Evening Star Elementary
January 2021
A Note from Principal Williams:
Happy New Year! We are excited to welcome in a new year and say goodbye to 2020. As we turn the page on 2020, I want to encourage you to reflect on the positive memories of the year. I believe it is important to honor the incredible job you have done to support your children and our staff through what proves to be an unforgettable school year. Additionally, we want to reiterate that each of you plays such an integral role in your child’s learning, and we truly appreciate your support as well as your proactive partnership with our staff here at Evening Star. Michael Fullan once said, "Nothing motivates a child more than when learning is valued by schools and families/communities working together in partnership..." If you are still looking for ways in which you can play an active role in your child’s education, here are just a few ideas: read with your child nightly, attend our monthly virtual PTO meetings, participate in our school Spirit Nights with our various community partners, have a regular routine and ensure that your child has a good night’s sleep, and continue to communicate on a regular basis with your child’s teacher.
Unfortunately, even after we turned the page on 2020, the numbers in our state and country continue to increase. Now more than ever, we ask that you please continue to social distance, limit gatherings, wear face coverings, and exercise caution to help slow the spread. If your child is not feeling well or showing symptoms, please keep them home and contact our office at 479-696-7400. We want to be able to keep our schools open, but this is only doable if we are all doing our part. TOGETHER, we can do this!
Winter MAP testing will occur this month. MAP tests are designed to measure a student's growth when compared to where he/she was at the beginning of the year. Each student's growth goal is unique to him/herself. Our goal is to ensure that each child shows growth on these tests. In the meantime, we ask that you partner with us by ensuring that your child maintains healthy routines, such as reading nightly, getting plenty of rest, and eating a healthy breakfast.
January 12th-13th Third & Fourth Grade MAP Testing
January 19-22 Kindergarten MAP Testing
January 19th-20th First Grade MAP Testing
January 21st-22nd Second Grade MAP Testing
On the day of MAP testing:
- Please see that your child is well-rested and eats a good breakfast. Studies suggest that good nutrition is related to improved attention and concentration. Also, when children are well-rested, they are more likely to be able to focus.
- Please make sure that your child arrives at school on time and is relaxed. We want them to have ample time to settle in and relax before the test begins.
- Encourage your child to do their best on the test. We appreciate your support in helping your child understand the importance of the MAP test.
- Please make every effort to avoid checking your child out for appointments during these days.
Bentonville Schools requires an annual Profile Verification for every student to ensure the data in our student management system is current and accurate. The form is available online now and should be completed by January 20, 2021. You may submit your Profile Verification by visiting www.bentonvillek12.org, clicking on the Parents tab, and selecting Forms – Online Forms. The Profile Verification form is mobile-friendly.
Report cards will be emailed out on January 19th.
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.
Inclement Weather:
As winter approaches, we want to share the district's inclement weather procedures. When inclement weather is a concern, our Superintendent, Dr. Jones, dispatches school officials throughout the district to drive the roads to fully understand as many location conditions as possible. They begin this work as early as 2:30 a.m. so that they can make a decision by 5:30 a.m. If a decision can be announced earlier, they will do so. Information will immediately be announced on Facebook at Bentonville Schools and Twitter @Bville_Schools. Local news outlets will also be notified. BSD may need to run limited bus routes. In these situations, pick-up and drop-off times can be found on the Bentonville Schools website.
- It is our goal to dismiss school at the regular time, if at all possible. We understand that early dismissals cause disruption for parents and students, as well as the educational merit of the school day.
- If we must dismiss school early for safety reasons, it is important for you and your children to have a “Plan B” in place ahead of time. Your children need to know where to go after school, how to get in the house if they are going home alone, and have a pre-established plan for communicating with you that they have safely arrived. We will do our best to transport the students safely and in a timely manner.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS - CLOSED
- In the event of inclement weather and the closing of the school buildings, our district will pivot to Virtual Crisis Learning. Click on the following link to read more regarding Inclement Weather on our district website: https://www.bentonvillek12.org/SchoolClosure
Students will log onto Google Classroom and follow the agenda posted by their teacher. There will be live Google Meets and independent activities in Seesaw, on Lexia, and Dreambox. Please be on the lookout for communication either via email or Seesaw from your child’s homeroom teacher.
Our teachers will provide virtual learning. They will follow the 7:30 District Virtual Schedule linked here: 7:30 District Virtual Schedule for K-4 Students
COVID-19 Response Steps
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus within the staff and student body, the district is asking all parents and guardians to notify our school nurse immediately when the following occurs:
Someone in the household has tested positive for COVID-19.
Someone in the household has been identified as a Close Contact to a positive case of COVID-19 and is requiring quarantine and/or recommended to be tested for COVID-19.
A student attending on-site instruction is being tested for COVID-19. If symptomatic, the student should remain in quarantine pending the results of their COVID-19 test.
What will we do when someone tests positive or has had contact?
COVID procedures are linked for the public (parents) in our Task Force's Reopening 2020 document. That document can be found on our "Reopening" tab on our website. The Case Management procedure doc links are on page 30 of Reopening 2020. The definitions of contacts are on page 32.
You can contact our School Nurse, Jillian Conley during school hours by calling 479-360-7400. After school hours, please contact her by emailing jconley@bentonvillek12.org
Updates from Nurse Conley:
Please remember to perform your child’s morning health screening each morning:
- Check-in with your child each morning for signs of illness. If your child has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, they should not go to school.
- If your child has a sore throat, cough, diarrhea, severe headache, nausea or vomiting, body aches, shortness of breath/breathing difficulty, or newly developed loss of taste or smell, contact your physician and do not send him/her to school.
- If your child has had close contact with a COVID-19 case, he/she should not go to school. Follow the guidance on what to do when someone has known exposure.
- If your child is waiting for their COVID test result, he/she should remain home.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns!
Thank you,
Jillian Conley, BSN, RN
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:
January 12th-13th -- Third & Fourth Grade MAP Testing
- January 18th -- MLK Day, No School
- January 19th-20th --First Grade MAP Testing
- January 19th- 22nd -- Kindergarten MAP Testing
- January 20th - Annual Profile Verification form is due
- January 21st-22nd -- Second Grade MAP Testing
February 1st – ESE PTO Meeting at 11:30 am
February 1st-5th - School Counselor Appreciation Week
February 1st - First day to drop off supplies for the Valentine's Day Party
February 4th - 100th Day of School (This is based on our start date for our Kindergarten students. Purchase your 100th Day T-Shirt Today! The link to purchase can be found on our Facebook page!)
February 5th - Last day to send in Valentine's Day Party supplies
February 12th - Valentine's Day Parties
March 17th - St. Patrick's Day Celebration
March 19th PBIS Quarter 3 Reward Day
March 22nd-26th - Spring Break
April 22nd - Administrative Assistant/Secretary's Day
May 6th - Nurse's Day
FREE MEALS AVAILABLE TO ALL STUDENTS
- There will be no charge posted for regular meals through the end of the school year.
- If a child selects extra a la carte items or chooses to eat a second meal during meal service, the child’s account will be charged.
- These free meals are for every child living in our boundaries.
- Families of children 18 years old or younger who are not enrolled in Bentonville Schools may visit our website at www.bentonvillek12.org and select Departments, Food and Nutrition, Meal Pickup to register to pick up meals.
Extra Mile Award:
Kindergarten Enrollment 2021-2022 Pre-Registration
Pre-Registration – Online: February 1st beginning at 8:00 a.m and ends February 12th at 3:00 p.m.
Parents of kindergarten students residing in the Bentonville School District with a student five (5) years of age on or before August 1, 2021, may begin online pre-registration at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, February 1, 2021. Online registration will close at 3:00 p.m. Friday, February 12, 2021. The online registration is a pre-registration only and students will not be considered enrolled until parents provide the documents needed to complete their child’s registration, uploaded to their zoned school during final registration. Once you complete the pre-registration process, you will receive a confirmation with information regarding next steps.
Mark the following dates on your calendar! Final Registration will be ONLINE. Only students who are pre-registered will be able to complete enrollment during these times. Our Registrar, Mrs. Tammy Webb, will be available by email or phone on the following dates & times:
- March 1st - 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- March 2nd - 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- March 3rd - 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Kindergarten sections in our schools are limited. Pre-registration does not guarantee a student a class placement in the school until you have received confirmation to complete enrollment and this process is completed. If requests are greater than the number of classes available in any of our schools, then a lottery will be used to assign students. All kindergarten students who are not pre-registered may enroll during General Enrollment beginning on April 1, 2021 at the school they are zoned, during regular school hours.
Click on this link if you want to verify which school your student is zoned for based on your property address.
If you choose to waive kindergarten enrollment for the 2021-2022 school year, please complete and submit a Kindergarten Waiver to the Student Services office.
This website may assist in preparing your child for kindergarten: Arkansas Department of Human Services Kindergarten Readiness
Click on the following link for more information regarding Kindergarten Enrollment for the 2021-2022 school year: Kindergarten Enrollment 2021-2022 Information
Forgotten Items:
Parents - we need your help! Please send a water bottle with your child's name on it that they can keep in their cubby here at school. We have touchless waterbottle filling stations they can use to refill each day.
For grades K-12, the only items that are allowed to be dropped off are items that are deemed essential to the child being able to access their learning for the day, such as a Chromebook, eyeglasses, medication. If your child forgets their lunch, their water bottle, or their snack, no worries! Your child may purchase a cafeteria lunch, we have extra water bottles here, and our counselors will have snacks available.
National School Counseling Week - Feb. 1st-5th
We have the BEST counselors! Mrs. Gaskin and Ms. Kaufmann help support our Evening Star Owls in so many ways:
Working with ALL students to encourage a safe school climate focused on trust, respect, empathy, and teamwork.
