Bristow Run Elementary School
“A Fully Accredited School and School of Excellence”
From The Panther’s Pen
“A Team on Track for the Future”
8990 Worthington Drive
Bristow, Va. 20136
703-753-7741
Fax - 703-753-7604
Andrew Buchheit, Principal
Jo Linda Toth - Assistant Principal
http://www.pwcs.edu/pwc/schools/brun/bristowrun.htm
January 2004
Hello Panthers!
Happy
New Year!! What a busy year it has been already. It is hard to believe we have
finished the first semester of school and are beginning the second one. Snow
and the “threat” of snow continue to occupy all our minds each day and night.
I’m not sure if I am in the minority or not; but I have had enough snow after
these last two years and will be pretty fine without seeing anymore this
winter.
Once again, our school has been
named a
Our teachers have been working hard
to ensure all our students are successful and doing their best each day. I want
to publicly compliment them on all they do. As you probably recognize, the
teaching profession can be an overwhelming and challenging one each day. We are
fortunate that we have such a wonderful, caring and professional staff of
educators who see the rewards of what they do each day in their students’ faces
and accomplishments. I join you in thanking them for their dedication and
commitment.
Our PTA has
organized and coordinated some fun Family Fun Nights and Spirit Nights these
past months. It was great to see so many of you at Pizzeria Uno,
Burger King and Baja Fresh and at school for our Family Fun Nights and School
programs. I also appreciate how many of you have come in as volunteers to help
in the classroom, office, library and welcome table.
Career Day was once again a big success and that was again due to all our
fantastic parents coming in to share their jobs and professions with our
students.
As you know, our
school motto is: “A Team on Track for
the Future”. At Bristow Run we recognize
that it takes all of us (Teachers, Staff, Students & Parents) working
together to ensure the success of each student. We truly believe that by
working together all children will learn to their fullest potential. I look forward to continuing to work with
you and your children this year.
Sincerely, Andrew
Buchheit, Principal of
OUR SCHOOL SCHEDULE:
FOR
GRADES 1-5
Doors open:
KINDERGARTEN
Morning class: M,T,W,F:
Afternoon class: M,T,W,F:
BRISTOW RUN VISION
Bristow
Run Elementary School is committed to the belief that all children will learn
to their fullest potential in a safe, respectful and motivating environment of
high expectations and continuous improvement in partnership with our parents
and community. "A Team on Track for the Future
UPCOMING CALENDAR
- Tue. Feb. 3 – Advisory Council
meeting;
- Wed. Feb. 4 – School Boundary
meeting at Mullen ES
- Mon, Feb. 16 - President’s Day – Not a school holiday
- Tue. Feb. 17 – PTA Program
–Parenting: The Power of Encouragement;
- Fri. Feb. 20 – Family Fun Night (Dance)
- Fri. Feb. 27 – Interims go home
- Tue. Mar. 2 – Read Across
- Tue. Mar. 2 – Advisory Council
meeting;
- Tue. Mar 9 – 5th grade
writing SOL
- Wed., Mar. 10 – 5th
grade writing SOL
- Tue., Mar. 16 – PTA Program –
- Wed. Mar. 17 – 4th
grade writing predictor
- Thur. April 1 – end of 3rd
grading period (and I’m not foolin’)
- Fri., April 2 – Teacher work day
– no school for students
- Mon. April 5 – Mon. April 12 –
Spring Break
- Tuesday, April 13 – School
reopens and report cards go home
PUBLIC
HEARING ON BRISTOW RUN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BOUNDARIES –
A public hearing on the
boundary changes for Bristow Run for next school year will take place on
February 4th at
NEWS FROM MS.TOTH – YOUR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Substitutes – Parents, are you looking for
part-time work during the school year? You might want to consider
substituting in
Testing
Corner - That
time of year is upon us. Our Fifth Graders will start SOL testing March 9 and
10 with the Writing Multiple Choice and Writing Prompt. If you are
interested in any information about the SOLs you can
check out the Virginia Department of Education website; www.pen.k12.va.us.
