Bear Bulletin

• Pumpkin Walk Success! What a wonderful turnout for our annual BES Pumpkin Walk! A huge thank-you to our amazing PTO, staff, volunteers, and community partners for making it such a fun evening for our Bears and their families! Events like this remind us what a wonderful school family we have here at Ballentine. (HUGE shoutout to the families that stayed a few minutes extra to help us clean up. It made quick and light work for all - THANK YOU!)

• Red Ribbon / Healthy Choices Spirit Week: We're celebrating healthy choices and school spirit all week long! Check out the fun dress-up days below!

• School Report Card Highlights: We have some exciting accomplishments to celebrate! Take a look at our school report card highlights and the great things happening at BES!

• New Volunteer Opportunities: There are more ways to get involved and connect with our school! Check out the opportunities below and consider jumping in!

• Our Veterans Day assembly will be on Nov 11 and you're invited! See details below.

Strong attendance makes a big difference in student learning, and we love celebrating our Bears who are building great habits by being Here, Every Day, Ready to Learn, and On Time. On Monday, Oct 26, we are going to SHOW UP as we have our first Attendance HERO Celebration!

We know our students can’t do it alone. Shoutout to our amazing BES parents for getting those Bears up, out the door, and to school each day. Your teamwork at home makes all the difference!

Now for the BIG question… Which grade level will be drawn for Monday’s celebration?

We’re keeping that a surprise! You'll have to be HERE to find out!

If school dismisses early due to inclement weather, our cafeteria will make every effort to offer meals to students before they leave. Meals will be charged according to each student’s regular meal status. If you do not want your child to receive a meal during a weather-related early dismissal, please email NutritionServices@lexrich5.org in advance.

Get ready for a fun week of making great choices and showing off our BES spirit!

All next week, we'll be celebrating the importance of making healthy, safe, and positive choices with a different dress-up theme each day. From bright neon colors and favorite team jerseys to twin day and everyone's favorite - PAJAMA DAY - we've planned some easy, comfy spirit days that everyone can enjoy!

No need to buy anything special! Just have fun with what you already have at home. We hope to see lots of our BES Bears joining in throughout the week! Let's make it a great week of celebrating healthy choices and BES spirit!

BES families are invited to join us on Wednesday, November 11, from 8:15–8:45 AM, for a special Veterans Day musical performance presented by our 3rd grade students. This celebration is our way of honoring the brave men and women who have served or are currently serving in our nation's military. Guests will enter through the blue hall doorway (Safari door) and seating will begin at 8:00 AM, with designated seating available in the back for guests who have special seating needs.

If you have a family member who has served or is currently serving in the military and will be joining us, please complete the form below so we can plan to recognize and honor them during the assembly. We hope you'll join us for this meaningful celebration as we honor our veterans!

We have so much to celebrate at Ballentine Elementary! Our recently released South Carolina School Report Card reflects the hard work of our students, the dedication of our teachers and staff, and the tremendous support of our families. BES earned an overall rating of Good, just two points away from Excellent, along with an Excellent rating in Academic Achievement! Our students continue to outperform state averages in both English Language Arts and Mathematics, and we're especially proud of the academic growth we've seen over the past three years.

These accomplishments are truly a team effort! Thank you, BES families, for your active involvement, encouragement, and continued support. You play such an important role in making Ballentine a special place to learn and grow. We're excited about the opportunities ahead and can't wait to see what our students accomplish this year. The BESt is yet to come!

Boosterthon may be over, but we’re keeping one delicious part of the Global Kitchen Club going!

Cooking together is a fun way for families to spend time in the kitchen while sneaking in a few real-life skills along the way! Measuring ingredients, following directions, adjusting amounts, watching how ingredients change with heat, and even keeping track of cooking time are all great ways to put a little math and science into action.

We’d love for BES families to share a favorite family recipe and a few sentences about why it is special. Maybe it’s been passed down for generations, connects to your culture or heritage, is part of a favorite tradition, or simply brings everyone to the table.

We’ll feature BES Family Recipes in newsletters throughout the year. So grab an apron, invite your Bear into the kitchen, and share a little of your family’s flavor with us!

We are providing a tailgate themed potluck for First Friday in November! We are hoping to have hot finger foods, dips, sweets, and all the goodies you look forward to when tailgating!

We have access to electricity to keep your crock pot items warm, as well as the cold items iced over for display all day.

We LOVE our teachers and we want to thank them with a Duty Free Lunch break. Teachers will enjoy a quiet Thanksgiving lunch with colleagues while parents help other BES staff supervise kids in the cafeteria.

Thank you so much for volunteering this time for our teachers!

As a reminder, report cards will now be distributed electronically through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you have not already signed up, contact Tracy Tomlin, Registrar, at ttomlin@lexrich5.org to get connected.

Front Office - 803-476-4500

School Nurse - 803-476-4509

Cafeteria - 803-476-4508

School Counselor - 803-476-4534

Library - 803-476-4518

Parent input and feedback are always appreciated. Whether through a phone call or an email, we welcome your thoughts and ideas. The Administrative Team at BES is always available to help in any way we can! You can contact us by calling the main office at 476-4500 or emailing us directly.

Follow us on social media as well!

Facebook @BallentineElementarySchool

Our Mission…

The mission of Ballentine Elementary School is to join together community, staff, students, and families to ensure that all students are provided a world-class, rigorous education.

Our Vision…

In partnership with the community, staff, students, and families, Ballentine Elementary School will exemplify excellence in education in a positive, safe and nurturing environment in order to prepare our students to be fully participating citizens and leaders. We will foster the development of creative thinking, encourage curiosity and problem solving, promote respect for individual differences and uphold high ethical standards.