Principal's Message
Life Skills Assemblies

Starting November 2015 we will be holding two Life Skill Assemblies per month. We are adding a 10:45 a.m. Wednesday assembly (see dates listed below) which will be for Kindergarten and First grade. We will continue to hold the 2:10 p.m. Friday Life Skill Assemblies which will be for grades two-five. This will serve several purposes. First, this will allow the participation of our Kindergarten children. Second, due to our growing enrollment this year, we cannot fit all the children and parents in the MUR at one time.  

The Life Skills program will continue to focus on two life skills per month and we will be adding a consistent third life skill to go along with each of the months. This will be the life skill of Kindness. Our students are learning how to view kindness in their daily lives and how these acts of kindness changes our brain function in positive ways. So moving forward, the Life Skill Assembly ceremonies will include the recognition of students each month who demonstrate and practice kindness.

The following dates will be added to our school calendar for the Kindergarten and First grade Life Skill Assembly. Please take the time to note the additional assemblies for grades K and 1. These will be held on Wednesdays because the Kindergarten students attend all together on that day of the week (8:00-11:30). Teachers will provide more updates and reminders in their classroom newsletter and email updates. As always, parents of students receiving certificates will be contacted ahead of time in order to attend the assembly if possible. Classrooms will hold their own small recognition time as well. The grade-level assemblies are whole community recognition of our children and time to celebrate within our Bancroft Family.

Kindergarten and First grade Life Skill Assemblies: Nov. 4, Dec. 2, Jan. 27, Feb. 24, Mar. 16, Apr. 20, May 25.
Life Skills of the Month

Flexibility, Sense of Humor and Kindness

All the Life Skills are taught and used throughout every day at Bancroft School and students are given recognition and praise for being living examples of these skills (check out the Bancroft Best tickets to see all the Life Skills). In addition to Kindness, two Life Skills are focused on each month for more in-depth discussion and use. At the end of the month, two to three students are selected by their teacher for exemplary use of those skills and are honored with the Bancroft Life Skill Award. Additionally, we hold two assemblies - one for grades k-1 and another for grades 2-5 - and the students selected by their teachers are honored at this ceremony and presentation of awards. Parents of the students receiving recognition are provided with an invitation to attend the ceremony.
 
The Life Skill assemblies for Flexibility, Sense of Humor and Kindness will be in the Multi-Use Room. For kindergarten and first grade, the assembly will be Nov. 4th at 10:45am. For grades 2-5, the assembly will be Friday, Nov. 6th at 2:10pm.
Intradistrict Transfers: Transfers Within the School District

The Student Services Department is preparing for the 2016-17 Intradistrict Transfer Process to begin. The Open Enrollment period will be from October 15, 2015 and will end on Jan. 15, 2016 for students in grades 1-12. For students entering TK-K the process begins on Kindergarten registration day, Feb. 2, 2016 and ends Mar. 1, 2016. Forms will be available to the schools by Oct. 12; they will also be available online as well as at the District Office.
School Site Council & Parent Math Education Night

School Site Council meeting will be Thursday, Oct. 15 in the school library starting at 2:50. The SSC will be designing a Math Parent Education night which will be held Monday, Nov. 2, 2015 starting at 6:30 pm. This is a great evening for parents to attend to review information and learn more about how your child is working with the Common Core math practices. More information will follow after the School Site Council planning. The public is always welcome to attend the Bancroft School Site Council Meetings.

Please a moment to complete our online Bancroft Elementary School Site Council Ballot here. Thank you for taking the time to follow this required step in the School Site Council bylaws and procedures.
Soul Shoppe Parent Night

Soul Shoppe will return for a Parent Night on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 7pm in the Multi-Use Room (MUR). Soul Shoppe's guiding principle is to create big-hearted bully-free schools where every child is "free to be" themselves and has the right to learn in a safe environment. To reach this goal, Soul Shoppe delivers a year-round program to students and teachers that make learning and even problem-solving fun!

For our parent evening, our facilitator will share what you can do to handle bullying and teasing when they happen to (or from) your children, and how you can use the program tools at home! We will share what we teach the children at school and some very effective secret parent tips to ensure that your home and school are places where children actively contribute to a positive environment, and can independently resolve conflicts.

The Parent Night will focus on some of the following:
  • Why kids take feelings out on each other, and how to stop.
  • How to solve conflicts at home in a respectful, and effective way.
  • Simple things you can do each day to help your children behave better and feel more connected to you.
  • How to reinforce positive lessons your child is learning in Soul Shoppe at home.
  • How to have more powerful relationships with your spouse/partner, children, boss, peers, friends... Everyone!
Costume Day Changes


Upcoming Dates

Oct 15: Dine2Donate at Panera and Guantanos Ice Cream
Bancroft School Site Council Meeting, 2:50pm
Costume Resale, 2:30-4pm

Oct 16: Teacher In Service, No School

Oct 19: Fall Fest Advance Ticket Deadline

Oct 20: Girl Scouts Information Meeting, 7pm

Oct 23: Cake Walk Donations Due

Oct 24: Fall Fest, 2-5

Oct 27: Soul Shoppe Parent Night, 7pm

Oct 27: Make Up Picture Day

Oct 28: Costume Day and Kinder Parade

Nov 2: Parent Math Education Night, 6:30pm

Nov 4: Life Skills Assembly for Kinder & 1st Grades, 10:45am

Nov 6: Life Skills Assembly for 2-5 Grades, 2:10pm

Nov 10: PFC Meeting, 7pm

Bancroft Elementary | 2200 Parish Drive Walnut Creek, CA 94598 | Bancroft PFC