Bark River-Harris Schools

September 2019

I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable and safe summer vacation.   I look forward to seeing you throughout the school year.  School begins with the bell ringing at 8:20 A.M. and instruction ending at 3:07 P.M.

The Bark River-Harris staff is pleased to welcome the following new staff to our building and wishes them the very best:

• Ms. Crawford, Kindergarten
• Mrs. Boney, Behavior Interventionist

Elementary Staff

Readiness Kindergarten: Mrs. Zambon

Kindergarten: Mrs. Robinette, Mrs. Wells, Ms. Crawford

1st grade: Mrs. Saunders, Mrs. Miron, Mrs. Hays

2nd grade: Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Erickson

3rd grade: Mr. Ives, Mrs. Behnke

4th grade: Ms. Demers, Mrs. Robitaille

5th grade: Mrs. Mattson, Mrs. Madalinski

6th grade: Mr. Mercier, Mrs. Oswald

Title I: Mrs. Latsch, Mrs. DuBois

Special Education: Mrs. Rae, Mrs. Strahl

Itinerant: Mrs. DuBois, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Goodrich, Mrs. Stenberg

Behavior Interventionist: Mrs. Boney

As a school we are working to improve our communication with families.  You will see communications sent home from the office and classroom.  Our expectation will also be that calls will be made home and e-mail correspondence.  Some of our teachers use the Remind app and Class Dojo for communication tools with parents. We will be using all forms of communication and not just relying on Class Dojo/electronic communication.      

We are continuing to increase the visibility by our entire staff to improve the supervision of students in all settings.  A team of teacher leaders has been established to receive professional development training on Foundations.  This will be implemented across all settings of the elementary.  The teacher leaders will be training the entire staff during our professional development in-service days again this school year.  Students will be explicitly taught expectations of each area in the building, expectations will be modeled, and active supervision will take place.   

Last year we incorporated Playworks during recess time for students.  Playworks provides structure to recess by involving students in games and encouraging students to be positive and respectful.  Students will be learning a new game of the week and a cheer of the month.  The students will still be able to free play using the playground equipment, but will have the opportunity to participate in new structured games.

As a part of the teacher evaluation process, I will be out in classrooms for blocked times several days each week.  Please schedule an appointment time with me.  I will be out learning in classrooms, visible in hallways/recess/lunch, and monitoring student achievement to reach our district goals.  

Both the Student/Parent Handbook and the Behavior Expectation Handbook will be available online at the school website – www.brhschools.org  You may also request a hard copy from the elementary office.

• School Breakfast and Lunch-We will again be serving our students FREE Breakfast and Lunch at school for students in Rk-6th grade.  All students are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch as part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program called the Community Eligibility Provision for the 2019-2020 school year.  Your child will be receiving a letter in their folder with specific information on this new program.  Please fill out the attached Household information report and return to the elementary office as this is a requirement for the state and federal funding.  Thank you!

• Procedure Change for Student Drop off and Pick up-The procedure for student drop off and pick up has been revised due to the new construction on the east side of the building.  Students are now required to be DROPPED OFF in the morning and PICKED UP at the end of the day at the BACK DOOR.  Students will only be released to the authorized person scheduled to pick them up. Thank you for your attention to this important policy change in order to ensure the safety of all students.  Only students on the second load will be supervised after school.  Thank you!

• Student Emergency Forms –Your child will bring these forms home the first day of school and return them to his/her teacher the next day. It is the parent’s responsibility to make sure phone numbers, including cell numbers, and order of person(s) to contact in case of emergency are correct and accurate.

• PTO Information – We are fortunate to have great parents and a wonderful PTO that helps all students through their hard work and dedication. Please get involved.  Our PTO is committed to making our school a better place for the students.

• Technology Updates – PowerSchool is used by our district and is a great tool for parents to monitor their child’s progress in school.  The building has wireless internet and each classroom has iPads to be used as an instructional tool.  We are continuing to progress with implementing new technology into our instructional practice.  In our elementary classrooms we have installed clevertouch boards.  The district has installed security cameras in the building and on the buses.  The front entrance has been redesigned with added security systems to allow entrance into the building.  

Important School Dates to Remember:

October 3rd: Picture Day (1^st-6^th Grade) and siblings

October 4th: Picture Day (Readiness Kindergarten, Kindergarten and 7^th-11^th Grade) 

In closing, the staff and I are looking forward to working with you. The office is open from 7:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. so please call us if you have any questions. As always, we encourage parent involvement and participation throughout the school year and we look forward to the start of a successful school year at Bark River-Harris Elementary.

Yours in Education,

Mrs. Kelly A. Erdody, Principal

Bark River-Harris Elementary