mary blair - thompson school district r2-j · 2016. 9. 30. · mary blair newsletter page 6...

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http://thompson.k12.co.us/martin

SEPTEMBER 2016 Mary Blair Newsletter

Mary Blair Elementary

School 860 E. 29th St. Loveland, CO

80538

Office Phone 970-613-6400

Mary Blair Elementary School

Save the Dates!

BOBCAT DASH Friday, Oct. 3

PTO/SAAC Meeting Tuesday, Oct. 7

6-8pm MBES library

No School Professional Learning Day/Teacher Work day Thursday, Oct. 16 & Friday, Oct. 17

Parent-Teacher Con-ferences Wednesday, Oct. 22 4-8pm Thursday, Oct. 23 8am-8pm

No School Thursday, Oct. 23 Friday, Oct. 24

Our new part time art teacher at Mary Blair!

Hi! My name is Jessica Factor and I am the new part time art teacher at Mary Blair! I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado last year with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education K-12. This is my first year teaching and I am very excited to share my enthusiasm with my students! I was born in Brazil, my family moved to the United States when I was 5 and then to Loveland, CO when I was 8. I went to Monroe Elementary, then Conrad Ball and graduated from

Mountain View in 2008. It’s safe to say I love it here! I just got engaged in August! My fiancé and I are excited to start our life together with our dog, Monte and our cat, Luka! I am only at Mary Blair on Thursday afternoons, but please stop by and say hello! I am excited about being a part of this wonderful school!

Important Dates in October

PTO & SAC Meetings Tuesday, Oct. 4th 6-7pm & 7-8pm Bobcat Dash Thursday, Oct. 6th 8:50-11:30am Parent-Teacher Conferences Wed., Oct. 12th 4-7:00pm & Thurs., Oct. 13th 8:00am-7:00pm

http://thompson.k12.co.us/martinhttp://www.pucnc.com/

Mary Blair Newsletter

PTO

PTO Meeting Tuesday September 13 In attendance- Denise Hessler, Lori Cameron, Erin Taylor, Patrick and Katrina Hatch, Kayleigh Dunn, Melissa Hughes, Jessica Bogaard, Krystie Kochen, Valerie Black,. No minutes to approve. Board Positions to fill: King Soopers Card Coordinator- Kaleigh Dunn Vice Chairperson- Open Treasurer Support- Melissa Hughes Secretary- Krystie Kochen Treasure’s Report: Current balance $23, 580; Val went over review of what we normally do with funds, and where most of the money comes from (Bobcat Dash). Still have a little over $9000 for more outdoor/playground area from last year’s funds. This will pay for trees and a cover. (Would like to look into more committee members as is an ongoing project.) Fundraising Needs: Mary Chase trying to negotiate with the Colorado Eagles to see if Slapshot would come cheer on kids at Bobcat Dash. They have asked that our choir then go to game on 3/1, but they would have to sell 100 tickets at $16/each. Val will check with Susan to see she is okay with it. Will also need to think of choir kids who cannot afford the tickets. Volunteer Needs:

1. Lori will have Box Top store on Wednesdays (10/5, 10/12, and 10/19), 11:30- 1:00PM. Can still do soup labels, and will be looking into Tyson labels.

2. Will need dinner for teachers on 10/12 and breakfast on 10/13, and then leftovers for teachers. Possible snacks too.

3. Would like an email list from Val of all the teachers. [email protected]

Family Night: Mary would like to look at a family night in November. Think it would be better to do movie night and look into donated popcorn as is easiest at this time. Possibly the 10th?; will check with Mary.

Continued

http://www.efficiencyworks.co/http://www.lovelandmuseumgallery.org/


Principal Update:

1. Colorado Health Foundation Grant: has to include entire community. We do have several students who cannot access playground due to being wheelchair bound; could benefit from folks to help with the grant (possible w/ Playground Committee members). Katrina and Patrick Hatch will help with this.

2. Rotary Donations- Loveland Rotary every year provides dictionaries that they get to keep, but this year it has changed. They decided to go with technology- Chrome Books; ratio is 2 to 1. Providing $2000 towards this as long as PTO willing to help pay $1000 and Val $1000. However, need to help pay for cart for charging ($954); again split with Val and PTO, increase $477 each. PTO approves $1477.

