Navigator News

Mar. 11 (Tues): PTO Meeting @ 6:00pm

Mar. 12 (Wed): Bingo Night, 5:30-7:00pm

Mar. 20 (Thurs): Fix & Repeat Fundraiser, 9:00-3:00

Mar. 24-28 (M-F): NO SCHOOL, Spring Break

Hi North Star Families!

Where did February go? It feels like just just yesterday it was January. February was filled with wonderful PTO events such as Read-a-Thon, Family Game Night, and Screen Free Week. Thank you, PTO, for creating such meaningful experiences for our school community. At school, we have been focusing on courage with our 4 C’s, engaging in science themes with our literacy curriculum, playing in snow, and enjoying the OBOB competitions. We really do have the best school! Enjoy this edition of the Navigator News!

School Vision

Thank you to those that completed the Family Perspective Survey! As a staff, we read through the feedback and discussed the themes and values that stood out to us. The next step will include gathering perspectives from our broader community through a facilitated experience with our staff on April 2. It will include our family group, staff, and community members such as school board reps, former North Star students, district office staff, and leaders from local community organizations. After that, we will have a few vision and mission drafts to share with everyone to get feedback with the goal of making our final selection by late spring.

Student Newsletter

Hot off the press! We hope you enjoy our first-ever edition of the student-led Navigator Newspaper. Print copies are being sent home today and HERE is the digital version for you to enjoy! A huge shout-out to all the 5th graders that helped with this edition!

Youth Truth Results

The results are in! Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. In the next few weeks, we will be sharing the feedback with families through Seesaw and social media as well as during our next PTO meeting. Your perspectives are critical in guiding our decisions and goals moving forward.

Take care,

Beth Martin

Find all the latest PTO updates and information on our website: northstarelementarypto.org

PTO Meeting: March 11th, 6 PM @ North Star
Join us for our upcoming PTO meeting, where we’ll review the budget and share updates on upcoming events.

Bingo Night: March 12th, 6 PM @ North Star

Join us for a fun-filled family Bingo Night in the North Star Gym. Starting March 10th, students can donate gently used toys in the bin out front. Entry to Bingo Night is a donation to Bethlehem Inn (see needs list), but everyone is welcome to join, even without a donation. Adults can win prizes too!

Fix & Repeat Fundraiser: March 20th, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Mention North Star and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to our PTO.

A heartfelt thank you to all who participated and donated to this year's Read A Thon. We blew our goals out of the park!!! Our students read over 260,000 minutes and raised over $23,000.00! We look forward to sharing some of the big ways we will be using these funds at North Star soon.

Guidance: We’ve had a wonderful time this year learning about Kelso’s Choices and introducing the Zones of Regulation school-wide.

Kinder: Throughout the month of March, we will continue talking about Kelso’s choices, focusing on “Talk It Out” and “Apologize.” Please see Kelso’s wheel below.

1st & 2nd: We will be learning about the Zones of Regulation. Please see the Zones poster below.

3rd-5th: During the month of February, students in grades 3-5 learned about the Sources of Strength wheel. We will continue guidance next month focusing on Kindness.

Lunch Buddies: The Lunch Buddy program continues this month! If you do not want your child to participate, please let me know. You can email me at kaily.filkins@bend.k12.or.us.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns about your student. I look forward to connecting with you!​

If you are interested in going on a field trip with your student’s class, or think you may be interested in the next few years, please fill out a volunteer background check! It takes 48-72 hours to clear, and is valid for two years. Please consider filling this out! If you have not filled it out, or it hasn’t yet cleared, you will not be able to go on a field trip or volunteer with your student’s class. There will be no exceptions.

https://www.bend.k12.or.us/district/organization/volunteer

We had our final OBOB battle at North Star on Thursday between the Darkest Destroyers and the Brightest Creators! It was an intense battle and both teams did a great job answering challenging questions and supporting each other. In the end, the Darkest Destroyers won and are advancing to regionals! We are so proud of all the students that participated in OBOB! And, a special "thank you" to Mrs. Betz for organizing and facilitating such an awesome experience for everyone!

North Star students are invited to attend Science Night at Lonza-Bend (64550 Research Road, 97703) on March 18th from 6-8pm! This event is targeted at 2nd - 5th graders and children will get to participate in a variety of hands-on demos that help teach them about how the world functions. To sign up, please add your name to this list! Please note, there is a maximum of 25 students that can be accommodated. We can't wait to see you!