January 1, 2011 · Located at the front of a book, the table of contents displays a list of the big ideas within the book and where to find them. Captions Captions are usually right

www.stbernardccs.org

Important Dates

Event Date

Q.2 Awards 12

1/2 Day—Bear’s Den available

13

No School 16

H&S Meeting 19

Evening

Conferences

26

Morning

Conferences—No Classes

27

Open House 29

Catholic Schools Week

30-3

January 1, 2011

St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic School

Monthly Newsletter

Vol. 11/12 Issue 5 BRUIN BRIEF

Gerry Ambrose

Joan Bond Brian DeVoss Lino Gonzales Marty Norris Ron Schell

Mark Vasquez

SCHOOL ADVISORY

COUNCIL

Message from the Principal

“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” - Pope John Paul II

Dear St. Bernard Families,

If St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic School could be described in one word, it

would be “community”. We are truly a community of parishioners, parents,

faculty and staff dedicated to the spiritual and academic development of our

children. This sense of community is evident in everything we do and contin-

ues to energize us each day. We are so often focused on the financial chal-

lenges of our current economy that we fail to recognize the human potential

all around us. We, as a community, can achieve anything we desire by working

together with the common goal of providing the very best spiritual and educa-

tional experience possible for our children.

With the beginning of a new year, we have the opportunity to renew our

commitment to our mission and to our school community. It takes all of us

working together to reach our goals. What can you as a family do now to

show your support? Currently, we need each family to review volunteer

hours, complete the registration paperwork, and give full support to our Gala.

We need you!

St Bernard families understand that a commitment to Gospel values and faith

development require a team effort and that the sacrifices they are making to-day are an investment in the success of their child in the future. We at St.

Bernard continue to meet the challenges of a struggling economy, demanding

technological needs, and parents with high expectations for academic excel-

lence.

The faculty and staff of St. Bernard are dedicated to serving the needs of our

families. Join us in welcoming the new year with a renewed commitment to

our community.

Yours in Christ,

Tommie Balcom

2 www.stbernardccs.org

Scrip Cards

School News


School News


School News


School News

THE PARENT LINK January 2012

St. Bernard

Reading nonfiction text is important for student success in primary grades all through high school and

beyond. Here are some great tips to help your child learn how to read information-rich books.

How to Read Nonfiction Text By: Reading Rockets (2011)

Children love to read about real people, places, and events. Nonfiction books present real information in engaging and interesting ways. However, most children read a lot more fiction than nonfiction, so spend some extra time helping your child learn how to navigate a nonfiction book.

Talk about nonfiction

Begin by explaining that the book you're about to share is nonfiction. That means that the book will give information that is true. The book will be organized around a specific topic or idea, and may present new facts that you may learn through reading. Some children even enjoy sorting their home libraries into fiction and nonfiction books. This simple categorization task may help your child understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction.

Look at the parts

Most good nonfiction books will have helpful features that are not a part of most fiction books. These parts include a table of contents, an index, a glossary, photographs, charts with captions, and a list of sources. Share the purpose of the features with your child.

Table of Contents

Located at the front of a book, the table of contents displays a list of the big ideas within the book and where to find them.

Captions

Captions are usually right under photographs, figures, maps, and charts. Captions give a quick summary of what information is presented in the graphic.

Photos/Charts

A great deal of information can be found by "reading" the charts and photos found within nonfiction text. Readers will first need to figure out what information is presented. Then they'll need to discover how to navigate the information. Some charts use clear labels, while others require more careful examination. Help your child learn more about the different ways information can be displayed.

Continued…→


School News

How to Read Non-Fiction Text, cont’d.

Index

An index is an alphabetical list of almost everything covered within the book, with page numbers. Readers can use the index to look up specific terms or concepts and go right to the specific page where the information is located..

Glossary

Located at the back of the book, is a glossary which contains key words that are related to the topic and their definitions. These definitions provide more information about new vocabulary words.

Be the Reading Boss

Nonfiction books do not have to be read from cover to cover. Readers can use the table of contents and index to go right to the information they are most interested in. This makes them the ―reading boss‖ of that book!

Passages from the book can be reread as often as necessary until your child understands what is written. You can refer to pictures, charts and tables over and over again as well.

As natural learners, readers are drawn to books that give information about something or explain something they’ve always wondered about. You can feel good about introducing your child to a new world of information.

