BVS Bulldog Buzz Newsletter
November, A Season of Gratitude
I must begin by saying that it has been wonderful to see so many of our families at BVS in the month of October. We had great cheering sections for each grade level during the BVS PTSA Fun Run. Speaking of the Fun Run, a huge congratulations to everyone on the success of this fundraiser! Our PTSA worked hard to secure sponsors and organize an amazing event. Our families and students secured donations for the run that will help fund events and programming for our learning community for the entire year. A huge thank you to everyone for making the BVS PTSA Fun Run a huge success!
Our annual Trunk or Treat Party was also very well attended this year. Thank you again to our PTSA and parent volunteers for organizing an event that brings our BVS families and staff members together for an evening of fun. One thing that always strikes me about this event are the number of recent BVS students who have moved on to HMS who find their way back to enjoy the fun of this night. They return because they know they will get to catch up with their BVS buddies, but also because they know they will see many of their elementary school teachers and staff members. The joy this brings is felt by both the children and our BVS staff.
As we look ahead to November, our learning community will be focusing on Gratitude. You might be surprised to learn that gratitude is not a skill we are born with, but one that must be taught. For that reason, we will spend this month teaching our students that gratitude means giving thanks for the people, places, and things in our lives. We will be observant for the moments in our day when we can give our students the opportunity to practice gratitude, as well as celebrating when we see gratitude in action in our learning community. We hope that you will support this learning by also teaching, practicing, and celebrating gratitude with your child and family outside of our school walls.
In closing, I would like to wish you a blessed Thanksgiving. I am grateful for our BVS learning community and all who are a part of it. Happy Thanksgiving!
Your Partner in Education,
Mrs. Lauer, BVS Building Principal
Joy, Value, and Connection
BVS PTSA Fun Run
Fun with Mr. Morton and Sundance Kids
Welcoming Fall at BVS
Fire Prevention with our Community Partners
BVS Learning Community: Best Me! Best We!
An important focus of our BVS Learning Community Plan this school year has been building the desire for and appreciation of in-person interactions. We know that as our children grow up surrounded by technology and devices such as cell phones, they are not experiencing the same level of in-persons interactions as children who did not grow up in a digital era. This puts children today in danger of losing critical social skills that are necessary for successfully navigating in-person interactions.
As a learning community, we are embracing our role in providing opportunities to our students that allow them to practice their social skills absent of any type of technology. We want our students to be able to so things such as carry on face-to-face conversations, verbally advocate for themselves when they have a need, apply critical thinking when they are facing a problem, and utilize conflict resolution skills to bring relationships back into harmony.
One of the ways that we are doing this is by providing students with daily opportunities for technology-free recess. An indicator of success in this area is that our playground has been a very busy place! Classes are observed utlizing the playground at all hours of the school day. Students of various ages are seen playing games together on the playground and back lawn. Students are not only seeking out friends from their classroom and grade level, but finding familiar faces from around the building to interact with and enjoy. On days that don't permit us to be outside, students have been observed interacting with STEM bins, playing board games, and carrying on casual conversations while putting puzzles together.
Another way we are doing this is through our Wednesday all-school SEL events. Every other Wednesday, we start our day by walking together throughout the building for about ten minutes. This allows students to visit with peers from other classrooms and grade levels, as well as visiting with staff from all over the building. One Wednesday a month, teachers host Wild Card Wednesday and faciitate a fun activity in their classroom or with their grade level partner. We finish out the month with BVS Buddy Wednesday, where our intermediate grade levels get together with their primary grade level partner for a fun collaborative activity.
These interactions are at the heart of our work to build desire and appreciation for in-person interactions and make me so proud of our BVS learning community.
News from the Main Office
School Volunteer Training
Need Tech Help?
Boston Valley Elementary School Handbook
The Boston Valley Elementary School Handbook can be accessed here. The handbook can also always be found on the Boston Valley Website under the tab titled "Our School." Many frequently asked questions can be found by referencing the handbook. In our handbook you will find a reminder about student birthdays. We are not able to welcome food or non-food treats to school to be passed out in the classroom. Student birthdays are recognized on the morning announcements, and classroom teachers have shared how students will be celebrated in the classroom.
Notes from the Health Office
A message from BVS Nurse Liberti
Flu season is upon us, monitor your child for illness. Symptoms of the flu include fever or chills, body aches, cough, sore throat, headache, runny or stuffy nose and fatigue. Some children may experience stomach issues like diarrhea. Unlike a cold, flu comes on very quickly.
If your child gets the Flu
· Have your child get plenty of rest and fluids
· Keep your child home from school for at least 24 hrs. after their fever is gone without using medicine
Ways to not spread the flu
· Keep your child home if sick
· Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, if not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub
· Cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow, not your hands
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Call the Health Office with any absences or concerns 646-3242.
Let’s keep our students healthy!
~Mrs. Liberti, RN
Counseling Corner with Mrs. Ferry
During last month's newsletter I took some time to share about a tool called the Zones of Regulation that I use daily with students at BVS. This tool is used to put all of the feelings we experience into four color coded zones, including blue, green, yellow and red. Using the Zones of Regulation allows our students to be able to explain their feelings in a simple way that everyone understands. For the next couple of months I will dive deeper into each color to build understanding of parents and caregivers around the tool, connected terminology, and how to use the tool.
Let’s start with the Green Zone. The green zone is where we all want to be as often as possible! In the green zone you feel happy, good to go, relaxed, calm and read to learn. The goal of the Zones of Regulation is to always get back to the green zone if one finds themselves in another zone color. It is important to be able to recognize when you are in the green zone and how that feels, so that when you are in a different zone, you know what you are trying to return to.
I am currently pushing into our Kindergarten - 3rd grade classrooms to provide full group interactive lessons on strategies students can use to get back to the green zone. We discuss topic such as coping skills, how we impact the zones ourselves and others are in, expected and unexpected choices, and the power to choose. Just as I mentioned last month, please feel free to ask your child/children to tell you what they are learning about the Zones of Regulation because it is also in your home.
News from the Boston Valley PTSA
Please join us in the BVS Library at 5:30 on November 6 for our monthly PTSA meeting. We are looking for new faces to join us so that we can keep facilitating engaging and fun experiences for our BVS Learning Community!
To access the volunteer link in the BVS PTSA Newsletter, click below.
Merry Moose Holiday Shop
Our annual Merry Moose Holiday Shop is in need of volunteers. We will be setting up shop on Monday, December 16th after school. Your assistance in setting up for our students is greatly appreciated. BVS students will be shopping on Tuesday and Wednesday.