School calendar. We keep an updated calendar on the school website. You can subscribe to the calendar with a smart phone so that any changes come to you automatically. Here is a link to that calendar: http://bbcalatrobe.com/calendar/
Sports. The second volleyball and first football games are scheduled for this afternoon. I hope you will be able to come and cheer on your team! Please contact coach Rachel Schwender if you have any questions about the upcoming volleyball season at 724-691-5218. If you have any questions regarding flag football, you can contact Pastor Schwender, the coach, at 724-244-4323. We will have limited concessions available at the games such as hot dogs, sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. Students are to be in school appropriate attire based on the handbook when they attend games (school dress or P.E. uniform)
Speedy Reader. We have seen so many benefits over the years of using the Speedy Reader program. Miss Michelle will be making a video for parents who have students in the program to show how it works. If you have any questions, her number will be in the Speedy Reader packet.
Hoodies. There are a few school branded hoodies and t-shirts left from our last order. With the limited stock, we will only sell them in person. The hoodies cost $35 each, and the t-shirts are $15. These can be purchased from Pastor Lear or at the concession stand during games.
Continuing Education. We feel it is important that we never stop learning no matter how old we get or how many years of experience we may have. One way we keep our teachers learning more each year is through the Christian Educators Seminars available through ACE. These sessions allow our staff to gain valuable insight in areas such as teaching, leadership skills, personal Christian growth, time management, social and current events, and organization. Because the days we are training are crucial to the development of our staff and school, we want to make sure that the proper time and focus is placed on these areas of education. As such, we will not have school on Friday, September 25th, for our staff to take full advantage of that day’s sessions.
Projects. Many of our Science PACEs have special projects in them. Many of these projects are helpful in development of fine motor skills as well as connecting right-brain/left-brain connections. These projects, moving forward, are not required. We are going to give bonus points on their test for completion of these projects. For example, if a project is worth three points and the student scores a 97% on their test, we will add the bonus and make it a 100%. These points are in addition to points awarded for notebooks and can be combined to increase the test score by up to 6-8 bonus points. This is a great opportunity for students to earn extra credit in the subjects that have these projects.
Expecting perfection. As a first-born child, one of my fatal flaws can sometimes be expecting too much from myself and those around me. So often, students fail in an academic area – maybe not specifically a test, but they get a demerit for something not done, they didn’t get privilege, or feel like they are not getting enough accomplished. It is easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you are failing. One of my favorite analogies to use for these situations is professional sports. The greatest baseball players get more outs than hits. The best three-point basketball shooters miss 60-70% of their shots. Their success is not determined by falling, but by getting back up. The greatest players are able to put the failure behind them and move forward knowing they are going to get through and succeed at some point if they keep working hard. Everyone is going to have difficulties, make mistakes, feel overwhelmed, or fail. The key to success is not a lack of failures, it is getting right back up. It is a lesson we can all learn, but it is especially vital to teach them at an early age. I hope you will encourage your student to talk to us when they fail or feel overwhelmed so we can assist them in getting right back up. Proverbs 24:16 “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”