Checkout the new “Digital Backpack”!

Here you will find notices on upcoming activities and events that would normally be sent home in your child’s backpack.  We are looking forward to saving a few trees, and it’s one step closer to becoming a green school!

 

Click on the parent tab and scroll down to find Student's Digital Backpack

Congratulations to 39 or Bradford School's K-4 graders for having achieved perfect attendance for the month of April.  Ms. Pendola and Mr. Iacoi celebrated with the children by treating them to a pizza lunch outside on the school lawn on Friday, April 27.  We also gave the students pencils and certificates for a job well done. 

We stress the importance of good school attendance regularly and encourage our children to come to school every day prepared and ready to learn. 

The photo shows our students receiving their awards in our school's Learning Garden.

Every student from Bradford School has donated a piece of art work for this fundraiser.  The theme is "What does kindness and giving mean to you?"
Stop in at the Elks Club in downtown Westerly to view the art work.  Saturday, May 5 from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Save the Date!  Monday, June 4 at Bradford School.  Music teachers Mr. Harrington and Mr. Johnson will be holding their final concerts of this school year. 

5:45 p.m.     Kindergarten
6:30p.m.      Grades 1 and 2
7:15 p.m.     Grades 3 and 4

Please feel free to attend all of the performances. 

It's that time of year again!  Our students in grades K-4 will spend the day at Strawberry Park, in Preston, CT on Tuesday, May 29.  The staff at the park plans organized activities for our students to participate in, including Tug-of-War, water balloon toss, hayrides, swimming events, Jump House, playground, kickball, softball, and so much more!

We all enjoy a hamburger cook out with watermelon and cookies for dessert.  This is a very exciting event for our students.  Parents, please be on the look out for informational flyer's and permission slips. 

Thursday, April 26, was a very special day at Bradford School.  Several community guest readers visited our classrooms and read special books to our students.  We also had two service dogs visit our students.  Thanks to all who took the time out of their busy schedules to participate in our reading week at Bradford School. 

In the photo, State Trouper Mike Broullette is posing with the third grade students. 

Our most recent PTO meeting took place on Monday afternoon, Aparil 23 at 3:30 p.m. Our committee members discussed our Feinstein Good Deeds program, NECAP science testing,  and our support for field trips for our preschool - grade four students.  We also discussed our Feinstein After School program.  Dates have been set for the following events:

Mother/Child Tea: Friday, May 11 at 3:15 p.m. in the Learning Garden.
Dogs with Dudes- Friday, June 8 from 12:15 p.m.-1:00 p.m.  Students will enjoy hotdogs outside with a male family member.

Our officers the 2012-13 year are:

President:  Kathy Cabral
Secretary:  Jen Sullivan
Treasurer:  Tracey Datson



We do have a very active PTO, however we are always looking for more volunteers so that we can provide our children and families with many engaging events.  Please refer to you school handbook for a monthly listing of exciting happenings that we have planned for this school year. 

Our April Town Meeting will take place on Friday, April 27 at 9:00 p.m.  Our host for this meeting will be Mr. Alex Labbe. Our students in grade one will be reciting a poem about reading.  We are also looking forward to our other grade level performances. 

We enjoy showcasing our students work and look forward to celebrating our successes!

What a Success!  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25 FROM 6:00-7:00 P.M.

Bradford School students preschool - grade four will be celebrated Writing, Arts, Reading, Math, and Science- WARMS- our annual family oriented extravaganza!   Family, friends,and relatives came to this exciting evening which showcased student work. 

Thanks to Mrs. Gentile and our WARMS Week committee for organizing such a meaningful event.  Thanks to Mr. Harrington and Mr. Johnson for orchestrating the musical presentations for our K-4 students.  The parents and grandparents enjoyed the student performances. 

Jupiter Jen, from Science Explorers, enjoyed explaining her program to our parents.  The kids are leanring about fossils in this month's program.

We had a great turnout.  Thanks to all who donated a canned good to our Food Drive and to those who donated used sneakers to support Matthew and Michael Garafola's sneaker drive. 

Our Buy One Get One Free Book Fair was also a popular draw.  To Mrs. Garafola, Erine Lewis, and are other volunteers throughout the week- THANK YOU!   

Our cafeteria was filled with families and friends on Friday evening, February 10 at our Family Fun Night.  Ms. Lori Allichio Wilson and her husband Mark brought their life size games to our school.  We walked through our 100 day of school sign and then the fun began!  Life sized Tic Tac Toe, Bingo, Tip the Bottles, and so much more!  Families then enjoyed pizza! 

