Great News From
Bridgeport Public Schools
Expect Great Things!
Columbus Elementary School Teachers Awarded
Certification in Instrumental Enrichment
Teachers in
Columbus Elementary School
celebrated their milestone achievement of certification in the world-renowned
Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (IE) program. As Part of the
district’s professional development partnership with the National Urban
Alliance, select teachers have participated in arigorous two-year training
course in IE. The certificate presentation ceremony took place on
Thursday March 25th, 2010 at Columbus
Elementary School.
“I’m
extremely proud of the Columbus
staff members and administration for their commitment to the empowerment of
their scholars," Superintendent John J. Ramos, Ed.D. said regarding
the teachers and the program. "Belief and hard work matter, and the
combination of our people and I.E. is making a difference!”
The
Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) is a classroom curriculum designed
to enhance the cognitive functions necessary for academic learning and
achievement. The fundamental assumption of the program is that intelligence
is dynamic and modifiable, not static or fixed. The belief is that talent
and intelligence is a process which can be guided and developed by good
teaching; not as something we have inherited and derived solely from our
genes, but as something we can do and improve through deliberative
practice. Designed as a two- or three-year program in three levels, FIE
consists of fourteen instruments, which are taught through a multi-level
certification process.
The purpose of the
Bridgeport/NUA partnership is to reverse student under-achievement by
“painting a portrait of possibilities” that involves raising expectations,
revisiting learning and teaching, and reinforcing the district’s mission to
insure that all students are college ready upon graduation.
The goal of the partnership
is to provide a series of research-based professional development
activities for teachers and administrators that are designed to build a
common set of understandings regarding learning and teaching, to introduce
powerful pedagogy that transforms learning, and to develop a district-wide
set of expectations and experiences, a common language of learning and
teaching, and a shared vision that propels learning.
The professional development
activities supporting these goals include highly interactive large group
conference-style sessions, as well as site visits in which participating
teachers observe demonstration lessons, co-teach, and participate in
peer-to-peer coaching, as well as instruction in Instrumental Enrichment. Columbus Elementary
School teachers and staff are the pilot program for NUA’s
implementation of IE in Connecticut. In
2008 - 2009 Columbus data suggests 5th grade students have made a 26% gain
in math and a 20% gain in reading. Other national sites include:
Albany, New York and East Allen County, Indiana.
Links, Inc.
Poster Art Contest
Project Walking Fete: Make Health a
Habit! Step!
Left to right Links
Program Chair Jacqueline Woods, art teacher Doreth Hudson, Mrs. Parmezan,
Grand Prize Winner Bruna Parmezan, Links Chapter President Shuana Tucker –
Sims.
Over 160
Bridgeport students, parents and art teachers attended the Poster Art
awards luncheon sponsored by Links, Inc. on March 13th at Sacred Heart
University This is the third annual healthy Living Poster Contest
where Links Inc. in partnership with the Visual Arts Department
encouraged 1st – 8th grade students to learn about healthy living
habits and use their art skills to illustrate what they have learned.
The contest
theme was Project Walking Fete: Make Health a Habit! Step! The
underlining art projects are to encourage walking as a lifetime physical
activity. Category 1: Feet First, grades 1-3
Category 2: I'm Walking. grades 4-6 Category 3: Walk the Walk, grades 7-9.
Majora
Carter* Comes to Bridgeport
 
