Bridgewater Bear Tracks

Thank you to everyone for attending Family Conferences the last two days!! It sure was great to see everyone and meet new families! We are looking forward to a wonderful school year with you and your children!

Tuesday, September 6th is the first day of school for students. We are excited to have the students return!!

School hours for Bridgewater students are 8:20-3:20, with Wednesday hours being 9:20-3:20. Students will be marked tardy if they arrive after 8:25.

The Bridgewater office is open from 7:15-4:00 daily. Most days Principal Antoine is in the office until around 5:00 pm.

Just a reminder that Wednesdays are one-hour late starts. Teachers use this time to meet with their Professional Learning Committees (PLCs). Buses will run one-hour later than usual, and school will begin at 9:20 each Wednesday.

The crew from the Defeat of Jesse James Days will be at Bridgewater on Friday, Sept. 9th. Your child may wish to wear their western garb that day. They get excited to see the cowboys, royalty and rodeo crews!

Benjamin Bus has mailed out the Bus Cards with pick-up and drop-off information. Please contact them if you have not received this information or if you have questions. Their number is 507-645-5720.

Students should arrive no earlier than 8:00 a.m. each day (9:00 a.m. on Wednesdays) unless they are eating breakfast. Students arriving for breakfast may be dropped off starting at 7:50. Students will go to the playground for morning recess including those who are finished eating breakfast. Kid Ventures is still available for childcare before and after school; this is fee-based and your child must be registered before they may access this program. We will have staff inside the front door who will help your child find their way to the classroom or to breakfast.

When you pull up into the drop-off lane, please pull ahead as far as you can before letting your child exit your car. If there is a long line, please don't wait until you are directly in front of the door before letting your child out of your car. There is enough space for at least eight cars to drop off at the same time, and the children can walk up the sidewalk to the front door or playground.

The end of the day is a busy time. You can only imagine trying to dismiss 530 students at the same time in an organized fashion, making sure students get to the correct place. These are the things that keep me awake at night and give me nightmares. We dismiss at 3:20 pm each day. It is most helpful if you arrive to pick up your child after 3:00 p.m.

As in the past, we will provide you a car-tag for your child. Please write your child's name and grade clearly on this tag, and place it so that it is visible through your windshield. This way you will drive up, we can read your child's name and make sure that your child gets to your car. Please keep your car-tag displayed until your child is in your car. Also, remain in your car and in line. This is similar to a drive through, were you place your order and receive your happy face. Please be patient, alert and courteous. Everyone has a schedule with places to go. We are trying our best! I did hear from another school yesterday where dismissal is taking them an hour!! We usually finish in under 20 minutes total! Whew!

Students who live within the walking boundaries should leave home no earlier than 8:05 a.m. each morning. Leaving at this time will keep them out of the way of high school traffic, and this is a safety issue. Crossing guards will be at their post at Raider Drive and Jefferson Parkway in the morning at 8:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. on Wednesdays), and at 3:20 p.m. in the afternoon. Students should always cross with the patrols and not at other places on Jefferson Parkway. Please talk to your child about going directly to school in the morning and directly home in the afternoon. We have found several students at the park in the afternoon since they didn't walk directly home.

We are happy to have you join your child for lunch. Please give us two weeks to set the routines for the students before you come in. Remember that you are welcome to dine with your child/children and two friends maximum. We also appreciate when you help to clean up the space when you are done since we are busy with the rest of the students. Thank you for understanding!

Visitors are allowed in the building during the school day. Unfortunately, this does not mean that parents are able to walk children to class. We are doing our very best to keep our students safe, and we will meet them at the front door to make sure they get to the correct room. Thank you for understanding!

Hello! My name is Jenny Jones and I am the new Bridgewater Community School Coordinator. This year we will offer FREE after-school and evening programming beginning October 3, 2022.

After-School programming will be available Monday - Thursday for our BW K-5 students, and evening programming will be available on Wednesdays for all Northfield School students and families. Please come visit my table during family conferences where I will have more exciting information and details to share with you! BW Community School will also kick-start the year with some Open Houses for families to learn more about us, so mark your calendars!

Wednesday, September 14, 2022 (5:30-7pm)

Kindergarten and 1st Grade Families

Wednesday, September 21, 2022 (5:30-7pm)

2nd and 3rd Grade Families

Wednesday, September 28, 2022 (5:30-7PM)

4th and 5th Grade Families

We are currently working on relaunching our website, so please follow us on Facebook for more information!

School Pictures are scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 27th during the school day. More information will be sent out as we get closer to this date.

Dearest BW artists, athletes, musicians, and scientists!

Welcome back to Specials! We have missed you so much and can’t wait to see you!

Specials are Art (Ms. Woodstrup), Physical Education (Mr. Bernhard and Mrs. McCabe),

Music (Mrs. Hummel), and Science (Mrs. Phenow). If you would like to meet with any of

the Specialists during Family Conferences please contact us through the email address

below and we would love to set up an appointment or please just drop by our

classrooms and say hello!

We are also always in need of wipes and or Kleenex if you have any extra! Thank you!!!

Here’s a little bit about each special area to help you get to know our Specialist Squad:

ART- Ms. Woodstrup (she/her) Contact: kwoodstrup@northfieldschools.org

Welcome back artists and loved ones! I’m Ms. Woodstrup and this will be my 14th year

at BW. I’m from northern Chicago and enjoy yoga, eating nachos, skiing, and baking.

My favorite art materials are watercolors and ceramics. What I’m looking forward to the

most this year is all the interesting and cool things our young artists will create and our

art shows this spring!

