Blue Ridge Family Newsletter
October 12, 2025
Monday, October 13th- Bradford Farms Field Trips for Kindergarten & 1st Graders
Tuesday, October 14th- Bradford Farms Field Trips for 2nd & 3rd Graders
Wednesday, October 15th- Bradford Farms Field Trips for 4th & 5th Graders
Thursday, October 23rd- Fall for STEAM Festival @ 5:00-6:30
Tuesday, October 28th- Good Dads Strong Schools Monthly Breakfast @ 7:00-7:45 am
Friday, October 31st- Halloween Parade @ 9:00, Fall Parties @ 2:15 (2nd gr @ 1:30)
Tuesday, November 4th- NO SCHOOL for Teacher Work Day
Bradford Farms Field Trip- October 13th, 14th, & 15th
Just a reminder that students will be heading to Bradford Farms this week IF the teacher received back the double-sided permission form. If you are joining your student on the trip, you must provide your own transportation and you will need to call the office at 573-214-3580 if you transport your student after the trip. If you are joining for lunch, please note the lunch times are either 10:30 or 11:00 depending on your scheduled field trip time. We hope all of our students enjoy some time spent learning about a farm in the fall!
Fall for STEAM Festival- Thursday, October 23rd @ 5:00-6:30
Our 2nd annual Fall event, Falling for STEAM, is a combination of FREE science experiences and fundraising opportunities for our Family Teacher Organization. We would love it if you and your family could join us on October 23rd from 5:00-6:30 PM. There will be lots of FREE interactive stations and a few fundraising stations, including a dinner for purchase.
If you would like to volunteer to help at the event, please email Sky Fischer, skfischer@cpsk12.org or call the front office to sign up.
If you would like to donate a decorated or carved pumpkin (real or fake) to be raffled off, we need all of those turned in my October 21st to the front office.
We can't wait to see you at this falltastic event!
Good Dads Strong Schools Breakfast- Tuesday, October 28th @ 7:00-7:45
Please join us for our October Good Dads Strong Schools Breakfast on Tuesday, October 28th. Breakfast will be provided for dads, father figures, or family members, and each family member and student will work on an activity. Our guests and students made great family flags last month to represent what was important to them! Please feel free to attend even if you could not last month. Parking will be in the back of the building with a rear door open for guests to enter. Students will exit the building and wait to enter at the 8:00 bell following the breakfast. We hope to see you there!
Halloween Costume Parade- Friday, October 31st @ 9:00-9:15
Students are welcome to come dressed in their Halloween costume on Friday, October 31st for our student costume parade. At 9:00, our students will walk around the school to showcase their costumes for their peers and our school staff. Family members are welcome to watch the parade from the school lobby. Students are not required to wear their costumes, and we are not responsible for any wear and tear or lost pieces. Additionally, costumes must be school appropriate, including no weapons or other accessories, face makeup, or anything that would be excessively scary for especially younger students. Students will likely want to change into regular clothes for the rest of the day.
Fall Parties- Friday, October 31st @ 2:15-2:45 (2nd Grade @ 1:30-2:00)
Our fall parties will take place on Friday, October 31st at 2:15-2:45. 2nd grade will have their party at 1:30-2:00 before going to Specials. Families are welcome to attend, though any food and treats will be shared with students before families or family members. Students may not go to parties in other rooms, so please plan ahead for visiting the rooms you wish to while leaving students to enjoy their own parties. If you are signing out your student, please just swing by the office to notify us! Additional communication will be coming from classroom teachers. We wish everyone who celebrates a safe celebration day and night.
Our Leader Learning
Habit 1: Be Proactive
For the month of October, we will be focusing on one of the 7 Habits: Habit 1 Be Proactive. Students will learn that being proactive means to be in charge of themselves. This connects to emotional regulation and our wellness Wednesday strategies. It also connects to setting goals for ourselves and how to reach them through actions and attitude. To practice this skills at all ages, we will focus on "Pause and respond," a strategy for taking a moment to think before acting. Please feel free to use any of the language or strategies related to this habit at home to help support our learning at school!
Wellness Wednesday Strategy
Ms. Kirchner joins every few weeks on our Wednesday morning show to share strategies with students for mindfulness, regulation, communication, and personal growth. Please feel free to use these same strategies at home!
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
Grounding is a technique that helps individuals reconnect with the present moment by bringing their attention to what is physically around them. It helps to shift our focus from distressing thoughts to the present, helping to calm the body and mind.
Counselor's Corner
Our Family Teacher Organization (FTO) Updates
Please join our Family Teacher Organization for their second meeting of the year on October 15. The focus will be on finalizing plans for the fall fundraisers at the Fall for STEAM Festival.
Lunch Information
Free Breakfast & Lunch for All Students This Year
BRE currently qualifies for FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS. We still ask our families who may qualify to complete the Free & Reduced Lunch form to support this qualification in future years. Any funds that are in lunch accounts from past years can be used by students to purchase extras. If you would like to make changes to your account, you can reach out to our cafeteria manager, Ashley Guerrero at aguerrero@cpsk12.org.
Important Information
Get Access to the Family Portal
The Family Portal houses multiple apps and pieces of information for families. Please make sure you can get into the Portal: https://login.classlink.com/my/cpsfamilies
Can't get into the portal?!
For technical assistance accessing the CPS Families Portal, visit our FAQ page.
Your guardian ID and/or password information can also be found at the CPS Families Portal Username and Guardian Email Check.
Previous Newsletters
Blue Ridge Elementary
Mitchell Pittman, Assistant Principal
Becky Evans, Secretary & Registrar
#WeBelieveinBRE
Website: https://bre.cpsk12.org/
Location: 3700 Woodland Drive, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: 573-214-3580