Hello Van Buren Families!

  Family Adventure Night is coming up this week on Thursday, May 1st from 5-7pm.  Activities will include crafts, face painting, special music and readings, opportunity to talk to the architects for the new building, verify for the next school year, meet Pick a Better Snack staff, try foods from other cultures, and play games.  A pizza supper will be served free to all Van Buren students and their families!

  We are still collecting donations of individually wrapped snack cakes for a game – this could include – Little Debby cakes, Zebra cakes, Twinkies, etc..  if you are willing to make a donation – please send them to the main office.
Challenge for Change is requesting feedback on the monthly instruction they give in the building to help students learn how to self – regulate.  Caregiver Survey: https://form.jotform.com/250914671458160

District Bus Hiring Event: LINKMark Your Calendars
April 28th Monday Night – You can watch the CRCSD Board Meeting at 5:30pm on this You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/EngageCRschools– there will be a presentation showing the new Van Buren School set to open in August 2027 and will be built south of the school.

May 1st – Family Adventure Night 5-7pm throughout the school

No School this Friday – May 2nd

Last week of School Activities

  Tuesday, June 3rd – Annual Field Day (rain date June 4th)

  Thursday, June 5th – Last Day for Students (full day)  2:30 – 5th grade bell ringing

Opportunities:

Kernels’ Summer Reading Program

Iowa State Fair Spelling Bee 2025

Fair time is almost here, and we’re excited to announce that the Iowa State Fair will once again sponsor a Spelling Bee for elementary school students across Iowa!

The Spelling Bee will take place on Friday, August 8, 2025, at the Penningroth Media Center located in the Cattle Barn at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. We are reaching out to school personnel who may be interested in encouraging their students to participate in this year’s competition. As outlined on the enclosed entry form, the Spelling Bee includes three competition categories:

  • Students who have completed 1st and 2nd grades
  • Students who have completed 3rd and 4th grades
  • Students who have completed 5th and 6th grades
    Only students in these grade levels are eligible.

Our goal is to show children that mastering fundamentals like spelling can be both educational and fun! We will follow the official rules of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, with one exception: once the competition is down to the top five spellers, a contestant who misspells a word will be eliminated only if the next contestant spells the next two words correctly. A full copy of the rules is enclosed.

An entry form is included with this announcement. Please feel free to make additional copies if multiple students from your school wish to participate. Entries must be received by June 15, 2025. Each age group will be limited to  seventy (70) participants.
Registered students will receive detailed instructions, a map of the fairgrounds, a State Fair admission ticket for the day of the competition, and a practice word list.

Every participant will receive a certificate, a participant ribbon, and a variety of prizes. Top finishers in each age group will receive additional awards.
We ask for your help in distributing the enclosed entry forms to interested students and teachers. 

If you have any questions, please contact Tonya Cook at the Iowa State Fair:

Thank you for helping us share this exciting opportunity with your students and teachers!
Please remember: Participation is limited to seventy (70) students per competition level. 

Tonya L. Cook CFE, IFM Entertainment Director  Iowa State Fair
Sincerely,

Mrs. Evans