February 2015 Volume 4

From Our Principal

Dear Bailey Lake Families,
At BLE, we are always trying to improve our practices. This month, with assistance from
the PTA, teachers will learn more about the Pathways Writing curriculum with national
expert Annemarie Johnson. Teachers will spend two delayed start sessions and two
half-day sessions with Mrs. Johnson.
Third, fourth, and fifth grade students will participate in a state assessment called
M-Step. This assessment will replace the MEAP that we have taken for years.
The testing window for each grade is as follows:
5th grade: April 14th-30th
4th grade: April 28th-May 15th
3rd grade: May 19th-June 5th
Please continue to send proper winter gear for your student to wear during recess.
Reminder: we go outside unless the feels like temperature is below zero.
Thanks for sending your student prepared
Sincerely,
Glenn Gualtieri
Principal,
Bailey Lake
Elementary

FEBRUARY
CALENDAR
February 13

Valentines Day Party, 3 p.m.

February 16-17

No school, Winter Break

February 23

Market Day Pickup, 4-5 p.m.

February 25

Late Start
Scrip Gift Card Orders Due

March1

Box Tops Due

March 5

Talent Show, 6:30 p.m.,

at Junior High School

March 6

PTA Open House, 9a.m.,

Conferece Room
All are welcome!

March 11

Late Start
Scrip Gift Card Orders Due

Mr. Gualtieri
celebrating
Fancy Day
with Mrs. Reis
Kindergarteners.

March 13

No School, Records Day

March 16 and March 18

Conferences, 4-7 p.m.

Cub Scout Pack 341 have the first scouts in the PontiacManito District to achieve the new STEM NOVA Award.
Pictured in alphabetic order are Alex Roell, Ryan Suender,
Cameron Fleming, Owen Birch, Kurtis Niemi, and
Hayden Lamrouex with NOVA counselor Eric Suender.

From Our PTA President

Hello Bailey Lake Families!
There are so many great things going on at Bailey Lake! Mornings with Mom was a lot
of fun for all who attended. Thank you to Randy Scott, Mark Beauchamp, and Andrea
Beauchamp for organizing this event. Thanks to all of the fathers who came out and
volunteered for the event as well, its always fun for all who attend!
There will be a Penny Drive going on the week of Feb. 9th-13th. The class that brings
in the most money per student will win a field trip to the Sea Life Aquarium, and get a
behind the scenes tour! All of the funds raised will go toward the purchase of chrome
books for the school.
Congratulations to all of the Reflections winners! We wish you the best in higher
level judging.
March is national reading month. Your PTA will be implementing some fun activities to
encourage students and families to have fun with reading.
The 2015 Talent Show will take place on Thursday, March 5th at the Jr. High School at
6:30. Thank you to Melissa Snyder for organizing this fun event.
The PTA membership cards and the directories should be coming home in February as well,
we apologize for the late delivery.
Sincerely, Becky Walker

Congratulations GEO Bee Winner!

Landon Butcher

Box Tops
News
Each Box Tops coupon is
worth 10 and they add up fast!
We have raised $1865 so far. Our goal is to raise
another $1615, with our latest submission,
hopefully reaching our final goal of $3500.
If you miss this deadline, please continue to send
your non-expired box tops in clipped. Thank you!

Six Webelo Scouts Make History

Earning STEM NOVA Award!!!!

