Bella Mente Family Newsletter 9/18/17

Bella Mente Charter
Sep 18, 2017
6 min read

Dear Parents,

September is Food Literacy Month. It is a great time to self reflect on the eating habits of you and your family. Your diet not only affects your health, but it also has a direct impact on your behavior, attitude and productivity. Many things can influence a child, including friends, teachers and the things they see when they sit in front of the TV or computer. If you’re a parent, know that your everyday behavior plays a big part in shaping your child’s behavior, too. With your help, kids can learn to develop healthy eating and physical activity habits that last throughout their lives. By teaching your children healthy eating habits, and modeling these behaviors in yourself, you can help your children maintain a healthy weight and normal growth. Also, the eating habits your children pick up when they are young will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle when they are adults.

Some of the most important aspects of healthy eating are portion control and cutting down on how much fat and sugar your child eats or drinks. Simple ways to reduce fat intake in your child's diet and promote a healthy weight include serving:

Low-fat or nonfat dairy products
Poultry without skin
Lean cuts of meats
Whole grain breads and cereals
Healthy snacks such as fruit and veggies

Reminders:

**This Thursday and Friday (September 21/22) are minimum day for ALL students. These days provide professional development opportunities for our staff.

**Lost and Found items are donated on the 1st of every month.

**The Book Fair is coming soon!

BICYCLE SAFETY

Some of our students are bicycling to school each day. A great way to gain exercise and of course get to school. However, students have been observed riding their bikes without helmets. In California, helmets must be worn by those under 18.

A reminder to all of our students may be in order. When covering safety topics, remind them of the need to obey the rules of the road that vehicles follow and of course to remind them to wear their helmets.

EXITING THE DROP OFF/PICK UP LINE

There are two lanes to exit our campus. The traffic pattern was designed with the safety of you and your student in mind.

To be clear, the left lane is designed to turn left onto Huff while the right lane is designated as a right turn lane. There are signs on the asphalt and on the fence to remind everyone of the traffic flow.

However, drivers continue to try to turn right from the left turn lane or left from the right turn lane. Please refrain from this unsafe practice.

Remember:

LEFT LANE, TURNS LEFT. RIGHT LANE TURNS RIGHT.

Thank you in advance for your help in keeping Bella Mente safe.

Whats Happening At Bella Mente

Jamba Juice Fundraiser

When:: Every Thursday

Cost:: $2

Flavors:: Strawberry Whirl or Mega Mango (both dairy free)

Where:: Dismissal

**This is a PTO Fundraiser**

Did you know that average age children get their first smart phone is now ten?

That’s incredibly young to be constantly connected to the internet; to worry about documenting every moment to share with friends and followers; to have unlimited access to games designed to be addictive; and to be accessible 24/7 to data miners and marketers who don’t have your best interests at heart. And of course, if ten is the average, that means many six, seven, and eight-year-olds now have their own phones as well.

As young children see their friends getting phones, they naturally want one too. And parents, sometimes against our better judgement, often give in because we don’t want our children to be socially isolated from their peers.

That’s why I’m so excited about the Wait Until 8th Pledge. The pledge was started by a group of parents in Texas who decided to use peer pressure and group momentum for good. They committed together to not get their children smart phones until at least 8th grade. Now the pledge is spreading across the country, and thousands of families have signed on.

I signed for my 8-year-old daughter, and I hope you will too. Here’s how it works:

You pledge not to get your child a smart until 8th grade. A pledge becomes "active" once 10 or more families from a grade at a school sign. They made the pledge this way so you don't have to worry about, "what if I’m the only parent that signs this in my kid's grade?" Having the pledge kick in at 10 signers takes some of that pressure off while encouraging others to join in.

Will you join me in pledging to wait until 8th? As the pledge’s founder Brooke Shannon says, “Childhood is too short to waste on a smartphone. Let’s let kids be kids a little longer!”

