Blue Ridge Elementary School Students Share Their Artwork with the World

New Milford, PA -- Move Over Famous Artists! Blue Ridge Elementary School artists are taking over the spotlight! Sarrah Dibble, the school's Art Teacher, has teamed up with Artsonia, http://www.artsonia.com/ -- the world's largest online kid's art museum -- to display the students' artwork.

Anyone can view the school gallery online at: www.artsonia.com/schools/BlueRidge12. Visitors can browse the artwork in the school gallery by grade level, or by specific exhibits. Blue Ridge Elementary School students join thousands of students from over 130 countries whose artwork is showcased on Artsonia. "This program is a wonderful way to get parents and family members more involved in Art Education," said Sarrah Dibble.

All of Artsonia's artwork (12 million and counting!) are viewable online, and any teacher or parent can create an online art gallery for their child or school. Artsonia provides several online features such as fan clubs and personal guestbooks, as a way for families to encourage the creativity and imaginations of their young artists. In addition, family members can purchase keepsakes imprinted with the child's artwork, with Artsonia donating 15 percent of their annual product revenue back to school art programs.

Headquartered in Gurnee, Ill., Artsonia was established in 2000 as an online kid's art museum providing free, educational resources for kids, families and schools to create art projects. Since its inception, Artsonia continues to integrate technology in the classroom, develop multi-cultural understanding through art and increase family involvement in children's education. To find out more, visit www.artsonia.com.

Great Start!

We have been back to school for 10 days and they students, faculty, and staff are off to a great start.  It was a bumpy beginning due to the local flooding, but everyone has persevered and I am expecting a great year. 

The Start of School Is Almost Here!

I hope all of our students have had a great summer and are getting ready for the start of a new school year. As a reminder the first day of school for students is Thursday, September 8.

Below I have posted a link that leads students and parents/guardians to our elementary school's handbook. Please take a few minutes to review so you are aware of policies and procedures for our school.

I look forward to seeing everyone on September 8!

Handbook Link: http://blueridge.pa.schoolwebpages.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=1233&

CONGRATULATIONS !!

Blue Ridge Middle School
Recipients of
THE 2011 OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AWARD
For their
ART INTO ACTION Project:
Hexagon Houses into Donation Containers
Sixth Graders created sculptural structures, each with an environmental theme of their choice, and transformed them into donation containers. They were placed in local businesses in the community. Money raised was donated to the Susquehanna County Interfaith Fuel Program for heating assistance in Winter, 2011.


Special thanks to Miss Dibble Elementary Art Teacher for her outstanding leadership and encouragement of our students in this effort!

Families Complete Summer TAPS Program

Families Complete Summer TAPS Program

New Milford, PA July 7, 2011----Families from across Susquehanna County are now better prepared to face those first school year jitters, thanks to their participation in a special program called T.A.P.S. or Transition Activities for Parents and Students. The free program was open to those with children starting school for the first time in the fall.

Sixteen families from five school districts participated in T.A.P.S during June. Thanks to partnerships with Blue Ridge School District and Forest City Regional School District, sessions were hosted at each location, two times a week for three weeks. Each night children participated in classroom activities with early learning teachers, while their parents met with a special facilitator. Parent sessions touched on everything from using home materials as teaching tools to parenting issues such as discipline.

Everything wrapped up the last week of June with picnics celebrating the successful completion of program. The families were recognized with certificates.

T.A.P.S. would not have been possible without the support of all six area school districts in Susquehanna County, including the host locations, and funding through the Integrated Children’s Services Planning Leadership Team based in Susquehanna County. Area teachers and parenting experts also took time out of their summer schedules to help.

The program was coordinated through Susquehanna County CARES (Childcare, Agencies, Resources and Educational Services.) The non-profit group is dedicated to enhancing the quality of early education in Susquehanna County. The agency promotes Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children because every child is Pennsylvania’s future. For more information contact CARES at stcares@epix.net or find us on facebook.

Contact: Stephnie Thornton
Program Manager
Susquehanna County CARES
stcares@epix.net
(570) 465-5040

2011 Annual Spelling Bee

Blue Ridge Elementary held its annual oral spelling bee for fourth and fifth grade students on Wednesday, June 1st. Ninety eight fourth and fifth graders chose to take the written qualifying test that was held on May 25th. After the qualifying round, ten fourth graders and eleven fifth graders, placed to compete in the oral bee. At the conclusion of eleven rounds, we had our final three contestants. The winners were Devon Colwell- third place, Hunter Renwick-second place, and Anna Bonner- first place. Congratulations to the winners and also to all of the fourth and fifth grade students who competed.

