Bear Creek - Bvsd - Boulder Valley School District

Bear Tracks
GOODBYE AND GOOD LUCK
TO THE BEAR CREEK CLASS OF 2012
The Bear Creek family wishes you all the best as you make the move to
middle school next year.
Come back and visit us when you can!!!
Tessa Armbruster Annika Dombrowski Alexandria Lackman Davis Rudge
Hayden Arnold Grace Evans Dylan Leftwich Sarah Sakellaris
Anirudjan Badrinath Riley Frank Desiree Lester Zach Schlindler
Lucas Barrera Cali Fuller Carson McGowan Morgan Selby
Brodie Bartholomew Fernando Garcia Andre Metzger Arlee Shelby
Lillian Berets Henry Graf Lukas Mills Leo Sheng
Jimmy Bohn Ann Granberg Odessa Murray Caleb Stevens
Sara Bottome Brock Granberg James Noland Denny Stong
Chloe Brasket Matt Greenwald Milan Northcote Charlotte Suttee
Gabe Brenza Savanna Howell Diana Owen Riley Todacheene
Will Breuch Avery Jackson Andres Parada Christina Tong
Cayo Browning Sam Jarvis Brian Park Avery Westfall
Daniel Budasz Esther Jeong John Parker Charlie White
Cole Carpenter Olivia Jobson Sonya Piatnitski Sophia Wiener
Joe Casebolt Alex Kang Marlena Preigh Marley Williams
Shane Christensen Sato Kato Jack Quinn Alicia Wu
Katherine Codrescu Mia Kirlan-Stout Spoorthy Reddy Andy Wu
Peter Coggan Ayako Kiyota Faith Riggs Maggie Zukoski
Wyett Considine Brock Klomhaus Fiona Robinson
Happy Summer Break!
~ Kent Cruger
Bear Creek Elementary
2500 Table Mesa Drive
Boulder, CO 80305
Kent Cruger, Principal
May 11, 2012
Inside this issue:
5th Grade Graduates 1
Jared Polis Impact on
Education Award
Bear Creek at a Glance 3
Cruger Cup 4
PTO 5 -
7
Classroom Clips 8 -
14
BC Monthly Calendar &
District Calendar
2
15-
16
BVSD 17 -
24

