Bridge to Home                                         Bridge Mural
   A weekly publication about Bridge by PTA volunteers 
May 14, 2012                                                           Vol. 16, Issue 37

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
May 16, Wed
Teacher Appreciation Breakfast Grades 3-5

May 18, Fri 7:45 am
Mandatory Parents Meeting re: 5th Grade Camping Trip

May 18, Fri 8:00 am
Bridge Site Based Council Meeting -- Elections

May 18, Fri 3:00-4:30 pm at Clarke
Clarke Scratch Club Open House (see below)

May 23, Wed 9:00 am
Project ACES at Bridge (see below)

May 24, Thurs 9-10:15 am Central Administration Bldg, Room 1
Lexington 300th Liaison meeting (see below)

May 28, Mon
No School -- Holiday

May 30, Wed 3:45 pm at LHS Track
5th Grade Track Meet

May 31, Thurs
Kindergarten Visitation Day

June 9, Sat
5th Grade Graduation Party
Jokes of the Week
Q: Where do baby cows eat?
A:  At the calf-ateria!

Q: Which runs faster, hot or cold?
A: Hot -- everyone can catch cold! 
Next B2H Deadline 
NEXT DEADLINE:  Thursday, May 17, 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...
5th Grade Parents Mandatory Meeting 5/18
Clarke Scratch Open House 5/18
From the ARTROOM
World's Largest Exercise Class at Bridge 5/23
5th Grade Track Meet 5/30 at LHS
Grant a Wish for Bridge School
Bridge Students Reduce Their Carbon Footprints!
Bookmark Winners Honored at the State House.
Wilson's Fundraiser a Success
Be a Part of Lexington's Tricentennial Celebrations!
Grade 3-5 Teacher Appreciation Breakfast 5/16
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

 

Subscribe to receive weekly B2H e-mail

  

Lost and Found
Missing Something? Check the Lost & Found! The Bridge Lost & Found is overflowing with lost items.  Click here for more info.
 LATEST NEWS     
 
Reminder for 5th Grade Parents: Mandatory Meeting 5/18
There will be a mandatory (at least 1 parent/guardian) meeting regarding the 5th Grade Environmental Camping Trip on Friday, May 18th at 7:45 am in the gym.  Early morning recess coverage will be provided for fifth graders and their siblings on the playground beginning at 7:40 am.  If it is raining, the children will be supervised in the cafeteria.
Clarke Scratch Open House 5/18
If you've ever wondered what goes on at Scratch Club here's your chance to see the animations and games created by club members using the Scratch programming language. Everyone (friends and family) is invited to drop in between 3 and 4:30pm on Friday May 18th. Meeting will take place in the IMC and Room 346 (the library and the attached computer lab).  Families with 5th graders entering Clarke in the fall are also very welcome.  Any questions, please contact Chris Garrity via email or at 781-860-0998.
From the ARTROOM
On Saturday, May 19th from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Ms Murray, Hastings Art Teacher Ms Bettencourt, Retired LHS teacher Janet Jehle, and several other artists will be showing their work at Ms. Murray's home, at 5 Butler Avenue, as part of LEXINGTON OPEN STUDIOS.  Over 80 Lexington artists will be participating this year!  For more information about this event, please visit the Lexington Open Studios website.  Please note that we will only be participating on SATURDAY, though LOS runs both Saturday and Sunday.

Lynne Geiger Murray
Bridge School Visual Art Teacher
World's Largest Exercise Class at Bridge 5/23
Bridge School is once again taking part Project ACES on May Project Aces23rd. ACES stands for All Children Exercise Together. This is a nationwide program that has been happening since 1989. Students at Bridge have done this for the past five years. Every classroom heads out to the back parking lot to take part in movement, exercise, dance, and fun led by Mr. Bosbach. Schools thoughout the country take part to promote physical activity for children, so if you're up for some fun stop by the school on the 23rd at 9:00 and be ready to move. Oh yeah, stick around to the end to see a surprise the upper grades have been working on.
5th Grade Track Meet 5/30 at LHS
The 5th Grade Track Invitational will take place on Wednesday, May 30th from 3:45 pm to approximately 6:00 pm at the High School track.  Clarke and Diamond Middle Schools are hosting this event to give 5th graders an introduction to middle school track and to have some fun.

Students can pick one running event in which to run (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, Mile).  P.E. teachers will select 4 girls and 4 boys for the 4x100m Relay and the three field events: Long Jump, Shot Pu, and High Jump.

Students who wish to participate need a signed permission slip available from Mr. Bosbach.   Please wear proper running footwear only for this event, and please also note there will not be any transportation available from Bridge to the track.
Grant a Wish for Bridge School Today!
The Wishing Well is closing on June 1, 2012.  Our goal is to grant all of the staff's remaining wishes by that date.   Kindly consider granting a wish for your child's teacher or one of the Bridge School staff members. These make great end-of-year teacher/staff gifts.

The following staff members still have Wishes left in the Wishing Well:
Ms. Werbeloff,  Ms. Sciarretta, Ms. Baranofsky, Ms. Yee, Ms. Hinton, Ms. OReilly, 2nd Grade Teachers, Ms. Conway, Ms. Diamant,  Ms. Bean, Ms. Colby, Ms. Arena, Ms. Gates,  and Ms. Croy.