Bristow
Run's Car Line News –
Parents, please be sure to pull all the way up to the white line past the front
door. Also we can really get the line moving if you let your child out
along the sidewalk. Patrols are there to monitor students. Another safety
precaution, please let your children out on the right
side of the car so they are not near moving cars.
Ms. Toth's
January Review - Wow!
What a month we have had at Bristow Run. We reviewed the rules on our
first day back from winter break. These reminders help our students
maintain their super star character skills. We had an awesome Family
Fun Night at Uno's, we filled the place like we owned it. We enjoyed our
First Family Fun game night. Mr. Buchheit and I enjoyed an action packed
game of Pictionary. Career Day had all the
students thinking about the future and learning about being adult WORKERS.
To help us keep our PUT
Jo
Linda Toth - Assistant Principal My email is tothjl@pwcs.edu.
SOL RELEASED ITEMS
The SOLS or the Standards of Learning
is our state curriculum. In the spring, our students take the SOL assessments,
which have been developed to evaluate our students’ understanding of the
curriculum. The State website routinely publishes previous versions of the SOL
assessments. If you would like to review the 2003 SOL tests, you may want to
look at this website: http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/Release2003/index.html
TECHNOLOGY
UPDATE
Accelerated Math is now available to third, fourth
and fifth grades. Internet Online is
available through the PWCS web site.
This provides an opportunity for parents to check student emergency card
records and attendance. In cooperation with our Advisory Council
and PTA, we will begin looking at updating our computers in the computer lab
and in the classroom over the next couple of years. If you have any thoughts on
how to best accomplish this, please contact our Network Specialist, Sandy
Massey at 703-753-7741.
A
NOTE FROM OUR SCHOOL NURSE
I wanted to send a little reminder that flu
season is still here, and hopefully on its last
leg. It is very important that children
are not sent to school if they are sick, especially with fever, coughing, sore
throats, body-aches, nausea/vomiting or any other symptoms that make you
suspect your child is ill. Colds and flu
are spread, person- to-person, via droplets from the upper respiratory system
via coughing and/or touching objects that have been contaminated with these
droplets. It is very important that
students wash their hands before they eat, after they use the bathroom and any
time the hands are obviously dirty. When
washing hands it is necessary to use soap, and wash for at least the amount of
time it takes to sing the “Birthday Song”.
When coughing please stress to your children to cover their mouth with a
Kleenex and throw it in the trash. If
they do not have a Kleenex , it is better
that they cough into their elbow/upper arm area, rather than their
hands, so as to prevent the spread of germs from contaminated hands which can
further contaminate objects that they touch.
I will be floating thru different classes as time permits to discuss
“good hand-washing” technique with students, and encourage teachers to continue
to stress good hand-washing technique as well.
Another way to help prevent illness is to have a strong immune system. It is very important that children get to bed early to get adequate rest and eat nutritious meals and snacks. It is better for children to drink water, juice and/or milk, which contain vitamins and minerals, then to drink soda pop. Soda pop is just empty calories high in sugar with no nutritional value what so ever. So remember, especially during cold and flu season, as well as any other time, watch your children for symptoms. Call your doctor if you have any questions or concerns regarding any symptoms. Make sure they cover their mouth and nose when coughing, and keep those hands clean and free from germs. Have a safe and healthy school year. Anita Sprague RN BSN
Going Home - Walkers and
Bus Riders - 
It is important for everyone’s safety
to remember the following when walking or riding the bus home. Walkers need to plan their trip so they don’t
arrive at school before
Car Riders -If you pick up your child each day,
remember to get a number from our guidance counselors. In the morning, please
have your child unload on the right side of your car. Also Mr. Uhtoff,
our school parking lot monitor has asked us to pass along that he would like
everyone, if you park in the spaces in front of the school please walk around
to the sidewalk instead of walking in the street. This serves as a good model
for our students. And remember to use
your turn signal.
ADVISORY COUNCIL - 
Each school in
THE GUIDANCE COUNSELOR CORNER - 
The
School Counseling Program motto,
“Keeping students on track for the long run”, is accomplished through
individual and small group counseling, classroom lessons, and consultations
with parents and staff.
