Berg Elementary Newsletter- November 2014

Berg Elementary Newsletter- November 2014
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Changing Program
Mr. Shawn Leiss, Principal
www.dickinson.k12.nd.us/berg/
From the Desk of Mr. Leiss
Each year in November, Berg Elementary and schools
across our country celebrate American Education Week.
This year it will be celebrated from November 16-22. This
week presents citizens in Dickinson and across the country
with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate public education
and honor individuals who are making a difference by
ensuring that every child receives a quality education. My
challenge to you is to find a way to show appreciation to one
of the dedicated teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians,
kitchen staff or secretaries that serve your child here at
Berg. I appreciate your assistance in letting our staff know
that their contribution to your child’s education matters.
Please read through the rest of the newsletter for
important information. One particular new items that I
would call your attention to is the news on the online
payment option. Other elementary schools have had this
available in the past, but this is new to Berg. Finally, I
would like to invite interested individuals to our Parent
Advisory Council meeting that will be held at Hagen at noon
on November 20th.
Online Payment Option
Berg Elementary now has the online payment option
available for your child’s lunch and/or milk. We are pleased
to offer this payment solution. Simply go to
http://dickinson.k12.nd.us/Berg and click on the Pay Here
button. The first time you use this payment option you will
need to select Click Here to register. Once you have
registered as a user, you can make lunch or milk payments.
Payments must be made separately for each child for lunch
or milk.
Our Changing II Program for sixth graders will take place
this month. This program is a cooperative project between
Dickinson Public Schools, Southwest District Health Unit,
Partners in Parenting and the Dickinson State University
Nursing program. This course includes material on the
physical and emotional changes of puberty, and how to
handle them. It also includes information on how to stay
healthy by avoiding risky behaviors.
Parental permission is required for participation in this
program and letters have been sent through the mail. A
Pre-Changing Program Parent Meeting for parents new to
the district and follow up sessions for parents and students
are planned from 7:00 – 9:00 PM on the following dates:
Nov. 3rd– Pre-Changing Program Parent Meeting for
parents new to the district.
Nov. 13th – Classes: Mrs. Stroud, Mrs. Schlecht,
Ms. Wolf, Mrs. Schaeffer,
Mrs. Schobinger, and Mr. Sobolik
Nov. 18th – Classes: Mr. R. Kovash, Mrs. Levorsen,
and Mr. C. Kovash
FREE Community
Thanksgiving Dinner
The Dickinson community Thanksgiving
dinner is 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, November 27, at the
Dickinson State University Student Center ballroom.
Volunteers are needed to help organize and serve the meal.
If interested in helping, call Tammy @ 701-227-8678 or
701-290-0492 between Nov. 17-25. Those wishing to
donate to the project, may send donations to: Dickinson
Community Thanksgiving Dinner, P.O. Box 604, Dickinson,
ND 58602.
First Quarter Report Cards
Report Cards for 1st Quarter will be sent
home with students on Thursday, November
6th. If you have any questions about your student’s report
card, please feel free to contact your student’s classroom
teacher or Mr. Leiss.
Berg Elementary Newsletter- November 2014
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dates to Remember
Nov. 3
Nov. 10
Nov. 11
Nov. 12
Nov. 13
Nov. 17
Nov. 18
Nov. 20
Nov. 27 & 28
Pre-Changing Program Parent Mtg. – 7 pm
No School
No School (Veteran’s Day observed)
Picture Retakes
Changing Program Parent Night – 7 PM
(Stroud, Schlecht, Wolf, Schaeffer,
Schobinger, and Sobolik)
School Board Meeting (5 PM @ CAO)
Changing Program Parents Night – 7 PM
(R. Kovash, Levorsen, and C. Kovash)
PAC Meeting at Noon
NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break
First Quarter Perfect Attendance
At Berg Elementary it is our goal to help each student
reach new academic PEAKS. Regular school attendance
and good punctuality help in this process. According to
school records, the following students had perfect
attendance during the first quarter; these students and
their families need to be commended. Congratulations to
all for this excellent effort!
Symone Beld, Skyy Bertelsen, Mattilyn
Biel, Peyton Blair, Cody Booth, Catera
Brazelton, Lyla Cahoon, Ryan Campbell,
Sierra Christensen, Isaac Clifton, Ian
Coleman, Damon Crouse, Brayden
DeMorrett, Bradyn Enderud, Cole
Faller, Arthur Flyberg, JennaLee
Forster, Jaycee Frank, Kaidan Frenzel, Joanna Gonzalez,
Ricardo Gonzalez, Hailey Graves, Nikolai Hauck, Trey
Haugen, Skyler Heim, Chase Henderson, Trevor Hirning,
Alden Hoerner, Joshua Hood, Cassidy Hughes, Nathaniel
Jimenez, Madison Johnson, Bravin Keck, Karter Kudrna,
Sydney Lantz, Alyson Lechler, Nelson Loris, Allisyn Lucas,
Emma Meduna, Warrick Morel, Michael Mosbrucker, Isaac
Muggli, Cullen Murphy, Raghyn Murphy, Hannah Northrop,
Griffin Obrigewitch, Audrey Oe, Brooke Ott, Lorenzo
Palacios, Leonardo Palma, Benjamin Perkins, Jordyn
Peterson, Arley Price, Leslie Ramos, Nicholas Santini, John
Scaife, Remington Schatz, Ava Schneider, Clayton Schutt,
Shane Schweiger, BreeAnna Scott, Abigail Semerad, Aydin
Soukup, Chase Steiner, Jadyn Steiner, Jonas Strom,
Mustafa Taylor, Emily Tedford, Mason Tolman, Kyra
Townsend, Andy Tran, Nathan Unruh, Jayden Wariner,
Ethan Weber, Kami Wert, Lane Whisler, Liam Williams,
Taven Wilson, Emily Winch, Jesse Wock, and Brady Yoder.
Title I Open House
Berg held its Title I Parent/Student Open House on
October 27th and 28th from 4:00 – 7:00. Mrs. Fridrich
explained to the parents the student selection process,
went over their child’s 1st quarter progress report and
answered any questions they may have had. The current
DPS Federal Title I Programs Dispute Resolution Policy
(GABDB) and the Title I Parental Involvement Policy (KAB)
were given to the parents as well as other documents that
needed to be shared. Other resources for the parents
were made available by Stacey Kilwein, with West Dakota
Parent and Family Resources Center. She provided handouts
about the center and what educational opportunities are
available for families by setting up a display in our hallway.
Practice worksheets were offered to any interest
parent/student who wanted to work on the skills covered
the first nine weeks. Thanks to all the parents who
attended, it was a huge success!
Positive Behavior Support
Good school behavior is important to a child’s success in
life; therefore, all people in school should be treated with
dignity and respect. Berg has adopted a positive support
model to promote desired student behavior. The staff of
Berg Elementary have high expectations for students in
their behavior efforts. Berg has set up both a positive and
negative reinforcement system to directly teach students
the behavioral expectations. Students are positively
reinforced for good behavior with “PEAK” cards. When
students are Prepared, Engaged, have a good Attitude, and
are Kind they may receive a card that indicated the desired
behavior that was displayed by an individual student or an
entire class. Classrooms set goals for earning PEAK cards
and when the goals are reached, classroom rewards follow.
Student misbehavior is corrected calmly and consistently
throughout the school. Firm and clear limits are taught
during the school day. Unacceptable behavior is not
tolerated and staff use a system to teach students that
there are consequences for not following school rules;
warning slips and/or detentions are used to inform parents
of unacceptable behaviors. Parents are encouraged to have
conversations with school personnel to assure that the
desired student behaviors increase. Students may receive
two warnings in a quarter and the third is then a detention.
Detentions are served during noon hour from 11:15 – 12:00.
Berg Elementary Newsletter- November 2014
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A Message from Mrs. Urlacher,
School Counselor -
Cold Weather
The school year is off to a great start with plenty of new
opportunities for students to grow and develop as they
begin their preadolescent years. This year we have
launched a new classroom guidance curriculum called Second
Step. This program focuses on social and emotional skills
that will help your child succeed in school and in life. Some
of the skills include:
As the cold weather quickly approaches we ask that you
remind your student to wear their cold weather clothing.
Students need to wear warm caps or ear coverings, warm
coats, and gloves or mittens. The staff at Berg is very
concerned about the health and safety of our students.








