
Banta Unified School District
January Update

Superintendent's Corner
I have always viewed January as a time of opportunity and new beginnings. The New Year brings a blank slate, an opportunity to meet new people, to have new adventures, and most importantly, an opportunity to create new memories. I recently read an open letter from a British mom who talked about her role as a mom, and how being a mom is a constant cycle of new beginnings.
She talked about how as parents, we change as our children grow, and we become different parents for each stage of our children’s development. With this growth though, is also a feeling of loss. As we move to the next stage, we are often confronted with the fact that the last stage is gone– that child that we knew as a baby is now a gangly teenager, or in my case a 6-foot 5-inch man.
New beginnings come in a variety of forms, and although I can never have back my three little babies, this past year my husband decided that we needed a new puppy, Hank. So although my children are all in their 20’s, I now have a furry toddler to take care of! I once again have sleepless nights, puppy sitters, many trips to the park, and of course my world is now filled with much joy and puppy snuggles!
To realize that my children are growing up, and are starting to set out on their own, is awesome and awe-inspiring, and fills me with great pride. This has been a year filled with many firsts, a year of new beginnings, and one of great expectations for the future! This year, my eldest son and his beautiful fiancé married and began their new life together. Seeing your child get married is awe-inspiring, and breathtaking all at the same time. It reminded me of a time, 31 years ago, when a young man took a chance on me, and together we built a life.
My youngest son also embarked on a new journey this year. I am so proud that he has his father’s sense of adventure! This year he started a new job, moved to a new city, and is finding his way in the financial district of San Francisco! Who would have thought that the kid who hated math class has become an accountant!
This year is also filled with great expectations as my daughter has embarked on her first year at UC Davis’s School of Medicine. New beginnings are hard when you leave home, make new friends, are away from your family, and begin to carve out a new place for yourself! As a parent, it fills me with great joy to see my daughter succeed and take charge of her new life.
This year I moved back to Banta and was very nervous about my new beginning. I have to say that six months later, I am so thankful for the wonderful opportunity I have had to be your Superintendent. I have always loved Banta, its children, its parents, and especially its community spirit. Thank you so much for helping me these past few months get to know you. I am constantly awed by your love and generosity, and feel so fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful school district.
As we move into this year of 2022, I am excited for the wonderful new beginnings that we will have, I am excited to finish my doctorate, I am excited for a newly designed school library, the end of puppy training, and of course. I am looking forward to continuing our work together at Banta Unified School District.
Happy New Year from the Banta office to yours!
Important Dates for January
Jan 3. -Winter Break
Jan. 4th -School Resumes for students
Jan 19th-PFA/DLAC/LCAP Meeting 6:30 PM
Jan. 14th– Second Trimester progress reports grades 4-8.
Jan 17th– MLK Holiday– NO School
Jan 26th– 100th Day of School
Feb 14th– Board Holiday– No School
Feb 14th– Valentine’s Day
Feb 21st– President’s Day– No School
PFA/ DLAC / LCAP Meeting
Next Meeting: January 19, 2022
6:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75756161567?pwd=blVPTFF2Qy8vNFhOQjFzQnhDSTdlUT09
Meeting ID: 757 5616 1567
Passcode: EVb4SJ
Please join us at our monthly parent and staff meeting!
Principal's Round up
Happy New Year to our Banta Community!
The New Year brings so much hope. My husband and I aren’t ones to stay up late and ring in the new year at midnight; but, we do like the idea of setting new goals and realizing dreams in each new year.
This past year we were able to realize personal and professional goals. Students were back on campus; he and his employees were back at work; our sons were back to work and thriving. For us, the new year is a time to celebrate what we have learned and been thankful for our blessings. For 2022, I’m sure my hopes for our Banta community are shared by all. I hope Banta School continues to grow in number; in personal knowledge and goals; for health for ourselves and our loved ones. May the New Year bring you closer to your goals and dreams.
Dr. Ann Jayne Principal
School Calendar 2021-2022


Character Counts -Pillar of the Month- Citizenship
Do your share to make your school and community better • Cooperate • Get involved in community affairs • Stay informed; vote • Be a good neighbor • Obey laws and rules • Respect authority • Protect the environment • Volunteer in your community