By Eric Suender
February 2, 2015
Clarkston, MI The first six recipients
of the Boy Scouts of America new STEM
NOVA Award, in the Pontiac-Manito
District of the Great Lakes Field Service
Council, are from Cub Scout Pack 341,
right here in Clarkston.
These high-achieving Webelo Scouts
completed the first module achieving
their STEM NOVA patch. This is a new
program started by the Boy Scouts of
America to enrich STEM activities within
scouting, building all the skills necessary
for building a body of knowledge in a
STEM field. The award ceremony took
place on January 16, 2015 at the Pinewood Derby.
These scouts spent the last two months
reading and watching videos about simple machines. They were visited by Clarkston High Schools robotics team, TEAM
RUSH at their November Pack meeting.
The Webelos focused their research on
levers and designed playground fixtures,
games, sports or inventions defining
the effort, load and fulcrum within their
individual designs.
This STEM NOVA program consists of
four modules Swing!, Tech Talk, Science

Everywhere and 1-2-3 Go! The Webelos

will be working on their next module,
Science Everywhere in February. It will
be taking place at Pine Knob Ski Resort,
where the scouts will learn more about
Pine Knobs patented snowmaking
technique and the creation of the new
SkyTrac put in during the Fall of 2014,
said NOVA counselor Eric Suender.
The Webelos are working toward achieving the Dr. Charles H. Townes Supernova
award for Webelos Scouts, in which the
scouts will be investigating this summer.
About the STEM NOVA awards program:
Geocaching. Robotics. Welding. Canoeing. Electronics. These topics and more
drive the Boy Scouts of Americas Nova
Awards program, its STEM-related initiative. The program, launched June 1, 2012,
brings science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to life for young
people. The hope is that this application of fun with a purpose will inspire
them and encourage them to pursue
meaningful careers in STEM fields. The
Nova Awards. program was developed to
stimulate interest in STEM fields among
youth members, with requirements and
activities that make it fun to explore
science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics while getting recognition

for participation. The BSA believes STEM

is the future of America. Bernard Harris, a
medical doctor and former NASA astronaut, serves as national spokesperson for
the program. A Cub Scout as a youngster,
Dr. Harris believes scout education was
his launching pad to success. He says,
American has long prided itself as a nation of dreamers, a land where everyone
can strive for a better life. . . . We must
not lose the will to pursue daring new
goals. . . . Our future depends on it. Cub
Scouts ages 8 and older, Boy Scouts, and
Venturers may earn the Nova awards
and more advanced Supernova awards.
For more information about the Nova
Awards program, visit www.scouting.org/
stem.aspx.
Cub Scout Nova Awards Information:
www.scouting.org/stem/Awards/
CubScout.aspx
Webelos Scout Supernova Award
Information: www.scouting.org/stem/
Awards/Webelos.aspx
About Pack 341
These Cub Scouts and Webelos are
chartered by Bailey Lake Elementary
in Clarkston, MI.
To learn more about this award,
please contact:
Eric Suender 248-672-8804
esuender@gmail.com

A Goldfish Event!
Dear Bailey Lake Parents,
As you may know, the Bailey Lake PTA is a vital partner in
your childs education. Their efforts provide our students
with an abundance of enrichment activities and our
classrooms with supplemental resources.

If you are interested and/or would like to learn more

about all the positions, please consider attending the
PTA Open House on Friday, March 6 at 9 AM in the BLE
conference room.

Thank you Goldfish Swimming for a

We are seeking parents who would be interested in

becoming members of the PTA Board as well as various
chairperson positions for the 2015-16 school year.

Thanks for considering the opportunity!

Sincerely,

Many families ventured over to the

You may be reading this thinking it is an overwhelming

commitment. In actuality, after the start of the school
year and Fun Run, the commitment is a 60 minute
meeting, monthly. You can even partner with someone
if that works best!

Glenn Gualtieri
Principal

fun school event to fill an otherwise

cold, winter day in January.
Clarkston location for the afternoon
for some fun joining friends and
family in the warm water!
If you would like more information
regarding what Goldfish has to

You Are All Cordially Invited to the

PTA

Open House

Hosted by Mr. Gualtieri

Mark your calendars for

Friday, March 6, 2015, 9 a.m.

