Hello all,

*Parent Action Committee Meeting- This was moved to Tuesday, January 30 because the state changed their deadline to have School Safety Plans turned in to the school board. All are invited to our meeting at 12:15 in the library to review the plan and give parent input. We will also discuss the Talent Show, Math Intervention, Staff Appreciation Week.

*January 29-31 20 Day Meeting Treats in the Office- Squishy Fidgets (This is a non-food treat, so all can participate).

*Friday, February 9 Candyland Winter Dance 6-7:30 6-8th Grades) Permission slips and entry fee due by February 8 in the front office. Permission slips were sent home with on campus kiddos, are in the front office or email [email protected] for a copy. Please sign up here to donate time/items.  2023-24 Families Candyland Dance Donations (State vaccination regulations apply)

​​"Math Masterminds" is a fun math night for the whole family. All Arete families are invited. You are invited Thursday, February 8, 5:30-6:30 pm to the Arete MPR for an evening of 'make & take' math activities hosted by Mrs. Tamo and other Arete teachers followed by a Math "Spy Adventure" Escape Room. All participants are invited to come dressed in black as part of our SUPER SPY team. Your family will leave that night with several activities that promote math and maybe a raffle prize. We will have some fun math theme prizes. Please come and join us for this fun math adventure. This is a free event for all. 

Math Masterminds Family Night

*Practice CAASP Testing- This year we are going to have individual and/or sibling times for families to sign up to practice some of the skills that will be included on the State tests. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to get familiar with the testing format and the tools that may be used. During practice testing, students can ask any questions they have and we CAN answer/help them. If your student gets overwhelmed on testing days this is a chance for them to see it's really not so bad!

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you! Please email [email protected] if you need a different day/time.

**This sign-up is for students who DO NOT usually come on campus as we are building testing practice into our Resource Center and Blended Middle School days.**

Practice CAASPP Testing Sign Up

*PRSD is focusing on reducing Tech Addiction in Children and building pathways for Digital Health. Each week I will share a NEW tidbit about this or how to to reduce screen time for kids who struggle with this.

*National Institute for Digital Health and Wellness, www.nidhw.org Source for more information for education, prevention and treatment resources for schools, families and therapists.

*Education psychologist and author of Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds Jane Healy spent years doing research into computer use in schools and, while she expected to find that computers in the classroom would be beneficial, now feels that “time on the computer might interfere with development of everything from the young child’s motor skills to is or her ability to think logically and distinguish between reality and fantasy.”

*Patricia Green field, distinguished professor of psychology at UCLA, analyzed more than 50 studies on learning and points out that reading for pleasure among young people has decreased in recent decades, which is problematic because “studies show that reading develops imagination, induction, reflection and critical thinking, as well as vocabulary…in a way that visual media such as video games and television do not.”

*Screen Addition Diagnosis may be determined by examining the following areas: Dr. Kimberly Young’s “Internet Addiction Test” Assessment Tool, Screen Usage is adversely impacting the person’s life (professionally, socially, physically, academically, etc), Engage in screen usage for long than anticipated, sleep deprivation, personal hygiene suffers, lack of enjoyment or involvement in activities that had been pleasurable, aggression or mood dysregulation when devices are taken away.

*Want to Sign Up For the Resource Center- do so here

*Winter Enrichments- Sign up here

*Spring Testing- Sign up here

*2023-2024 Field Trips- Sign up here

*Have Photos For the Yearbook? Email to [email protected]

Want to join Arete’s Private Family Group on Facebook- do so here. Arete Charter Academy Family Group

Remember to email Sarah at [email protected] a few days before a kiddos’ birthday if you want to send in treats so I can check for food allergies. Nuts are never allowed, but some individual classes have food allergies that I also monitor closely. Thanks for keeping our students safe. We also strongly encourage healthier treats if possible as some families closely monitor their kiddos’ sugar and food dye intake.

Please remember that we are a NUT FREE school as we have several students with severe nut allergies. Kiddos may enjoy nut free granola bars and spreads on their sandwiches and all the nut free favorites when away from Arete. Thanks!

*Want to see dates for the entire year? Click here

Dates for the 2023-2024 School Year

*January 29-31 20 Day Meeting Treats in the Office- Squishy Fidgets

*KMC Archery with David Webb - Archery Lessons - Ages 7 + - Mondays 01/29, 02/5, 02/12, 02/26 

*January 30- Cookie Science w/Ms Doerr 12:15-1:30

*January 30- 12:15 pm- Parent Action Committee Meeting- Library

*January 31 SAEL Presentation 6-8th Grade

*February 1-29 Around the World Read-a-Thon

*February 1 Lego Motor Madness  12:15-1:45

*February 2- Art Class w/Stephanie and Wendy 10:30-11:30

Here is the Course Catalog for Bear River for next school year. The Course Catalog provides descriptions, and prerequisites for all courses offered at Bear River. Please use this catalog to learn more about the courses that your student may be signing up for. 

Hello all,

Reminder that there is no school tomorrow in honor of the great Martin Luther King, Junior. Here are some free lessons if you are interested. Free MLK Lessons

*Parent Action Committee Meeting- This was moved to Tuesday, January 30 because the state changed their deadline to have School Safety Plans turned in to the school board. All are invited to our meeting at 12:15 in the library to review the plan and gain parent input.

​​"Math Masterminds" is a fun math night for the whole family. All Arete families are invited. You are invited Thursday, February 8, 5:30-6:30 pm to the Arete MPR for an evening of 'make & take' math activities hosted by Mrs. Tamo and other Arete teachers followed by a Math "Spy Adventure" Escape Room. All participants are invited to come dressed in black as part of our SUPER SPY team. Your family will leave that night with several activities that promote math and maybe a raffle prize. We will have some fun math theme prizes. Please come and join us for this fun math adventure. This is a free event for all. 

