What's Up at BCS!

The month of October has been a blast for everyone! We started our month with a visit from Jason Brueck at Siskin Science. The students are now settled into the school routine and as I walk around the building I am seeing some amazing lessons and learning taking place. Students have learning targets posted. This is so that they really know and understand what they are supposed to be learning.

The staff and students also had their first student led conferences for the year. This is a time for students to build ownership of their own learning. The student will present their work in many different ways, but they are the presenters of the information. That same weekend was a long weekend for everyone. It was exactly the down time that everyone needed. A nice chance to recharge!

Justin from the Orleans Fire Department came to BCS on the 15th. He presented and spoke to students in grades kindergarten to fourth grade about fire safety. Justin stressed the importance of knowing what to do in an emergency. He put all of his gear on to show the students what he would look and sound like in a fire.

I am so proud of the BCS students and staff! They have been focusing on recognizing positive behaviors. The culture in the building is strong! The whole school earned one more tube celebration! They were split into mixed grade level teams. The 8th graders led their team and rotated between 6 stations. Some of the fun they had was: legos, cup stacking, coloring, karaoke, games and extra recess! There were so many laughs and older students helping younger students!

Our middle school students had a special program from Umbrella. It was called Choose To Refuse! This middle school program provided students with basic information on addiction, brain development and other substances. It engaged them in activities to develop decision making skills to handle situations where drugs are present.

BCS is a GREAT Place!

Warm regards,

Jennifer Ullrich

Principal

Each class chose one name that they wanted for the snow plow. Mrs. Ullrich had the entire staff vote on their favorite name. Then Mrs. Ullrich had the students vote on the top 2 choices to determine the winner! It was a great amount of fun!

Kindergarten has been focusing on respect and responsibility during our Character Strong learning time. Students have engaged in a read aloud called Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon. They are learning about what play used to be like in the "olden days" and what play is like today. They are also identifying character names and settings. Students continue to unlock letter names, key words, and sounds. They are also rhyming, counting the number of syllables in a word, and practicing their handwriting skills. Math has focused on counting, numeral writing, subitizing and math hands to 5.

Happy October! It is an exciting month for kids as we talk a lot about the leaves changing, share stories about pumpkin carving, how the weather changes, and what we want to be for Halloween. First graders are eager to share their stories and become very excited about our upcoming holiday.

We have finally found our groove for our daily schedule, while we still work on classroom volume and staying focused on the topic at hand. These are challenging skills for first graders.

Other topics of interest for first graders this month have been...

* apples

* harvesting

* scarecrows

As well as...

* comparing numbers with symbols (< > =)

* graphing

* tallies

* group counting

* addition sentences

* writing a comparison story with 2 characters

* reading & understanding the message of a poem

* word work with an & am words / letter sounds

* learning high frequency words (and, the, are, they, etc)

* reading independently using the 3 ways to read a book

* handwriting (lowercase letters)

Wow, It has been a busy month in second grade!

We have been studying about several different schools from around the world.

Students in these countries face some real challenges with getting to school, and yet

they find school important for all the same reasons that we do!

We have also continued our study of spelling patterns and syllable types. We

can now identify and read Closed, Open, Silent-e, and Vowel Team Syllables. Second

grade is a big year for reading and spelling bigger words, words that are all made up of

six syllable types!

In Math we continue working with centimeters and meters, and are beginning to

make the connection between these measurement units and our base ten number

system!

Second graders are pretty excited about the month of October and all of the

changes they are noticing in the world around them!

This month in 3rd & 4th grade we took our Star assessments again and there were a lot of improvements! In literacy we finished reading Love That Dog and wrote a paragraph describing how the main character was inspired by poetry. Students were asked to support their claims using evidence from the text. Now we are working on reading about various famous poets and exploring their poetry. In writing, we have been working on writing our own poetry, starting with rhyming. For math we have been working on developing different strategies for addition and subtraction as well as reviewing math vocabulary related to addition and subtraction. The 3rd grade is working on numbers up to the hundreds and 4th grade up to the hundred thousands & word problems. In geography we have been learning the states, starting with the Northeast Region.

Last week, middle schoolers wrapped up their first big Language Arts project of the year! After learning about the Hero's Journey, applying the different stages of the cycle to texts, and doing lots of brainstorming and planning activities, students wrote their own hero's journey stories. Once they had an idea of what their character, setting, and lesson were for their story, students had the option to create chapters from their "book," a children's story, or a presentation that showed each phase of the monomyth. Many of the final products were very impressive with lots of interesting dialogue, descriptive details, and meaningful messages. We are now jumping into our first whole class novels for the year: Summer of the Mariposas (7 & 8) and The Lightning Thief (5 & 6). Students will recognize some familiarities between the Hero's Journey and these texts. One of our goals for this module is vocabulary development. Students have gotten their first round of vocabulary words to study over the course of the week and will begin having quizzes on Fridays. Please encourage students to use their new vocabulary words in conversations at home!

Week 1 5th & 6th grade vocabulary: mythology, pulverize, triumphant, scrawny, mutter, foreshadow

Week 1 7th & 8th grade vocabulary words: folktale, predicament, indiscriminate, ominous, unruly, chastise

In Middle School Math, 5th graders continue working on their multiplication. They are working on multiplying multi-digit numbers using different strategies but the goal is to master the standard algorithm. Then they will be moving on to multi-digit division. 6th graders are still learning about ratios but are now finding equivalent ratios using tables and double number lines. 7th graders are determining proportional relationships by practicing graphing them and writing related equations. They are learning where to see the constant of proportionality on a table, in a graph and in an equation. 8th graders are practicing applying exponent rules and are simplifying expressions accordingly.

