September 6, 2016

That extra day off was certainly welcome, especially with the exceptional weather.

Head's Up

Today is National Coffee Ice Cream day and National Read a Book Day. Well, my day is planned.

September 8 is National Ampersand Day & probably something else.

September 9 is National Teddy Bear Day.

Saturday, September 10 is Square to Square ride on from Bentonville to Fayetteville. This is the route for a first timer, it's more downhill than uphill.

Sunday, September 11, is Patriot's Day. We visited the site and memorial this summer and it is a very somber yet strangely optimistic place now that the Freedom Tower is complete. If you are doing lessons or commemorative events aligned with 9/11 let me know.

September is Hunger Action Month, and leave it to those creative people at the Pack Shack to digitize the food drive. For the Great Arkansas Food Drive this month, they've developed an app that can be used to purchase bags of food to be donated to local, regional, and state food banks. Want to know more? http://www.thepackshack.org/great-arkansas-food-drive.html

I was contacted about holding a book drive for schools in Louisiana that lost their libraries in the recent flooding. I haven't been able to connect with the person who contacted me, if someone has reached out to you about this, let me know.

@bpscommunity

We survived the TriFest for MS on Saturday and finished respectably in the middle of the pack.

Speaking for myself, some training would have helped with the overall time. Need to thank Dr. Jones, and Amber D'Angelo, Aramark Director Mike D'Angelo's wife, for keeping us competitive.

The official results. I'm glad we were able to support the Rampy MS Foundation in there work to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis









Went back to the TriFest on Sunday afternoon for the kids Triathlon. Over 120 kids from Arkansas and surrounding states participated, including a number of special needs athletes sponsored by Bentonville Schools. Amazing how all the kids worked together and supported each other to get to the finish line making for a truly an inclusive event.

Mr. Neal from Mojo Cycling visited Ruth Barker this week to talk about cycling and  making sure to have the proper equipment before hitting the Greenway or the mountain bike trails. Square to Square is next Saturday, September 10th.









U.S. Congressman Steve Womack spent the morning at Ruth Barker this week to visit with students. You have to appreciate how Representative Womack makes time to visit with kids in our district. I sent information out last week about the Congressional App challenge for high school students. And yes, that's Vishack the REBES history club president front and center.

Out at Bentonville West, Coach Pratt brought in some experts to teach skills off the field. A group of dads came out to teach the team how to tie a necktie, so they're ready for those collegiate travel games and award ceremonies.  

Former Razorback Cheerleader Patience Beard calls the hogs after speaking to Elm Tree first graders about being confident and happy with who you are.








Do you have a mentor or other community member coming to your class to support student learning. Give us some head's up and we'll be there to share the gift.

Have a talented photographer in class, or an artist? We're going to highlight student visual arts on the website, so send in submissions. Photos need to be hi-resolution and will be formatted to fit the letterbox window. Students will be credited for their work. Send submissions to khelm@bentonvillek12.org.

Grants and PD

I appreciate everyone who has helped to debug the Grant/Donation Request Form. It's a learning process - any suggestions are welcome. You can find the form under the communications drop down on the website.

It's time to check the accuracy of your Kalpa professional development plan. Here's how https://docs.google.com/a/bentonvillek12.org/document/d/1lT3FWphSGPrAN1nyiiDiRPvJWtvCm1RFjd1FGKlqz3E/edit?usp=sharing

Video of the week

We talk a lot about data in education, check out how this guy analyzes data to create are. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to 12 minutes to here his point - it's a good one.