Math Masterminds Family Night

PRSD is so excited that Arete is hosting our Student Showcase that they are holding a board meeting at Arete in April to tour our students' awesome displays. *April 9 and 10 Arete Student Showcase- Similar to our STEAM Showcase last year- we are inviting ALL students to display projects they work on during the year. Please drop off projects on April 4, 5, or 7 for us to create the display. Then come back on April 9/10 at 9am to stand by your project. Classes and other interested adults are invited to view the displays starting at 9:15. We are telling you now so you can save projects you can complete during the year. Projects can be submitted by any Arete student!

2nd-8th Grade Spring NWEA Math and AR Reading Assessments 2023-2024

Feel free to ignore this if you only have TK/K/1 or a Blended Middle School kiddo. We are noticing that there seems to be a correlation between how long students spend on the tests and whether or not students show growth on the tests. Starting with this testing session and moving forward, students will take the NWEA Math test from 9:15-10:30. They will be encouraged to take their time, try their best and work out their problems on paper before they enter them into the computer. If they finish before the 10:30 snack break, they may read a book they brought from home or work on lessons they brought from home. At 10:30, students will have a 20 minute snack/recess break. When they return from the break, they may finish the math test if they need to or may start on the STAR Accelerated Reader test. They will be encouraged to take their time and try their best. If they finish early, they may read a book they brought from home or work on lessons they brought from home. At 12pm, all students will head out to the front of the school to be picked up by parents. This will give students the opportunity to show all they have learned and to not feel rushed or disrupted by students moving into and out of the classroom. 2nd-8th Grade Spring NWEA Math and AR Reading Assessments 2023-2024

*Chess Club is moving to Magnolia Intermediate School on Thursdays at 1pm. If your child is interested in attending, please email me to set up arrangements.

*Practice CAASP Testing- This year we are going to have individual and/or sibling times for families to sign up to practice some of the skills that will be included on the State tests. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to get familiar with the testing format and the tools that may be used. During practice testing, students can ask any questions they have and we CAN answer/help them. If your student gets overwhelmed on testing days this is a chance for them to see it's really not so bad!

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you! Please email [email protected] if you need a different day/time.

**This sign-up is for students who DO NOT usually come on campus as we are building testing practice into our Resource Center and Blended Middle School days.**

Practice CAASPP Testing Sign Up

*PRSD is focusing on reducing Tech Addiction in Children and building pathways for Digital Health. Each week I will share a NEW tidbit about this or how to to reduce screen time for kids who struggle with this.

-In 1984, 64% of 17-year-olds said they read for pleasure once a week or more; in 2014, 45% of 17-year-olds said they read for pleasure once or twice a YEAR- if that.

- “Ill Communication: The Impact of Mobile Phones on Student Performance” a study by the London School of Economics found that after schools banned mobile phones, the test scores of students aged 16 improved by 6.4%. Banning mobile phones improves outcomes for the low 

achieving students say an increase of 14.23% in test scores. “The results suggest that low- achieving students are more likely to be distracted by the presence of mobile phones, while high achievers can focus in the classroom regardless of whether phones are present. Banning mobile phones could be a low-cost way for schools to reduce educational inequality.”

-Professor Anne Mangen, January 2013 Study in International Journal of Education Research: Students’ comprehension rates were worse for students who read text on screen vs. paper.

*Our Leadership class in the Blended Middle School is requesting your input on what you would like them to work on this year. They are an awesome team of 6th-8th graders so please keep that in mind! Arete Leadership Survey

*Want to Sign Up For the Resource Center- do so here

*Winter Enrichments- Sign up here

*2023-2024 Field Trips- Sign up here

*Have Photos For the Yearbook? Upload here 

Want to join Arete’s Private Family Group on Facebook- do so here. Arete Charter Academy Family Group

Remember to email Sarah at [email protected] a few days before a kiddos’ birthday if you want to send in treats so I can check for food allergies. Nuts are never allowed, but some individual classes have food allergies that I also monitor closely. Thanks for keeping our students safe. We also strongly encourage healthier treats if possible as some families closely monitor their kiddos’ sugar and food dye intake.

Please remember that we are a NUT FREE school as we have several students with severe nut allergies. Kiddos may enjoy nut free granola bars and spreads on their sandwiches and all the nut free favorites when away from Arete. Thanks!

*Want to see dates for the entire year? Click here

Dates for the 2023-2024 School Year

*January 15- Martin Luther King Day-school is not in session

*January 16-Cookie Science W/Meredith Doerr 12:15-1:30

*January 17- 9am 3-5th Grade Anti Bullying/ Positive Choices Assembly (If your kiddo is not normally on campus on Wednesdays, you are welcome to bring them for this awesome assembly!

*January 17- 10:15am 6-8th Dare to Be Great/Positive Choices Assembly 

*January 17- Bear River High School Visit- 6-8th Grades- 9:15am

*January 17- Little Fish Arts w/Susie Bell 12:15-1:15

*January 18- Little Fish Arts w/Susie Bell 12:15-1:15

*January 18 Lego Motor Madness  12:15-1:45

*January 18-NU Preview Night 6-8pm ALL Current 8th Graders and Families

*January 19- Future Bruin Day - From 9:15-12:30: Students will come to campus for a morning of information, tour, lunch and a rally! Please RSVP to [email protected] by Nov 29 with adult T shirt size. Future Bruin Day

*January 19- Culinary Adventures W/Ms. Doerr 9-10:30

*January 19 Field Trip @ Mosaic Museum of Science and Curiosity 9:30-12:30

*January 19- Art W/Stephanie and Wendy 10:30-11:30

*January 19- Friday Fun Day