The Bear Tracks
November 4, 2026
Follow The Bear Tracks for updates on what's happening here at Brandt Elementary School
Happy Friday, Brandt Bears!
November is here, and we had another exciting week here at Brandt! As we recognized Election Day on Tuesday, November 3rd, we are reminded of the importance of community, civic responsibility, and the many ways we come together to make a difference. Looking ahead, please remember that there will be no school on Thursday, November 5th, and Friday, November 6th, due to the NJEA Convention.
As we move through the fall season, our Brandt Bears continue to fill our classrooms and hallways with curiosity, enthusiasm, and plenty of smiles. We hope our families enjoy the upcoming extended weekend, take time to relax and recharge, and make some special memories together. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday, November 9th, ready for another great week of learning and growing!
With gratitude,
Principal Dickerson
Short Week, BIG Bear Energy!
Can you believe it's already November? Time sure flies when you're learning, growing, and having fun at Brandt! Although it was a short week, our Bears made every moment count with meaningful learning, hard work, and plenty of PAW-sitive energy!
As we welcome November, our Bears are ready to tackle new challenges, embrace exciting opportunities, and continue making amazing memories together. We have so much to look forward to this month!
We hope all of our Brandt families enjoy these few extra days off to relax, recharge, and spend time together. We can't wait to welcome our Bears back for another wonderful week of learning and growing!
Hats Off to Our Staff! Staff wrapped up the short week by wearing their favorite hat or baseball cap. Even Brady sported his best cap!
A Little Pawsitivity: "November brings new opportunities, thankful hearts, and endless reasons to leave a little kindness wherever your paws take you!"
Enjoy the long weekend, Bears!
Welcome to November! We had a fun short week in second grade.
In ELA students started learning how to write informational texts. Students have begun to research an animal they’re interested in. Students collected facts taking notes with a graphic organizer. Students discovered how to write with a “hook” to grab the readers’ attention, list the animal, and three important facts. Students determined how to pick between interesting and important details to include in their writings.
For math we are beginning to wrap up Unit 1. Students are doing great breaking apart addition and subtraction word problems using the math strategy CUBES. A fun math game at home you can play with your child is “Addition War.” To play, use a deck of cards and split it equally among two players. For each turn, flip over 2 playing cards per player then have your child add the numbers. Highest sum wins all cards that round. Most cards at the end win. Playing allows your child to practice their math facts while playing a fun family game! We enjoyed playing Addition War in class.
During social studies, we focused on learning about the election this week. Students read “Duck for President.” Students learned why we vote and how to vote. In class we did mock elections to determine the best types of ice cream and cookies, then tracked our votes across the class.
Fourth graders had a great time learning and creating during our short three-day week!
In ELA, students began reading our new core novel, Ancestor Approved, and started working on
reading response and comprehension questions to deepen their understanding of the text. They
also put their persuasive and argumentative writing skills to the test by creating advertisements
for a newly renovated haunted house, convincing potential buyers why their haunted house was
the best choice!
In math, students continued working through our third investigation of the unit, focusing on
dividing three-digit numbers by one-digit numbers. They practiced using different strategies to
solve division problems and continued building their confidence with this important skill.
In Social Studies, fourth graders learned about the importance of voting in local, state, and
national elections. They discussed the qualities that make a great leader and put their ideas into
action by creating their own “VOTE” projects, highlighting the characteristics of a strong and
effective leader.
Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the week and has a great long weekend!
Individualized Learning Pathway - Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
During the Individualized Learning Pathway (ILP) period, students who have qualified to participate in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) programming engage in a wide array of verbal course offerings that address their specific strengths and interests. Johns Hopkins CTY believes in researching and advancing ways to identify and nurture academically talented learners. CTY furthers research, guides educators and families and inspires students from diverse communities and backgrounds to pursue their intellectual passions and create the world of tomorrow.
This week, we highlight one of the CTY courses offered to those students this fall.
CTY Young Readers Series: Magical Life Lessons
This week, fourth grade CTY Verbal students focused on the all-important skill of conducting research. Notably, they learned how to judge the reliability of a source based on its authoritativeness, currency, and content. Armed with this knowledge, students researched an Indian god or goddess for their end-of-unit Completion Activity, a number of whom appear in their current novel, Aru Shah and the End of Time. They then created dazzling slide presentations to display their research and share all sorts of interesting facts about their individual god or goddess. For instance, Vishnu, charged with being the preserver and protector of the universe, uses his four hands to hold symbols of the cosmic duties for which he is accountable: the element of water, cosmic order, the power to destroy evil and ignorance, and spiritual purity. And you thought you were an expert at multitasking!
PLTW - Kindergarten
Our kindergarten students completed Module 1 in PLTW. They were able to discuss and explain how projects are designed and created by engineers. To display the skills they learned they built beanstalks using pipe cleaners, houses for the Three Little Pigs using styrofoam, toothpicks and popsicle sticks and paint brushes using sticks, clay, feathers and pom poms. We completed the unit by using our paintbrushes to create paintings.
