Danebo Elementary

Happy Spring, Danebo Families!

• This week we are celebrating our amazing Danebo teachers in honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week! Danebo teachers go above and beyond for our students, ensuring that they are receiving the best education possible.  Please join me in thanking them for their outstanding work with your children.
• We are nearing the end of the school year, which means that teachers have great things planned for your children. Please be sure to check your child’s Tuesday Envelope for communications from classroom teachers about upcoming events.
• Thursday, May 17th is our annual Danebo Celebration and we NEED your HELP!  If you can give an hour of time before the event (4:00-5:00), during the event (5:30-7:30) or after the event (7:30-8:30), please call the office (541-688-8735) and let us know.  Each quad has great activities planned with the theme of “Wacky Olympics” and we will sell raffle tickets for the themed baskets that each grade level is puttin together.  In addition, we’ll have a food cart with dinner items for purchase and treats like cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cones will be for sale as well.  It’s a great way to celebrate our Danebo Community and we hope you can join us (and spare an hour of time to volunteer).
• Speaking of the Celebration…thank you for sending in your donation for your child’s Celebration basket by Friday, May 11th.  We have some volunteers willing to put the items into baskets that will be raffled off at the Celebration.  Raffle tickets will sell for $1.00 each.
• Our 4th and 5th grade students participating in the Bethel Track Program will compete in the Elementary Track Meet tomorrow (Wednesday, 5/9) at 4:00 at the Willamette High School track.  Best of luck to our track athletes as they compete and many thanks to Stacie Yarbro and Erin Cunning for coaching our students.

Here are a few opportunities for you to attend in our District and in our community:

College Knowledge Night At Willamette
More than two dozen colleges, universities and college access-programs will be represented at Willamette High School’s annual College Knowledge Night this Thursday, May 10^th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
All Bethel parents and students are encouraged to attend this free event, which includes break-out sessions with college admission representatives, open-air information tables, and presentations on all aspects of preparing for college. Four scholarship drawings will also be held for Bethel’s incoming 8^th -11^th graders in attendance. For more information contact Karen Wiant at Willamette: 541-689-0731.

College: Yes You Can
If you can’t make it to College Knowledge Night, here’s another free event on how to plan for and pay for college. College: Yes You Can will be held at Linn Benton Community College in Albany this Saturday, May 12^th.  They will even provide a bus for free transportation. 6-8 grade students and their families are welcome. Click here to register and for more information about this bi-lingual event.

Close The Achievement Gap Conference
Parents, families and friends of African American students are invited to the 5^th annual Close the Achievement Gap – African American Family & Student Success Conference. Held in building 19 at LCC this Saturday, May 12^th from 11:00-5:00, the free event will feature workshops and break-out sessions. For more information call 541-285-1916.

I’m looking forward to seeing you at the Danebo Celebration on Thursday, May 17th!

Mari

Hello Danebo Families,

The days are flying by, faster than I can fathom!  It’s mid-April and before we know it, June will be here.  Below are a few happenings around Danebo:

• We are in the middle of parent teacher conferences (and the Scholastic Book Fair–buy one/get one free) and what an excellent opportunity this is for both teachers and parents.  It is so great for teachers to share the progress students are making and talk with you about upcoming transitions.  Thank you for attending your child’s conference and participating in the home-to-school partnership–a key piece of your child’s education.
• Next week (April 16-20) is School Volunteer Week and the students and staff will be honoring our valuable volunteers by inviting them to lunch at Danebo on Thursday, April 19th.  We are blessed to have a group of community members and parents who are willing to spare a few minutes of their time to assist teachers and office staff and read with our kids (through the SMART reading program).
• Speaking of volunteering…our PTO will meet next Tuesday, April 17th, at 6:30 p.m. in the library.  It would be REALLY great to see you at that meeting and hear your input on the different things going on at Danebo. Please consider volunteering an hour of your time and joining us for the meeting.  Childcare, refreshments and homework passes (for your child) are provided.
• Continuing on the volunteer theme…Lane Community College provides Danebo students with the opportunity to participate in the Dental Varnish & Sealant clinic next Thursday and Friday (April 19th and 20th) here at Danebo.  We have over 200 students signed up to participate in this free clinic and we are in need of volunteers to assist with escorting children from the classrooms and assisting with paperwork for the technicians.  The clinic will run for most of the school day both days.  If you are able to volunteer and hour (or more) of your time next week, please call the school office (541-688-8735) and ask to talk with Kim Kilmer, our health assistant.  Our Danebo students (and their beautiful smiles) thank you!
• We have so many ways to get information to families–our monthly newsletter, our website, my BLOG, teacher BLOGS, information in Tuesday envelopes/folders.  Thanks for making sure that you keep in touch with us and what is going on at school.  If you have ideas on other ways to enhance school-to-home communication, please share it with me by commenting below.
• Bethel is hosting a free women’s health program called Healthy Woman. The April 21 event will focus on children’s asthma and will feature a physician presenter, a demonstration of green cleaning products, door prizes, activities for kids of the moms who attend, a Spanish interpreter, and healthy refreshments. Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 21, 10:30-12:30 at Cascade Middle School for this great opportunity.

