Special Winter Holiday Issue Volume 94, Issue 1

December , 2010

Special points of interest:

• Niewinski Memorial

• Honor Roll Students

• Perfect Attendance

• H.S. Fair Info

• Santa Shop

• Student Articles

• Tons of other great stuff!

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Brake’s Take 2

December Calendar 3

Students of the Month 4-5

Perfect Attendance 6-7

Honor Roll 8

News from the Grades 9-23

CPS Dates 24

B R I D G E B U G L E

“Bruno”

An Illinois Honor Roll of Schools “Academic Improvement Award” & “Spotlight School Award” Winner!

Achievement Award” Winner, an “Autonomous Management Performance School” (AMPS), a SPEAK UP 200! School and

A CPS “Rising Star” school, a “School of Distinction”, a CPS “Exemplary 85

Years

Santa Shop Dec.6th-10th from 8:00-2:00

Dec. 8th from 4:00-7:00 Parent Volunteers Needed!

PTA President and LSC Parent Representative Lora Niewinski

1965-2010

On Tuesday, November 2, 2010 our beloved PTA President

and LSC Parent Representative Lora Niewinski passed away. A me-

morial dedication ceremony will be held during Santa Shop Parent

Night on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 4:00 PM at the Bridge El-

ementary School gymnasium. Mrs. Niewinski will be greatly missed

by all.

Page 2 Volume 94, Issue 1

Do you have any

ideas, suggestions,

or comments on

ways to improve our

school and the ser-

vices that our chil-

dren receive? If so,

please call, write a

letter, or see me to

share your ideas.

Your input is greatly

appreciated.

Thank You!

Dr. Brake

Students/Teachers

Staff/Parents

Would you like to

have a poem, article,

short story, event, or

other item of interest

published in the

Bridge Bugle?

Submit your item to

Dr. Brake

on computer disk

(Microsoft Word format preferred)

no later than the third

week of the month for

publication in the next

month’s school news-

paper.

BRAKE ’S TAKE

Happy

Holidays! To all the Bridge School Students,

Staff, and Families:

May the New Year bring good health, de-

cent jobs, plentiful food, adequate hous-

ing and clothing, and happiness to all!

I hope and pray that all the Bridge School

students, staff and families are provided

for during these very difficult times. Dr. Christopher Brake-

Sun

ATTENTION !

8TH GRADE STUDENTS

(AND PARENTS) Friday December 17, 2010 is the application deadline for

Chicago Public High Schools. This means that the application

must be received by the schools on 12/17/10. All applications

(except the lottery; they are mailed by each family) must be

turned in to the Bridge Counselor by Tuesday December 14,

2010.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Metzdorff in

the counseling office at 534-3611.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

CPS to host high school fair at UIC Forum December 4 Event helps families learn about the high school application process In addition to the three high school admissions info sessions held No-vember 8-10, CPS will also host a high school admissions fair for 8

th

grade students and parents at UIC Forum (725 W. Roosevelt Road) on December 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Many application dead-lines are on December 17, so this will be one of the last chances for students to explore their high school options and apply on-site. At this event, families will be able to receive school and program spe-cific information, meet members of the staff and student body, as well as complete and submit all applications on-site. Families who attend the fair will be able to complete the entire high school application pro-cess by the time they leave.

Parents see back page of Bugle for H.S. Fair Info Flyer

Indicates day of non-attendance for students Indicates After-School Program day

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 CPS

Staff

Development

Day

No School

for Students

4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15

LSC

NCLB PAC

Meetings

5:30 PM

16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

School

Resumes

1/3/11

December 2010 Happy Holidays!

Santa Shop This Week—9:00-2:00 All Week

2-3:00 (M&T) 4-7:00 (W) 2-3:00 (Th)

Winter

Vacation December 21st - 31st

School Resumes 1/3/11

Happy Holidays to all the

Bridge School Family!

Winter Holiday—No School

Winter Holiday—No School

Mariah Warren

Sylvia Kwasnik

Katarzyna Zawislak

Raquel Marrero

Matthew Bozek

Emanuel Crespo Carmen Santos

Jamal Abughoush Ashley Galeno

Gabriela Jakimowicz Patricia Banasek

Nicole Vergel

December - Students of the Month

Robert Faldetta Molli Warren Nicole Kucharska

Brian Kwiatkowski

Angelica Kozuszko

Evelina Jaje

Alyssa Polanco

Quinn Taylor Jacob Habayeb

Julia Smialkowska Ola Niemas

Natalia Gorlicka Dawid Babula

Anthony Jarvis

Alexandra Zugaj Daniel Alcantar Agape Alfaro

Bridge Elementary School Students of the Month are selected for their outstanding attendance, academic performance, and conduct.

