April 15, 2022

In celebration of Earth Day, the Bell PTSA is organizing a community clean-up event at Bell Elementary. We hope you and your family will join us!

Thank you, Amanda Gibson, for organizing this event and for all the great work you do leading our Green Team.

Bell Community Clean-Up

Where: Bell Elementary
When: Saturday, April 23, 2022 (10am - 12pm)
What: We will spend a few hours cleaning up the school campus by planting some flowers, picking up garbage, and removing invasive species.
What to bring: Nothing is needed, but if you have extra buckets for collecting trash, litter grabbers, or tools for gardening, bring them along.

Dine-Outs are one of the ways we fundraise throughout the year. We partner with local restaurants who give a percentage of sales to Bell PTSA for the day of the event.

We are excited to have an opportunity to gather as a community and sit outdoors and eat together (how these events used to look prior to COVID). We hope to see many of you at Shake Shack on April 19.

Thank you, Whitney Takaba, for organizing all of our Dine-Out events.

It’s that time of year where we get to show our appreciation to the amazing teachers and staff at Bell who have persevered with wit, creativity, and smarts, showing that they are true survivors outlasting the longest year ever! We have chosen the theme Survivor, as it just seemed fun and fitting! The PTSA would love your help in filling up the staff room with coffee and breakfast items, a trail mix bar, and stocking the break room with snacks, drinks, and some favorite classroom supplies. Visit our Staff Appreciation page for more info. Thank you, Tennile Jones, for organizing this wonderful event!

Please take a moment to submit your nomination for recipients of the following two awards for the 2021-2022 school year.

Deadline: May 1, 2022

The Outstanding Educator Award

This award is established by National PTA and awarded by Bell PTSA to an individual who has made significant contributions in their community to enhance the educational outcomes of all children or youth. An educator is not limited to a teacher and may be defined as a teacher, assistant, specialist, support staff, administrator, or community member.

Golden Acorn Award

This award is established by National PTA and awarded by Bell PTSA to an individual who has provided exemplary volunteer service to children and youth in our community. The Golden Acorn is given for continued and dedicated service. Nominees for this award include volunteers that dedicate their time to advocating for children and supporting the mission of our PTA: To create and foster opportunities that enrich and support our children, teachers, and community.

Quiet Heart Wilderness school will be coming to Bell on April 21 and 22 to facilitate outdoor workshops for our students (funded and organized by the Bell PTSA). We will explore the wooded trail area next to the playground with lessons about plants, animals, habitats, and ecosystems. Each grade will get a unique lesson tailored to the learning expectations for that grade level. This is a fun opportunity for parent participation! We would love to get a volunteer (or two) to help during each 45 minute workshop. If you’d like to participate with your student’s class, click below.

Thank you, Keri Morgan, for volunteering so much of your time to bring these wonderful enrichment programs to Bell.

We have a great opportunity to support our school from "behind the scenes." We're looking for someone to support our Treasurer next year. The role is likely an hour or less per week and would be done entirely from the comfort of your home. You would do journal entries and monthly reconciliations of our financials.

Email nominations@agbellptsa.org if you can help.

We have completed our Read 4 Adventure program and it is now time to turn in those minutes! Please click here: Student Reading Log Submission Form and fill out the questions with your student. There will also be an option to choose what type of voucher they would like from High Trek Adventures. Submissions must be turned in by today, April 15th!

Visit our Read 4 Adventure page for more information.

We are thrilled to bring back our before and after-school enrichment programs this spring. Visit the enrichment classes page for more information and to register.

Registration is still open for before-school classes!

Class updates:

All-sport - 5 registered (registration closes 4/18). Class minimum = 8
Football - 5 registered (registration closes 4/18). Class minimum = 8

We need 3 mores students to register for football and All-sport in order to run the programs (class minimum = 8). If we don't meet the class minimum, the vendor will cancel the class and process refunds for everyone who has registered. We also need chaperones for both of these classes. By chaperoning, your student gets free tuition. To volunteer to chaperone, email studentenrichment@agbellptsa.org

And the winner of the Yearbook Cover Contest is...

Aria Liu (3rd grade)

Aria, we are so impressed with your beautiful creation, your artistic ability, and your expression of the theme, Expect the Unexpected. We are thrilled to have your art be the cover of this year's yearbook. Congratulations!

