Butler Elementary Newsletter

TOGETHER WE RISE: Raising the Bar, Closing the Gap,

Believing All Kids Do Well If They Can

January

Butler Elementary

Principal

Carmen Banwart

Secretary

Brianna Allen

Main Office

PH: 515-574-5882

Hours: 7:45 a.m. - 4 p.m.

FDCSD Main Office

104 S 17th St.

Fort Dodge, IA 50501

PH: 515-576-1161

FX: 515-576-1988

Superintendent

Dr. Jesse Ulrich

Director of Special Needs

Lynnae Harvey

Director of Education Services

Stephanie Anderson - Elementary

Kirsten Doebel - Secondary

Important Dates

NO SCHOOL

Janurary 20th

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

(possible snow make–up day)

Butler Builders Meeting

Janurary 6th @ 5:15 pm

(other topics as needed)

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Butler Families,

We are looking forward to finishing the school year strong with our

Butler Scholars at THE GREATEST SCHOOL ON EARTH! I would like to

take this opportunity to wish our Butler community a very Happy

New Year. I sincerely hope you had a wonderful break and en-

joyed the Holiday season. December was full of learning and fun

focused on our 4B’s (Be Kind, Be Respectively, Be Responsible and

Be Safe). The Third graders facilitated an interactive PBIS assembly

singing the Twelve Days of Christmas

incorporating the 4Bs. The Butler Build-

ers spoiled the students and staff with

books, treats and a visit from Santa

Claus. We celebrated our last day of

the year with a school wide Hat Day

for exceeding 10,000 Butler Bucks! As

a new year begins it is time to re-

focus and set goals to ensure all of

our scholars learn at high levels.

Please know that we highly value home/school communication.

With winter upon us please be sure your contact information is up

to date on Infinite Campus, so you will receive notification of

school delays or cancelations. If you haven’t done so, I would

strongly encourage you to check out our school’s Facebook page

by liking the Butler Elementary page @lovebutlerschool and

our twitter page by following Butler Elementary @ButlerElemFD.

Here you will find the most up to date information and announce-

ments throughout the year. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions

or concerns.

Respectfully, Carmen Banwart

A message from the Classrooms: Kindergarten: In January, the kindergartners will be finishing up their unit on weather. They

have been challenged to write a story about a specific type of weather. They will be using The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats as a mentor text. They will have a visit from meteorologist Bree Sullivan on January 10th and will be learning all about the job that she does. They will also have a visit from the ICCC broadcasting depart-ment and will learn a little bit about a 'green screen' and how they work. In reading we have made it through learning all of the letters and sounds, including digraphs, and will now be working on letter/sound fluency. With a goal of 41 letter sounds in 1 minute. We have been practicing segmenting and blending our words and will be in-troducing decodable books this month! In math we have finished up our unit on addition and began talking about subtraction. They will be learning dif-ferent strategies to help them solve subtraction situations.

1st Grade: We will be starting to create a magnificent thing to help us with learning and to make our

jobs easier for the classroom. We are learning the habits of character-initiative, collaboration, and persever-ance. Our reading skills are focusing on short vowels, digraphs, and sight words. We are learning about ten as a unit and are having fun learning ways to make ten.

2nd Grade: In our labs, the students have been doing four stations. In the explore lab, they have

been digging up fossils in a simulated dig site with different tools a paleontologist would use. Our imagine lab has been consisting of playing with dinosaurs and creating an environment for the dinosaurs, using blocks to build an environment for the dinosaurs and using puppets to come up with a narrative of a dinosaur’s life. In the create lab, students have been learning that different shapes are used to make up a body of a dinosaur. They are using clay to build these dinosaurs. In the research lab, the students have been able to go online and re-search their favorite dinosaurs. We are learning and growing everyday. We hope all of you have a great break and we will see you all in January.

3rd Grade: December has come and gone so fast! We are happy to have the students back after a

relaxing, much needed break. We will be starting January off by digging deeper into multiplication where the students will be working even more with arrays, groups of, and writing multiplication expressions. Multiplication is a huge standard in third grade which is why we spend so long on it. Things you can do a home to help this is practicing writing and solving single digit multiplication equations. Practicing these over and over is a great way to practice their fluency! Our Module 2 about Frogs will be coming to an end. The students have loved learning about these animals that they didn't know were so interesting! We will be having a Freaky Frog Festival at some point, so keep your ears and eyes open for more information on that. Our next Module is about the Literary Classic, Peter Pan. We go through and read the whole book as a class and really examine the characters in this fantasy book.

4th Grade: 4th grade has finished Module 2 on Animal Defense Mechanisms. Please ask your child

about their Choose-Your-Own Adventure Narrative. We will start Module 3 on the American Revolution when we get back from break. We have also finished our Division Unit in math. We are going to begin their unit on Deci-mals in the new year. The week of January 13th we will be taking our FAST Reading and Math assess-ments. Their reading goal is 135 words per minute. Please encourage your child to do their best on these tests!

