Welcome toCentral Elementary

SchoolGo Eagles!!!2015-2016

Notes From Mrs. MizellDear Parents,

On behalf of the teachers and staff of the Central Elementary School (CES), I would like to welcome you. We have lots of happenings going on at Central. Our PTA ladies are busy with our membership drive and t-shirt sales. Reading & Writing Assessments are being given as well as math screeners. Children are settling into routines both at home and at school. Reading each night makes a difference in school performance. Stay informed of Central’s events by following us on Twitter and/or like us on Facebook. 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. Although we strongly believe in academic excellence, we also feel that learning must be fun and rewarding for each child. By working together, students, parents/guardians, and staff can make Central Elementary School an exciting and enjoyable place to learn. I am blessed to work with the Central staff, families, and community.

Reaching New Heights-Soaring to Excellence   Sincerely,

Cindy Mizell

Announcements• August 13th: Open House

– 5:15pm 3rd-5th – 6:00pm Kindergarten Orientation

– 6:45pm 1st -2nd

• August 28th –September 10th: Tumbler Kick Off

• September 4th: Title One Report

Non-Nutritional Days• September 25• October 30• November 20• December 18• January

• February 12• March 17• April 22• May 24

Lunch Times5th: 10:50 -11:104th: 10:45 -11:05 3rd: 11:05 -11:252nd: 11:15 -11:35 1st: 11:30 -11:50 Kdg: 11:40 -12:00

PTA Dates• September 3rd – Movie

Night 5:30• September 29th -

Grandparents Breakfast K-1•October 1st –

Grandparents Breakfast 2-5

Central Elementary will be having the annual Report to the Public on

September 29th at 5:30 pm in conjunction with Math Night from

5:30-7:00 p.m.

Math NightSeptember 29th from 5:30pm to 7:00pm

Join us on Tuesday, September 29th for a night of fun with Math! We will be learning HOW our students learn daily. We will have door prizes and pizza for

supper! We hope to see you here!!!

From the Counselor……WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL

Classroom guidance will soon start and letters will be coming home informing you of what I do and the services offered through the counseling program. I’m here to help you and your child.

Phone – 474-7059Email –

amanda.ming@vbsd.us

Word of the Month Responsibility

---------------------------------------------------------------------Following “Respect” in August, the September word is always “Responsibility”. If everyone does their part, things just run more smoothly. This month we will teach our students to:

Own your actions and answer for them.

Amanda Ming - Counselor

Kindergarten News!Reading- We are Readers; Emergent Reading Looking

Closely at Familiar TextsWriting- Launching the Writing Workshop; Looking

Closely: Observing, Labeling Like a ScientistMath- Who is in School Today? & Counting and

ComparingScience/Social Studies- Rules, Manners, Germs, Five Senses, Observing, Investigating, and Recording,

Oral Hygiene

Dates to Remember:September 3-Movie Night 5:30-7:00September 25- Non-Nutritional Day!

September 29- Grandparents Breakfast K-1 and Math Night 5:30-7:00

What are we studying??

Reading:. Word DetectivesMath: Shapes

Writing: How To Writing Read 100 Minutes per week. Study your sight words.

We are studying Earth’s Surfaces.

Study your spelling sight

words too!

First Grade

Second GradeSeptember News

Reading- Reading Growth Spurt

Writing- Lessons from the Masters

Math- Counting, Coins, & Centimeters

Social Studies- Geography: Maps

*The book of the month is a suggested book that Second Grade teachers think your family would enjoy reading. This book may or may not have been read in the classroom.

Ralph Tells A Story by Abby Hanlon *Not available at Crawford County or Fort Smith Libraries

Science- Earth Science: Weather

Third Grade Happenings!-September-

Reading: We will be studying the different text structures of non fiction. 3rd grade always falls in love with this unit because they are able to learn so much information and truly become experts!Writing: We will be starting our very own Non Fiction/Informational writing. This is an exciting unit for the students, they really dive into it by researching topics that they are interested in and writing about it. Math: We will be switching gears half way through the month to start learning strategies on how to tackle story problems. Science: This month the students will be learning about graphs and line plots.

Frolics of a 4th GraderReading:

We will be finishing our study on Characters and moving into a new and EXCITING nonfiction unit on Weather!! We will be

conducting whole class research projects and then individual research projects!

Writing:We will soon celebrate our 1st piece of published

writing!! The students are doing a great job writing Realistic Fiction pieces! After this unit, we will be

tackling persuasive essays!Math:

We are still studying our multiplication facts and arrays! Our next unit in math will focus on

DIVISION!! Please study the multiplication facts with your child at home!

Science:We are collecting data and learning how to

organize that data on graphs!!

5th Grade• Math: In math we are studying

multiplication and division! We are also learning about factors, multiples, prime numbers, square numbers, and composite numbers.

• Science: This month, we are starting our unit of study over cells! The students will learn about animal cells, plant cells, and get to work with microscopes in the lab.

• Reading Workshop: Students are learning how to analyze themes this month. They will also be tackling the complexity of working with nonfiction books.

• Writing Workshop: Students are wrapping up their narrative writing. Students will then move on to information writing.

• Social Studies: We will be continuing our learning about the American Revolution through centers and group work. Then we will begin a new unit on Exploration in the Western Hemisphere!

Central Elementary Media Center

Our Book Fair is Coming!September 28th through October 2nd

At the Book Fair you will find the latest and finest titles for kids, as well as books of interest

to parents.See you here.

Gifted & Talented

K-2 Enrichment is provided for all students in the district by Mrs. Wilcox. Students focus on creative problem solving.

Students that are placed in the 3rd-5th grade GT program attend a 2.5 hour pull-out session with Mrs. McDaniel once a week. Students focus on problem solving, leadership, communication , and research skills.

Gifted students in 6th-12th grade meet with Mrs. Taylor and focus on motivation, values and positive attitudes.

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.duff@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!

with Reading Recovery

Success is Within Reach!

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.