Thank you to all preschool–grade 1 parents who attended our Behavior Management Workshop. We enjoy discussing the methods we use in our classrooms to help children learn to make decisions that will help them thrive and properly consider consequences. If you didn’t attend and would like to better understand the rationale of our proven methods, please read Management by Freedom on our website.
Although not the first European to set foot in the new world, Christopher Columbus was an explorer, navigator, and colonizer who led the way so that Europeans could settle in the Americas. To commemorate people like Columbus who helped open the doors to exploration, classes will discuss events surrounding the discovery of America, the founding of colonies such as Jamestown, and the significance of the European exploration of the American continents.
Mid-term notices for students in grades 1–8 will be sent home later this month. At the end of the semester, preschool teachers will prepare Reports of Progress for parents, and kindergarten–grade 8 teachers will send home Achievement Reports. See the Parent Calendar for dates. These official communications occur twice during the academic year. Feel free to contact the campus at any time if you’d like to speak with your child’s teacher.
Halloween at Challenger is lots of fun—you never know which characters you might run into on campus!
For Dress-Up Days (see dates above or on the online calendar), students may wear either costumes or their uniforms to school. (It is not a free dress day.) Students who wear costumes will remain in the costume all day and should not plan on changing into other clothes. We encourage creative costumes, but remember that your child will have regular school activities that day. Please make sure that costumes do not include Halloween masks, glitter, or toy weapons.
Students can look forward to seeing their teachers in costume, too!
Middle school students are invited to a Halloween event on October 28 (NV) or October 29 (ID, TX, UT). Parents of middle school students will receive a notice that includes the details as well as a consent form.
Students in first through eighth grade will participate this school year in the Challenger Physical Fitness Program. Physical fitness training will start this month in five events: curl-ups, the shuttle run, the endurance run, arm strength, and the sit and reach. Students who achieve the qualifying standards in all events during official testing will receive a Physical Fitness Award at the end of the year.
Four Challenger students—Ilesh S. (Berryessa, CA), Luka N. (Silverado, NV), Saahira D. (Ardenwood, CA), and Sowmya S. (Berryessa, CA)—were named to the Top 300 of the prestigious Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering Rising Stars) competition due to their outstanding projects from last spring’s science fairs.
Selected from a pool of 1,841 nominees who comprise the top 10% of science fair participants, the students in the Top 300 MASTERS are among the best minds in middle school STEM. We congratulate Ilesh, Luka, Saahira, and Sowmya, whose achievements and commitment to their studies are inspiring!
Individual student portraits will be taken by a professional photographer and available for purchase.
Group photos will not be taken in all regions; instead, students in these regions will receive a composite class photo that will include individual pictures of class members who had their pictures taken. Watch for a flyer that includes campus-specific information, including the date of your child’s picture day.
All students are required to dress in uniform on picture day. Since it is a special-function day, specific uniform items are required for kindergarten through grade 8 students.
Refer to the special-function uniform page on our website for additional details on the special-function uniform.
Challenger’s Berryessa (CA) campus has been awarded the National Blue Ribbon School award for 2021. With this award, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes Challenger for being an “Exemplary High Performing” school. This award acknowledges the achievements of our educators and students and the strength of Challenger’s curriculum and proven teaching methods. Congratulations to Berryessa and to all Challenger campuses which continue to provide our students a solid, excellent, and award-winning education!
After 33 years, National Geographic is discontinuing their GeoBee. We will miss it, but we know that students still have plenty of opportunities to participate in exciting competitions that reinforce knowledge and build confidence!