Mediation Offered to
Students
Peer
Mediation is available to every student (K-5) who wants to work out a problem
he/she is having with another student. Mediation provides a quiet, confidential
setting for the students to talk to each other and come up with a solution
which they both agree to try. A school counselor is present at
every mediation.
Annual Career Day a Success
Our 6th Annual Career Day was held on
January 23. Many different speakers came to present many different careers to
students in K-5. We want to thank those who volunteered their time and
expertise. The students were able to see a connection between their important
work at school and their future employment possibilities.
PTA Schedules Parenting Workshop
A special parenting presentation is
slated for the next PTA meeting – February 17 (
Parent Teas Feature Guidance Topics
So far this year, we have had two
Parent Teas. On October 8, the discussion was about engaging the cooperation of
children and getting them to listen. The counselors shared information from the
book, How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So
Kids Will Talk. On December 10, the parents who attended learned more
strategies from that book and some ideas for helping with homework hassles. The
next Parent Tea is scheduled for February 18. The topic will be Discipline. Please contact the school to reserve a spot
for that Wednesday morning at
No Name-Calling
Week is Set
READING Reading
Children need to practice their
reading skills by reading at home each day.
There is a direct correlation between the amount of time a child spends reading
and how well the child scores on a standardized reading test. By just reading twenty minutes a day at home,
a child can score twenty percentile points higher on a standardized test than
the child who reads only ten minutes a day.
Also Read Across
America Day is March 2nd,
STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS
The Student Council (SCA) kicked off its Pennies for Patients Fund
Raising Drive with a Sports Team Shirt Day on January 30. The fund raising will continue for two weeks – January 30 – February
13. Please send in all your extra change as a donation to help the researchers
find a cure for cancer. Toward the end of the school year, we will have another
food drive to collect food for needy local families.
GRADE LEVEL NEWS – What to expect for the next 9 weeks.
Autistic
Class 3rd – 5th grades - The children in the 3rd-
5th grade Autistic Class have been busy so far this year! Each week we are working on reading, writing,
and math, as well as focusing on various themes to cover science and social studies
topics. Each of the children also has a
grade level ‘peer buddy’ who they work with on reading, math, science or social
studies tasks or projects. All the
children love to participate and enjoy spending time with their ‘buddies’. Aside from their general curriculum and IEP
goals, the classroom has taken over the PTA’s job of making, packaging and
distributing popcorn one time per month to the children of the school. Each month the children take on a different
job and work throughout the day to pop, pack and then deliver the popcorn. The children are hard-working and really
enjoy this activity, which requires a lot of teamwork!! We look forward to a busy spring and warmer
weather!
Kindergarten - - Kindergarten fits
so much learning in just 3 1/4 hours of school each
day! 
*During the next quarter, we will be
comparing sets to determine which has more, fewer, or the same number of
items. We will also be continuing to count
backwards from 10 and count by 5s and 10s as we prepare to
celebrate 100 days in school! Measurement of
length, weight, time, and temperature as well as money round out our math
studies.
*In science
we will be experimenting with the three states of matter, dental
health, weather/seasons, lights and shadows, and finish up five
senses. In social studies we will be learning all about presidents
Washington and Lincoln and strengthen our friendships for Valentine's Day.
*
1st grade – In the third quarter, first grade
has a lot of great activities and units planned. We are excited about what wonderful readers
our first grade students are becoming and to please remember to read every
night with your child.
We started
our first grade’s spelling program at the beginning of the second quarter and
it has been a success! The student’s
have done a wonderful job with their spelling activities and spelling
tests. After week 10, we will no longer
give the dictation sentence to the students prior to the test. They will still have a dictation sentence
with their Friday spelling test but we’re trying to see if they truly retained
and learned their prior spelling words.
