Benignus March Newsletter
Spring is a special time; as the grass begins turning green, flowers bloom, and
children realize that spring break is just an enticement for summer vacation.
However, there are many important days remaining in this school year. Many
academic responsibilities occur in the spring, as well as exciting school activities.
Please be aware of the upcoming events for the month of March.
March 5
Boosterthon –now in the gym due to weather
(See schedule change attached)
March 5
Community Dinner with Dr. Cain
March 6
Hoe Down in the gym, during regular specials times
March 9 – 13
Spring Break/Student Holiday
March 16 – 20
Music Appreciation during music class
March 17
Boosterthon Pledges Due
March 18
Fifth grade group picture 9:00 am
March 18 – 24
Fourth grade Camp Rock & Write
March 30
Fourth grade Writing STAAR
March 31
Fourth grade Writing STAAR/Fifth grade Reading STAAR
Destination Imagination
Saturday, February 28 was a very exciting day for Benignus students. We had two
amazing teams compete. The teams, their team managers and their place is listed
below:
DInsteins
Team managers - Alecia Valdez/Kelly Hammons
Team members – Hope Kramer, Hannah Kramer, Kailyn Nonhof, Walker Hammons,
Elijah Dendinger, Rachel Hartmann, Skyler Sharp.
DI of the Tiger – 1st place Central Challenge and 1st place Instant Challenge
Going to the State Competition on April 11th 2015
Team manager – Kim Hollier
Team members – Emerson Lane, Samuel Hollier, Gannon Tullos, Malynn Ward,
Addison Edwards, Julia Shaw, and Katie Shell.
I know you will share my pride and admiration for these outstanding team managers
and team members for the awesome representation at the Destination Imagination
competition.
Spelling Bee
The top 10 spellers from grades, 3, 4, & 5 participated in the Benignus Spelling Bee.
Below are the students who competed in the Spelling Bee:
Madison Miles, Kevin Alvarez, Drew Slinkard, Adriano Espinosa, Cate Singletary, Ben
Lovelace, Mikhail Williams, Kensie Roberts, Josh Todd, Hayden Kiesewetter, Dezra
Daduya, Isabella Espinoza, Isidore Espina, Joshua Sendejo, Sharlene Mendoza,
Audrey Theiss, Matthew Berry, Reed Osborne, Alayna Booc, Elija Dendinger, Tyler
Kiesewetter, Katy Piper, James Lafferty, Sean Moparty, Josiah Brown, Kylie Byrd,
Loran Bryant, Aika Phillips, Luca Miller and Suma Sannabhadti.
Matthew Berry won first place for Benignus and represented our school at the
district Spelling Bee on February 10.
Dezra Daduya was the Benignus second place winner.
We are so proud of our spellers!
Geography Bee
All fourth and fifth grade students participated in a Geography Bee. The top 10
contestants went on to participate in the Benignus Geography Bee. Below are the
students who competed in the Geography Bee:
Elijah Guerrero, Madeline Aulbert, Ben Lovelace, Aiden Trevino, Skyler Sharp, Rylan
Robb, Emma Hunt, Kailyn Nonhof, Jack Gryder, and Kendal Whelan.
Kailyn Nonhof was the Benignus winner and Skylar Sharp was the runner up.
We are so proud of our Geography Bee contestants!
Campus Report Card
Attached is a document sent out by the State of Texas about our campus
performance. Benignus students perform well above the state average. If you have
any questions or concerns regarding the report card, please feel free to contact
me.
Lunch Money
Please make every effort to keep your child’s lunch account current. We can only
loan for a full lunch twice. After that, the students begin receiving a sandwich.
Lunch is a very important part of a child’s day. We want all students to have a
pleasant lunch.
STAAR Test
All fourth and fifth grade students will begin taking the STAAR tests March 30 31. Fourth grade students will take STAAR Writing both days, while fifth grade
students will take STAAR Reading March 31. The test requirements are strict. The
teachers and students have been working very hard to succeed on these tests. I
encourage your support by making sure your children attend school, attend any
tutoring offered at the grade level and are doing homework as assigned. Please
make certain that your child gets a good night’s rest the night before. I also
encourage all children to eat a well-balanced breakfast the morning of the test.
As a reminder we will be a closed campus to visitors on these days.
PTO Fun Run - Boosterthon
We are so excited to again be partnering with Boosterthon Fun Run this spring for
our school’s Fun Run. The nine day program promotes Fitness, Leadership, and
Character while raising funds for our school. Our goal is to raise funds for new
technology. This year’s theme is Camp Rock’N Town and it’s all about Character and
Community. Every child will participate and receive a FREE Fun Run T-shirt! Get
excited…..you won’t want to miss this Fundraising Adventure!
Boosterthon – Thursday March 5
8:15 – 2nd grade
9:00 - Kindergarten
9:45 – 4th grade
10:30 – EC, Dev and Pre K
11:45 – 3rd grade
12:30 – 1st grade
1:15 – EC, Dev pm
2:15 – 5th grade
Dismissal Changes
While we realize that at times transportation changes are necessary, please make
every effort to provide your child consistency when scheduling the afternoon
departure. Please inform your child’s daycare as well as your child’s teacher and our
front office staff if a change is required. Your child’s safety is our primary
concern and we want to make sure your child reaches his/her correct destination.
The spring is a time with drastic weather changes within minutes. Please make every
effort to plan for your child’s transportation accordingly. If you must make a
transportation change, please try to do so by 2:30 pm so we can make sure all
parties are aware and we are accurate.
Enrollment Information
Please be advised of the importance of updating the attendance office and your
child’s teacher if any of your personal information changes. A change of job,
telephone numbers of any sort, and change of address are necessary information
for the school to ensure your child’s safety.
Tutoring
The before school, during-school, or after-school tutoring program provided by
Benignus teachers is a wonderful opportunity for your child to progress in academic
skills. Please be courteous to this service by bringing or picking your child up on
time. This is stressful for your child to wait for you, as well as disrespectful to the
teacher.
Emergency Plan
The faculty and staff at Benignus Elementary have been trained on appropriate
procedures should we ever experience any type of National emergency or disaster.
This is, of course, a set of guidelines and procedures we hope we never have to use.
This emergency plan involves any type of disaster such as weather, terrorist acts,
and fire/hazardous air disasters.
Drop Off
Please be reminded that students are not allowed into the building until 7:50 AM
unless they are eating breakfast. The time for breakfast is 7:35 AM. Only
students eating breakfast will be allowed into the building before 7:50 AM.
Employees are not on duty until 7:50, so there isn’t anyone to supervise your
children.
Also remember that anyone can come into the front parking lot after 8;15 AM once
buses have arrived.
Arrival/Dismissal
Please be reminded that parents should not park in the area designated for buses
for morning arrival or afternoon dismissal. If you are going to park to bring your
child into school or pick up your child after school, please park in a parking space.
You may park and come in the front doors if you wish to pick up your child. Our
first priority at Benignus is to keep our students safe. Thank you for being
respectful of our students and helping us to follow these rules.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Spring Break!