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.

3rd Grade Computer Class Project

Here is a photo of the culminating project for 3rd grades' state Internet search project. Throughout the year, students learned about word art, changing fonts, and doing 'catagory' Internet searches. Students used these tools to 'decorate their state' for their final project. They made their state name in Word Art. They then typed out their 6 facts that they found and changed their fonts and colors. They copy and pasted their state flag and state quarter and they then printed, cut, and attached these items to their state.

Miss Michaliga's Computer/Technology class

BR Raises $$ for Rett Syndrome

The Blue Ridge Leo Club is raising money for Rett Syndrome, the most severe form of autism. Rett Syndrome is a neurological disorder that predominantly affects girls. It impairs the girls’ ability to speak, walk, and use their hands.

Rett Syndrome affects one of our Blue Ridge families: The Stepniak Family. Lauren has Rett Syndrome and is a brilliant, beautiful student in Mrs. Decker’s fourth grade class. Lauren’s mother, Lisa Stepniak, is the 7th grade Reading teacher at Blue Ridge.

The Blue Ridge Leo Club is raising money to help with Rett Syndrome research. Although Rett Syndrome is the most severe form of autism, it is also the most curable. Rett research can also have a direct impact on Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.

From May 23- June 3 we will be creating a “Garden of Hope” with purchased flowers and flowers decorated by students and staff at BR. Flowers can be purchased for $1.

Leo Club members will be selling the flowers during the high school and middle school lunches. Flowers in the Elementary can be purchased through Kristy Bleck.

For more information call Jackie or Kristy. www.girlpower2cure.com