Here is a preview of the upcoming units of study in the third quarter:
Math: Number
patterns, tens & ones, order numbers, money (penny, nickel,
dime & quarter), time (hour &
half-hour), length, measurement & capacity
Social
Studies: Economics, presidents, inventors, symbols of patriotism, maps/symbols
Science:
Dental health, earth & sun, Spring
2nd
Grade - It’s hard
to believe that second grade is already at the midyear point! For the third quarter in math, we will tell
time to the quarter hour and add and subtract with ‘regrouping’ (perhaps,
better known to you as ‘borrowing’ and ‘carrying’!). In Social Studies, we will complete units on
Native Americans, Ancient China and the topic second graders have been waiting
for…Ancient Egypt! We will continue to
work on reading comprehension, fluency, and written language during our
language arts time. Thank you for
continuing to encourage your child to read at least 15 minutes each night and
to build up those Accelerated Reader points.
Third
Grade - 
The third grade is full speed
ahead. In language arts we will be
focusing on nonfiction books, which includes biography
and autobiographies. We will be
fine-tuning our editing and revising skills such as the use of commas,
apostrophes, and question marks, as well as combining sentences and pronoun and
verb agreement. In math we are
completing fractions, decimals, geometry, multiplication and division. Whew that sounds like a lot.
We
are learning even more new things in science and social studies. Mrs. Manning’s class will be learning about
government/ civics, Earth cycles,
This
quarter the third grade will also be going on two field trips. The first is in February to GMU to see Ramona
Quimby, Age 8 live. Then we will be going to the Hylton High School Planetarium in March. We are set and ready to keep our kids hopping
into spring.
Fourth
Grade - 
We’re halfway through the school
year! Where has the time gone? Now that the Science Fair is over, we will be
concentrating on our remaining Science Units.
Please continue to encourage your child to practice math facts daily for
10 minutes. We suggest you visit Internet web
sites to help them practice these facts, such as www.multiplication.com. As we continue to explore Virginia History,
students will be researching facts, people, emblems, etc…as they work on their
in-class Virginia Project. Each
classroom is now focusing on paragraph formation, the writing process, and
writing prompts. On
Fifth Grade - We will continue to be extra-busy
during the third grading period. The
fifth grade teachers are gearing up for the Writing SOL tests which will be
administered on March 9th and 10th. The
Writing SOL test is divided into two parts-multiple choice and direct
writing. The direct writing portion
requires the students to write to a prompt chosen by the state. We have been reviewing our curriculum with
our students during Team Time every
Tuesday afternoon. The grade level is
divided into eight teams and is asked questions taken from each core subject
area. Prince William Police Officer
Sherrie Farley will be joining us in March to begin the D.A.R.E. program. She will meet with the fifth grade students
every Monday for a nine-week period to discuss drug awareness. We are looking forward to her arrival! To celebrate African-American month, students
will be reading about famous people who have made contributions to our
world. They will read a biography of
their choice and research their famous person using a variety of
references. We will continue to prepare
the fifth graders for the responsibilities that middle school will bring.
LIBRARY - What's
going on in the Library:
We
want to thank all the volunteers who helped us have a very successful Book
Fair. We could not do it without your help. Students loved Clifford
and the Teacher from the Black Lagoon!! A big thank you to
the students, teachers and parents who supported our Book Fair.
Wow! We now have 2,269 Accelerated Reader
tests in the library and we are still ordering more. The money from the
book fair is being used to purchase even more test. Check out our
web site for a list of the tests. Thank you for all your support of the
Library. Mrs. Kyker, librarian.
Bristow Run Music Notes -
What a
great beginning to the year in music!
Our December program with Fifth Grade Strings and Panther Chorus was AWESOME.
