Berg Elementary Newsletter

   Mrs. Renee Greenwood, Secretary

www.dickinson.k12.nd.us

  Sax Motor Company Tree Decorating Contest

Thank you to everyone who voted for Berg's Christmas tree that was displayed at Sax Motor Company.  We were excited to announce that Berg Elementary won first place and has received a prize of $600.  Thank you for supporting our Berg students and thank you to Sax Motor for this opportunity!  Berg's chosen charity project, Oreo's Animal Rescue, also received $600. Congratulations!!

  Spring Pictures 

Spring Pictures will be taken on Tuesday, February 14, 2012.  We will be sending home flyers that will describe the program for this picture taking session.

  Geography Bee Winners

Students at Berg recently participated in a Geography Bee.  Questions for the competition are designed to test a student's knowledge of geography, including place names, location of cultural and physical features, climate, bodies of water, landforms,etc.  Congratulations to our school winners, Dawson Dutchak (1st), Kylee Showalter (2nd), and Makenzie Theurer (3rd), and all of the students who participated.  Dawson completed a written test in January to qualify for the state competition.  The state competition will be held in April in Bismarck.  Thank you to Mr. Becker for organizing the competition.

 Stark County Spelling Bee

Grade 6 Berg students will be competing at the Stark County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, February 15th.  The competition is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM at Dickinson Trinity High School.  Students representing Berg are Dawson Dutchak, Alyssa Lechler, Logan Marsh, and Lexis Tello.  Alternate will be MiKayla Shear.  We congratulate all the students who participated in the preliminary competition!  A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Hausauer for organizing this event at Berg and coaching our students for the competition.

  Grade 6 Focuses on Project Northland

Alcohol prevention is the focus of Project Northland.  Alcohol is the drug of choice of American teenagers and inflicts the most harm during this age period.  North Dakota ranks #1 in the nation for binge drinking.  One out of four ND high school students has their first drink of alcohol between the ages of 13 and 14. 

The goals of Project Northland are to delay the age when young people begin drinking, reduce alcohol use among young people who have already tried drinking, and limit the number of alcohol-related problems young people experience.

Project Northland's focus on prevention of the early use of alcohol also reduces the likelihood that teens will progress to the use of illicit drugs like marijuana.  The vast majority of teenage drug users begin their experimentation with the more readily available legal drugs of alcohol and tobacco.

Project Northland involves parents!  Project Northland recognizes parents are a student's primary teacher.  Project Northland also uses peer leaders, students, and teachers.  At the end of each week during the month of February, the students will bring home activities to do with you.  This gives you, the parent, an opportunity for conversation with your child on the subjects of alcohol use and peer pressure.  Parents - Thank you for being part of Project Northland!  Also, thank you to Mrs. Urlacher and Stacy Kilwein for organizing this program.

  Dates to Remember

February 8                    Early Dismissal (1:30)

February 13                  School Board Meeting @ 5:00 pm

February 14                  Spring Pictures

February 15                  Stark County Spelling Bee

February 21                  Midterms Sent Home

March 1 & 2                   No School

             No School

There will be no school on Thursday, March 1 and Friday, March .  Enjoy your break!

  Mark your Calendars for 1:30 Early Dismissal!

        **Wednesday, February 8, 2010

        **Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Parent Advisory Council (PAC)

Berg's PAC welcomes all new members.  If you are interested in participating as a member or if you have any questions about PAC, please contact Mrs. Praus at 456-0010.  The next PAC meeting will be on Thursday, February 16th at 12 noon at Hagen.  The monthly PAC minutes are posted on the Berg website.  HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

  Student Council

Congratulations to the newly elected third quarter Student Council representatives!  Students that will be representing their classrooms this quarter are:  Allison Wood (6J), Chaz Beyers (6J), Lacey Forsness (6S), Oliver Kelly (6S), Tricia VanBerkom (6P), Ashley Davidson (6P), Daisia Wallner (6D), Mike Schweiger (6D), Logan Karsky (6C), Weston Haugen (6C), Shaylyn Lefor (6Z), Chris Zubke (6Z), Hunter Wilson (6G), Mikaela Brown (6G), Brittany Binstock (6K), and Autumn Paluck (6K).

There are exciting projects ahead for the third quarter representatives to plan.  One of the projects that will need to be finished up will be the Pet Supply Drive for Oreo's Animal Rescue.  Joe, the Oreo mascot, and the Oreo Volunteers will stop by on February 3rd for a visit and pick up their winning check.  Third Quarter Representatives will also be busy with a new Good Behavior Lunch Room program that will reward students for eating their lunches at an appropriate conversation noise level.  We'll just have to wait and see what other projects the third quarter Student Council will have in store for our school!

  Kindergarten Registration for 2012-2013

Kindergarten registration for the 2012-2013 school year will be held the week of February 6-10, 2012 at the Central Office.  Call 456-0002 for more information.

Winter Weather Dress and Guidelines

We ask that you remind your child to wear their cold weather clothing.  Students need to wear warm caps or ear coverings, warm coats, and gloves or mittens.  When weather conditions require the closing of schools or buses to run later or earlier than the scheduled times, an announcement is made by the three local radio stations.  These weather related decisions are made at the Central Office.

General Mills and Campbell's

General Mills Box Tops:  Berg is collecting box tops from General Mills foods.  The box tops will be redeemed by our school for dollars that can be used for purchasing educational materials.  For more information visit: www.boxtops4education.com

  Campbell's Labels for Education:  Berg is continuing to collect Campbell's food labels.  Labels from over 1,200 Campbell product varieties are eligible for redemption in their Labels for Education program.  Please save your labels (UPC Label) and send them to school with your child.

Empowering Students to Succeed

Berg's School Improvement Goals

Reading: On the Spring 2012 NWEA/MAP Assessment, 94% of the sixth grade students will improve their Reading RIT score by 3 or more points.

Math:  On the Spring 2012 NWEA/MAP Assessment, 91% of the sixth grade students will improve their Math RIT score by 6 or more points. 

The mission of the Dickinson Public Schools is to provide educational opportunities and experiences to empower all students to develop their academic, physical, social, personal, creative, and career potential.