Bridges Community School
Dear Bridges Bears Families,
We are moving into the end of September and next week is October! Our site council always wants to hear from you. Please take a moment to fill out 3 quick responses for our site council to reflect on, celebrate and make any changes moving forward: click here!
To ensure our school day continues to run smoothly for all students, please remember to say your goodbyes at the designated drop-off points each morning. When students enter the building on their own, it helps them develop independence and gets them ready to start their day right on time.
As a reminder, our staff is busy helping students get settled and begin their morning routines starting at 8:10 a.m. daily. If you are a parent volunteer, please stop by the main office to sign in and get a visitor's badge. This helps us ensure the safety of everyone in the building.
Thank you for your continued support in making this a successful school year!🐻
Warmly,
Mrs. Rittmiller
Did you know that if your student misses 17 or more days of the school year that they are considered chronically absent by the state of Minnesota?
We know that students may miss school for many reasons such as illness, vacation, or family emergencies. It is normal that most students will miss a few days throughout the year. However, when students start to miss more than a few days of school, it can be detrimental to their academic growth. Research shows that students who miss 7 or more days of school are more likely to struggle academically. We want to see our students in school as often as possible so that they can continue to get what they need to succeed in school.
Here are some important things to know about attendance:
Stay below 17 Days Absent: Our school goal is to have less than 5% of our students missing 17+ days this year. To track how many absences your student has, you can log into the Parent Portal. If you have questions about absences, please contact the health office.
7 Sick Days = Med Letter Needed: Once students have missed 7 days because of illness, we will be requiring a school health office visit or doctor's note to excuse any further absences for illness. If your student reaches 7 days and is put on Med Letter status, when they aren’t feeling good but they seem like they could be at school, you can bring them to school and have them checked out by our health team. The school team will let you know if your student should stay at school or go home for the day. Otherwise, we would ask that you make a same day appointment or take your student into Urgent Care and provide a letter from their office excusing the absence. We know that sometimes an illness can take a couple of days to recover from. We would ask the school health team or the doctor's note to provide guidance on the number of days missed. Future sick days that are verified by the school health team or another doctor would be excused absences.
Doctor's Note Needed: Every time your student goes to an appointment (doctor checkups, dentist, therapy, etc.) they must come back with a note from the visit excusing them from the time they were absent. If they have no note and the absence is only reported, it will be marked as unexcused until a note comes in verifying the absence.
Other Barriers: If there are other reasons that your student does not want to or cannot come to school, please reach out to their teacher, counselor, social worker, or myself. We will work with you and your student to assist them in being at school.
Unexcused Absences: Any absence that is not called in, or a practitioner's note is provided for, is considered unexcused. Once a Med Letter is required, absences that are not excused by the school health team or a doctor are considered unexcused.
County Involvement: When a student has 7 or more unexcused absences, our school partners with Nicollet or Blue Earth County to support families with a plan to get their students to school.
Thank you for your partnership with attendance! Bridges Staff
Please complete this form to let us know what your plans are for early release. School will dismiss at 12:50. This form needs to be completed every month for staffing purposes. https://forms.gle/qVAJbdGFFPKg441h9
We’re excited to share that new Being There Experience (field trip) T-shirts are in the works. Each Bridges Bear will receive a brand new shirt at no cost!
We’re grateful for the incredible support from our families and our community: your generosity makes great things like this possible.
This is where we need your help! We want every shirt to be a perfect fit. Please take a moment to complete a google form for each student in your family by the end of the day on Monday, September 30.
The form is here: https://forms.gle/JCPx5PaYbE95rT3a9
Parents and caregivers also have the option to purchase shirts. Details and instructions are included in the form.
Thank you for your help! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Site Council Minutes - We are looking for more site council parent reps
Click here for the site council minutes.
My name is Pam Kind and I am the new Cook Manager here at Bridges. When I'm not working, I enjoy following my 17 year old daughter around and watching her many activities. My husband, daughter, and I also like to play golf, read, and travel together! I am so excited to be at Bridges and watch you all grow into your best selves. Have a great year!
Global Studies Update
Our 2nd graders are taking time to learn new things all the time in our BIG world! They are learning about North and South America and put together the puzzle pieces. What a great connection to places!
Mental Health Hub
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.
October:
Oct. 8 - 2 Hour Early Release (12:50 pm)
Oct. 9 - History Fest (4th gr)
Oct. 10 - MSU Hockey (Grades 3-5)
Oct. 13 - No School
Oct. 14 - Music Concert-All Grades (9:00am)
Oct. 14 - Walk Around the World (1:00-2:30)
Oct. 15 - Children's Theatre (4th/5th Grade)
Oct. 15 - River Being There Experience (3rd Grade)
Oct. 16-17 - No School/MEA Break
Oct. 21 - Science & Nature Conference (Grades 3-5)
Oct. 27 - BAC Meeting (6:00)
Oct. 28 - Ummies 5th Grade Trip Fundraiser (4:00-8:00)
Oct. 29 - Picture Retake Day/Class Picture Day