Bridges Community School

I hope you enjoyed your winter break and had time as a family to enjoy times together. We are now into January and it is hard to believe! The next couple of months are very crucial in the learning for your child/ren. We truly appreciate you ensuring your child/ren are in school as much as possible as attendance really matters!

If you haven't taken the opportunity to let us know about our Early Release on Wednesday, January 8th at 12:50 pm, here is the link: https://forms.gle/teT2EKeFQ9AppK4K6.

Working Together, Mrs. Rittmiller

Grayson J. - K, Lilah B. - K, Jaxton R. - 1, Ayla S. - 1, Sophia G. - 2, Addy N. - 2, Jack W. - 3, Ellie S. - 3, Dominick M. - 4, Ellie C. - 4, Rami K. - 5, Kyra A. - 5

Mrs. Shaw is most excited about another year of teaching kindergarten. She loves watching the big milestones and experiencing the wonder and enthusiasm that come with learning at this age.

Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with my family, watching hockey and soccer, cooking, and taking her dog on walks when the weather is nice.

Ms. Holly is most excited working in the new office space and seeing all the students at school. Outside of school she enjoys spending time with family and antiquing!

The Cognitive Abilities (CogAt) Screener testing window will be open from February 3rd thru the 14th. The CogAt will be given to all 2nd grade students and new-to-district students in grades 3-5 who have not yet taken the CogAt.

The CogAt provides insight into students’ abilities and guides educators in making appropriate educational decisions for students. Mankato Area Public Schools use the CogAt in the following ways:

• to help educators differentiate instruction for the needs and abilities of a student;

• to understand discrepancies between a student’s ability and achievement; and

• to use as a measure in identifying students for placement in Talent Development Services, including cluster and Rising Scholar classrooms.

In grade 2, the CogAt is untimed. Students in a typical 2nd grade class generally take less than one hour to complete the CogAt, In grades 3-5, the CogAt will take approximately 45 minutes. The CogAt has three sections: verbal analogies, quantitative analogies, and nonverbal matrices. There will be short breaks between sections.

If you do NOT want your child to take the Cognitive Abilities Screening Form, please contact your school no later than Wednesday, January 29th.

Looking for a way to connect to MAPS? We strive to connect our community to our district and schools. Subscribe to this newsletter to get the current information and links to events.

Follow MAPS Facebook and Instagram for student celebrations:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ISD77MAPS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isd77maps/

MAPS Website: https://www.isd77.org/

Bridges BAC Website: BAC website link: : https://bridgesbears.weebly.com/faq.html

We have All School Meetings on Fridays during the school year starting in the gym at 8:30 am. Parents/guardians are invited to attend. We discuss our life skill, have spotted awards and many times there is an interactive game, talent or speaker.

On December 18th, we hosted our Family virtual informational session about what Bridges will look, sound, and feel like for the 2025-26 school year. It was wonderful to see everyone who attended and to address the curiosities and questions that were shared. We recognize that there are still many more questions you may have. We encourage you to visit the Focus School Webpage on our District Webpage. This will be able to provide more clarity and answers to the many questions still out there. A great resource is our Frequently Asked Questions Document were we will add more questions and answers, so check back often. We wanted to remind you, if you are planning to stay at Bridges next school year, there is no need to do anything. We will plan for you to continue at Bridges!

Linked here is the presentation I shared during the session. Within the presentation, you’ll find a link and QR code to submit any future questions you may have.

Update on Enrollment:

• The lottery will be district-wide

• Families can prioritize 1, 2, 3 (Bridges, Jefferson, Rosa Parks)

• The goal is to create opportunities for our students based on classroom to boardroom feedback.

• Bridges is part of Mankato Area Public Schools

• We have welcomed many amazing families over the years and Bridges is a sought after building and we will continue community groups, lifeskills, our "being there" experiences and core knowledge.

• We have many students and families wishing to get into Bridges each year.

• Class sizes will be consistent throughout all 10 buildings and we will continue to look at the data to ensure we have staff to support our classrooms.

• We want to reach as many students and families while creating a rich learning experience with our talented teaching staff.

• We are committed to: Community groups, Core Knowledge, All School Meetings, Life Skills, Being There Experiences and reading, math, science, social studies, STEM, music, physical education, art and health.

If you are interested in reviewing the virtual information session on our Global Studies focus, please watch the video below. Jody and Tabatha

The Greater Mankato Mental Health Hub has launched! This hub was developed by Greater Mankato Area United Way's Youth Mental Health/Suicide Prevention Committee and is hosted by the Center for Rural Behavioral Health at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The hub is meant to be a tool for parents and caregivers to easily find information on crisis support, local mental health services, parent education, and more.

Find more information HERE.

January:

Jan. 1 - No School/Happy New Year

Jan. 8 - 2 Hour Early Release

Jan. 8 - Heggies Pizza Delivery (5th Gr.)

Jan. 13 - BAC Meeting (6:30)

Jan. 15 - North Mankato Taylor Library/3rd Grade (8:55)

Jan. 15 - Kindness Booth Book Donation/1st Grade (10:00)

Jan. 16 - MSU Children’s Theatre (8:30)

Jan. 20 - No School/MLK Day

Jan. 24 - Bridges Spelling Bee (12:30). This is for our 4th and 5th graders.

Jan. 27 - No School/Teacher Prep Day

Jan. 31 - Bridges Carnival (6:00-7:30 pm)

Our team of caring, passionate, and committed professionals wants you! Applying for available positions is simple, fast and secure. Our online application system allows you to start and save an application, submitting it when you are sure that it’s complete. We have current openings as a resource paraprofessional and a lunchroom/recess supervisor for 2 hours a day!

Find your next career here in MAPS!