Evening Star Elementary
October 2023-2024
A Note from Principal Williams:
Happy Monday, Evening Star Families!
Welcome to October! Can you believe it is fall already? The past eight weeks of school have indeed been incredible. Our annual Grandparents' luncheon was a hit! We had over 600 guests visit our building. We can't thank our ESE grandparents and loved ones enough for visiting and spending a little extra time with their precious owls. A HUGE SHOUT OUT to our office ladies and PTO for getting guests checked in and to the correct location quickly and efficiently.
Walk In My Shoes event was an absolute success! We appreciate everyone who was able to join us for that fun-filled event. We also hope that you were able to gain valuable information from the grade-level-specific presentation our homeroom teachers emailed on September 20th. Our goal for Walk In My Shoes night was to provide insight into what a day in your child's life is like in the elementary building while also giving your little owl a chance to show you around their classroom and our beautiful facility. Moreover, we hope you had a chance to connect with other ESE families. A huge THANK YOU to our ESE PTO for helping organize activities, the ice cream social drawing, the bounce house, and dinner. We will announce the winners of the ice cream social later this week. Watch social media for a date and time.
As we head into October and finish our first quarter of school, we start looking forward to Parent/Teacher conferences. In the next few weeks, you will receive information from your child's homeroom teacher regarding Parent-Teacher Conferences. Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place October 23rd-27th during designated times. Each teacher has been asked to set aside 15 minutes per conference. We look forward to sharing your child's learning and progress for the first quarter. Reminder, parents: you can also access TeacherEase anytime throughout the school year to track your child's progress. The TeacherEase Parent Letter linked HERE provides directions for how to log into the program and check your child's progress.
Congratulations are in order for ESE! According to NICHE, ESE is #1 of 488 Best Public Elementary Schools in Arkansas. We are beyond proud and know this is only possible because of the fantastic parent and school partnerships we have formed since opening our doors in 2019. We would love for you to leave a review on their site. Click HERE to learn more about our NICHE rating and share your ESE experience with others.
Furthermore, another proud moment for Evening Star is our recent news regarding our letter grade assigned by the Arkansas Department of Education. The Department of Education assigns every school a letter grade derived primarily from ACT Aspire scores. Additional factors include student attendance at all grade levels, Aspire Science, and Aspire Reading at Grade Level. The letter grade assigned to Evening Star Elementary is an A. While this letter grade isn't all-encompassing, it does indicate a pattern of learning, and we're thrilled to share we're on the right track. Nothing less than excellence is acceptable to me and the team here at Evening Star Elementary. We want to continue to be recognized as an A school and a Top Performing school in the state. Parents and families, we can only do this with your help. The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) (ESSA) includes 5 indicators: Achievement, Growth, English Learner Progress toward English Language Proficiency, Graduation Rate, School Quality, and Student Success. The School Quality and Student Success indicator counts for 15% of our overall ESSA score.
- Attendance is factored within the School Quality and Student Success indicator.
- Our school is awarded 1 point for EVERY child who is absent 8.5 or fewer days (excused and unexcused), 0.5 points for a student who misses 9 to 17.5 days, and 0.0 points for a student who misses 18 or more days. Every student, regardless of grade level, counts with regards to our school quality rating for our ESSA score.
On another note, for informational purposes, FEMA & FCC have planned a Nationwide Emergency Alert Test to occur on October 4th at 1:20 p.m. Central Time. The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset. Cell towers will broadcast the test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message.
- For consumers, the message that appears on their phones will read: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."
- No action is required.
Did you know that we currently have over 100 students who live in our walk zone?! The majority of our students who walk utilize the crosswalk at the corner of Pleasant Grove and Roberts Road. We also have students who walk across Pleasant Grove and live off of Gaston Road. Parents - we ask that you watch your speed closely as you drive down Pleasant Grove Road. Additionally, when you see flashing lights at the crosswalk, please stop. We have a crossing guard and a Community Resource officer assisting at this intersection to ensure our little owls' safety. However, parents, we need your help as well. We need your help by slowing down, being aware of little ones who may proceed across the road, refraining from the use of cellular devices while in the school zone, and really keeping all of our owls on foot between Gaston Road and Roberts Road safe and sound while they are walking to school. Furthermore, please keep our crosswalks (at Pleasant Grove/Roberts Road, the front entrance of the car line - near Gaston Road, and the crosswalk in the car line directly in front of the front doors) clear of traffic.