Room 001

Radek Bobowski

Juliana Garcia

Anthony Guy

Nicole Hanek

Jason Harenberg

Alexander Jamroz

Maya Konieczna

Peter Kospin

Jacob Pacer

Anthony Panagopoulos

Carmela Pesole

Pasquale Sanfelice

Konrad Strzalka

Ryan Szajna

Liamra Voglic

Pawel Wojtowicz

Room 002

Andrea Avila

Kayla Bassig

Rochelle Borda

Oscar Cabrera

Aleksandra Czternastek

Olivia Harcarik

Emilia Jakubaszek

Natalia Kowalska

David Krasnicki

Michael Kurowski

Fabian Martinez

Justin Munoz

Allen Namrood

Francisco Rivera

Daniel Santiago

Veronica Smialkowska

Adam Wroblewski

Alexandra Zugaj

Room 003

Maliha Ahmed

Stephanie Anguiano

Tala Hasan

Roberto Hernandez

Noa Joshua

Karolina Kacala

Daniel Kania

Alejandro Hernandez

Mesino

Gabriela Nolivos

Gabriel Nunez

Samantha Pelaez

Kevin Piwowarski

Andrei Rodriguez

Luz Vazquez

Sabrina Villegas

Sofiya Zhukotanska

Room 101

Allysa Cayas

Brock Chiovari

Maya Farfan

Adrian Garcia

Somaia Jibawi

Leaila Medellin

Daemon Monhollen

Roberto Rodriguez

Dylan Thompson

Kaitlyn Thompson

Jorge Turcios

Samantha Zamarripa

Joanna Zurawski

Room 102

Kristy Azzam

Payton Lee

Gabriela Mlynarczyk

Hailey Seggeling

Samuel Sokolow

Room 103

Carina Cabrera

Lissa Gomez

Nicole Kucharska

Alex Kwiatkowski

Nicole Mydlak

Room 108

Pawel Grabowski

Jessica Kowalczyk

Melania Mazur

Paola Nolivos

Nicole Rosa

Room 202

Victoria Cichowski

EmanuelCrespo

Julian Fajardo

Jakub Iwanski

Kristian Martinez

Ania Meyers

Virginia Olech

Jacob Ortegon

Joceline Peralta

Amanda Santiago

Aaliyah Schein

Julia Strzalka

Mason Wilder

Room 203

Allison Aviles

Lucas Bigos

Mia Castillo

Julia Cichowski

Mikolaj Dykiel

Paulina Espinoza

Shawn Guerin

Daniel Kocot

Melissa Krajewski

Angelica Krasnicki

Matthew Kurowski

Tori Napolitano

Gabriel Reyes

Francisco Saez

Christian Wolski

Room 204

Hadeel Abuawad

Denys Chelak

Jeton Demiri

Ayah Fareh

Ashley Galeno

Maria Gomez

Karolina Jakubaszek

Cassidy Medina

Elias Munoz

Wiktoria Sawicka

Room 206

Kamila Banach

Victoria Bobro

Filip Bratko

Jakub Ciecierski

Kamila Drewniak

Mateusz Jaje

Camilla Mroz

Kacper Mutl

Adriana Palka

Adam Pruszynski

Victoria Roj

Claudia Szczesna

Faustyna Waz

Gabriela Wiejata

Room 207

Patricia Banasik

Jacob Bozek

Lizbeth Cabrera

Xiomara Cardona

Jesus Gonzalez

Claudia Goral

Alex Hernandez

Monika Meyers

Trinity Perez

Katarzyna Puc

Patryk Rafacz

Patryk Romanowski

Robert Ruiz

Kaitlyn Tarasiewicz

Damian Wojtowicz

Nicole Wolski

Room 208

Jamal Abughoush

Sheraz Ahmed

Naomi Bustamonte

Ayah Ghunaim

Cristofer Gonzalez

Zamary Huerta

Carlos Leon

Julian Ocasio

Malak Suleiman

Room 209

Mateusz Babula

Kevin Barna

Matthew Bozek

Julia Domian

Milosz Dykiel

Stephen Kaim

Sebastian Kuczek

Kacper Kwiecien

Phoebe Legarda

Suzanne Miekisz

Aleksander Naruszewicz

Anthony Oleksiewicz

Karol Piotrowski

Omar Santiago

Sean Simmons

Destinee Torres

Room 210

Brandon Bolivar

Alexander Cross

Sevion Devine

Sarah Guerin

Krystyna Kazmierczak

Nicholas Nickson

Natalia Obrochta

Milosz Rebeszko

Mateo Lambert Rivera

Jahaira Rodriguez

Sara Virella

Alexis Vivar

Kathrine Zurawski

Michael Zuzia

Room 211

Jonathan Aispuro

Patrycja Bucko

Adrian Grabowski

Albert Jaglowski

Justin Kaczmarczyk

Andre Namrood

Lukasz Peza

Tomasz Pikul

Rafael Resendiz

Anahi Rodriguez

Michelle Skura

Ronaldo Taullaraj

Alejandro Vallejo

Nicole Vergel

Dawid Zieba

First Quarter

Perfect Attendance

Room 212

Jordan Calderon

Jacob Conway

Nina Dziamba

Ariani Gomez

Loren Henich

Julia Iwanski

Michael Kasparian

Anisa Kornafel

Lucas Kovarik

Tomasz Mieczkowski

Angelica Parda

Kamil Pisanko

William Robinson

Melissa Thomas

Briana Turcios

Krystian Wojtylo

Agnes Zajac

Room 201 Jr.High

Owais Abuhashish

Agapefaith Alfaro

Julian Almanza

Alma Carmona

Morad Deeb

Nazim Demiri

Jakub Kacala

Anna Kulach

Nicole Lesniak

Holly Lewandowski

Magdalena Naruszewicz

Carlos Nunez

Alondra Ortiz

Jairo Salinas

Nicole Soltyszewski

William Viramontes

Monika Zawislak

Room 202 Jr.High

Samantha Alanis

Patty Amador

Filip Bachta

Eduardo Martinez

Sylwia Mieczkowski

Karolina Peza

Kamil Piotrowski

Rafael Reza

Gabriel Smyk

Piotr Szczech

Carlos Vallejo

Nicole Zacny

Courtney Zakrzewski

Room 203 Jr.High

Samantha Armijo

Sydney Bock

Patrick Bogusz

Nicole Brzys

Samantha Carey

Natalie Hanek

Natalia Hernandez

James Ignatowski

Kayla Jurewicz

Fotini Kaim

Wiktoria Kurc

Brian Kwiatkowski

Victoria Majerczyk

