Student Attendance

As we approach warmer months and a time that some families take vacation, please keep in mind that it is imperative that your child is present in school regularly. It is also important to remember to have all students attend school from "bell to bell." Bell to bell is the time that covers the entire school day. School attendance is critical to the success of a student. Parents should continue to avoid picking up their child up early or dropping their child off after the tardy bell. Emergency situations or circumstances that occur on rare occasions are understandable. In order for us to ensure that we successfully educate all students, let’s work together to ensure that that we honor our instructional time in order to maximize student learning. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.

A glimpse into Mrs. Torrey's Reader's Theatre performances

More Reader's Theatre

I had the opportunity to step into Mrs. Vaughn's classroom for their performances as well. Students were so excited. Check out some of her students performing "The Ugly Duckling."

Reader's Theatre in Second Grade

Mrs. Hughes' class invited parents and family members to class today to watch their Reader's Theatre performances. Students worked all week to prepare their short plays for reading. Students learned about recounting stories, including fables and folk tales from diverse cultures, and determined how to identify their central message, lesson or moral; which is one of the fourth quarter essential reading objectives from our Common Core curriculum. Check out the great pictures of Mrs. Hughes' students performing their fables this morning!

April 25th School Messenger

Good evening Trailblazers,
This is Mrs. Graf with several announcements for you.  I want to remind our carpool parents to be mindful our neighbors on Chambers Road particularly doing our carpool times.  I am asking that you do not block their drive ways during carpool arrival and dismissal.  It is our goal that carpool line moves fluidly once the afternoon bell rings but we do not want to block access to our neighbor's driveways.
Get out your calendars: 
*May 2nd is our Parents Are Connected Night!  This night is especially designed for our parents and students in 3rd-5th grade.  Our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers have prepared presentations and activities just for you to support your child in being ready for the end of grade yearly assessment.  The session is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 
*May 8-15th is Teacher Appreciation Week.  Our PTA is planning wonderful events for the teachers and we are so excited to support and thank our wonderful teachers for the great work that they do.  More information is coming soon from our PTA. 
*May 9th is our Kindergarten Orientation Night for all parents of rising Kindergarten students.  Please join the kindergarten teachers, our PTA, supplemental services and the Y to learn about a typical kindergarten day, curriculum expectations and how you can support your child in making the transition to Kindergarten.  We will meet in the Multipurpose Room from beginning at 6:00 p.m.
*  May 9th is also our PTA Board Meeting at 1:30 p.m. 
* May 101th is Early Release.  Dismissal for students will be at 1:30 p.m.  If you plan to change transportation for your child, please send in a note or call the office by 10:00 a.m. 

That's it Trailblazers!  Please call the school at 919-890-7333 if you have any questions about this information or visit our school website and click on the Principal's Desk icon to see this information.  Have a great evening! Mrs. Graf

A hot muggy day here in Raleigh, but a beautiful day at the beach!

Our fourth graders on tracks 1 and 2 met at school at 5:30 a.m. this morning to head out to Kure Beach for a day of hands on learning. The students were so excited they barely remembered to say good bye to their parents! At 5:45 a.m. the students were loaded onto two charter buses along with the parent chaperones. I wished them all well and gave reminders to be respectful, be responsible and be safe (Banks Best!) Ms. Mueller, Ms. Halsey and Ms. Liaise did their final head counts and checks as the movie started playing. I waved and waved to the students as the buses pulled away right at 5:58 a.m. The day began two minutes ahead of schedule.

All day the teachers have sent me pictures. I promised I would blog them before they headed back to Raleigh. Check out at fourth graders at Fort Fisher, Kure Beach and the Carolina Ocean Studies program.
I will be meeting the students back at the school this evening. I can't wait to see their faces and hear all about their day of learning!

This field trip is just another example of how our students and teachers at BRES blaze the trails of learning success!

Single Subject Acceleration

Trailblazer Parents,

The AIG department is introducing a new policy on Single Subject Acceleration.  Below you will find information concerning the new policy and guidelines for qualification and implementation.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks, Mrs. Graf

Single Subject Acceleration(SSA)

Single Subject Acceleration (SSA) allows students to accelerate in reading or math for the 2013-2014 school year.  Students seeking to SSA should consistently perform 1-2 grade levels above his/her current grade level in literacy skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) and/or mathematics.

Process for SSA for 2013-2014 school year:

1.       Parents or teachers submit a written nomination to Sarah Foxworth, AIG Teacher, at sfoxworth@wcpss.net.    Please include your student’s full name, grade and requested subject for acceleration by Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

2.       School Based Committee for Gifted Education (SBCGE) will convene and collect portfolio items during the week of April 22, 2013 .  Portfolio items will include benchmark scores, teacher work samples, and grade level assessments.  Additionally, all students will be administered the benchmark for course to be skipped by April 30,2013.

3.       All portfolios will be sent to Central Services for evaluation and recommendation no later than May 1, 2013.

4.       Parents will receive written notification from Central Services.  If portfolio is approved, students must have an aptitude score of >95% and above grade level achievement of > 98% to meet requirements for SSA.

5.       Appropriate tests, according to the SSA criteria, will be administered at a central location.  The test sessions will be held on Saturdays during the month of May 2013.  Specific information will be sent along with a Consent for Evaluation upon approval of the student performance portfolio.