1. Welcome to
Central Elementary
School
Go Eagles!!!
2013-2014

2. Notes From Mrs. MizellOn behalf of the teachers and staff of the Central Elementary School (CES), I would like
to welcome you to school. The 2013-14 academic year’s beginning has proven to be an exciting
and productive 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.
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: Reading &
Writing Celebrations, Family Nights, quarterly Friday Fitness, and weekly Rise & Shine
assemblies. 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.
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

4. Central Elementary 2013-2014 Goals
Arkansas Comprehensive School Improvement Plan
Priority 1: Literacy
Goal: All students will improve their performance in writing abilities in the area of
content and style and in answering open-response questions in literary and content
reading passages.
Priority 2: Mathematics
Goal: all students will improve their mathematics performance in answering multiple
choice question and open response questions in numbers and operations and
measurement.
Priority 3: Wellness
Goal: Students participating in the BMI screening show a need to improve their
physical activity and nutrition in order to develop lifelong health habits and to live a
healthy lifestyle.
Priority 4: English Language Learners
Goal: By developing high-quality language instruction programs the school will
enable English Language Learner students to speak, read, write, and comprehend in
the English language, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, meet
the same challenging AR State academic content and student academic achievement
standards as all students are expected to meet, and to enter all-English instruction
settings.
Within the Priorities we add Parental Involvement

5. • April 1st & 2nd
1st and 2nd Grade Standardized Testing
• April 3rd
PTA Fun Night
• April 7th – 11th
3rd – 5th Grade Benchmark Testing
• April 25th
Kindergarten Registration
Announcements

6. Kindergarten Registration for the
2014-2015 school year is on
Friday, April 25, 2014,
beginning at 8:00 a.m.
Kindergarten students for the 2014-2015 school year
must turn five years old on or before August 1,
2014. 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.

7. Non-Nutritional Days
• September 27th
• October 31st
• November 22nd
• December 20th
• January 29th
• February 13th
• March 21st
• April 17th
• May 23rd

8. PTA Dates
April
• 10th – Skate Night
• 17th – PTA Night

9. Working hard at
something
"It is not important
who starts the game
but who finishes it." -
John Wooden
April
During April, students participate in
state testing. Their hard work and
perseverance will pay off as they show
what they’ve learned this year.
April 1st & 2nd – 1st and 2nd graders test
April 7th – 11th – 3rd through 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.

10. 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. - Animals, Human Resources, Goods/Services, Economic
Needs and Wants, Insects, Weather
Dates to Remember:
April 10th- Skate Night
April 17th- Non-Nutritional Day
April 18th- Make-Up Snow Day
April 25th- Kindergarten Registration
at 8:00am!!

11. What are we studying??
Reading:. Characters and Reading Clubs
Math: 2s, 5s and 10s
Writing: Writing Fiction then Writing like a Scientist
Make sure your child is reading 3-4 times a week at home! Make sure to sign the log!!
Read 100 Minutes!
Make sure you
study your Sight
Word Lists!!

12. What’s Happening in
2nd Grade???
Reading
For April we are studying Non-Fiction
Reading Clubs
Writing
This month we are writing about
Non-Fiction Science Experiments
Math
Parts of a Whole, Parts of a Group.
Science/Social Studies
We will be learning about
Force and Motion.
Dates to Remember:
April 1st&2nd – Standardized Testing

13. Reading and Writing:
We are getting closer to TESTING SEASON!!!!! We are in the
middle of our Test Prep Unit in both Reading and Writing. In
these units, we are teaching the students what the Benchmark
exam will look like, how to answer open response and multiple
choice questions. We will be analyzing reading passages looking
for the main ideas and supporting details. In writing, we will look
at different types of writing prompts
(narrative, fiction, essay, poem) and then going over how to
answer them!
Benchmark:
When: April 7th-10th from 8:00-12:00
•PLEASE make sure your child is HERE and
has had a HEALTHY breakfast!!
• PLEASE make sure that your child gets a
good nights rest.
• Make sure your child wears comfortable
clothing this week!!!

14. 4th Grade Happenings
Reading- April 7th through the 10th Benchmark Testing. Then we will begin Content Area
Reading. Students should be reading at least 30 minutes a day. Be sure and sign you Duck
Dynasty reading logs!
Writing- April 7th through the tenth, Benchmark Testing. Students will then begin Content
Area Writing.
Social Studies: We will be studying Civil Rights and Arkansas History.
Science: Students will be studying ecosystems and animals.
Math- Students will be studying 3-D Geometry.
4th Grade says… “GO HOGS!”

15. March- 5th Grade
Math: We are learning about decimal numbers. We will be ordering,
rounding, comparing, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing
decimals.
Science: We are continuing to learn about ecosystems in science.
We have made our own pond ecosystems and now we will study the
effects of pollution in ecosystems.
Reading Workshop: We will continue in our Historical Fiction Book
Club Unit. We will be working with complex story elements, multiple
plot lines, and shifts in time and place.
Writing Workshop: We will continue in our Argument Essay Unit.
Students will learn to sort, weigh, and order evidence to support a
claim. They will be reading and thinking critically to note take and
build an argument.
Social Studies: We will be learning about various aspects of the
Civil War.

16. 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
GT program attend a 2.5 hour
pull-out session with Mrs.
Christman once a week.
Students are challenged in all
core subject areas.
Students can be nominated for the GT program by
teachers, parents or community members. Nominees are
tested in the fall and spring of each school year.

17. Reading is important because…
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!
Scientific evidence reviewed by the U.S. Department of
Education's What Works Clearinghouse confirms that
Reading Recovery is effective.
Reading Recovery Teacher
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
at Central Elementary, Van Buren School District

18. 25 Years of Excellence in North America
•Nearly 2 million American first graders have had Reading Recovery
lessons.
•75% reached grade-level standard at the end of their lessons.
•All children make progress, but a few do not reach grade-level
standard.
• Information from Reading Recovery lessons helps schools and parents
plan future evaluation and services.
Reading Recovery works because… Families can help by…
•highly trained teachers
work intensively, with
individual children each
school day.
•lessons are planned to
build on the knowledge
and strengths of
each child.
•being sure your child's school
attendance is as regular as
possible.
•listening to your child read books
sent home by the Reading
Recovery teacher.
•returning the books each day so
the teacher can send home
new books.
•making reading time positive,
short, and enjoyable.
To find out more about
Reading Recovery visit our website at www.readingrecovery.org

19. 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.