Hello BCE Community-

I hope everyone had a wonderful break. It has been wonderful to hear about all the different activities the students experienced. I have also heard about all the fantastic food and fun they had. We only have a short 3 more weeks till our next break. Time will go fast, but every minute counts. Please do what you can to ensure your student is here every day. Attendance counts these next couple of weeks.

We have had several accidents: wet clothes, mud, wet slides (wet bottoms), etc. All students could please have an extra set of clothes with them that would be helpful. Everyone from TK-5 has been requesting clothes in the office, and we don't have enough.

The weather has undoubtedly turned cold over the past couple of weeks. Please make sure your students have a jacket or sweatshirt. Please make sure you label all your clothes.

14 more school days till Winter Break. Have a wonderful weekend

I can be reached best by email at gfippin@slvusd.org

Gerri Fippin

Principal BCE

BCE is showing up for our community by donating to the Valley Churches United Canned Food Drive. Please send in your non-perishable donations to help support families in our community. This is a great opportunity for students to discover the good feeling we receive when we help others. This year BCE has set a school wide goal of 2000 cans/non-perishable items. Thank you for your support!

February 14-15, 2024

Please Register on the BCE Website or BCE STEAM Expo Registration

Online Registration (Due Dec 20)

Do you love science experiments? Inventing things? Engineering to solve a problem?

If so, this is for you! Any student can participate, TK-5th grade. In addition to traditional projects that follow the scientific method or engineering design process, the STEAM Expo invites projects that are demonstrations or inventions/creations that do not necessarily include testing or evaluating for effectiveness. The STEAM Expo enables students to explore their interests and talents by offering different project types and categories from which students can choose, many of which are directly tied to categories represented in California Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF), the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and the Invention Convention.

THE PROCESS:

1. Choose a topic. Students, think about what interests you. What are you curious about? What do you enjoy learning or doing? If you want some ideas, you can visit sciencebuddies.org for ideas on traditional science fair projects as well as STEM activities for ‘Showcase’ projects. **NOTE: Projects involving the growth of unknown mold, fungus or bacteria will NOT be allowed AT ALL! Ask if you're not sure about your project. Safety at home Blog post.

2. Traditional Science Projects begin with the Scientific Process.

• Make an Observation

• Ask a Testable Question

• Form an Hypothesis

• Design an Experiment

• Do the experiment and write down your data and observations in a notebook.

• Present Results and Conclusions by answering your testable question.

1. Register by December 20th on the BCE website under BCE Info.

2. Do the project. Carry out the experiment, engineering project or showcase piece. Let us know if you have questions along the way or need any materials.

3. Presentation Board. Put together a tri-fold board that tells about your project. Boards are available in the BCE Office or Room 12, you do not need to buy one! Let us know when you are ready for a board.

4. Expo Time!! February 14 Project set up in the MPC room before school. Students will be called in for interviews during the mornng. Interviews give students the opportunity to talk about their project and receive feedback from interviewers, no judging takes place.

Student Interviews: Each participant will be briefly interviewed by 2-3 volunteer interviewers during the BCE STEAM Expo.

We have had an increase in sick students. Please make sure you notify the office if your student is ill or has been to the doctor. If your student has been to the doctor and has been diagnosed with anything, please let us know right away. The office staff sends home notices as soon as we hear. Please note, that the notices are paper version only. If you ever have questions, please contact our health clerk- Kat Gafford

RSV is one of the respiratory illness going around- Please take a moment to read the attached documents so you can know what is going on

- What is RSV

We know people get sick, people get injured, and there can be family or life responsibilities and other issues that are reasonable and excused.

But if your student can attend, they need to be in school.

If your student is out for three or more consecutive days, we may request a doctor's note to continue excusing the absences.

Students who miss 3-5 days will receive a Chronic Absence letter. We will then meet with those families to attempt to support the student attending school. On the second Chronic Absence Letter, families may be required to meet at the District Office to put a plan in place for the student's attendance. On the third Chronic Absence Letter, families may be required to meet with the County Office Student Attendance Review Board for truancy.

Our goal is that nobody ever gets that far along with truancy. We are here to help and support, but it does start at home with the expectation that your student will attend school regularly.

Our students work hard every day and are rewarded with Bear Paws. We have Bear Paw Store about every 4-6 weeks. If you are able, please consider helping to provide items from our Amazon wish list.

We are so excited to see everyone, and the first couple of weeks can be very busy in the parking lot. Please be patient with everyone while we learn and remember the parking lot rules. If you are dropping off or picking up, please remember not to leave your car if you are not parked in an assigned spot. There is no parent parking on campus, all parents need to park on the street and walk in. If you drop off at YMCA before 8, you may park in the bus zone for your quick drop-off. We do not have supervision for students before 8:10. Please do not leave your students before 8:10 unattended. Staff will be out and about to help and ensure everyone is safe.