MARCH 2014 Volume 5

From Our Principal

Dear Bailey Lake Families,
Believe it or notthe month of March brings the start of the last trimester of the year. Our second trimester will end on March 13. Parent/Teacher Conferences will occur at BLE on Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19. Please see the Sign-up Genius letter with instructions to sign up for a conference time. BLE students will again be participating in March is Reading Month activities. The PTA is proud to sponsor this event. A calendar of daily events and reading activities was sent home with each student last week. We are also looking forward to another great Seuss Night on March 26th. Thanks to Rebecca Walker, Amy Darnell, and Mrs. Cadreau for planning these events. Please join us in celebrating the joys and power of reading this month! A special Thank You needs to be extended to Julie Rinaldi and Heidi Steinman for organizing a tremendous BLE Talent Show. What a night for BLE students to show off their many talents and skills. Great job, kids!

Reminder: Delayed Start on March 12th and 26th First bell rings at 9:25AM No school March 14th Records Day and Parent/ Teacher Conferences No School April 7th11th Spring Break Sincerely, Glenn Gualtieri, Principal

National Reading Month

March is reading month, and Bailey Lake PTA has purchased a book for each classroom to use as a read aloud. The goal is to increase literacy and have fun while doing so. The K-3 classrooms will be reading Mysteries According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney. The 4th & 5th grade classes will be reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgkin Burnett. We are hoping to create an atmosphere of a book club by having the students all hearing, reading, and interacting with the same book. We have also put together a calender of suggested reading activities for you to enjoy, and some fun dress up days at school. Thank you for your support! Your Reading Committee

Congratulations

Nathan McGlynn

BLEs Spelling Bee Winner!

Our Spelling Bee Finalists

Mark Your MARCH Calendars:

Successful

Mornings with Mom

Thank You, Our Mornings with Mom Sponsors! BLE PTA would like to thank Bob Mantha at Tim Hortons, Clarkston, for donuts and free coffee, Niemens Market for generous donations of apples and oranges, and Kim Hardtke and The Allergy Awareness Group for donating breakfast bars. Our special appreciation goes to our BLE business owners who provided items for the raffle: Jason and Carolina Ontiveros - Jalapeos Drs Amy and Brian Davidson Professional Dental of Clarkston Kim and Stuart Siegner Health Quest Andrea Beauchamp - Thirty One Gifts Thank you to our wonderful dads for volunteering on two mornings: Marcelino Cabella, Andrew Zielke, Andy Harp, Mike Rinaldi, Jim Kacanowski, Mark Scaglione, Mark Beauchamp, as well as to Matt Brake and Frank Abney, our custodians, for setting up tables and cleaning up after the event. Of course, thank you, Andrea Beauchamp and Sara Hoyle, for organizing and rescheduling the event! We couldnt have done this without you!

From Our PTA President

Dear Bailey Lake Families, As Michigan schools, including Bailey Lake, are transitioning to what is known as Common Core, a lot of questions about the various changes that take place in our classrooms are being raised. The terms Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Standards-Based Curriculum, and Cultures of Thinking have been heard by many, and signify something that we know for sure our school is changing to provide children with a better education. Apart from this, however, there is not much certainty. Are CCSS the same thing as the new curriculum? Is Cultures of Thinking part of CCSS? Are teachers at the same grade level expected now to teach the same things in the same way? To put this into perspective, differences among the standards, curriculum, and teaching (lesson plans) are similar to the differences among goals (what we wish to achieve), strategy (how we will achieve it), and tactics (actions of implementation). If ones goal, for example, is to have the family visit Disney World by the end of this year, a strategy will include decisions on how to get there, where and for how long to stay, and which parks to visit. Yet, immediate choices of when to get up, what and where to eat, on which rides to go and how many times are tactical decisions based on the familys circumstances and interests. Education-wise, any Common Core Standard is simply an expectation of what a student should know by the time he/she reaches a certain grade level or progress point. For instance, 2nd grade students are expected to know how to write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic [], state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words [], and provide a concluding statement or section ( CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.1). This decision is made at the state level, Michigan in our case. Curriculum will address a general strategy on how to make students learn writing opinion pieces. Curriculum decisions, including format (a book review for Clarkston Schools), texts, and units of study focusing on specific aspects of opinion pieces, their sequence and an approximate time frame, are made by our local district. Finally, lessons plans and instructional decisions regarding which activity or method fits better to teach information within the unit are made by an individual teacher, based on needs and learning styles of his/her students. Extend Connect-Challenge or 10x2 are examples of Cultures of Thinking tactics that a teacher can use to encourage critical thinking in the learning process. A curriculum is aligned to standards, and lesson plans are aligned to a curriculum, but they certainly arent the same. While Common Core sets expectations for what students should know, it does not set a lesson plan or tell districts what textbook to use. At BLE, our PTA provides many enrichment activities that directly and indirectly support our curriculum. March is National Reading Month. A lot of fun is planned for this month! A calendar suggesting various reading opportunities was sent home last week. Each classroom has received a book for shared reading. Thank you, Becky Walker and Laura Cadreau, for putting it together. Seuss Night on Wednesday, March 26th is another great event filled with games and activities dedicated to reading and math. I hope to see you there! Arina Bokas, BLE PTA President 248-330-2408

