Bentonville in a League of It's Own

The BFF is here.

Heads Up

We received an allotment of 750 tickets for Thursday's League of Their Own celebrity softball game and movie showing at Arvest Ballpark.Tickets will be "will call" at the District Office. All the seats are in the Jack Link's Grass Berm area, so bring a blanket to sit on. They're first come, first served until they're all gone. Should be a fun night at the old ball yard. Remember: "there's no crying in baseball."

I will never complain about the BFF organization again after trying to pull together the First Annual Diversability Awareness Event on Wednesday, May 27th. On one hand, it's been awesome to see the passion of a group of professional educators and their students take a small kernel of an idea and blow it into an event that is destined to impact the community for years to come. On the other hand, it's a challenge to keep up with a group of professional educators and their students when the explosion starts. 

The plan is to move forward with student projects available to interact with and view at two locations - Fulbright Junior High and Lincoln Junior High. Activities will be available from 9:00 to 1:00 pm. Students in all grades from Thomas Jefferson, Sugar Creek and Lincoln are invited to walk to HLM Building; students at Central Park, Willowbrook and Bright Field are invited to walk to Fulbright. Students in all grades at Centerton Gamble, Ardis Ann, Elm Tree, Mary Mae Jones and Ruth Barker are invited to attend at Fulbright. Students at Cooper, Apple Glen, RE Baker, and Old High are invited to attend at Lincoln.  Let me know what grades and number of classes from the buildings outside walking distance and I'll get that information to Chris Dewitt to plan transportation. As with the "League" tickets above, it's first come, first served until all the available seats are gone.

This truly is an opportunity to see some amazing work by dedicated teachers and students and I believe this is the inception of an event that will be uniquely Bentonville and show how much our students, teachers and community matters. Also, given the climate of divisiveness, an event that celebrates our differences and promotes inclusion is greatly needed - no matter what your personal feelings are. Diversity is the thread that binds a community together.

Traditional elementary schools Kiwanis Hat Day for Arkansas Children's Hospital is this Friday, May 8th. 

National School Nurse Day is Wednesday, May 6th. They deserve a day off! Unfortunately, illness and the needs of our most vulnerable students won't allow that to happen. 

Finally, it's teacher appreciate week. I have a whole new appreciation for the work that happens in classrooms across the district and for all your efforts to support it. Thank you.

Grants and PD

Here's your link to all things PD.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FXyIt80yQ5Vbt86N5uCB8q0TeCqCo9AeJsC3apekuzc/edit?usp=sharing

Let teachers know about a unique opportunity to learn about PBL from BPS teachers on June 18, 2015 at 4:00 pm. Contact Matt Saferite for details, sign up on the BPS PD site.

There's some great offerings from Economics Arkansas this summer.

• K-12 teachers can learn how to qualify for for a study tour of Germany on June 24 from 1 - 3 pm at Crystal Bridges.
• The Economics of Sports, U of A Campus on June 25. Preferential registration for  Secondary Teachers. 
• Entrepreneurship Education Conference for K-12 teachers on July 15. 
• 
  

Video of the week

What happens when one little change is made to something that's been mastered?