Art: Congratulations to the following students who were our Students in the Arts award winners for this

fall term in art: K: Falak Ramzan 1st Grade: Berlin Menke 2nd Grade: Jazmin Espinoza 3rd Grade: Nathaniel Joseph 4th Grade: Andy Douglass Keep up the good work! Family Engagement: The Family Engagement Team continues to work on ways to connect

with families. Be on the lookout for opportunities to engage with other families at school.

PE: Butler students will be working on skill development through games with a Frisbee. The younger stu-

dents will be working on special awareness through various games. Students will also be working on different skills with a ball such as throwing, catching, bouncing, kicking, and striking. All students are working on sports-manship and getting along with others in competitive sports and games. Hopefully our Butler students get out-side to play during this nice fall weather!

A message from the Classrooms: Counselor: Counseling services such as group, individual, and whole groups are still being provided

for students. This season we had multiple people in the community to help our children in need this holi-day. During the break, Butler Elementary will continue to send students with their backpack buddy bag; If fam-ilies need additional food, please do not hesitate to come to our Family Resource room to stack up on goods no later than Friday, December the 20th. As always thank you for choosing Butler Elementary. Music: Butler's students feel very proud of how they performed in the Winter Programs. We have re-relived the day by discussing what it was like to be nervous, how it felt to be on stage, and how the excitement of the performance lingered after they left the stage. Many are already looking forward to the Spring program and are anxious to begin work on brand new songs!

BRIDGES Case Manager: I am here to work with your children as well as the entire

family. Some of the support services that I provide are: The Family Resource Room is stocked with food items, clothing, and brochures of various resources to help families. Also, I am able to help with transportation to conferences, ect., obtaining insurance, housing, getting students to appointments, and collaborating with several agencies within our community to ensure students and their families obtain the help they need. One of my goals is to help students reach their utmost potential by providing them with additional support so they are able to learn valuable skills of cooperating, appreciating differences, as well as being encouraged to work, play, and com-municate effectively in diverse situations.

PBIS Team: This month Butler students had the goal of collecting 10,000 Butler Bucks. Butler

Bucks are given to students by a staff member when they are caught following any of the four Bs at school. Our four Bs are Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible. The students did an outstanding job, and earned a movie and popcorn for the first month of school. The kindergarten team kicked off our monthly PBIS assemblies with a great presentation from the Iowa Central Rugby Team. Ask your student how they used one of the four Bs today! Nurse: Please see the following information pertaining to medications at school.

All medication, prescription and over the counter medication, requires a completed parental permission form. Without this, the medication will not be administered. All medication must be in a pharmacy bottle with proper pharmacy label and over the counter medication must be in the original packaging. Medications must be delivered to school by the parent/guardian. Children should not transport any medication to or from our school. Over the counter medications will not be offered on demand but only after careful assessment of the need to medicate has been made by the school nurse and other treatment measures to resolve the problem have been considered.

From the secretary: Hi! My name is Brianna Allen, this my second year with the district and I am ex-cited to get into my new role as the Butler secretary! I look forward to working with you and your children! Just a friendly reminder: if your child is going to be absent/tardy, please call the office (515-574-5882) so I can mark it down. If your child is running late, please drop them off at the front office so they can get checked in and be counted for lunch. Thank you for your help!

School Safety Emergency Response Protocols

The FDCSD, in collaboration with local law enforcement and first responders, has adopted four standard response protocols for use in emergencies. During an emergency, one or more of the following responses may be implemented.

1. EVACUATE: evacuate is used when there is a need to move students from point A to point B in an orderly fashion. A fire drill is an example. 2. SHELTER: shelter is used when there is a need for personal or group protection. A tornado drill in an example. 3. SECURE the PERIMETER: secure the perimeter is used, often at the request of the police depart-ment, as a preventive measure when there is a threat outside/near the school. This response was for-merly known as a lockout. 4. LOCKDOWN: lockdown is used when there is a threat inside the school.

What can parents/guardians do to help our schools be prepared for an emergency?

Ensure your contact information is current in Infinite Campus.

Keep all medical information for your child up to date with the school.

Talk to your child about the need to follow directions in an emergency and to pay close attention during drills.

During an emergency, please do not come to or call the school. Listen for information, updates and instructions to come from the district.

SAFESCHOOLS ALERT

The FDCSD is now using SafeSchools Alert, a tip reporting service that allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns to our administration four different ways:

1. Phone: 515.373.4351 2. Text: Text to 515.373.4351 3. Email: 1876@alert1.us 4. Web: Use the link under Events at fdschools.org or visit http://1876.alert1.us

When you submit a tip, be sure to use the FDCSD identification code 1876 in your communication.

