Welcome toCentral Elementary

SchoolGo Eagles!!!

2014-2015

Notes From Mrs. MizellDear Parents,

April showers bring May flowers as April and May bring many opportunities to continue our path of reading our favorite authors and pushing our thinking. This last quarter is an exciting time of exploration, investigation, observation in our academic work. Our last quarter of our academic year will be filled with high expectations that will prepare us for our next year. To those who are new to Central, we hope that you will quickly feel at home and become involved in the activities of our school through the PTA and your child’s classroom. We welcome new partners in education.

As I continue as principal at Central Elementary, I will work diligently with parents and faculty to foster an atmosphere that promotes a learning community that is child centered. Working as a team we will move forward in our mission to create a warm, caring, disciplined, and challenging environment in which all students can learn and reach their highest potential becoming responsible members of society.

Research states that parents being involved in your child’s school, students reading at home and at school are the three actions that help your child succeed the most. We appreciate you reading and having conversations with your children each night, celebrating their successes from their school day.

Central is in partnership with UAFS as a Professional Development School. Pre-service teachers’ classes are held on Central’s campus providing various teaching and learning experiences for the future teachers. I am blessed to work with the Central staff, families, and community. If you have any concerns, questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.

Reaching New Heights-Soaring to Excellence

Sincerely,Cindy Mizell

Kindergarten Registration for the

2015-2016 school year is on Friday, April 24, 2015, beginning at 8:00 a.m.

Kindergarten students for the 2015-2016 school year

must turn five years old on or before August 1,

2015. Parents should bring a copy of their child’s shot

record, birth certificate, social security card, and proof of

a physical exam from a doctor within the past two years.

• April 2nd - Literacy Night 5:30-7:00

• April 13-15 K-2 IOWA Testing

• April 14-15 5th Grade Benchmark

• April 17th Kiss the Pig

•April 24th

Kindergarten Registration

Announcements

Non-Nutritional Days• September 26

• October 31

• November 21

• December 19

• January 30

• February 13

• March 20

• April 2

• May 21

PTA Information

Upcoming Dates• April 17th – Kiss the Pig

• May 7th – Glam and Car night

• May 22nd – Fun Day

• May 27th – Talent Show

End of the Year Reading Goal

Proficient Score of 3 = at grade level

Kdg - D/E

1st - I/J/K

2nd – M

3rd – P

4th – S/T

5th - V

Working hard at

something

"It is not important who

starts the game but who

finishes it." - John Wooden

AprilDuring April, students participate in state testing. Their hard work and

perseverance will pay off as they show what they’ve learned this year.

April 13-15 – 1st and 2nd graders testApril 14-15 –5th graders test

Make it the best day possible by:• Picking out a comfortable outfit to wear• Setting your alarm clock so that you do

not oversleep.• Going to bed on time – or even early – so that you get a good night’s sleep and feel rested when you wake up in the morning.• Making sure that you have time to eat a good breakfast. Eat healthy foods that

will give you plenty of energy.• Leaving for school or the bus stop a little early so you are sure to get to

school on time. • Remembering that school starts at

8:00 a.m.

Kindergarten News

Reading- Readers are Resourceful: Tackling Hard Words & Tricky Parts In Books; Readers Get to

Know Characters by Pretending and by Performing Our Books

Writing- Persuasive Writing of all Kinds :Using Words to

Make a Change; Writing Stories: Using All We Know About Narrative Writing to Craft

Stories for Readers

Math- How Many Do You Have?; Sorting & Surveys

Science/S.S. – State Symbols, Famous Arkansans, State Map, Weather, Earth’s surface

Dates to Remember:

April 2nd- Literacy Night 5:30-7:00

April 3rd- Non-Nutritional Day

April 17th- Kiss the Pig!

April 24th- Kindergarten Registration at

8:00am!!

What are we studying??Reading:. CharactersMath: 2s, 5s, 10s, 100

Writing: Fiction

Make sure your child is reading at home! Make sure to sign

the log!! Read 100 Minutes a Week!

Make sure you

study your Sight

Word Lists!!

4th Quarter

Reading: Nonfiction Reading Clubs and Reading & Role Playing: Fiction, Folktales, & Fairy Tales

Writing: Lab Reports & Science Books and Writing Arguments About Books and Characters

Math: Partners, Teams & Paper Clips

Arkansas History: Understanding the identity of Arkansas

Earth Science: Components of Weather

Earth Day April 22nd

We are finished with our first round of PARCC testing….YAY!!!! We will not test again until the beginning

of May.Reading:

We are starting our unit on Biographies and studying the lives of famous, influential people. We will be studying the obstacles

they faced, how they overcame those obstacles, and what influence they have on our lives.

Writing:We are reading classic Fairy Tales and adapting them into more modern fairy tales. We will also be studying

characters, settings, and problems and writing our own fairy take stories!!

Math:We are working on our addition and subtraction skills. We are also continuing our work on multiplication and

division!!

4th GradeReading : We are working on content area reading.

Math: We are learning about estimating and breaking up

multiplication and division problems.

Science/Social Studies: We are learning about civil rights.

Writing : We are doing journalism type writing.

March- 5th Grade

Math: Multiplication and Division

Science: Solar System

Reading Workshop: Fantasy

Writing Workshop: Essay/Narrative to Memoir

Social Studies: Civil War

Reading Recovery

Powerful Proven Results

Reading is important because…

Scientific evidence reviewed by the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse confirms that

Reading Recovery is effective.

Bonnie Duff

Central Elementary

Van Buren, AR 72921

479-474-7059

bonnie.dff@vbsd.us

University Training Center

University of Arkansas

Little Rock, AR

Center For Literacy

Contact your local Reading Recovery

professional

Reading Recovery Teacher

Reading Recovery at Central Elementary, Van Buren School District

Strong reading and writing skills are essential for success in school and later life. Although most children learn to read in their classroom programs, a few children have great difficulty learning to read and write. Reading Recovery can help!

Reading Recovery Success

• Involves over 2 million American first graders

• Tens of thousands of teachers trained in Reading Recovery

• Data collected on every student

• 75% of students with a full series of lessons reached grade-level standard

Measurable Results in Weeks

• 30-minute daily lessons for just 12-20 weeks, not years

• One-to-one teaching

• Reading Recovery teacher works closely with classroom teacher

Writing Vocabulary

Beginning of lessons After a series of lessons

Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words

Beginning of lessons

After a series of lessons

Reading Level

Level 2 - Beginning of lessonsBuffy by Lucy Lawrence

Level 16 - After a series of lessonsStone Soup retold by Annette Smith

with Reading Recovery

Success is Within Reach!

Lunch Times

5th: 10:45-11:254th: 10:50-11:303rd: 11:00-11:402nd: 11:10-11:501st: 11:20-12:00

Kindergarten: 11:30-12:10

Drop off and Pick up

• Bus drop off and pick up will be located behind the building on North 22nd Street.

• Car drop off and pick up will now be located in the front of Central Elementary School on North 24th

Street.