Inside this issue:

BC At-A-Glance 2

PTO 3-8

Classroom Clips 9, 10

BC Monthly Calendar 11

BVSD 12-14

Bear Creek Elementary

2500 Table Mesa Drive

Boulder, CO 80305

Kent Cruger, Principal

January 30, 2015

Bear Tracks

2015 Martin Luther King Celebration

This event is used to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as others who paved the way for civil rights in our country. Through music, art, movement and speech, the as-sembly allows the students and audience to reflect on our history while also discovering how we

all can carry on the lessons learned because of the these brave people.

Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thank you to Mrs. James, Mrs. Ewing, Ms. Wright, Mrs. Austin and all the volunteers who made this

year’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration one to remember.

2

BEAR CREEK CALENDAR

AT - A - GLANCE

Monday, February 2

Lip Sync Lyrics due this week

Monday, February 9

Lip Sync Non-Dress Rehearsals this week

Tuesday, February 10

Hearing Re-Screening @ 10:00AM

Friday, February 13

NO SCHOOL - Professional Day

Monday, February 16

NO SCHOOL - Presidents’ Day

Thursday, February 19

Lip Sync Dress Rehearsal @ 3:15PM

Friday, February 20

Lip Sync Performance @5:00PM & 7:00PM

Monday, February 23

Report Cards go Home

Tuesday, February 24 & Thursday, February 26

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, February 25

Make a Rainbow on Your Plate Day

Monday, March 2

Kindergarten Parent/Teacher Conferences

8:45-3:30 in Conference Room

Thursday, February 5

Parent/Teacher Conferences

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

As you are looking for activities for your children to partici-

pate in before and after school, I just wanted to give you a

"heads-up" about where to look for activities that are hap-

pening at Bear Creek, and which ones are Bear Creek and

BVSD sponsored.

Lifelong Learning, which is part of BVSD's Community Schools

Program runs many wonderful activities for students in

schools across the district. If you go to their web-page you

can find great kid classes, many of which will happen right at

our school! Lifelong Learning will send you mail alerts of activ-

ities that are happening at Bear Creek. You can sign up for

classes at any location, but parents have found it particularly

accommodating when classes happen right at Bear Creek. This

fall at Bear Creek Lifelong Learning will offer at Bear

Creek such things as chess, basketball, Spanish classes, and

Lego building.

Attendance

Parents, thank you for being so good at calling the attendance

line (720-561-3502) or the main office phone line (720-561-

3500) when your child is going to be absent/late because of

illness, an appointment, or a family trip. You can also cc me on

attendance emails sent to your child’s teacher or use the

’Report Absence” link on the front page of the Bear Creek

website.

Found: 2 “Alex & Ani” bracelets. Both bracelets

are silver and one has an initial charm. Please stop

by the office if you think it is yours.

Green School Newsletter

Thrive Update Newsletter

3

PTO PULSE

Winter Walk to School Day

Thank you to these incredible parents who planned the Winter Walk to School Day: Mary Pettigrew, Regner Trampedach, Charlotte Mudar, Andy Jacobsen, David Allen. These events would not happen without these wonder-ful folks!

Bear Creek Website

Please don't forget to visit the Bear Creek PTO's website: bearcreekpto.com. It is loaded with important upcoming dates and events.

PTO Meetings

Bear Creek PTO meetings are open to all Bear Creek Elementary School parents. We meet at school on the second Tuesday of every month, alternating between day meetings from 1:30 pm to 3 pm and evening meetings from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.

The next scheduled meeting is: Tuesday, February 10 from 6-7:30 pm.

Nominate Your Child for the Golden Shoe Award! The Golden Shoe Award is given periodically (whenever we receive a good nomination) to students or staff members to recognize them for their car-free commuting efforts. Who can you nominate? Some examples might be: *Your family just started walking to school one day a week and have done it for a month *You come from particularly far away *Your child encouraged his/her grandparents to walk rather than drive when they were visiting *Your child came to school on a unicycle *Even in the deepest snow your child insisted on walking *Your child helps by walking with younger children each day Pictured are Mr. Soole and Jack, winners of the first ever Golden Shoe Award. If you have someone you want to nominate, just send Mr. Cruger an e-mail (kent.cruger@bvsd.org).