Thanks to the students, parents, family and friends for making it such a great
evening. Panther Chorus will have
their next rehearsal on
Fifth Grade General Music students will continue to work on recorder and
other instruments. We will be making rhythm cards using our names. Fourth
grade will work on adding several more notes on the recorder. Virginia SOL
songs will be worked on next. We will have a Virginia SOL sing along night in
May. Third grade will add several
more notes on the recorder and focus on musical notation. Second grade
will be starting on a wonderful trip to
ART UPCOMING EVENTS
In the upcoming nine weeks art classes have
very exciting lessons planned. Fifth grade will be creating snow watercolors, basket weaving and clay
sculpture. Fourth grades will be exploring a snow globe,
clay sculpture, and vegetable printmaking. Third grades will be having fun with
a snow landscape and Mardi Gra activity. Second
grades will be celebrating the Chinese New Year with
painted dragons and then start on making mummies for the Egyptian Unit and the
evening performance in March with music classes. First grades will be
also be enjoying a Snowman scene, February Heart Printmaking,
and then a clay sculpture. I would like to thank all the parents who save egg cartons,
newspapers, and container for me. It really helps out. I could use some
donations of paper plates for this grading period. Many thanks again...Mrs. White
PANTHER PRIDE RECOGNITION
We are proud and happy to recognize our students for their Outstanding Panther Pride. Students must meet the following criteria:
1.
Conduct:
S or S+ on the report card and no checks in the descriptors.
2. Work Habits: S or S+ on the report card and no checks in the descriptors.
3. Effort: No X for any area for the grading period.
4. Discipline Plan: Follows Discipline plan. No suspensions/no detentions.
ACADEMIC
RECOGNITION
3rd
-5th grade Students at
ATTENDANCE IN SCHOOL
It
is very important that all students attend school on a regular basis and on
time. Children, who are not in school
each day, arrive late or leave early miss important educational opportunities
and learning experiences. At Bristow Run, we recognize, and I’m sure you
will agree, that regularly being at school and being on time is very important
for a child’s academic success. This may become a very serious issue.
It is important to note that
Please continue to call in to let us
know if your child is going to be absent and to send in notes to the teacher
when he or she returns to school. As you already know, all our procedures and
regulations are in place to help ensure the safety, security and continued
success of all our students and not to inconvenience you. By working together,
we truly can do everything better. Please let us know if you have questions or
concerns by calling 703-753-7741. We thank you in advance for your
support.
Every
9 weeks, we will recognize students for:
“Perfect Attendance” - meaning they have attended school each day (not counting religious
holidays) and have no more than 2 tardies or early
dismissals in a 9 week period
or
“Excellent
Attendance” – meaning
they have missed no more than 1 day
of school and have no more than 3 tardies or early dismissals in a 9 week period..
WINTER
WEATHER REMINDERS - Please discuss these procedures with your child.
All Day
Closing:
1. All activities are cancelled at the
school.
2. All
evening activities are cancelled.
3. Both AM
and PM Kindergarten sessions are cancelled.
4. Color
Codes mentioned in the announcements refer to school employees.
As winter
approaches, there are questions about all day closings, late openings, and
early closings. I would like to summarize the procedures.
Two Hour Late Opening:
Grade 1-5
1. Bus pick up will be two hours later than usual.
2. School will begin at 11:
3. Walkers should arrive at
4. School will be dismissed at
5. On Thursday Elementary Planning time for teachers is cancelled.
AM Kindergarten
1. Bus pick up will be two hours later than usual.
2. School will begin at 11:
3. Walkers should arrive at
4. AM students will be dismissed one hour later than usual at
PM
1. Bus pick up will
be one hour later than usual.
2. PM session will begin at
3. PM students will be dismissed at
Two Hour Early Closing:
Grade 1-5
1. School will be
dismissed at approximately
2. We will activate our "Phone Tree."
3. All evening activities are cancelled.
4. Make Certain Your Child Knows Where To Go.
AM Kindergarten
1. AM students will be dismissed at
2. We will activate our "Phone Tree."
3. All evening activities are cancelled.
4. Make Certain Your Child Knows Where To Go.
PM Kindergarten
1. PM session is cancelled.
2. We will activate our "Phone Tree."
3. All evening activities are cancelled.
4. Make Certain Your Child Knows Where To Go.
Comments:
1. Please discuss
these procedures with your child.
2. Please report any changes concerning your snow contact person to the school.
We need a LOCAL contact person.
3. Please listen to the radio or television during inclement weather.
4. We will not activate the 'Phone Tree' for late openings or all day closing