Dedicated reader...

We have much excitement here at Banks Road Elementary because of the Boosterthon program. Our staff and students have been amped up with mini character lessons and we are ready to RUN! We just need good weather on Thursday so keep your fingers crossed. :) With all of the excitement our students remain focused on the important things: learning. Check out our first grader Seth who is reading at carpool amidst music, Boosterthon and rain! When I asked Seth what he wanted to be when he grows up he replied "a police man." With the focus he displays he is sure to reach his goal! Just another example of a student blazing the trail to success!

Boosterhon Fun Run!

I hope that you have been hearing about the Boosterthon program from your child.  The Boosterthon coaches have been on campus last week and this week giving mini-lessons in character education and promoting healthy choices.  The Boosterthon Fun Run is the main school fundraiser for our school's PTA.  With the funds raised from the Fun Run, BRES would like to purchase two shade umbrellas for the side carpool area and additional technology for student use and instructional purposes, such as iPads, iPods and Smart Boards. Check out pictures from our pep talley and carpool dismissal! Just three more days until we RUN!

Boosterthon is HERE!

Alright everyone I said they were coming here and now they are here: Boosterthon is ON! BRES PTA has partnered with the Boosterthon program as our main fundraiser for this school year. We will raise funds to support the school with purchasing two shade umbrellas for the side carpool area along with technology such as iPads, iPods and Smart Boards! We are so excited about this opportunity for our school. Do you have questions?  Call the school and we will be more than happy to answer them! 

3 Hour Inclement Weather Delay

Trailblazers,
WCPSS will operate on a 3 hour delay tomorrow, Friday, February 22, 2013. Banks Road Elementary will open promptly at 11:45 a.m. We will welcome students from 11:45-12:15 p.m. The tardy bell will ring at 12:15 p.m. The YMCA program will open at 9:30 a.m. for all Y program students. Please call the school if you have any questions at 919-890-7333. Thank you, Mrs. Graf

Lots of Love at BRES

I hope you were able to "feel the love" here at BRES on Thursday. Friendship and the history of Valentine 's Day was incorporated into many lesson plans. Students in kindergarten sorted and graphed candy and fifth graders used candy to create and solve fraction problems. The staff shared in the fun of the day with our first ever Valentine staff t-shirts. We will be wearing them all month. Check out Ms. Brown, Ms. Milham and Ms. Bone in the picture below!

Banks is covered in SNOW!

This morning at about 11 o'clock the snow began to fall at BRES. At first the flakes melted as fast as they hit the ground but before I knew it the ground was covered! The snow didn't stop the geese in the parking lot though! Stay warm and safe tonight. Check out the pictures I snapped of our school:

Are you getting emails of our posts? If not read here.

We have quite a few subscribers out there but as we looked in our records it seems many of you have not clicked the verification email that came after you signed up to the blog.  We hate for you to miss important information so here are some pointers on the steps you need to take to sign up for the emails to get all our blog posts.

First, look to the left and down a bit of this post and you will find a FOLLOW BY EMAIL area.  Here is where you will put in your email and click submit.  Here is also a picture below to help you know where to look and how it will look. 

The next step wants you to prove you are a human and not a computer robot so it will ask you to type in some strange letters that ALMOST spell a word at times.  Copy the letters exactly and click submit. See below for another example.

And the very last step which is the part most of you it appears did not complete is when you receive an email shortly after signing up you must click the link in the email to verify your email account. This is to make sure you didn't accidentally type in the wrong email.  If your email is not verified you will not receive the email updates.

I hope this helps!

Save the Date!

Attention all 5th grade parents!!! The time is here to mark your calendars for a special event: 5th Grade Celebration. Please join us here at Banks Road Elementary in celebrating the work of your children in this culminating event. The 5th grade team has thoughtfully planned this day to include awards, student participation and digital memories of this school year. Our PTA will support this event as well. Here are the dates for you hold for this wonderful event: Track 1 Celebration: May 31st at 10:00 a.m. Tracks 2-4: June 28th (time TBD) Do you have questions about this event? Please call the school at 919-890-7333.

Box Tops Contest in Full Swing!

It's on!  A friendly little Box Top collection has turned into a life of its own allowing students and staff to show their college spirit while supporting our school.  Students may bring in Box Tops to school and write their favorite college team on the Ziploc bag or envelope.  Our PTA is collecting and keeping tabs of the number of Box Tops.  Ms. Livengood and I amped up our school spirit all last week with morning and afternoon announcements to get the students aware of our Box Top contest that ends in February.  This past Friday we asked students and staff to represent their college aspirations by wearing their college t-shirts or sweatshirts to show off their school pride.  Ms. Livengood posed with this group in the cafe...you can tell where she stands with her favorite college!

I may be outnumbered, but my people know who they represent!  Go Tarheels!  ( I know, I know, we are definitely in the minority here in Carolina Blue!)

Please continue to collect and turn in your Box Tops.  We will keep you posted with our final numbers.  :) Want to learn more about the Box Tops program ?  Click here for more information http://www.boxtops4education.com/

February Important Dates: Mark you calendars!

February snuck up on us at the end of last week!  It's here and so is your list of important dates for the month.  See below and please call the school at 919-890-7333 if you have any questions about our events this month. :) Thank you, Mrs. Graf

February 1-13th:  The Book Fair Continues.  Come in anytime to make a purchase or scroll down to my previous blog and use your Smart Phone to scan the QR code, preview the items in the fair and make your purchases online from the comfort our your home!  (Technology is great!)
February 1-March 22:  ACCESS testing window.  Students who are identified as English Limited Proficiency will take the ACCESS test.  Dates vary by track. 
February 4th-8th:  School Guidance Counselors Week:  Celebrate Ms. Wu for the work that she does to support BRES!
February 4th:  2nd Grade, Track 4 In House Field Trip:  Science Fun for Everyone!
February 5th:  We will release our Boosterthon Video during morning announcements!
February 7th:  Kindergarten Kick Off.  If you have a rising Kindergarten student or know someone who does, please share that WCPSS will be registering rising Kindergarten students at each elementary school throughout the county.  Come on and in so we can help get you ready for the 2013-14 school year!February 7th:  Moonlight Reading Night!  Come out to BRES and have some fun.  Our Book Fair will be open for your to browse and make purchases.  We will have various activities for you and your family to participate in.  Join us from 6:00-7:30 p.m.  Please call the school at 919-890-7333 if you have any questions. 
February 8th:  Early Release at BRES!  We will release all bus and carpool students at 1:15 p.m. 
February 11th-15th:  Love the Bus Week!  Join us in thanking our bus drivers this week.  We have a small thank you for our bus drivers planned each day of the Love the Bus week!  I'll post pictures as we take them during the week.
February 12th:  Boosterthon Video preview during morning announcements!
February 13th:  Book Fair Ends! 
February 14th:  3rd Grade Field Trip to the Art Museum
February 18th:  Presidents Day--School is in session!
February 19th:  SIP Quarterly Review
February 19th:  BRES Spotlight on Student Recognition
February 19th -28th:  Boosterthon activities & character education mini-lessons
February 22nd:  Pre-K Family & School Partnership Day
February 22nd:  Interims go home for Tracks 3 & 4
February 26th:  Parent Are Connected Night 6:30-8:00 p.m.
February 28th:  Boosterthon Fun Run & Finale

Parent Input Greatly Appreciated!

Hip, hip, hooray for our wonderful parents!  We asked for your input last Tuesday on our Healthy Schools Survey for the 12-13 school year.  We have received over 70 responses thus far!  I would love to have at least 100 responses so we can review and analyze the data and really have a representative portion of our parent population.  So keep the responses coming!  Here is the link for those of you who haven't taken the survey yet:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9297VLG.  The link is also available at our school website.  Click here http://banksroades.wcpss.net/ 

Our plan is send out surveys periodically on different topics to get your feedback and input.  It is our goal to provide to your family a excellent education coupled with excellent school leadership and "customer service."  We want each student to feel safe, valued and supported each day here at Banks.  We want our parents to feel that our school is a safe and happy place for their children to learn, that our parents have a "voice" in the direction and work of our school and that overall Banks Road Elementary is a wonderful place to be!  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at 919-890-7333.  Ms. Livengood (klivengood@wcpss.net) and I (cgraf1@wcpss.net) will be more than happy to help you in any way that we can! 

Get Ready for our New Look!

Banks Road is getting a new face!  We are in the process of updating our school website.  Be on the look out for a "cleaner", "brighter" and more "user friendly" website.  Check out the changes we have made already at http://banksroades.wcpss.net/.  Our new and improved website will include photos of the learning and teaching process here at BRES along with easier access to information about our Common Core curriculum and teacher websites and blogs.  We are excited about these changes and can't wait for our final product to be complete.  Please feel free to send any feedback about our changes or your ideas on what needs to be made more accessible to you to cgraf1@wcpss.net.  Thank you.