March 3 PTA Meeting, 7 p.m. March 12 Late Start March 14 No School, Teacher Records Day March 18-19 Parent Teacher Conferences, 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. March 24 Market Day Pick-up March 26 Seuss Night, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. March 26 Late Start March 31 PTA Meeting, 7 p.m.

We offer convenient pick-up. 10% of our profit every month goes towards our school! Every little bit helps! They have great food items to select from and offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee Policy.

Market Day by Tuesday, March 18th, 11 p.m.!

Remember to order

Day!
All of Bailey Lake students are invited to wear Seuss stripes and mismatched clothes in honor of Seuss Night, Wednesday, March 26th!

Bailey Lakes Got Talent! It Roared!

On Friday, February 28th, CJHS opened its doors to Bailey Lakes families for an amazing performance. Dozens of our students, yet-to-be student, 3-year-old Rory Hoyle, and staff took the stage to prove one more time - we have a talented school, full of unique people! For some, like BLE graduate, 8th-grader Autumn Steinman, a talent show can be the start of a passion for performing arts. Once a participant herself, Autumn keeps on giving her talent back to Bailey Lake by choreographing the shows opening act for the last two years. Thank you, Autumn! Of course, its always a little sad to see our 5th graders last performances at the BLE Talent Show. For many of them, it is a big part of their school experience. Charissa Rinaldi, Kate Belliveau, Morgan Dubia, Elyse Pfleiger, Paigelyn Walker, Aiden Dwight, Nate McGlynn, Jarrod Ray, Zach Cicero, Samantha Moyet, Makayla Ervin, Evelyn Miller, Grace Eaton, April Thweatt, Savannah Walker, Liesl Netherland, Gracelyn Scotten, Jordan Lewis, Ella Szerlong, Brooke Coram, Elizabeth Walker and many other 5th graders who shared their gifts over the years - Bailey Lake will miss your talent! Events like this are not a one-day endeavor. They require a lot of time and a lot of people to come together. I would like to thank the parents who diligently adjusted their schedules to include practices; volunteers at the show; Richard Hoyle, master CD recorder; Angel Coon, creator of the theme and show planner; and Heidi Steinman and Julie Rinaldi for making it all happen! Undoubtedly, a special round of applause goes to Mr. Gualtieri who set a new benchmark for an elementary principal by being the lead dancer in the What Does the Fox Say? act performed by the 3rd grade Brownie Troop. The tradition of recognizing and celebrating students talents and uniqueness is part of the culture of BLE. I believe its what makes our school unique in its own right. Arina Bokas BLE PTA President

Seuss Night 2014

Mark your calendars for Seuss Night 2014 Wednesday, March 26 from 6-7:30pm.
This FREE family night will be filled with great games and activities, all geared toward making math and reading fun. Please note that parental attendance and supervision is required. In order for Seuss Night to be a big hit, we need your help. It is not to late! You can still help.

What can you do?

Be a volunteer for the event (older, teen siblings too!) Bake/buy cookies for the Seuss Snack (due at the school the morning of March 26th) If you are able to help, you may contact Amy Darnell at amymdarnell@yahoo.com or go to these Sign Up Genius links: Volunteers: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/4090E4DA4A82D6-seuss1 Cookies: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/4090E4DA4A82D6-seuss2 Look forward to seeing you there!

2nd Grade

GRADE AT A GLANCE
Our Teachers: Mrs. Copland, Mrs. Lambouris, Mrs. Iveson
Second graders are learning many Cultures of Thinking routines One of which is Micro Lab Protocol: a routine promoting successful group interactions based on the groups ability to listen and respond to one anothers ideas. Students have been working on writing their own book reviews as a final project for our opinion writing unit. Children are working in non-ction book clubs during reading workshop. Each book club has a different topic to learn and discuss in the club. Math enrichment project: Children build model schools for Planet Zinox following specific guidelines for perimeter, height, and cost. Students are designing Haunted Houses using specific parameters.
Micro Lab Protocol

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termediate Musical Composition Winners (l to

