Weekly News from the Office of Bentwood Elementary ● April 24, 2015
Dear Bentwood Parents,
We have come to that time of the year when the birds sing to us each morning on our way into school, the temperatures begin to raise just
enough that these ornery Blue Jays are teased into wearing shorts more often than not, and the calendar begins to look forward to the
final month of the school year. For me, this might just be my favorite time of year! The one thing missing … are the annual FLOWERS to
beautify the front of our school building. So for that reason alone … we created … FLOWER DAY!
DAY Simple enough in its design, we call it
FLOWER DAY to give the children the opportunity to participate in a school wide beautification project, and how appropriate is it that we
matched MAY DAY (May 1st) to the event!? Here’s what we need your help with:
For our SIXTH ANNUAL FLOWER DAY CELEBRATION,
CELEBRATION we ask that our kiddos bring in ANNUALS (one plant per child is our goal) on
either Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday (April 29, 30 or May 1st.) As students bring their “annual” flower contributions in, we will have
tables in the lobby upon arrival. Each table will have a name tent to separate them class by class. We will also have a table designated for
Ridgeview Elementary, our sister school in downtown Olathe, as part of our “Take two for Ridgeview!” campaign. Our annual donations to
Ridgeview make it possible for this Title 1 school to also celebrate their own Flower Day.
Our fifth grade/kindergarten buddies will be planting on Thursday, due to events they have scheduled on Friday, May 1st. On Friday,
Buddy Classes will be invited to retrieve their flower donations from the lobby and work together to beautify school grounds on the “front”
side (main entry) of our school. Thanks to the many parents who have volunteered to help! Child friendly garden tools will be available.
I always jest in advance of Flower Day, if you want colors in the ground flowers OTHER than purple and white …
you might consider sending them in as donations, because the ones I’ll bring will represent my KSU Wildcats!
(tee-hee)
Thanks for all you do to make our Blue Jays the “BEST” they can be for the final days in the school year!
Educationally yours,
Cathy McDonald
Coming up …
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
April 27
April 28
April 29
April 30
May 1
A Day
B Day
C Day
D Day
E Day
Wordlers 3:45 in the Library
5th Grade to UMKC
5th Gr Walking Field Trip to CT
“Inside Out” Spirit Day
5th Grade Parent Night @ CT
...a great opportunity for new
middle school parents to meet
administration and staff.
Please consider attending!
4th Gr to Negro League/
Kauffman
3rd Gr to Mahaffie
BJ Beginnings @ 1:30
CSI at 3:30
Flower Day
1st Gr to Lakeside Nature Ctr.
Engineers Rock at 3:30
Board Of Education Mtg @ 6
5th Grade to Harvesters &
Sprint Center
WATCH DOG DADS
Thank you to all of the dads that have volunteered time this year. Your presence allows you to
be a positive male role model for the students while demonstrating by your presence that
education is important. You also provide an extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school
security and interact with our school children. Your kids love having you here and so do we! 
The school calendar says that we would host a special “Thank You” gathering on May 14th and
unfortunately this year, we are unable to host that event due to scheduling complications.
Instead we would like to offer our public gratitude to the following dads: Mark Ange, Rich Baier,
Juan Barron, Tom Bartelli, Barry Baumfalk, Todd Black, Jackson Blake, Brad Bukaty, Mickey Burch,
Nathan Canady, Chris Cast, Mike Ciliege, Daniel Collins, John Crader, Aaron Curtis, Mark Drietzler,
Travis Fisher, John Gray, Jeremy Hagan, Delaine Hare, Kevin Harriman, Darren Harvey, Scott
Huettenmueller, Dan Horsch, Jeff Hessler, David KartyStuart Lord, Joel Martin, Kyle Myers, Rich
Poindexter, Nathan Porter, Charles Robinson, Shane Schmeeckle, Wendell Selzer, Eric Steinle, Dan
Tyrell, Mike Waggoner, Tobin Warriner, Aaron Westwick, Ashish Yadav, and Mike Yost.
Newsworthy Bits of Information:
Lost and Found — If you have lost items; coats, jackets, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, lunch
boxes……They could be found! Please be sure to check the lost and found for your lost items.
Lost items are in a bin or on the hooks by the recess doors. Items not retrieved by the last day
of school will be donated to a local children’s charity. (Pick up is on May 22nd.) Thank-you!