Reading Awards at Blue Ridge Elementary

All students at Blue Ridge Elementary were given the opportunity to participate in April is Families & Reading Month sponsored by the Keystone State Reading Association. KSRA is committed to developing a love of reading in all the students of Pennsylvania. The goal was to engage families in reading or reading activities for fifteen minutes each and every day during the month of April. 115 students turned in their completed April reading calendars and were presented with a Certificate of Achievement along with special rewards from two local businesses, Backyard Ice Cream of Susquehanna and Penn Can Speedway. The Blue Ridge Reading Award Night will be at Penn Can Speedway on Friday, June 10th! All the qualifying students and staff at Blue Ridge wish to express their gratitude to Jayne and Joe Frye, proprietors of Backyard Ice Cream and Reed Miller, General Manager of Penn Can Speedway for their generous donations and their support for this first time promotion. Please stop by and support these local businesses. Grab an ice cream cone and head to the races! Congratulations to all the readers and their families!!



Picture Caption:

4th Grade Had the Largest Number of Participants with 25 Students

First Row: Parker Dissinger, Makayla Phillips, Krystal Hepler, Wesley Wojtkowski, Natasha Johnson Second Row: Daniel Tierney, Tommy Gudykunst, Kaleb Folk, Devon Bailey, Bobby Reynolds Third Row: Todd Hand, Makayla Beach, Autumn Perrington, Matthew Prue, Kimberly Bryden Fourth Row: Avy Mudge, Karly Gudykunst, Mary Kerr, Adam Roe, Matt Glatzel Absent from photo: Dakota Stoddard, Jerni Schell, Lauren Stepniak, Taylor Brant

Oral Reading Contest at BRES

On Friday, May 27th, Blue Ridge Elementary held their annual Oral Reading Contest for grades one through five. First, second and third places were awarded at each grade level. The contest provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their oral reading ability along with their stage presence, projection, and animation of word delivery. Congratulations to all the participants and winners listed below. They did an amazing job, and the audience enjoyed listening to the many different readings. The contestants represented their grade level well with the courage and poise they showed while on stage! What a great experience for all the readers! Kudos to them and keep reading!!

First Grade: Ashley Tomassacci, Rachel Upright, Alexis Parks, Sienna Kowalewski, Logan Mann, Danielle Tierney, Hannah Gallagher, Jacob Birtch

1st Place: Hannah Gallagher

2nd Place: Rachel Upright
3rd Place: Ashley Tomassacci

Second Grade: Cassidy Howe, Anthony Dissinger, Kaelin Hughes, Andrew Scott, Garrett Conklin, Breanna Post, Makena Slater, Anthony Torres

1st Place: Garrett Conklin

2nd Place: Andrew Scott
3rd Place: Breanna Post

Third Grade: Bailey Allen, KayLeen Conklin, Dylan Stone, Savannah Glover, Morgan Mansfield, Makenzie Cook, Tori Auckland, Mitchell Clinton

1st Place: Morgan Mansfield
2nd Place: KayLeen Conklin
3rd Place: Makenzie Cook

Fourth Grade: Anna Bonner, Jillian McAulliffe, Devon Bailey, Bobby Reynolds, Taylor Brant, Kyra Powell, Daniel Tierney, Sarah Vogel, Fred Lewis

1st Place: Anna Bonner

2nd Place: Kyra Powell

3rd Place: Bobby Reynolds

Fifth Grade: Charlie Randall, Gabrielle Gray, Garrett Mansfield, Miranda Brulla, Jessica Marvin, Luke Updyke, Abigail Hartman, Gwen McConnell

1st Place: Charlie Randall

2nd Place: Abigail Hartman
3rd Place: Gwen McConnell & Miranda Brulla

BRES Field Days 2011

Students in grades K-5 enjoyed Field Days on May 23rd and 25th. The weather allowed all grades to be outside actively participating in events such as egg toss, hula hoop chain, sponge relay, tug of war, and golf ball spoon race. A big thank you to all of those that helped make these days successful: elementary teachers, faculty and staff, Mr. Button, PTO, Blue Ridge maintenance, Mrs. Cole-Koloski, and Blue Ridge families.

Getting Ready for the Big School

Students from Endless Mt. Daycare, Children's Palace, and New Milford Head Start came to Blue Ridge Elementary School for a move-up day on Thursday, May 26. The students had the opportunity to visit classrooms, eat a snack in the cafeteria, go on a tour of the school, and their favorite................play on the playground.