Spring is such a busy time for everyone, including the students and staff at Danebo.  Thanks for keeping in tune and in touch with all of our school events!

See you soon.

Mari

Dear Danebo Families,

We have a lot of great things going on in the next few weeks.  Read below to see some of what’s going on at Danebo:

Calling All Kindergartners

It is pre-registration time for all Danebo area children who will be incoming kindergartners in September. Danebo is excited to welcome our newest students for Kindergarten Orientation on Wednesday, March 7th, at 6:00 p.m.

Kids and parents will learn all about our terrific kindergarten program, meet our kindergarten teachers, kindergarten staff, the principal, office staff, and learn about important information related to Danebo.

If you know of a family with a child ready for kindergarten (i.e., will be 5 on or before September 1st) please spread the word about Danebo’s Kindergarten Orientation opportunity.

If you have an incoming Kinder for the 2012-13 school year and are unable to join us on Wednesday, please call the school office at 541-688-8735 to arrange for pre-registration materials.

Open Enrollment In Bethel

We will offer tours of Danebo on Wednesday, March 14th and Thursday, March 15th to introduce prospective students to our school.  Tours will be from 9:30-10:00 and 1:30-2:00 each day.  Please sign up for a tour by contacting our school office at 541-688-8735.

Under a new Oregon law, students are now free to transfer to any school of their choice – as long as there is available space and the transfer request is submitted during the month of March.

Share this if you know someone who would like to join the “Bethel Family”.  Transfer Request forms can be found at our school office or on the Bethel homepage or you can get there by clicking on the link below.

http://www.bethel.k12.or.us/district/files/2011/08/12-13-Out-of-District-Transfer-Request-Form.pdf

Mr. Wolverine/Children’s Miracle Network Update

Thank you to all Danebo families who participated in the Children’s Miracle Network coin drive.  Your efforts made it possible for Danebo to present a check to the Mr. Wolverine Pageant on March 17th for more than $1,000.  This is the most we’ve ever donated to the CMN drive and it was very exciting for students and staff.

Thanks again for your donations and congratulations to Mrs. List’s class for bringing in the most money and to Mrs. Aley’s class for a close second place.  Only $4.00 separated the two classes so prizes were awarded to both.

Danebo PTO Update

Our next Danebo PTO meeting will be on Tuesday, March 20th, at 6:30 p.m. in the library.  We will be discussing the Danebo Celebration (set for May 17th) as well as recapping our spring fundraiser.  Plesae join us if you are able to–we’d love to have you!

If you have ideas on how to spread the word about our PTO and get more parents involved, please share a comment below.

Danebo Receives $500 from Kendall Auto Group Fundraiser

It was an exciting week last week!  Not only did Danebo receive our Oregon Green Schools award (and $500 check to use towards our ongoing recycling efforts), but I was notified by Kendall Auto Group that we had taken third place in their October “Kendall Cares” fundraiser.  As a result, we received a $500 check from the program!

Kendall sponsored a fundraiser for local schools where customers could sign in upon arriving to test drive cars and indicate their school of choice.  There were other ways that schools could earn additional “points” towards the final totals and Danebo was third place in the contest.

Thanks to any Danebo families who gave Danebo the necessary points to win the prize.  We’re using the $500 to purchase technology for our classrooms.

Invitation To Meet With The Superintendent

Danebo families: there’s no need to rely on rumors when you can hear the truth from the official source.

Everything you wanted to know about Bethel schools is on the agenda for Superintendent Colt Gill’s Question and Answer session this Wednesday, February 15, at 6:00 p.m. in the Willamette High School library.

This one-hour open conversation for the entire community will include important information about the state’s new Open Enrollment law, school budgeting, Bethel’s facilities needs, and anything else on your mind related to schools.

Spanish interpretation will be available.

Our SMART kids need you!

Danebo has been participating in the Start Making a Reader Today (SMART) program for many years.  We have had an excellent school coordinator in Suzanne Haller for the last two years.  Unfortunately, she is unable to continue her volunteer time with SMART.

If you have a few spare hours each week that you would be willing to donate, we would LOVE to have you as a coordinator.  Many of our volunteers in the SMART program are anxious to get back to reading with our kids–something they can do once we find a SMART Coordinator.

If you need more information regarding the SMART program or are interested in helping us out, please respond below or contact me by calling the school office at 541-688-8735.