Congratulations to— Gauri Yadav! Gauri took 1st Place overall in the 5th Grade individual
competition at KC Area Teachers of Mathematics (KCATM). Fantastic job, Gauri! Way to go!!
Students Not Returning to Bentwood Next Year — Please notify the office, 780-7320, if
you are planning to move out of the Bentwood attendance area over the summer and have
students in grades K-4. We need this information to plan staffing for next year. Thank –you!
Green Team Announcement— May 8th is the last day that Green Team will be collecting
aluminum cans and pop tabs. Donations will be brought to Ronald McDonald house on
Saturday, May 9th.
And, as a reminder, this is the year we have chosen to move away from a school
wide AWARDS DAY celebration. Instead, each child will be recognized by his/her teacher
in a grade level celebration activity in the final week of the school year. We have celebrated
children who have participated in clubs and activities each month in our Spirit Assemblies.
Upcoming April Birthdays:
Tess Williams
4/25
Addison Bretton
4/26
Peyton Long
4/26
Broderick Salsbury
4/26
Nadia Malyshev
4/30
Fifth Grade Celebration
Attention Fifth Grade parents, as we move into the final month of school, your fifth grader will be
celebrating monumental events and activities in his/her final days as a Blue Jay. There are numerous
learning opportunities and excursions planned both at and away from school. It is important for you
and your child to keep track of the important dates and due dates.
One REALLY important date is our Fifth Grade Celebration, planned to formally celebrate the end
of the elementary school experience at Bentwood on Wednesday, May 13th at 2:00 pm. You
should receive an invitation to this event in the US Mail, but we want each child to have their “special
people” here in the audience. A reception is planned immediately following our Celebration in our
Bentwood Dining Room. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend!
Mrs. Kennicott’s Counselors Corner
Since this is Volunteer Appreciation Week, it seems like the perfect opportunity to thank YOU, our Bentwood
parents, for supporting the projects I’ve helped facilitate this year. Here are some highlights:
Blue Jay Families: Each month, every available staff member meets with a group of 9-10 students from
all grade levels for a brief project or activity. When I needed parents to take “family photos” at the
beginning of the year, so many of you helped that the project went smoothly and quickly. Thank you!
Souper Bowl of Caring: We had two overflowing barrels of donations to Harvesters, thanks to your
generosity. In addition, fourteen of our families went to Harvesters on a Saturday morning to help sort
food for the hungry. Thank you!
May Basket project: So many of you have donated paper plates, pipe cleaners, and tissue paper that
we have plenty of supplies to make baskets for our business partners and nearby retirement/nursing
homes. Several of you have also volunteered to deliver the baskets after school next week with your
children. Thank you!
I am fortunate to be part of such a caring community!
News From the Nurse
After a long winter it is nice to see the green grass, leaves, and flowers in bloom as spring
arrives. Unfortunately, this means allergy season for many children. Symptoms include: itchy
eyes and throat, runny nose, sneezing. These symptoms can be very distracting for the
student and those around them. Please give allergy medication at home and/or follow the
schools policy (http://departments.olatheschools.com/healthservices/medicationsdelegation/ )
for the administration of prescription drugs/OTC medications if they need to be administered at
school. The nurse’s office only stocks Benadryl for allergic reactions, but it is not ideal for
daytime allergy use as a side effect is drowsiness. Please consider the option of giving an
allergy medicine at home before school that is given once a day. There are several over the
counter options. There are also over the counter eye drops specially formulated for itchy eyes
due to allergies.
Notice of Non-Discrimination
The Olathe Public Schools prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion or disability in its programs, activities or employment, and provides equal access to the
Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups to its facilities as required by: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination
Act of 1975, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other relevant state and federal laws. Inquiries
regarding compliance with applicable civil rights statutes related to ethnicity, gender, age discrimination or equal access may be directed to Staff Counsel, 14160 Black Bob Road, Olathe, KS 660632000, phone 913-780-7000. All inquiries regarding compliance with applicable statutes regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the
Americans with Disabilities Act may be directed to the Assistant Superintendent General Administration, 14160 Black Bob Rd. Olathe, KS 66063-2000, phone (913) 780-7000. Interested persons
including those with impaired vision or hearing, can also obtain information as to the existence and location of services, activities and facilities that are accessible to and usable by disabled persons
by calling the Assistant Superintendent General Administration. (04/13)