Have you ever considered volunteering at our school, but were not sure what the
position really meant? or how much time would be required of you?
These are questions many parents may ask.
This Open House is a casual meeting in which questions can be answered,
any misconceoptions can be explained, meet other parents/caregivers,
with no pressure to sign on.
We welcome new opinions, and processes if we can accommodate,
because like everything else, things evolve.
Help us build a great team of volunteers for next year, by taking a look at what can be
done to ensure the growth and success of our students. Bring a friend, and join us!

offer, please call them at

(248) 795-2252.

A Fun Morning!

Muffins with Mom

Thank you to all the volunteers that helped make this morning run so smoothly!
The Moms loved being greeted by the dad volunteers!
Our special volunteers for the two mornings were: Mark Beauchamp, Mark
Scaglione, Randy Scott, Dave Swanson, Jim Kacanowski, Mike Rinaldi, Andy
Harp, Andrew Zielke, Marcelino Caballa, Richard Hoyle and Jon Guidoux
Also, a big thank you again to Bob Mantha & Abby Forbes at Tim Hortons
Clarkston for a discount on donuts and donating coffee, cups & lids both days.
Some Raffle items included Stars & Stripes $50 gift cards,
Star Nails $30 Gift certificates, Thirty-one Gifts (Andrea Beauchamp) donated
several totes, Goldfish Swimming of Clarkston $25 Gift certificates,
Love Clarkston sweatshirt and Dr.s Jeffrey & Steven Grabiel,
DDS of Birmingham donated a sonic care electric toothbrush
and goodies.
There was such a great
turnout for both days,
and the last Muffins
with Mom for our outgoing
5th graders.
Hope everyone had fun!

And the
Winners
are
Mr. Braziers,
5th grade class!

Bailey Lake

Talent Show
Almost Here!!

Once again the Bailey Lake

The Bailey Lake talent show is underway with a great turnout of approximately 100 kids participating this year making up about 40 unique acts!!

community showed their

Mark your calendars because the show is set for Thursday, March 5
at the Junior High School.

support for our school this

week. The Student
Council Coin Drive collected

$7991.15

The kids are preparing their acts, as we finalize the details within the next
couple of weeks! There are volunteer options still available.
Please contact Melissa
if you are interested in helping out!
Melissa Snyder 248.709.6776
Melissa.snyder@gm.com Talent Show Coordinator

to support our technology

needs in the media center.

Scrip Gift Card Orders!

Mr. Braziers class has

NEXT ORDER DUE WEDNESDAY, February 25, 2015

won a field trip to the

ALL Late Start Days:

Wednesday, March 11 & 25

Sea Life Aquarium at

Great Lakes Crossing.
Thank you.

Orders should be received no later than noon on the

following days. Send in with your student.

Place your order through the forms created

just for Bailey Lake,
including your check (made out to BLE PTA)
Your student should come home with a form soon, if they do not,
forms are located near the Staff workroom door or on the Bailey Lake website or
Facebook page. In an envelope, provide name of student, teacher, phone number and
your preferred distribution of gift cards (pick-up or sent home with student).
Send in with your student. If you are looking for a brand you do not see on form,
visit shopwithscrip.com.

Introducing Seuss Fair 2015

Mark your calendars for
Friday, April 17 from 6-8:30pm.

Learning with Cultures of Thinking

Our 2nd Graders Invited

Parents to Learn with Them
School-family partnerships start with knowledge and understanding.
Bailey Lake Elementary second grade parents were invited to an open
classroom event Learning with Cultures of Thinking to experience the
atmosphere of a thinking classroom and learn about thinking routines
from their own children. They saw how children collaborate, share their
ideas, and have meaningful conversations. They witnessed many ways to
understand and solve math problems. At the end, they shared their own
thinking via I Used to Think, Now I Think thinking routine.

