April/May Newsletter
Principal’s Perspective
Mr. Brewton
Hello Carver Families,
This is our last newsletter of the 2013-2014 school year and this will be my last newsletter article as Principal of George Washington Carver. I have enjoyed being a part of the Carver family since the creation of this school. I have enjoyed working with the students, teachers and families. I am sure that I will miss the excitement that comes from working with pre-school through fifth grade students. Carver will forever be in my heart and I know that the staff at Carver will continue to work for improved academics for all students. I have worked in education for about 42 years and the time has gone by much too fast. I will remain in the Des Moines area so I might be around from time to time. I am working on a book about education, plan to do some traveling and spending more time with grandchildren here and on the east coast. Our third, fourth and fifth grade students will be taking the Iowa Assessments during the time you receive this newsletter. Maybe you remember the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) if you went to school in Iowa. These tests are an important way to show student growth in Reading, Math and Science. We hope that each student does their very best so that you can see the growth they’ve made. We expect the results usually late in May. Third grade students, since this is the first time they take this test, won’t have a score to compare for growth. Instead we will look at the expected score. Please encourage your child to do their very best.Finally I want to thank each and every one of you for being the parents of our wonderful students.
Greetings from Ms. Burnett Requist!
Hello Carver Students and Families! My name is Jill Burnett Requist, and I will be the joining the Carver Team in July as your new principal. I began my work with the Des Moines School District in 1996, and I have served in a variety of roles during my career with DMPS: classroom teacher, Dean of Students, Released Assistant Principal, and Principal. I have worked with students, families, and staff at several different elementary schools throughout my years with the Des Moines schools, and I have learned much from each opportunity. I look forward to meeting you and to working with the Carver school community. Enjoy a successful end to the 2013-14 school year!
Sincerely,
Ms. Burnett Requist
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Carver First and Fourth Grade Music Classes
Present
“Spring Concert”
Thursday, April 24th…2:00 PM in the school gym
Dear parents,
You are invited to attend the first and Fourth grade music programs on Thursday, April 24 at 2:00 PM in our school gym. The students have been working very hard to get all the songs learned. We hope you can join us.
Robert Stinnett – Vocal Music Specialist
BAND CONCERT
Spring Band Concert at Goodrell on Tuesday, May 20. Arrival at 6:00 p.m. Dress is dressy casual…nice school clothes are ok. If questions, contact Janis Bowden, band teacher, at Janis.bowden@dmschools.org
FAMILY NIGHT
Dear Carver Family,
We are so excited to have a “Humphrey Family Night” on the evening of Thursday April 10th at 6:00. The book has been a great success! So we thought it would be great to let families know more about it by hosting this event. There will be a door decorating contest for the students, drawings for stuffed hamsters, and Aqualand will be there to let families know about the cost (math!!!!!) and care of a hamster.
Thanks for your participation!!!!!!!
Mrs. Wolfe, Mr. Jacobus, and Mr. Greene
Library News
On Thursday, April 10, 2014, we will have a Buy-One-Get-One book fair in the library, which means if you pick out two books or two items, you pay for the most expensive one and the second one is free. Again, you can pay with cash, check or credit card. The book fair will run from 3 to 8 pm.Also, in late April we will be handing out another book for the students to add to their at-home library. Please make sure that your student returns all library books. If they are not returned, they will need to pay for them. We have had another successful year in the library.
Mrs. Batterton
Library Media Specialist
COUNSELOR’S CORNER
Beth Steinfeldt
April and May are busy months at Carver. In addition to learning about bullying and harassment during classroom guidance, students will also learn about different careers. Our kindergarten classes will have a guest speaker from Employee and Family Resources present a four-week Puppets in Prevention program in each of their classrooms. For our 5th graders, the end of the year is an especially exciting time. On April 29th, we will join other 5th graders from across Iowa at HyVee Hall for Exercising Your Character Day. This event promotes good character and healthy living though music, dancing, and motivational speakers. Speakers for this year’s event are Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hawkeye football coach; Paul Rhoads, Iowa State football coach; Casey Blake, former MLB player from Indianola; and, Tim Dwight, former Iowa Hawkeye and NFL player from Iowa City. Carver 5th graders will also spend the month of May preparing for their transition to middle school. We will be looking at typical middle school student schedules and practicing using combination locks. We will also have a representative from a Des Moines middle school come talk with us and answer our questions. As the weather improves and we spend more time outdoors, please remind your children safety rules about bicycles, swimming, and being around strangers. Happy Spring!
