Anderson Angle

Dear Anderson Families,

It’s hard to believe we have already completed six weeks of school! By now, your child is settling into daily routines, building relationships, and becoming familiar with the expectations and learning environment at Anderson. We appreciate your continued partnership as we begin the school year together.

In September, our teachers administered several universal screeners, including aReading, CBMReading, and STAR Math. These assessments provide us with valuable information about your child’s current progress and help us identify areas of strength as well as areas where additional support may be beneficial. We use this information, along with classroom learning and other data, to guide instruction and support each student’s growth. We will share your child’s assessment results with you when they are available.

Parent-teacher conferences are just around the corner, and we look forward to connecting with you! Conferences will be held on Monday, October 19, and Thursday, October 22, from 3:00–7:00 p.m. Please remember that students will be dismissed early at 2:00 p.m. on both days.

While you are at school for conferences, be sure to stop by our Scholastic Book Fair, which will be open during conference hours. We also want to remind families that there will be no school on Friday, October 23.

As always, please know that the staff and I are available if you have questions or concerns about your child’s education. We value the partnership we share with our families and appreciate all you do to support your child and Anderson Elementary.

We look forward to seeing you at conferences!

Respectfully,

Mel Hewitt

Principal, Anderson Elementary

Anderson Elementary on Social Media

Twitter: @AndersonBFCSD, #AndersonJays

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

Oct 19 - Conferences 3:00-7:00pm - 2:00 Dismissal

Oct 20 - Picture Re-Takes at Anderson

Oct 22 - Conferences 3:00-7:00pm - 2:00 Dismissal

Oct 23 - No School

Oct 26 - No School - Professional Development for Teachers

Nov 25-27 - No School - Thanksgiving

Dec 22 - 2:00 Dismissal to begin Winter Break

Jan 4 - Students Return to School from Winter Break

Jan 18 - No School Professional Development/MLK Jr. Day

A friendly reminder: If your child misses school due to a medical appointment, please provide the office with a doctor's note to medically excuse the absence. Thank you.

Hello - We’ve created a new Food Assistance webpage that brings together several resources available to Bluejay families, including free/reduced meals, our BF Food Pantry and Backpack Program, and local community food pantries.

https://www.bfschools.org/departments/food-services/food-assistance

We are off to a wonderful start in 2nd-grade! It's been so exciting to get to know each of your children and watch our classroom community grow. The students are settling into our daily routines, learning our classroom procedures, and becoming more comfortable with what it means to be a 2nd-grader at Anderson Elementary. We are working hard each day to build independence, confidence, and a love of learning!

One of our biggest focuses right now is practicing what it means to show Bondurant’s BEST: Being Kind and Respectful, Excellent Effort, Staying Safe, and Taking Responsibility. Our students are learning that showing Bondurant’s BEST means making kind choices, being responsible, listening and following directions the first time they are asked, taking care of our classroom and materials, and treating others with the same respect we would like to have. We practice these expectations throughout the day, especially during transitions, centers, lunch, recess, when independently using the restroom, and other times when students learn to work and interact independently.

We have already seen wonderful practice of Bondurant’s BEST, and we are so proud of the students making great choices and setting a positive example for their classmates! As we continue practicing, we know that learning routines and expectations takes time. Thank you for partnering with us at home by talking with your child about what it means to show their BEST at school and encouraging them to make kind, safe, responsible choices each day.

I am so excited about all that this group of 2nd-graders will accomplish this year. We have a lot of learning, growing, and fun ahead of us!

Meet the Counselor Sheets - We are your Anderson School Counselors! Please reach out if you ever need anything.

Counselor Book Recs - If you are looking for some books to read with your students, these are all books we have used here at school that we recommend!

Second Step Skills for Learning - Our first unit is on its way! We are focused on skills for learning - how can we be the best, most respectful students we can be?!

Hello Anderson Elementary!

My name is Allie Pinkley, and I am thrilled to be joining the Anderson staff this year! I look forward to getting to know your children and providing them with the nursing care they need to stay healthy and ready to learn.

A little about me: I have four kids of my own in our district—Lanie (8th), Grady (6th), Saylie (3rd), and Vander (K). My husband, Grant, grew up in Bondurant, and we love this community!

