Bobcat Brief

October 4, 2017

Early Out Today and Preschool Screaming

• Reminder that today Wednesday is a 1:00 early out for students.
• Teachers will be working on the implementation of Standards Based Grading, (SBG).
  • This is the 2^nd year of work toward communicating where your child is at and where they will be at the end of a school year.
  • As mentioned at our August Open House we will be reporting/communicating with parents more effectively in the area of English Language Arts, ELA starting next fall. Stay tuned.
• Preschool screening is today from 8:00-1:00. Please let us know if you are unable to make your scheduled time, or if you are not on the schedule.
• Thanks!!

Dale

Bobcat Brief

October 3, 2017

Playground Fundraiser “Breaks” new record

Monday October 2^nd we broke a record for the number of black and gold balloons popped by students between the time of 2:53 and 2:55. To be exact, students broke/popped 247 balloons in less than two minutes. Guinness has been called. This activity was the culmination of a Playground Equipment Fundraiser activity.

• The activity: My Suburban was filled with black and gold balloons. The challenge was to estimate/guess the capacity of a Chevy Suburban. All students were given one free guess but could also pay $1.00 for the opportunity to purchase additional guesses. Money gathered from this fundraiser will be placed in the LBVE coffers to be used for new playground equipment.

• The results: Beckham from first grade was closest with a guess of 250 balloons. There were actually 247. He received from the LBVE a $25.00 certificate to be used at our concession stand.

• More results: Closest in each class also received certificates for the concession stand. They were;
  • PK: Jasper     K: Cooper      2^nd: Tate         3^rd:Sydney      4^th: Lane            5^th: Nate  6^th:Raph
  • We raised $268.00 for our playground

• Reflections on this fundraiser:
  • I note that the Chevy Suburban’s payload of 247 balloons leaves both the Dodge Ram and Ford F150 in the dust.
  • I note that young students have not yet developed a sense of numbers and space. The smallest number of balloons that were in my Suburban was 4 and the largest number was 2,590.
  • I wonder if a person might get lightheaded when inflating 247 balloons. Should they then work with numbers?
  • Thank you to all who estimated and raised money for our new playground equipment.
  • A special thank you to Mrs. Jenny Nordmeyer for blowing up 247 balloons and to the LBVE for donating the gift certificates.

Have a record breaking Tuesday!

Dale

Bobcat Brief

September 29, 2017

Thank you!

Thank you for attending Parent Teacher Conferences last night. We had a strong turnout with many good conversations between teachers and parents. The goal of grading and conferencing is communication. Student achievement goes up when all three parties, (students, parents, and teachers), are not only on the same page, but also on the same sentence. Conferences serve either to initiate a conversation between school and home or to strengthen the lines of already established communication.

We also have a new student management system this year, (JMC), which like previous years has a parent portal. For those who have been unsuccessful in logging in, please use the child’s primary parent’s last name as a username not necessarily the child’s last name. The password is available from your child’s teacher. Parent Portal is found on the left menu of our school’s home page. I have included a screenshot of that page.

Have a communication-rich weekend,

Dale

Bobcat Brief

September 28, 2017

It is Picture Day!

What an exciting day to be a Bobcat! Students are dressed in their finest, hair is just perfect, and smiles come easily. Today is picture day at Lake Benton Elementary. Should your child be out sick today, know that our class picture make-up day is Tuesday November 7^th at 8:00 in the morning.

Have a picture-perfect Thursday,

Dale

Bobcat Brief

September 27, 2017

Parent Teacher Conferences Thursday September 28

As a school age child, I was acutely aware of parent teacher conference dates. My privileges routinely were “adjusted” by my dad the day after conferences were held. My world shrunk and my workload went up, because of my teacher’s failure to teach me, oh, for example grammer. My after school experience of touch football with friends morphed into the study of reading, writing and arithmetic at the kitchen table.

Our students do know that Parent Teacher Conferences are tomorrow (September 28^th) from 4:00-7:00. This brief is just a reminder to contact your child’s teacher if you have not yet set up a time to meet.

Enjoy this beautiful fall day!

Dale

Bobcat Brief

September 21, 2017

Snow day makeup

Although tomorrow is just the first day of fall, the calendar is not always a good predictor of winter’s arrival. Even a mild winter might produce a snow day or two, so we plan as though they will happen. The school board at last night’s meeting set the make-up schedule for snow days. Note: we make-up only days where we are out of school for the full day.

The make-up schedule, if needed, is as follows.

First make-up date: 2-19-2018

Second make-up date: 4-2-2018

Third make-up date: 5-16-2018

Enjoy this last snow-free day of summer

Dale

Bobcat Brief

September 20, 2017

I love to read!

Our school library has become a go-to kind of place in our building. What I have noticed are students spending time prior to the start of the school day in our library. What I have noticed are students stopping in during lunch. What I have noticed is a library that says, I love to read!!

Although we as a school are responsible for reporting to the state on the status of reading, (Read Well by Third Grade), in our building, we are even more responsible to our students, so that when they graduate from 6^th grade they love to read. This is our goal, and this is what we hope to foster building wide. Thank you to our library specialist Shelly Finzen for your work toward supporting our goal.

Have a well-read Wednesday!

Dale

Bobcat Brief

September 19, 2017

Evening Edition

Upcoming Events

• 9-20-2017: School Board Meeting at 6:00
• 9-21-2017: 4^th grade football in Lake Benton at 6:30
• 9-21-2017: Volleyball vs Estelline in LB
  • Two JH games 4pm start.  6:00pm JV Start followed by Varsity
• 9-28-2017: Picture day
• 9-28-2017: Parent Teacher Conferences from 4:00-7:00
• 10-4-2017: 1:00 early out for teacher professional development
• 10-4-2017: Preschool Screening
• 10-5-2017: Flu Vaccinations
• 10-18-2017: Last day of 1^st quarter
• 10-19 through 10-22-2017: MEA Break, no classes

Enjoy this day before it falls away!

Bobcat Brief

September 19, 2017

Student Transportation Safety Day in Lake Benton

Tyler Bus Companies’ Jordan Bennett completed our annual bus safety training this morning. Students are brought unto a parked bus one class at a time, and are given instruction on safe bus behavior and on emergency procedures. Mr. Bennett demonstrated the use of the safety exits and students practiced evacuating the bus should there be an emergency. Jordan also had safety cones set up around the bus to show driver blind spots. We thank Mr. Bennett for his work in keeping our students safe.

Have a super safe day!

Dale

Bobcat Brief

September 16, 2017

Well-intentioned are words that come immediately to mind. That phrase may not do justice to the damage that was done as a result of a miscalculation in promoting Thursday nights Elkton-Lake Benton volleyball game. However, after 2 days of almost non-stop apologizing, that is all I got. I do learn from my mistakes and commit to not repeating this most recent one. I promise. To recap:

The “highly trained” bat was released into our gym just prior to the start of the first junior high game of the night. The bat broke from his normal routine of flying patterns to the music of Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” that represent the letter E (Elkton) and LB (Lake Benton). The bat in fact flew random patterns and in the process terrified old and young alike. What I did not know before contracting with the Bat Promotional Specialist was that our new Spectronic 3200 sound system emits frequencies know to disrupt echocardiograms, echolocation, or whatever.

The follow-up: We were able to capture and safely release the little guy. No one was hurt, games were played, the home teams won and all is good.

The future: This Thursday Lake Benton will again be hosting home Elkton-Benton Games. The bobcat scheduled for release prior to the first whistle is certified for public appearances. Trust me.

Have a worry-free weekend,

Dale