3. Beginning of Year Updates- Standards Based Instruction have teachings in training, and more information in SAAC for parents.

New Child Care Person: Denise is looking into a reliable childcare person. They would be needed for both PTO/SAAC, if only one then PTO. It is $20. Hoping others could look into it. King Soopers Cards: Will check with Deb if she has extra King Soopers Cards. Misc. Items to Discuss: Spaghetti Dinner is all set, food is ordered, 9/22 from 5-7PM. PTO paid. Will need volunteers: lemonade, cookies, brownies; 20 people to bring desserts (1-2 dozen). Have event staff to set up, but will need volunteers to take down as well.

Dogs and Pets on School grounds

Please help us in maintaining a safe school environment by leaving your pets at home during drop-off and dismissal times. While we know that many of you have very well-behaved animals, all animals can be unpredictable. Please do not bring your pets to school with you when you pick up your children. There have been a couple of incidents in the past where dogs have growled or barked at kids who are eager to pet them. We don't want anyone hurt, and the chaos of school dismissal might cause a pet to react unexpectedly. Thanks for helping us keep our kids safe!

http://www.pedersentoyota.com/https://www.facebook.com/Northern-Colorado-HOME-Team-920128104711873/


BstrongBfit

We are off and running!!! This eight-week program for 5th Grade girls promotes physical activity through running and includes lessons that emphasize health and positive self-esteem. Our goal is to run The Vetrans Day 5K on Novemeber 5th. The Mary Blair team includes: Daisy Barbee, Addison Bauer, Mary Bolton, Addison Branscum, Miranda Brown, Maggie Chase, Calysta Corbett, Nikki Demma, Delia Farnham, Madison Keil, Meghan Keil, Emma Jackson, Aryana Landis, Leana Pickett, Jadealyn Rodriquez, Alissa Scruggs, Caroline Soliz, Kloe Souhrada and Madison Yeatts. Coaches: Jennifer Ewert and Kathleen Geraghty.

http://www.battlezonearena.com/http://www.kp.org/thrivehttps://www.orthohealth.com/complete-orthopaedic-care/


October is a very busy month at Mary Blair, Please help if you can!

October 6: 8:30-12:00 - BOBCAT DASH – http://signup.com/go/LSwy77 Please help with the Bobcat Dash the major fundraiser at Mary Blair. This is fun family fitness event where everyone runs around the Conrad Ball track. There are refreshments afterwards. Every student gets a t-shirt and parents mark the shirts for every lap they run. To help make this event a success we need lots of help from everyone. Join us to help cheer for students, mark shirts, hand out refreshments, and help with cool down. Please come for all or part of the event. October 11th- Limo Ride for our Bobcat Dashers who raised $150, from 1:15-3PM. http://signup.com/go/RX1ST9 October 11, 2016- 8AM-11:30AM- Vision and Hearing Screens. We are going to need at least 8 volunteers for that day. http://signup.com/go/bTAYv3 October 12, 2016, Food for Teachers - We would love to get volunteers who are willing to feed our wonderful faculty who will be working hard for parent teacher conference on October 13 and October 14, 2016. We will be looking for folks to drop off food on 10/12/16. We will have a themed dinner meal, a breakfast meal, and possible snacks. http://signup.com/go/GrdVUb Wednesday October 12th- Book Fair, shifts from 3-5PM and 5-7PM. Thursday October 13th- Book Fair, shifts from 8:30-10:30AM,10:30AM-12:30PM, 12:30-2:30PM, 2:30PM-4:30PM, 4:30PM-6:30PM. Help our librarian as we sell books to our families and in return help our school. http://signup.com/go/bYawSp October 18, 2016, Bobcat Dash Movie Reward Chaperones Needed. http://signup.com/go/mWhK39

Very Special Menu

Hello Mary Blair! We have a very special menu on Wednesday October 12, 2016. We will be having Einstein Bagels for breakfast and Domino's Cheese Pizza for Lunch. I look forward to seeing you for breakfast and lunch that day before a nice long weekend! Breakfast Price $1.50 and Lunch Price $2.75. Your Kitchen Manager, Miss Monica

http://www.fcwc.com/http://www.awesomesmilers.com/http://www.drcraneorthodontics.com/http://signup.com/go/LSwy77http://signup.com/go/RX1ST9http://signup.com/go/bTAYv3http://signup.com/go/GrdVUbhttp://signup.com/go/bYawSphttp://signup.com/go/mWhK39