Every tip SafeSchools Alert receives about our district is immediately logged in the system and our admin-istration is notified so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

Together, using SafeSchools Alert, we can make our district a safer place to learn and work!

WINTER WEATHER

ANNOUNCEMENTS

If school must be cancelled, delayed or

dismissed early due to weather conditions,

announcements will be made via:

Infinite Campus Phone Calls & Texts

FDCSD Facebook and Twitter

www.fdschools.org

TV Stations: WHO, KCCI & WOI

Radio Stations: KWMT, KKEZ, KXFT,

KZLB, KIAQ, KVFD, KTLB

The Messenger website and social media

If you currently do not receive phone calls/

texts from the District and would like to,

please log into your Infinite Campus Parent

Portal and change your Contact Preferences.

New School Nurses Facebook Page

The FDCSD school nurses have started a Facebook page to keep families up to date with important medical information. Please like and follow Fort Dodge Community School Nurses on Facebook!

School Libraries Facebook Page

The FDCSD school libraries have a Facebook page to share with families the fun

learning that takes place in our libraries and makerspaces. Please like and follow

Fort Dodge School Libraries on Facebook!

At the Fort Dodge Community School

District, we are professional, high-

performing team players focused on

delivering the best possible learning

experience for each one of our 3600

students. We respect diversity, value

integrity, reward competitively, cele-

brate success and support employee

growth and development. We aim to

attract, develop and retain the best

people as part of our Dodger family.

We are currently looking for substi-tute teachers, paras and bus drivers. If you or someone you know is inter-ested please visit the FDCSD web-

site to apply.

Please join us in congratulating our Students in the

Arts winners! These students were nominated by

Mrs. Klein-Ferry (Music teacher) and Mrs. Rake (Art

teacher) for going above in beyond.

Art:

Falak Ramzan, Berlin Menke, Jazmin Espinoza,

Nathaniel Joseph, Andy Douglass

Music

Holden Smith, Lamarcus Gully, Jalynn Jackson Foy,

Thera White, Joey Hernandez Gallegos

2020-2021 Preschool Pre-Registration Begins December 2

FDCSD preschool pre-registration for the 20-21 school year begins De-

cember 2. To be eligible to attend preschool in the fall of 2020, children

must be four years old by September 15, 2020. Preschool hours at River-

side Early Learning Center are 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., with the doors opening

at 7:30 a.m.

Research shows children can gain a variety of skills by attending preschool and it helps prepare them for kin-

dergarten. Students learn to follow directions and work cooperatively with each other. They are exposed to

letters, numbers, shapes, colors and more. Preschool students learn how to socialize, share and get along

with other children. In addition, they gain a sense of self, self-control and build their confidence in them-

selves and what they can do.

To complete the pre-registration for preschool, parents/guardians should bring proof of guardianship (birth

certificate, DHS documents, court documents, tax documents), immunization records and address verifica-

tion to the Central Administration Building. A $50 non-refundable deposit is due at the time of pre-

registration to hold a student’s spot. Families will need to complete the full registration process online during

the summer of 2020.

Early in the morning it is often difficult to

decided weather of not your child is

sick enough to stay home from school.

With minor symptoms you often cannot

tell whether he/she is going better or

worse during the course of the day.

The main reason for keeping your child home are:

If he/she is too sick to be comfortable at school

If he/she may spread a contagious disease to other children

As a rule of thumb, a child should stay home if there is :

A fever over 100.4

Vomiting

Diarrhea

A very frequent cough requiring medication to control

Persistent paint( ear, stomach, etc)

A widespread rash

It is the policy of the Fort Dodge Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ancestry,

age, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, physical attributes, religion, political party

preference, political belief, socioeconomic status, veteran’s status, actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its

programs, services, and employment practices. If you have questions or grievances related to this policy, please contact Dr.

Stephanie Anderson (Director of Student Services - Elementary), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Student Services - Sec-

ondary), Central Administration Office, 104 South 17th

Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501, (574-5678) or contact the Civil Rights

Midwestern Division for U. S. Department of Education Office, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544.

(Alternate for Section 504 is Lynnae Harvey, Director of Special Education/Special Needs, 515-574-5675).

The District’s Compliance Coordinator for Affirmative Action is Lisa Negus, and can be reached at 574-5657 or 104 South

17th

Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.

The District’s Designated Investigators of Physical/Sexual Abuse of Students by School Employees are Dr. Stephanie Ander-

son (Director of Student Services - Elementary), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Student Services - Secondary). They can

be reached at 576-1161 or 104 South 17th

Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. The alternate is Lynnae Harvey. She can be reached

at 574-5675 , or 104 South 17th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.

The District’s Officers for Harassment Complaints and Allegations are Dr. Stephanie Anderson (Director of Student Services

- Elementary), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Student Services - Secondary). They can be reached at 576-1161 or 104

South 17th

Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.