Week of May 30

Week at a Glance

Chris Bowling accepted scholarship for his
enlistment in the US Navy.

Sat, May 28 - Graduation at 11:00 a.m.
Mon, May 30 - Memorial Day
Tue, May 31 - Staff Development in BRES Cafeteria
Wed, June 1 - Staff Development in BRES Cafeteria
Thu, June 2 - Campus based staff development
Fri, June 3 - Campus based staff development
Mon, June 6 - Summer School begins

Senior Awards Night
Congratulations to BRHS seniors for their accomplishments and scholarships awarded.  The 2016 senior class earned over $1,100,000 in scholarships.  That is a huge accomplishment and a testament to the caliber of students we are sending out into the world.  Congratulations seniors and parents for all that you have done to raise such fine students.

Another great accomplishment is that every senior has met the EOC requirements and has earned the required credits to graduate.

Congratulations Blue Ridge HS Seniors of 2016!!!

The B_Ridge to Excellence
There are commencement ceremonies of several forms happening at Blue Ridge.  First, our seniors will talk their final walk as Blue Ridge Tiger students as they graduate on Saturday, May 28 at 11 a.m.  We pray that the Bridge to Excellence that we have provided gives them a firm footing in the college and career pathway of their choosing.

But there is another form of commencement taking place, and we would like to celebrate them at this time.  We have Blue Ridge employees ending their career in education as they commence their next phase of life, retirement.  We would like to recognize these outstanding individuals for all of the efforts they gave to serve kids as their B_Ridge to Excellence.

• Sandra Goodman, BRISD Librarian, 8 years of service in BRISD.
• Rebecca Hopper, BRISD Nurse, 17 years of service in BRISD.
• Betty Harris, Food Service, 18 years of service in BRISD.

The B_Ridge to Excellence is not a motto, and it's not about programs or positions.  It's all about people, and we thank our retirees as well as all of our employees for being the bridge that prepared every senior to graduate with the skill as well as the will to reach the highest levels of excellence.

BRE 5th Grade students having fun and learning at Collin County Adventure Camp! #BRISDpride pic.twitter.com/9CyGdPHp76

— Blue Ridge ISD (@BlueRidgeISD) May 20, 2016

Summer Learning

Summer is here, but that doesn't mean learning should stop.  Over the summer, did you know that kids regress and actual return to school lower academically than 3 months earlier when they finished the year?  It is critical that we all view summer as a different kind of learning, exploratory and recreational.  Taking your kids places and exposing them to historical markers, museums, shows, new places and reading will help them maintain their present level of performance.  To help you, our elementary library will have a summer reading program (see below).  Additionally, our athletic programs will have several camps to get your students active.  No matter what you do or where you go this summer, always remember that learning never stops and the experiences you give your children will ensure that their learning never stops.

Celebrate Excellence

Congratulations to our Blue Ridge educators who are being selected to present at regional and national conferences.

• Rene Sawatsky, BRES Assistant Principal, was selected to present at the 2016 National ALER Conference in South Carolina, (Association of Literacy Education Research).  The topic of her presentation is "Promoting the AR360 program to improve reading comprehension through the use of this technology."
• Dr. Scott Leslie recently presented at the Region 10 Authentic Learning conference. this past week.  His topic was structuring authentic learning through scaffolding, observation and rubrics.

Congratulations to our Blue Ridge staff for being recognized and selected to share their expertise with the education community.