Dailah Medellin

Shylah Solis

Kelly Tarasiewicz

Room 204 Jr.High

Sasha Aponte

Jakub Bigos

Nicole Dziedzic

Katherine Gacek

Maksym Ilkiv

Julia Konieczna

Jakub Koperny

Daniel Kulach

Shannon McGuire

Kamil Obrochta

Alexander Paszkowski

Delanie Preston

Giovanni Ramirez

Andrea Reyes

Daniel Taylor

Thomas Wojtyga

Natalia Wzorek

Mateusz Zieba

Room 205 Jr.High Alexis Alvarez

Kinga Butryn

Jennifer Castaneda

Jailene Garcia

Patrick Knap

Johnathan Nickson

Jose Reyes

Liam Simmons

Quinn Taylor

Bernardo Trevino

Ariana Zepeda

First Quarter

Perfect Attendance

Room 206 Jr.High

Ashley Badillo

Rebecca Guerin

Rikeya Hargrove

Alexander Hernandez

Victoria Kospin

Alexis Lopez

Tiara Lopez

Kevin Mienta

Theodore Nickson

Nicole Pelaez

Rachel Schnoebelen

Brooke Silvestri

Maria Trevino

Megan Wilder

Room 301 Jr.High Waleed Abughoush

Isabel Alfaro

Samantha Ayala

Dawid Babula

Lukasz Boufal

Meghan Carey

Adrianna Goral

Anwar Hussein

Alexandra Kania

Katarzyna Koperny

Piotr Lesniak

Maria Mendoza

Kevin Mustafa

Widangelys Ortiz

Jacob Parker

Marcelina Puc

Wayne Sobotka

Justyna Szczech

Diana Trejo

Room 302 Jr.High

Anthony Barsano

Nicole Brzezinska

Nicholas Guy

Damian Jaje

Robert Lech

Angela Mercado

Bartosz Pikul

Alyssa Polanco

Erika Rodriguez

Joshua Santos

Tatiana Turcios

Mateusz Wiechetek

Jessica Zacny

Room 303 Jr.High

Sadaf Ahmed

Jasmine Ayala

Thomas Carey

Karolina Galinska

Raye Legarda

Roxana Hernandez Mesino

Aleksandra Niemas

Christina Pecoraro

Katarzyna Pukala

Jacob Rivera

Angel Salinas

Juan Sanchez

James Sobotka

Jessica Tredota

Cyndy Zukowski

Room 304 Jr.High

Corbin Bowen

Grzgorz Chlebek

Christian DeJesus

Kacper Dwojak

Molly Filipowicz

Alejandro Gonzalez

Robert Jurewicz

Mateusz Mazurkiewicz

Lauren McGuire

Alondra Mendoza

Jose A. Rivera 111

Darelis Salazar

Megan Szajna

Room 305 Jr.High

Amber Avila

Kienna Bariso

Illiana Farfan

Alexandra Macias

Tiffany Myszkowski

Avery Parker

Gregory Pikul

Nathaniel PonceDeLeon

Isabelle Santiago

Alec Santillan

Room 306 Jr.High

Rozan Deeb

Abigail Escobar

Victoria Galvan

Natalia Gorlicka

David Hruswicki

Nur Hussein

Nicolas Pesole

Damian Pikul

Orlando Ramos

Brandon Reyes

Safaa Suleiman

Joslyn Williams

Room 201

Owais Abuhashish

Morad Deeb

Joshua Kornatowski

Anna Kulach

Tomasz Kuczewski

Room 202

Samantha Alanis

Ryan Allibone

Patty Amador

Destiny Morales

Kamil Piotrowski

Neidelyn Reyes

Natalia Sak

Room 203

Patrick Bogusz

John Byer

Natalia Hernandez

Fotini Kaim

Dailah Medellin

Szymon Ramos

Room 204

Jakub Bigos

Ashley Bock

Maksym Ilkiv

Shannon McGuire

Kamil Obrochta

Room 206

Thomas Green

Tiara Lopez

Kevin Mienta

Room 301

Marcelina Puc

Room 302

Nicholas Guy

Room 303

Kathy Pukala

Jessica Tredota

Julia Troszczynska

Room 305

Amber Avila

Kienna Bariso

Isabelle Santiago

Room 306

Natalia Gorlicka

Nicolas Pesole

Safaa Suleiman

Room 205

Aseel Abuawad

Kinga Butryn

Jennifer Castaneda

Priscila Gonzalez

Zuzanna Pasierbek

Amber Polanco

John Sak

Kimberly Solis

Ariana Zepeda

Room 206

Andrew Azzam

Ashley Badillo

Alexis Lopez

Christopher Molina

Nicole Pelaez

Rachel Schnoebelen

Brooke Silvestri

Julia Smialkowska

Kelsey Vasquez

Kamila Wrobel

Room 301

Diana Trejo

Daniel Tchinibekov

Shawn Rivera

Jazmeen Rivera

Piotr Lesniak

Adrianna Goral

Dawid Babula

Room 302

Remah Abuhashish

Anthony Barsano

Patric Hruswicki

Mateusz Wiechetek

Room 303

Brian Kuczynski

Aleksandra Niemas

Christina Pecoraro

Jacob Rivera

James Sobotka

Room 304

Lauren McGuire

Daniel McGinley

Patricia Kania

Anthony Jarvis

Corbin Bowen

Jose Rivera 111

Megan Szajna

Lukasz Kornas

Room 305

Gabriella Borghese

Carlie Vasquez

Illiana Farfan

Room 306

Rozan Deeb

Abigail Escobar

Damian Pikul

Aman Haidari

Room 201

Nicole Lesniak

Magdalena Naruszewicz

Eric Platt

Nicole Soltyszewski

Monika Zawislak

Agapefaith Alfaro

Room 202

Alyssa Galiardo

Jireh Ibarra

Eduardo Martinez

Sylwia Mieczkowski

Yuliya Khudzyk

Rafael Reza

Catera Shanks

Gabriel Smyk

Monika Staszel

Piotr Szczech

Room 203

Samantha Carey

PatrickGillespie

Samantha Armijo

Sydney Bock

Katherine Misterka

Natalie Hanek

James Ignatowski

Justin Johnson

Marek Klejn

Wiktoria Kurc

Brian Kwiatkowski

Victoria Majerczyk

Kacper Rebeszko

Shylah Solis

Kelly Tarasiewicz

Room 204

Nicole Dziedzic

Katherine Gacek

Peter Jackowski

Mateusz Zieba

Congratulations

To Our

Scholars!