We have art class once a week for an hour and students do not need to bring any

materials, but donations of wipes and other supplies are always appreciated. Smocks

are provided as needed. Our new curriculum not only includes making things that

express our thoughts and feelings but we also explore and form connections with

artwork from the past and present. Please contact me if you are interested in

volunteering or if you have any questions. You can also set up a time to meet with me

during Family Conferences September or just drop the art room and say hello!

Here’s our BW art room website with more information about our

art program (https://bridgewaterartroom.weebly.com/) and you can support arts

programing by liking the Northfield Fine Arts Boosters on Facebook

(https://www.facebook.com/NorthfieldFAB/) Lastly, look for posts on Seesaw and

Schoology under the art tab for updates!

See you soon! Ms. W

Physical Education - Mrs. McCabe Contact: smccabe@northfieldschools.org

Hello everyone! My name is Mrs. McCabe and I will be one of your Physical Education

teachers this year! This is my second year teaching at Bridgewater Elementary and I am

very excited to see everyone and have lots of fun! I grew up and reside in Kenyon, MN

with my husband, Ryan and two sons, Brecken and Callen. Brecken will be starting

kindergarten this year and Callen will be one in December! In our free time we love to

be outdoors going on bike rides, walking, fishing, and playing various sports. I really

enjoyed my first year at Bridgewater and I am excited to be able to continue working

with such fun students! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns, I

am also available to meet with you during Family Conferences, as listed above!

Science- Mrs. Phenow Contact: dphenow@northfieldschools.org

Hello! I am Mrs. Phenow and this will be my 9th year teaching at Bridgewater and my

3rd year as the Science Specialist. I grew up in Albert Lea and spent my college years

in Duluth. I try to bring outdoor education into our science investigations as much as

possible. My husband and two daughters, Macee (5) and Mollee (3), and myself enjoy

spending as much time as possible outside. We enjoy hiking, biking, camping, boating,

and spending the evenings on our porch as the weather allows. I grew up going into the

Boundary Waters Canoe Area and will cherish those memories made with my dad

forever. Teaching science has become a dream job for me and I am so honored to be

able to share my passion with your special person. I can’t wait to meet your scientist

and encourage your child to be curious about the world we live in. Feel free to stop by

the science room during conference night at your convenience.

Physical Education- Mr. Bernhard

Contact: pbernhard@northfieldschools.org

Hello friends! I am Mr. Bernhard and this will be my 13 year teaching Physical

Education at Bridgewater. I grew up in Blaine, MN and went to St. Cloud State for

college. Go Huskies! I am so excited to be one of your Physical Education teachers

here at Bridgewater. I have two daughters; Alexa(7) and Aleah(5),my wife Melissa is the

recreation coordinator for the Northfield School District. Our family enjoys being

outdoors on our boat visiting all the different lakes in Minnesota. I also spend a lot of

time enjoying fishing and hunting. Mrs. McCabe and I have a ton of great activities

planned for this year. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Remember Fit Kids are healthy Kids!

Music - Mrs.Hummel

Contact: khummel@northfieldschools.org

I grew up in Alexandria, MN and studied vocal music at Gustavus Adolphus College. I

earned my MEd degree from Concordia University, Portland. This is the beginning of

my 31st year of teaching in the Northfield Public Schools district. I live in Northfield with

my husband Dan and our two dogs: Maggie (lab) and Charlie (springer). We have three

adult children: Paul, Greta, and Caroline, and also a 2 year old granddaughter Nyomi! I

feel so blessed to have a wonderful family, to live and teach in an amazing town, and to

spend time each day with all of the incredible young musicians at Bridgewater!

Breakfast and lunch are no longer free as they had been the past two years. Here are the links to apply for free or reduced price lunch: https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/English-application-and-letter.pdf and https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/Spanish-application-and-letter-by-MV.pdf.

Here is the link to pay for fees: Bridgewater School Fees

The iPad insurance fee will not be needed since the iPads will remain at school. A refund will be sent to those parents/guardians who have previously made this payment.

Please make sure to share medical needs for your child with Nurse Lucy Archibald. Any and all medications need to go through the nurse as well. Please do not send medications on the bus with students. Thank you!

Attached is the lunch menu for September. Students have the option of bringing a cold from home, eating the hot entree, having a cold sandwich or a salad.

Attached is the fall breakfast menu. Breakfast is served daily starting at 7:50 am. All students will be allowed the time to eat breakfast at school even if they arrive on a bus.

There are many activities that children and adults may access during the course of the year. Don't forget to check the numerous opportunities from the Northfield Community Education Program: https://northfieldschools.org/communityeducation/

Sept 6---First Day of School

Sept. 8---Townie Night for Defeat of Jesse James Days

Sept. 8-11---Defeat of Jesse James Days

Sept 13---BBC Meeting 6:00pm-7:00pm, Media Center

Sept. 27---Picture Day

World-Class Learning for Elementary Students K-5 Bridgewater Elementary School, situated on a 14-acrd campus just south of downtown Northfield, is a K-5 public school serving approximately 530 students. It serves the neighborhoods on Northfield's southern side, Dundas, and the rural area south of Highway 19 and west of Highway 246. Students benefit from an active parent-teacher organization, Bridgewater Booster Club (BBC) and many parent volunteers.

The staff is intensely dedicated to offering a high-quality, well-rounded education that strives to meet the specific needs of each student. We focus on empowering our students in their academic and social emotional learning along with building a solid foundation for their educational journey.

Main Office Number: 507-664-3300

Attendance Line: 507-664-3306

Address: 401 Jefferson Parkway

Web page: northfieldschools.org/schools/bridgewater-elementary/

Email: nantoine@northfieldschools.org