Bridgewater Bear Tracks

Monday & Tuesday, January 23 & 24 are the Teacher Workdays for the end of the second quarter. There will be no school for students.

This winter has provided us plenty of snow and ice which creates dangerous driving conditions for all of us, especially for those families living in the country. Let face it, e-Learning Days are not equal to regular school days. However, we want to ensure students continue learning, and that is why we have provided the learning matrix for students to use as their learning guide for the day. We expect that students will return to school the next day with information provided to their classroom teacher indicating what they did on their day away from school; this information may be sent to the teacher via email, SeeSaw or Talking Points or can be brought to the teacher in person. Students with no information provided will unfortunately be marked absent.

The Bridgewater Student Council will be hosting the "Give books, Get a book" book drive again this year from January 17-February 3. Students can bring in gently used or new books and put them in the marked bins in each kiva. After the books are donated, they will be sorted and students will be invited to come pick a book. We want to help "spread the love of reading" and make sure everyone at BW has a new book to read. Any books that are left over will be donated to Northfield Promise.

The Kindness Retreat was schedule for our fourth-graders yesterday. Due to the e-Learning day, it was not held. We will work to reschedule this for the students and let everyone know the new date for this. Thank you for understanding! In the meantime, we can practice kindness every day!!

Author, Mike Wohnoutka is coming to BW on January 25th! Mike Wohnoutka is the illustrator of many books for children including Moo!, an ALA Notable book and winner of the Minnesota Book Award; Jack’s House, a Bank Street College Best Book; and See the Cat, winner of the 2021 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. He is the author and illustrator of Dad’s First Day, Croc & Turtle, Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster, and So Big!, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Mike lives with his wife and two children in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

There will be no school on Monday, Jan. 23rd and Tuesday, Jan. 24th. The last day of the first semester is Jan. 20th, and teachers will be preparing report cards. Report cards will be sent home with students on Friday, Jan. 27th.

We have fifteen Educational Assistants at BW. They provide support for numerous students every day. Jan. 23-29 is Paraprofessional Recognition Week in the State of MN. We greatly appreciate the work and support that our EAs provide; they are such an important part of our staff!! Thank you very much!!

February 7 - Kindergarten Tour Night 4:00pm-5:30pm

February 17 - Registration Deadline for Kindergarten

https://northfieldschools.org/about/enrollment/

It is time to talk about Kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year! On February 7th, families interested in having their child attend kindergarten at Bridgewater are invited to a tour night from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Families and children will have the opportunity to see the classrooms, meet teachers and receive a free book. If you have questions, please contact the office at 507-664-3300.

• When: February 5th - 1:30pm-3:30pm
• Where: Skoglund Center
• Who: Ages 4th-8th Grade
• What: Fun Winter Youth Clinic Hosted by St. Olaf Players and Coaches. Interact with Ole Athletes, learn skills and play some games!
• How much: $50 Cash or Check paid at the door
• Where do I sign up?!: https://athletics.stolaf.edu/sb_output.aspx?form=72

Hello Families!

After School Programs:

Session two is under way and students are having lots of fun learning some new skills in the clubs offered this session! See some of the pictures below!

Students made bird feeders in the Arts and Crafts club, learned about how things fly in Aviation club and made snow volcanoes in Kitchen Science club!

Evening Program:

We are back in the swing of things for evening programs! Please join us every Wednesday evening from 5:30PM - 7:30PM!

We always have an open gym, arts and crafts, the magnet wall and other STEM choices, ESL classes and Dungeons & Dragons club(6:30pm)!

We also have Bus 4 Us who can pick-up and drop-off your family or students who are interested! Here is the bus schedule for this session -

Bus 4 Us Schedule:

• GVP-4:45pm
• Viking Terrace-4:55pm
• Northfield Estates-5:05pm
• Hidden Valley Apartments-5:20pm
• Bridgewater Heights -5:25pm
• Jefferson Square-5:35pm
• Bridgewater-5:40pm

Please let me know if you have any questions about afternoon or evening programming. Thank you!

Jenny Jones

Northfield Community School

Program Coordinator

Bridgewater Elementary

401 Jefferson Parkway

Northfield, MN 55057

Cell: 612-709-9244

Office: 507-664-3359

Email: jjones@northfieldschools.org

Pronouns: she/her/ella

Hablo Español

Literacy-At-Home Ideas

for a New Year!

• If you or your child are reading chapter books; use a bookmark.

• Have a conversation: talk to your child as often as possible. Try to use advanced vocabulary as children understand oral language more naturally than reading. Your child understands words spoken to them that they might not be able to read, yet!

• Have your child tell you a story, or you can tell them a story.

• Create a story with your child including his/her name and actions.

• Have your child practice reading signs on the road or at the grocery store.

• Listen to audiobooks in the car.

The Northfield Public Library is once again offering bilingual homework help Mondays through Fridays from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Tutors can also assist with reading aloud if a child needs to practice reading out loud to another person. We hope a lot of families can make use of this resource. Our Carleton student tutors Carlos and Ambar are fantastic!

A few other library programs are starting up in January—our weekly LEGO Club begins this Thursday, and the St. Olaf Physics Department will be here for Drop-In Physics Fun for kids on Saturday, January 28.

February is I Love to Read Month. Attached below is the calendar of events for February.

Here are the details for the Mayor For a Day Essay Contest for students in 4th & 5th Grade: https://youtu.be/v3UHUoOEnY8

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/

Jan. 23-24---Teacher Workdays-No School for Students

Jan. 25---Author, Mike Wohnoutka visit to BW

Jan 23-27---Winter Family Engagement Window

Jan. 27---BBC Spirit Day-Sportswear

Feb. 7---4th Grade Works Museum Field Trip

Feb. 7---Kindergarten Tour Night 4:00-5:30

Feb. 17---Registration Deadline for Kindergarten

Feb. 20---No School/Staff Development Day/President's Day

Mar. 8---District Choral Festival 4/5 Grade Choirs-NMS

Mar. 27-31---Spring Break-No School

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