Below are the finalists (phenomenal art!):

Dorene Wang (3rd grade)

Ciaran Doyle (5th grade)

Elsie Hong (4th grade)

Emma Mosu (3rd grade)

Thank you, Bell Bulldogs, for all the wonderful submissions! We are blown away by your talent. The finalists will be featured in the yearbook and all submissions will be included as well. Click here to see a video of all entries. Aria's drawing is below.

Broadway Bulldogs presents all six short fairy tales. Enjoy these wonderful productions!

Great work, Broadway Bulldogs! Thank you to the director, Johnmichael Monteith, for volunteering so many hours to make this all possible. Thank you to the producer, Brandy Andersson, and to all the parents volunteers.

This is a fun opportunity for parent participation in an outdoor classroom workshop! We would love to get a volunteer (or two) to help during each 45 minute workshop. If you’d like to participate with your student’s class, you can sign up HERE.

The PTSA would love your help in filling up the staff room with coffee and breakfast items, a trail mix bar, and stocking the break room with snacks, drinks, and some favorite classroom supplies. Click HERE to help.

Dorian (the photo company) will be at Bell on 4/15 to take pictures of students who missed picture day. They will be back on 4/26 to do class photos and spring portraits. We need volunteers for both days! Sign up HERE.

The recess soccer program has been such a HUGE hit! We need volunteers to keep this program running. We need 2 volunteers every Tuesday and Thursday from 12-2. Please sign-up HERE to help out.

Our Green Team needs more help in the lunchroom. We need one volunteer at each lunch period to help the students with composting and food donations. Click HERE for more information and to sign-up to help.

We’re looking for people to step into board positions for next year (2022-23). The board has term limits of 2 years for each position. Many of our current board members are in their second year. Email nominations@agbellptsa.org if interested in learning more about a board position.

Come join our Popcorn Friday Team! This is the most popular volunteer shift we have! We promise you, it will be fun and you will leave with your heart filled. Sign up HERE.

We need a few more volunteers to help out with outdoor lunch and come hang out with the students at recess. This is another fun volunteer opportunity! Sign up HERE.

We still have a few classrooms that need parent volunteers to support students during art lessons with Mrs. Lustgarten. This is another super fun way to get involved and support our students. Sign up HERE to help out.

Do you have an interest in helping kids showcase their talents? Are you digitally savvy? If so, we're looking for a parent volunteer to coordinate a virtual talent show this spring. If we don't have a volunteer, we will cancel this event.

Please contact communityevents@agbellptsa.org with questions or if interested!

We are very busy and need more volunteers! Please visit our volunteer page to see all current volunteer opportunities.

All volunteers must meet the following criteria: (1) Be approved as a volunteer through LWSD and (2) Be fully vaccinated - proof of vaccination must be provided. Visit LWSD's volunteer page for more information.

Mental Wellness Webinars

Parent Chat invites you to register for its spring series of informative mental wellness topics. Listen and learn from mental health experts in a safe and supportive environment. Upcoming topics include anxiety in children, taming screen time, managing anger, and more. Learn more and register at https://www.lwsf.org/events/parent-chat

Do You Want to be a Calm, Present, and Empathetic Parent?

Parenting for Emotional Wellbeing. This 4-session, virtual workshop will provide a friendly space for you to cultivate advanced social and emotional awareness and skills that can help you clarify your parenting identity, improve relationships in your family and help you raise resilient kids. The first session starts on April 20. Learn more at www.lwsf.org/parentingworkshop. Spaces are limited, so register early!

Middle School 101: Parenting Preparedness

In-person or online. It can be confusing for a parent when their tween enters middle school. There are so many changes, new expectations, parent peer pressure, societal pressure. Learn what to expect in the middle school years and how you can best support your tween. Register for this workshop.

Register Your Child for a Kids Coming Together Event!

Kids Coming Together is a program that provides opportunities for local youth in grades 3-8 to make new friends and connect with their community through service events led by high school students.

Check out our April calendar of events and register your child to attend!

International Children's Friendship Festival (ICFF).

A Bell family reached out and shared this child-led event with us. Various nationalities are represented through music, folk dancing and art. Learn more here.

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