February 2015 Volume 4

From Our Principal Dear Bailey Lake Families,At BLE, we are always trying to improve our practices. This month, with assistance from the PTA, teachers will learn more about the Pathways Writing curriculum with national expert Annemarie Johnson. Teachers will spend two delayed start sessions and two half-day sessions with Mrs. Johnson.

Third, fourth, and fth grade students will participate in a state assessment called M-Step. This assessment will replace the MEAP that we have taken for years. The testing window for each grade is as follows:

5th grade: April 14th-30th

4th grade: April 28th-May 15th

3rd grade: May 19th-June 5th

Please continue to send proper winter gear for your student to wear during recess. Reminder: we go outside unless the feels like temperature is below zero. Thanks for sending your student prepared

Sincerely,Glenn GualtieriPrincipal, Bailey Lake Elementary

FEBRUARY CALENDAR

February 13 Valentines Day Party, 3 p.m.

February 16-17 No school, Winter Break

February 23 Market Day Pickup, 4-5 p.m.

February 25 Late Start

Scrip Gift Card Orders Due

March1 Box Tops Due

March 5 Talent Show, 6:30 p.m., at Junior High School

March 6 PTA Open House, 9a.m.,

Conferece RoomAll are welcome!

March 11Late Start

Scrip Gift Card Orders Due

March 13No School, Records Day

March 16 and March 18Conferences, 4-7 p.m.

Mr. Gualtieri celebrating Fancy Day

with Mrs. Reis Kindergarteners.

From Our PTA PresidentHello Bailey Lake Families!

There are so many great things going on at Bailey Lake! Mornings with Mom was a lot of fun for all who attended. Thank you to Randy Scott, Mark Beauchamp, and Andrea Beauchamp for organizing this event. Thanks to all of the fathers who came out and volunteered for the event as well, its always fun for all who attend!

There will be a Penny Drive going on the week of Feb. 9th-13th. The class that brings in the most money per student will win a eld trip to the Sea Life Aquarium, and get a behind the scenes tour! All of the funds raised will go toward the purchase of chrome books for the school.

Congratulations to all of the Re ections winners! We wish you the best in higher level judging.

March is national reading month. Your PTA will be implementing some fun activities to encourage students and families to have fun with reading.

The 2015 Talent Show will take place on Thursday, March 5th at the Jr. High School at 6:30. Thank you to Melissa Snyder for organizing this fun event.

The PTA membership cards and the directories should be coming home in February as well, we apologize for the late delivery.

Sincerely, Becky Walker

By Eric SuenderFebruary 2, 2015

Clarkston, MI The rst six recipients of the Boy Scouts of America new STEM NOVA Award, in the Pontiac-Manito District of the Great Lakes Field Service Council, are from Cub Scout Pack 341, right here in Clarkston.

These high-achieving Webelo Scouts completed the rst module achieving their STEM NOVA patch. This is a new program started by the Boy Scouts of America to enrich STEM activities within scouting, building all the skills necessary for building a body of knowledge in a STEM eld. The award ceremony took place on January 16, 2015 at the Pin-ewood Derby.These scouts spent the last two months reading and watching videos about sim-ple machines. They were visited by Clark-ston High Schools robotics team, TEAM RUSH at their November Pack meeting. The Webelos focused their research on levers and designed playground xtures, games, sports or inventions de ning the e ort, load and fulcrum within their individual designs.

This STEM NOVA program consists of four modules Swing!, Tech Talk, Science

Everywhere and 1-2-3 Go! The Webelos will be working on their next module, Science Everywhere in February. It will be taking place at Pine Knob Ski Resort, where the scouts will learn more about Pine Knobs patented snowmaking technique and the creation of the new SkyTrac put in during the Fall of 2014, said NOVA counselor Eric Suender.The Webelos are working toward achiev-ing the Dr. Charles H. Townes Supernova award for Webelos Scouts, in which the scouts will be investigating this summer.

About the STEM NOVA awards program:Geocaching. Robotics. Welding. Canoe-ing. Electronics. These topics and more drive the Boy Scouts of Americas Nova Awards program, its STEM-related initia-tive. The program, launched June 1, 2012, brings science, technology, engineer-ing, and mathematics to life for young people. The hope is that this applica-tion of fun with a purpose will inspire them and encourage them to pursue meaningful careers in STEM elds. The Nova Awards. program was developed to stimulate interest in STEM elds among youth members, with requirements and activities that make it fun to explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics while getting recognition

for participation. The BSA believes STEM is the future of America. Bernard Harris, a medical doctor and former NASA astro-naut, serves as national spokesperson for the program. A Cub Scout as a youngster, Dr. Harris believes scout education was his launching pad to success. He says, American has long prided itself as a na-tion of dreamers, a land where everyone can strive for a better life. . . . We must not lose the will to pursue daring new goals. . . . Our future depends on it. Cub Scouts ages 8 and older, Boy Scouts, and Venturers may earn the Nova awards and more advanced Supernova awards. For more information about the Nova Awards program, visit www.scouting.org/stem.aspx.

