BFPP NEWS

Dear BFPP Families,

We are gearing up for winter break (and I am pulling out the snow boots!). I hope you find time to gather with loved ones and celebrate the holidays.

Here are some think-abouts for learning about the holidays. Teaching and learning about diverse holidays and traditions creates community through empathy and understanding. Many common themes span across cultural traditions, including relationships, respect, and community. Open a conversation within your family about holiday traditions specific to:

• Family traditions
• Honoring loved ones, past and present
• Service and community
• Seasonal cycles

National Geographic for Kids shares these winter holidays celebrated around the world.

Love snow? Check out Snowflake Bentley and enjoy the read aloud.

And of course, the classic Snowy Day

As we transition into a new year I am always ready to reflect on all of the great things currently happening, and at the same time excited to explore new possibilities. I sincerely hope you have the opportunity to do the same.

Happy Holidays! -Dr. K

12/20-1/31st NO SCHOOL: WINTER BREAK

Mon. Jan. 3rd: Classes Resume

Tues. Jan. 18th-Jan. 20th: MAP Testing

Wed. Jan. 19th @ 4-5pm: Thought Partner Meeting with Dr. Baker

Mon. Jan. 24th & Tues. Jan. 25th: Family School Pictures

Wed. Jan. 26th: Quarter 3/Semester 2 Class Schedule Published in AL*e

Fri. Jan. 28th: End of Quarter 2/Semester 1 Classes

Mon. Jan. 31st: No School

Tues. Feb. 1st-Feb. 4th: Mid-Year Learning Plan Partner Check Ins

Tues. Feb. 1st & Wed. Feb. 2nd: Enrichment Class Registration

Mon. Feb. 7th: Quarter 3/Semester 2 First Day of Enrichment Classes

Online Course Access During Winter Break: Several families have inquired about the availability of Edgenuity, Seesaw, Dreambox and Lexia over Winter Break. Please know that these online resources will be open and available for families over the break. However, for Edgenuity, BFPP teachers will not be available to do grading or respond to questions over the break.

Grades K-8 Contact Information: For a list of BFPP staff supporting LEO, please see below to download a LEO directory with names and contact information.

Grades K-2 LEO: If your child experiences any tech issues with Seesaw, Dreambox, or Lexia please contact Janie for help.

Grades 3-8 Troubleshooting Tech Issues in Edgenuity:

Please contact Janie Overman for help with any of the issues below.

-Student is blocked or frozen in a course.

-Errors in computer grading in quizzes/tests for grades 3-5 – We are experiencing some incorrect auto-computer grading issues. If you have a quiz/test you feel has some incorrect grading please let me know.

-If your student gets an error when trying to submit a quiz/assignment, try the following steps. If they do not resolve the issue, please contact me.

• Log out of Edgenuity.
• Restart computer and log back into Edgenuity.
• Try to resubmit or continue the quiz/assignment.
• Clear the cache of the browser your student is using (usually Chrome). Please watch this video for how-to-steps: CLEAR THE CACHE

Grades 3-8 Materials:

Science Courses – These courses provide both a virtual lab experience and an optional ‘live’ experience. Due to the magnitude of materials required for the ‘live’ labs, these materials are not being provided. Students can complete the virtual lab and then skip through the ‘live’ labs. The live labs were kept in just in case a family wanted to find materials on their own for a lab.

Language Arts Courses – Some of these courses have indicated for students to read a book from a given list. Please use these lists as a suggested optional list. As a family, please choose a book for any assignment that is a best choice for your student and the project.

Projects in All Courses – For projects in all courses, please do not feel like you need to buy the suggested materials such as poster boards, etc. As a family, please adapt any of the projects to best fit the needs of your learner and choice in how to create a learning project to demonstrate the concepts of the course.

We just placed a huge order of BRAND NEW books. Feel free to browse the collection, and if you are interested in checking any of these out, please place a request with your Learning Plan Partner. Happy Reading!

Seventh grade families: you recently received a communication on behalf of all middle schools regarding an optional, additional, and independent math class for second semester.

