Path to Success is Up and Running--Check Out Our Display!

Parents and Community Members,
We are blazing the trail of success here at Banks Road Elementary. Since July 9th our students and staff members on Tracks 1, 2 and 3 have been learning and "living" the Banks Best Way- Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe! Our students are motivated to be engaged in the classroom and in specials, our teachers are acknowledging our students' great learning attitudes with "Blazer Bucks" and whole class efforts with "Compass Coins." Our entire school community has embraced this program and here is a glimpse of the "Path to Success Wall" that is now on display in main hallway. Thanks to Ms. Davis, Instructional Assistant for her creativity and planning to bring this wall to life! Here you will see how each class will have their picture taken and be on display once they earn their first 25 Compass Coins. Great job students and staff! Mrs. Graf :)

School Messenger July 25, 2013

Good evening Trailblazers,
This is Mrs. Graf the Proud Principal of Banks Road Elementary School!  I have a few announcements for you:
First, tomorrow is the last day of school for our students on Track 3.  Our Track 4 teachers are here getting ready to welcome their students for the first day of school for Track 4 students on Monday, July 29.  On Monday our Track 4 students will participate in our KickOff assembly where they will learn about our school wide expectations and reward system.  We are so pleased with the response about PBIS program from both our students and our parents.  I am sure track 4 will love it just as much!

Our PTA is conducting a snack drive.  If you would like to donate snacks such as granola bars, applesauce or fruit cups, please send them in with your child or drop them off in our donation box in the front foyer.
Mark your calendars for August 6th.  Picture Day for students on Tracks 1 & 2 will be Tuesday, August 6th. 

Monday will also be the first day of staggered entry for our Kindergarten students on Track 4.  All rising Kindergarten students should  have been assigned a date for their initial assessments.  Kindergarten Track 4 Meet the Teacher is Friday, August 2nd from 4:30-5:30 p.m. 

I have posted this information on the school website and on the Principal's Desk blog.  Please call the school if you have any questions.  That's it Trailblazers.  Have a great evening!  Your Proud Principal, Mrs. Graf

Learning school expectations...at all grade levels!

Here is a great example of how a first grade class embedded an English Language Arts lesson to include teaching and reinforcing appropriate school expectations. Check out how our students made "David" faces after reading "No, David, No!" by David Shannon. Follow this link to watch a video of the story via YouTube with your child. It's a great conversation starter for you and your child-no matter what grade they are in! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QV1X3u1o3c

"I can..." Statements at Banks Road Elementary

I love to share the wonderful learning and teaching processes that go on here at BRES each day. I want to take a moment to share with you "I can..." statements. You may notice these statements up in the hallway by student work or on the whiteboards or smartboards in classrooms. These statements make the learning objectives easy to understand for our students. These statements are written in student friendly terms and support students in "making sense" of the curriculum expectation for them.

Here is an example of a first grade classroom that I visited today. Students in this classroom were given the goal for their academic work today. "I can..." statments are not just limited to the classroom. You can see from the other photos that our Specialists are using the statements for specials time and teaching their unique curriculum and skills for their specialized areas.

"I can..." statements at Banks Road Elementary are another way our teachers are blazing the trail to success!

Back to School Night Fun!

It was hot outside but "cool" and fun at the BRES Back to School Blast! Many Trailblazer families came out to see old friends and make new ones. Our students and families played kickball, threw some water balloons and just "hung out!" Check out the pictures of the great fun we had!

mClass is here at Banks in all over NC!

Your children may come home and share that they were given assessments over the past few days.  Banks Road Elementary teachers in all grades K-5 are using the new mClass Reading Diagnostic 3D system.  The system is being used in every elementary school in North Carolina as instructed by the North Carolina Department of Instruction.  Our teachers have participated in training on administering the assessments.  We will continue our training with using the system to run reports and interpreting the mClass assessment data. 

 

What does this mean for you?  You will receive mClass scores for your child.  You may also receive a parent handout explaining the assessment and how you can support your child at home with foundational reading skills.  It is our goal that each child be a confident and proficient reader!

 

Teachers will use mClass system to guide their reading instruction with your child.  Teachers record observations with a running record and are able to quickly understand how students find meaning in text, and then assign reading levels and monitor progress to support comprehension at every level.

• Quickly log observations and easily identify error patterns for any level.
• Compare student progress with predictive, research-based benchmark goals.
• Translate assessment data into instructional support.
• Track progress and target instruction to individual student needs.

I will share more about this new assesment tool as information becomes available.  Mrs. Graf

BRES is getting a MASCOT!

It's true!  We are finally ready to narrow our choices down for a mascot.  We have created a bulletin board in the 2nd and 3rd hallway for students to see.  Ms. O'Grady and Mrs. McCool will be supporting students with the voting process next week.  Check out our mascot options below and pick your favorite! Don't worry Track 4 students, you will have an opportunity vote when you get back in on Monday!