Bridge to Home                                         Bridge Mural
   A weekly publication about Bridge by PTA volunteers 
February 13, 2012                                                           Vol. 16, Issue 25

Bridge Elementary School
55 Middleby Road, Lexington, MA  02421
(781) 861-2510

Bridge School Web Site:  http://lps.lexingtonma.org/bridgees
Bridge PTA Web Site: http://www.BridgePTA.org 
  
Upcoming Events
Feb 15, Wed 1:30 pm 449 Waltham Street
International Festival Planning Committee Meeting

Feb 28, Tues 8:00 (raindate 2/29 or 3/1)
2012 Galileo Gala for 4th and 5th graders and families

Feb 29, Wed 1:30 pm 449 Waltham Street
International Festival Planning Committee Meeting

March 5, Mon 12:45-3:00 pm
Improv Boston Anti-Bullying Program for 4th Grade

March 6, Tues 8:30-9:15 am Bridge cafeteria
PTA Parent Coffee Connection meeting to nominate new PTA officers

March 7, Wed
SRTS Walking Wednesday

March 7, Wed 1:30 pm 449 Waltham Street
International Festival Planning Committee Meeting

March 9, Fri 5:30-8:30 pm
International Festival

March 15, Thurs
Kindergarten Orientation (district-wide)

March 15, Thurs
Bridge Science Night at LHS

March 20, Wed
MCAS Testing begins

March 21, Thurs
Wilson Farms Day

Jokes of the Week
Q: What do you comb a rabbit with?
A:  A hare-brush.

Q: Why don't acrobats work in the winter?
A: They only do Summer-saults. 
Save the Date 4/4
The Bridge School community is invited to celebrate the kick-off of the building Renovation (which will begin during April vacation) from 5 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, April 4.  We will serve ice cream & pizza, and dance with DJ Dan.  Spirit Wear contest, raffle, and more.  Parents will learn more about the renovation phasing from Principal Colella.
Next B2H Deadline 
NEXT DEADLINE:  Thurs, February 16, 5 PM

Please submit by email (preferably in text format only)
to Aimee Burstein.  Articles must be reviewed and approved by Bridge PTA Co-Presidents and/or Bridge Principal Meg Colella.  Please see the B2H webpage for submission guidelines.  
In This Issue...
Family Math Night Thank You
Wagon Wheel Fundraiser a Success
Wishing Well News
International Festival Planning Continues
Box Tops Contest Returns
LEF Announces Celebration for Education 3/31
Opportunity for Eco-Bridge Student Volunteers
Cary Library Winter Activities
Register Your Stop and Shop Card and Earn Money for Bridge
Student Absence Line

call (781) 861-2510
press 6, then press 1

Parents should call Bridge School by 8:30am when their child is going to be absent or late.

Cafeteria Info. 
Lunch: $3.25
Milk only: $0.75
  
View this month's menu from Chartwell's
Lost and Found
Are You Missing Something? Check the Lost & Found! The Bridge Lost & Found is overflowing with lost items.  Click here for more info.
Archived B2H
Starting with the 8/6/2010 issue, past Bridge to Home issues are now archived on the Bridge PTA Web site.  

 

Subscribe to receive weekly B2H e-mail

  

 LATEST NEWS    
 
Family Math Night 2012 - Thank You!
Family Math Night 2012 has come and gone! Thanks to all who came out -- we hope you had a lot of fun solving puzzles, rolling dice, dealing cards, counting in Martian and decoding secret messages! Next year we will have another fun set of activities and hope you'll come again.

I'd like to thank the many people who made this year possible and fun for the kids:

VOLUNTEERS:
Bala Balachander
Nick Bliamptis
Edi Chan
Mark Charney
Cindy Darcy
Fred Etheve
Ben Jacobson
Noah Jacobson
Stu Jacobson
Ching Lai
Michael Mitzenmacher
Dianna Queheillalt
John Zhu

TEACHERS:
Kristen Baranofsky
Lisa Diamant
Erin Maguire
Beth McAlduff
Shawn Wood

and especially M-L Bean for being Math Night's faculty support!

See you all in (2012 + 1)!
Angela Chang
Bridge Family Math Night Coordinator
Wagon Wheel Fundraiser a Success
Thank you to everyone who shopped at Wagon Wheel for our Wishing Well Fundraiser.  The PTA received a $150.00 check from Wagon Wheel.  These funds will be used to grant Mr. Bosbach's wish for an iPod.   Now Mr. Bosbach will be able to give his son back the iPod he borrowed from him!

Thank you to our friends at Wagon Wheel!
Wishing Well News
Wishes Granted this Week
Ms. Michael's wish for a U.S. Classroom Carpet was granted this week by Goldman Sachs Employee Matching Gift program.   The students have been busy learning about the states and memorizing their capitals this year. The carpet will be a beautiful addition to their 4th grade classroom.  Thank you Goldman Sachs and your hard-working employee!

Ms. Michael's wish for privacy shields was also granted this week by a student in her classroom.

