Northside
MAY 2016
Backpack Connection
DAY TRIPS
for Family Fun
KUENTZ ELEMENTARY Fosters Leaders Connecting Our Families, Our Schools and Our Local Businesses In the Northside School District
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Distributed into the Backpacks of 58,000 Plus NISD Elementary Students
MAY
Art Direction Susie Fluckiger Sales Audra Miller Megan Wilson Publisher BP PUBLISHING LLC
In the Spotlight
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Kuentz Elementary
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Keep Your Child Reading Over the Summer
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San Antonio Day Trips
Content for the Elementary School pages contributed by each school. Backpack Connection magazines are published every six weeks during the school year by BP Publishing LLC. The advertisements in this magazine are paid for by the advertisers, which allows this magazine to be distributed free to the families of the HOHPHQWDU\ VWXGHQWV 8QOHVV VSHFLÂżFDOO\ QRWHG QR DGYHUWLVHUV products or services are endorsed by the publisher, BISD, or NISD, or any districts employees. Publishers (BP PUBLISHING LLC) are not responsible for omissions, errors or misinformation within this publication. All real estate advertised within this publication are subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act,which make it illegally to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings adverting are available on an equal opportunity basis. Reproductions of this magazine in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.
ADVERTISING AND GENERAL INFORMATION Encouraging, Supporting and Loving the Children We Share...
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COUNT TO WIN ALTITUDE GIFT CARD!
Altitude Trampoline Park is sponsoring the logo contest for this issue. Count the Altitude logos (including the one below) and email your answers to contest@backpackconnection.com by May 15 for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Altitude Trampoline Park. Include name, email, and phone number so we can contact the winner! All correct answers are placed in a drawing to win. Only one winner per drawing. WINNERS: Congratulations to Daryl Castillejo, a 4th grader at Mary Hull Elementary. Daryl won the April drawing. Congratulations to the Garza brothers who won the March drawing. Both boys attend Lieck Elementary. Benjamin is in Mrs. Sturgeon’s Kindergarten class and Andrew is in Mrs. Arispe’s Pre-K.
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in the
Spotlight Eagle Scount Provides Day 1 Bag for Foster Kids
Artwork by Taft HS sophomore Angelique Mendoza
1000 STUDENTS TO RACE THEIR SOLAR POWERED CARS Twenty years ago, at the first Solar Car Races, fewer than 30 students competed with their solar car creations in the parking lot of the Northside Activity Center. A San Antonio Express-News story chronicling the first event noted that founder Bobby Blount “used the internet to find other schools with similar programs and invited them to the competition.” Technology has certainly evolved since then, and this year several of the studentdesigned cars are even incorporating 3D-printing technology. While the Texas Solar Race Car Event in Northside ISD has grown exponentially in size over the last two decades, the races continue to be a culminating event for students who have worked for weeks designing and building miniature solar-powered cars. More than 1,000 students attended the 20th annual Race Day, held April 30 at Gustafson Stadium. Northside School Board Trustee Bobby Blount is the long-time organizer of the event, which started as a mentorship project at Rayburn Middle School to give students hands-on lessons in teamwork, renewable energy, problem-solving, and science and
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engineering. “I love seeing the students’ excitement as they compete,” says Blount. “This is a real-life problem for teams to solve and it’s important that students see science and math as fun. These races help do just that.” Solar cars is an afterschool science program for fourth and fifth grade students. They are provided a solar panel, gear box, and axle rods but the rest of the car design is up to them. In addition to learning about teamwork, students are also developing their engineering skills through the design and testing process. “It’s really fun but it’s a really long process when you’re dealing with a 3D printer,” says Stephanie Gonzales, a 5th grader at Michael ES, whose team is using the printer to make a chassis for their car. “I think it’s going to be an advantage because it’s really light and I think we’ll have a cool car.” Sponsors for the event were NS Elementary Science Department, NS Education Foundation, MITRE Corporation, National Defense Education Program, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Cryptologic, and Cyber Systems Division, Raising Cane’s and International Mechanical Services.
Hunter Beaton is a member of St Peters Boy Scout Troop 18. He recently completed his Eagle Scout project that was focused on delivering quality duffle bags filled with MANY supplies, necessities and comfort items for foster children being placed in a new foster home. Hunter chose to do this service project stating “because three out of my four siblings were foster children.” A problem he noticed when they were placed in their home is they came with no clothes or supplies and one came with a trash bag of tattered items. Basically, they had nothing but what they were wearing. He saw this as a problem that needs to be solved, therefore, he went to a local non-profit agency in Boerne called The Vault Fostering Community to help out. Their mission is to supply and assist foster families with items. His plan for the Eagle Scout project was to collect and buy items to go into a “Day 1” bag for the children that are going to be put into a new foster home. The finalized bag provides the child some personal possessions as well as dignity upon entering their new foster home. As a result of the donations and financial generosity of his parish, community and an online funding website, he was able to raise over $10,000 (three times over his goal)! He also was able to provide the Vault a check for $2500 and $2700 in HEB gift cards. Within the week of delivering the bags to the Vault, the
local Department of Family Services office has now used several bags for placing children and no longer used the trash bag. The Vault can always use your help! They have an upcoming race at Joshua Springs Park on May 14. Visit their website for more information http://www.onelessrace.com/
Students Learn About Caring For Earth And One Another Students at Glenoaks ES have been learning about the Pillar of Caring recently. They are learning that caring for one another and caring about the environment goes hand-in-hand. Tied to Earth Day, the student honored the planet at a pep rally geared toward caring for the environment and worked on recycling projects in their classroom. Mayor Ivy Taylor talked about the importance of not only caring for their family, community, and city, but also demonstrating their caring attitude.
www.royalteaprincessparties.com 210-618-7572
Are you counting the Altitude logos? Remember, you can be a winner! See the rules and instructions on page 4. (And count this logo too.)
