Evening Star Elementary
February 2023
A Note from Principal Williams:
Where has February gone?! With the snow/ice days in the beginning of the month that resulted in a week of AMI followed by all the fun when we returned to in-person learning, we are working hard to catch up. First and foremost, thank you, ESE families, for all of your support during our AMI days. Our student attendance and participation in lessons were wonderful, and that is because of you! Since returning to in-person instruction, our teachers and staff have been hard at work. They have been digging through MAP data and celebrating student achievement and growth. Our teachers utilized this information to target individual students' instructional needs and inform whole and small-group instruction. All of our students worked so hard, and we are beyond proud of the progress we have seen. We look forward to even more growth in the spring! For more information about MAP tests, check out this website.
Our All Bentonville Reads, a family-favorite tradition in Bentonville Schools, kicked off on January 27th, right before the ice storm hit. We hope everyone is enjoying reading this year's book, Almost Super. We hope you will mark your calendars and join us for this year's culminating event at Crystal Bridges on Sunday, March 5th, from 12:00-4:00 pm.
We want to give a big SHOUT OUT to Mr. Higgins and Sam's Club for their recent donation of competition kits for our 4th grade Robotics Club. The students are beyond appreciative of this opportunity. We also want to thank all of our parents who were able to join us for our Valentine's parties last week. We had so much fun celebrating our last school party for the year with you.
We have some exciting news to share! All elementary buildings are starting a program called Guardians in Action. Our Guardians in Action's primary focus is security. They will check exterior doors, assist with monitoring the parking lot and bus loop, communicate any concerns to the building principal, and greet our fantastic students in the morning. The times for this opportunity are 6:55 am-7:35 am and 2:20 pm-2:55 pm. If you are interested in participating in this program and you have completed our required annual volunteer training, please complete this Google Form - linked HERE. Volunteers must be screened through the raptor system, wear our brand new Guardians in Action vest, and have a current ESE student enrolled. The office staff will provide our Guardian in Action with a radio for the time they are on campus, assisting with security.
As you may have seen on Peachjar, Summer Camp Explore registration is now live. Summer Camp Explore was created to serve rising kindergarten through sixth-grade students. We also have a number of programs planned for older students in the areas of the arts, athletics, and childcare camps. Those camps are also detailed on our website.
Additionally, Bentonville Schools is having a career fair. Are you interested in working with Bentonville Schools? Do you know anyone who would be an amazing teacher, bus driver, administrator, or instructional assistant? Join our district on Saturday, February 25th, from 9:30 - 2:30 at Bentonville High School. Bring your resume and be ready for possible onsite interviews.
Lastly, HB1122 was signed off by the Governor on 1/30/23, officially changing the law regarding the start date for schools. Click HERE to see the 2023-2024 calendar and mark your calendars.
Sincerely,
Principal Williams
Future ESE Events:
Here are just a few events we have planned so far. Mark your calendars now and keep a watch out for more events over the course of the school year:
February 21st - 8:30 am PTO meeting & our last volunteer training in ESE Wonder Room
February 21st - Board of Education Meeting 5:30-7:00 pm
February 21st - 4th Grade Musical at 6:00 p.m at BWHS
February 22nd - School Bus Driver Appreciation - show our bus drivers how much we love them.
February 27th - March 3rd - ESE PTO Teacher Appreciation Week
March 2nd - Read Across America
March 2nd - 5:00-7:00 pm - Gusano's Pizza Spirit Night
March 5th - All Bentonville Reads Crystal Bridges event
March 6th - 2nd Grade Field Trip at the Walton Arts Center
March 13th - Spring and Class Pictures
March 20th-March 24th - Spring Break
March 28th - ESE PTO Meeting
Picture Day:
Absences & Transportation Changes:
Teachers and front office staff may be out, so we ask that you refrain from emailing staff directly. This also applies to transportation changes. You can also use the esesattendanceclerk@bentonvillek12.org to send in doctor's notes. When parents email the esesattendanceclerk@bentonvillek12.org, both Mrs. Kendra and Mrs. Tammy receive the email. Thank you for your help with us as we want to make sure your child's attendance record is accurate and current.
If you need to make a change in transportation, please notify the office BEFORE 2:00 p.m. As stated in our district handbook, changes in transportation home or early pick-up from school may not occur within 30 minutes of building dismissal time unless it is an unavoidable emergency. If you need to make a change in your child's transportation, we ask that you please call the front office directly or email Mrs. Kendra and Mrs. Tammy at esesattendanceclerk@bentonvillek12.org. Keep in mind our teachers may be out or unable to check email. In the event of a transportation change, by emailing the front office staff or calling our front office ensures that your child goes home the right way.
Counselor Updates:
Happy February from the counselors’ office! We are so excited to be focusing on “Kindness” for this month. We already have the kindest, sweetest owls possible, but want to sharpen their talons with skill to help them make and keep friends. Learning these basic “Kindness” skills will help them be successful in all areas of their lives.
Know that we are always available to help you and your owls in any way! Contact us at 479-360-7400 or send an email and we will get back to you ASAP!
Pam Gaskin 479-360-7407 pgaskin@bentonvillek12.org
Paula Kaufmann 779-360-7408 pkaufmann@bentonvillek12.org
Literacy Coach News:
In order to understand what we read, we must be able to read fluently. Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation. Their reading is smooth and has expression. Check out these tips to help your child with fluency at home.
Read to your child so he or she has an example of how fluent reading sounds.
Practice paired reading. Take turns reading aloud. You go first, so that your child hears a good example of what the reading should sound like. Then your child rereads that same part. You will start to notice that your child starts to sound more and more like you. As your child starts to feel more confident, begin taking turns with longer sections of print.
