Benninghoven Family Newsletter

WOW! What a wonderful week we have had. We had over 300 students and families visit for Knights' Night this week. The turn out was incredible and it was a beautiful showcase of what it looks like each and every day at school. Thanks for being a part of our community and spending the time with us!

We are working hard to spread the word about our enrollment. The benefits of getting new and incoming BH students enrolled before summer is we have more accurate class size numbers. As you can imagine, this is helpful in many ways. So if you know ANYONE that plans to attend BH next year, have them get onto the SMSD website, or call the front office at 913-993-1900 and speak with Nicole. It takes a village!

If you haven't had a chance yet - please read the Special Addition Assessment Newsletter. It has a lof of information for the coming months.

And finally, a short reminder about arrival. The zipper merge and all three lanes should be utilized during this time as well, not just at dismissal. We have almost 280 car riders each morning and we work to get cars and students through each morning so they can begin class on time. I would also mention that most mornings between 7:57 and 8:00 it is fairly empty with low traffic. If you are trying to drop off quicker and then get to the next part of your day, you may consider arriving before 8:00.

Thanks for all you do for your child and our school! We couldn't do it without you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Anna Jensen, Principal

April

4: Papa John's Night

6: Fun Run

7: NO SCHOOL

10: NO SCHOOL

13: PTA Meeting - Benninghoven Teacher/Admin Panel 6:30 pm (more info below)

14: Kindergaten Field Trip to the Aquarium

17: STATE ASSESSMENTS BEGIN (GRADES 3-6)

*** please see Special Addition Newsletter for info.***

17: 6th Grade Field Trip to Chiefs Stadium

20: Pre-K and Kinder Round-Up; 6:00-7:30 pm (incoming students)

20: Kindergarten Music Performance, 7:00 (current Kindergarten students)

21: PTA Spring Family Fun Night (more info below)

24: Benninghoven Stuco opens SMSD Board Meeting, 6:00 pm

25: Band/Strings Concert at SMNW, 7:00 pm

26: Staff appreciation provided by Kindergarten and 1st grade

27: 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Zoo

27: 6th Grade Olympics at Trailridge

27: Benninghoven Chors Performs at R&D Forum, 5:30 pm

28: PTA Science Enrichment - 6th Grade

Please refer to this calendar for your child's Special Rotation.

Access the newsletter below for all things about assessments coming up! We appreciate your attention to the dates and making sure your chid is at school!

https://www.smore.com/yvm1s-benninghoven-family-newsletter

Pre-K and Kindergarten Enrollment OPEN - please help us promote this within your neighborhood and community!

Pre-K and Kindergarten enrollment for 2023-2024 is OPEN online at the SMSD site. If you or a family you know is trying to enroll in Kindergarten and does not have access to a tablet or laptop, please contact the BH Office at 913-993-1900 to schedule an appointment to enroll at the school. For Pre-K, you can schedule with Susana Belvedere (913-993-6441).

When you are part of the Benninghoven Knight Family, you are a part of it FOREVER! A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with the Sommerfield family and hear their story. They shared with me their son's story more specifically and then made the choice to donate 3,000 dollars to our school. See the amazing message below for how they supported our school and students.

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All four of our children attended Benninghoven beginning in 1994. Jonathan our youngest was there from 2005-2012. On August 2, 2021 he unexpectedly passed away from an undetected heart defect. Jonathan was a kind soul. In 4th grade he started going with his Grandparents to Micah Ministry to help and feed the underserved. Jonathan lived his life helping others. This year for his birthday (he would have been 23 on the 23rd of Feb) our family was trying to decide how we might honor him. I came across a TikTok video of a young woman sharing the ever rising unpaid school lunch accounts crisis in our country. She called a local school and paid off the debt. I immediately thought this is a way to honor Jonathan. I called the school and spoke with Bonnie, who kindly let me share the story of Jonathan through my tears and informed me of the unpaid balance. We were going to have a birthday celebration for Jonathan and our family decided to create a Go Fund Me to help eliminate the unpaid lunch accounts. In the first few hours our goal was met. Jonathan was known by his family and friends as Jono. On the anniversary of his death I created a T-shirt for our extended family that simply says: Be Kind

Help Others
Have Fun
Live Like Jono
The funds came in quick as folks opened their hearts and wallets. We were able to donated $3000 (1,071 meals) to the Knights Fund in Jono’s name. Our hope is this act inspires you to “Live Like Jono”.

Sincerely,

Lori & Marvin Sommerfeld and Family (Josh, Jennifer and Jillian as well as their spouses and children)

What: Shawnee Mission North and Northwest are hosting a girls gymnastics camp this summer AT Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. This camp is for grades 3-12!

Camp Dates: June 27-29, 2023

Details and Pricing Breakdown:

• Elementary Camp: Grades 3-6 | Pricing: $8/day
• Middle School Camp: Grades 7-8 | Pricing: $10/day
• High School Camp: Grades 9-12 | Pricing: $10/day

Notes:

• You do not need prior gymnastics experience to come to this camp!
• Attire: tshirt and shorts or leotards are acceptable.

