Hello from the Bridge Team!
Hoping that everyone has had a wonderful first few weeks of school!
Important upcoming dates/events:
September 11 – Interims Issued
September 20 – In-service Day STUDENT HOLIDAY
October 11 – First Quarter Ends
October 14 – Teacher Planning Day STUDENT HOLIDAY
November 11 – Veterans Day NO SCHOOL
November 25 – 29 Thanksgiving Break: NO SCHOOL
Bridge Connect: Vol. 5
GMRS office hours will be 7:00 am – 2:50 pm, Monday thru Friday.
Week: September 16, 2024
General Announcements
FAST TESTING this WEEK –Our 6th and 7th Grade Students will be testing Monday and Tuesday in the morning. This is a change from the original dates posted to allow for small groups and accomadations, ensuring our students are provided with the optional environment to do their very best!
ACADEMICS
Please check HAC (Home Access Center) grades have been updated for your child’s classes, interim reports were published on September 11th. Please take a minute to review your child’s grades with them. They will have multiple opportunities to make up any missing work. Wednesdays in Bridge are allocated for Make Up workdays. Please encourage your student to take advantage of these days to work with teachers and co-teachers to complete or remediate any of their missing assignments. As always, if you have questions about your child’s grade, please reach out.
Fridays have been designated for summative assessments and for the chance for students to show what they know! This week’s summative activities will focus on a One-Pager Activity that students will have the entire week to work on in class to ensure they have all the support, supplies and resources to do their best! We are looking forward to the wonderful work they can do!
CSA’s: District Common Assessments will also be given this week in Social Studies, ELA and Science are on the horizon and Math was completed last week. CSAs are like a classroom summative assessment. Can be used to identify targeted reteach supports as well as student mastery towards grade level standards. CSAs allow us to connect as a community of instructional leaders at both the building and district level, allowing us to share common language, a collective knowledge of strategies, data and what works best for students. Teachers will use assessments to gauge student progress, review results and determine interventions, reteach opportunities, and extensions.
Social Perspectives
The focus of our program is to teach students alternative behaviors to replace challenging ones, helping students reach their academic and affective learning potential. The goal of the Bridge Program at GRMS is to gradually reintegrate students into the general education setting with minimal support. Our social perspectives focus this week will be on EMOTIONS and what to do when they are dysregulated or overwhelming. We will focus on strategies on how to advocate for themselves, use their accomadations and useful communication along with self-regulation.
The Bridge Program at GRMS supports students that have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that includes specific goals in the Social/Emotional Behavior, Independent Functioning and/or Communication domains. Many students also benefit from a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and counseling services.
The focus of our program is to teach students alternative behaviors to replace challenging ones, with data collected to monitor their progress. The ultimate aim of the Bridge Program at GRMS is to gradually reintegrate students into the general education setting with minimal support.
Hello! My name is Jaci Racano, and I am thrilled to be a part of your child’s educational journey and the Bridge Team Leader. I am originally from Union, New Jersey, in 2004 my family and I moved to Saint Augustine and have considered it home ever since! I hold a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. I am also ESE Certified and have my Gifted Endorsement.
This is my 28th year in education, with over 10 years of experience in Exceptional Student Education. I am a proud mother of three sons, in my free time, I enjoy spending quality time with my loved ones at the beach, reading books, and playing with our adorable puppies, Frankie, Dino and their friend George.
Should you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me anytime. [email protected]
Please consider donating to our class wish list:
I am looking forward to another great year!
Jaci Racano
The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) is composed of parents, educators, administrators, business representatives, and other interested community members concerned with the education of students with disabilities.
The purpose of the committee is to provide information to parents and input to district staff regarding our ongoing effort to continuously improve services for students with disabilities.
A link to join these meetings will be emailed prior to meeting date and will be posted on district and school websites.
For more information: Parent Advisory Committee – Exceptional Student Education (ESE) (stjohns.k12.fl.us)