Thank you to our PTO for sponsoring this event.  And thanks to all who attended. 

Please contact Ms. Restelli to sign your children up for our after school programs.  All of our programs are free to our students.  Some programs include guitar, basketball, and story and craft. Parents are also invited to sign up for the adult programs, including Zoomba and Book Club, to name a couple.

Our fourth graders in Mrs. Brouillette's class shared their persuasive paragraphs during our whole school Town Meeting on January 31. After instruction from the teacher, students applied their skills by selecting a person they would like to come and visit our school.  They then needed to explain their reasoning and persuade their principal, Ms. Pendola, to contact the individual.  Following is a sampling of student work:

Dear Ms. Pendola,

It's Noah.  I have a suggestion to invite Clutch Powers.  He is a world wide explorer and you are also alike.  Clutch values his friends by helping and congratulating them.  You two are also willing to do anything to finish the job.  Also, you both value respect.  You do because you are a principal and he does because he is a leader, like you! he can give us a speech about perseverance. 

Thanks, Noah

Dear Ms. Pendola,

I think EMIN3M should come to our school because he had nothing and he became a super star.  He helps peoples dreams come true.  Listen to this- "I had nothing and I became this. You can do the same. " That's a quote he said on T.V. Ms. Pendola you help people's dreams come true by giving them a good education.  That is why I think EMIN3M should come to this school because you both make people's dreams come true. 

Sincerely, Kaleb

Dear Ms. Pendola,

I think you should invite the First Lady Michelle Obama to Bradford School.  She really cares about her family just like you care about your family.  She went on ICarly for them. I remember when you took your family to Disney World.  The First Lady cares about others by trying to stop bullying, just like you.  When kids feel low, you pat them on the back. The First Lady has a staff just like you. So what do you say? Please?

Love, Olivia

Bradford School children in grades K-4 will be visiting Roger Williams Park on Wednesday, December 21 to ride on the carousel.  Students have been learning about the history of carousels in library and reading various books about carousels. They have been designing horses in art class.  Students will write about their experience upon their return. 

Our experience at the Roger Williams Park Carousel was wonderful. This photo shows Ruby having a fabulous time on a horse that moves up and down.  As soon as the conductor rang the loud bell, Ruby knew to hang on!
Fourth graders in Ms. Broullette's class were comparing this carousel to the Watch Hill carousel.  Be sure to look in our February edition of the Bradford Bugle to learn more about their work.

Jupiter Jen is here again this week working with our preschool - grade four students.  They are working on acids, bases, and neutralizers.  Please ask your child to talk about the science learning that is occurring at our school!

Jupiter Jen was excited to have our superintendents, Dr. Sitsinger and Ms. Storey visit the program on Thursday,
March 15. Everyone in the school has decided on a scientific name... so let's call them by their scientific names...Dr. Scientific Method Sitsinger and Ms. Solar System Storey! 

 Check out the following websites to learn more about carbon dioxide and the properties of gas:

http://Chemistry.about.com/od/bubbles/Bubbles.htm
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_gas.html

Kit Schedule and Focus by Grade Level

                                 





  Kit 1                                                Kit 2                                                    Kit 3

Kindergarten               Animals 2x2                                Balls and Ramps
Grade One                 Balance and Motion                      Pebbles, Sand and Silt                New Plants
Grade Two                 Insects                                        Simple Machines                         Solids and Liquids
Grade Three               Sound                                         Water                                         Plant Growth and Dev.
Grade Four                Land and Water                            Electric Circuits                           Motion and Design

Our science instruction is hands-on, inquiry based, with a strong integration of science and writing.  Our students are motivated to learn new concepts and skills through this inquiry based design while thinking like a scientist.  They all use science notebooks as a tool to document their scientific learning.  Following the actual science lesson, our students engage in a science writing session at which time they use their science experiences and understanding of specific skills and concepts as the content of their journal writing.  Our students learn different forms of scientific writing, including:
*observations
*cause and effect
*comparisons
*reasoning
*data and analysis
*conclusions

Our students work on developing scientific writing skills while simultaneously learning how to think and work like real scientists. This science-writing approach supports our kids in using their time to learn how to write about higher-level thinking and understanding. 
If you have any questions regarding our science program, please feel free to contact our child's classroom teacher for a lesson preview.