May 29 - June 1

Bacon Bears,

Did somebody say June? Yes, this Friday is June 1st! Thankfully, we have a four day week to get us prepared. Make sure you enjoy your Memorial Day and be ready for school on Tuesday.

We accomplished so many things last week. We hosted the ASCD film crew on Monday, the State CAPA visit on Wednesday, Mock Olympic Day Thursday, and Fun Day/Olympic Day on Friday. Not to mention, we assessed the students on their final benchmarks (Universal Sweeps). It was exhausting!

We had a very successful Olympic Day and Fun Day. Watch the RM Bacon Weekly Video to see!

Students - Even though we are closely approaching the end of the school year, our expectations have not changed. We still expect that learning will be occurring in the classrooms, and that everyone will be engaged! Let's end the year like we began it! Remember, Your Image is Our Image! Be Safe, Be Responsible and Be Respectful!

Teachers - I have one more week of walkthroughs. I am convinced that we will make sure that each teacher has 30 walkthroughs. We only have a handful of teachers in the mid to high 20's. I will be focused on ensuring that we continue to implement Classroom Instruction That Works strategies. 

In addition, TEQ will be giving a free demonstration lesson to teachers who will be receiving SMART Boards this summer. The training will be on Tuesday in room 14 from 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM. Stay tuned because we will be distributing a schedule for your time slot.

Weekly Overview
Monday - Memorial Day - No School
Tuesday - Mobile Dentist; 9:30 AM; Terra Nova, Grade 1, 10:00 AM;  SMART Board Discovery Training, Room 14, 1:30 PM; Safety Trip all day
Wednesday - Crazy Hair Day; Safety Trip All Day; Terra Nova, Grade 1, 10:00 AM; Technology Showcase, Lakeside, 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday -
Friday - Honor Roll Trip, All Day; PBIS Meeting, 1:00 PM; Bear Bucks Store 3:00 PM

May 21 - 25

Bacon Bears,

Now that the NJASK and NJPASS are all completed, we will be moving on with more assessments! Next week the students in 1st through 4th will be participating in our Universal Sweeps. We will compare how they score with their previous scores in the beginning of the year, as well as their January results. This data will assist us with determining our Basic Skill Interventions for next year.

We will be hosting the ASCD film crew on Monday and Thursday. 5th grade teacher Jaime Sutton and 1st grade teacher Ryan Hudson were selected to have their classes filmed for an upcoming video series on the book, Classroom Instruction That Works (second edition).This amazing opportunity was a result of the ongoing partnership between the Millville School District has with ASCD and McRel. 

On Wednesday, the State of New Jersey CAPA Team will be visiting RM Bacon to receive an update on our progress towards world-class education. The team will be visiting classes to observe instruction.

As if it couldn't get any busier, RM Bacon Bears will be having a Mock Olympic Day on Thursday and the 4th and 5th graders will be participating in Olympic Day on Friday. Our Kindergarten through 3rd graders will be participating in FUN Day on Friday.

Buckle up, it is going to be a great ride this week! Enjoy the RM Bacon Weekly:

Weekly Overview:

Monday - ASCD Film Crew visits, RTI Universal Sweep,Mr. Hudson's class gets Olive Garden!

Tuesday - RTI Universal Sweep, Eddie the Eagle Assembly, 9:30 AM; PTA Meeting 4:00 PM

Wednesday - CAPA Visit; Child Family Center visit 9:30 AM

Thursday - Jeans for Troops; I and RS Meeting 8:00 AM; ASCD Film Crew Visits; Mock Olympic Day

Friday - Olympic Day (4 and 5); Fun Day (K-3)

May 14 - 18



1st graders are learning about the Life Cycle of a Chicken

 Bacon Bears,
Well, testing is over! (Except for the make-ups) Thank you to Mrs. Nolan and Ms. Spanbauer for their hard work and efficient organizing behind the scenes.

In lieu of the RM Bacon Weekly Video Update, I would like everyone to watch an inspirational video about the Nettlehorst School in Chicago. After watching it, I would then like to know who is ready to help us achieve the impossible? As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."





3 little chickens are growing up!

The Nettlehorst School, Chicago, IL. The Parent Brigade




Students- Progress Reports will be sent out this week. 2nd graders will going to Cape May on Friday, May 18 to visit the Zoo!


Staff - We are having a Faculty Meeting on Thursday, May 17th. Our presenter will be Carole Paladino and the topic will be "Blood Born Pathogens." Also on Thursday, we have our Annual Staff Barbecue (Rain date is Friday).
We will also be having our 3rd Tech Friday session this Friday at 8:20 AM in room 2.

Weekly Overview
Monday - Make up Testing
Tuesday -
Wednesday -
Thursday- Staff Barbecue
Friday - Tech Friday, 8:20 AM; 2nd grade to Cape May 9:30 AM

May 7 through 11 NJASK Week

Bacon Bears, 

This is the week that we put our pencils to the test! We are only asking ONE thing from each of those who are taking the NJASK: Try Your Best. Want some test taking strategies from our teachers? Watch this video by Mrs. DeVita! 

Here is an overview of the NJASK Testing Week: 

Monday - Full Day of School - NJASK will begin promptly at 9:25 AM. No students will be permitted into the testing rooms after 9:25 AM. Regular Lunch Schedule.  

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - Early Dismissal- NJASK will begin promptly at 9:25 AM. No students will be permitted into the testing rooms after 9:25 AM. Students will be dismissed at 1:45 AM. Lunches will be in the classroom.  

Friday- Full Day of School - NJASK will begin promptly at 9:25 AM. No students will be permitted into the testing rooms after 9:25 AM. Regular Lunch Schedule.

Teachers - Please refer to your post NJASK schedule for lunch times, prep periods, etc. Here is the PD schedule for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday:

Music and Art Staff will meet at Silver Run all three days.

Physical Education Staff and Librarians will meet at Holly Heights all three days.

Word Language Staff will follow the Day one schedule in their buildings.  They will meet at Rieck Avenue on day two and three.

All remaining staff members, including full-time aides will follow the schedule below:

Tuesday, May 8^th- View two webinars in our building.  The links for those webinars are:

1http://www.njpsa.org/commoncorevideo.aspx - We are only viewing the first 28 minutes of this webinar. 

2 Using Student Growth Percentiles -We will view this entire webinar.  It is approx. 20 minutes.

Wednesday, May 9^th – Sharing of mathematics best practices.

Silver Run, Holly Heights, and R. M. Bacon staff will meet at Silver Run.

Rieck Avenue and Mt. Pleasant staff will meet at Rieck Avenue.

Thursday, May 10- RM Bacon Staff will work on PBIS for the 12-13 school year.

ALL sessions will be held from 2:30pm to 3:55pm.  This allows for 30 minutes lunch and 15 travel time.  Please keep in mind that teachers’ regular dismissal is 3:55pm.

Weekly Overview

Monday - NJASK grades 3-5, Full day of school, Regular lunch schedule

Tuesday - NJASK grades 3-5, NJPASS grade 2, Early dismissal (1:45 PM) Lunches in classroom; Teacher PD at 2:30 PM in RM Bacon (unless otherwise noted)

Wednesday - NJASK grades 3-5, NJPASS grade 2, Early Dismissal (1:45 PM) Lunches in classroom; Teacher PD at 2:30 PM at Silver Run (unless otherwise noted)

Thursday - NJASK grades 3-5, NJPASS grade 2, Early Dismissal (1:45 PM) Lunches in classroom; Teacher PD at RM Bacon (unless otherwise noted)

Friday - NJASK grade 4, and make-ups,  Full day of school, Regular lunch schedule

April 29 - May 1

Bacon Bears, 

We are ready to ROAR! One more week until the NJASK 2012! The teachers, students, and parents are all ready to go. Last week was a busy week at #rmbacon. Big thank you to Mrs. Spanbauer and Mrs. Nolan for all they did behind the scenes to make sure that we are prepared for the NJASK.

Take a few minutes to watch the RM Bacon Weekly, with a teacher spotlight, and highlights from Take Your Child to Work Day: 

As you know, Ms. Patty, Cafeteria Manager, passed away earlier this month. The RM Bacon Family had a dedication for her on Friday, April 27. We were so happy to have her husband attend!

This week we will be taking care of last minute preparations for the NJASK with the culminating activity being the PEP rally on Friday at 2:30 PM. During the pep rally we will have some cool activities for all of the students to enjoy. 

Teachers- This week's staff meeting will be be focused on the Question. Stay tuned for more details. 

Each Friday Staff and Students volunteer to learn more about how technology can enhance learning

Tech Friday - We are looking for ideas for this Friday's session. Send any ideas to Mr. Hudson, Mrs. Nolan or Dr. Cook.

NJASK Room inspections will take place on Thursday. Make sure that all items in your rooms are covered or removed. The night custodians will be available to assist on Tuesday and Wednesday after school. 

Weekly overview 

Monday - 

Tuesday - Dr. Cook, PEG meeting, 1:00 PM; Custodians available for assistance in rooms, 4:00 PM Wednesday - Custodians available for assistance in rooms, 4:00 PM 

Thursday - Staff Meeting, 8:00 AM; Room Inspections for NJASK 

Friday - NJASK PEP Rally, 2:30 PM

April 23 - 27



Former Bacon Chorus Teacher, Cheryl Horsey's new ramp

 Bacon Bears,

We all dusted off our brains, and had an excellent return to school this week. The 3rd, 4th, 5th graders had Mock NJASK Testing. The culminating event for the "Mock" testing was an Awards Ceremony highlighting the accomplishments of the 2011 NJASK, and encouraging those who will be taking the 2012 NJASK.