I am having a great time getting to know your children this year and am so grateful for the opportunity to work with them. Thank you to all of the parents who have been so supportive and patient as I learn the ins and outs of my first year in a school setting. Prior to becoming a school nurse, I worked in the hospital helping to deliver babies. I have always had a passion for caring for children and families, and I am so excited to be part of the Anderson Elementary community!

Just a few friendly reminders:

• Any over-the-counter medication, including cough drops, must be kept in the nurse’s office. Parents will need to drop off medications in their original packaging with the directions included and complete an authorization form allowing me to administer them to your student.
• If possible, please pack an extra change of clothing for your child to keep in their locker. We have already had quite a few spills and accidents where students have needed a change of clothes, and my supply of extra clothing is limited.
• If your student comes home wearing clothing from the nurse’s office, we would greatly appreciate having those items washed and returned.

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to a

wonderful year with your children!

— Nurse Allie

Greetings from the Anderson Elementary art room! I am Mrs. Reyerson, your child’s art teacher, and I have been very busy getting to know your student and having LOTS of fun already! Here are a few

highlights from the first couple of week.

Third graders started the year with an OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD project we liked to call “Texture Name

Aliens: Using Symmetry & Asymmetry” and they are turning out absolutely phenomenal. This project really helps Mrs. Reyerson learn names and getting to know my new students is always a BIG priority. The Name Aliens really challenge students to use their creative imaginations, transforming their written name into a symmetrical, textured alien who inhabits otherworldly planets! OH MY! Right now, we are talking about ‘texture’ words that we will use to cover our aliens. Look for these to be inhabiting our hallways at Anderson very soon! 😊

Students in 4th grade began the year with an introduction to using tints and shades. Later, we will be learning how to mix shades and tints of paint, but for now, we are starting the unit off with oil pastels and one of my favorite subjects, ICE CREAM. 😉 So far, we have drawn our ice cream and studied how artists use tints (lighter values) and shades (darker values) to create depth, dimension, and bring realism to their artwork. We reviewed American artist Wayne Thiebaud, who was famous for his dessert-inspired realistic paintings. These ‘sweet’ masterpieces are already on display, so come in and check them out!

Finally, the Anderson 2nd graders have completed their first unit inspired by the book “A Beautiful

Oops” written by Barney Saltzberg. The book encourages students to use those “oops” moments as an opportunity to make something beautiful! Students viewed artist and photographer Chris Judge’s cloud creations and learned that some artists use clouds as inspiration to create beautiful images. We did several activities that encouraged students to utilize out-of-the-box thinking including, a torn drawing, folded animals, and bubble creation drawings. It has been so much fun getting to know these 2nd graders, and I think I’ve been learning just as much as they have!

Don’t forget to follow our Anderson artists on X @andartteach

Dear Anderson Elementary Families,

Welcome to another exciting year of Bluejay Music! Our music room has expanded with

several new instruments, digital resources and printed sheet music.

Our concerts will again be held at the High School Auditorium this year. Each grades' concert will be divided into two performance groups to provide more opportunities for our performers, accommodate more space on stage, and help with parking.

Concert Schedule:

• 4th Grade Concert: Thursday, November 19th
• 6:00 pm: Students in the classes of Fox, Adams, Lehman, and Lubbinga
• 7:15 pm: Students in the classes of Garton, Bishop, Swearngin, McDonald, and Howard

• 2nd Grade Concert: Thursday, December 10th at 7 pm

• 3rd Grade Concert: Thursday, January 21st
• 6:00 pm: Students in the classes of Hansen, Fall, Finney, and Friederich
• 7:15 pm: Students in the classes of Taylor, Reents, Kloster, and Peavy

I am excited to work with this talented group of students and look forward to a fantastic year ahead. Please join our Anderson Elementary Music Facebook group to stay updated on our classroom activities! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Have a great year!

Sincerely,

Sallyanne Preston

2-4 General Music Teacher

Anderson Elementary

Prestons@bfschools.org

Julie Hall, Secretary

Anderson Elementary

hallj@bfschools.org

515-967-7494