Principal’s Message

Hello Mary Blair Families – Happy Fall! The 16-17 school year is in full-swing, students and staff are busily working toward their academic and personal goals, and so much learning is already occurring. Please come in and volunteer or visit any time to experience the amazing things happening in your school each day! Don’t forget, this month is the BOBCAT DASH! We kicked off our fundraiser with an assembly where I revealed the incentive for meeting our class and school-wide goals: Classes who meet their classroom goal, will get to see their teachers KISS A PIG! If the school-wide goal of earning $15,000 is met, students will get to see me KISS A GOAT! In addition, there are several individual incentives! Please feel free to contact me via phone or email at any time should you have questions or concerns. Thank you for your support! We hope to see you all here on Oct. 6th for the Bobcat Dash!! Sincerely, Valerie Lara-Black Principal, Mary Blair Elementary

Playground Improvement Committee

Come join the PTO Playground Improvement Committee! We recently completed Phase Two of our outdoor improvement plan, which included the construction of an outdoor classroom on our west playground, are currently planning for Phase Three of our playground update. Phase Three includes the following elements:

Restructuring and resurfacing the west playground and southwest playground area (near the bike-rack).

Renovating the east and west playground equipment

There is a lot to be done in order to complete this phase, and we would appreciate any participation, feedback and insight you are willing to give.

We are especially looking for support in the area of grant-writing.

Funds from our Bobcat Dash and other grants will be used to complete this large-scale project! Please join us at our next PTO meeting to get more information regarding this committee.

http://www.lovelandacademyofmusic.com/http://www.schoolcommunicationsagency.com/


How to stay informed/involved through the year

There are many studies which show that involved parents and families substantially increase the achievement levels of students. Your involvement can include:

Encouraging students to read and/or practice math activities each night.

Providing your students with a distraction-free location in which to do their homework. Ensuring that your students get plenty of sleep and a healthy breakfast each day.

Volunteering in the classroom and at school activities.

Reviewing the monthly MBES newsletter to stay abreast of current information pertinent to Mary Blair.

Participating in the Parent Teacher Organization or School Accountability Committee - PTO and SAC will have meetings back-to-back on the first Tuesday of each month from 6 to 8pm. Come for both, or one or the other!

School Accountability Committee

As part of state legislation, all Colorado schools are required to have an accountability and advisory group. The Mary Blair SAC provides an opportunity for families and local community members to provide feedback and receive information on how our school functions, including curriculum, budget, staffing and site-based decision making systems. Our next SAC meeting will occur on Tuesday, Oct. 4th, 7-8pm. FREE Child care is provided. We will discuss the School’s Unified Improvement Plan, specifically our transition to Standards-Based Instruction, Scoring and Reporting. By attending this meeting, you will receive information specific to your child’s instructional plan for their grade level, as well as what the report card will look like from now on. You will also have an opportunity to build understanding around the Competency-Based Instruction model, to which Thompson School District is shifting, and get prepared for Parent/Teacher Conferences on Oct. 12th & 13th.

Parking Lot: Drop-Off & Pick-Up

Please help us to keep our children safe by observing these reminders: 29th Street is a main thoroughfare and should not be used for drop-off or pick-up purposes at any time. Both east and west parking lots on 29th St. will continue to be closed to private vehicles during drop-off (8:15-8:30) and pick-up (3:15-3:45) times. The west lot will be accessed by buses and day-care vehicles ONLY at drop-off and pick up times. The main (west) MBES parking lot will be available for visitors and staff parking throughout the day and for evening events. Please access the building via the horseshoe/loop drive-through and parking lot between MBES and Conrad Ball. Drop students off and pick them up along the side-walk on the loop – this keeps them from running in front of cars and other traffic. If you are going to be leaving your vehicle, please use one of the designated parking spots in the ConBall parking lot – do not leave unattended vehicles in the loop/horseshoe. Please watch out for staff members and other pedestrians in the cross-walk and as they are moving through parking lot, remember that pedestrians have the right of way. Staff members are on duty during drop-off and pick-up times, please help us by following their directions and modeling respectful behavior toward these volunteers. I highly encourage you to consider walking, car-pooling or using the school bus if it is available to you – not only is this a great way to eliminate congestion in our parking areas, but it is also great for the environment!


