Evening Star Elementary
March 2022
A Note from Principal Williams:
March is here, and we are looking forward to warmer temperatures and longer days! The first day of spring is 20 short days away! Thank you for a successful three days of AMI learning last week during the ice storm. As parents, getting a glimpse into the classroom is always refreshing. We appreciate all of your efforts to keep our students organized and engaged in their lessons from home.
Evening Star Teacher Appreciation Week is underway! Teachers and staff enjoyed coffee and pastries on a happy cart yesterday, and loved picking a box of Girl Scout Cookies today. Each day has been thoughtfully planned. We are feeling the love from all of you. Thank you for your support this week and always.
March kicks off the Arkansas RISE Reading Challenge! Let's keep the reading going at home with some fun themes every day for the month of March. See the schedule below and on our social media pages. We would love to see photos of you all as you participate. Please post your photos in the comments on the Facebook post from February 25th! Day one encourages you to make a trip to the library to check out fun books for the month!
Join us for a fun wrap-up event of All Bentonville Reads on Sunday, March 6th from noon to 4:00pm at Crystal Bridges. The museum grounds will be filled with lots of Charlotte's Web inspired games and outdoor activities. See the flyer below for more information.
We are excited to open our doors again to all guests and volunteers. We have missed having parents in the building as guest speakers, volunteers in the Parent Center, mystery readers in the classrooms, and guests for lunch. When coming to the building, please remember your state-issued ID. Due to limited seating, we can only accommodate 18 parent guests per lunch on a first-come-first-serve basis. Our lunch schedule is as follows:
Kindergarten: 10:20am-10:50am
First Grade: 11:00am-11:30am
Second Grade: 12:10pm-12:40pm
Third Grade:12:40pm-1:10pm
Fourth Grade: 11:35am-12:05pm
We are looking forward to seeing more familiar faces in the building! Welcome back!
We want to thank you for allowing us to be part of your child’s educational career and also for the growing trust you have in Evening Star Elementary.
PTO Update:
Planning for the 2022-2023 school year has started and we need your involvement to make another successful year happen! ESE PTO has various ways to get involved; click here to check out the options.
If you have any questions, email us at eveningstarpto@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Kathleen, Katie, Sahar and Tatum
Updates from ESE Office:
Class pictures are scheduled for March 8th. We will start at 8:00 AM and work through each classroom. Please have your student to school on time so they do not miss their group picture. There are no retakes for class pictures. Order forms have been sent home with your student. You can order online or send payment in the envelope provided. Students will turn the envelopes into their classroom teachers who will then turn them over to a Lifetouch photographer on picture day.
We are wrapping up our pre-registration for kindergarten for the 2022-23 school year. If you completed the pre-registration in February and submitted an enrollment form at that time, you have until March 3rd at noon to submit all of the required documents to complete enrollment. If you do not submit your documents by this deadline you will have to wait until our district’s general enrollment opens up on April 1st and start over. Anyone that has a student who will be 5 on or prior to August 1st and missed the pre-registration in February can submit their kindergarten enrollment form online on April 1st or after for the 2022-23 school year. If you have any questions regarding kindergarten enrollment, please reach out to our registrar, Tammy Webb. You can reach her by email: tawebb@bentonvillek12.org or by calling her at 479-360-7405.
A note from Nurse Crutchfield:
March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month!
March 25th marks National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. This day falls on our Spring Break, so please join us in bringing awareness, and show support for our friends and family with Cerebral Palsy by wearing GREEN on Monday, March 28th!
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, coordination and is the most common motor disability in childhood. There are different types of CP. Some people have one type or a mix of different types. There’s no cure for CP, but a child’s quality of life can improve with early intervention and treatment.
EDUCATE. ADVOCATE. If you’d like to know more about Cerebral Palsy, please check out these additional resources.
Dana Crutchfield RN, BSN, CPN
School Nurse
dcrutchfield@bentonvillek12.org
Future ESE Events:
Here are just a few events that 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 28th - March 4th- ESE Teacher Appreciation Week
- March 6 - All Bentonville Reads Event at Crystal Bridges 12:00pm-4:00pm
- March 7 - 11th National School Social Workers Week
- March 8 - Class Pictures
- March 14 - 18th Bus Driver/Transportation Appreciation Week
- March 15 - Second-Grade Pajama Party at Bentonville West at 6:00pm
- March 18 - Fourth Grade March Madness Field Trip at Bentonville West at 11:30am
- March 21 - 25 - Spring Break
- March 28 - Wear GREEN for Cerebral Palsy Awareness
March 31 - Lunch & Learn BHS Lecture Hall
April 4 - 7 - Parent-Teacher Conferences
Counselor Updates:
Wise Owls Look Ahead to Spring Testing Dates!
Spring is around the corner and so is spring testing for Grades 3 and 4! We cannot wait to see how much our Owls have progressed this year! Please mark your calendars for the upcoming spring testing dates below:
Grades 3 and 4 will both take the ACT Aspire test on April 20, 21, 27, 28.
