The Growler

Inspiring future leaders to imagine and build a better world through thoughtful action and kindness.

• February Focus: Compassion
• Site Council Survey
• Black History Month
• Parenting Series, February Focus: Mental Health
• Dolly Parton's Free Books for Kids Program
• Science Fair
• March is Pokemon Month!
• Bingo Night
• Volunteering at School

In the month of January, we focused on taking responsibility. Students will receive awards at our community assembly in February and have been practicing taking responsibility by taking care of their classroom and belongings, doing their best work, and acknowledging and learning from mistakes.

This month our focus is compassion. Ask your student what it means to show compassion and how that might look at home, at school, and out in the community.

The Bellview Site Council would like to hear from our community about your experiences as a family, as well as your children's experiences here at Bellview. We want to know what we are doing well, how we can improve, and what kinds of supports and communications you would find the most helpful. Please click on the link below to the survey and share your feedback. The survey will be open until March 8th.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=4yDnNUGgO0ODNl3SbjQBA9v9LIuRLoxCroDHO9EOa5ZUQ1JVMlFNUzdDUEQ2Q0VNUVlJS0JCVVVMUi4u

February is Black History Month and we are learning about all kinds of Black Americans that have contributed to our society, building on what we learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. last month.

Each grade level will be focusing on a different area of significant figures, past and present focusing on these themes: Artists, Authors, Scientists and Inventors, Change Making Athletes, Musicians, and Activists.

Each grade level is creating a display outside their classroom and at the end of the month, we will have a scavenger hunt throughout the building to learn more. It is our hope that eventually, Black history will be integrated into every part of our curriculum, as Black history is American history. We are starting here as a place to grow from.

Mental Health Matters:

Understanding terms, learning about school and community resources

Wednesday, February 22, 6:00-7:30 pm

Helman Elementary School, Gym

ASD Behavioral Health Specialist, Britt Humphrey will discuss common questions about mental health while debunking social media myths about terminology such as anxiety, bipolar, trauma, ego, etc. She will also provide a framework for understanding whether your child may need mental health support and if so, how to access school and/or community services.

Britt has been a helping professional since 1995 and a licensed therapist since 2003. She holds two master’s degrees, has extensive training in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) for children and adults. She is dual licensed as a school counselor and LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) and is a certified expressive arts therapist. Britt is passionate about helping people understand how emotions and their powerful communicative ability can make life worth living!

Britt has five kids in her beautiful, blended family and is thrilled to be working and living in the

Ashland community.

Childcare and snacks are provided for this event, register through Eventbright here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/asd-elementary-parent-workshop-series-spring-2023-1730729

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children every month from birth to age five in participating communities. Through this program, every child under the age of five in Jackson County is qualified to receive a book by mail, at no cost to their families, every month until their fifth birthday. A great deal of brain development occurs in the early years of life, and studies have found clear developmental windows of opportunity during this period. If we can support development during these opportunities and provide strong, quality educational experiences the potential for significant benefits for our children and our community as a whole is great. Click https://jcls.org/collections/imagination/ for information on how to sign up!

We had more than 80 students participate in the Science Fair this year! It was a fun and educational event with scientists from grades K-5 participating. A huge thank you to Nicolette Smith for organizing the event!

Dear Bellview Parents:

At Bellview, we have monthly structured games at recess times. March is Pokemon & UNO month! UNO is fairly self explanatory, but we have agreed on some parameters to the Pokemon play so that it does not become a distraction for students in class. If your student is interested in participating, here are the rules:

• Pokemon Play will be available during student’s recess times and will be played at the green picnic tables outside.
• Students may bring a small bag (ziplock or lunch bag size) with their name on it. Binders or other large collections are not to be brought to school.
• Students will keep the cards in their backpack until they go to their classrooms in the morning, at which time they will put them into a designated bin.
• The bin will be taken outside for recess and at the end of recess the cards go back in their bags and return to the tub, which will go back to the classroom
• Cards can be taken from the tub and put in their backpacks at the end of the day and taken home if they wish.
• After school will not be a time to play, as we don’t have enough supervision at that time for the activity.
• Students who have their cards out at times other than recess will have them taken and held in the office until the end of the day.
• The season will run for the month of February, after that, the cards need to stay home.

Sincerely,

Christine McCollom

& the Bellview Staff

We are looking for additional volunteers to make this fun family night happen. If you are interested, please email Princess Franks at mailto:anciso0506@gmail.com . Roles that are needed are:

• Food truck coordinator
• Classroom auction basket organizer
• Raffle organization
• Treats for Bingo Night
• Design and hang posters at the school
• Draft email communications
• Emcee for Bingo Night
• Caller for Bingo Night

Many hands make light work, and it's a lot of fun!

We are so happy to announce that we can have parent volunteers again! Yahoo! Here is the process:

How To Become a Volunteer:

Step 1:
Complete the Volunteer Registration Form, which includes Notice of Background Check forms
Once completed, please submit the forms and a copy of your driver’s license to the Office Manager of the school where the volunteer position is needed. Forms may also be mailed or faxed to the school office. If no school is specified, forms may be submitted to 885 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 975250
Once you have passed your background check, you are clear to apply to volunteer for any position throughout the school year. No additional background check is necessary, however; it is necessary to repeat this process each school year.

Step 2:
The state of Oregon is requiring all volunteers in schools to be vaccinated. To be cleared as a volunteer in the Ashland School District, you must first submit copies of the front and back of your vaccination card to Haevian Lau at the district office: Haevian.Lau@ashland.k12.or.us . Please notify the school office if you need to request a religious or medical exception.

Step 3:
Mark your calendar with the agreed upon days and times. Please note that certain positions require training and a time commitment. Make sure you can fulfill the volunteer commitments before agreeing to the position.
Be prompt and dependable. Call ahead if you are ill or unable to keep your appointed times. When you commit to volunteering, people are depending on you.

Principal, Bellview School

She, Her

Email: christine.mccollom@ashland.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/o/bes
Location: 1070 Tolman Creek Road, Ashland, OR, USA
Phone: 541-482-1310
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bellview-Elementary-School-104141858437771