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If you are looking for some family fun this summer, you don’t have to look very far! We are lucky to have such a wide range of places to visit. Here are some great day trip ideas that both parents and kids can enjoy!
Amusement Parks and Fun Centers We have world class amusement parks including Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Sea World. These offer something for the whole family. You can even just spend a fun and relaxing day at the water park. We also have plenty of affordable fun centers and activities such as Incredible Pizza, Main Event, Top Golf, and many places offering bowling, laser tag, and mini golf! Grab a bite to eat and make a day of it.
sions. Throw in a river boat ride and your kids will have a great time. All the amazing restaurants along the River Walk make this a great option for a day trip. Don’t forget your camera! The missions make a beautiful backdrop for photos. http://visitsanantonio.com/english/ Explore-San-Antonio/Only-in-SanAntonio/The-Alamo/The-San-Antonio-Missions
Explore the Hill Country The Hill Country offers many diverse outdoor experiences that everyone will love! There are tons
of options including Joshua Creek Park and Preserve, Enchanted Rock, Guadalupe State Park, or one of the many caves and caverns scattered around the Hill Country. Our family loves to pick a Hill Country town and explore all that it has to offer. Some of our favorites are Fredericksburg, Boerne and Wimberly. For a master list of fun things to do in the area, go to visitsanantonio. com. We hope you enjoy making memories with your family this summer!
http://visitsanantonio.com/english/ Explore-San-Antonio/Attractions/ Family-Fun/Theme-Parks
San Antonio Missions and River Walk Sometimes we forget to take advantage of the amazing historical sites San Antonio has to offer. Take a tour the of the Missions along the River Walk’s new Mission Reach, an eight mile stretch with trails, picnic areas, and portals to four Spanish colonial mis-
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http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/enchanted-rock
Are you counting the Altitude logos? Here is another one!
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Kuentz Elementary Kuentz Elementary knows what it means to “Give Back to Mother Earth.� As part of the Pepsi-Co Dream Machine Recycling competition, Kuentz Coyotes have recycled over 2 million aluminum cans and #1 plastics over the past six years! If you would like to support us,
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please bring any donations of non-alcoholic aluminum cans and/or #1 plastics (water bottles, juice bottles, strawberry containers, etc.) and drop them off at Kuentz Elementary at any time! Keep Recycling, Helotes!
Kuentz Elementary is proud to be a “Leader in Me” school! Following the philosophy of “The 7 Habits of Happy Kids,” we believe that all students are leaders! At Kuentz, we help every student to find their greatness and give them a way to showcase their abilities. At this year’s leadership day, we hosted more than 400 visitors
who saw our students host a 7 Habits assembly, show-off their work at our clubs’ symposium, and visit classrooms where students presented their leadership binders, personal and class mission statements, and leadership roles! At Kuentz, we are empowering a community of successful learners…and LEADERS!
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Are you counting the Altitude logos? Here is another one!
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Keep Your Child
Reading aybe you’re one of those lucky parents whose child is an avid reader. Rather than having to force your child to pick up a book, perhaps you have to wrestle one out of her hands at bedtime. If that describes you, then read no further. If, however, your child balks at the thought of opening a book over the
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Over the
Summer
summer and wishes to limit her reading to the back of the cereal box, here are some suggestions for painlessly convincing her to spend some time every day with a good book.
Local Book Clubs Many libraries sponsor children’s book clubs over the summer, in which the children receive prizes when they reach specified milestones in number of pages, or books, read. You should also check with your bank or credit union, since many of these institutions offer similar summer reading programs and may even provide gift cards as rewards. There’s nothing like a prize to motivate a child to pick up a book! If no children’s book clubs are offered in your area, consider starting a parent/child book club. Allow your child to select a book for the two of you to read, then arrange a time to discuss it. Make the discussion time special by conducting it over a picnic lunch, or maybe even
at a frozen yogurt cafe.You can include some friends and their parents in the group, which will probably make it more appealing to your child. Unless your child is a precocious reader, a book club probably works best with children who are at least 9 years old, since books for younger children might not merit much discussion. After all, how much is there to say about the Junie B. Jones books?
Build on Their Interests Another tactic for spurring your child’s interest in reading is to steer her towards books that relate to an activity that you have planned. For example, if you will be going snorkeling on vacation, a search of Amazon’s website for books on that topic produces a great mix of titles for various ages. Alternatively, select books for your child based on her interests. For the budding soccer star, there is a wealth of books about real and fictional soccer players. Is your child a Taylor Swift fan? There is a biography of the singing star geared for elementary school children. You would probably be hard-pressed to find a topic that is not the subject of at least one children’s book. So if you have a reluctant reader in your house, don’t despair. It’s easier than ever to find books that will appeal to even the pickiest reader. And while you’re at it, pick up a good summer beach read for yourself!
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