Non-Fiction Book Clubs

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Building Planet Zinox

Non-Fiction Book Clubs

Designing a Haunted House

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Designing a Haunted House

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Board Positions
Now Is YOUR Time to be Part of our Success!
The PTA is currently seeking Board/ Chair position nominations for the 2014-2015 school year. If you would like to nominate someone, or yourself, please contact Kim Hardtke at hardtke@comcast.net. Alternatively, posters are hung in the Bulldog hallway where you can fill in names for desired positions. More than one person can run for a specific Board position and Board elections will take place in May. We cannot have all the wonderful PTA events for our kids without volunteers - please consider joining the fun! The following is a listing of the Board/ Chair positions with brief descriptions of the duties. Further information can be found on the PTA website. Please let Kim know if you have any questions. Thanks, in advance, for your consideration. President: Preside over meetings, coordinator the work of officers and committees, and perform duties as directed by the bylaws. 1st VP: Act as aide to president and perform duties in their absence and handle Ways and Means. 2nd VP: Act as aide to president and perform duties in their absence/1st VP absence and act as Legislative Officer. Secretary: Keep an accurate record of the minutes of all meetings. Treasurer: Keep full account of receipts and expenditures, submit treasurer reports, and write checks with proper approvals. Assistant Treasurer: Assist treasurer in money handling activities and assume duties of treasurer in their absence. Membership Officer: Responsible for all new memberships, maintain records of memberships and compile/ distribute school directory. Assist. Membership Officer: Assist membership officer and assume duties in their absence. Volunteer Coordinator: Recruit for and compile volunteers for PTA events, obtain Room Parents for all classrooms and hold volunteer training session. Assist. Volunteer Coordinator: Assist volunteer coordinator as requested and assume duties in their absence. Public Relations/Website Officer: Keep PTA informed of pertinent community information and maintain PTA website. Newsletter Officer: Compile and distribute monthly newsletter.

Chair Positions
Academic Service Learning: Event to help students understand the importance of volunteering and helping others. Back to School Night: Event to welcome families back to school, sign up for various PTA programs and meet the teachers. Book Fair: Opportunities for families and staff to purchase multi-media materials. Disability Awareness: 4th grade students are taught awareness of a variety of disabilities through this district-wide, 1 day event. Doughnuts with Dad: Program to promote family time/family fun by having morning refreshments for kids and their dads. Field Day: A fun fitness event that allows children to participate in a few hours of recreation. Usually near the last day of school. Fifth Grade Celebration: Celebrates 5th grade accomplishments through a slide show of their elementary years, award ceremony and refreshments. Health and Wellness: Work with BLE staff as needed for education and support of health/safety issues and keep school families and staff informed. Market Day: Monthly opportunity for families to order food products. We earn a 10% profit on any orders that are placed. Mornings with Mom: Program to promote family time/family fun by having morning refreshments for kids and their moms. Passive fundraising: Collects information and educates families on programs that bring money into our school without active solicitation. Read to Me: School-wide program to encourage students and families to read at home. Reflections: National PTA Fine Arts competition to highlight the importance of Art in education. School Fair: One day event to raise funds to support Field Trips, Assemblies and PTA programs. This is the main school fundraiser. Seuss Night: An evening of math and reading games and activities. Sign Coordinator: Post information on the sign in front of school for school related events. Spirit Wear: Program that offers logo clothing, school or recreational products for sale to staff and families to promote school pride. Staff Appreciation: Program for staff at BLE to show our appreciation throughout the school year with refreshments, meals & other small gifts. Theme Day: One day event featuring activity based workshops and assemblies. Alternates between Career Day, Fine Arts Day, International Day, and Science Day or other theme. Talent Show: Program giving students the opportunity to perform onstage for their peers and families.

Community Visit
On February 11, Bailey Lake hosted a Community Visit. Parents and district administration had an opportunity to talk about Cultures of Thinking and how its being implemented at our school. The visitors walked through the halls to see student thinking visually captured and displayed on the walls. They also were invited to Mrs. Taseskis classroom to participate along with her students in Writing Headlines activity about electricity.

About your PTA

The Objects of the Bailey Lake Elementary PTA, in common with those of the National PTA and the Michigan PTSA are: a. To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community and place of worship. b. To raise the standards of home life. c. To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth. d. To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth. e. To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social and spiritual education.
BAILEY LAKE Elementary School 8051 Pine Knob Road Clarkston, MI 48348 Phone: (248) 623-5300 Fax: (248) 623-5305 Student Absence Line: (248) 623-5390 School Hours: 8:35 a.m. - 3:50 p.m. Arina Bokas, PTA President Glenn Gualtieri, Principal www.clarkston.k12.mi.us/ble

Leah Pawlowski
4th grade

Congratulations

Yearbook Cover Winner

Yearbook Grade Winners