Empathy
Communication
Perspective Taking
Respectful Disagreements
Assertiveness
Emotional Management
Problem Solving
Substance Abuse Prevention
Families play a key role in helping children learn and
practice skills. Second Step homework sheets will come
home with your child on a monthly basis. Doing the
homework with your child shows you what she or she is
learning and helps you support your child in using the skills
at home. When your child brings the completed homework
back to school they will earn points towards a Parent PEAK
Card.
The Second Step website, www.secondstep.org with
activation key: SSP6FAMILY12 offers wonderful videos
and more information about what your child is learning.
Families are always welcome to call and/or visit about the
new Second Step Program or any social and emotional
concerns you have about your child.
The Book Fair is Online
When weather conditions require the closing of schools or
the buses to run later or earlier than the scheduled times,
an announcement is made by the three local radio stations.
Additionally, patrons will be notified by our Power
Announcement system. These weather related decisions are
made at the Central Administration Office.
Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
The Berg PAC welcomes all parents to our monthly PAC
meetings.
The Parent Advisory Committee of Berg
Elementary and Hagen Junior High collaboratively team our
PAC committees. If you are interested in participating as
a member or if you have any questions about PAC, please
contact Mr. Leiss at 456-0010. The next PAC meeting will
be on Thursday, November 20th at noon at Hagen.
HOPE TO SEE YOU at the PAC Meeting
Important Message
If your child is going to be absent from school, we ask that
you please call (701-456-0010) or email Mrs. Greenwood
(rgreenwood@dpsnd.org) to let us know (even if you have
sent a note for their classroom teacher). Also, if you have
a change of address or phone number, please contact the
office so we can update our records. Your child’s safety in
very important to us.
You and your parents can still shop online! There are more
books to choose from @ www.scholastic.com/fair






Click on icon: Find a Fair
Click on North Dakota
Click on “Shop Now” beside
Berg Elementary School
The online catalog is open until Nov. 11th
All orders ship to school for free
Mark your Calendars for
1:30 Early Dismissal!
*Wednesday, December 3, 2014
*Wednesday, February 4, 2015
*Wednesday, March 25, 2015