Adapted from

http://www.ldonline.org/article/47164

Possible Nonfiction Books

Children

First Human Body Encyclopedia By DK Publishing (ages 6 & up)

Frogs By Nic Bishop (ages 4 & up)

Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas: Earth's Astonishing Animals and Where They Live By National Geographic Kids (ages 5 & up)

Our Solar System By Seymour Simon (ages 6-9)

Teeth By Sneed Collard (ages 6-8)

Teens

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, and Treachery By Steve Sheinken

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom… By Sue Macy

Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition By Karen Blumenthal

Changed the World : A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science By Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos



Catholic Schools Week – January 29th thru February 3, 2012

“Growing Hearts and Minds”

Sunday, January 29 Commu-nity Day

11:00 AM – Mass

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM – Open House

Monday, January 30 School Spirit Day

10:25 AM – Shoebox Floats Parade

2:10 PM – BL Brigade

Performance

Tuesday, January 31

Family Appreciation Day

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM – Pastries/Donuts

with Parents in the Cafeteria

Come in the cafeteria or drive through!!!

8:30 AM – Spelling Bee, PK-3, in the Cafeteria

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Spaghetti Lunch for Grandparents / Visit Class-

rooms

2:10 PM – Pep Rally / Volleyball Com-

petition

Crazy Sock / Silly Tie Day

Wednesday, February 1

Volunteer/Support Apprecia-tion Day

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM – Refresh-ments in the Atrium for Honorees

2:20 PM – Bingo in the Gym for students

Crazy Shoe Day

Thursday, February 2

Student Appreciation Day

8:00 AM – Mass (5th Grade)

NJHS Ceremony following Mass

All Lunches – Sweet on Students

1:00 PM – School-wide Movie/Popcorn in the Gym

No Homework Night

Crazy Hat Day

Friday, February 3

Teacher Appreciation Day

7:00 AM – Teacher Breakfast

8:15 AM – Art Fest

11:10 AM – Early Release

NUT Day – No Uniform To-day!

School News


School News

The National Geography Bee comes to SBS!

Each year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the National

Geographic Bee using materials prepared by the National Geographic Society. The

contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms,

spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography.

St. Bernard will hold its first National Geographic Bee on Friday, January 13th. Students

will show their knowledge on a variety of topics such as geography, economics, history

and current events. SBS invites those students in grades sixth through eighth to display

their geographic knowledge and skill!

Students will take a preliminary assessment in their history class. Three students will be

selected sixth, four students from seventh, and five from eighth from their history class

based on their quiz scores. Students will then compete against other preliminary

winners in grades 6th -8th. After the SBS winner has been selected they will take a test

determining their eligibility for the state level. We look forward to cheering on our 2012

Geography Bee winner to represent St. Bernard’s School.

Event Information

Time: 10:00 AM

Date: Friday, January 13th

Place: SBS Cafeteria


School News cont.

No e-mail? Then call your announcements to 214-649-7694. If at all possible, do not send anything to the school office since the staff is busy taking care of the school’s day-to-day operations. Lastly the editor reserves the right to verify any content with the school and parish office. Father Walter, Father Gaston, and Mrs. Balcom will provide the final approval of each Bruin Brief before going to print. Any parents, alumni, or community wishing to receive the Bruin Brief by e-mail may do so by sending an email request to: [email protected];[email protected]

Submission to the Bruin Brief

The school cafeteria is still in need of volunteers to serve lunch. Hours are from 11:45 to 12:30 and you get to eat free after serving! Contact

Marlene Ochs for more info.

Rosetta Stone has arrived at St. Bernard! We have included Rosetta Stone as a part of our

foreign language program. All students are currently learning Spanish with an ultimate goal of fluency in the language. Our hope is to offer more

languages to the students in the future!

Green Team

For more about the Green Team, please visit their new page on our website:

http://stbernardccs.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=155897&type=d

Check out our pictures! http://www.stbernardofclairvaux.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?

uREC_ID=155897&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=309524

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



http://www.stbernardofclairvaux.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=155897&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=309524

http://www.stbernardofclairvaux.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=155897&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=309524


Outstanding Student Work!

Pre-K January Happenings in Pre-K It's hard to believe the holidays are behind us and a new year is upon us! This month we are studying the season of winter. We are learning about hibernation, polar animals, and the changing seasons. We are experimenting with ice and salt, shaving cream, making a "snow" type substance, learning some new "winter" songs/finger plays, we'll act out some fun stories such as "The Mitten" and "The Hat" by Jan Brett, and read many other seasonal stories. Art is one of our favorite subjects! We'll create a variety of winter themed projects! We'll also study Martin Luther King Jr. and the contributions that he has made to society.