Register online (click the link): https://forms.gle/nivDKrWJQUcsfwwz8

PTA Section

Benninghoven's Family Fun Night Block Party Come join us for Benninghoven's Family Fun Night Block Party on Friday, April 21 from 6-8pm. Please bring blankets and lawn chairs if you would like seating. Bring your favorite yard game to play with your Benninghoven neighbors! There will be bounce houses, balloon artists, face painting, snacks, and a photo booth. The Shawnee Fire Department will be there from 6-7pm with their fire truck.

If you are willing to be a parent volunteer at this event please sign up via the Sign up Genius link below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E49ABA92BA5F94-student

PTA Fun Run Our spring fundraiser officially kicks off on Wednesday 3/29. This year we have partnered with Boosterthon to help us with the Fun Run that will be on 4/6. Register your child here. The theme this year is Grand Land Adventure. In the classroom the kids will be hearing about the following topics:

• Acadia National Park - GRATITUDE - “Taking a moment to think about or express deep thankfulness for people or things in your life.”
• Everglades National Park - STEWARDSHIP - “Caring for what’s been given to you and not wasting it.”
• Yosemite National Park - BRAVERY - “Moving forward even if you are afraid.”
• Zion National Park - PERSEVERANCE - “Not giving up - even when things get tough.”
• Denali National Park - WONDER - “Asking questions about the world around you."

There will be nightly challenges throughout the event week:

Kickoff Night 3/29- The class with the most students registered gets a PJ day.

Program Night 1 3/30- The class with the most donations tonight will get an extra recess.

Program Night 2 3/31- Weekend Challenge! Any student who earns a $60 flat donation this weekend will earn a Boulder Ball!

Program Night 3 4/3- The class that makes the most Student Star videos earns a dance party!

Program Night 4 4/4- The class with the most new donations TONIGHT gets to see the Specials teachers get pied in the face!

Program Night 5 4/5- The class with the most new donations TONIGHT gets a classroom party with a frozen treat!

The Fun Run will be on Thursday 4/6. If you are able to help with this event you can sign up here.

If the school reaches our goal of $15,000 they will get to see Mrs. Jensen get slimed!! Thank you for all your support. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Klarisa Tischhauser 913-638-1669 or klarisa.sodaug@gmail.com

PTA Opportunities for 2023-2024 The PTA is working hard to fill the executive board positions and committee roles for the 2023-2024 school year. The open positions on the board include VP, Family and Community Programs and VP, Student Programs. You can see an overview of the roles here.

We also have opportunities to serve as a committee lead. You can see all the opportunities here. If you have any questions, please contact us at rbhptapres@gmail.com. Thank you!

PTA Meeting - Benninghoven Teacher/Admin Panel We invite you to attend the final PTA meeting of the school year. It will be on Thursday, April 13 at 6:30pm in the Benninghoven library. We are so grateful to have teachers and administration join us for a panel discussion. They will be sharing with us about Benninghoven celebrations, goals and challenges and also hear from you and answer questions.

The slate for the 2023-2024 PTA executive team will also be presented. Please plan to attend. Child care will be provided for free.

Dads in School Calling all fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers and father figures! We need YOU to volunteer at Benninghoven!

After the recent pandemic years and uncertainty, the PTA will be re-introducing a program to get more male role models involved at the school during the school day. The details of the program are still being ironed out and full implementation won’t start until the beginning of next school year. However, you can get involved now! There are plenty of volunteer opportunities this spring including field trips, field day, lunch bunch, family fun night, etc. The benefits of positive male role models in elementary schools is well documented. Student test scores improve, behavior problems decrease, and it’s just plain fun to be at the school with your kid! We hope to see you at events this spring and be on the lookout for more specific opportunities starting next fall!

All volunteers in the school during the school day must be MVP trained. The MVP process takes about an hour and is good for 5 years. Upcoming opportunities for MVP training are:

4/12/23

If you have not attended an MVP training, don’t delay! Get that done and get involved! Contact any PTA board member with questions!

Benninghoven's Adult Trivia Night and Auction Thank you to everyone who attended, donated auction items, purchased auction items, volunteered at the event and supported this fundraiser. Thank you to the committee chairs, Molly Kennedy, Jamie Sink and Megan Vielhauer for planning this fun and successful event. We raised nearly $10,000 to directly support students, teachers and staff, and the Benninghoven community.

Book Fair What a wonderful book fair week. Thank you to all the parent volunteers! You helped set up, assisted students in finding books, ran the registers, worked hard during Knight's Night and helped clean up. Thank you to Mrs. Readman for preparing the students to attend and shop at the book fair and for letting us use your library space. Thank you also to our awesome committee lead, Jessica Myers, for coordinating the book fair this year (and for so many years before this one)!

6th Grade Knightings (repeat) Did you know we have a special Knighting for our 6th graders? We want to celebrate as many 6th graders as we can through the end of the school year. All proceeds raised from the 6th Grade Knightings will be used for a special bonus treat on 6th Grade Celebration Day. To Knight someone, visit www.benninghovenpta.org and scroll down to the 'You’ve Been Knighted’ section to sign up.

Benninghoven Family Directory (repeat) The PTA hopes you are enjoying your grade level directory. Please use this to connect with other families, send birthday invites and build a stronger Benninghoven community. Please contact your child's teacher to get a link to your grade level directory. If there are any changes that need or you would like your child's information added, please reach out to the PTA at rbhptapres@gmail.com.

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