Congratulations to the Elementary All-County Honors Chorus for a wonderful performance Saturday at Northside Highschool. We are so proud of Samantha Rangel, Kenzie Kujawski, Sylvia Kohkemper, Emma Williams, Jorja Jay Mallard, Aryn Warmath, Janessa Yearwood, and Jiana May!

On Tuesday our MFLC will host a Military Coffee Talk @ Nuova Luna Caffe at 8:45 am. We hope you can join us!

Happy Valentine's Day on Tuesday! As a reminder, balloons, flowers, and other breakable/distracting items are not allowed on school buses. We ask that parents refrain from sending Valentine's gifts to school as these items are often difficult for students to transport with their school items. It is probably best to exchange gifts at home. If students are bringing in Valentine's for classmates, we ask that they stick to a simple Valentine card for each student in their class.

On Thursday our first graders are sure to impress us with their music concert and art show. The performance starts at 6 pm in the multipurpose room!

Friday morning at 8:45 am our 4th and 5th grade homeroom winners will complete in the school level Spelling Bee. The winner will advance to the OCS district Spelling Bee! May the best speller win!

Friday is Random Acts of Kindness Day and SBES will be hosting a Family Kindness Night from 5:30-7:30 pm in our multi-purpose room. We will have music, food & fun and students will have the opportunity to complete a few acts of kindness. This goes hand in hand with our fundraiser, Kindness is a Treasure! If you haven't already done so, please register at: my.raisecraze.com/A5255SV. Enter your student’s name. Select at least 3 Acts of Kindness. Enter 5-10 email addresses of potential supporters and Raise Craze will do the rest. Our fundraiser will continue through February 24th. Our goal is the raise $30,000 for benches and shade structures for recess. If everyone chips in a little, we will be able to reach our goal and we could all benefit from acts of kindness! Currently we have 69 students registered, $1, 625 in donations and 5 acts of kindness completed. Check out our amazing incentives in our newsletter (below).

Friday night is also our Sweeter Things Spirit Night starting at 3 pm. Be sure to let them know that you are from SBES, we need to beat those Gators!

Don't forget that Monday, Feb. 20th is a Teacher Workday, so there is no school for students that day!

Third grade parents- Don't forget to login to School Cash Online to sign your permission slip and pay for the field trip to the planetarium. The deadline is this Tuesday. Because we have to make arrangements with transportation and other vendors for field trips, if parents do not pay for the field trip and sign the permission slip by the deadline (done online through School Cash Online account), students will NOT be able to attend the field trip. If you are in financial need, you can always reach out to me (page.highsmith@onslow.k12.nc.us) or your child's teacher for assistance. Even if you are receiving financial assistance, EVERY student must have a signed permission slip in order to leave campus.

Speaking of deadlines, March 1st is the deadline for ordering a yearbook at a discounted rate of $20. After March 1st, the cost will be $25. April 21st is the final deadline to order a yearbook. If you would like for your child to have a yearbook, please check out the information below on how you can order one today!

Read Across America Week is coming, February 27-March, 2023! If you or someone you know in our community would like to come to SBES to read to a classroom or group of students, please complete the online form here: https://forms.office.com/r/eYGh4aYf1a Meredith Lynch will be in touch to finalize a date and time. Thank you, our students love having their families and community come to read to our Pirates! We are also open to have Virtual Readers if we have family that is far away!

At SBES, we do not assign much homework, however, all students should be completing at least 45 minutes per week on iReady (math) and at least 45 minutes per week on Amplify (reading). These programs are adaptive and are based on your child's individual needs according to their diagnostic assessments. Reading nightly and practicing math facts will also help our students reach their fullest potential. We appreciate parents support of our efforts.

Lucas Capps from Mrs. Reed's class has 3 months of perfect attendance this year.

Veronica Rich from Mrs. Killingsworth's class has 4 months of perfect attendance this year. Paisley Campbell from Mrs. Regis' class has 2 months of perfect attendance this year.

