Hello Carver Elementary Families,

Thank you for ALL of your support with state testing last week! We had our BEST attendance and we only have a few make ups left! 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders completed ELA and Math testing and 3rd and 4th graders are done with state testing. All of our students worked SO hard on each assessment. Fifth Grade will continue testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week from 8:30-10:00 AM for Science CMAS. Please continue to have your students at school on time, it make a HUGE difference!

Our last End of Year testing for K-5th is DIBEL's for reading and is scheduled for April 28th-May 1st. Please continue reading to and with your student each day for a minimum of 20 minutes.

We had a great week with a Pep Rally, Kids on Bikes, and other events. Please check it out on our Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/carver.d11.org/

Our state testing begins this week for our 3rd-5th grade students, so please ensure your child attends school every day to maximize their learning. Please make sure your student has a good night's sleep and eats breakfast so they are ready to work hard every day! It is also very important that students are not late. If students come in after the test starts, they can’t test with their class.

We know the students are prepared and ready for this. We believe in them!

SAVE THE DATES:

• CMAS Testing
  • Science (5th Grade): April 15th-17th 8:15-10:00 AM
  • Testing will begin by 8:30 AM
• DIBEL's Testing K-5th
• April 28th-May 1st

Please avoid scheduling any appointments during these dates. We know that students perform best when they test with their peers in their own classrooms.

Attendance, Tardies, and Student Achievement:

We are closely monitoring attendance, tardiness, and behavior, as these factors directly impact student success. Thank you to everyone who is ensuring their children arrive at school on time and call in when their child is absent.

At-Home Learning Tips:

• Reading: Spend at least 20 minutes each day reading together—whether your child is reading aloud to you, or you’re reading to them.
• Math Practice: Encourage your child to practice math facts in everyday situations. Kindergarten and 1st grade students can practice counting to 100! By the end of 3rd grade, all students should know their multiplication facts, so your support is invaluable.

Pick-Up and Drop-Off Reminders:

• Please avoid picking up students between 2:00-2:45 PM to minimize disruptions to their learning time.
• Students involved in after-school activities should be picked up by 4:00 PM.
• Breakfast & Arrival: The gym doors open at 7:30 AM for free breakfast. Please do not drop off your child before that time. The first bell rings at 7:45 AM, and the second bell at 7:50 AM. After 7:55 AM, students must be signed in at the front office.

Kids on Bikes for 4th and 5th Grade Students!!

We have a HUGE turnout and Coach and Ms. Foster are excited to work with our fourth and fifth grade students this month. Kids on Bikes is held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:5-3:50 PM for the month of April.

School Store:

Check out our updated school store to purchase Carver gear! Currently, there is a 20% discount on purchases over $100 with the code SPRING20 at checkout. Visit the store here.

Upcoming Events:

• PTA Dance is Friday, April 18th from 5:00-7:00 PM

A Final Note:

Whether you're a returning family or new to Carver, we are excited to work together to ensure your child's success. Our doors are always open for communication, and we encourage you to get involved with our Parent Teacher Association, School Accountability Committee, or other volunteer opportunities.

Thank you for your continued support!

Warmly,
Mrs. Bizzell
Proud Principal of Carver Elementary

As a quality neighborhood school in D11, the Carver community is supportive and safe as staff, parents, and students are valued and involved in creating engaging, intentional learning experiences that are responsive to student needs and results in a place where everyone wants to be.

Carver Elementary is proud to be the Heart of Our Community!! Our staff recently attended the Capturing Kids' Heart training and we are excited to build relationships, challenge ourselves and our students, and truly become the Heart of Our Community! We will continue to partner with local businesses, resources, and community members to enhance our identity statement and challenge our students to be the BEST they can be, every day at school. We are providing intentional learning experiences that involve and engage all of our students and our staff. We look forward to this school year and partnering with YOU!!

April 15th-16th CMAS Science Testing 5th Grade

April 16th Children's Literacy K-2

April 17th-Teach Kids to Save!!! US BANK presentations!

April 18th-Second Grade Field Trip to the Zoo!

April 18th-PTA Dance 5:00-7:00 PM

April 21st-Class Picture Day!

April 22nd-Kindergarten Field Trip to Dinosaur Museum

April 24th STEAM Night 5:00-7:00 PM

April 28th-May 1st EOY DIBELS Testing

April 29th-Kinder Round Up

May 1st-Fifth Grade Rocket Day, Memorial Park

May 1st-Orchestra and Guitar Performance

May 1st-First and Second Grade Music Performance 6:00-6:30 PM

May 3rd-Carver Clean Up Day 9:00-12:00 PM

May 5th-Band Concert, Doherty High School 6:00-7:00 PM

May 7th-8th Hour of Code presented by USAA during PLC's

May 8th-3rd Grade Field Trip to Starsmore Discovery Center

May 9th-Field Day

May 15th-Third and Fourth Grade Music Performance 6:00-6:30 PM

May 16th-Talent Show Performance

May 16th-Carver Lock In

May 22nd-Fifth Grade Promotion 5:00-6:00 PM

May 23rd-Kindergarten Promotion 8:15-9:00 AM

May 23rd-Last Day of School!

Our focus this month is Perseverance! Please read the newsletter below with some strategies to support this at home.

Breakfast in the cafeteria 7:30-7:45 AM (cold breakfast 7:45-8:10 AM)

Office Hours: 7:30 AM-3:45 PM

Carver School Hours: 7:50 AM-2:50 PM

Tardy bell rings at 7:50

Students will have a 15 minute recess, prior to lunch.

10:50-11:10 Kindergarten and First Grade

11:10-11:30 Second and Third Grade

11:30-11:50 Fourth and Fifth Grade

Under the Healthy School Meals for All program the State of Colorado provides free meals for all D11 students. Please take a moment to fill out our Free and Reduced Meal Application regardless of whether you think you would qualify or not. This program benefits the school as well as your family. Our goal is 100% participation. As a reminder, Carver is a free breakfast and lunch school. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the front office. Carver is currently 85% free or reduced lunch and we receive Federal Funds for this.

https://linqconnect.com/public/meal-application/new?identifier=JX9G3Q

K/1 12:10-1:00

2/4 1:05-1:55

3/5 2:00-2:50

Essentials: Art, Music, PE, Technology

Adaptive PE/Art: Fridays from 9:00-10:05 AM (Selected students)

Band for grades 4th and 5th (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)

Orchestra for grades 4th and 5th (Mondays and Wednesdays)

We are still accepting interested students for BAND and ORCHESTRA! Please stop by the front office for a permission slip!

We LOVE having family members in the building! Please complete the link below if you have some time to volunteer to help at school. Some activities include: cutting, tearing out workbook pages, reading to students, testing sight words, and sometimes just helping in class.
Please join us!

Hello Carver families!

April is here, and with it comes our focus on the character trait of PERSEVERANCE. Perseverance -- sometimes called "grit" -- is the great leveler. You don't have to be the wealthiest, have the most friends, or be the smartest kid in the class; if you persevere, you can reach your goals. You can help inspire perseverance by allowing kids to experience failure -- in a safe, supported environment. When kids need to recover from a setback, think their way through a challenge, and try again, they develop grit.

Perseverance is a personality trait that pushes you to overcome difficulties. Having perseverance means that when you are facing a challenge, you use your mind and your body to overcome it.

Discussing Perseverance

"A lot of research today is telling us that the highest indicators of success in our kids isn’t just about their grades or their IQ. The number one skill that helps people of all walks of life be successful is GRIT! The ability to persevere in the face of adversity or even failure. Students are talking in class what it means to navigate tough stuff, even when it feels overwhelming or really hard and having a Growth Mindset - to see challenges and failure as an opportunity to grow instead of a brick wall.

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." (Author unknown)

Questions to ask your kiddos

1. What does perseverance mean to you?

2. Discuss a time when you had a problem and you persevered.

3. Discuss a time that you quit and you regretted it. What happened?

4. Who is a role model for perseverance for you? Why?

5. Discuss a time when someone you know did not persevere. What happened?

6. Can you think about times in life when you should quit? Discuss them. Why do you feel that way?

7. How would you teach someone to persevere?

8. How has your family taught you about perseverance?

9. What does your school do to teach perseverance?

Scenarios: What would you do?

1. You really want to get all As on your report card. However, you have difficulty understanding the content in a class and your grades in the class are not good. What would you do?

2. You would like to improve your athletic ability. Your favorite sport is basketball but you don’t have any confidence in your skills. What would you do?

3. You are the new kid in school. Having just moved to the area, you don’t know anyone. It seems like everyone has friends except for you. What would you do?