To help your child be successful, it is very important that they be at school on these dates. Students do much better, and are less anxious, if they take tests with their grade cohort. If at all possible, please make all appointments after school and refrain from checking your child out early. Once testing begins, the class cannot be interrupted until the designated break time. Therefore, please help us by checking appointments/calendars and rescheduling if possible. With your help and encouragement, we know that our owls will do their best on their tests!
Our guidance lessons for March will focus on “Cooperation and Test Taking Strategies.”
Pam Gaskin 479-360-7407 pgaskin@bentonvillek12.org
Paula Kaufmann 779-360-7408 pkaufmann@bentonvillek12.org
Literacy News:
Sometimes getting hooked on reading just takes that one special book! In honor of Read Across America this month, check out these high quality books organized by theme, put together by Maria Salvadore, a lover of children’s literature!
Favorite books
Happy Reading!
Julie Dibee, Literacy Coach and Jillian Myers, Math Coach
Whooo Loves to read? Your ESE OWLS DO!
I hope you have enjoyed reading Charlotte’s Web as a family! What a beautifully written story! Sunday, March 6, 2022 is our All Bentonville Reads celebration at Crystal Bridges. ESE’s scheduled time is from 2-4 pm. Bring your family to enjoy a variety of fun and enriching activities! I look forward to seeing you all there! Keep Reading!
Read, Learn, and Explore!
Mrs. Watson
"Gym Shorts":
March is National Nutrition Month! We will learn about what eating healthy looks like and how it keeps our heart healthy. Did you know that math is used in almost all sports? Not 1+1, but angles, measuring, distance, speed, and force! All these make up situations in a game that we might not even know we are using. Your owls will learn underhand toss with the game of bocce ball and learn which tools are used to determine the winner.
Parents! Love to bike?
Work Life Balance: Relax, get outside, breathe, improve your health, enjoy the local bike industry.
- Trailblazers + ETHIC is offering an Adult First Ride bike lesson for free for adults who have never ridden a bike or who have not ridden since they were a child. Use the link for more details.
- NWACC offers Bicycle Maintenance Fundamentals classes. They meet twice a week. And, K-12 educators can get a 50% discount to take the class for just under $500. Use the link to monitor their website for the next round of classes.
- Trailblazers + ETHIC will offer local classes for any teachers about bike education, bike clubs, etc. on June 6. More details will follow with the AASCD Summer Conference registration opening soon.
Coach Kerkhover
ART Studio:
There will be a lot of change in March for the art department. Starting after Spring Break, the art classes will be held in the Wonder Room until school is out. Ms.Goldberg will be finishing up at Evening Star and going back to Willowbrook Elementary after Spring Break. Ms. U will be finishing her student teaching at Evening Star and transferring to Lincoln Jr High on March 7th. We will miss both of them and we appreciate the job they have done at Evening Star for our art students Thank you Ms. G and Ms. U !!!!!
Mr. Van Slyke
Music Notes:
Did you know that March is National Music in Our Schools Month?
It is! And this March we have a lot to be excited about in music class! No doubt, your little owls have come home telling you about all of these exciting opportunities that we are preparing for:
March 15 2nd grade musical at BWHS at 6:00 p.m.
March 18 4th grade “March Music Madness” field trip to BWHS
April 12 1st grade musical at BWHS at 6:00 p.m.
April 29 4th grade pre-game concert at Arvest Ballpark
May 24 Kinder Celebration at BWHS at 5:30 p.m.
**2nd and 4th grade parents, check out the links below for more information!
2022 2nd Grade Musical Invitation
Thank you for supporting your young musicians and fostering a life-long love of music!
Mrs. Simpson
Global Connections:
This month in Global Connections we are studying the continent of Africa. We are very fortunate to have artifacts from the Maasai tribe of Kenya to examine and discuss during these lessons. We will be taking a look at the people, their culture, the wildlife, and the diverse types of land the continent provides. No study of Africa would be complete without learning about the ancient Egyptians of Egypt. That will be the last stop of our journey before heading to Asia.
Sincerely,
Ms. Garrett
STEM Lab/Digital Literacy:
The Typing Olympics are underway! As the students strive to do their best in the typing competitions, we will also be learning about the tradition and symbolism of the laurel wreaths worn by medalists. Students will discover how Olympic athletes persevere when the odds are against them.
Ms. Castro
English as a Second Language:
Talking and listening play major roles in children's school success. It's through hearing parents and family members talk and through responding to that talk that children begin to pick up the language skills they will need if they are to do well. One fun way to do this is through a family game of “Would you Rather?”
Would you rather be invisible or able to fly?
Would you rather live without music or without movies?
Would you rather be able to control the weather or be able to talk to animals?
You can even have fun creating some of your own. Talking about what you would rather and why is sure to lead to some fun family discussions.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Melissa Tomblin
Transportation Changes:
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.
SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH MENUS:
If you would like to see what our cafeteria will be serving for breakfast and lunch for March, simply click on the following link: https://www.bentonvillek12.org/Page/7010
You can also follow the steps below:
1) Access the District website: bentonvillek12.org
2) Under the Departments tab, choose: Food and Nutrition
3) Click on the Printable Elementary School Menus link
The breakfast and lunch menus for March are available for preview.