Play audiobooks while having your child follow the printed copy.
Encourage your child to read with a certain emotion to encourage intonation and expression.
If your child decodes words well, help him or her build speed and accuracy by: reading aloud and having your child match his voice to yours, reminding your child to pause between phrases and sentences, and having your child practice the same list of words, phrases, or passages several times.
Ask your child to match his or her voice to yours when reading aloud, or an audiobook reading.
Read a short passage, then encourage your child to immediately read it back to you.
Encourage your child to reread their favorite books. Invite your child to revisit those favorite books over and over again.
Another way to practice reading fluently is to have your child create their own audiobook. In preparation for creating this audiobook, your child will have fun practicing over and over again.
Happy reading!
Julie Dibee (Literacy Coach)
Math Coach News:
No matter what grade your little Owl is in, our students do a tremendous amount of problem-solving during math. Word problems are a way we teach math skills in context. Below are the eight standards of mathematical practice and questions you can ask to encourage your students' thinking:
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- What are you solving for in the problem?
- Can you think of a problem that you have solved before that is like this one?
- How will you go about solving the problem? What is your plan?
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Can you write or recall an expression or equation to match the problem situation?
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Tell me what your answer means.
- How do you know that your answer is correct?
4. Model with mathematics.
- What’s the connection among the numbers in the problem?
- Is your answer reasonable? How do you know?
- What does the number(s) in your solution refer to?
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
- What tools could you use to solve this problem? How can each one help you? ● Before you solve the problem, can you estimate the answer?
6. Attend to precision.
- What do the symbols that you used mean?
7. Look for and make use of structure.
- What do different parts of the expression or equation you are using tell you about the possible correct answers?
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
- What pattern(s) do you see? Can you make a rule of generalization?
Katie Curry (Math Coach)
Whooo Loves to read? Your ESE OWLS DO!
Parents- Every Monday and Friday, I am so excited to welcome you into the ESE library to check out books between 2:30-3:00 pm! Just park and come in to check out books!
All Bentonville Reads has started! I hope you are enjoying this precious time reading with your children! Be sure to mark your calendars on Sunday, March 5, 2023, from 12-4 for the Almost Super Celebration at Crystal Bridges!
Our Super Reader Challenge was a HUGE success! Our Owls recorded over 37,000 minutes and the staff recorded over 12,000 minutes. Thank you ALL for your reading support
Read, Learn, and Explore!
Mrs. Watson, ESE Librarian
"Gym Shorts"
February is all about being HEART HEALTHY. Your little owls have already started to learn about what it means to be heart-healthy through the cardiovascular endurance pace test and other fitness challenges. We want them to learn that you can be heart-healthy just by playing and being active. We will show them through various activities such as; drum fit, jump rope, demo ball, and basketball skills. We will then continue our HEART HEALTHY through March to talk about nutrition.
Coach Kerkhover and Coach LaRocco
ART Studio:
February will be an exciting month for our artists at Evening Star Elementary. We have several group projects almost ready for display in our school. Also, we are working on a special Valentine’s Day card project for the local nursing homes. The artists are incorporating collage and watercolor in their designs for the cards. I am proud of the efforts so far and I am looking forward to sending off our finished product!
Mr. Van Slyke
Music Notes:
ESE musicians are off to a great start in 2023! Kindergarten and 1st graders are exploring classroom percussion instruments and exploring how melodies move. 2nd and 3rd graders are working on intervals and sight reading music. 4th graders are working hard on singing, acting, and choreography in preparation for their upcoming musical, “Pirates!” We hope all 4th-grade families will plan to join us at BWHS on Tuesday, Feb. 21st, to support our young musicians!
Reminder! 4th-grade students also have a field trip coming up. For information on both of these events, please click here. Students will return the permission slip to their classroom teacher.
Keep filling the world with music.
Mrs. Simpson
Global Connections:
Happy February! This month we will begin learning about a new continent - Africa! You can ask your owls questions like “Can you locate Africa on a map? or “What are the colors on the flag of Africa?” They will be thrilled to share newfound learnings with you!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Connor
Digital Literacy:
This month our 1st through 4th grade owls are learning about Google Docs. Grades 2nd -4th are practicing using these skills through a research paper on Heart Health. Our Kindergarten owls will start learning about data organization and dive into what an algorithm is.
Grades 3rd and 4th are hard at work typing with their keyboards covered to prepare for the March Typing Madness Competition. Please stand by for more details.
Ms. Castro
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE:
At the end of February, we will begin practicing for the ELPA-21 test that all ESL students will begin taking at the beginning of March. Everyone will have an opportunity to practice this before the official test. Students will be assessed in the four domains of Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. This is our summative exam and will provide us with each student's English language proficiency level and how we can best serve them. Parents will be notified once the results are received. If you have any questions, let me know! mailto:mtomblin@bentonvillek12.org
Sincerely,
Mrs. Tomblin
ESE Yearbook!
Yearbooks are on sale! Click this link to purchase and use our school code: 1015671061902803
Remember, all parents can create their own custom page at no extra cost! Custom pages are due by March 28, 2023.
Whooo's Soaring at ESE?
To access the Google form click on the following link: https://forms.gle/FNdobVKuUbBv2sx1A
SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH MENUS:
School breakfast and lunch are no longer provided for students for free. If you have not deposited funds into your child's account or applied for support for the cost of the meals, please log in to the Family Portal and do that. You will need your student's ID to log in.
If you would like to see what our cafeteria will be serving for breakfast and lunch for this month, simply click on the following link: https://www.bentonvillek12.org/page/food-and-nutrition