Reminder! Student Council hosts the school store on Fridays during students' lunch. School supplies, such as pencils, erasers, and grippers are available for students to buy. Items cost about 25 cents up to $1. Remind students to take their money with them to lunch!

Updates from the PTA

During our PTA meeting on January 6th, Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy attended as a guest speaker. He talked about new initiatives coming to the BASD Elementary schools, like the combination of Academic Integration and Library into a new special called Digital Literacy. BASD will also introduce a Foreign Language special by including Spanish in the Elementary School Program next year. He spoke about the ongoing budget pressures put on the district by charter school attendance, and the need to keep parents and legislators informed and supportive of the opportunities provided by a BASD public education.

Are you a proud parent of a BASD student? Check out the BASD Proud Parents organization (www.basdproudparents.org or @basdproudparent on Twitter). BASD Proud Parents is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and inform parents and the community about issues impacting our public schools, empowering them to make their voices heard as advocates for public education. With all the great academic and extra-curricular offerings of a BASD education, it’s a great way to stay up to date about things that may affect your child’s experience in our school district!

Approximately 40 Asa Packer students and their families attended International Family Dinner night on Friday, January 26th. Including families and Asa Packer staff, we saw over 130 people attend the event. Asa Packer's girl scout troop 8005 greeted attendees at the front doors of the school, selling cookies throughout the evening to support their troop. Families brought dishes for dinner from a variety of cultures and cuisines, including Polish, Greek, Turkish, Filipino, Italian, and so many others. The dessert table was packed with goodies and treats from around the world as well. During the event, students could eat or craft a maraca out of a plastic Easter egg and some dried beans or make a Chinese paper lantern. Musical entertainment was provided by Kaitlyn D.'s (Grade 2) father, along with two other members of the local rock band The Beautiful Distortion. One Asa student, Samidha S.(Grade 5) joined the band for a beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah.

Co-chairs Cheryl Doll and Yi-Wen Lai would like to thank all of the parent volunteers for their help in organizing the event, as well as helping to set up and clean up that evening. The students were also a great help at the cookie table, craft table, and during clean up. We will be compiling a digital cookbook with the recipes submitted from the event. A great event had by all!

Mark your calendars for these upcoming PTA events:

Feb 18th 4-8 pm – Fundraiser at Chipotle (Airport Road location)

Feb 23rd – Spring Picture Day

February 25th 5:30-8:30 pm - Roller Skating Night

March 15th (grades K-2) and March 22nd (grades 3-5) 8:30 am – Muffins with Mom.

Look for flyers to come home with your students soon!

Keep informed of upcoming events and opportunities to get involved in the Asa Packer PTA. “Like” our Facebook Page, follow us on Twitter (@AsaPackerPTA), and visit our website (http://asapackerpta.digitalpto.com). The Asa Packer PTA appreciates the time and talent given by our wonderful volunteers.

ICe SKating

By: Ella S. and Addison G.

Ice skating night was on February 5th, 2018. It was a blast! Tons of kids and adults were on the ice, having a amazing time. It was super fun to see our friends, parents, and everyone else skating, and having a good time. We got to practice our amazing tricks, or just laugh with or friends while we skate. We fell, we skated, and most of all, we had fun! Thanks to the PTA for letting us skate for FREE!

Come enjoy roller skating on February 25th - for FREE too!

First In Math

Congrats to Mrs. Weber's 4th grade class on being the number 1 team on First in Math in BASD!

Guidance Goings

Wow!! We are already into the 3rd quarter! I look forward to seeing you at conferences this month. As always if you should have academic or social concerns about your child, please reach out to me either at abirster@basdschools.org or 610-865-0660. You may not know this, but your child can also reach out me personally here at school. I have a small mailbox located outside the library entrance and students can put notes in for me to read!

During January, classroom guidance lesson focused on bullying prevention, getting along, empathy and belonging/value. In 5th grade we are reading the Weird!, Dare, Tough series by Erin Frankel. Fourth graders are learning about apologizing with Trudy Ludwig’s Sorry. The 3rd grade students finished the last book, Two, by Kathryn Otoshi. We learned about recess bullying and making new friends in grade 2 with The Recess Queen, by Alexis O’Neill. In Kindergarten and First grade we learned about acceptance in the Book We’re All Wonders, by R. J. Palacio.Thank you for the opportunity to work with your children everyday!

Check out Ms. Birster leading a Guidance Lesson read aloud!

International Dinner

By: Rebecca D. and Ella S.

The international dinner is where your family makes a dinner dish to bring to school to share at school with everyone. The dinner is supposed to be a traditional meal from your culture. There are also desserts there. Everyone can try a bunch of new things that you might not normally eat. There are activities too. We could make maracas and lanterns. A band plays the music. “I love planning the dinner. It is nice when friends help out. My husband plays the music and friends help out even if their kid doesn't go here anymore,” Mrs Doll said. We hope you enjoyed a night out at the International Dinner.

Pre-K Literacy Nights

By: Leyna J. and Gianna B.

Every month from now until the end of the school year, there is a Pre-K literacy night held for future kindergarten students and their families to prepare for the upcoming school year. Each month a different literacy topic is covered at the meetings. If you're a family with an incoming kindergartener, use the button below to register for these events. We’re excited to see the students at our school next year and help them prepare!

Pre-K Family Literacy Nights:

Thursday, Feb. 8th @ 6pm

Thursday, March 8th @ 6pm

Thursday, April 12th @ 6pm

Thursday, May 10th @ 6pm

Thursday, May 31st @ 6pm