February is Heart Health Month. We are learning how to take care of our heart. The theme this year is "Reclaim your Rhythm". Your-Happy-Heart-Health-Families-Handout-Print_22.pdf (healthpoweredkids.org)

AT HOME ACTIVITY - Health Powered Kids

YOUR HAPPY HEART Today we learned that our heart is a muscle that cannot be exercised by ‘flexing’ it like we can our muscles in our arm. The heart is a muscle that pumps blood through our body

healthpoweredkids.org

Here is how to start: Move More: 30 minutes a day of physical activity

Eat a rainbow: Increase fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low fat dairy

Reduce Stress and Improve Sleep

Quit Smoking/Vaping:1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)

Know Your Numbers: Ask your health care provider about your cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose numbers

Looking to pay school fees, pay for a field trip, sign a permission form or buy spirit wear? This is all done online through schoolcashonline.com. A few field trip reminders: 1. Everyone must have a signed permission slip to attend a trip (even those with fee waivers). 2. If forms are not returned by the due date, your child will not be able to attend. We have to secure food, transportation and purchase tickets ahead of time; therefore, we are unable to accommodate last minute additions. 3. Chaperones are not allowed on all trips, but for those in which chaperones are needed, the chaperones MUST be fingerprinted and approved through OCS. This is a lengthy process which is why we encouraged everyone to attend the volunteer training sessions at the beginning of the school year.

Check out Tutor.com, a free online tutoring services available to all military families. It is for all grades and all subjects and you can even schedule a live sessions.

Please keep in mind that meals are NOT free for students this year. If a child does not bring a lunch from home and does not have money, we will allow the student to charge a meal. Parents will be responsible for paying balances.

Breakfast $1.25

Lunch $2.50

To apply for free or reduced meals, click here: https://www.lunchapplication.com/

To add money to your child's meal account, click here: https://www.k12paymentcenter.com/

To access the school menus, click here: https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=1501179229405&page=menus

All parents are encouraged to sign up for Parent Portal. You can monitor attendance within the Portal and you can see your child's grades, assignments & due dates for students in grades 3-5. Click this link to sign up: https://onslow.powerschool.com/public/. You can contact the data manager Lori Jones at lori.jones@onslow.k12.nc.us to help with this process. She can look up your child's ID number when you email her the completed form and copy of your ID.

If you are interested in either of these positions, please visit the Onslow County Schools webpage for more information!

*Send in used sneakers, no matter the condition, and we will get paid to recycle them!

*Link your Lowes Foods Card to Swansboro Elementary and a portion of sales on Lowes products will go to our school.

*Sign up for Box Tops and link to our school. No more clipping, it's digital! Download the Box Tops for Education app here: https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=NQGY5JLL

*Participate in our SBES Spirit Nights:

Burrito Shak- 4th Tuesday of the month. In person and call in orders only. No online orders.

Sweeter Things- 3rd Friday of the month. You must tell them you are here to support SBES!

1. The teacher is always the first point of contact. If you cannot resolve an issue after meeting with the teacher, please schedule an appointment to meet with administration.

2. See our data manager (Lori Jones) to sign up for Parent Portal. This gives you up to date info on student attendance and assignments for (3rd-5th grade).

3. Pay attention to the weekly ALL CALL and EMAIL that is sent out every Sunday evening. If you don't want to listen to the message, no worries, the email contains the transcript as well as important links and cute pictures of our students:) If you are not receiving the call and email, please let Lori Jones (lori.jones@onslow.k12.nc.us) know so that we can make sure your info. is up to date. This is the method that we will use to communicate with parents in the event of an emergency, so you need to make sure that you are receiving these calls.

4. Check out our school website: https://www.onslow.k12.nc.us/swansboroes

5. Check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/swansboroelementaryschool/

6. Remember, for safety reasons, we do not give out student information over the phone and all changes in transportation must be done through School Dismissal Manager.

7. If there are custody issues, we must have a copy of the current custody paperwork on file with a judge's signature. If not, both parents have equal access to the student and their educational records.

8. If you have concerns regarding bus routes, stops, schedules and drivers, please direct those concerns to our transportation coordinator Barbie Massey at 326-1436. SBES does not have direct communication with the buses; therefore, this must go through the transportation dept. Please remember if you would like to stay up to date with bus changes and delays, please download the Edulog Parent Portal App. More info can be found here:https://www.onslow.k12.nc.us/Page/1266

Tue 2/14/2023 Military Coffee Talk @ Nuova Luna Caffe

Tue 2/14/2023 PTO Sponsored Staff Luncheon

Thu 2/16/2023 1st grade concert & art show

Fri 2/17/2023 World Kindness Day- SBES Kindness Fair 5:30-7:30 pm

Fri 2/17/2023 3:00 PM Sweeter Things

Fri 2/17/2023 NCDPI Home Base Maintenance

Mon 2/20/2023 Workday

Tue 2/21/2023 ES-ACCESS for EL Students

Tue 2/21/2023 Battle of the Books

Fri 2/24/2023 Interim Reports

Sat 2/25/2023 Odyssey of the Mind (Coastal Tournament)