Winter Walk/Bike To School Day

What a beautiful morning for the Winter Walk/Bike To School Day! We had parents and

children alike walking, biking, and scooter-ing in one of the many 'walking school buses' to get

to Bear Creek the car-free way! Hot cocoa and other fun stuff was waiting as

children arrived at school.

4

5

Clink Here to see Spring and Summer Programming

6

7

8

9

You have the ability to choose the way your life is going to be.

Your situation, right now, is the sum of the choices you have made in the present moment.

And the choices you continue to make in the present moment directly dictate your level of success.

Because nothing exists but this moment. There is no ‘later’. No ‘future’. No ‘next season’. No ‘when I have more free time’. No ‘if I had better talent.’ No ‘if I had a bigger team’. No ‘if I had a bigger budget’.

Success is a choice.

The only difference between you and the coaches/teams/athletes/individuals you want to be like is simple:

Because they made a *choice*. They decided who they want-ed to be. What they wanted their life and their program to be like. And they made a choice to do it.

They didn’t make the choice in some undefined ‘later’. Or ‘tomorrow‘. Those things don’t exist. They never will. Ever. Because when 5:00pm tomorrow gets here, it won’t be 5:00pm tomorrow. It will be right now.

Make a *choice* to be successful. Don’t listen to the haters (and there are many). ignored the doubters (and there are many). Don’t make excuses for why I wasn’t smart enough or talented or connected enough to do what I wanted to do. just be willing to hustle harder than most other people. That’s the difference that makes the difference.

. Like anything else, it takes practice to develop this mindset as our default Simply don’t allow kids to say:

“I can’t”. Sure you can. And you will as long as you hustle harder than the next guy (or girl).

“If I…” Not if. When. Saying ‘if’ just gives you an out. I don’t believe in outs. When you don’t give power to the possibility of not meeting the expectation, you will meet the expecta-tion.

“I hope.” Don’t hope. Demand. ‘I hope’ means “I don’t really think I can do it”. I don’t accept that possibility.

So it’s not a part of our discussions. Not a part of our collec-tive consciousness.

Believe in Expectations. So instead of setting goals, set expec-tations. Expectations are for people who make things happen.

P.E Reminders:

On snowy days please remind your children to bring their Gym shoes on P.E. days. Running in the gym with snow boots on will not allow students to be skilled or safe movers.

Although Jump Rope Club and Intramurals begin at 7:45, you children should not arrive before 7:40 as they will be unsupervised in the gym.

CHOICE

In accordance with the BVSD policy on distribution/posting of non-curricular material-Bear Tracks will print cur-

ricular items about our school. Many outside opportunities available, (i.e. Science Matters, second language pro-

grams, parenting workshops, community sports, non-profit organizations, etc.) may be posted on the hall bulletin

board with prior approval of the Principal, but may not be included in Bear Tracks. Be sure to check the Parent’s

Board in the school for information regarding outside opportunities. All articles can be submitted to Carolyn

Walker at carolyn.walker@bvsd.org.

Additional information about Bear Creek can be found on the Bear Creek website .

Submission Deadline Publication Date

Jan. 28 Jan. 30

Feb. 10 Feb. 12

Feb. 25 Feb. 27

10

11

February 2015

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1

2 3

SAC @ 3:15

4 5 6 7

8 9 10

@10:00 Hearing

Re-screening

PTO Meeting @ 6:00PM

11

12

End of Trimester

13

NO SCHOOL Prof. Day

14

15

16

NO SCHOOL

Presidents’ Day

17 18 19

Lip Sync Dress Rehearsal

@31:15

Chinese New Year Parade @10:15AM

20

Lip Sync Performance

@5:00 & 7:00

Doors open 15 minutes before

21

22 23

Report Cards go home

24

Parent/Teacher

Conferences

25

Make

A

Rainbow Day

26

Parent/Teacher

Conferences

27

Perry Conway Visit

28

Lip Sync Lyrics due this week

Lip Sync Non-Dress Rehearsals due this week

12

13

School Food Project Harvest Collector Cards

Program Description for Elementary School Newsletters and Websites

School Food Project Harvest Collector Cards

Pumpkins, beets and spinach . . . oh my!

Has your child been bringing colorful “food cards” home from school lately? Those are Harvest Collector Cards

provided by the BVSD School Food Project. The cards were created to support the new Farm to School

program in Boulder Valley School District this year. Coordinated with the school lunch menu, the Harvest

Collector Cards are a fun, educational tool that encourages students to try new fruits and veggies at lunch.

Complete with interesting information and fun facts about featured produce, cards are offered to students so

they can learn more about the Harvest of the Month lunch item. The set also includes Farmer cards with

images and information about local farmers who grow the delicious produce found on the lunch menu and salad bars.

When your child brings a new Harvest Collector Card home, ask what they learned about that particular food

item, how they could prepare it and how they would describe it. We hope the Harvest Collector Cards inspire

you to have many conversations with your child about healthy eating.

14

Student accident insurance 2014-2015

Low-cost student accident insurance is again being offered by Markel this year. They have changed their enrollment method from

paper to electronic and will not be providing print outs to schools to distribute to students. Attached is a PDF of their enrollment

information. This information is also available on the district website at

http://www.bvsd.org/employees/AthleticsActivities/Athletic%20Insurance%20Information/Forms/AllItems.aspx.

Healthy Kids Initiative

Another possible option for parents whose students need health insurance is the Boulder County Healthy Kids Initiative which

helps families enroll in Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) and Medicaid. CHP+ and Medicaid are free and low-cost health insurance

plans that provide dental, medical, prescription, mental health, and vision benefits. There are no monthly premiums, and co-pays

range from $0 - $15 depending on family income. CHP+ has higher income eligibility limits than many public assistance programs,

so many working families can qualify. Assets are not considered when determining eligibility for these programs. Some families

who have not previously qualified may be able to qualify now due to new income guidelines.

Eligibility specialists are available to serve families at all BVSD schools. Call 720-515-1454 today to talk with a specialist or to make

an appointment!

More information is available on the district website at http://www.bvsd.org/healthykids. A link to this page is on the front page of

the district site: Go to www.bvsd.org and click the Healthy Kids Initiative logo at the bottom of the page.

BVSD Community Connections: Resources for Kids & Teens

BVSD’s online guide, Community Connections: Resources for Kids & Teens can be found at http://guide.bvsd.org. The goal of Community Con-

nections is to connect the BVSD community with groups and individuals offering youth-oriented activities and services. Categories include aca-

demics and tutoring, health and support services, camps and classes, sports and fitness, the arts, teens, adventure, college planning and more. We

strive throughout the year to make Community Connections a valuable resource for fun, educational and transformative opportunities for kids

and teens.

To learn more about Community Connections or to discuss advertising options, please contact Marla Riley at 720-561-5977 or mar-

la.riley@bvsd.org.

NONDISCRIMINATION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

In compliance with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilita-

tion Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Nondis-

crimination Act of 2008, Colorado law and Board of Education Policy AC

(Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity), Boulder Valley School District does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex,

sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, religion, ancestry, need for special education services, age, marital status, genetic

information, or physical characteristics in admissions, access to, treatment, or employment in educational programs or activities which it oper-

ates. Complaint procedures have been established for students, parents, employees and members of the public. The following person has been

identified as the compliance officer for the district:

Superintendent

Boulder Valley School District6500 Arapahoe Rd.

Boulder, CO 80301

720.561.5114

Superintendent@bvsd.org