Congratulations to Mrs. Lucy Ewing a
2012 Jared Polis Impact on Education Award Winner
(The following thoughts are part of the nomination presented on behalf of Mrs. Lucy Ewing)
Mrs. Ewing’s innovative, inspiring and caring teaching reaches all learners. Additionally, her creative collaboration with her colleagues and
school community, and contribution of extensive time and talents in many areas, has resulted in broad-based success for Bear Creek Elementary and
beyond.
A passionate writer herself, Lucy has demonstrated outstanding success in developing accomplished writers. Her carefully articulated,
research-based units are used in all our fourth and fifth classrooms. Mrs. Ewing uses wonderful literature models and models her own writing in
front the class; her students are hugely entertained and inspired. She trains them to “sprint” ideas for writing like athletes train for sports. They
chant, “Three deep, three deep!” when writing persuasively, understanding that it is best to develop three strong ideas instead of listing multiple
superficial ones. And they’ll fall silent for hour-long writing periods as they produce complex memoir stories and mesmerizing mysteries. According
to her principal, “Literacy data from students in Lucy’s class is nothing short of remarkable. Over the past several years, Lucy has consistently had
some of the highest percentages of advanced writers in the entire district as evidenced by the CSAP. She deserves every accolade and superlative
possible to describe the impact she has had on student writing.”
Mrs. Ewing is no less successful with her mathematics students. Although she teaches the “average,” grade level ability-based mathematics
block at our school, 60% or more of her students consistently achieve advanced standings in the state test and all are at least proficient. My
husband was a parent helper in her classroom for math block, and saw her skill at showing students different ways to understand the math, and
how she set high expectations for students to communicate their thinking in pictures, numbers, tables and words. “She was in tune with who needed
additional support and would send me off for one-on-one tutoring.” He adds, “She would pull me into the instruction sometimes, asking me to share
with the students how my work as an engineer used such things as negative numbers, exponential numbers, or graphs.” Says one student, “What
makes her such a great teacher is that she really knows how to explain things so that we understand. She is very clear and patient.” When Lucy
found that her math block this year was gobbling up extra challenges, she applied for a foundation grant to make lounge pants with them. The students
applied their measurement and geometry skills to pin and cut patterns and construct their pants on power sewing machines. But it didn’t stop
there. The boy-heavy class put on a “Project Runway: Boulder Edition” fashion show, fully accessorized and choreographed by the students, from
military marching and football poses to rainforest frogs in flippers and penguins in tuxedo shirts! These kinds of projects clearly engage Lucy’s students
and demonstrate the rewards of taking risks. Wrote a parent: “Thank you so much for putting together such a creative team project for our
children. It was beautiful to see all of the kids walk so proudly in their creations.
Mrs. Ewing is tirelessly dedicated to positive change in education and school climate. She is an inspiring leader and mentor. A colleague
says, “Our nominee indefatigably strives to enhance the learning experience for our school. In our staff writers group, she encourages insecure
writers and shares her poignant writing and expertise as a master’s graduate in English, former marketing executive, and ongoing contributing
columnist for The Denver Post.” When our school was identified by the independent ColoradoSchool Grades.com group this year as the #1 school in
Colorado, based on state testing student achievement and growth, Mrs. Ewing and her class were spotlighted on the 9News follow-up story. Her
smile on the video made it clear for the state to see. As one student says, “Mrs. Ewing’s smile has a domino effect. When she smiles, I smile and the
whole class smiles. When we pass other teachers and classes in the hall, they smile, and by the time our class walks back to our room, the whole
school is smiling, all because of happy Mrs. Ewing. It is the way she shows me how much she cares about me.”
Mrs. Ewing truly has brought deep intelligence, dedication, and optimistic spirit to her role as an educator for the past fourteen years, and
I am honored to nominate her for the Jared Polis Foundation award.
Mrs. Lucy Ewing—2012 Jared Polis Impact on Education Award Winner

BEAR CREEK CALENDAR
AT - A - GLANCE
Tuesday, May 15 - Friday, May 18
Book Fair
Monday, May 15
3rd Grade Program @ 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 16
6:30 Bear Creek Band Concert @ Southern Hills
Thursday, May 17
10:00 Lambs in Kindergarten
1st Grade Program @ 2:00 p.m.
Monday, May 21
5th Grade Program
Tuesday, May 22
9:00 Awards Assembly
Wednesday, May 23
9:00 Awards Assembly
Thursday, May 24
Last Day of School
5th Grade Graduation 1:00 p.m.
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Don’t forget to check the foyer for flyers and information
on before and after school activities.
Rocky Mtn. Theater for Kids
Regis Reading Program
2012 Summer Camp Boulder County
Enrichment Discovery
Thorne Natural Science School - Summer Camp
YMCA Summer Camps
Lifelong Learning
Kids Speak Spanish
LOST & FOUND
The lost and found is
overflowing…
As the end of the school
year approaches, the pile of lost and
found items continues to grow and grow.
Please stop in and claim your lost items
sometime before the end of the school
year. Anything left after May 27th
will be bagged and donated to a local
charity.
Incoming Kindergarten Parents
Mrs. Jenak has requested that parent/preschool
information forms be turned in by the end of the
school year so that she can begin to learn all about
your wonderful children.
Boulder Bolder Racers
The last BB training will be Tuesday, May
22 and the race packets should be distributed by that
time. Also that the Bear Creek meeting section post race is
section 204 in the stadium. We hope to see fellow Bear
Creekers there! Thanks. Shelley

PTO News
Thanks for a Great Year!
We have several members stepping down from the board this year and I wanted to say thank you for all the time and effort they have
dedicated to Bear Creek.
THANK YOU TO…
Peter Dombrowski, for his amazing skills as Treasurer! Peter is dependable, patient, and supportive... all qualities that made him a
great treasurer and volunteer here at Bear Creek.
Eric Stevens, for being the Bear Creek District Parent Council representative. Eric attended monthly DPC meetings and PTO meetings
and kept us updated on all of the news from the rest of the Boulder Valley School District. Eric is involved and invested in education!
Nina Mooney, who spent several years as our PTO Fundraiser and the last year as a member-at-large. Nina brings a positive energy
to every project and helped kick start TLC and King Soopers campaigns during her time on the board.
Sarah Kraft, our current PTO Fundraising Chair, who is a passionate and committed advocate of making Bear Creek the best school
possible. Sarah did an amazing job leading our fundraising this year!
Susan Bleekman, for her work as Secretary and her amazing attitude and willingness to help! Susan jumps in to help wherever we
need volunteers... with a smile!
Mary Kaiser, for her time spent on the board as a Member-at-Large. Mary may be stepping down from the board, but she continues
work on the Fall 2012 Carnival and she was instrumental on making our 2011 Carnival a great success.
Thank you Peter, Eric, Nina, Sarah, Susan and Mary!
Welcome Our 2012-2013 PTO Board Members
Our PTO Board for next year has been voted in and is ready to go! We welcomed four new board members: Robyn Savage, our new
Fundraising Chair; Camila Weise, our new Treasurer; Janine Fitzpatrick, our new Secretary; and Sonya Gary, a Member-at-Large
and Parent Liaison to the School Food Project. We also reconfirmed the appointments of Michelle Wellington as PTO Chair, Meridith
Bacus as Volunteer Coordinator, Katie Hughes as Hospitality Chair, Donna Axel as DPC representative and Ragan Cahill, Debbie
Gangwish, Kathy Ellis and Annette Wilhelm as Members-at-Large.
If you are interested in joining the PTO Board, there are still several Member-at-Large positions open! Just email mmmwellington@yahoo.com
for more information. Also, there are several opportunities to become involved at Bear Creek, without being on the
PTO Board. Please consider filling one of the following volunteer opportunities:
Garden volunteer - We would like to continue building onto the garden with a shade structure and possibly a shed (budget allowing).
The work would take place in June and we’ll need a small team to help install these elements.
Yearbook coordinator - If your child will be a 5th grader next year and wants to participate in the Yearbook Club, consider joining
as the club coordinator or maybe pull together a small team of parents to lead this 5th grade club.

PTO News
Science Night coordinator - We are building a team of people to help bring science enrichments events to Bear Creek next year. If
you have a passion for science and would be willing to help coordinate an evening event, this could be the right fit for you.
Math Olympiad leader - this program is all about giving students an enthusiasm for math - supporting and growing their math
skills and strengthening their problem solving. If you are interested in becoming involved in next year’s club, contact Meena
Raghavan at meenakshi.raghavan@bvsd.org
For more information on the above volunteer opportunities, or if you are looking for other ways to become involved; contact Michelle
Wellington at mmmwellington@yahoo.com or 720-227-2727.
Thank You Katie Hughes!!
If teachers have been walking around with smiles on their faces, looking relaxed and pampered, it’s all because of Katie! She
stretched a week’s worth of perks out of a modest budget and made Teacher’s Appreciation Week special for all of our staff. Thank
you Katie, for your creativity and hard work!
Our Earth Week Celebration Continued!
Bear Creek WON the Rush Bowl Party by
a landslide with a whopping 86% registered
participation in the Walk/Bike to school day!

Fun and Fitness Day
Thank you to Mr. Soole and all his
volunteers. We had a wonderful
Fun & Fitness Day.

More - Fun and Fitness Day

Bear Creek Bike Clinic
Bear Creek 5th grade students participated in a bicycle
training class sponsored through BLAST and
funded by our districts safe routes to school program.
All 5th grade students participated during
their PE class time and learnt bicycle safety in a
variety of situations.

Spring Drumming concert

Library News
Book Fair--We will be hosting a Scholastic book fair on May 15-17 th (Tues-Thurs). The fair will be open from 8:00-9:00 and again
from 2:30-4 on Tues and Thurs. and 8:00-9:00 and 2:30-6 on Weds. A brochure will be coming home soon showcasing some of
the fair’s offerings. Please don’t send in the order form on the back; just come and shop in person. Volunteers are needed to help
with the book fair, and a sign up sheet is in the front hallway. If you have some free time, this is a really fun volunteer opportunity.
If you can’t make the fair, there is an online fair available as well. Just go to Scholastic.com/schoolbook fairs between now and May
15 th , and you can shop online. Books will be mailed to Bear Creek before the end of the school year. This event is a huge fundraiser
for the library. Last year we earned over $6000 in Scholastic credit for library and classroom books and supplies. Thanks so
much for supporting the book fair!!
Our final girls’ book group and celebration will be held on Thursday, May 17 th in the library at lunch time. Fifth grade girls
who have come to any of the previous meetings are encouraged to attend. Our final book for discussion is Among the Hidden by
Margaret Peterson Haddix, the first in the Shadow Children series. Copies of the book are available in the library.
Reminder: All library books were due by Fri. May 11th. If you see any library books at home or school (unless they are
being used for class projects) please return them to the library. Students will receive a small prize when they have all of their
books turned in or have paid for lost books, and students who have their books in by the May 11 th deadline can enter their names
into a drawing for prizes. It is really important to have all books back on the shelves in the final weeks of school in order to conduct
an accurate inventory, so your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated!!
Thank you so much to the dedicated library volunteers who shelved books and generally helped keep the library
tidy and in good working order. Thanks to Kathy Wiemer, Hazel Evans, Holly Klaus, Peter Dombrowski, Sandra Svoboda,
Heidi Samuel, Kristen Ensor, and Barbra Huntting. I couldn’t do it without you!!
A big thank you also to the students who donated birthday books to the library this year: Danae Addison-Taylor,
Emmi Gerwig, Foster and Greyson Gallup, Josh and Katie Fowler, Maia Penuel, Axel Rosen, Abby Henderson, Stella Thornton, Mia
Hoskins, Ian Smith, Kjelstrom Hendrick, Isabella Boza, Andrew Prazen, Lily Morton, Julian Samuel, Holden Kirlan-Stout, Judy Appel,
Aidan Robinson, Nadia Mateyko, Ashley Hagen, and Mrs. Worth. We have some great new additions to our library thanks to you
all!!
Don’t forget to visit the public library over the summer. If you need some ideas for great reads over the summer, please
check out the following web site with links to numerous reading lists from schools and public libraries. Please note that Boulder
Public Library has a page with a BVSD link for recommended titles.
http://www.kathimitchell.com/summread.htm Happy Reading!!

Monday - ”Purple Day”
Wednesday - “Something in your hair”
Friday - “Tie Day”
Staff “Secret” Spirit Week
Tuesday - ”Pants rolled up with
different socks”
Thursday - “Everyone wears glasses”
We hope all students were detectives this week and
caught on to each day’s “special secret”.

Learn Spanish at Bear Creek
with the Elementary Spanish Program*
Through Games, Stories, & Interactive Fun!
Register before May 15 th and save $$$
Mondays & Wednesdays
7:40 – 8:25 am
or
Tuesdays
3:05 – 3:50 pm
For more information about the program
call the ESP office at 303-440-7196
or visit our website, www.KidsSpeakSpanish.org
*ESP is a 501c(3) educational non-profit organization
In accordance with the BVSD policy on distribution/posting of non-curricular material-Bear Tracks will print
curricular items about our school. Many outside opportunities available, (i.e. Science Matters, second language
programs, parenting workshops, community sports, non-profit organizations, etc.) may be posted on the hall
bulletin board with prior approval of the Principal, but may not be included in Bear Tracks. Be sure to check
the Parent’s Board in the school for information regarding outside opportunities. All articles can be submitted
to Carolyn Walker at carolyn.walker@bvsd.org.
Submission Deadline Publication Date
Additional information about Bear Creek can be found on the website at http://www.bvsd.org/schools/
bearcreek/ .

May 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
6 7 8
13 14 15
20 21 22
1 2
4th Grade
Program
Fun &
Fitness Day
3
9 10
Teacher Appreciation Week
3rd Grade
Program
@ 5:30
9:00 Awards
Assembly
16
BC Band
Concert
@Southern Hills
Fun &
Fitness Day
Rainday
Drumming
Concert
1:00 & 6:00
17
B O O K F A I R
23
9:00 Awards
Assembly
5th Grade Pool
Party 10-2
27 28 29 30 31
24
1st Grade
Program
@ 2:00
Last
Day
Graduation
@ 1:00
4
2nd Grade program
@ 2:00 p.m.
11
Kindergarten
Program @
2:00 p.m.
5
12
18 19
25 26

Fairview High School Choral Department Presents Spring Concerts
7 p.m. Wednesday, May 9 & Thursday, May 10
BOULDER, Colo. (April 26, 2012) – Fairview High School presents the Spring Concerts in the school’s auditorium
featuring all 8 choirs, split into two evenings:
May 9: Festival, Chivalry, Voices of the Knight (men and women), Enchantment
May 10: Festival, Troubadours, Madrigals, Age of Guinevere, and Excalibur
Each concert features a variety of choirs and styles, from pop to jazz and classical. The concerts will be held
in the Fairview High School Auditorium at 1515 Greenbriar Blvd., Boulder, CO 80305.
Fairview High School has had a long history of high-quality extensive choral music programs with eight separate
groups covering a variety of musical styles and eras. Fairview choirs are renowned throughout the region
and various groups are invited annually to perform at the prestigious Colorado Music Educator's Conference,
held at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Excalibur and Festival Choirs were selected to perform at
the 2012 conference.
Public Ticket Sales Available
Tickets are $7 for reserved seating in the auditorium. Checks can be made out to FHS. The box office for will
be open for ticket sales and will call ticket pick up as follows:
Fairview Box Office
Tues 5/8 10:30am-3:15pm
Wed 5/9 10:30am-1:30pm, 6:00pm-6:55pm
Thurs 5/10 10:30am-1:30pm, 6:00pm-6:55pm
Online ticket sales: Public sales will be open 5/3 at 10:30am and close on Mon 5/7 at 4pm. For more information
and tickets visit: www.fairviewhs.org/sites/choir/pages/concert-tickets.

Dates: Two Camps Available
2012 Fairview Basketball Camps
Grades 4 th - 12 th
June 11-14 Individual Skills and Shooting Camp
June 18-21 Team Concept Camp
Time: Campers entering 4 th - 6 th grade 8:00- 9:45 a.m.
Campers entering 7 th - 8 th grade 10:00- 11:45 a.m.
Campers entering 9 th - 12 th grade 12:00- 1:45 p.m.
Camp will be held at Fairview High School
Players: Anyone interested in improving basketball skills entering grades 4 th - 12 th .
Cost: $80 per camp
Directors: Frank Lee- Fairview Basketball Coach
Fairview Assistant Coaches
Present and Former players
Program: 1. Instruction in fundamentals
2. Demonstrations
3. Competitive games
4. Drills to perfect skills taught
Objective: To give boys and girls an opportunity to be better basketball players. If questions, call Frank Lee at 720-561-5327.
Mail registration forms and payments to :
Frank Lee
Fairview High School
1515 Greenbriar Boulevard
Boulder, Colorado 80305
2012 Camp Form
Session 1 June 11-14________ Session 2 June 18-21___________
Child’ Name ___________________________ Grade ______ Sex: M / F
Street Address_______________________ City_____________ Zip _____________
Mother’s Name________________________________ Phone__________________
Father’s Name ________________________________ Phone __________________
Emergency Contact_____________________________ Phone __________________
T- Shirt Size ( Adult Sizes) S M L XL XXL
It is agreed by the undersigned that all injuries, medical expenses and doctor bills will be
the responsibility of the parents. Any injuries resulting from the camp will be taken care
of by the participant’s personal health insurance.
Parent’s Signature_________________________________________