New Wishes in the Wishing Well
Second grade teacher, Betsy Conway has dropped the following wishes in our well.   The items are from the Lakeshore Learning catalog.  
  • The Allowance Game (2) - $16.95 each, $33.90 for both
  • Basic School Globe (2) - $49.95 each, $99.90 for both
  • Me In My World Photo Book Series - $41.50
  • Tabletop Communication Center - $79.95
  • Heavy Duty Paper Trays Set of 4 - $29.95
  • Turn In Your Work Organizer - $34.95
  • Math Dice Tub - $29.00
First grade teacher,  Megan Hinton added the following wishes to the well.
  • Book And Binder Holders (2 sets or 24 bins total) from Really Good stuff,  Item 159490,  $84
  • Books for Listening Center from New England Mobile Book Fair, $200
  • Sight Word Puzzles, Complete Set from Lakeshore Learning Item JJ130X, $49.95
  • Genres of Literature Readers' Theater Script Boxes, Grade 1-2 from Lakeshore Item DD650X,  $79.95
  • Privacy Partition, Set of 10 from Lakeshore Item JJ689, $24.95

How to Grant a Wish
If you would like to grant a wish (or get together with a group of parents to grant a wish), you may either purchase the wish item directly and give it to the teacher or you may send a check to the Bridge School PTA.  Please put the name of the teacher and the wish in the memo section of your check before sending it along.  There is a dedicated box for the Wishing Well on the PTA table.  Contact Shannon Amsler for more information.
 UPDATES --- to prior articles     
 
Next International Festival Planning Meeting 2/15
Bridge International Festival
Friday, March 9, 5:30-8:30

Bilingual Announcements
If your child speaks another language and would like to be a part of the morning announcements, let us know!  Beginning Monday, February 27th, we will have children do brief bilingual announcements of the upcoming International Festival.  Your child is welcome to do the announcement with a sibling or friend who speaks the same foreign language. If your child would like to participate, please contact Deirdre Schadler.

International Performances
Does your child have a three-minute culturally-based performance to share?   A few spots remain on the program!  If interested, please contact Lisa Dinsmore, Performance Coordinator.  Applications will be accepted until Friday, February 17.  Past acts have included Israeli dance, Phillipine tinikling, Classical Indian dance, and Chinese Yo Yo. 

Country Tables
A few more spaces remain!  Please contact Una Gillis if you would like to host a country table.  This is a wonderful way to share with the Bridge community your knowledge, cuisine, and love of the country you are from or one you have visited .

Admission
Admission to the festival is free for those wearing an international or ethnic costume and $1 for all others.  This year we will donate admission proceeds and any canned food items you bring to our local community at the Lexington Food Pantry.

Questions?
Feel free to email Victoria Campos.  Our next International Committee Meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 1:30PM, 449 Waltham St.  All are welcome.
Box Tops Contest Deadline 2/20
Have You Seen Me?

Box Top example
REWARD

 

The classroom that can round up the most Box Tops will receive a reward:

An indoor recess games basket.


For a complete list of products that have Box Tops click here. For more information, click here or contact Anna Horiatis.   

 REMINDERS --- links to previous items      
 
LEF Announces Celebration for Education - A Night at the Museum 3/31
Lexington Education Foundation (LEF) will hold Celebration for Education - A Night at the Museum on Saturday, March 31, from 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln.  The Lexington community is invited for an evening of dining, dancing, and socializing to help support the next round of grants that enrich the education of all our public school students.  There will be an incredible list of silent auction items. Tickets are limited and will be available mid-February.  For more information, please click here, visit the LEF website or find LEF on Facebook.

LEF is not affiliated with the Lexington Public Schools.
New Recycling Program at Bridge
Eco-Bridge is starting a new recycling center at school to collect Elmers Glue products, Papermate and Sharpie writing instruments, Scotch tape, and Toner and Inkjet cartridges.  If you use any of the above items at home, please add them to our collection at school when you are ready to recycle them.  Not only will our school collect 1-2 cents per item recycled, but it will help reduce your trash.

Click here for more information or contact Nimisha Asthagiri with questions.
Cary Library Winter Activities
Cary Library has a TON of winter and February vacation activities planned.  Space is limited for some programs, so check them out online and sign up today!
Register Your Stop & Shop Card $ for Bridge
Click here to learn more.

2011-2012 PTA Executive Committee Members

CO-PRESIDENTS

Justine Wirtanen 

Rebecca Reynolds Moore 

 

CO-VICE PRESIDENTS

Victoria Campos

Stephanie Mitzenmacher

Laura Schroeder

Cathy Smith 

Guorong Zhu

Susan Kingsbury  

  

TREASURER

Tricia Weisberg 

SECRETARY

Suzanne Lau 

Bridge School Office Staff

 

PRINCIPAL

Margaret Colella 

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Erin Maguire  

ADMINISTRATIVE ASST

Marcia Cavatorta

GUIDANCE

Lucia Gates

NURSE

Diane Celi