Leadership

Hello, Evening Star Families!

Welcome to the 2025–2026 school year. We hope your summer with your family has been full of sunshine, joy, and incredible moments that have created memories to last a lifetime. As the first day of school—Tuesday, August 12th—quickly approaches, our hearts are full of anticipation, energy, and excitement to welcome back our ESE Owls to their beloved nest.

Throughout the summer, our staff has participated in powerful professional development opportunities to deepen their knowledge and refine their practices. They attended trainings on Visible Learning, NIET, Building Thinking Mathematical Classrooms, and more. During the first week of August, our entire staff will participate in focused trainings centered on Marzano's High Reliability Schools and The New Art and Science of Teaching, John Hattie's Visible Learning and Teacher Clarity, and Hands Down, Speak Out, which supports meaningful student discourse and academic conversations. This deep investment in professional growth reflects our ongoing commitment to providing every child with high-quality, research-based instruction and learning opportunities.

As we begin our seventh year together as a school community, there is something truly extraordinary about Evening Star—our students, families, and staff make ESE the place to be. The culture we have built since opening our doors in 2019 continues to thrive because of the shared vision, partnership, and dedication of our entire school community. Our core values—integrity, teamwork, growth, empathy, and enthusiasm—remain the foundation of who we are and how we learn and lead together. These values shape the way we treat others, foster a growth mindset, and empower our students to achieve excellence in every aspect of their lives.

We are incredibly proud of the ACT Aspire scores of our 3rd and 4th-graders, which reflect the focused efforts of our students, staff, and families. This success would not be possible without the strong home-school partnership that defines ESE. We anticipate the release of our K–2 assessment scores from the 2024–2025 school year to be sometime in October, and we look forward to celebrating the progress and achievements of all our learners.

This year, we are embracing the theme: Dream Big, Fly High.

We believe in every owl entrusted in our care, and we are committed to helping them spread their wings and soar to new heights. Our classrooms will continue to be filled with curiosity, joy, excitement for learning, and a sense of belonging for every child. We cannot wait to see our little owlets run through our doors each morning, eager to grow and thrive in a safe, engaging, and empowering environment.

Thank you for your continued support, partnership, and trust in us. We are honored to be part of your child's educational journey and are looking forward to an amazing year ahead. Together, we will carry forward the legacy of excellence that began with the original Evening Star School in 1884.

Back-to-School Information and Details:

🏫Open House:

We are thrilled to welcome all of our families to Open House on Thursday, August 7th! This special event is truly like one large family reunion. It is the perfect opportunity for you and your child to explore the school, find their classroom, meet their homeroom teacher, drop off school supplies, deposit lunch money, and join our amazing PTO.

To create a meaningful experience for everyone, your family has been assigned a specific time block based on the first initial of your child’s last name. This scheduling system helps us manage parking more efficiently and allows our staff more time to personally connect with each family and student.

You will receive a welcome email from your child’s 2025–2026 homeroom teacher on the morning of August 7th. This email will include:

• A reminder about your designated Open House time

• Your child’s classroom number

• A Google Form link for you to complete with important information about your child

Please attend during the session that matches the first initial of your child’s last name, as parking is limited and our student body is large. Staff members will be available throughout the building to assist you and guide you as needed.

To help us maintain the beauty of our campus, we kindly ask that all vehicles remain on paved areas and park only in designated parking spaces. If overflow parking is necessary, please utilize our field behind the school. 

In addition, sometime next week, you will receive a postcard reminder about the Thursday, August 7th Open House grade level assigned times, which are also listed below;

Kindergarten Open House Times:

• 12:00-12:45 p.m. Last Names A-G

• 1:00-1:45 p.m. Last Names H-O

• 2:00-2:45 p.m. Last Names P-Z

Sensory Friendly Open House - Invite Only

• 3:00-3:45 p.m.

1st-4th Open House Times:

• 4:00-4:40 p.m. Last Names A-G

• 4:40-5:20 p.m. Last Names H-O

• 5:20-6:00 p.m. Last Names P-Z

🚌Bus Service: 

On July 9th, our Director of Transportation, Jason Salmons, sent an email to families regarding bus transportation. We want to ensure you are ready for a new school year by confirming your transportation needs. Please log in to the BusQuest App and verify your student's bus information. To download the BusQuest app, follow these instructions shared at bentonvillek12.org. 

If your address differs from what is shown in the BusQuest app, please contact our school registrar, Mrs. Tammy Webb, at tawebb@bentonvillek12.org.

If you need to change your bus service, make the changes in the app and submit them. For example, if you no longer need bus service, mark your student as not having bus service and click submit.

If no information has changed and your student used bus service last year, you don't need to do anything. The system will automatically add your student for the 2025–2026 school year.

Before the first day of school, please check the BusQuest app often for the latest bus stop times. These times could change as additional students are added to the route.

Reminders: 

• If your kindergartener rides the bus, a parent must receive the student at the bus stop. Until the bus driver gets to know you, please have your driver's license ready so the driver can verify your name.

• Parents can complete the Kindergarten Bus Release Form to indicate that another adult or older sibling will pick up the kindergartner at the bus stop. Designated adults will also need their driver's license each time they pick up the child.

• Once school starts, please ensure you have the BusCompass app for daily bus operations. This app lets you know when the bus is within three bus stops of your child’s stop and allows you to receive delays or bus number changes. To download the BusCompass app, follow these instructions. 

Email our Transportation Department with any questions you may have at BusRequest@bentonvillek12.org.

• Bus Quest

• Bus Compass

🎒School Day Details:

The first day of school is August 12th. Watch our school’s Facebook page for a 10-day countdown with additional information and fun facts about ESE prior to the first day of school. We will highlight some of the many reasons ESE is the place to be as we prepare our little owls to Dream Big and Fly High!

Students may enter the building at 7:00 a.m. and make their way to their designated gathering place outside the classroom. The first bell will ring at 7:22 a.m., and the tardy bell rings at 7:30 a.m. If you arrive after 7:30 a.m., parents must park and check students into the office. Students may enter classrooms at 7:22 a.m. Dismissal from classrooms for walkers, car riders, and bus riders will begin at 2:30 p.m. 

For the first two weeks of school, all ESE staff members will be available to help students find their classrooms and get settled. Parents may walk their students to class only on the first day of school. Beginning on Wednesday, August 13th, students will need to walk to class on their own. 

If your child is a car rider, for the safety of every child, we ask you to remain in your vehicle when picking up your child from school. All car riders will be issued a 2025-2026 unique number for the ESE car line. ALL car riders must have the paper 2025-2026 ESE Car Rider Pass with this unique number displayed on their front dash. Two copies will be provided to families at Open House. If you do not have your 2025-2026 ESE Car Rider Pass, you will be asked to show a photo ID before we will release your child from school. Plastic car rider tags will be issued by September 1st. We ask parents not to park in the designated handicap spots. These spots are reserved for only those who are authorized to park there. In the morning or the afternoon, if you need to pull around to the parking lot from our car line, we ask that you park in one of the nine open spots in the front row on the other side of the handicapped spots or in any of the other available spots throughout our parking lot. Car riders, please be patient with us. It will take a couple of weeks to establish our dismissal routine. Please be advised that our car line can take over an hour for the first few weeks. Here is a short video outlining our car line procedures: [ESE Car Line]. If you have never had the opportunity to participate in our car line, you are highly encouraged to view the video linked above. Some additional reminders include:

• Only students who live within our designated walk zone will be permitted to walk from the school doors to meet their parents at the school-designated locations. 

• Only right turns onto Haxton Road are permitted during the hours of 7:00-7:30 AM and 2:30-3:30 PM. If a car turns left onto Haxton Road, it shuts the entire car rider line down. Thank you for doing your part and helping us keep our car line moving safely and quickly. 

• Please keep our crosswalks clear. 

One final, but very important reminder: It is against the law to use your cell phone in a school zone. Our school zone spans from the Scissortail neighborhood down Haxton Road past Gaston Road. This includes our car-rider line. Thank you for being courteous in the car line and protecting all of our owlets! 

In addition, all K-4 building principals and district officials request your cooperation during the morning drop-off times between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. Your child’s safety is our top priority! Should parents need to be in the building between 7:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., please check in through the office and be prepared to show photo identification. Teachers and staff are happy to meet with parents by appointment. Again, we cannot reiterate enough how important your child’s safety is to us, and so for that reason, we appreciate your support.

To ensure the safety of all children, we will send your child home the same way every day unless you notify our front office staff before 2:00 p.m. Additionally, a transportation and procedures letter will be provided at Open House. This letter contains detailed information about campus security, morning/afternoon car riders, bus riders, Discovery, walkers, tardies, and our district lightning procedure. If you have questions regarding your child’s after-school dismissal status, please contact the school office at 479-360-7400. The office is open 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. if you need help or have any questions. 

We are thrilled to welcome our ESE families in person and kick off another unforgettable year at Evening Star Elementary! Together, we look forward to a school year filled with joyful learning, meaningful connections, and lasting memories. Each child who walks through our doors is a gift, and we are honored to guide, nurture, and challenge them to dream big and fly high as they grow into confident, compassionate learners. Thank you for your trust, your partnership, and for sharing your amazing children with us. With your continued support, we will ensure that every owl soars.

