Blytheville Elementary School
December 2 - 6
CHICKASAW P.R.I.D.E.
Chickasaw P.R.I.D.E.
Personal Responsibility, Respect, Integrity, Disciplined,
Engaged
VISION: Engage Everyone Everyday
MISSION: BES will educate the whole child through an engaging curriculum preparing them for the next level in their journey.
BES Faculty and Staff Handbook 2019-20
Website: https://www.blythevilleschools.com/o/bes
Location: 216 East Moultrie Drive, Blytheville, AR, United States
Phone: (870) 763 - 5924
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlythevilleElementary/
This Week:
Dec 2: "13 Days Before Christmas Break" activities begin
Dec 3: ACT Aspire Interim II, Staff Meeting 3:40 PM
Dec 4: ACT Aspire Interim II
Dec 5: Christmas Parade, 5th and 6th Boys Basketball vs. BIC- home 6:00PM/ 5th and 6th Girls Basketball vs. BIC-away 5:00 PM
Dec 6: Angel Tree donations due, Judging for Door Decorating Contest
Dec 7: 4th-6th Girls Basketball vs. Armorel-home 9:00 AM/4th-6th Boys Basketball vs. Valley View- away 9:00 AM
Upcoming Events:
Dec 9: "13 Days Before Christmas Break" activities continue
Dec 10: STAR Testing
Dec 11: STAR Testing, Leadership Team Meeting
Dec 12: PBIS Store, BES Christmas Musical 9:00 AM, 4th -6th Boys Basketball vs. Truman- home 5:30 PM
Dec 13: PBIS Celebration, Core Team Meeting 10:00 AM
Dec 12-18: Secret Santa Gift Exchange
BES Holiday Potluck 2019 Sign-up Link
Thirteen Days of Christmas Link
Staff Holiday Parent Sign-up 2019
Holiday Payroll Schedule
Please make note of the holiday payroll schedule. It is altered from our regular payroll dates. You will need to plan accordingly as there is an extended amount of time between the December 18th and January 15th checks.
December 6
December 18
January 15
Staff Spotlight
ACT Aspire Interim Testing Reminders
ACT Aspire Interim II Testing will take place December 3-4th. We will start on Tuesday, December 3rd at 8:30 am with English and Reading. Students will take Science and Math on Wednesday, December 4th. Before testing, all Chromebooks MUST be logged into so they can update prior to testing. Upon returning Monday, make sure ALL Chromebooks are charging before you leave and you have headphones for your students who will be placed in small groups. Teachers, you need to do this ASAP. Please encourage your students to be at school on time and to do well on their tests. If you have any questions please let Mrs. Pierce know.
Staff Meetings
Incentives
PBIS & Behavior Chart
Please make sure you are following the PBIS expectations. Staff are required to wear lanyards in order to have PRIDE bucks accessible to give to students displaying appropriate behavior. Students who are demonstrating appropriate behavior should be receiving several PRIDE bucks. This is an opportunity to reward the students that demonstrate appropriate behavior so that they don’t feel left out. Also, ALL students should be given the opportunity to shop at the PBIS Store on the allotted days. PBIS is a school wide as well as a district wide initiative. It is not an option. Please note the PBIS store days on your calendar and allow students time to shop.
Teachers are also required to use the behavior charts and Home School Communicator folders to document behavior. Please make sure you are documenting notices of concern and documenting misbehavior. If students are not on red, they will NOT be seen by any member of the referral staff. If you need more folders, please contact the office.
Adverse Childhood Experiences
The harsh reality for us is that a significant amount of our students at BES are affected by what many call, ACE’s or Adverse Childhood Experiences. Adverse Childhood Experiences examples include physical, emotional or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; parental mental illness, substance dependence, incarceration; parental separation or divorce; or domestic violence; and they are adding more every day. Exposure to early adversity affects the developing brains and bodies of children. It affects areas like the nucleus accumbens, the pleasure and reward center of the brain that is implicated in substance dependence. It inhibits the prefrontal cortex, which is necessary for impulse control and executive function, a critical area for learning. On MRI scans we can see measurable differences in the amygdala, the brain’s fear response center. Children who are exposed to high doses of adversity are more likely to engage in high-risk behavior. High doses of adversity not only affect brain structure and function, but they also affect the developing immune system, developing hormonal systems, and even the way our DNA is read and transcribed. Early adversity dramatically affects our students, we have to recognize the adversity our students have experienced when trying to address their academic and behavioral concerns For more information, watch this engaging and informative video of Madine Burke Harris’s TED Talk about “How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime”
Anxiety around the Holidays
With the holidays approaching, we are all ready for a much needed and deserved break from school. With that said, it is important to keep in mind that for our students living in poverty, the break from school can bring hidden challenges that we should be aware of. For some students, school is their safe place. There is a chance that some of our students may begin to feel a great deal of anxiety being away from school for a week or two weeks. This may be for a variety of reasons: lack of parental support or supervision, lack of meals, lack of a warm place during the cold nights, and neglect or violence in the home. Chronic stress can inhibit a child’s ability to manage his or her behavior and can affect language and memory skills. Let’s all remember when returning to school after break to be mindful that not all students had a large holiday meal and not all students received gifts over the holidays. We should use this time to build relationships with students and try to understand the causes of their behavior and reasons for potentially being disruptive. We can do this by extending empathy and grace. If you are in need of support or believe that your students may be in need of resources, please contact Mrs. Pierce or Nurse Russell.
PBIS
Recipients of P.R.I.D.E. awards exhibited exceptional behavior in the focus areas for which they were chosen. The following homeroom classes are our P.R.I.D.E. winners for the month of October:
Restrooms
3rd- Sawyer
4th- Curtis
5th- Buckley
Arrival/Dismissal
3rd- Williams
4th- Flood
5th- Minnie
Classroom
3rd- Brown
4th- Flood
5th- Hicks
Hallway
3rd- Washington
4th- Bradley
5th- Hobbs
Nurse's Corner
Please remind parents to BE ON THE LOOK OUT for letters regarding their student’s immunization status. If a student turns 11 years old before January 2020 they are required to receive additional vaccines and must do so before we come back from Winter Break. Students who received a letter from the school nurse regarding vaccines who do not receive them or do not have an appointment made by the deadline will not be allowed to return to school until vaccines are received. Again, this is only for students who will be turning 11 years old starting before January 2020. If there are no available appointments at the health department or your doctor’s office before the deadline parents should please make an appointment for the next available date and call the school nurse with the appointment date and time.
Cold or Flu: Know the Difference
How to Prevent the Flu from Spreading
Five Hand Washing Moments at Work
Weather Forecast
BES Backpack Program in Need
· Cheese or Peanut butter crackers
· Beef jerky
· Applesauce
· Pudding Cups
· Fruit cups
· Granola bars
· Cereal bars
· Single serving Chef-Boy-R-Dee items
· Ravioli/Spaghetti-O’s
· Single serving soups (with pull tab openings)
· Ramen noodles(in packages)
· Tomato juice
· Packaged nuts
· Pasta (any kind)
· Pasta Sauce
· Trail mix
· Fruit snacks
· Dried fruits
· Peanut butter
· Canned vegetables and fruit (with pull top openings)
· Macaroni and cheese
· Individually packaged chips/Pretzels/Goldfish
· Boxed juices
· Vienna sausages (with pull top lids)
· Pop tarts
· Individual packets of Oatmeal
· Bottled Waters
· Canned Tuna
· Bags of rice or beans
Any donations of these types of items would be greatly appreciated.