F I R ST QUARTER S I LV ER HON O R RO LL

GO L D E N HO N O R

R O L L

CHRISTMAS IN POLAND Santa Claus comes to Polish kids twice in December: on December 6th and 24th. On the December 6th he leaves the presents under the pillow and children can find them in bed in the morning. Naughty kids get silver willow branches from him to make them remember to be better for parents, teachers, and friends. On December 24th he leaves presents under the Christmas tree. Christmas in Poland starts on December 24th in the evening, when we see first star in the sky. There are 12 dishes on the table at Christmas Eve supper. None of them is made of meat. We can eat meat the next day. The main dish at the sup-per is a carp. We leave one empty plate on the table. It is for an unexpected guest who can come to us because he is lonely or sad. On Christmas Eve we take a white wafer, break it with our family and wish good luck and happiness. We go to church at midnight after supper to sing Christmas

Bridge LSC Parent Representative Vacancy What: LSC Parent Representative vacancy to be filled at 12/15/10 LSC meeting

Who: Interested and involved parents of Bridge School students

When: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 @ 5:30 PM

Where: LSC Meeting held at Bridge Elementary School Room 106

Library News

Did you know that a tom (male turkey) can weight up to 50 lbs.?

Did you know that a Bratsville turkey weighs less than 10 lbs?

Did you know that Squanto died in 1622, just a year after the first Thanksgiving feast?

Did you know that Pilgrim fathers were publicly punished for their children’s poor behavior?

You should know all these facts since the leading theme in the elementary library this November was the first Thanksgiving. We

learned about the Pilgrims and the first thanksgiving through different media: Squanto’s biography book, “Turkey that can fly and

turkey that can’t fly”: a nonfiction book, and a video about early settlers. Students made illustrations related to this theme which

were displayed in the library.

In December, the theme will be Winter Wonderland and the librarian is planning many exciting activities.

The Librarian

Bridge Preschool News

Rooms 105, 109, and 111

Making the Holidays Memorable and Meaningful

Routines: Why are

they important for

children and how

to set a routine for

your child. One of the most

important things that we do

at Bridge preschool to make

your young child feel safe is

to establish a routine. Chil-

dren feel the most secure

when their lives are predict-

able. Because children do

not understand the concept

of time, preschool teachers

use pictures to show the

events that are happening

and those events happen in

the same order every day. A

regular schedule gives chil-

dren a better understanding

of their world and gives

children a way to order and organize their

lives. When young children know what to

expect, they become more confident. At

preschool age, the child’s brain is still

undergoing major development, especial-

ly the part of the brain that is able to plan

ahead and make predictions. Most kids

find routines comforting and even em-

powering. When you know what to ex-

pect, there is less uncertainty about what

to do, and it becomes easier to focus on

whatever is new or different in a situation.

During holiday breaks, please try

to keep a regular schedule everyday, so

children will know what to expect . After

a holiday, sometimes it is a new begin-

ning and a fresh start for all of us. This

makes it a good time for you to establish

some routines that you think will be

meaningful and good for your child, so

when they comeback to school from the

two weeks break, they will be ready to

follow the classroom routine.

organization that works with people in your

community who have limited resources.

Choose a volunteer activity that is appropriate

for young children.

Create a peaceful home atmosphere. Reduce

the noise and clatter of the season. Plan calm

family activities such as: family dinners, even-

ing tea times, or story reading. Reduce noise

by turning off the television, video games, and

the telephone.

Whether you are celebrating Hanuk-

kah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa, the holi-

days can be busy and stressful. Chil-

dren's eyes and ears are filled with

messages that say, "Buy me!" We all

want the holidays to be fun. But we

want holidays to mean more to our

children than receiving lots of gifts.

Here are some ways to focus on the

meaning of every holiday season.

Strengthen family ties.

Plan times to be together as a family.

Choose a game night, a pizza and

movie night, or a night for reading

stories aloud. Avoid filling your

calendar with lots of activities that

pull parents and children in different

directions.

Encourage gifts from the heart.

Help children think about the needs

of others. Visit an elderly friend or

relative who is alone, make cookies

for a neighbor, or bring gifts to a

women's shelter. Volunteer at an

Have a great and safe

Our Kindergarteners have been very busy this year and the month of November was full of im-portant themes and lots of learning. Your kinder-garteners explored their five senses through sen-sory activities they both enjoyed and learned from. We also conducted themes centered on

families and Thanksgiving!

In Math, we are working on sorting objects by color, shape and size. We are also working on identi-fying, writing, counting and order-ing numbers 0 to 20. Please contin-

With the first quarter under our belts, we want to thank all of the parents for your continued support, collaboration and investment in your Kindergarteners’ education! Please keep up the good work!

Spelling

Words to

Practice

Yes No

She He

In Out

With it

Is like

Do go

And you

Dad my

Mom me

Our trip to the Fire Station

Kindergarten News

In November our Kindergarteners visited our local fire station. Students got the opportunity to see the inside of the fire station as well as the inside of the fire trucks and ambulances! The firemen re-minded our children of the importance of smoke alarms in their homes, and what to do incase of a fire!

Volunteers Needed! Please let your classroom

teacher know if you are

interested in being a

guest story book reader

in any of our four Kinder-

garten rooms.

First and Second Grade News First Grade News

YUMMY PIE!

While learning about the Thanksgiving tradition, first grade students enjoyed an apple pie feast. We ate apple

pie with whip cream and tasted corn bread. It was a yummy treat! What a great way to celebrate the Thanks-

giving holiday.

POP, POP, POPCORN!

Students in room 204 learned about how food makes its way from farms to our homes. We read stories,

made web charts, and even popped our own corn! After popping popcorn, we tasted different types such as

cheese, chocolate, butter, salt, and caramel. Students selected their favorite type of popcorn and created a

class bar graph. The most votes went to cheese popcorn and caramel!

The students of rooms 206 and 208 worked on a

unit about the Native Americans. The students

learned the names of the different tribes in North

America. They also learned about the clothing they

used, the foods they ate, and types of homes they

lived in. As a project, the students made beautiful

Tepees of all sizes using different materials.

In reading, the most recent story we’ve read is

Hedgehog Bakes a Cake. The student’s book includ-

ed a recipe for yellow cake to try at home. We were

able to try some yellow cake in the classroom as a

Third and Fourth Grade News How to Cook a Turkey Stories

By Room:209

First, you go to the farm and find a big turkey. Make sure it has a lot of meat.

Next, you pull off all the feathers of the turkey. When you’re done with that, you put a lot of spices on the

turkey.

Then, you put it in the oven and cook it for 1 hour. Turn the oven on hot.

Last of all, set the table and invite your family to your house. Then eat all you can!

By: Shannon Gillespie

First, you take the turkey out of the freezer and defrost it.

Next, you can put seasoning and stuffing in the turkey so it has flavor.

Then, you put it in the oven and wait for fifty minutes.

Last of all, you cooked it. Now you’re ready to eat with your family.

By: Destinee Torres

Cheerful Happy Respectful Instruments Snow Tinsel Merry Angels Snowmen

By Kaitlyn T.

Acrostic Holiday Poems from Room 207

Learning Ornaments Very Nice Every Year

By Kayleigh G Jingle Bells Ornaments Yule

By Xiomara

Always Nice Good Excellent Lovely

By Lizbeth C

Nice Ornament Excellent Love

By Patricia B

Great Interesting Fun Terrific

By Claudia G.

Pleasant Excellent Always Calm Expressive

By Trinity

The Hundred Dresses Class Novel Read Aloud This month room 201 read the novel The Hundred Dresses, written by Eleanor Estes. The story is

about Wanda Petronski, a poor Polish-American girl who gets teased for wearing the same faded blue

dress to school everyday. Wanda tells her classmates that she has a hundred dresses at home, and her

classmates begin to bully her even worse than before. Peggy and Maddie are two of the girls involved in

the bullying circle that drives Wanda to leave town.

This Newbery Honor classic captures many of the issues children face today, such as acceptance,

bullying, guilt, and forgiveness. While reading this novel the students participated in whole group discus-

sions, small group discussions, and various activities. Take a stroll down our hallway to view “The Hun-

dred Dresses snap shots” to learn what happens at the end of the novel.

Student Comments

“ I thought this was a good book. I learned that bullying can hurt kids really bad.”- Nicole Lesniak

“ It was a good story and it teaches kids not to bully.” – Alma Carmona & Magdalena Naruszewicz

“ This was a really good book. It taught me not to bully and the guilt I could feel if I did bully someone.” – Tomasz Kuczewski

“ It taught me that bullying can hurt peoples feelings and it can make you look bad.” – Nicole Soltyszewski

Fifth Grade News

Welcome to the Lyric Opera House of Chicago! The Lyric Opera House is bringing a music/drama program to Bridge School.

This program is only awarded to eight CPS schools per year. Mrs. Green applied for the program several months ago and interviewed

with the program’s director recently. Shortly thereafter, she was given the great news that Bridge had been selected to participate.

Starting in January, a teaching artist will be working with Room 206 on a weekly basis. The students will be studying opera for kids

and preparing a performance for May, 2011. We look forward to working with this professional organization this school year and pos-

sibly in the future!

SCIENCE FAIR: Congratulations to all of the students who participated in the Science Fair this year. It is always a lot of work, but

the quality of the projects continue to impress the judges. Ten 6th grade students displayed their boards during the 7/8th grade fair

on November 19th and the other 5/6th grade students displayed their projects on November 22nd. Everyone did a great job! Special

thanks to all of the 7/8th grade students who served as judges for the 5/6th fair.

6th Grade News with Mrs. Green, Mrs. Loxas, and Ms. Gilana

6th Grade Science: For the past three months, the 6th grade classrooms have been working on a large Rock/Fossil Unit. They have

completed many labs from seismographs to viscosity, acidity, topographic maps, coal “cookie” mining, latitude/longitude, and soil

exploration. We have viewed several videos on the rock cycle, caves, volcanoes and earthquakes. This Unit will wrap up within the next

few weeks and then, we will begin our Astronomy Unit.

6th Grade Reading: The 6th grade classrooms moved from fiction stories to non-fiction last week starting with the story of Matthew

Henson, the co-discoverer of the North Pole.

This week, we began talking about Amelia Earhart and all the many theories about her disappearance including being captured by the

Japanese, living in disguise and living/dying as a castaway on a remote island. True stories always bring such interest especially when

they’re connected to special events in history.

6th Grade Social Studies: The 6th graders have been busy learning about ancient Mesopotamian city-states, specifically those in an-

cient Sumer. The students are realizing that throughout history, people have had to find ways to solve their problems in order to sur-

vive. They have learned that such is the case with the Sumerian city-states. Ancient Sumerians had to come up with solutions to solve

everyday problems and improve their living situations through hard work, cooperation, and team-building. We can learn a lesson from

these Mesopotamians!

School Play: It’s almost time to start talking about this year’s school play. This year the school play is Pocahontas. We will need a

large cast of girls and boys to fill all of the parts. Check the hallways in December for information about auditions in January. This

year there will also be music auditions for those students who would like to join the music ensemble for the play. Play practices will be

held on Mondays and Wednesdays for actors.

Upcoming Field Trip: On November 30th, the 6th grade classes will be visiting the Peggy Notebaert Museum to participate in a

special lab on Wind Energy. This connects to our Unit on Conservation. After the lab activity, we will have a chance to look at the

new exhibit on solar devices such as solar panels for houses.

Girls 5th and 6th Pom Pon Squad!: This year is the first year we have Pom Pons for girls. There are 12 girls on the 5th and 6th squad. We practice on

Mondays and Wednesdays at the primary building. We will be competing against other schools in January. We are also going to be having black

sweatshirts, bows, T-shirts, and of course Pom Pons. Right now, the songs we are practicing to are DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again and G6. Our

coaches for the 5th and 6th squad are Mrs. McGuire and Mrs. Tarasiewicz. We will also be performing in the Christmas show, half-time for the home

games, and more. So come check us out and cheer on our team!

Here are the girls’ names that are on the 5th and 6th squad:

Samantha Carey Kelly Tarasiewicz Jessica Figueroa Nicole Pelaez Kayla Jurewicz Sasha Aponte

Shannon McGuire Khalia Phoxay Neidelyn Reyes Destiny Morales Ashley Bock Valentina Mora

Khalia Phoxay

By: Jessica Figueroa Room 204

Seventh and Eighth Grade News

learned a lot from

the book, the dis-

cussions and the

projects.

First period read-

ing class just fin-

ished reading The

Adventures of

Tom Sawyer.

When we finished

reading the book,

we has a choice of

taking a test, or

creating projects

to show what we

have learned from

the book. Some

of the students

made 3-D pro-

jects of their fa-

vorite scenes,

some were skits

that dealt with

Tom and Huck

meeting up in ten

years from the

end of the book,

and some wrote

rap-style songs

and performed

them. We all had

a good time and

Dan McGinley, one of

our 8th graders from

homeroom 304, re-

cently received a

scholar/athlete

award from the

American Youth

Football League. This

award recognized the

hard work Dan

showed both on the

football field as well

as in the classroom.

He received a $500

savings bond for this

achievement. Way to

go, Dan!

Rappin’ in Language Arts

Dan McGinley Wins Award

N E W S L E T T E R D A T E V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

Seventh and Eighth Grade News

Science Fair Awards

And the Top 10 Winners Are….

Math Class Ms. Koeppel’s math classes

have been completing Case

Studies. Case Studies are

problem activities explicit-

ly designed to help middle

school students develop

abstract foundations for

deeper and higher order

ideas in mathematics as

well as other disciplines.

Each task asks students to

mathematically interpret a

complex real-world situa-

tion and requires the for-

mation of a mathematical

description, procedure, or

method for the purpose of

making a decision for a

realistic client. Because

groups of students are

producing a description,

procedure, or method

(instead of a one-word or

one-number answer), stu-

dents’ solutions to the task

reveal how they are think

ing about the given situ-

ation. The eight grade

students have been

working on The Most

Thrilling Rollercoaster

and the seventh grade

students have been com-

pleting a Field Fitness

Day Case Studies.

Megan Szajna

Patricia Kania

Damian Jaje

David Babula

Adrianna Go-

ral

taking all of the great

projects and narrowing

it down to the top 10.

The judges said that it

was a difficult task be-

cause all of the pro-

jects were so great.

Some of the projects

included; plants, aero-

dynamics, mice, and

even with Jello. In con-

clusion, this year’s sci-

ence fair was simply

outstanding!

Damian Jaje

On November 19, 2010

students were getting

ready for the science

fair. Every student

tried very hard to im-

press the judges. The

judges were very im-

pressed by all of the

projects. The judges

had the challenge of

Marcelina Puc

Brain Kuczynski

Nick Pesole

Dawid Hruswicki

Jakub Bigos

Dustbin Baby On November 5, 2010 the

7th and 8th graders went to

see the movie Dust Bin

Baby. This movie was

very sentimental, superior,

and brilliant movie! I in-

terviewed 15 people the

average rating of the mov-

ie was a 3.9 out of 4. That

is pretty high and honestly

I though it was a heart-

touching movie! Some of

the favorite characters are

Pearl, April, Frankie, Ma-

rianne, and Elliot. The sto-

ry was mainly about how

April, the main character,

is trying to find herself and

remember her childhood.

She really did go through

painful times but at the

end we can see that she

took the right path and

found someone to love and

truly care for them! I defi

nitely suggest watching

this movie! Two

thumbs way up!

By: Marcelina Puc

the Chicago fire and he’s bring-

ing real artifacts from 1871 (the

year of the fire). That’s 139

years ago!! Everyone’s very,

very excited for the guest

speaker. It will be so much fun

and we always learn a great

deal from these speakers. We

Very soon we will be hav-

ing a guest speak during

the month of December!

His name is Mr. Gary

Johnson, the president of

the Chicago History Muse-

um. Mr. Johnson is com-

ing in to talk to us about

always appreciate speakers

coming and taking up their

time to talk to us. Once

again Mr. Johnson is com-

ing to us in December and

we are very exited for his

arrival!

By: Marcelina Puc

fun and a great way to

start practicing for

our District-Wide

Writings Assessment.

We know high schools

want us to be good at

persuasive writing, so

this will help us with

that skill.

Danny Tchinibeko

This quarter the 8th

grade is participating

in writing workshop.

We are studying per-

suasive writing and the

process it takes to

write a good persua-

sive paper. It is lots of

Writers Workshop

The Great Chicago Fire Artifacts

Seventh and Eighth Grade News

Bridge School Journalism Club Getting to know…. Dr. Brake

1. When did you first start at Bridge School?

I started at Bridge School in the year 2002.

2. What is your favorite part of your job and why?

Seeing students be successful.

3. Who was your favorite teacher and why?

My favorite teacher was Robert Cetera, theater director and drama teacher.

4. Who is someone that inspires you and why?

The Bridge school children inspire me with their hopes, dreams, and energy.

5. If you were stranded on a desert island, what object would you wish you

had and why?

If I were stranded on a desert island, I wish I had a cell phone to call for help.

By: Nicole Lesniak

Winter vacation is coming! Here

are some places you can visit while

on vacation from school.

Museum of Science and Indus-

try

Shedd Aquarium

Field Museum

Adler Planetarium

Chicago History Museum

Children’s Museum

Millennium Park

Brookfield Zoo & Lincoln

Park Zoo

Navy Pier

Willis Tower sky deck

Skiing Park

Polish Museum of America

Mini Golf

Go Bananas

Bowling Alley

Have Fun Over The Winter Va-

cation!

By Monika Zawislak The Field Museum

The Field Museum is a good place to learn about many things like the An-

cient Americans, different animals, Indians, and Sue, the world’s largest T-

Rex.

My favorite part of the museum was the Pawnee earth lodge. It was really

cool.

By: Alma Carmona

Bulldog Sports Boys Basketball

Boys Basketball season is upon us, and boys basketball team tryouts are here. The boys had a great season last

year and are ready for an exiting new season. Coach Ambrosio and Coach Schellekens are ready to lead the

Bulldogs into victory. Go Bulldogs!!!

Amber Privett 202

Girls Basketball This year basketball tryouts were great! All of the girls tried their best to make the team, but not all could

make it. Everyone did an amazing job!!!

First, we made some free-throws, but that was the easy part. Then we played games. Basket after basket we

tried to make the team. After the game, we all were exhausted but we were willing for another match. Finally

the coach told us the practice was over and the decision was made.

By: Natalia Gorlicka

Bruno’s Kitchen

Pierogi

The Dough

1 lbs. of wheat flour

1 egg

2 tablespoons of oil

Warm water (about two cups )

How to make the dough: Mix all of the ingredients together until you have a nice, soft dough.

The Filling

4 potatoes

8 oz. of white cheese

1 small onion

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

How to make the filling: Mix the ingredients thoroughly. The potatoes must be cooked and out of their skins.

If you feel that you need to add a bit more salt or pepper feel free.

Directions

Roll the dough flat than cut out circles with a cup. Take about a teaspoon of the filling and put it in the middle

of the circle. After you have the filling in the middle fold the dough in half over the filling. Then, press down

on the ends just enough so that water can’t get inside while it’s cooking. Put a tablespoon of salt in the pot. Fill

it about halfway with water. When the water starts boiling put the pierogi into it. Cook for 20-30 minutes. Dur-

ing cooking mix every minute, minute and a half, all the way to the bottom so that the dough doesn’t stick to

the pot. After cooking is done drain all the water and put the pierogi into a bowl. If the recipe is too big you

can put some in the freezer BEFORE you cook them for next time.

Enjoy!

By Kathy Pukala

Did you hear the Polish tradition . . . .

In Poland we always leave one plate out on the dinner table on Christmas Eve. If someone comes to our home

we invite him or her to eat and share Christmas Dinner. If no one comes we believe that God is sharing Christ-

mas with us.

By: Victoria Kospin

Frostbite Is On Its Way Here Did you ever hear of the word frostbite? Well if you haven't, this is what you should be aware of. Frostbite is

when your skin and tissue actually freeze because you've been in the snow too long. Did you know that kids

can get frostbite easier than adults? Well its true!

Things to do to avoid frostbite: 1. Dress in layers 2. Come inside at usual times 3. Protect your hands and feet

from the cold

If you want to know more about frostbite checkout www.kidshealth.org.

Have fun this winter, but watch out and be safe!!!!!!!!!!

By, Taylor Warren in Room 203

Bridge School Journalism Club

Bridge School Journalism Club

Bruno’s Kitchen cont.

Recipe for Blueberry Muffins!!

MMMMM…… I don’t know what to eat. Blueberries or muffins? Why not make blueberry

muffins!

You will need:

¾ cup sugar

2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder

½ teaspoons of salt

2 beaten eggs

¾ cup milk

½ cup melted butter

1 table spoon finely shredded orange peel

1 cup of fresh blueberries thawed Coarse sugar (optional)

First, you need to preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease twelve 2 ½ inch muffin pan cups.

Set aside.

Second, stir together the flour the ¾ cups of sugar /baking powder and salt in a medium

mixing bowl. Make a well in center of mixture and set aside.

Third, combine the eggs, milk, butter, and orange peel and add all the mixture to the first

mixture and stir just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.

Last, spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, fill each almost full. If you want, sprinkle the

top with Coarse sugar (optional.) Bake in prepared oven over 20 minutes until golden. Cool

muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove form cups. This should make about 12

muffins. Now enjoy this blueberry muffin recipe and share with others.

Thanks to my Aunt Jola for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Sylwia Mieczkowski 202

SUPER STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE It is really good. It is from my own recipe and don’t think it’s not good just because I’m a kid.

So here are 3 versions of it. Pick one version. Measure everything. Pour everything in to blend-

er. Blend until nice and smooth. ENJOY

v.1 v.2 v.3

20 tea spoons of sugar 25 strawberries 20 strawberries

4 frozen strawberries 14 spoons of sugar 2 cups of milk

1 cup of milk and bananas 3 cups of milk 8 spoons of sugar

1 cup of strawberry nectar

By: Kacper Rebeszko Room:203

Bridge School Journalism Club Student Interviews

Pom-Pom Squad Interviews: Neidlyn Reyez

What are your goals in the Pom-Pom Squad?

Our goals in the Pom-Pom Squad are to

win first place.

What do you do in the Pom-Pom Squad?

We learn dance routines and keep practic-

ing until we do it perfectly.

How often do you meet?

On Mondays and Wednesdays every

week.

Who do compete against?

We compete against different schools.

Why did you decide to join the Pom-Pom

Squad?

Because I like dancing and cheerleading.

Day of the Dead Race: Eduardo

Martinez

What was the point about running

this race?

Well, I really like to run, and I run

a lot.

How far did you run?

I ran a 5k race.

Who did you run it with?

I ran with my mom, dad, and my

dad’s friend.

What kind of holiday was this?

It was the Day of the Dead.

Why did you choose to run this

race?

Because I thought it was a cool

Mexican tradition, and I got to see

a lot of different things I didn’t see

before.

Movie News Harry Potter Fans..

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final adventure from the Harry Potter

series. While the wizarding world has become a very dangerous place for all enemies of the

Dark Lord, but the one prize they still seek is the most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter. As

Harry searches for clues to help him, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale- The Legend

of Deathly Hallows. Why don’t we go explore the rest of the adventure he takes!? In theaters

now!

Kamila Wrobel and Victoria Kospin 206

Bridge Art-i-facts — Elementary School

Students at the elementary school have been busy making

Harvest Corn and working on posters for an Anti-

Bullying poster contest. K-4th grade students will create

an original and creative design for our all school Anti-

Bullying campaign, which starts in January. Bridge will

provide prizes for the 1st place winner, as well as 2

honorable mentions (2nd and 3rd place). The winning

posters will be featured in the Bridge Bugle and

displayed in the elementary school. All posters are due

to Ms. Chrisman by December 2nd. Good luck!

After the poster contest we will start preparing and plan-

ning for our annual Holiday Show, which will be held on

Tuesday December 14th.

Bridge Art-i-facts—Jr. High

5th and 6th Repetition and

Rhythm Masks

7th and 8th Sculptural

Masks

Great Job to all jr. high stu-

dents on your mask projects!

I have received so many

compliments from teachers

and parents. Masks are

hanging up throughout the

school.

Last week we started post-

ers for a CPS sponsored

Anti-Bullying poster con-

test. Posters should en-

courage students to tell an

adult about bullying. En-

tries & entry forms are due

MONDAY Nov 29th. If

100% of your homeroom

class sends in entries to the

contest, you will be invited

to attend an ice cream

social in January.

Good Luck!

Special Winter Holiday

Issue

LSC = Local School Council NCLB PAC = No Child Left Behind Parent Advisory Committee

PTA = Parent Teacher Association BAC = Bilingual Advisory Committee

LSC President:

Mrs. Lynda Jurewicz

Parent Representatives: Mrs. Terri Ignatowski

Mrs. Lisa Lozeau

Mrs. Susan Szajna

Mr. Robert Walsh

Community Representatives:

Mrs. Yvonne Majewski

Mrs. Pat Walenga

Teacher Representatives:

Mr. Warren Metzdorff

Mrs. Kelly Naughton

Administration:

Dr. Christopher Brake

PTA President:

TBD

Vice-President:

Mrs. Susan Szajna

Secretary:

Mrs. Terri Ignatowski

Treasurer:

Mrs. Lynda Jurewicz

NCLB PAC

President:

Terri Ignatowski

Vice-President:

TBD

Secretary:

TBD

BAC President:

Mrs. Sylwia Krupinska

Vice-President: Mrs. Claudia Lozano

Secretary:

Mrs. Zapata Adriana

Representative:

Mrs. Sabina Galinska

Alternate Representative: Mrs. Anna Lysek

“Bridges to Success” Bridge Elementary School

3800 N. New England Avenue

Chicago, Illinois 60634

773-534-3718

Bridge Jr. High School Branch

7001 W. Addison Street

Chicago, Illinois 60634

773-534-0940

Principal:

Dr. Christopher Brake

Assistant Principal:

Mrs. Joyce Giannini

I M P O R T A N T C P S D A T E S 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1 S C H O O L Y E A R

Holidays

January 17, 2011 - M.L. King’s Birthday* February 21, 2011 - Presidents Day*

March 7, 2011 - C. Pulaski’s Birthday* May 30, 2011 - Memorial Day*

Vacations

Winter Vacation: December 20-31, 2010* Spring Vacation: April 18-22, 2011*

Summer Vacation: Schools close for students on Friday, June 17, 2011

Report Card Pick-Up Parent-Teacher Conference Days

Wednesday, April 6, 2011*

Report Card Distribution Days

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 Friday, June 17, 2011

Professional Development Days

Friday, January 28, 2011* Friday, April 1, 2011*

Staff Development Days for School Improvement Planning

Friday, December 3, 2010* Friday, February 11, 2011*

Teacher Institute Day

Thursday, June 16, 2011*

*Indicates days of non-attendance for students