Here is our famous RM Bacon Weekly Video Update (Produced by Mrs. DeVita)

And the Fun Day Shirt Poll Winner is......

And the Olympic Day Shirt Poll Winner is.......

Teachers:

Thank you to everyone who particpated in the first "Tech Friday." There will be no BSI instruction on Tuesday after 12:00 PM. We will be having a very important NJASK training session on Thursday, April 26 beginning at 8:00AM sharp. The PBIS committee will be meeting on Friday afternoon, and the Bear Bucks store will be open at 3:00 PM.

Interesting events this week:

Tuesday is CRAAAZZZYYY Hat day. On Tuesday evening we will be hosting the Taekwondo Culminating Awards Ceremony. The 4th graders will be visiting the Senior High to see "Guys and Dolls." The 5th graders will be attending the Multicultural Week Events on Thursday morning.

Special Event

The Bacon School will be participating in a dedication to Ms. Patty on Thursday, April 26 at 2:00 PM. We are asking all students and staff to wear either blue or white for this special dedication.

Riverfront Renissance Center



 Congratulations to the following students for being selected to have their artwork on display at the Riverfront Renissance Center for the Arts in the Pat Witt gallery. The display will be open from Friday, April 20 and will run until the middle of May.  
Kindegarten - Jaden S., Destiny B., Re'onna T., Zaudiliz D., Josiah L., Ce'asia G.
1st - Jacob C., G'yana L., Aleah R., Jeremias L., Leah H., Emma S., Kendall S., Joshua C., Anthony H.







2nd Graders Artwork will be in the display window



 2nd - Jessica T., Aniyah R., Nevaeh N., Niyasia J., Rachel B., Alana P., John W.
3rd - Malachi E., Blake R., Julianna T., Jaqueline C., Tyler L., Tirah S., Josh H., Marissa T.
4th - Mackenzie K., Cristal A., Shawn D., Olivia C., Julie M., Shelby S., DiJana B., Randy B.,
5th - ZiAnne C., Kyla K., Angelina Z., Jacob C. Chance R., Emily D.

 Weekly overview:

Monday - Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 PM

Tuesday - Crazy Hat Day; No afternoon BSI; 4th Grade Taekwondo 2:20 PM; Taekwondo Awards, 6:00 PM

Wednesday - 4th grade "Guys and Dolls" Senior HS, 9:30 AM

Thursday - NJASK Testing Training, 8:00AM; 5th grade multicultural event 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM; Ms. Patty Dedication, 2:00 PM

Friday - Tech Friday, 8:30 room 2; Bear Bucks Store, 3:00 PM

April 16 - 20

Bacon Bears,
Welcome back from Spring Break. We hope you enjoyed your time off, and are ready to learn!

Over Spring Break, RM Bacon lost a family member. Patty Hoffman, cafeteria manager, known affectionately as "Ms. Patty" to the students and "Mom Mom" to the staff, was dedicated to RM Bacon School. She was a dear friend to so many of us. There were many staff members that either attended her viewing or funeral to pay their respects. We are planning a memorial for Ms. Patty in the upcoming weeks. For more information on Ms. Patty click here.

We have a busy week in store for our learners this week, and we plan to hit the ground running. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday our 3rd through 5th will take part in a "mock" NJASK. Each day from 10AM - 10:30AM the upstairs will be in "testing mode" We will use the results from the testing to help drive our instruction for the weeks leading up to the actual NJASK.

Parents: Report Cards will be mailed on Tuesday!

Teachers: We will be having an I and RS meeting on Thursday. Also, please note that Dr. Cook will be attending Integrated Pest Management Training on Friday April 20. Mrs. Harris will be substituting.

Tech Fridays will begin this week. Every Friday until the end of the year teachers (as well as students) will be working on increasing application and understanding of technology. With so much out there, it can be overwhelming. Why not try something new and learn from each other and students on which technology goes where?

This Friday we will focus on websites that help students. Our sessions our all voluntary, and will take place in room 2 from 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM. A wiki will be developed to assist those who would like more information. Also, Mr. Hudson and Mrs. Nolan will be available for demonstrations and practical applications of the new technologies.

Welcome Back Video:

As promised, here is the Teacher Spotlight Video, Mrs. Lore
(and a surprise guest):



Teachers, want to try something new? Interested in seeing what all these squiggly lines are for throughout the school? Create your own QR Code.

Weekly Overview
Monday - Mock NJASK Assessment (grades 3-5), 10:00AM;
Tuesday - I and RS Meeting, 8:00AM; Report Cards Distributed, Mock NJASK Assessment (grades 3-5, 10:00AM; 4th Grade Tae Kwon Do, 2:18AM
Wednesday - Mock NJASK Assessment (grades 3-5), 10:00AM; NJASK 2011 Awards Ceremony
Thursday -

Friday - Earth Day; Dr. Cook at IPM Training, Mrs. Harris substituting