AM Playground Supervision & Breakfast

Drop-Off: When dropping children off in the morning (before school), please remember that we do not have supervision on the playground until 8:15am – for the safety and security of all MBES students, please do not drop children off any earlier than this time, unless they will be eating breakfast. Breakfast: Breakfast begins at 8:00am - students are welcome to enter the cafeteria through the west gym doors to get breakfast each day. We highly encourage all children to take advantage of this opportunity!

The importance of Consistent Attendance at School

A student's attendance is crucial for their success at school. Their consistent presence in class provides the teacher with the necessary interaction to assist the student's growth in learning. Although we realize that occasionally it is inevitable that a student will miss school due to an emergency or illness, we hope that our students will attend daily. If you are aware of an upcoming absence or need to call your child in absent, please call our attendance line (970) 613-6490 and leave your information on the voicemail. Additionally, there is an auto-dialer that will call you to confirm or inform you that your child is absent on a given day. These phone calls are automatically generated. As part of the attendance system, there is a process for when students are absent from school. Any student who misses 4 or more days, whether excused or unexcused, will receive a letter explaining that the student has missed, as well as the expectations and contact information in case there are circumstances that arise that we can assist in remedying. Another letter will be sent at 7 days with more information and the possible next steps in accordance with our Board policy and state statute. We are required to provide families with this information. These communications are form letters and are automatically generated based on the student's attendance. There are strict laws regarding a student's excused and unexcused status. We work closely with families to navigate this process. If there is a habitually absent situation, we are required by law to take steps to remedy the circumstance. In some cases, it will involve requesting medical excuse, conferencing with a team, a contract with the school and in extreme cases, there is the necessity to engage the court system. We are proud to be partners in the education of your children as we prepare them for career, college and community readiness. We hope you will engage us in the journey. Thank you in advance for your time and commitment to making TSD and Mary Blair Elementary the most incredible educational experience for your child. For additional information regarding attendance, please see TSD Board Policy JH/JHA/JHB and JH/JHA/JHB-R Our students will be challenged to maintain at least 95% attendance throughout the year. In order to meet this goal an individual student should have no more than 10 absences in a year. If you know that your student(s) will be gone for 2 or more days, please stop by the office and complete a Pre-Arranged Absence Form. This will help the school and the teacher prepare for the absence.

Don’t Forget!

Visit our Website www.thompsonschools.org/maryblair Follow us on Twitter @MaryBlair_TSD Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/tsdmaryblairelementary

http://www.thompsonschools.org/maryblair


Bobcat Dash - Thursday, Oct. 6th

It’s almost time for the Bobcat Dash! The Bobcat Dash is our one and only fundraiser for the year. This is a fun opportunity for our staff and students to come together to not only raise funds for our building, but also enjoy some time outside, moving! Sponsored by the PTO, money raised in the past has been dedicated to:

purchasing technology, such as iPads and Promethean Interactive Whiteboards,

improving the playgrounds and exterior spaces by purchasing a new swing set and spinning pole for our west playground, painting and refinishing existing equipment, repainting ground games on both the east and west playgrounds, constructing a brand-new outdoor

classroom learning space

improving the library by purchasing a new check-out computer for student use, updating the circulation desk, painting the entire library! We are currently on Phase Three of a large-scale 4-phase plan to upgrade our entire outdoor space,

if you are interested in learning more about our school-wide beautification plan, or would like to be a part of our committee, please join us at a PTO meeting the first Tues of each month at 6:00pm.

In the past few years we have met or exceeded our pledge goal, which has been great fun for the students as they’ve gotten to see Mrs. Black dress up as a Sumo Wrestler and a Chicken, dunk their teachers and Mrs. Black in a dunk tank, throw pies at their teachers and turn Mrs. Black into a human sundae!

mary blair - thompson school district r2-j · 2016. 9. 30. · mary blair newsletter page 6...

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