Most eighth graders in public school will take Math 8, and we believe that most students are best served by our grade level middle school math curriculum and classes, and no action is required if you want your child to take Math 8 next year.

If you have any questions about whether the optional, additional online, and independent class would be a good fit for your seventh grader, please reach out to your school principal.

If you wish to pursue this additional class, please fill out this form no later than January 10.

Have you had a chance to try your hand at making cookies? Time to share those recipes!

Please submit your recipe creations to BFPPcookies@gmail.com so they can be enjoyed by all at http://www.dutchmountainpress.com/cookies/

What a great project for winter break!

It's the holidays - what better time to try out this Cookie Invention Lab, made by one of our BFPP parents? This guided project will help you and your kids create your own unique recipe. Susan Park says that "edible cookies are almost guaranteed if you follow the hints. Some of my kids' creations have even become our new favorite cookies!"

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1 and 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 5 Tablespoons lemon juice

Mix the butter and sugar and then mix with the eggs. Add everything else and mix it again. Cook at 350 degreees F for 8-9 minutes.

Neo thinks it is hard to taste the lemon in these cookies but that they still turned out good. He wants to try it again using lemon extract instead of lemon juice, so we might post a modified version later! Neo just turned 10. He likes origami, audio books, silliness, and playing imagination games outside.

Got a Minecraft player in your family?

BFPP student Enzo and his mom Laura are looking to start a Minecraft club! All ages are welcome - you'll need to know how to play Java edition Minecraft in order to join the club server (sorry Bedrock players!).

Tentative Club Meetings: Sundays from 2-4pm on Zoom

This club is still in the planning stages - If you're interested in participating, please fill out this sign up form.

Vaccine appointments available for tomorrow, Saturday, December 18th at the following pop-up clinics:

Bird's Eye Medical @

Everson Elementary 9am-1pm

Kids pre-reg

12+ pre-reg

Bird's Eye Medical @

Old Lynden Middle School (516 Main Street Lynden) 3-7pm

5-11 kids only: pre-reg

Western Washington University is now accepting clients for their counseling training clinic.

Beginning in January, counseling graduate students offer free in person (all ages; covid vax required) and tele-mental health (ages 12 and up) sessions under faculty supervision.

Please visit their website for more information.

This is a great podcast in general, but the episode below in particular is very good because it shares the experience of having dyslexia from the journey of a young high schooler. If you have a struggling reader or someone diagnosed with dyslexia in your family, this might be of interest!

--Teacher Carrie

Science of Reading: The Podcast

_______________________________

SEASON 4 | EPISODE 12

In this episode, 10th grader Hadyn Fleming shares his experiences growing up with dyslexia. Hadyn openly discusses the experiences that made a difference in his life and candidly discloses what it really feels like to have dyslexia. He also shares the way that dyslexia impacts all facets of education and, conversely, how becoming a confident reader gave him increased confidence in other areas of his life.

Did you know 5th graders are eligible for a free lift ticket any time they visit Mt. Baker?

You can enroll online or in-person, and all instructions are available here.

Use a printout of your child's Skyward account that clearly lists their name, grade level, and enrollment in Bellingham School District as proof of eligibility for this program.

Check out this enormous list of mostly free online board games or click below for a PDF version. There's something for everyone, including favorites such as Codenames, Stratego, and UNO, as well as mathy options like Set and Blokus, plus many more. Pair these with Zoom or Discord to see and/or talk with your opponents and you're set.

The City’s Parks and Recreation Department is conducting a Recreation Needs Assessment to to gauge the community’s recreational amenity preferences and willingness to pay for facilities and activities, and identify service gaps and opportunities to increase equity in recreation offerings.

The survey is available on the project’s Engage Bellingham page and will be open through the middle of February.

Smart Trips' bike classes are currently FREE of charge.

They offer teen and family class options designed to help you navigate our community via bike. They've also added phone consultations for advice on preparing for riding in inclement weather and choosing the best routes for biking.

To schedule an appointment for one-on-one and small group classes or phone consultations, email or call: info@whatcomsmarttrips.org or 360 756-8747.

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Website: https://fpp.bellinghamschools.org
Location: 1409 18th Street, Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 676-6424