Speaking of the car line, we are starting to notice several individuals using a cellular device while in our car line. Safety is always our priority, so once again, thank you for using the car line, following the directions of the duty personnel, and putting your cell phones down while you are in a school zone. The use of cell phones in school zones is strictly prohibited and against the law. If a staff member sees you on a cellular device, you will be asked to put your cell phone down. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
With fall upon us, we typically start to see gaps in our car line during arrival. Our staff will stagger cars between the inside and outside lanes when gaps start occurring. By staggering the inside and outside lanes, we can fill the front half of our car line quicker, unload more cars, decrease wait time, and help our car rider line be more efficient while increasing safety for our owlets. When in the car line and you begin to approach the front of the building, please follow our staff's directions. We monitor the traffic closely, and there may be times that we shorten the car line. Watch for us to possibly stop you at the crosswalk at the front doors to unload.
As always, thank you for your continued support of your child's education! If you have any specific questions, please get in touch with your child's classroom teacher or our front office. We hope everyone has a wonderful evening.
Future ESE Events:
October and November events are listed below.
October:
- 2nd - School Custodian Appreciation Day
2nd - 6th - Bike to School Week
4th - 1:20 p.m. Central Time - FEMA & FCC plan a Nationwide Emergency Alert TEST will occur. See above & click on the provided link for additional details.
- 10th - PTO Meeting 8:30 am & 9:30 Homeroom Parent Training
- 12th - Fall Pictures
- 13th -16th - Fall Break - School will not be in session.
20th - Flu Clinic
- 23rd - Oct. 27th - Parent-Teacher Conferences (Be on the lookout for an email from your child's homeroom teacher.)
- 30th - Nov. 3rd - Strong Choices Week (see flyer below)
- 31st - Fall Parties (see grade level times below)
November:
2nd - Pie Supper 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
9th - Choose Love Celebration 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Downtown Bentonville Square
10th - Turkey Trot
14th - World Diabetes Day
14th - 16th - Thankful Luncheon (An RSVP will be included in our November Parent Newsletter.)
14th A-G
15th H-M
16th N-Z
16th - 2nd Grade Musical 6:00 p.m @ BWHS
20th - 24th - Thanksgiving Break
Fall School Pictures:
Our fall School Picture Day is October 12th. Individual student pictures will be taken for the yearbook. You will be able to purchase packages of your child’s pictures online. You may purchase pictures in advance starting now, as well as be able to go online and purchase them throughout the year.
Parents can sign up for picture day notifications through Strawbridge by clicking on this link: https://strawbridge.fotomerchanthv.com/clients/evening-star-elementary-school/fall-pictures-10-12-2023-36/optIn
If your child is absent on picture day or just needs a do-over, we will have picture retakes on December 7th.
MY PAYMENTS PLUS & PERMANENT CAR TAG INFORMATION:
Interested in a second, permanent tag? We are selling a second-tag option for $5. These will also be returned at the end of the year. Walkers, bus riders, and after-school care families, you are welcome to request your permanent tag from your classroom teacher or our front office. We understand there will still be rare instances when you need to use the temporary-paper tag issued at the beginning of the year. Kindly let us know in advance.
On the last day of school, a staff member will collect these for use next year. Lost or misplaced tags will result in a $5 charge to cover the purchase of a replacement.
In an effort to make paying fees more convenient, Bentonville Schools utilizes an online payment platform called My Payments Plus. Registration is simple. Go to mypaymentsplus.com and follow the on-screen instructions. You will need your child's student ID (4000#) to register. Once you've registered and linked your child(ren) to your account, you are all set. Your school will notify you when items are available for payment. Examples of items you will be able to pay online include additional car tags, musical recorders, field trips, t-shirt orders, and so much more. You can pay with your debit card, credit card, or directly from your checking account. The cost of processing is already included (and is the same whether you pay online or in-person), so you will not pay an additional fee to take advantage of the online system.
You shouldn't have any trouble, but if you do, a team of My Payments Plus professionals is standing by to help by phone at 877-237-0946 or by email at Support@MyPaymentsPlus.com
Fall Parties:
Our Fall party is coming up quickly. While party days are so much fun for our students, please know that your child’s safety is our primary focus. As always, our front office staff will screen all guests through our Raptor program to ensure we are keeping our little owls safe. We want to be proactive in our approach over the next few weeks. In hopes of speeding up access to the building, alleviating long waiting lines, and also ensuring the safety of everyone, we would like to encourage you to stop by the office to get your driver's license scanned in BEFORE our Fall party. You need to have your driver's license or state ID in hand on the day of the party. On party day, staff will ask to see your driver's license to confirm that you have been scanned in, and then they will provide you with a Raptor guest sticker. Guests must have a current driver's license or state identification card that can be scanned into our Raptor system to access the building beyond the office doors. If a guest's ID is NOT scanned before the fall party, they will need to wait in the office to have their driver's license scanned before they will be given access to the classrooms. For parking purposes, we will have a staggered party schedule. Our Fall party times for each grade are listed below. Your child's teacher will send out additional information specific to their classroom.
- 8:10-8:40 a.m. - 3rd Grade
- 9:05-9:35 a.m. - 2nd Grade
- 9:55-10:25 a.m. - 1st Grade
- 12:05-12:35 p.m. - Kindergarten
- 1:45-2:15 p.m. - 4th Grade
Classroom Fall Parties are scheduled for Tuesday, October 31st. Tuesday, October 31st, is also an ESE "Show Strong Character" Day. Students are encouraged to dress up as their favorite mascot or favorite character or role model from a book, TV show, or movie. To make this a wonderful day for all students, non-scary and age-appropriate dress-up is expected (no blood, zombies, weapons, masks, or scary costumes of any kind). Students will be working for the majority of the day; therefore, what they wear should not interfere with school work. Additionally, students will be going outside to recess and attending activity classes. Please be advised there is always a possibility a student's costume may be damaged. Parents and guardians who choose to attend our Fall party may also dress up as their favorite character or role model as long as it is school-appropriate, non-scary, and faces are clearly visible.
Guardians In Action:
Counselor Corner:
Happy Fall from the Counselors! October is National Bullying Prevention Month, so we are excited to start our October Lessons, which will focus on Bullying Awareness.
In November/December, we will be teaching personal safety using the district Empower Me Program. Topics covered include:
- Check first with the adult in charge before going anywhere with anyone.
- Identifying five trusted adults who make up their safety net.
- Listening to their “uh-oh” feeling.
- Saying “no” to anyone asking them to break a safety rule.
- We talk about touches - Understanding that no touch should ever be a secret.
For more information, please visit https://youtu.be/OffEHgvmzg0.
Please reach out to us for any needs you may have. We are always happy to help!
Pam Gaskin & Paula Kaufmann
479-360-7400
News from Nurse Crutchfield:
Thank you for helping make the first 7 weeks of school a great one.
- Flu Clinic: Our Evening Star Flu Clinic is scheduled for Friday, October 20th from 8:00-9:30. This week, a Flu Clinic packet and a School Immunization Record/FERPA form will be sent home with your child. Please read these forms carefully and complete the Immunization Consent Form (Front and back) and the School Immunization Record/FERPA form. These forms must be completed, signed, and returned by October 12, 2023, for your child to receive the flu shot this year. The Benton County Health Unit Nurses will administer all flu vaccines. This clinic is an excellent opportunity for your children to receive the flu shot conveniently at school. Please contact ESE Nurse Dana Crutchfield at dcrutchfield@bentonvillek12.org with any questions.
- Hearing and Vision: Hearing and vision screenings have been completed for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades. If your child did not pass after 2 screenings, you will receive a letter in the mail with referral information. Please make an appointment and return the referral completed by the doctor by the due date (60 days) listed on the referral. Thank you for your help!
Thank you for helping me keep every little owl safe and healthy. Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns! Thank you!
Nurse Dana Crutchfield RN, BSN, CPN
Literacy News:
Understanding letter-sound relationships help children recognize familiar words and be able to figure out words they have not seen before. The ability to decode is the foundation on which all reading instruction is built. There are lots of ways parents can help their child with decoding at home.
- Talk with your child about irregular words seen while reading. Irregular words do not follow letter-sound rules. Some examples include some, are, and of. Encourage your child to notice what part of the word does not follow letter-sound rules. That is the part that your child needs to know by heart.
- Be on the lookout for what phonics patterns your child is focused on in class. Reinforce those patterns at home by having your child read and write words with those patterns.
- Encourage your child to write notes or letters. As your child is writing, focus on applying what he has learned in phonics.
- When reading multisyllabic words, encourage your child to look for the vowels and to notice what is between those vowels, then divide the word into syllables.
- This Lexia link gives ideas on what to practice at home to support what your child is learning in Lexia.
- Also, check out the RISE Newsletter created by our Arkansas Department of Education. For October, the focus is all about the code - decoding & encoding, the 6 jobs of silent e, and the four types of sentences. Click HERE to read more!
Happy reading!
Julie Dibee
ESE Literacy Coach
Whooo Loves to read? Your ESE OWLS DO!
What an amazing month of September we have had! Looking forward to October, our children will be continuing to grow and learn through a variety of projects.
- 4th-grade is beginning a book project that will utilize collaboration, cooperation, and digital media skills.
- 3rd grade is about to embark on a very exciting project that will utilize research, the science of circuit building, and creating.
