Feb, 1, 2016

What's Happening:

Congratulations to our Byram Girls Basketball Team.  They work hard throughout the year to develop their skills and team chemistry.  On Friday the season was capped off with a convincing win against the teachers!

Turning the page to February, we have managed to have NO SNOW DAYS so far this year!  As long as we do not use any snow days in the next two weeks we will have our Winter Recess (2/15/16 - 2/17/16) for the first time in a few years.

This past week was a huge success for our week of kindness and you can see some of the photos we took at the bottom of this post.

Report-cards will be mailed home this week.

Featured Blog - Mr. Morris 5th grade science

Focus on Improvement:

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book. -Marcel Proust

This year our students will take a reading assessment several times throughout the year,  allowing parents and teachers to examine the ongoing progress each student is making.  This week (in the mail) you will receive information regarding your child’s performance thus far. It is our intention to see each child’s score improve as the year progresses.

Why do we give this assessment?

This assessment provides the teacher with critical, ongoing, information about individual students in each class. It allows the educator to have important information about every child in the class and how he/she is progressing with the reading standards for the year.  For example, teachers can use the information this test provides to give your son or daughter specific instructions in areas he/she may find challenging.   It will also provide our teachers with the information they need to identify our high achieving students, so they too, can be challenged with appropriate reading material.  

Questions to ask if the reading assessment scores are not improving throughout the year:

Was the student focused on the assessment?  

Occasionally,  students will rush through the assessment and not put forth their best effort.  

Please have a conversation with your son or daughter to see if this is the case.

Is the student reading enough in and out of school?

If you observe that your child is not spending time reading at home, please carve out some time for your child to spend on uninterrupted reading. The amount of time a child spends reading is directly related improved reading levels. Perhaps some “winding down” time when they come home from school, or some time to relax with a “book before bed” might be possible.

Is your son/daughter struggling with reading?

Please contact your teacher and ask what they are seeing in class.  We have programs in place to help students who are struggling with reading, so they can improve and eventually see reading as something they enjoy, rather than something with which they struggle.

These ongoing assessments give us valuable information to help the individual learner in each room. As a team made up of teacher, student, and child, we can really accomplish great things this year! The more focused we become on seeing individual growth and improvement, the more our instruction at school becomes strategic and meets the needs of the unique students sitting in front of us each day. At home you can support this effort by having a conversation with your child about the importance of reading, followed by regularly scheduled reading time.

Thanks so much for supporting this initiative. I’m confident it will result in improved reading for all our children!

Upcoming Events:

February's calendar for before and after school activities.


Week in Pictures:

January 25, 2016

What's Happening:

This past week, our 7th graders presented their Myth Busters projects to the 4th and 5th grade.  Students had to research a myth or popularly held belief, and then design an experiment putting that myth to the test.  Students then created reports and presentations on their findings to share with students from other grade levels.

Focus on Improvement:

As we have reached the half way point of the school year, I wanted to remind you that we like to hear from you. Many of our communications are one-way (grades, assignments, these newsletters), but an email or a phone call starts a two-way communication chain that helps us get to know more about your child and what we can do to better meet their needs. Don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher with any comments or concerns.

Upcoming Events:

We are excited to invite to Celebrate Kindness Week at BIS for January 25th to 29th.  We are asking all students and faculty to participate in the following special days:

Monday - Notes to the BLES teachers, staff, etc.  In Interdisciplinary class, please ask each student to write a note to a teacher in the other building - to thank them for all they did for them.  The students should focus on a skill, a moment, an activity that this person helped them with.  These gratitude notes can be in any form - a letter, a poem, a card, etc.  The more creative the better!  Have a student that didn't attend BLES - have them write their gratitude note to someone in this building.  Remind students to think of all the people that make our schools run - teachers, aides, custodial staff, secretaries, etc!  

Tuesday - "We are all different"  Show off our unique differences by wearing two different socks.

Positive Post-It Notes (post-its will be in your mailbox)- during Interdisciplinary class please have student write a positive note to at least one classmate - the note should have the student's name on it and something Positive about that person.  Once they have written the note, they should go post-it on that person's locker - students are welcome to write notes to more than one student.  Please feel free to write your own notes as well to students that make a positive impact in our schools!

Wednesday - Byram Pride - Wear your Byram Big Event Shirt (Byram Ram).

Bricks of Kindness - each student will be given a paper "brick" - have them use a dark colored marker and on their brick they should write one way that all of us can work together to make the World a Kinder Place - please send these bricks to the office when done - and they will go on the entrance bulletin board by the week's end.

Thursday - Put a Cap on Name Calling - Hat Day - all students are invited to wear a hat for the day.

Friday - Team Sport's Day - We are all good sports if we treat each other like we are on the same team. And the TNT game!!!  Please stay after to support our staff and the team, make sure you have a note/permission slip.

There will be NO Advisory on Tuesday, January 26th due to the 8th grade CAP Schedule - so Tuesday will be a regular day -

• The end of the second marking period is on January 26th.  This means any outstanding assignments must be handed in by this date in order for it to count towards the second marking period grade.

• January 29th we will be taking photos for any students involved in extra-curricular activities for the yearbook.

• Lenape Valley Girl Scout Troop 418 is sponsoring a food drive to benefit the St. Michael’s Food Pantry.  Non-perishable food will be collected from January 18th through 29th.  There will be collection boxes in the front hallway by the office.  Items most needed are canned soups, chili, stews, meats, fruits & vegetables.  Please, no class containers or expired items.  Help us feed local families by donating today!

January 16, 2016

What's Happening?

Focus on Improvement:

At Byram Intermediate we hold a Spotlight assembly once a month to acknowledge students who are striving for excellence in many different area.  Below are pictures from our Spotlight on January 15th.

Up-coming Events:

Understanding your student(s) PARCC Scores -- Thursday, January 21st -- Please RSVP

February Activities Calendar - Print out and hang on the fridge! - Don't look now, but we may actually have a February break this year because we have had NO snow-days!

There is no school on Monday, January 18th.

The end of the second marking period is on January 26th.  This means any outstanding assignments must be handed in by this date in order for it to count towards the second marking period grade.

January 29th we will be taking photos for any students involved in extra-curricular activities for the yearbook.

Week in Pictures:

Byram Intermediate was in the Township Journal this past week.  They had an article on our 6th grade and their Genius Hour Project.

Weekly Parent Update -- January 8th 2015

What's Happening?

 

Focus on Improvement:

We would like to thank you for having conversations with your student(s) about using appropriate language in school.  Mr. McCorkle and I were approached by several students who asked for clarification about this issue and we were happy to have those conversations.

This week, we would like to hear from you about concerns you have, or areas in which you think our school could be improved.  You can use this Google Form to type in your response, and we value your input.

Upcoming Events:

On January 21st we will be holding an informational session for parents on how to read and interpret the PARCC reports that were mailed home.  Please RSVP to let us know if you will be attending by Monday, January 18th.

Week in Pictures: