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Occupations

Children’s House 3 read the book “Barn Savers” for our November virtue of stewardship.  Our follow up activity was making something new out of old, unwanted wood. We saved wood from the garbage and made a frame for our classroom.  We had amazing help from Mr. Andy! CH3 will use the new frame to hang some of our classroom works on.

Two of the many students demonstrating virtues this week: 

Isaac Heim is a 6th grade student of Ms. Amy’s E2C classroom who was recognized this week for displaying the virtues of creativity and orderliness when he straightened and cleaned the art room and when he came in after school during his free time to work on improving his drawing and shading.  Isaac’s favorite classes are math and art and he loves Bluffview because he has a choice of what he wants to work on. Isaac’s favorite activities outside of school are to do art and play with Pokemon cards. Isaac is the son of Cody & Rachel Heim.  

Lainey Holey is a 1st grade student of Ms. Brianna’s E1A classroom who was recognized this week for displaying the virtue of stewardship when she cleaned up the “blizzard” in the classroom.  Lainey’s favorite work is planets and she likes Bluffview because of all the “works” she gets to do. When Lainey is not at school, she likes to play with her dog Obi.  Lainey is the daughter of Garrick & Erin Holey.

Thanks to everyone who has donated to Happy Harvest!  Now we only need 15 Kwik Trip gifts cards which will be used for care packages that will be given to the homeless at the warming center.  Gift cards can be $3 – $5 in denomination.  We certainly don’t expect anyone to purchase all 25.  If you can donate a couple, we would greatly appreciate it.  If interested, please let Lori Cloutier know at lcloutier@bluffviewmontessori.org.  Thank you.

Saturday, November 16th from 8:30-11:30 AM @ WSHS           

Join us at the 14th annual Flippin’ for Books at the Winona Senior High School!  There will be a free pancake & sausage breakfast from 8:30-11:00 AM and the Winona Public Library be giving away free books for all children.  There will also be community resource booths, along with storytelling, crafts, and activities for kids.

Interested in student data?  MCA’s? Have questions about Fastbridge screening?  MAP tickets?

On Tuesday, November 12th @ 6:00 I am hosting a District Advisory Committee meeting in the Bluffview Montessori band room.

This meeting is a requirement of the state, and it allows for  Bluffview stakeholders to have input on curriculum, programming, testing, etc.  Attendance will be taken and submitted to the State including the names of those in attendance.

Minutes from the meeting, including new ideas or concerns will be shared directly with the Board of Directors at their next meeting.

I have prepared a brief Power point presentation to begin with, after which will be an open forum to discuss anything that you are interested in relative to Bluffview; conferences, Montessori theory, mental health initiatives, or other school related topics.

I hope to see a few of you there!

Sincerely,

Henry

Thank you to the many families who have donated items for our Happy Harvest Service Projects! We still need a few more:

Appreciation bags for police officers (CH2)

40-individually wrapped granola bars

40-mini hand sanitizers

Care Packages for Homeless – taken to warming center (E1A)

23-pairs of adult socks

25 bus tokens

25- Kwik Trip gift cards

̈ ̈Youŕe a Lifesaver¨ for Winona Ambulance

40-rolls of lifesavers

Kindness Rocks (Erdkinder) 

1 can spray clear varnish (quick dry)

Did you know your purchases can make a difference? AmazonSmile donates to Bluffview Montessori School when you do your holiday shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/41-1589141.

During Happy Harvest on Wednesday, November 27,  Bluffview students and their families visit classrooms to make community service projects for local organizations and individuals in need.  Look at our list of needed items and let us know if you can help by donating any of the items.  Please contact Lori Cloutier by emailing her at lcloutier@bluffviewmontessori.org or calling the office at 507-452-2807.  Thank you!

“Snowmen Popcorn” for Winona County Highway Department (CH3)
60 pair of small “magic” stretch gloves
3 large rolls of ¼” ribbon
1 yard fleece

Hot Cocoa care packages for local firefighters (CH1)
4-bags of mini marshmallows
4 bags of mini chocolate chips
20- 16 oz mason jars with lids (pints)

Appreciation bags for police officers (CH2)
40-small gatorades _______
40-individually wrapped granola bars
40-mini hand sanitizers
400 pieces of individually wrapped hard candies (Werthers, Jolly Ranchers, Life Savers, etc)

Scarves and holiday cards for Planned Humanity and area foster families (E1C)
4-4 foot by 4 foot pieces of fleece

Care Packages for Homeless – taken to warming center (E1A and E2C)

25-pairs of adult socks
25-disposable razors
25-individually wrapped granola/cereal/protein bars
25 bus tokens
25- Kwik Trip gift cards

̈ ̈Youŕe a Lifesaver¨ for Winona Ambulance
40-rolls of lifesavers

Kindness Rocks (Erdkinder) – 1 can spray clear varnish (quick dry)

Seeking a few volunteers for a Fundraising Planning Committee

Dear Bluffview families,

In 2017-18 Public Charter Schools received $2800 less per student on average than their Traditional Public School counterparts.  That weighed against our 214 students equals $599,200.00 less annually for Bluffview than the regional Traditional Public Schools.

Obviously we cannot generate that sort of revenue for the school through our annual fundraising.  We can, however, raise money to fund supplemental programming.  Last year our fundraising revolved around our Mental Health initiatives.  Enough money was raised to pay for additional programming for all levels and the first phase of the Friendship Garden behind the library.  This year, we will continue to raise money to ensure that we can maintain the new programming with a goal of working it into the regular budget.

So far this year, the fall fundraiser created approximately $3400 for the school-thank you to all those that participated!

For those of you that have given me the feedback that you prefer to “just write a check” … Give to the Max day is coming up next week on the 14th.  The early giving window has been open for 7 days now, which really indicates that I am a bit behind.  This has the potential to be a powerful donation tool for us, but needs to be integrated into a strategic fundraising plan as opposed to a passively used offering.

That said, I am looking for 2-4 volunteers with experience in fundraising to join me in an Administrative Fundraising Planning Committee.   Dates and times of the Committee meetings will be set by input from the group.

This committee is charged with:

• Creating a sustainable, detailed strategic annual fundraising plan for Bluffview
• Developing a detailed database of donors-(past, current, and potential)-for all events
• Conceptualizing and creating any donation documents
• Identifying “champions” to lead the actual fundraising efforts

Please contact me if this is an opportunity that you have the skills to help with!

Many thanks,

Henry

hschantzen@bluffviewmontessori.org