Bees Buzz Stronger with Your Support!

FROM PRINCIPAL BLAND – Dear Parents and Community Members: Another week has passed with so many exciting activities taking place! For this BeeMail post, I’d like to focus on some of the wonderful items our Foundation has been able to approve and fund in order to help us in our mission of providing the best, most well-equipped teachers in front of our students and your children!! Just last week, the amazing board approved so many exciting programs, ideas, innovative practices and curriculum supplies that only a very lucky school like Brandon, with an amazing supporting cast of parents and community members, would be able to accomplish. The board approved Ipads for Ms. Fellows’ class, LOTS of DLI materials for our 2nd grade cohort of students and teachers, ceramic supplies for our art teachers, instructional materials for our music program and even a new printer head for our high-tech poster-making machine! The funding didn’t stop there!  Foundation also approved to fund nearly ALL of our core texts for upcoming Modules 3 and 4 for Wit and Wisdom and a professional development day for ALL of our teachers with Brenda Fitzgerald. She will instruct our teachers in a course entitled “Understanding Dyslexia” as well as revamp our commitment to training all of our new teachers in the five-part Complete Reading Series. All teachers in K-2 will be (or have been) trained in Brenda’s five-part series. They will come away with skills that are second to none as they teach our children with an emphasis on reading, writing and phonics, understanding learning challenges and incorporating Greek and Latin prefixes and suffixes, and doing it all with a multisensory approach to learning in mind. Brenda is phenomenal and I am so happy that our new teachers (and some old)will have the ability to learn from her. Aside from that, Foundation also approved to fund several subscriptions that our teachers love to use, as well as our commitment to learn and engage with Dr. Ann Farrell, who will lead the work in creating a collaborative culture where our leadership team will learn how to best serve our students through Professional Learning Communities, also called PLCs.

A major source of income for our Foundation comes from YOU! As you know, we are in the heart of our Bee Fund campaign. 100% of the proceeds that we raise (a target of $250,000) comes right back to our students. It’s a phenomenal way to support our amazing school, teachers and instructional vision as we embark on a new journey together. I want to make this THE BEST YEAR YET!!! Many of the educational experiences we are fortunate to offer at Brandon would not be possible without the Bee Fund. For example, did you know that the following are already funded by your donations to the Bee Fund?

• Saxon Phonics for all K-2 students
• Math manipulatives for all teachers K-5
• Professional development for teachers
• Our technology program at the Main Campus
• An extra police officer to assist with traffic at Main Campus carpool
• Our new turf field and track

I also would like to thank all of you who have already taken the time to donate to the Bee Fund! I am amazed by the amounts of donations that have already come in and I want to take a moment to share where the money was spent in the 2017-2018 school year.

• IPads to assist with small group instruction for all Kindergarten classrooms
• Funding of the International Travelers program, a culminating event for our IB mission and vision
• Choral risers for the Primary Campus
• Collaborative learning desks in support of building teamwork among students
• Alternative seating options for students with individual learning styles
• Financial support for our admin team to travel to a nationally-recognized professional development  program administered by the Delaware Institute for Novice Immersion Principals
• Purchase of new headphones for the Primary Campus computer lab
• Math center learning kits for all grades, which include math manipulatives for all learning levels
• Financial support for one teacher from each grade level and five specials teachers to attend the Annual Reading Literacy and Learning Conference

As you can see, the list goes on and on! Thank you for taking the time to consider donating back to your neighborhood school. Our campaign ends on Friday, October 5 but donors can make a pledge and pay any time until June 30, 2019. I continue to say it, but I am so lucky and grateful to be here. Please continue to reach out to me or a member of my admin team with any questions or concerns.

Thanks!
j