- 2nd and 1st-grade are hearing stories about the importance of being inclusive to all and summarizing stories.
- Kindergarten has had a blast playing the rhyming game with Botley robots and will be continuing to develop their love of stories and all the benefits of our library.
- The Video Team is doing a wonderful job with our daily newscast and is beginning to work on creating learning videos for our lunchtime.
- 4th-grade robotics teams will begin preparing for their competition season.
- 3rd-grade robotics applications will go out towards the end of this month- so be on the lookout.
- The 4th-grade book club will begin after our fall break and will take place one morning a week at 7 a.m. in the library. Students will have the opportunity to express their interest and complete a short form in their classroom if they would like to participate.
Please consider continuing to support our library programs with the purchase of a celebration book!
Thank you for allowing me the pleasure of working with our children!
Keep reading,
Mrs. Watson
"Gym Shorts":
We start the month of October with a bang! The University of Arkansas Hockey team is joining us to help teach our Owls how to pass the puck to another player and the different ways to score a goal. This is always a fun week that we look forward to in PE. The unit concludes with the University of Arkansas Hockey team playing 4 Team Hockey together to put the newly learned skills in motion.
In Kindergarten and First Grade, your little owls will be learning how to ride a bike. This will be a unit full of fun activities and new skills. Your Second, Third, and Fourth graders will also have the opportunity to learn a few new “tricks” on their bikes. This is a fun time for all our Owls.
Turkey Trot information coming soon! Keep your eyes open for next month’s newsletter.
Coach Kerkhover & Coach Jones
ART Studio:
Wow! What a fantastic turnout we had at WIMS night. Our owls did a tremendous job on their collaborative mural displayed in front of our library. Their creativity blows me away!
For October, your owls will be creating artwork inspired by famous artists. There will be a variety of artwork sent home with students, so be sure to check their backpacks for that.
Toward the end of the month, students will create a variety of artwork for the firefighters who are coming to our school to speak with students. 2nd - 4th grade will also be participating in discussions about why artists create and begin to write about their artwork. I can’t wait for you to see the artwork that your little owl will be making!
Mrs. Barber
Music Notes:
Thank you for visiting the music room during WIMS night! It was wonderful seeing so many ESE families!
Here’s what to expect this month:
- The 4th-Grade will be continuing our recorder unit. Many of them have already earned their first “Star Challenge” badge! Students should have a folder or binder where they are collecting all printed music and should be practicing their recorder at least 2 times per week.
- 3rd-Grade is learning what it means to “be a veteran” and why we must recognize our veterans. Students are preparing a Veterans Day concert that they will be performing for area retirement homes and the VA hospital in November. Be on the lookout for more information to come home soon!
- 2nd-Grade is working hard on our upcoming musical! Please save the date for Thursday, Nov. 16th!
- Kinder and 1st-Grade are beginning to read and write basic rhythms, as well as explore music concepts like tempo and dynamics. Kindergarteners will be especially excited to get their first lesson on the xylophones and metallophones!
Keep making music!
Mrs. Simpson
Global Connections:
Ciao! Our owls are having so much fun with our Growth Mindset unit that we have been working on! We will be finishing up the unit in a couple of weeks and then start our journey across the globe onto many continents and countries. This will be a fun time for all students.
I have truly enjoyed watching your owls soar with the engineering activities we’ve been working on in class. What a creative group we have here at ESE!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Schroeder
Digital Literacy
Working smarter, not harder! This is the ongoing goal behind all of our computer science standards. We are working together to learn how to be a good digital citizen. A main focus we are always discussing is how to use our technology safely and responsibly. Technology is a wonderful tool when used correctly.
Mr. Henry
English as a Second Language:
ESL Families!
I am excited to invite you to a fun night at the Amazeum on October 11th! Please make sure you mention the name of your school when you enter the Amazeum; I would love to see all my students. Another exciting part of the evening is that every student who is a part of the Bentonville Schools ESL program will receive a goodie bag at the end of the event.
Entrance is free, but we encourage families to reserve their tickets now. Registration is open!
Please use this link.
I would love to know if you are able to join us. Please email Mrs. Tomblin at mtomblin@bentonvillek12.org and let me know you are coming.
I hope to see you there!
Melissa Tomblin
SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH MENUS:
As I mentioned in August, school breakfast and lunch is no longer provided for students for free. If you have not deposited funds into your child's account or applied for support for the cost of the meals, please log in to the Family Portal and do that. You will need your student's ID to log in.
If you would like to see what our cafeteria will be serving for breakfast and lunch for the month of October, simply click on the following link: https://www.bentonvillek12.org/page/food-and-nutrition