As many of you know, School Fair and Seuss Night have been
merged into one event. What that means is that weve been
able to keep the best of both events to make this night a ton
of fun for our kids. The majority of this event will remain FREE.
Yes, FREE! All games and activities will continue to be geared
toward making math and reading fun and will continue to
remain free of charge for our families. Face painting, Oobleck,
Cakewalk, football throw you name it, its free.
Seuss Fair will also serve as a fund raising event for Bailey Lake
Elementary. All money raised at this event will go toward purchasing a Chrome Cart for our school. Your donations will help to
purchase much-needed new technology for our students.
So, whats this going to cost you? That depends completely on
you and if you choose to participate in any of the following:
Basket Raffle As in past years for School Fair, we will hold our Basket Raffle.
Each classroom will be assigned a theme and families will be asked to donate
to their classrooms basket to be raffled off. Raffle tickets will be for sale if you
choose to purchase them.
Concessions Also as a holdover from School Fair, we will offer a small
concessions stand to sell snacks and refreshments to our students who
are enjoying the evening.
Silent Auction We will also have a downsized version of the former School
Fair Silent Auction. We will have several items up for auction at the Fair.
Please join us at Seuss Fair on Friday, April 17 from 6-8:30pm.
More information about this event will be coming home by the first week of
March, including information on how to sign up to volunteer. We will need over
100 volunteers to make this night a success. Please consider giving
your time. Please note, all children must be accompanied by a
parent or other responsible adult.
Questions? Please contact Amy Darnell at
amymdarnell@yahoo.com.
Look forward to seeing you there!

Date Change for

Kindergartner Orientation at BLE
Bailey Lake Elementary Kindergarten Orientation for incoming 2015-16
kindergarten students has been changed to Wednesday, April 29th. Please note you
must have all necessary paperwork completed to attend orientation. Thank you.

PTA: from Questions to Understanding

PTA Board and PTA Committee Chairs

What is the BLE PTA Board?

The Board consists of PTA members
holding various positions with defined
responsibilities. The main roles are:
President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice
President, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant
Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator, Assistant
Volunteer Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, Assistant Membership Coordinator, Facebook/Newsletter Coordinator,
and Web Site Coordinator. The Board is
elected for a term of one year usually at
the May PTA Meeting.
Who can be elected for the
BLE PTA Board?
PTA Board positions are open to any Bailey
Lake Elementary PTA member and do
not require previous board or PTA experience. If you are interested in a PTA board
position for the following school year, you
should contact the Volunteer Coordinator,
Dena Pfleiger. The Volunteer Coordinator seeks out nominees for each board
position and presents candidates to the
membership at the May PTA meeting.

Do I need to be a Board Member to

chair an event?
No. While many BLE PTA Board members
also chair events, it is not required.
How do PTA Committee Chair positions
get filled?
The PTA President and Volunteer
Coordinator begin seeking individuals to
fill committee chair roles as early as
February. If you are interested in a PTA
committee chair position for the
following school year, you should look for
announcements in Bulldogs Newsletter or
talk to the President, Rebecca Walker,
rsbruton@gmail.com or Volunteer
Coordinator, Dena Pflieger,
pflieg1@comcast.net.
This year we may even set up signup
genius. Details to come.
What are the basic and shared job
responsibilities of Board Members
and Chairs?
Help to recruit and train your successor;
Keep binders up-to-date;
Maintain good les;
Attend PTA meetings whenever possible

About
your PTA
The Objects of the Bailey
Lake Elementary PTA, in
common with those of the
National PTA and the
Michigan PTSA are:
a. To promote the welfare of
children and youth in home,
school, community and
place of worship.
b. To raise the standards of
home life.
c. To secure adequate laws
for the care and protection
of children and youth.
d. To bring into closer
relation the home and the
school, that parents and
teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education
ofchildren and youth.
e. To develop between
educators and the general
public such united efforts as
will secure for all children and
youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social
and spiritual education.
BAILEY LAKE
Elementary School
8051 Pine Knob Road
Clarkston, MI 48348
Phone: (248) 623-5300
Fax: (248) 623-5305
Student Absence Line:
(248) 623-5390
School Hours:
8:35 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.
Rebecca Walker, PTA President
Glenn Gualtieri, Principal
www.clarkston.k12.mi.us/ble