SUCCESS DEPARTMENT
FREE TAX PREPARATION.
If you earned $57,000 or less in 2013, you may be eligible to receive FREE tax preparation. You also may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Child Care Tax Credits. This is your money to keep and save. Call 2-1-1 for more information. 2-1-1 is free and available 24/7.DO I QUALIFY?
You may qualify if you made $57,000 or less in 2013.
WHAT TO BRING
Proof of identification
Social Security Cards for you, your spouse and dependents and/or a Social Security Number verification letter issued by the Social Security Administration
Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents on the tax return
Current year’s tax package if you received one
Wage and earning statement(s) Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, from all employers
Interest and dividend statements from banks (Forms 1099)
A copy of last year’s Federal and State return
Bank Routing Numbers and Account Numbers for Direct Deposit. Blank check or deposit slip required.
Total paid for day care provider and the day care provider’s tax identifying number (the provider’s Social Security Number or the provider’s business Employer Identification Number)
To file taxes electronically on a married filing joint tax return, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms.
WHERE TO GO
ANKENY
DMACC, Ankeny Campus
2006 S. Ankeny Blvd.
Call 211 for info
Opens January 21
Neveln Center
406 SW School Street
By appointment; call 2-1-1 to schedule
Tues. 9-1, Thurs. 9-1, Wed. 5-7, Sat. 9-1
Opens January 21
DES MOINES
DMACC Urban Campus, Betts Bldg.
9th and University, Des Moines
Call 211 for hours
United Way of Central Iowa
1111 9th Street, Room E
Mon. 5-7, Tues. 9-1, Wed. 5-7, Fri. 9-1, Sat 9-1 (German & Bosnian available on Monday evenings and Spanish on Saturdays)
Opens January 21
DES MOINES SUPERSITE
Polk County River Place (former Target building)
2309 Euclid Ave, Room 3A
Mon. 9-1, Tues. 5-7, Wed. 9-1, Thurs. 5-7,
Sat. 9-1 Opens January 21
INDIANOLA
WeLift/Trinity United Presbyterian Church
106 E 2nd Ave (Hwy 92)
Stephanie Smith; 243-2580 or Megan Kruse; 243-4328
SUCCESS Program Case Managers
ELL DEPARTMENT
We are looking forward to receiving our I-ELDA Test Results for the K-5 Students at Carver. We are very proud of how hard our students worked during our tests in February. We look forward to the warm weather coming to Iowa in the spring. Remember to bring a coat even on the warm days; that wind can be chilling. We want our students to keep working hard in the classroom and at home. Please encourage students to keep reading and studying at home. We know it can be hard to concentrate when it is nice outside; however, we need to keep working hard all the way to the end of the year. Students please keep reading and learning new vocabulary every day! Enjoy the warm weather when it finally gets here. And if you have any questions or concerns about school please call our office, 242-8418.
Anne Clark
Shanon Nelson
Jessica Sherwood
Lisy Murdock
PRESCHOOL
The last two months of school will be busy for Head Start students. From now until April 15th our theme will be Let’s Move. We will learn about moving our bodies and how things move around us. We will be learning the names and sounds of letters Jj, Hh and Ii. The Alphafriend characters are Jumping Jill, Hattie Horse and Iggy Iguana. From April 17th to May 13th our theme will be Growing and Changing. We will be learning how plants and animals grow and change. We will learn how we grow and change. As a special class project we will be hatching baby chicks in our classroom! We will be learning the names and sounds of letters Gg, Ee and Dd. The Alphafriend characters are Gertie Goose, Edna Elephant, Dudley Duck. Our last theme is Getting Ready for Kindergarten. We will be reviewing things we learned this year and preparing children for next year. For some children that will be another year of preschool, others will be going on to kindergarten. We will be playing school, and pretending that we are going to art, music, library, gym and lunchroom. We will be learning the letters L, N, and K and the sounds they make. The Alpha Friend characters are Larry Lion, Nyle Noodle, and Keeley Kangaroo.