Kinder A Winter writing assignment by Austin Keith.



Kinder B

What’s Happening in KB!

We have so many fun things coming up in KB for January 2012! We have been gearing up

for our 100 day party as well as studying our favorite animal (also our classroom theme), Penguins!

Studying everything from their environments to the various types of penguins that exist we have

been having a ball. We are also focusing on such themes as the study of Martin Luther King Jr. as

well as Paris, France through the eyes of Madeline in Bounce. It has already been a very

successful start of 2012 in the penguin room and we are looking forward to the things ahead.

1st Grade Grade One is off to a wonderful start of the new quarter. Our students came back happy, ready to work and they even look taller! They were quite thrilled to hear they are now closer to being second graders than than kindergartners. A new student has joined us; welcome, Andrew! The children were kind and friendly, as they always are. I'm very proud of their generous hearts and attitudes. In Math, the students are continuing to learn addition and subtraction strategies and, this quarter, we add money and telling time! They were amazed when I recently reviewed what we've done in math in the second quarter. One student said,"Hey! I used to not know what all that meant, and now I do!" That's a sentence to warm a teacher's heart...

In Religion, we are beginning our study of Sacraments and continue to learn the stories of Jesus's life. In Social Studies, we study Geography this quarter and the students will be taking lots of virtual field trips, reading maps, making maps. There may even be a treasure map involved! In Science, we begin a Unit on Health and Wellness - healthy habits, protective equipment and making healthy choices are part of what we will study. We will then move onto a Unit learning about energy, motion and movement. We will lean through hands on experience, books and Discovery Education streaming video to introduce the students to many sources of scientific learning.. In Language Arts, we are working hard on our skills as we practice them in Daily 5. The students are quite proud of their writing and enjoy the writing process, as well as sharing the final results with the class. We are just finishing Little House on the Prairie, Some of our recent "Interesting Words" are to mind someone, to rummage, to stagger, squatting down, thaw out, bedpost, moccasins, tin, lingo, iron, thief, to be cross with someone. The class enjoys using these words and phrases in conversation, and I enjoy watching them expand their vocabulary. First grade is a wonderful place to be!

Our class celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany by making crowns like the Three Kings. This is a picture of the class giving Jesus their gift - the gift of an open heart.

Rose, Keira, Viviana and Grace S. combined resources to make a really long snap cube train. They even counted the snap cubes; I believe it was 113!



2nd Grade 2nd Grade Crazy about clouds! Proud to learn perimeter and area!

3rd Grade

Third grade spent the first week in 2012 reading The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy. The

students recognized how Grandma makes a patchwork quilt and how the quilt will became a

family treasure. During the week, we explored new vocabulary, explained inferences about

the characters, and created a class patchwork quilt. Each student created their own quilt

square and described the memory it holds for them.



4th and 5th LA/SS

4th – We have been learning all about the Middle West region of the United States! We have covered all areas of the environment including climate, natural resources, and agriculture found across the Great Plains! Below are pictures of magazine clippings that represent items that are made from the four natural resources that the Middle West is known for such as, corn, wheat, iron, steel, and dairy products. What is really impressive is that we can name all twelve states and five great lakes that make up the Middle West in less than 10 seconds!

5th – The second semester of 5th grade is the most exciting time of the year because we get to learn how the United States became a country!

Starting off with the thirteen colonies, we examine all of the hardships that colonists went through in order for us to be free from Great

Britain’s reign. Starting off with self-government plans that each colony made for themselves in order to gain control, we sail through the most

important events in American History. We are covering all areas of the American Revolutionary War through the Civil War. Below are pictures

of groups researching about the important events that led up to the American Revolution. We are creating a life-size class timeline that tells

all about these events. As we learn more about our country’s history, we will add onto our timeline ultimately ending with World War II at the

end of the year.

4th

and 5th

Grade Geology and Math

Our 4th and 5

th grade geologists have been very busy studying our changing planet.

4th grade has taken a journey to the center of the earth to find out just what is going on under our crust. They built 3D

models to show the layers of the earth. We are taking a closer look at our crust and how it changes due to earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering and erosion.

5th grade took a look at the layers of our atmosphere and how essential each one is to our survival on our planet. They

built 3D models of the atmosphere. We are taking a look at Earth’s movement around the Sun and how this movement affects our seasons. We are tying in what we have learned in language arts as we write children’s books about the seasons.

