Hello Carver Elementary Families,

Reminder: No School on Monday, March 3rd, District Professional Development Day.

Welcome to March! This month is full of learning and we need students at school, every day! End of year testing and state testing begins in April. Please continue to read or have your student read a minimum of 20 minutes each day and practice daily math facts. Third-fifth grade students are practicing multiplication facts each day, please support this at home too!

Attendance, Tardies, and Student Achievement: We are closely monitoring attendance, tardiness, and behavior as they directly impact student achievement. Thank you to those that attended MTSS meetings on Friday; our goal is to partner with all families to ensure their student is successful at Carver Elementary!

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 (like skip counting and multiplication) in everyday situations. Kindergarten and First grade students can practice counting to 100! All students are expected to know their multiplication facts by the end of 3rd grade, and your help makes a huge difference.

Pick-Up and Drop-Off Reminders:

• Please avoid picking up students between 2:00-2:45 PM to avoid disrupting their learning time.
• Be sure that students involved in after-school activities are 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.

Tutoring and After-School Clubs: Tutoring and clubs started the week of February 4th. Tutoring sessions have already begun, and snacks will be provided. Here's the schedule for the clubs:

• Mondays & Wednesdays: YES Club - Fit Kids
• Tuesdays: Choir and Jesus Boot Camp
• Thursdays: Board Game & Puzzles (FULL)
• Fridays: Talent Club and Yarn Club

School Store: Visit our updated school store to purchase Carver items! Check it out Shop your Cougars Sideline Store. It is currently 25% for a purchase over $100. Use PRIDE25 at checkout.

We’re also thrilled to launch the 5210 Challenge for our students! Please see the links below for more details.

Upcoming Events:

• No School Monday, March 3rd
• Friday, Fifth Grade Field Trip
• Pancakes with the Principal Friday, March 7th
• Mobile Smiles Friday, March 7th

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.

Thank you for voting for our new logo and 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!!

March 3rd No Students District PD Day

March 7th Pancakes with the Principal

March 13th End of Quarter

March 14th Teacher Work Day, No Students

March 17th Fourth Quarter Begins

March 21st Third Quarter Assembly

March 24th-28th Spring Break, NO SCHOOL

Our staff and students recently completed a Midyear Survey for Capturing Kids' Hearts. We need you to provide feedback to make Carver Elementary a better school for your child!

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!

So, what is it?

Having courage helps children to persevere against challenges, and in the process it raises their self-esteem. When children feel good about themselves and see that they have the personal power to make courageous choices, they are more likely to lead personally satisfying and successful lives.

How can parents help children to show courage?

Parents are their children’s first and most important teachers and, as such, have a powerful influence on their development. You can:

• Make sure your children understand what courage is. Define it and point it out when you, they or someone else demonstrates it. Use news stories, television programs, movies, or books as learning tools.
• Use everyday situations for your children to demonstrate courage. Encourage them to refuse to go along with the crowd when the crowd is doing something wrong or dangerous, participate in a new class, master new skills and persist in the face of frustration.

• Praise your children when they demonstrate courage. Highlight the positive!
• Use mistakes as learning opportunities. Do not use them as a reason to punish. Create a positive atmosphere that will encourage them to face and admit their mistakes openly and honestly. Teach them what they can do differently and how they can make amends.
• Be a source of support for your children. All people, and especially children, can better demonstrate courage when they know they are not alone and that someone “has their back.”
• Teach your children that sometimes asking for help takes courage. Let them know that they don’t have to face all difficult situations by themselves and that it can be a sign of strength to ask for help.

SEL (Social Emotional) NEWS:

• RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK was great, students continue to work on kindness challenge complementing each other and being kind to each other, I loved to see their classrooms filled with hearts of compliments towards each other, we will see which class wins this week!
• Small groups are going well – we have a small group for every grade level during lunch and recess time.
• SEL lesson are continue to be a joy, students from K-2nd grade a re learning about Kelso’s choice and how to identify and resolve small problems, students 3rd – 4th are working on lessons about Courage and friendships, and with 5th graders we discussed courage as it relates to the transition to middle school. After an open conversation about the students' fears and worries about starting a new school, we started a scavenger hunt for which students had to find and answer middle school related questions. These questions related to the most common concerns among 5th grade students, and students were even challenged to try opening a combination lock, similar to the locks they will use next year!

Books on “Courage" – “ Spaghetti in a hot dog bun by Maria Dismondy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cXWrUJlOK8

Here is the link for a quick video on what it means to show courage video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBiDjhgntWA

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”

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 UPDATES

Notes from our Vice President: Carmen A. – Please check the bulleting board by 2nd grade, we made a USA map and showcasing pictures of key places in the different states !

Notes from our Tresure Belinda G. 3rd grade : We raised $235 dollars, and we are closer to our goal to have “Cool Science” for the whole school, thank you!

We have another activity coming up stay tune!

Mrs. Gio Franco Diaz & Mrs. Mello

Student Council Advisors

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT 😊!

Thank you to those that completed the PTA feedback form of the day and time that works best for you! We are planning our March meeting now!

Our PTA board is:

President: Brittany Shelly

Vice President:

Treasurer: Betty Barnett

Secretary: Kelly Dawson

Our next meeting will be on March 13th. Please complete the PTA feedback form and send back to school!

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/