Registration for Next Year:
*Head Start Registration: Your child must be 3 or 4 years old by September 15th to be eligible for Head Start. Please call the Welcome Center at 242-7588 to schedule a time to fill out an application.
*Kindergarten Registration: For children who are 5 by September 15 – if you have not already registered your child for kindergarten, please go to your child’s neighborhood school to register as soon as possible. If you wait until summer or fall to sign-up you are not guaranteed a spot for your child in your neighborhood school. Families who speak any other language beside or in addition to English need to call the Welcome Center at 242-8102 to make an appointment to register.
FIRST GRADE
We hope everyone enjoyed their spring break and we are glad to be back, however we are ready for spring weather. This year has gone by fast but we still have lots of learning to do with the last 10 week or so left of school. Reading: We are working on reading and learning how to read with fluency. When reading at home, please ask your child questions about what your child just read. Ask them who, what, where, when, why and how in the story. This will help with their comprehension skills. It’s very important that your child continues to read every night. As a building, we have been reading “Humphrey” and we are all enjoying the adventure that Humphrey takes us on inside and outside of the classroom. Remember to check the calendar and read with or to your child as questions are being asked during the school day. Math: There is so much going on in math as we have several areas to cover. We are working on counting, skip counting, writing our numbers, adding, subtracting, using double digit numbers with addition and subtraction. We’re also solving story problems using several different strategies to get our answers. We will be covering <,>, = (greater/less than, equal to) when comparing numbers. We will also be focusing on balanced equations (true/false) 3+2=5+2, open ending equations 4+____=7, adding and subtracting with double digit 33+4=______, quickly adding or subtracting with 10: an example would be 40 and 10 more (50), or 10 less than 30 (20). These are skills that we have been working on this year and will continue to work on these skills. Writing: We finished up our animal unit with writing and will move onto writing about ourselves. We are working on staying on topic, using finger spaces, capital letters when needed, and going back and reread our writing so we can edit our work. Science: We are working on living/nonliving and will be moving towards our plant unit as we just finished up teaching our animal unit for science. With that being said, we have tentatively set a date for May 10th for our next field trip. We plan on visiting the zoo as we have been studying animals and their habitats. A note will be sent home with more information when the trip comes near. Earth Day is coming up in April and what better way to celebrate than to turn off all electronics and have the kids spend their time outside playing or putting in some time cleaning up their community.
FIFTH GRADE
Hello from 5th Grade,
Spring Break is over, and we are ready to spend the remainder of the school year focused on making as much growth as possible! All the classes have shown impressive growth in reading performance this year, and we look forward to continuing that trend. The students have also worked hard these last few weeks in math during our decimals unit. Some of the skills they are learning can be quite tricky, so it is wonderful to see them persevere and succeed in performing operations that were once foreign to them. We have one more unit of math coming up, which covers multiplying and dividing fractions, and we feel that the students all now have a solid foundation which will prepare them for those skills. Students have also been quite interested in our Civil War unit, and have developed a good understanding of the 15 basic causes of the Civil War. Ask them what they know- you may learn something! They are also in the midst of their first experiences in writing research papers- something that can appear to be quite a challenge, but has ended up being a fun experience for many. Please remember the importance of having your child read every day outside of school time. The positive effects from the skills developed from reading cannot be overemphasized!Thank you and have a wonderful Spring.
Staci Carter
John Cross
Diane Iaria
Gina Schaffer
The Des Moines Public Schools prohibits discrimination in educational and employment programs and activities based on age, race, creed, color, sex, marital status, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Complaints of discrimination may be filed with the District’s Compliance Officer, Title IX Coordinator, or 504 Coordinator, at 901 Walnut Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, (515) 242-7781