The 5th and 6th graders are currently exploring how to find the density of solid objects. They are doing this by using two methods to calculate volume and by measuring the mass on the triple beam balance. Students have just made their first bar graph to show the densities of different materials.

Seventh grade is learning about atoms and elements of the periodic table. They are using information from the periodic table to determine the structure of individual atoms.

Eighth graders are learning about how the variations in different species allows for the survival of species and change over time. They are using computer simulations to make predictions and track how a population changes over time.

What’s happening in the Social Studies classroom...

In Social Studies for 7th & 8th Grade, we have been learning about the different narratives of Christopher Colombus’s discovery of the New World. We finished Chapter 1 “Columbus and the Indians” of A Young People’s History of the United States and wrote a paragraph summary on NoRedInk. We have also started a reading of the play, “Columbus’s Mistake”. In 5th and 6th Grade, we have been exploring Ancient Athens with a Virtual Tour and plan to make our own Travel Brochure of Ancient Greece! We have also done a deep dive into Geography and have been learning about Longitude, Latitude, The Equator, The Prime Meridian, The States, Oceans, and Continents!

Let's learn about being a great friend!

1. Be Kind – Say nice things, give compliments, and be there when your friend feels sad.
2. Listen – Pay attention to what they say and ask questions, so they know you care about their stories.
3. Share – Whether it's a snack or a toy, sharing helps everyone have more fun!
4. Take Turns – Don’t always pick what you want to do; let them choose sometimes too.
5. Cheer Them On – When your friend does something great, celebrate them and say, "Good job!"
6. Say Sorry – If you make a mistake or hurt their feelings, say "I'm sorry." Friends forgive each other.
7. Have Fun – Laugh, play, and make good memories together!

Being a great friend is about treating others the way you want to be treated!

Intervention refers to targeted support or strategies provided to students who need extra help to succeed academically, socially, or behaviorally. Interventions are designed to address specific areas where students may struggle and often include specialized instruction, additional resources, or one-on-one assistance. The goal of intervention is to help students meet learning goals and stay on track with their peers.

Brownington Central School

Registration Due: October 30, 2024

Session 2 Schedule: November 4, 2024

No Program on –November 7,11, 27, 28 & December 11, 2024

Session 2 End Date: December 19th

When you sign your child up for the after-school program, a confirmation letter will be sent home or via email before the session starts showing what day(s) your child will be attending. Once the students are signed up they are expected to attend the program unless parents contact me directly of any changes. Please note that the after school program is a privilege for the students so their best behavior is expected. Students may sign up for one or more of the activities and we will make every attempt to assign students to at least one day they choose.

Spaces are limited and an effort will be made to get your child into the classes he/she desires.

The after school pick-up is 5:00 -5:30 pm every day. It is important that all parents are here to pick up their children no later than 5:30 pm. Please be considerate by picking up your child in a timely manner. Staff have family, educational, and personal commitments that they need to attend. The After School Program runs Monday - Thursday each week unless otherwise mentioned in the school info above. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. (*see top)

Thank you,

Cindy Vallieres

Brownington Central School After School Coordinator

cvallieres@ocsu.org

PTCA Vision/Mission:

In partnership with parents, staff, and community, the Brownington Central School Parent Teacher Community Association (PTCA) is committed to providing the students and the school community equitable educational and social experiences.

Meet the PTCA Officers:

President: Jennifer Taplin

Vice President: Amber Morse

Secretary: Jennifer Taplin

Treasurer: Jennifer Ullrich

Meeting Schedule:

The BCS PTCA meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 5:30 pm. Come join us in person at the Brownington Central School or virtually at Google Meet.

The PTCA would love to plan engaging family and community events this school year. Currently, we do not have enough members to make events happen at Brownington Central School. We work together as a team to be flexible with everyone's busy schedules. Please consider joining!

Box Tops For Education:

In partnership with parents, staff, and community, the Brownington Central School Parent Teacher Community Association (PTCA) is committed to providing the students and the school community equitable educational and social experiences.

Check out our membership options!

November 1st, Siskin Science will be here for the day.

November 5th, Election Day

November 7th, Early Release Day

November 8th ,Teacher Inservice Day (NO school for students)

November 11th, NO School...Veteran's Day

November 22nd, First Trimester Grades Close

November 27th, December 1st, Thanksgiving Break

December 6th, Siskin will be here for the day

December 6th, Report Cards will be sent home

December 9th, School Board Meeting at The Orleans School at 6:00

December 11th, Early Release Day

December 12th, PTCA Meeting at 5:30 at BCS

December 16th, Carousel Board Meeting at Lake Region at 6:00

December 21st to January 1st, Holiday Vacation

January 2nd, School Starts!

Happy New Year!!!!!!

Email: jullrich@ocsu.org
Website: https://bcs.ocsu.org/o/bcs
Location: 103 Chase Road, Brownington, VT, USA
Phone: (802)754-8467 ext. 101
Facebook: facebook.com/browningtoncentralschool