*Here is a quick video “The Mindset of a Champion” | Carson Byblow | TEDxYouth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px9CzSZsa0Y

Mrs. Gio (Giovanny) Franco-Diaz

School Counselor, Carver Elementary

Email: giovanny.francodiaz@d11.org - Phone # 719-328-2171

“I can’t do this, I don’t get it, take a deep breath… then try adding “YET” at the end of the sentence”

Active coping strategies:

· Go for a walk

· Do jumping jacks.

· Bounce or kick a ball.

· Squeeze a stress ball.

Relaxing coping strategies:

· Take some deep breaths.

· Tense and relax your muscles.

· Have a drink of cold water.

· Close your eyes, and count to 10 or backward from 100.

Creative coping strategies:

· Color, draw or paint.

· Play with Play-Doh.

· Build with Legos or blocks.

Social coping strategies:

· Play a game with the family.

· Cuddle or play with your pet.

· Read a book together.

· Share your feelings with someone you trust.

Coping strategies that shift your mindset:

· Think of something positive.

· Think about something that makes you laugh.

· Practice reframes.

· Focus on what you can control.

We are a PBIS (Positive Behavior and Support School) and we will continue to practice our School Wide PAW expectations.

P- I am Prepared

A-I have a great Attitude

W-I Work hard

S-I am Safe

Student Council events help students learned to be a leader by taking responsibility, ownership, follow through on their word, advocating for school activities for all students to enjoy and leading by example.

Important dates for StuCo activities:

Friday April 18 Spring Dance support 5:00-7:00 PM

Saturday April 19 StuCo giving back to our school 8:30am-12:00pm - lunch included

May 3rd-Carver Clean Up Day 9:00-12:00 PM

Carrer week will be the first week of May, we need 1-2 guest speakers; if you would like to be a guest speaker or know someone who would love to be a guest speaker, please contact Mrs. Gio Franco Diaz or Mrs. Mello Student Council Advisors for more information.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT 😊!

Our PTA board is:

President: Brittany Shelly

Vice President:

Treasurer: Betty Barnett

Secretary: Kelly Dawson

Our next meeting will be on April 10th. We are planning our PTA Dance for APRIL 18th!!

All our welcome to attend our meetings!

Safety is our top priority at Carver Elementary School, and we are committed to ensuring the well-being of all students, staff, and visitors. We now have a secured entrance to monitor ALL visitors and a fence that surrounds the back of the school. To this end, we follow the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) to prepare for and respond to various emergency situations. We conduct monthly and quarterly drills to practice these protocols, ensuring that everyone in our school community knows what to do in case of an emergency. Here is an overview of the SRP we follow:

• Hold - In Your Classroom or Area

• Directive: "In Your Room or Area"
• Purpose: This protocol is used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants. Students and staff remain in their rooms or areas until further notice.

Secure - Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors

• Directive: "Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors"
• Purpose: This protocol is used to safeguard people within the building by securing all exterior doors. Normal activities continue inside the building.

Lockdown - Locks, Lights, Out of Sight

• Directive: "Locks, Lights, Out of Sight"
• Purpose: This protocol is used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place. Doors are locked, lights are turned off, and everyone stays out of sight.

Evacuate - To a Stated Location

• Directive: "Evacuate to [Location]"
• Purpose: This protocol is used to move people from one location to a different location, either within or outside the building. The specific location will be communicated during the drill or emergency.

Shelter - State the Hazard and the Safety Strategy

• Directive: "Shelter [Hazard] and [Safety Strategy]"
• Purpose: This protocol is used for group and self-protection based on the specific hazard (e.g., tornado, hazmat). The safety strategy will be clearly communicated.

Monthly Drills:

To ensure we are prepared, we conduct monthly/quarterly drills for each of these protocols. These drills help students and staff practice the appropriate responses and become familiar with the procedures. Your support in reinforcing the importance of these drills at home is greatly appreciated.

Communication:

In the event of an actual emergency, we will communicate with families promptly. Please ensure that your contact information is up to date in our records so that you can receive timely notifications.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in keeping our school safe. If you have any questions or concerns about our safety protocols, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Together, we can ensure a safe and secure learning environment for all our students.

Carver Elementary is a Title I school.

The purpose of Title I is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

If you have any questions, please reach out:

https://www.d11.org/TitleI

Email: lisa.bizzell@d11.org
Website: https://www.d11.org/Page/69
Location: 4740 Artistic Circle, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Phone: 719-328-7100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carver.d11.org/