"Why We Should Green the Ghetto and How
Much It Won't Cost Us"
April 21, 2010 at the Barnum Museum
- 820 Main Street,
Bridgeport, CT
Program:
4:00pm-7:30pm
Presentation:
Community
Conversations
Presenter:
Mayor Bill
Finch
Workshops
for Community Conversations
Reception
at 7:30pm
Admission
is Free
Space is
Limited - Please Call Tara Rose at VASE Management, LLC at 203-332-7366 to
RSVP
Event
presented by GBCE/The Green Team
Event
Planning by VASE Management, LLC
GBCE/The
Green Team's Vision and Mission:
The Greater
Bridgeport Community Enterprises' (GBCE/The Green Team) vision is that all
persons in the region will have a gateway to opportunities in the growing
"green" economy as a means to self-sufficiency and financial
security while contributing to the improved environmental, social, and
economic health and vitality of their community. GBCE/The Green Team's
mission is to create jobs, expand businesses and provide training in the
growing green economy so families throughout the region can achieve
self-sufficiency and financial stability while working to create more
sustainable communities.
*Majora
Carter is an Environmental Justice Advocate. She was born, raised, and
continues to live in the South Bronx.
Majora founded Sustainable South Bronx in
2001 to achieve environmental justice through economically sustainable
projects informed by community needs. Her work has garnered numerous awards
and accolades including a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.
Get "Engaged"
Bridgeport Public Schools 38th Annual Parent
Convention
Title 1 Parent Advisory Council
Wednesday, May 19, 2010; 8:30
A.M.—2:00 P.M.
Holiday Inn Hotel
1070 Main Street, Bridgeport,
CT 06604
Topics to Include:
Positive Behavior Support: From School to Home
Schools & Families: Better Together!
Mentoring Today’s Youth
Managing Your Money
Fun with Math: Family Games and Activities
Active Parents Today (only offered in Spanish)
Author in The Family!
For more information please call 336-4197. A
scholarship donation for registration including lunch is $15.00.
Sign up no later than May 1st, 2010
with:
Home School
Coordinators or Lisa Pavlich, Coordinator of the Parent Center
900
Boston Avenue, Bridgeport, CT.
The Parent
Center's
Adult Literacy Program
 
The Parent
Center offers free
one-on-one tutoring as well as: GED Test Prep Tutoring and Math Skills.
Call:
Mr. Lawrence at 203.371.8887
Lisa Pavlich at 203.336.4197
Gina LeVon Simpson at 203.336.4197
Celebrate!
National Teacher Appreciation Week
May 3rd-9th, 2010
 
National
Teacher Appreciation Week is the perfect time to express appreciation to
the dedicated educators who serve in the classrooms as a guide for Bridgeport
scholars to "graduate college ready and prepared to succeed in
life!"
Aquarion
Water Company Holds an Essay Contest Focused on Water Conservation
Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut is the public water supply company
for the cities and towns throughout Connecticut's
Fairfield, New Haven,
Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex and New London Counties. With its home base in Bridgeport, CT,the
company is looking to encourage scholars to learn more about water resouces
through a essay contest themed "What I Would Do to Protect Our Water
Supply." In the 500-word essay, students in grades 9-12 are
welcome to enter this contest.
The
deadline for the contest has been extended to:
Monday,
April 26th by 5:00 pm.
A judging committee selects
three winners from among the entries — one from each school — to receive a
$500 savings bond. The committee will include Aquarion representatives and
other community members such as educators, school officials and business
leaders.
Additionally, Aquarion is
looking for any school teachers or administration to participate in judging
the essays.
Please
contact Lorraine
Bukowski, Public Relations Manager for
Aquarion to receive an entry form, if you are interested in
becoming part of the judging committee, or if you have any questions
regarding the contest. Ms. Bukowski can be reached at 203.336.7662.
Bridgeport Public Schools Launches Temporary
Location for the New Discovery
Inter-District Magnet School
At a press conference on earlier this month, Superintendent
of Schools, Dr. John J. Ramos, Sr., Ed.D., Mayor Bill Finch and Board of
Education President, Barbara Bellinger, announced the launch of the Discovery Inter-district Magnet
School’s temporary location along with plans
for fall enrollment.
The temporary location for the school will be
at Ahavath
Achim on 1571 Stratfield Road in Fairfield, CT.
Currently, 3 Kindergarten classes are scheduled to open in the fall, along
with 6 pre-kindergarten classes; the pre-k classes will admit 3 and 4
year-old children. All are full-day programs. Each classroom will be
comprised of 14 children.
The anticipated move to the newly built Discovery Inter-district
Magnet School which will be housed
on the campus of the Discovery
Museum is scheduled
for January
2011.
Discovery School’s enrollment percentage will
be 70% Bridgeport students and 30% students from the surrounding
communities of: Easton/Redding, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Shelton,
Stratford, and Trumbull. Transportation will be provided for the
kindergarten children only. Before-school care is available at a fee.
Applications for fall enrollment are available
at each school district and online. For Bridgeport students, applications are
also available at:
Board of Education
45 Lyon
Terrace, Suite
203
Bridgeport,
CT
Department of Pupil Services and Student
Assignments
948
Main Street,
1st Fl
Bridgeport,
CT
Applications are due Friday, April
23rd, and an electronic lottery by grade level
will be held on Friday, May 7th. Parents
will be notified of selection on Friday, May 14th.
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