Click Here To Take The Pledge

Adopt A Classroom

In light of the unimaginable events happening in Texas, lower elementary has decided to adopt 5 classrooms in need. We are eagerly awaiting contact information from 3 of the 5 classrooms and should receive this within the next few days. As for the other two classrooms, one is located in Houston, and the other is located in Humble. Our Houston classroom is a pre-K class, and our Humble classroom is a 3rd grade class. We are asking our lovely community to come together and donate whatever supplies we can to these classrooms in need. Next week in class, students will be writing letters to each classroom. A popular supply donation is an Amazon gift card, as this allows teachers to order things online, since they may not currently have the ability to drive from store to store.

Other supply needs:

Pencils

Erases

Notebooks

Paper

Craft supplies

Scissors

Drawing utensils

Backpacks

Lunchboxes

Folders

For these teachers, many of their students have lost their homes as well. If you are willing and able to donate supplies for those children, please see the list below:

Toothbrush

Socks

Shoes

T-shirts

Pants

Jacket

Hairbrush

Toys

**New items are preferred**Please bring all donations within the next two weeks, to Ms.Jessica’s classroom in Rm.214. We will contact you all on the grade levels of the other 3 classrooms as soon as we know. Thank you so much. “The worst of mother nature often brings out the best in human nature.”

Reminders:

School Hours:

Monday-Thursday

Primary 9:00-2:45

Lower 8:25- 2:55

Upper 8:15-3:10

Adol 8:15- 3:10

Friday:

Primary 9:00-11:45

Lower 8:25-11:55

Upper 8:15-12:10

Adol 8:15-3:10

Front Office Hours: 8am-4pm Monday-Friday

If you have yet to visit our year round forms page, we highly encourage you to visit the link and view all of the attachments. Information regarding bell schedule, supply lists, uniforms, donations, and more can be found at Forms and Downloads

Registration:

Please make sure that your registration forms have been completed and submitted to the front office. Registration is mandatory.

Uniforms:

Uniforms can be ordered via our webstore. All uniform orders that are placed in August will be received by the end of September. Orders will be processed every 2 months starting September.

Free and Reduced Lunch Applications:

Applications were processed. You will receive an approval or a denial letter within 10 school days via email. Fees on orderlunches.com will be updated accordingly.

Lunch Orders:

https://topnotchcatering.orderlunches.com/access.php

School Code: BMC1

Create an account. Once an account is created then you will need to assign a teacher to your student.

Mr. Hank's Corner

“Eat food, not too much and mostly plants,” Michael Pollan

Come join the Health Wellness Committee for its' first meeting of the year September 27th at 3:30 pm in the MPR. Come and help shape the health and wellness of BMMA. Learn about the Local School Wellness Policy, Potluck lists, and about healthier snacks for your child. All are welcome teachers, staff, parents, and students. Hope to see you then. Please RSVP to my email.

With a green thumb,

Mr. Hank

Hstelzl@bellamentecharter.org

I am still adding names to the list of interested volunteers for both garden and nutrition lab lessons. Please email if interested as I put out an email so we can begin having your help “Growing Young Minds.” However, you need to register as a volunteer. See Ms. Brandy at the front office for the paperwork. Once you are cleared I would love to discuss the wonderful opportunities that are available.

National School Lunch Week Oct 9-13th is coming soon. Look for more info next week with information with how you may be able to join your child for lunch.

Always, for more information on The Bella Garden Project check our website for needs, other links, and further information. https://www.bellamentecharter.org/program

Upcoming Events

Please click on the link below to see details about upcoming events at Bella Mente:

School Calendar of Events

PTO Events

Coffee Mingle- September 26

STAR Education

STAR Education's NOVA enrichment classes will start September 18th. This session's classes include:

Mondays: Introduction to Minecraft (3:15-4:15, 1st grade and up)

Fridays: RockSTAR (12:15-1:15, 1st grade and up)

Sewing (12:15-1:15, open to all ages)

To register: