Dear BSCS Parents!

I hope you were blessed throughout the month of October!  As we close the month, I want to share information that is worth celebrating.

A reminder that Friday, October 30 is our All Hallows Eve or Halloween celebration.  Students will be dismissed to their homeroom teachers at 1:50PM. From 1:50-2:10 students will dress for the parade.  Students are encouraged to dress as a favorite saint or in Halloween costumes with a fully-positive message (nothing gory or violent; no blood makeup, weapons, witches or warlocks, etc.).  At 2:15, teachers and students will line up by class on the playground.  The parade will begin on the playground, move west through the driveway, proceed north to Montview Blvd., south on Forest Parkway, west on 19th Ave., north to Elm Street, and back to classrooms.  Parties will commence in classrooms after the parade.  There will be no parking on Elm Street after mid-day preschool pick-up; cones will be placed at the corner of 19th Avenue and Elm Street ensuring a place for you to view the parade.  We are looking forward to seeing you at the parade!

As I've written on several occasions, I collect the achievement data on every student and add the data to the longitudinal student data base.  The data helps us see individual student achievement over time (year-to-year) and as a class, and similarities and differences among teachers.  The information helps us make informed and well-crafted lesson plans, differentiate instruction, share best practices in grade level and grade groupings professional learning communities, track growth for students, inform parents of achievement, etc.  Suffice it to say that we analyze data at multiple levels in the continual improvement model we've adopted.  I recently added this fall's Star Math assessment results to the database and I am happy to report that all 1st through 5th grades are performing above grade level.  Data this early in the year can suggest many things, for example, student retention from last year is good, last year's teachers did a good job preparing students for this year's course work, this year teachers are providing challenging and attainable learning opportunities, content expectations increase as the grades matriculate to upper elementary grades (as expected), teams are planning and sharing best practices, students are engaged and eager to learn and so on!

  

All in all, we need to celebrate this news as not all schools have the luxury of such achievement.  God Bless our students and may He continue to bless them!

See you Friday,

Carla