Bradford School News
6-19-20
“Steep thyself in a bowl of summertime.” - Virgil
Conversation on Race
• Our virtual forum to discuss issues of racial inequality within our school community will take place this coming Monday, June 22nd at 3:00 p.m. We are hoping many of you, no matter your background, can join us for this important conversation. Bradford staff members will also be in attendance to listen and learn, so that we can focus our efforts based on what we hear, and turn our intentions into meaningful action to address racism with our students. As a reminder, the forum will primarily be an opportunity for us to listen to you about your experiences and ideas for this work. We have much work to do and look forward to partnering with you to address structural racism as a school community. This forum will be moderated by Dr. Leslie Wilson, Professor of African-American History and Associate Dean in Montclair State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Psychologist and Bradford parent, Dr. Melissa Robinson-Brown. Dr. Maisa Taha, a linguistic and cultural anthropologist and Assistant Professor of Anthropology in Montclair State University’s College of Humanities and Social Science will also be in attendance, along with other invited guests, including our new Superintendent of the Montclair Public Schools, Dr. Jonathan Ponds.
Forum: Discussing Issues Of Racial Inequality Within Our School Community
Hosted by Naomi Kirkman
Monday, Jun 22, 2020 3:00 pm | 1 hour | (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Meeting number: 129 041 8523
Password: fcYnNBDA854
https://mpsdnj.webex.com/mpsdnj/j.php?MTID=mcdc37acbf6d2ef32070f28c01172cb24
Join by video system
Dial 1290418523@mpsdnj.webex.com
You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.
Join by phone
+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
Access code: 129 041 8523
Summer Learning
• We know that remote instruction has not been an ideal way to learn for many of our students. Therefore, it is especially important this summer to keep those developing brain’s learning over the next couple of months. There are so many ways to keep your kids engaged over the summer without an emphasis on screen time – give them a much needed break from their electronic devices! Try these easy ideas: visit the Montclair Public Library often, take books on road trips and vacations, build reading time into your child’s summer routine, find a book series your child likes so there will be multiple books to read, register for the Montclair Public Library’s Summer Reading Program here, read the same books as your child and talk about them, and listen to and discuss audiobooks. You can also encourage your child to keep a journal for daily writing, write letters to friends and family members, write a book jacket summary or review for a book they read, create their own board game, go on an educational field trip for the day, learn chess, rewrite the lyrics to a song, write a jingle for a product they love, involve your child in cooking to reinforce math skills, task them with creating a budget for a family meal or trip, calculate the mileage and time for a trip, compare prices in the grocery store, look at price per unit, and calculate coupon savings, encourage construction with a variety of building materials, plant a garden and measure plant growth.
Ordering School Supplies for Next Year
• Last chance to order school supplies for the 2020-2021 school year. No orders will be accepted after July 1st, so please make your purchase now to order for your child. Also, please pass along this information to any incoming kindergarten families that you know would like to have supplies ready for their new Bradford child. Please reach out to Amanda Henry-Godino if you have any questions.
Retrieval of Student Items
• At this time, we are unable to pack up and bag student items for you to retrieve. Plans for returning student items to you will be announced at a later date. Please hold on to any items you may have that belong to the school and we will notify you on the procedures for drop-off of those items.
Thank You to Bradford Staff, PTA, and Families
• I wanted to take a moment to recognize the Bradford staff who successfully and tirelessly navigated the challenges of remote learning; I am proud to work with this group of individuals; they have gone above and beyond to maintain connections with our students and to provide meaningful instruction in our new, constrained format. We would also like to thank you, our Bradford parents and caregivers, for your patience and support during this most challenging school year. It is surely one for the books. Special thanks to the Bradford PTA for their strong support this year and for working tirelessly to enhance the education of our students. We wish you all the best for a relaxing, safe, healthy, and fun summer. Stay tuned for information about plans for how school will reopen this September.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!