In math, we are undergoing a fraction frenzy as we learn everything there is to know about fractions. We are learning

about the difference between proper and improper fractions, how to use what we know about greatest common factor to

find the simplest form of a fraction, and we are working to solve the ever-troubling question of ―how does everyone get

equal pieces if there is not enough to share?‖

In Religion, we are learning the mysteries of the Rosary, how to pray the Rosary, and learning more about Mary as

Jesus’ first disciple, as our mother, and Mother of the Church.



6th Grade

To the 6th graders, getting ready for the holidays isn’t much without a little book donation drive. The St. Bernard 6th graders have been gathering new and gently used books to donate to other children so that they are able to discover many new amazing stories within these books. Perhaps one day those donated books will be passed down to other children! The 6th graders are trying to give other children the ability to discover many new and wonderful books, that could teach them valuable lessons in life. It would certainly give them a great imagination, or these books can even inspire kids in many ways. Whatever it takes, these 6th graders are willing to try their best in fulfilling other children’s needs so that they may have a wonderful, blessed holiday.

-Teresa Nguyen

Middle School Social Studies Sixth graders visit first graders to share their knowledge about Ancient India!



8th Grade Religion

January 2012

Confirmation

The eighth grade is on a faith journey to Confirmation.

We’re currently in the process of choosing our sponsors.

Choosing a sponsor is important because this person will help

lead us in our spirituality. Confirmation is not just a sacrament.

It’s also a milestone in our life, which expresses our faith. We’re

not only going through the phase of choosing our sponsors, but

we’re also choosing our Saint name. The Saint that we choose

symbolizes something or someone in our lives that is very

important to us. In confirmation we are sealed with the gifts of

the Holy Spirit and we are working on understanding them.

-Ashley Zamora & Laurel Diaz



8th Grade



8th Grade



8th Grade



8th Grade




Schedule for Upcoming Student Masses

Date Grade Saint/Feast Theme

January 12 6 Martin Luther King

January 19 1 Love Your Enemies

January 26 3 Following God’s Will

Masses are held at 8:00 A.M.

Schedule for Upcoming Reconciliations

Date Grade

January 12 6

January 26 3

Misc…….


Go Krogering! St. Bernard can earn money when you use your Kroger card and

buy qualifying Campbell products. If you do not have the time to

register your card, please forward me your card number and I will

register it for you.

http://www.kroger.com/services/Pages/school_programs.aspx

Kriss Perry

(214) 953-6435

Labels for Education Look for Campbell’s products with the Labels for Education. These

products include Campbell’s soups, SpaghettiO’s, Pepperidge Farm

products, Franco American gravies, V8 products, Swanson broth

(can and carton), and Prego Pasta Sauce (UPC code).

For a complete list of eligible products, visit

http://www.labelsforeducation.com/participating-products.aspx

Comments or questions: Kriss Perry

(214) 953-6435

[email protected]

Box Top$ for Education Thank you to all those that have been turning in box tops. Keep saving them and remember

to include the expiration date with the box top.

In addition to clipping coupons, you can earn the school

money by doing your shopping at the Box Tops Marketplace.

You can shop at over 70 online stores like Wal-Mart, JC

Penney, and Land’s End. A percentage of purchases made goes

back to the school!

Comments or questions: Kriss Perry

(214) 953-6435

Misc…….


Misc…….

What’s for dinner?!?!

Chili’s proudly supports

St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic School!

With each flyer presented on SBS night, Chili’s will donate 10% of the

sales you bring in to your organization. Let us do the cooking and

support SBS at the same time!

SBS night is every other Tuesday from 11am-11pm.

Only at:

Chili’s Casa Linda

246 Casa Linda Plaza

Dallas, TX

(214) 321-9485

DON’T FORGET YOUR FLYER!

We look forward to seeing you here.

Pepper in some fun!


Youth Ministry News

Youth Game Nights

When: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month

Where: Gym and Reception Room

Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm

Who: all youth 6th grade and up


St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic School 1420 Old Gate Lane Dallas, Texas 75218

Phone: 214-321-2897 E-mail: [email protected]

grivera@stbernardccsorg


Monthly Newsletter

“Every time you smile at

someone, it is an action of love,

a gift to that person, a beautiful

thing.”

- Mother Teresa

Faith and Family

Excerpt from Dr. Pat

McCormack’s Newsletter on

Catholic Family Character—Nourished by Spirituality

For more information, please visit: http://www.parentteachersupport.org/newsletters.html

http://www.parentteachersupport.org/newsletters.html

Documents

January 1, 2011 · Located at the front of a book, the table of contents displays a list of the big ideas within the book and where to find them. Captions Captions are usually right