Bell Bulletin
December 11, 2017
December 19th & 20th Reminders
December 19th and December 20th are early release days, with a dismissal time of 12:00 noon. Please make sure your child's teacher knows of any dismissal changes for your child(ren). For dismissal changes, you may email bellnotes@dentonisd.org or call our front office line at (972) 347-7200.
In order to ensure all students have a 30 minute lunch prior to the early dismissal time, students will not be eating in the cafeteria on the 19th and 20th. Students may bring a lunch or pick up a sack lunch in the cafeteria on these days, and lunch will be eaten in the classroom. We will not be able to accommodate visitors during lunch time during these two days. Thank you, in advance, for your understanding!
Reminder - you are welcome to sign in and participate in your child(ren)'s classroom parties! :)
Bell Broadcasting Network - "BBN"
Did you know that we broadcast announcements into every classroom each morning starting at 7:40 AM? Meet our Bell Broadcasting Network Crew, a team of fifth graders that lead us in announcements daily! They work together to create the order of items, script, and produce all filming and set up. What is even more amazing is that we broadcast LIVE - talk about the bravery that these students show daily! The Crew shares daily weather, the lunch menu, student birthdays, gives special event announcements, introduces specials guests, and leads us in the pledges. They never sign-off without wishing the entire school a great day! This team brings life into our announcements, and we are so proud of them.
4th & 5th Grade Leadership Academy
Fourth and Fifth grade students in the Bell Leadership Academy are working together to discover what being a leader is all about. Along with our staff volunteers, students learn about how leadership takes respect of others, hard work, and requires integrity, honesty, and responsibility. We are so proud of this group and can't wait to see where they take it next!
Child Nutrition is "Going Green"
Cultivating Character
Building character is important to us at Bell Elementary! We believe in our students and want them to have the opportunity to grow in their character as well as in their academics. This includes helping students learn about their strengths and how they contribute to their classroom and school with those strengths, building problem solving skills, and practicing skills such as kindness, conflict resolution, forgiveness, resilience, goal setting, leading by example, helpfulness, and more!
Our fourth core value is "Cultivating Character". During the month of December we will learn that character development is something that has to be cultivated (learned about, practiced, focused on) throughout life - in good times and in challenging times. This conversation will start on daily morning announcements with a quote about character and a daily challenge to staff and students given by Mrs. Shapiro. The conversation will continue with students during Morning Meeting time in classrooms. Please help us at home by sharing ways you have, and continue to, develop your character, and how this has impacted your life!
A few quotes we will use to help spring conversation with students include:
"Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
"A man's [person's] character may be learned from the adjectives which he [or she] habitually uses in conversation." -Mark Twain
"If the words you spoke appeared on your skin...would you still be beautiful?"
"People with good intentions make promises. People with good character keep them."
"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose." -Lyndon B. Johnson
"Knowledge will give you power, but character respect." -Abraham Lincoln
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people." -Dennis Prager
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." -Helen Keller
"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character." -Albert Einstein
"Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself." -Paul Bryant
"Authenticity is everything! You have to wake up every day and look in the mirror, and you want to be proud of the person who's looking back at you. And you can only do that if you're being honest with yourself and being a person of high character. You have an opportunity every single day to write that story of your life." -Aaron Rodgers
"We are like chameleons - we take our hue and the color of our moral character from those who are around us." -John Locke
"Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character." -Heraclitus
We will continue to focus on being 212 throughout the school year and how our core values feed into this.
"At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And with steam, you can power a train. Just one extra degree makes all the difference." -Sam Parker, 212 the extra degree
Volunteers Are Welcome
Plan on volunteering? Helping on a field trip? Please complete your volunteer application/background check! A new one is needed each school year and must be completed before you can volunteer with students. Information is provided on the link below. We can't wait to see you on campus!
Are You Connected?
Join Bell Elementary's Facebook Page to receive special updates and reminders!
https://www.facebook.com/catherinebellelemschool/
Or search "Catherine Coleman Bell Elementary" and LIKE the page
Support Bell PTA and receive information from their Facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/KeepCalmAndVolunteer/?fref=ts
Or search "Bell Elementary PTA" and LIKE the page
Not a PTA member yet? It's not too late! Stop by the office and we can get you set up!
Dates to Remember
December 14th: Winter/Holiday Headband or Hat day
The staff will be participating in a contest for their head gear. Students (and families) are welcome to join us in the fun!
December 18th: Winter/Holiday Ugly Sweater Day
The staff will be participating in an "ugly sweater" contest today. Students (and families) are welcome to join us in the fun! :)
2nd Grade Winter Parties (classroom): 9:45 AM
4th Grade Winter Parties (classroom): 1:30 PM
December 19th: Early Release Day @ 12:00 noon
Please make sure you communicate any dismissal changes with the school!
3rd Grade Winter Parties (classroom): 10:30 AM
December 20th: Early Release Day @ 12:00 noon
Please make sure you communicate any dismissal changes with the school!
School Pajama Day - All May Participate!
5th Grade Winter Parties (classroom): 9:00 AM
Kinder Winter Parties: 10 AM Cafeteria for Sing Along, 10:20AM Classroom for Party
1st Grade Winter Parties (classroom): 11:00 AM
December 21st - January 2: No School
Winter Break
January 3rd: No School - Staff Development Day
January 4th: School Resumes - Learning Begins at 7:40 AM!
January 15th: No School - Martin Luther King Day
February 19th: General PTA Meeting
Bell Cafeteria 6 PM
March 1st: 4th & 5th Grade Bell Tones (Choir) Spring Concert
All Bobcat Community Invited, 6 PM, Bell Cafeteria
March 2nd: Dr. Seuss Day - Book Exchange Sponsored by Bell PTA
More info to come!
March 9th: Pastries with Parents Sponsored by Bell PTA
More info to come!
March 12th - March 16th: No School
Spring Break
March 19th: No School - Staff Development Day
April 6th: Bell Spring Art Show
Bell Elem, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Come and go event, Last entry at 7:40 PM
Come stroll through Bell to enjoy student art work displays and listen to 4th/5th grade choir as they sing outside the library.
April 10th: STAAR Testing
4th Grade Writing, 5th Grade Math
*Campus Closed to Visitors on STAAR Testing Days
April 11th: STAAR Testing
5th Grade Reading
*Campus Closed to Visitors on STAAR Testing Days
April 30th: General PTA Meeting
Bell Cafeteria 6 PM
May 14th: STAAR Testing
3rd & 4th Grade Math
5th Grade Math (retest)
*Campus Closed to Visitors on STAAR Testing Days
May 15th: STAAR Testing
3rd & 4th Grade Reading
5th Grade Reading (retest)
*Campus Closed to Visitors on STAAR Testing Days
May 16th: STAAR Testing
5th Grade Science
*Campus Closed to Visitors on STAAR Testing Days
May 23rd: Early Release Day @ 12:00 noon
Please make sure you communicate any dismissal changes with the school!
May 24th: Early Release Day @ 12:00 noon
Please make sure you communicate any dismissal changes with the school!
May 24th: Last Day of School
Catherine Coleman Bell Elementary
Email: bellnotes@dentonisd.org
Website: http://www.dentonisd.org/belles
Location: 601 Villa Paloma Boulevard, Little Elm, TX, United States
Phone: (972) 347-7200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherinebellelemschool/