Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Johnny the K

Johnny the K came to Birch Meadow on Friday to perform an inspirational program for all students. His message of showing respect for the world, for each other, and having positive character were highlighted in his music and hats. As you can see in the following photographs the students enjoyed the program and took from it a positive message. You can visit Johnny the K’s web site at http://www.johnnythek.com.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Before and After School safety

I need your help. Students are asked to refrain from throwing rocks, mulch, acorns, sticks or other items on the school property. In the past week students have been observed throwing these items before and after school. In some cases students, adults, and cars have been hit by objects thrown by students. Students should monitor each other, parents should monitor their children, and I will remind students about appropriate behavior. Thank you for taking these steps to keep students and our school safe.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

EDLINE TIPS for parents

Every Thursday the Birch Meadow EdLine page is updated with new information for parents. Parents who have registered their e-mail on EdLine will receive an e-mail reminder from Birch Meadow every Thursday. The e-mail provides a sneak peak of what is new on the Birch Meadow web page. Here is a guide indicating where on our web page you may find this new information.

Below the picture on our EdLine page is a "NEWS" section and "CALENDAR" section which are updated with the most current PTO, School, and Reading town information.


Secondly, you will see a heading titled "Contents" on the right side of the EdLine page. In addition to the NEWS and CALENDAR these folders are usually updated weekly.
Birchie Notices = News and fliers related to the school and the PTO are posted here.
Community Fliers = News and fliers related to the town or entire school district
Previously posted notices = Approximately 1 time a month we will archive fliers from the Birchie Notices folder and place them here. This will allow parents to see older school notices.


The remaining folders under CONTENTS on the right side are updated periodically throughout the year.

I encourage you to visit EdLine every Friday and view the NEWS, CALENDAR, Birchie Notices, and Community Fliers. In addition, review other folders periodically for information from the school system, principal, teachers, and community.

Teachers have been asked to send home paper only when necessary. Information about classrooms will be posted under the classes section of EdLine. You will see each classroom teacher's EdLine page located on EdLine in the folder titled "classes".

Thank you for your cooperation as Birch Meadow models environmentally conscious behavior whenever possible.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Birch Meadow Fire Drill





Wednesday morning Birch Meadow conducted a school fire drill. Fire drills provide an opportunity to practice our emergency procedures and accountability system. Thank you to the fire department for their support during the drill. Students, teachers, and staff were comfortable with the procedures acted appropriately.

Playground repair



On Wednesday, Sept. 16 a piece of one of our playground structures broke. We immediately roped off the damaged equipment and notified John Feudo, the town Recreation Administrator who is in charge of playground equipment. John came and assessed the damage, called GAMETIME COMPANY and a representative from that company came out on Thursday to inspect and remove the damaged equipment. Replacement parts have been ordered and will be installed upon their arrival.

Periodic inspections of playground equipment are conducted by John Feudo. The latest inspection was done on August 24th.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Birch Meadow School Motto

A school motto, by definition, should be simple and concise. It should also serve as a powerful representation of what goes on inside the walls of the school. Research indicates many positive reasons to create school mottos...
"They help set a positive tone, establish big-picture goals, focus teachers and students, and improve discipline and student achievement."
http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin445.shtml

"Our motto is easy to remember, it is child-focused, and it highlights our philosophy about how children learn best when learning takes place in a fun and caring way," Rennie's River Elementary School Principal Finn-Pike told Education World. Pike says the motto has been very significant in developing "the big picture" for the school. It acts as a guiding principle as teachers design and develop classroom activities and as they interact with children.

The Birch Meadow staff helped come up with some ideas for a new Birch Meadow School Motto and we want you to be a part of selecting the best choice. Please visit the link below to vote for our school motto. Directions for voting are located at the top of the web page. You will use the 5 digit code next to each response as you vote via the web at http://poll4.com or on your cell phone. Just enter the 5 digit number next to the motto you would like to vote for. Voting will end on 9/18.

Cut and paste this link into your browser to see directions for voting and instant voting results.
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/Njc5NDYxMTk0

If you have difficulty reading the choices on-line, the options with their 5-digit code are listed here.

67365 -- For the children - For the world - For their future
67364 -- Do you believe - Respect - Engage - Achieve - Motivate
77541 -- Together we will lead and succeed
77542 -- Learn achieve believe TOGETHER
80840 -- At Birch Meadow we...Achieve, Believe, Create, Discover, Excellence Everywhere
80841 -- Building, Independent learners, Reading children, High Achievement, Innovation, Excellence
80842 -- Discovering through partnership and laughter
80843 -- Respect, Believe, Achieve and you will succeed

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Grade 2 teacher on TV

Congratulations to Heidi Murray who was shown on TV Tuesday night and will be on TV again on Wednesday. To see the transcript and the video please visit the link below. Congratulations to Heidi. She provides great advice to parents sending students back to school.
http://www3.cw56.com/features/articles/schoolsmarts/BO123898/

Friday, September 4, 2009

Presidential Address On Tuesday

Tuesday, Sept. 8 President Obama will deliver a speech about the importance of persisting and succeeding in school. The Department of Education is encouraging educators, students and parents to use this opportunity to help students get focused and begin the school year in a strong way.

I am encouraging teachers to provide opportunities for students to participate in this event and be engaged with the President in welcoming our students back to school. I strongly believe that it is our obligation and part of our mission to teach students to participate effectively in civic life and the president's address is part of our regular instructional programming.

The speech provides an opportunity to see and hear a president give a message to students about the value of education, setting goals for themselves and working hard to succeed. I encourage you to have similar conversations with your child about setting goals to start a new school year.

The speech can be seen at www.whitehouse.gov

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call me.