Cub Scout Nova Awards Information: www.scouting.org/stem/Awards/CubScout.aspx

Webelos Scout Supernova Award Information: www.scouting.org/stem/Awards/Webelos.aspx

About Pack 341These Cub Scouts and Webelos are chartered by Bailey Lake Elementary in Clarkston, MI.

To learn more about this award, please contact: Eric Suender 248-672-8804esuender@gmail.com

Six Webelo Scouts Make History

Earning STEM NOVA Award!!!!

Cub Scout Pack 341 have the rst scouts in the Pontiac-Manito District to achieve the new STEM NOVA Award.

Pictured in alphabetic order are Alex Roell, Ryan Suender, Cameron Fleming, Owen Birch, Kurtis Niemi, and Hayden Lamrouex with NOVA counselor Eric Suender.

Box Tops NewsEach Box Tops coupon is worth 10 and they add up fast!

We have raised $1865 so far. Our goal is to raise another $1615, with our latest submission, hopefully reaching our nal goal of $3500.

If you miss this deadline, please continue to send your non-expired box tops in clipped. Thank you!

Congratulations GEO Bee Winner! Landon Butcher

Dear Bailey Lake Parents,As you may know, the Bailey Lake PTA is a vital partner in your childs education. Their e orts provide our students with an abundance of enrichment activities and our classrooms with supplemental resources.

We are seeking parents who would be interested in becoming members of the PTA Board as well as various chairperson positions for the 2015-16 school year.

You may be reading this thinking it is an overwhelming commitment. In actuality, after the start of the school year and Fun Run, the commitment is a 60 minute meeting, monthly. You can even partner with someone if that works best!

If you are interested and/or would like to learn more about all the positions, please consider attending the PTA Open House on Friday, March 6 at 9 AM in the BLE conference room.

Thanks for considering the opportunity!Sincerely,

Glenn GualtieriPrincipal

You Are All Cordially Invited to the

PTA Open House Hosted by Mr. Gualtieri

Mark your calendars for

Friday, March 6, 2015, 9 a.m. Have you ever considered volunteering at our school, but were not sure what the

position really meant? or how much time would be required of you? These are questions many parents may ask.

This Open House is a casual meeting in which questions can be answered, any misconceoptions can be explained, meet other parents/caregivers,

with no pressure to sign on.

We welcome new opinions, and processes if we can accommodate, because like everything else, things evolve.

Help us build a great team of volunteers for next year, by taking a look at what can be done to ensure the growth and success of our students. Bring a friend, and join us!

A Salute to the Armed ForcesThank you Gold sh Swimming for a

fun school event to ll an otherwise

cold, winter day in January.

Many families ventured over to the

Clarkston location for the afternoon

for some fun joining friends and

family in the warm water!

If you would like more information

regarding what Gold sh has to

o er, please call them at

(248) 795-2252.

A Goldfish Event!

Bailey Lake

Talent ShowAlmost Here!!

The Bailey Lake talent show is underway with a great turnout of approxi-mately 100 kids participating this year making up about 40 unique acts!!

Mark your calendars because the show is set for Thursday, March 5 at the Junior High School.

The kids are preparing their acts, as we nalize the details within the next couple of weeks! There are volunteer options still available.

Please contact Melissa if you are interested in helping out!

Melissa Snyder 248.709.6776Melissa.snyder@gm.com Talent Show Coordinator

Scrip Gift Card Orders!NEXT ORDER DUE WEDNESDAY, February 25, 2015

ALL Late Start Days: Wednesday, March 11 & 25Orders should be received no later than noon on the following days. Send in with your student.

Place your order through the forms created just for Bailey Lake, including your check (made out to BLE PTA)Your student should come home with a form soon, if they do not,

forms are located near the Sta workroom door or on the Bailey Lake website or Facebook page. In an envelope, provide name of student, teacher, phone number and your preferred distribution of gift cards (pick-up or sent home with student). Send in with your student. If you are looking for a brand you do not see on form, visit shopwithscrip.com.

A Fun Morning!

Muffins with MomThank you to all the volunteers that helped make this morning run so smoothly! The Moms loved being greeted by the dad volunteers! Our special volunteers for the two mornings were: Mark Beauchamp, Mark Scaglione, Randy Scott, Dave Swanson, Jim Kacanowski, Mike Rinaldi, Andy Harp, Andrew Zielke, Marcelino Caballa, Richard Hoyle and Jon Guidoux

Also, a big thank you again to Bob Mantha & Abby Forbes at Tim Hortons Clarkston for a discount on donuts and donating co ee, cups & lids both days.

Some Ra e items included Stars & Stripes $50 gift cards, Star Nails $30 Gift certi cates, Thirty-one Gifts (Andrea Beauchamp) donated several totes, Gold sh Swimming of Clarkston $25 Gift certi cates,Love Clarkston sweatshirt and Dr.s Je rey & Steven Grabiel, DDS of Birmingham donated a sonic care electric toothbrush and goodies.

