacher and instructional assistant at

Bethany! Please welcome Michele Finicle to our team!

Mrs. Finicle will be assisting by teaching Science in 3rd/4th grade,

Literacy in 5th/6th, and Social Studies in 7th/8th, as well as

helping as an aide in Mr. Castro’s class. Mrs. Finicle grew up in

Keizer and has a degree from Portland State. She was excited to

have her daughter Ellie, who is in 3rd grade, join us as a student

last year. We are very excited to have her here in the Bobcat Den.

Welcome Mrs. Finicle!

Michele Finicle

New assistant teacher in

3/4, 5/6, & 7/8

7 B OB CA T PRI NTS

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

AND ESCRIP

We are collecting Box tops for education labels. They can be brought to the office or placed in the bin in the hallway outside

the office door. Also, we receive money from e - scrip.

Remember to register your Safeway card for Bethany Charter School. These programs help fund the students for new Battle of

the Books, student scholarships for sports, Lego team, student

school supplies and more!

Thank you so much for participating!

Volunteering at Bethany

There will be many opportunities to volunteer at

Bethany such as events, fundraisers, serving hot

lunch, field trips and classroom helpers. Please

watch for alerts on Remind and check with your

student’s teacher for upcoming details. If volun-

teering is difficult, we are always looking for do-

nations for our hot lunches, events, ag days, etc.

Please contact the office if you would like to get

more information on this way to help out your

school. Thank you!

BOBCAT EYES CAUGHT…

The Gauvins overseeing our first ever booth at Oktoberfest selling kettle corn!

Lots of volunteers signing up for shifts at the Oktoberfest booth and helping with school grounds/playground maintenance

The Boosters gearing up for another suc-cessful carnival

The Roses for all their hard work and donations of fall décor

The Ditchens donating corn & hay

After School Sporting Events

We would like to remind everyone that if there

is a sporting event scheduled where Bethany is

hosting the game, no students can attend

without a parent chaperone. All students must

go home at the end of the school day and can

return when the game begins.

Thank you so much for your support and we look

forward to seeing you at the games!

Notes From The Office:

Parents, please note that milk and juice is 50 cents. Accounts owing will get a notice at the end of each month. See the office if you would like to fill out an

application for free/reduced. Thurs. Hot lunch is $3.

Also, if you would please sign up for the Remind App that came home in the Wednesday Folders, that would be

most helpful. There should be one for your classroom and one for the Office for school-wide announcements. Please

see Mrs. Campbell with questions or call the office at (503) 873-4300.

~Mrs. Campbell

We are looking for a girl’s

Basketball Coach for our upcoming season!

Please contact the office if you or anyone you know are interested!

Mark your calendars!!!

Bethany Parent Club

Community

Harvest Festival

Saturday, October 20th @ 4:00 p.m.

@ Bethany Charter School

8

Bethany Charter School

11824 Hazelgreen Rd. NE

Silverton, OR 97381

503-873-4300

www.bethanycharter.silverfalls.orvsd.org

Bethany music is off to a great start! We are

pleased to say that Mr. Robinson is back

teaching choir and Mrs. Botieff is also back to

teach band. Please make sure that your child is

bringing their instrument and music back to

school daily for class.

Thank you!

VOLUNTEER

REMINDER:

To be considered for a chaperone role (or any volunteer role at the school), you MUST

have passed a background check.

See the office for details.

Library is up and running! Please remind your students to bring books back before they can check out additional books.

Thank you!