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.

The following Wishes were granted this week:
Ms. Sciarretta now has $80 towards her wish for a magnetic white board.
Mr. Lambert's wish for a supply cart was granted by his classroom parents.
Mr. O'Connell's wish for aquarium supplies was granted by the McCallum family.

Thank you to all of the generous Wishing Well donors. This year so far, more than 45 wishes have been granted.
Bridge Students Reduce Their Carbon Footprints!
Congratulations to all of the bus riders, walkers, bikers, and carpoolers who came to the special Earth Day Safe Routes to School Walk to School Wednesday on April 25.  Many classes had close to 50% participation.  Special mention goes to Ms. Campbell's fourth grade and Mr. Plamondon's second grade classes for the best participation!

So far, 46 Bridge students have estimated how they helped reduce Bridge's carbon footprint by either walking, biking, carpooling, or taking the bus. They worked very hard and estimated a total carbon dioxide footprint reduction of 60 pounds, compared to the emissions of going alone by car.  This savings comes from just 46 students with one morning's trip to Bridge!  On average, a mature tree can absorb only about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year! These 46 students saved more than that!  Now imagine, if all 520 Bridge students would either walk, bike, carpool, or take the bus.  The savings might be very close to 650 pounds of carbon dioxide for only one morning's commute.  It would take more than 13 mature trees an entire year to absorb that much carbon dioxide.  

The 46 carbon footprint champions are:

Kindergarten:  Nolan K, Reina M.  Nicholas, Will D., Nolan S., and Tommy H.
First Grade: Vidula M., Max S., Matthew, Isabel K., Luke D., Raynhan, and Eileen      
2nd Grade:  Ishan, Sam, Julien S., Amy, Megan B., Abigail, Abby B., Nick, Marissa M., Emily M., Jacqueline L., Yan, Ella P., Miranda, Sumair S., Max, Caroline M., and Alexander X.  
3rd Grade: Alexandra T. , Joshua L., Hailey, and Sarah        
4th Grade: David G., Pascal C., Eliza S., Talia C., Justin Z., Joey M., Justin L., Naoko M., Charlotte M.,  and Seray K.   
5th Grade: Claire S.  

Great job! Keep up the great work trying to reduce Bridge's carbon footprint!   One great way to reduce your carbon footprint every day is to take the bus, if you're not able to walk or bike.  Next year, the bus fees have been reduced to $300 per student, which will make this option much more affordable!
Bookmark Winners Honored at the State House

Two Bridge Elementary School first-graders were honored at a ceremony at the State House in Boston on April 11 for their entries in the statewide bookmark contest sponsored by the Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA).

 

2012 Bookmark Winners
2012 MSLA Bookmark Winners

 

The theme of this year's contest was 'I'm Wild About My School Library.'  Of the nine Bridge designs submitted to the statewide contest, Madeline Kim and Medha Morparia's were chosen for honors. This is the 4th consecutive year we have had statewide honorees. Yeah Bridge artists!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maddie and Medha's designs were chosen by a panel of notable authors and illustrators as two of the three best designs submitted by all Kindergarten and 1st graders in the state. The girls also received citations from Senator Susan Fargo and Rep. Jay Kaufman in recognition of their work. This was a tremendous honor for the girls, and the Bridge School community is understandably proud of their achievement.

 

Attending the ceremony with Maddie and Medha were 9 family members, Mrs. Colella, and myself. After the ceremony there was a tour of the State House, including meeting Governor Patrick! It was an exciting day for all.


To view all of the winning bookmark designs, please visit the MSLA website.

Mrs. Allen
Library Teacher
Wilson's Farm Fundraiser a Success
Bridge Families shopping at Wilson Farms on March 21st earned $626 for Bridge School as part of the annual school fundraiser.  The money will be deposited in the Bridge School Gift Account.
 UPDATES --- to prior articles     
 
Lexington's Tricentennial Liaison Meeting 5/24
Want to be a part of Lexington's history?   We are seeking one or more Bridge parents to serve as the Bridge PTA Liaison to the Lexington's 300th Anniversary Celebration Committee.  As liaison, you will help decide which events Bridge participates in.  The liaison will also coordinate between the 300th Committee and Bridge -- the Bridge faculty and staff as well as related BBY, ACT, & PTA programs. 

The next meeting of the PTA/PTO/ACT/BBY Celebration Planning Committee will take place Thursday, May 24th, 9-10:15 at the Central Administration Building, Room 1.  If interested, please contact Rebecca Moore or Justine Wirtanen.  For more information, click here.
 REMINDERS --- links to previous items      
 
Grade 3-5 Teacher Appreciation Breakfast 5/16
During the year, each grade co-hosts a breakfast for our amazing Bridge School Teachers and Staff.  Our second breakfast, hosted by Grades 3-5, will be held on Wednesday, May 16th. 

We will need volunteers to contribute, food, drinks, and paper goods.  We also need people to set-up and clean-up.  Please visit the sign-up website below to volunteer to bring something or to help that morning.  Items need to be dropped off in the teachers' lounge between 7-8 am the morning of the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Smith via email or at 781.863.0665. Thanks so much for your support!  
 

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

Kerry Daley

GUIDANCE

Lucia Gates

NURSE

Diane Celi