Tue 2/28/2023 5:00 PM Burrito Shack

Thu 3/2/2023 3:30 PM Dairy Queen

Thu 3/2/2023 Lockdown Drill #3

Thu 3/2/2023 4th grade concert & art show

Fri 3/3/2023 Maintenance Worker Appreciation Day

Sun 3/5/2023 School Social Worker Week

Tue 3/7/2023 6:00 PM Board of Education Meeting

Wed 3/8/2023 4:00 PM Strategic Planning Meeting

Fri 3/10/2023 Workday

Tue 3/14/2023 Military Coffee Talk @ Nuova Luna Caffe

Tue 3/14/22 10:15-1:15 4th Grade- NC Symphony

Wed 3/15/2023 Geography Bee

Fri 3/17/2023 3:00 PM Sweeter Things

Fri 3/17/2023 NCDPI Home Base Maintenance

Tue 3/21/2023 Spelling Bee

Wed 3/22/2023 Prof Dev Day - Early Release

Thu 3/23/23 8:45-5:00 2nd Grade- Camp Don Lee

Tue 3/28/2023 5:00 PM Burrito Shack

Tue 3/28/2023 Multiplication Bee

Wed 3/29/2023 End of Grading Period

Mon 4/3/2023 National Assistant Principal Week

Mon 4/3-7 Spring Break- No School

Tue 4/4/2023 Media Specialist Day

Thu 4/6/2023 3:30 PM Dairy Queen

Mon 4/10/2023 Workday

Tue 4/11/2023 6:00 PM Board of Education Meeting

Wed 4/12/2023 4:00 PM Strategic Planning Meeting

Thu 4/13/2023 6:00-6:00 4th Grade- Raleigh/Capital Area

Thu 4/13/2023 Report Cards

Thu 4/13/2023 4:00 PM Quality Council & System Involvement Team

Mon 4/17/2023 Public School Volunteer Week

Tue 4/18/2023 Military Coffee Talk @ Nuova Luna Caffe

Tue 4/18/2023 5th grade concert & art show

Thu 4/20/2023 Chess 4th & 5th grade

Fri 4/21/2023 3:00 PM Sweeter Things

Fri 4/21/2023 NCDPI Home Base Maintenance

Fri 4/21/2023Chess 2nd & 3rd Grades

Mon 4/24/2023 Administrative Professional Week

Tue 4/25/2023 5:00 PM Burrito Shack

Tue 4/25/2023 Board of Education Meeting

Wed 4/26/2023 Administrative Professional Day

Thu 4/27/2023 Math Counts 4th & 5th

Fri 4/28/2023 DARE graduation ceremony for 5th grade

Mon 5/1/2023 Teacher & Teacher Assistant Appreciation Week

Mon 5/1/2023 OCS Bus Driver Appreciation Week

Mon 5/1/2023OCS Employee Appreciation Week

Mon 5/1/2023 School Principals Day

Mon 5/1/2023 Workday

Tue 5/2/2023 PTO Sponsored Staff Luncheon

Tue 5/2/2023 National Teacher Day

Tue 5/2/2023 5:30 PM Board of Education Meeting

Thu 5/4/2023 3:30 PM Dairy Queen

Fri 5/5/2023 School Lunch Hero Day

May 8-26 EOY Math & Reading Diagnostics

Tue 5/9/2023 Interim Reports

Wed 5/10/2023 National School Nurse Day

Wed 5/10/2023 4:00 PM Strategic Planning Meeting

Mon 5/15/2023 National Educational Boss Week

Fri 5/19/2023 NCDPI Home Base Maintenance

Tue 5/23/2023 Military Coffee Talk @ Nuova Luna Caffe

Tue 5/23/2023 5:00 PM Burrito Shack

Thu 5/25/2023 OCS Excellence in Education Event

Mon 5/29/2023 Holiday

Wed 5/31/2023 EOG Reading Grade 3 & Science Grade 5

Fri 6/2/2023 End of Grading Period

Tue 6/6/2023 EOY Reading Gr 4-5, RTA Gr 3 Select Students

Tue 6/6/2023 6:00 PM Board of Education Meeting

Thu 6/8/2023 EOG Math Gr 3-5

Fri 6/9/2023 Last Day for Students