School Messenger: September 29, 2014

September 29, 2014

It’s Make It Happen Monday Trailblazers and this is Mrs. Graf with a weekly update.

First things first, a big thank you goes out to our teachers and staff who helped up our

first Parents Are Connected event last Thursday evening together. Our full staff was

here on hand passing our Banks Book of the Year, leading teaching stations, guiding

parents to locations, and “making it happen” for our students and families. We had a

total of 177 stakeholders in attendance. Thank you to our parents who traveled out to

school to spend your evening with us. I hope that you were able to ask your questions

regarding literacy and get useful information to support learning at home.

The next BIG thank you goes to our PTA. They did it once again—another successful

Fall Festival! There was so much fun on Friday evening; everyone had smiles on their

faces. The dunk tank was a hit and a big thanks goes out the teachers who dared to

be dunked. A thank you also goes out to the two Dads that braved the dunk tank in

support of their child’s classroom and grade level. The Silent Auction was successful

and there was some fierce bidding wars going on for some items. This night would

not be possible without the work of many parent, teacher and student volunteers.

Thank you Trailblazers for once again pulling together to support our school!

Updates and Important Events This Week:

• Case Benchmarks have been mailed off and results should be back within the

next 10 days.

• Welcome Back Track 1! Enjoy your track out Track 4!

• 9/30: Read to Achieve Parent Session 6:30 in the Media Center

• 10/1 Track 1 Case Benchmark Grades 3-5 Math

• 10/2 Track 1 Case Benchmark Science Grade 5 Only

• 10/2 4:15 Girls on the Run practice

• 10/3 3rd  Grade Tracks 1 & 3 Field Trip to Marbles Museum


That’s it Trailblazers! All of this information will be posted on the school website and will

go out on the Principal’s Desk Blog. Please call the school with any questions.

Always Trailblazer Proud, Mrs. Graf

Updates on Case Benchmarks for Grades 3-5

Trailblazers,

It's on the school website calendar for BRES, but I wanted to send out on the blog the dates for Case assessments for Track 1 since they were delayed.

Track 1 will take the Case on the following dates:

Wednesday October 1:  Math
Thuesday October 2:  Science

Tracks 2-4 Grades 3-5 are in process of taking the assessments this week.

Please call the school if you have any questions.  Thank you, Mrs. Graf

Literacy Night is TOMORROW!

Trailblazers,

We have been planning and planning....and we are ready for our first Parents Are Connected event! Tomorrow, Thursday, September 25th, we will be sharing information, strategies and supports to grow your young reader.  There will be something for everyone from readers who need extra support to efficient readers who need challenged to grow to the next level!  This is sure to be our best PAC event ever!  Learning activities begin at 6:00 p.m.  See below about a dinner option for you!

Topics will include:

• The Race Strategy-how to successfully craft a quality written response.
• F-APP-ulous Fluency:  One of the greatest predictors of reading success.  We have the apps and can help you load them on your device!
• mClass Assessments & Reports:  How does this help my child and teacher?
• "Buzz" Words:  What do all the acronyms and teacher words really mean for my child and how parents can help.
• Banks Book of the Year Revel:  The books are here and each family will receive a book with strategies to support your child with reading comprehension.
• If you have Spanish-speakers, there will be an LEP Academy focused on how to support reading at home.

There will be food truck here at Banks Road Elementary beginning at 5:00 p.m. for those of you interested in dinner.  The food is great, and prices start at $2 for 5 tacos!!! What a deal and you don't have to worry about cooking!!!  Check out the website for additional information:   

 http://www.captainponchos.com/#!menu/cjg9

I hope that I see you at BRES tomorrow night!  I am so excited about this opportunity to partner with you and magnify the possibilities for academic success!  

My Banks Best, Mrs. Graf 

Did you know.....?

Trailblazers,

Wake County Public School System wants every school to participate this October 2014 in Bullying Prevention activities to help educate and protect all of our students from being harassed and/or bullied.  School Counselors along with faculty and staff will promote key themes that bullying will not be tolerated and if it does occur they want to know about it.  All schools have been provided Bullying Prevention information, materials, and activities that will guide them to help in this effort to prevent bullying.  

In order to support your child effectively, I am including a link to parent resources.  Please take a moment to review these resources should you ever need them: http://www.net/parents/bullying.html  Additionally, I want you to know that BRES does not tolerate bullying and investigates every reported incidence.  Mr. Day, our school counselor is also a resource for you.  His email address is wday@wcpss.net.  Please do not hesitate to contact the school with questions or concerns.  

Thank you for all that you do to make BRES a great place to learn, Mrs. Graf 

Sharing information regarding the new WCPSS Parent Academy Catalog

Trailblazers,

Please see below for information from WCPSS.  Thank you, Mrs. Graf

The Wake County Public Schools System is excited to announce their first Parent Academy Catalog (see attachment). The catalog contains a series of free skill-building classes, workshops, and educational events aimed at helping families learn to engage with the school system and contribute positively to their child’s academic and social success.
 
The Parent Academy is a Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) initiative designed to strengthen the relationship between parents/guardians and schools and to help parents navigate the school system. Research shows that students achieve more when parents are involved in their child’s education.
 
This is a partnership with a diverse team of WCPSS educators and local community agencies, organizations, businesses, schools, and faith-based institutions.
 

To learn more about workshop options and registration information, visit www.wcpss.net/parent-academy
 

School Messenger September 1, 2014

Here is the link to the latest school messenger:  September 1, 2015 School Messenger