Banta Unified School District

The eighth grade graduates at Banta Elementary School recently had the chance to take their formal graduation photos in their caps and gowns. The graduation ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. on May 31 in the school multipurpose room.

When I was a little girl, my father owned a nursery and florist in my hometown. This was a time before Costco and the grocery stores sold plants and flowers. If you needed a plant or an arrangement, you stopped in at the Spring Yard and saw my Dad.

I remember May as being a time of new beginnings and new starts. Neighbors, friends, and customers would stop in to see the new plants and flowers that they sought to plant in their yard. Hope for a beautiful garden punctuated the conversations, as did friendship, and well wishes for a beautiful spring.

When you bought a plant from my dad, you got so much more than just a plant. Buying a plant was a process that involved discussing the weather, telling a joke or two, catching up on the local gossip, and on a hot May day, drinking a cold diet Pepsi from the cooler. These were the times that we knew our neighbors and we knew our customers, and we treated them like family.

As we move toward summer, and you start to plant flowers in your yard, take the time to stop and talk with your neighbor. Share a Coke or tell a story, and plant those connections that will last far longer than the flowers in your yard.

Parents, thank you for a wondaful year at Banta Elementary. Coming home has made all of the difference for me! I have enjoyed learning your stories and getting to know more about you. I continue to be impressed with your generosity, spirit, and support towards our school. I hope you know how much I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our graduates much luck as they spread their wings towards high school. The staff at Banta are so proud of each and every one of you.

My wish for you as you begin high school would be that you take the time to get to know people. Learn the lunch lady’s name and the custodian's favorite team. Forge relationships, and take advantage of all that high school has to offer. Do something new, try out for a team, and take a risk. Attend the rallies, join the school play, and attend a Friday night football game or dance.

High school is a time for new beginnings, a time to plant for the future, and a time to get to know yourself and those around you. Take the time to enjoy your new school, stand in the shade, and share a cold Coke with a new friend. Much love and luck on your adventure!

Mrs. Pearlman

The kindergarten and first graders of Teacher Linda Duchnick celebrated the Earth in their lessons on behalf of Earth Day at Banta Elementary School. The students learned ways that they can help the environment, such as planting trees and recycling.

It is time to think about summer school! We will be making a decision next week on whether or not we are offering summer school for students.

1-5 - Staff and Teacher Appreciation Week

12 - BMX Bike assembly

16 - Talent Show

18 - Open House/Book Fair

19 - 8th Grade Field Trip

25 - Mustang Assembly

26 - Play Day

29 - No School - Memorial Day

27- Early Release Day

31 - Graduation- 5 PM

31- 7th/ 8th Grade Dance 6 PM

June 1 - Last Day of School

Next Meeting: May10th

6:00 p.m.

School Cafeteria

Please join us at our monthly parent meeting! We need you!

During Spring Break, I had the pleasure of vacationing in Kauai, Hawaii with my husband Eddie and daughter, Tyrah. The island's natural beauty, and friendly people made for an unforgettable trip. While it did rain almost every day, we were still able to experience and enjoy the beautiful beaches, amazing food, and peacefulness that is Kauai.

Our first day on the island, we visited the Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The view from the top was a breathtaking sight that left me feeling grateful for the opportunity to experience such natural beauty.

We also visited Spouting Horn, located on the south shore of Kauai. Spouting Horn is a natural wonder and a unique geological formation where ocean water is forced through a small opening in the rocks, creating a powerful spray that can reach heights of up to 50 feet. The spray is especially impressive during high tide, when the ocean water is forced through the opening with even greater force. It makes a wonderful "whale-like sound" which provides moments of peace, tranquility and excitement. We had an amazing time and look forward to returning to Kauai someday.

We are now approaching one of the busiest months of the school year. At the end of April, we began our CAASPP State testing which will continue into the beginning of May. Our Eighth Graders and Kindergarteners will begin preparing for their promotion ceremonies and the school office has begun preparing for the next school year. It's a busy time for everyone - especially our students. We want to make sure everyone feels supported and encouraged.

Additionally, May 1-5 is Staff Appreciation Week, and we want to take the time to recognize our incredible staff members who work tirelessly to support our students. If you have the chance, please take the time to thank our staff members for their hard work and dedication.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our school. I hope you have a wonderful Month of May!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Maxie

We are registering incoming TK and Kinder students! Please call the school office if you have any questions!

A quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult.

The kindergarten students of Teacher Carrie Burrows were excited on Monday to release the butterflies that they have been watching develop inside their classroom. The class gathered outside the school to let their two butterflies go free, and plan to do the same with the other butterflies that have yet to hatch. Later in the day the students studied the life cycle of a butterfly and made drawings.