There was such a great turnout for both days, and the last Mu ns with Mom for our outgoing 5th graders. Hope everyone had fun!

And the Winners areMr. Braziers, 5th grade class!

Once again the Bailey Lake

community showed their

support for our school this

week. The Student

Council Coin Drive collected

$7991.15 to support our technology

needs in the media center.

Mr. Braziers class has

won a eld trip to the

Sea Life Aquarium at

Great Lakes Crossing.

Thank you.

Introducing Seuss Fair 2015 Mark your calendars for Friday, April 17 from 6-8:30pm.

As many of you know, School Fair and Seuss Night have been merged into one event. What that means is that weve been able to keep the best of both events to make this night a ton of fun for our kids. The majority of this event will remain FREE. Yes, FREE! All games and activities will continue to be geared toward making math and reading fun and will continue to remain free of charge for our families. Face painting, Oobleck, Cakewalk, football throw you name it, its free.

Seuss Fair will also serve as a fund raising event for Bailey Lake Elementary. All money raised at this event will go toward pur-chasing a Chrome Cart for our school. Your donations will help to purchase much-needed new technology for our students. So, whats this going to cost you? That depends completely on you and if you choose to participate in any of the following:

Basket Ra e As in past years for School Fair, we will hold our Basket Ra e. Each classroom will be assigned a theme and families will be asked to donate to their classrooms basket to be ra ed o . Ra e tickets will be for sale if you choose to purchase them.

Concessions Also as a holdover from School Fair, we will o er a small concessions stand to sell snacks and refreshments to our students who are enjoying the evening.

Silent Auction We will also have a downsized version of the former School Fair Silent Auction. We will have several items up for auction at the Fair.

Please join us at Seuss Fair on Friday, April 17 from 6-8:30pm. More information about this event will be coming home by the rst week of March, including information on how to sign up to volunteer. We will need over 100 volunteers to make this night a success. Please consider giving your time. Please note, all children must be accompanied by aparent or other responsible adult.

Questions? Please contact Amy Darnell at amymdarnell@yahoo.com. Look forward to seeing you there!

Learning with Cultures of Thinking

Our 2nd Graders Invited Parents to Learn with ThemSchool-family partnerships start with knowledge and understanding. Bailey Lake Elementary second grade parents were invited to an open classroom event Learning with Cultures of Thinking to experience the atmosphere of a thinking classroom and learn about thinking routines from their own children. They saw how children collaborate, share their ideas, and have meaningful conversations. They witnessed many ways to understand and solve math problems. At the end, they shared their own thinking via I Used to Think, Now I Think thinking routine.

i

About your PTAThe Objects of the Bailey Lake Elementary PTA, in common with those of the National PTA and the Michigan PTSA are:

a. To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community and place of worship.

b. To raise the standards of home life.

c. To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth.

d. To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate in-telligently in the education ofchildren and youth.

e. To develop between educators and the general public such united e orts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantag-es in physical, mental, social and spiritual education.

BAILEY LAKE Elementary School

8051 Pine Knob Road Clarkston, MI 48348

Phone: (248) 623-5300 Fax: (248) 623-5305

Student Absence Line: (248) 623-5390

School Hours: 8:35 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.

Rebecca Walker, PTA PresidentGlenn Gualtieri, Principalwww.clarkston.k12.mi.us/ble

Date Change forKindergartner Orientation at BLE

Bailey Lake Elementary Kindergarten Orientation for incoming 2015-16 kindergarten students has been changed to Wednesday, April 29th. Please note you

must have all necessary paperwork completed to attend orientation. Thank you.

What is the BLE PTA Board?The Board consists of PTA members holding various positions with de ned responsibilities. The main roles are: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator, Assistant Volunteer Coordinator, Membership Co-ordinator, Assistant Membership Coordi-nator, Facebook/Newsletter Coordinator, and Web Site Coordinator. The Board is elected for a term of one year usually at the May PTA Meeting.

Who can be elected for the BLE PTA Board?PTA Board positions are open to any Bailey Lake Elementary PTA member and do not require previous board or PTA experi-ence. If you are interested in a PTA board position for the following school year, you should contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Dena P eiger. The Volunteer Coordina-tor seeks out nominees for each board position and presents candidates to the membership at the May PTA meeting.

Do I need to be a Board Member to chair an event?No. While many BLE PTA Board members also chair events, it is not required.

How do PTA Committee Chair positions get lled? The PTA President and Volunteer Coordinator begin seeking individuals to ll committee chair roles as early as February. If you are interested in a PTA committee chair position for the following school year, you should look for announcements in Bulldogs Newsletter or talk to the President, Rebecca Walker, rsbruton@gmail.com or Volunteer Coordinator, Dena P ieger, p ieg1@comcast.net.This year we may even set up signup genius. Details to come.

What are the basic and shared job responsibilities of Board Members and Chairs?

Help to recruit and train your successor;

Keep binders up-to-date;

Maintain good les;

Attend PTA meetings whenever possible

PTA: from Questions to UnderstandingPTA Board and PTA Committee Chairs