Teaching classroom guidance lessons that align to standards.
Facilitating small groups based on student needs.
Supporting students as they navigate social relationships with peers.
Meeting with students to do brief, solution-focused counseling.
Helping students who may be struggling to make positive behavior choices while learning to recognize, communicate, and regulate emotions.
Collaborating with parents/guardians, teachers, support staff, and administration to help students succeed.
Connecting families with resources outside the school.
We are a better school because of these two ladies. Please take a minute to thank them this week for everything they do for our little owls and our ESE families.
Counselor Updates:
Happy New Year from ESE Counselors!!!
Our topic for guidance lessons this month is Coping Skills. We have all faced some kind of lasting stressful situation(s). Feeling unprepared or unhappy about the situation increases the stress. Stressful situations can wear our kiddos, and us, down over time. Finding ways to deal with them can help us grow strong.
Building good Coping Skills will help our OWLS to learn how to deal with stressful situations. We have attached a few of our favorite sites to support your child in developing these life long skills.
KidsHealth Coping skills for kids and teens
Parenting During Uncertain Times Free Virtual Seminars!
Healthline Coping Skills for Kids
Bonus!!! Great Podcast on building Responsibility and Trust. Link to Podcast
Please reach out to us for any reason! We are here for your children and YOU!
Pam Gaskin 479-360-7407 pgaskin@bentonvillek12.org
Paula Kaufmann 779-360-7408 pkaufmann@bentonvillek12.org
Literacy and Math News:
One thing we as adults do with each new year is set goals for ourselves. I know we are all looking forward to a fresh start in 2021. One great way we can do this with our kids is by setting goals for literacy and math! This is a great way to get students excited about the new semester and help them refocus on their education.
Below are a few examples of goals you might talk about with your children.
Books I want to read this year - You could set a weekly, monthly, or annual goal depending on the age of your child and the length of books they are reading
Something new I would like to learn - This is a great time to allow your child to explore their interests and learn something new together as a family!
An area I am going to work harder at - Have your child think about different things they are learning in school. Is there one subject area that is more difficult for them than others? Help them set an attainable goal for that subject.
Math fact fluency - What is your child working on for fact fluency in math? Depending on the age of your child, it might be adding and subtracting within 20 or working on multiplication and division facts. If you need help identifying a goal for fact fluency, reach out to your child’s teacher to see where they are working.
We can’t wait to hear about all of the great goals you set together!
Julie Dibee, Literacy Coach and Jillian Myers, Math Coach
Whooo Loves to read? Your ESE OWLS DO!
For our sweet owls, 2021 is going to have some very exciting projects! During the 2nd semester, the Activity team will be exploring the characteristic of courage with all of our students. In addition, our older owls will focus on research techniques and strategies to pull out the most important information while researching. The 2nd graders will continue their study of perspectives by using Doreen Cronin as a mentor author, and our youngest owls will continue to master story elements. Remember that you can celebrate any occasion for your owl by purchasing a hardcover book, decorating it, and donating it to our library.
Read, Learn, and Explore!
Mrs. Watson
"Gym Shorts":
I can’t believe it’s 2021! We will start the year off right with some Demo ball! Demo ball is a great lead up game for learning basketball. We will learn teamwork, communication, and overhead throwing before we go into dribbling and passing skills. Excited to start this new year with our OWLS!
Coach Kerkhover
ART Studio:
Welcome, 2021! So glad that we are still in class and my friends are at Evening Star Elementary! 2020 was a year of challenges and adjustments. My hope is that 2021 is a return to normal for everyone. It’s a fresh start and a new beginning for all of us. My wish for you is health and happiness. 🤗
Mr. Van Slyke
Music Notes:
Happy 2021, owls! In the 3rd quarter, students will continue to stretch their music reading skills by adding new elements of rhythm and melody. Students will also begin exploring the instruments of the orchestra. If children or parents play an orchestral instrument, I encourage them to take a video and send it in. I would love to show the videos during your child’s class. esimpson@bentonvillek12.org
Mrs. Simpson
Global Connections:
Hoping 2021 finds us all healthy and ready to finish out this school year strong. This past year has challenged us in many ways. We’ve all had to demonstrate courage in one way or another, our students and faculty included. We will explore the various types of courage in the context of our own experiences combined with our continued exploration of our world.
Sincerely,
Ms. Garrett
STEM Lab:
Mr. Meadows
English as a Second Language:
Happy New Year Families! I hope everyone had a wonderful break!
Last month our blended and virtual students received a book from Mrs. Tomblin and the ESL department. Through this we hope to promote family engagement and literacy. Research evidence strongly shows that parents and caretakers sharing books with children has a positive impact on their wider educational attainment. Happy Reading Friends!
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 January, 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 forJanuary are available for preview.