Banta Elementary School has so many exciting things going on at our campus. To keep updated on all the fun activities - go to our Banta Elementary School Facebook page online!

Dear Parent/Guardian:

As your student prepares to enter 7th grade in the upcoming school year, it is important that they are up to date on all of their immunizations. As required by the state of California, your child will need to provide proof to the school that they have received their Tdap Booster immunization prior to entry into 7th grade.

If we do not have documentation of this immunization, unfortunately, we cannot place your child on a class list come the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Please note, there have been no extensions granted by the state due to COVID-19, and the TDAP requirement remains in place.

Please provide proof of your child’s Tdap immunization to the school no later than June 1, 202.

The Banta Elementary School's Lady Mustangs played a strong season this year on both the A and B squads. The ladies wrapped up their season with a local tournament, April 24-28.

The Banta Unified School District Food Service officials have been busy working on creating new tasty treats to be served in cafeterias throughout the school district. Recently the cafeteria site leads from EPIC, STEAM and River Islands Technology Academy sampled some items that are being considered for the students. Among the tasty dishes were an Asian Tuna Burger made of Albacore tuna mixed with onions, peppers, bread crumbs and spices served with lettuce and tomato on a whole grain roll, and a pasta salad made of tri-color pasta, bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber and mozzarella cheese with a creamy homemade Dijon Mustard dressing.

May is just around the corner and is a busy month, as was April. On the 18th, we had our furry friends visiting us from Alliance of Therapy dogs. They were here for our 6th and 7th graders as well as visited with some of our PE classes. We had Wendy with her therapy dog Ellie, Cheryl with her golden Shasta, and Marcie with her curly golden named Dutch and Lisa with Bailey who is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. As always students are encouraged to sign up with a permission slip signed by parents and spend 10-15 minutes visiting and reading with the therapy dogs.

Before Spring break we turned in our poetry entries to Young American Poetry Digest and submitted a myriad of poems including Haiku’s, Limericks, Acrostic and Free Verse poems. We encouraged all grades to participate and will hear back later in the Spring if any of our poems from Banta students will be published in this poetry anthology book that this company puts out.

Our birthday book club is going strong with each Banta student being given a free book for their birthday as well as the opportunity to donate a book to our library if they wish. Books are on the bookshelf near the library exit that they can choose from.

Before Spring break, we read Martha Speaks and made dog bookmarks to protect our books from being dog “eared.” Martha is a dog who needs to learn when to speak and when not to speak as she is beginning to annoy her family. It’s a great book that focuses on manners and not just blurting out, but knowing when to approach other people. The students in grades K-6 made some great bookmarks pictured here for you to see.

Second grade will be doing some Perler bead designs featuring Earth Day and we will read a Reuse, Reduce, Recycle book to focus on the importance of protecting our earth and using its resources well. The designs are the green arrows and a sink with water so that we can focus on saving water and using it wisely.

We have received a 3-D printer, but we need help leveling the printing bed and have reached out to SJCOE to see if we can get some additional support. So far we have printed a few dogs, a 3-D cat and a jelly bean bunny dispenser. If you know of anyone who loves 3-D printing, please send them my way. It is a Creality 3D Ender Pro.

We have also been reading a book about a T. Rex with tiny arms, and we have created a felt story to go with this great story for younger Banta students that features, Tiny T and his little arms. He can’t quite hug his best friend Pointy (another dinosaur), but he is not deterred. He asks his dad, mom, aunt Juniper, sister and brother for help. He practices hugging a cactus, a book, a ball, and ice cream before he tries hugging a tree stump that turns out to be a Teradactyl. In the end, he realizes, he can hug Pointy just fine.

As always we welcome library volunteers to come help mend, clean, sort, dust, alphabetize, and keep our collection up to date. If you know of anyone who would like to come and help as we approach the tail end of the school year, don’t hesitate to contact me at (209) 647-0774 or by email at emcdaniel@bantasd.org

This month one of our students reviewed an exciting book from our school library.

Please join us this year as we continue to honor Banta’s rich history and community involvement.

Meeting Days and Time Wednesdays from 6:00-7:00 p.m. In the school cafeteria.

● May 10, 2023

Consistent with Federal and State regulations, the Banta Unified School District engages in ongoing “Child Find” services to locate, identify, and evaluate all students with disabilities residing within its jurisdiction. We will provide appropriate special education services to students who qualify. If you know of a child who is 2 through 21 years of age who may have individual needs that result from disabilities or developmental delays, and who is not enrolled in a school program, please contact NelLaine Kilgore, Special Education, at (209) 541- 9992.