Mr. Dibble's 3rd Grade Talent Show

Mrs. Hepler's 2nd graders putting on a Holiday Play!

"Talent Show": Mrs. Miller's 3rd Grade Class

Kindergarten Celebrating the Holidays

Kindergartners took turns trying to crack a "Holiday Ornament" pinata that was created by all kindergartners.

2009 Sharing Parade!

The theme for the 2009 Sharing Parade was "In This World Together." The pictures above show fifth graders holding letters as 5th grader Paige McConnell reads her acrostic poem of "In This World Together."

Young Authors at Blue Ridge

Author and songwriter Barry Louis Polisar pictured with Blue Ridge Elementary Students

Students from the Blue Ridge Elementary, Middle, and High Schools attended Young Authors’ Day at Keystone College on November 4th. This is an annual event sponsored by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Reading Association that enriches and encourages students’ writing abilities. Students submitted a piece of their written work to be published on a CD given to all participants. This year’s highlighted author and songwriter was Barry Louis Polisar who wrote and sang the song All I Want is You featured in the film Juno and on the Grammy Award-winning Juno Soundtrack. He is also an accomplished author of children’s books, poems, and songs. Students listened to Mr. Polisar’s engaging and interesting presentation on how he got his start in writing. His love of writing was evident and students were entertained by his funny songs, poems, and jokes. Students also attended additional break-out sessions given by professionals who have careers in writing. The event proved to be a wonderful opportunity for
students!

Dinner with Santa and Movie Night (Sponsored by PTO)

The Blue Ridge PTO had their annual Dinner with Santa and Movie Night for our students, their families, and community members. They had a terrific turn-out and all of the children's faces were full of excitement as they sat on Santa's lap. From 5:00pm to 7pm the children had the opportunity to eat pizza with their families, work on a craft, and sit on Santa's lap. At 7:00pm their was a showing of Santa Buddies in the gymnasium.

Grade 4 Choral Concert Rehearsal

H1N1 Prevention tips and video clip

Click on the link below to access the H1N1-in-PA website and a Stop H1N1 music video...

http://h1n1inpa.com/info-for-specific-groups/information-for-schools/

Prevention Tips:


1. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and discard the tissue in the wastebasket. If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your sleeve, but never into your hands or onto bare skin.
2. Keep your hands away from your face and don’t touch your mouth, nose and eyes.
3. Wash your hands with soap often. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer will work too.
4. Keep frequently used surfaces clean, such as knobs, countertops and desks.
5. Stay home from school if you do get sick.

Stop H1N1 Music Video

Stop H1N1 Music Video

Click on the link above to view a H1N1 prevention music video.

Kids can't grow up responsibly if parents don't show them how

You probably know some people who've never quite grown up. They may have jobs, but never seem to be able to live on their own.

One reason may be that they didn't learn how to take on the responsibilities of adult life. Their parents may not have taught them the skills they need--to balance a budget or to take care of basic life skills like cooking or doing laundry.

If you want your child to grow up and live as an independent adult, you need to start teaching him those skills today. Here are some ways you can help your child develop the habits that will get him ready for adult life:

1. Expect him to get himself up in the morning. Even a first grader can learn to wake up to an alarm.
2. Teach him to care for his own clothes. Young children can put clothes in the laundry basket.
3. They can fold their own clothes and put them away. Older kids can learn how to do laundry.
4. Help him manage money. Whether it's an allowance or payment for extra chores, teach your child the value of saving.
5. Enlist his help. Every family member should do something that helps out the family. Young children can set the table. Older kids can learn how to prepare a simple meal. When they do these things, thank them for making your home run more smoothly.
6. Volunteer. Make time for your family to volunteer together. Doing something for others builds responsibility.

Reprinted with permission from the January 2010 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2010 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: William Damon, The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life, ISBN: 9781-4165-3723-6 (Free Press, www.simonandschuster.net).

Mrs. Hepler's Shadow Puppet Play

Feed a Friend contest Winners! Mr. Goff's 4th grade class

The Blue Ridge School District participated in the Feed -a-Friend program sponsored by Tre- hab. In the elementary school each grade was asked to collect specific food items to donate the annual feed-a-friend program. The class the collected the most items received a healthy snack reward prepared by Mrs. Hinkley and the students from her basic food class.

Mr. Goff's 4th grade class was the winner in the elementary school.

I would like to thank everyone involved in this activity and we should be proud of Blue Ridge students and faculty for supporting families in need.

Kindergarten "Thanksgiving Feast"

The Blue Ridge Elementary Kindergarten students invited their parents/guardians into school to share some Thanksgiving songs and a variety of breads they baked with the help of their teachers. It was great to see students and their families be together and enjoy the treats they prepared for them.

I would like to recognize the kindergarten teachers and classroom aides for their efforts in preparing this program. I would also like to thank Mrs. Rose Berger for the pictures she took.

Mrs. Kristy Bleck’s fifth grade students

This past October, Mrs. Kristy Bleck’s fifth grade students used pumpkins to show their creativity. They painted faces, glued on hair and added hats to bring out the personality of their pumpkin. When the project was complete, the students worked hard as they wrote stories using the pumpkins as the main character. Using figurative language, the pumpkins came alive in their stories. The student’s art work and writing was placed on hay bales and put on display in the hallway to decorate for Halloween. Mrs. Bleck’s fifth graders would like to extend a special thank you to Jim Barbour, owner of Barbour Farms in Montrose, PA for donating the pumpkins used for the writing assignment.

Community Read Aloud / Parent Visitation Day

To recognize American Education Week the Blue Ridge Elementary School had two programs on November 17:

• Community Read Aloud: I would like to thank all 30 of our community readers who took time out of their day to visit our school and share a story with our students.
  
• Parent Visitation Day: Our students parents/guardians had the opportunity to come visit, observe, and see what activities their students are engaged in each day at school.

Encourage your child to be HONEST in difficult situations

Research shows that by the time kids reach elementary school, most know the difference between honesty and lying. But that doesn't make truth-telling easy!

To encourage honesty in your child:
1. Be a role model. Children are good "lie detectors." They notice when parents tell the truth-- and when they don't.

2. Reward trustworthiness. If your child is truthful in a difficult situation, compliment him!

3. React calmly. When your child lies, don't label him a "liar." Express confidence that he will make better choices in the future.

4, Discuss honesty. Why is it important to be honest? Note examples of honesty and dishonesty--and their effects.

5. Create opportunities for telling the truth. Say, "You broke my vase," instead of, "Did you do this?" It's better to say what happened rather than to ask unnecessary questions.

Reprinted with permission from the December 2009 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2009 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Karen Stephens, "Lying, Fibs, and Tall-Tales: Teaching Children To Be Truthful," mysmallwonders, www.mysmallwonders.com/resources/pdf/LYING01PELibrary.pdf.

Veteran's Day Assembly

I would like to thank the American Legion, VFW, PA National Guard, 5th grade select choir, and MS Leo club for the participation in our annual Veteran's Day Assembly. The program started off with a breakfast by the MS Leo club and then went into a program honoring vets with all elementary students.

Character Education Week

The week of November 2 - 6 was Character Education Week in the BR Elementary school. In the photos above you can see Mrs. Jessica Boyko and Mrs. Wendy Reimel. Mrs. Boyko and Mrs. Reimel are judging writing activities created by 5th grade students on what character education means to them. 5th grade teachers read a picture book to their students about a character trait and then the students used the literacy strategy of "text to self or text to world" to make a connection of good character to the message they learned from the story read to them by their classroom teacher.

Annual Feed-A-Friend Food Drive

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!


TREHAB AND WNEP/CHANNEL 16
ANNUAL FEED-A-FRIEND
Food Drive
SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY

Please bring to class by Friday, November 13th the following item:

Wish List Item
Kindergarten Jello Mix
First Graders Pudding Mix
Second Graders Fruit Cocktail
Third Graders Canned Peaches
Fourth Graders Canned Pears
Fifth Graders Apple Sauce
Sixth Graders Cranberry Sauce

IF EACH STUDENT COULD BRING IN 1 OR MORE of the item needed above to school to be added to the food drive, it would be greatly appreciated. This item WILL be included in a dinner basket for a Susquehanna County family to help them celebrate Thanksgiving.

LAST YEAR WITH YOUR SCHOOL’S HELP, Trehab and WNEP Channel 16 distributed over 907 Thanksgiving Dinners Baskets to needy families; (serving 3,174 people) in Susquehanna County.
Please help us with our food drive.

This is Trehab’s 25th Year of Feed A Friend.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Mr. Dibble's 3rd Graders!

Mr. Dibble's 3rd graders are sharing their tall tales to their classmates and parents/guardians that were able to attend.

Kindergarten Field Trip

On Thursday, October 8, 2009, Blue Ridge Kindergarten students took part in Read for the Record, jointly sponsored by Penguin Publishing and Binghamton University. The children participated in a dramatic reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, crafts revolving around the story and a nature walk through Binghamton University’s Nature Trail. Each child received a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar donated by Penguin Publishing. One Blue Ridge student also won a large basket full of books and other activities surrounding insects. The students, accompanied by parents and teachers had a terrific and educational day. Pictured below are students from Blue Ridge with their own copies of the book