Sincerely,
Principal Ashley Williams

📝Annual Forms: Beginning August 1st through August 25th, your child’s annual forms will be available for verification through Etrieve. To complete the required back-to-school forms, simply log on to Forms-Online Forms (Etrieve) or visit our Student Services page at https://www.bentonvillek12.org/page/student-services. This step is necessary in August at the beginning of each school year. Once you have submitted your forms, you can simply log in to Etrieve to view the full submission to Mrs. Webb. If you notice the message “ended” this means your form has been automatically filed. If there is a message noted as “in progress” this means Mrs. Webb is in the process of reviewing your documents. It is always helpful to check the “Drafts” section of your Etrieve account. Sometimes a box gets missed, or a form simply needs to be submitted in order for our team to process your little one’s forms. 

Bentonville Schools no longer requires proof of residency on an annual basis. However, if you’ve had an address change, you will need to provide proof of residency to update our records through Etrieve using the Change of Address form in Etrieve. It takes only a moment to review and confirm your child’s records, but it’s critical you do so by August 25th. These forms are mobile-friendly. Should you have any questions, our school registrar, Tammy Webb is available to help. Feel free to email her at tawebb@bentonvillek12.org.

✅Annual forms for elementary students in Bentonville Schools include the following.

• Chromebook Use Agreement

• Annual Consent & Agreement (Student Handbook)

• Emergency Card - List any individual who may have access to your child for lunch, dismissal, or emergency pickup. This can be modified at any point in the year.

• Health History

🥣Breakfast and Lunch Information: 

For the 2025-2026 school year, one breakfast will be available at no charge to every student at the beginning of each school day upon his or her request. Beginning with the first day of school, students will be charged if they choose to get a cafeteria-provided lunch.

• Lunch costs $2.85 (K-6) or $3.05 (7-12) each day. 

• To Add Money Online: Utilize our portal (bentonville.familyportal.cloud). If you are new to our district, you will need to click “Register.” 

• Visit bentonville.familyportal.cloud - click on the “Guest” button to find out if your family is eligible for Free & Reduced-price meals. Free & Reduced Paper Meal Application - Click [HERE]

• Need help? Call Annette Bunton at (479) 254-5095.

🗓️District Calendar: Click HERE to view our 2025-2026 School Calendar. Every minute of instruction we have with your little one is vital and helps ensure their success in the future. We look forward to seeing the halls filled with our ESE Owls on August 12th. 

📝School supplies: Click HERE to view the school supplies list for the 2025-2026 school year. 

🌐District Website: Stay up to date with events and news. Check out our District Website and our School Website. 

📩District-wide Communication System: Beginning this fall, all Bentonville Schools will utilize School Status to communicate with our families. Be on the lookout for more information coming your way soon. 

📱ESE Media Sources: Throughout the school year, we will use various media sources to communicate all the great things happening in our building. We would love for you to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. 

• Facebook: Evening Star Elementary 

• Instagram: eveningstarelementary

• ESE Website: Click HERE to check out our school website. We will update our grade level teams and department pictures and information after August 12th when staff return on contract. 

PTO Social Media Platforms:

• Facebook: Evening Star Elementary PTO

• Instagram: eveningstarpto

• ESE PTO Website: Click HEREto check out our new PTO website. 

ℹ️PTO Information: Our PTO has some great opportunities planned for our ESE Families! Click HERE.

• 2025-2026 ESE Yard Signs and PTO Memberships: Show your school spirit! Secure your ESE yard sign by joining the PTO. Your membership gives you voting rights in the PTO and helps to support the 2025-2026 Evening Star PTO initiatives, like the Pie Supper, ESE Gives Back, Walk in my Shoes, ESE Staff and Teacher Hospitality (includes ESE Staff and Teacher Hospitality Week), the Spring Fling, and much more! 

🛑Stop by the PTO table in the ESE Wonder room during Open House. 

🗓️Mark your calendars now. This is a great way to stay involved at ESE. 

Aug. 7th - Open House

Aug. 12th - 1st Day of School

**Aug. 26th - 8:30 a.m. PTO Meeting & Volunteer Training

Sept. 1st - Labor Day-No School

Sept. 3rd-5th - Grandparents Lunch

Sept. 15th - 19th - Start with Hello

Sept. 18th - Curriculum & Connection Night 

**Sept. 23rd - 5:30 p.m. PTO Meeting & Volunteer Training

Sept. 26th - Hoot Hut

Oct. 9th - Fall Pictures

Oct. 16th-17th - No School

Oct. 23rd, 27th, & 28th - P/T Conferences

Oct. 31st - Fall Party

Nov. 6th - Pie Supper

Nov. 14th - Turkey Trot

Nov. 18th - PTO Meeting

Nov. 19th-21st - Thankful Lunch

Nov. 24th-28th - Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 18th - Winter Party

Dec. 22nd-Jan. 5th - Winter Break

Jan. 27th - PTO Meeting

*All dates are subject to change. Follow us on social media for the most up-to-date information.

**Reminder - Volunteer Training is required annually for any family member wishing to volunteer in the school building and at school events, as well as those who wish to assist as a volunteer on field trips.