Nurse's Corner
Let's Talk about Lice
Myths:
1. It is easy to get lice and cutting a person’s hair will prevent head lice
2. Lice are dirty and spread disease
3. Lice can survive many days off of people or lice can fall off a person’s head, hatch, and cause another person to get lice
4. Lice are commonly spread throughout schools and you can get it from sitting next to someone with lice
5. Schools and child-care facilities should screen all children for head lice
6. “no-nit” policies reduce the risk of head lice in schools and child-care facilities.
Facts:
1. Lice are much harder to get than a cold, the flu, ear infections, pink eye, and strep throat. The length of a person’s hair does not impact the risk of getting lice
2. Lice do not spread any known disease, nor are they impacted by dirty or clean hygiene
3. Head lice need a blood meal every few hours and the warmth of the human scalp to survive. Nits are glued to the hair shaft by a cement-like substance and are very hard to remove.
4. Head lice are spread through direct head-to-head contact. The lice do not jump, hop, or fly. Sitting next to someone will not increase the risk of getting the lice, therefore, making transmission through schools rare. It is more common to get lice from family and overnight guests.
5. Having regularly scheduled mass screenings does not reduce the incidence of head lice
6. Research shows that “no-nit” policies do not decrease the number of cases of head lice. They do increase the risk of incorrect diagnosis of head lice, the number of days children are out of school, and the negative social stigma associated with head lice
Cold and Flu Season is Here!
Myths about colds and the flu:
Colds and the flu are caused by going outside in cold weather
Colds and the flu can be caught by going outside with wet hair
Antibiotics are needed to treat a cold or the flu
The flu shot will give me the flu
The flu is just a bad cold
Facts about colds and the flu:
Viruses in the flu shot are not active or alive and cannot cause you to get the flu
Antibiotics do not treat or cure colds or the flu
Colds and the flu are caused by viruses.
The best way to prevent catching a cold or the flu is to get the flu vaccine, practice good hand hygiene, and get plenty of sleep.
Does Your Student Have Health Concerns?
Our priority here at Banta Elementary is to keep your kids safe at school. The best way for us to be able to do that is to be aware of any medical or health needs that your child may have. This could include medications that need to be brought to school or health conditions that we would need to know about in an emergency.
Did you know: California state law allows for students to keep medications at school? The law requires that the physician of the child complete a form that gives us all of the information that we would need to know to safely give that medication to your child. Please contact the school office if you would like a copy of the medication form!
Importance of Dental Care for Children
• One out of 10 two-year-olds already have one or more cavities
• By age three, 28% of children have one or more cavities.
• By age five, nearly 50% of children have one or more cavities.
• American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommend that all children see a pediatric dentist and establish a “dental home” by age one.
• Early checkups prevent cavities and tooth decay, which can lead to pain, trouble concentrating, and other medical issues.
Get Help Accessing Denti-Cal Services for Children up to Age 20!
Get Help Accessing Denti-Cal Services for Children up to Age 20!
San Joaquin Treatment & Education for Everyone on Teeth & Health (SJ TEETH) Care Coordinators can help families:
• Identify and select a dental home
• Secure dental appointments
• Support attendance to appointments by addressing barriers
For more information, dial 2-1-1 or contact:
San Joaquin County Office of Education
PO Box 213030
Stockton, Ca 95213
Adriana Cortés Solorio
209-401-4606
First 5 San Joaquin: 209-953-5437 | sjckids@sjgov.org | www.sjkids.org
Food Service
Another successful month is behind us. Meal counts continue to grow on some days and stay steady on others. I visited Mrs. Mate's 5th-grade class at Banta to touch base with students' likes and dislikes. I really appreciated their feedback, and have conveyed their thoughts to our kitchen staff.
If there is a favorite item, you would like to see on the menu, please send me an email with your student’s favorite items to Jaanderson@bantasd.org.


The Librarian's Corner
Happy New Year from the room in the school with the books! We are back in 2022 with a new slate of programming for our special mustang students. We will have a basic paper quilling project where students can come in at lunch time and work on projects, more details will follow. In February we will host “Blind Date with a Book,” where books will be wrapped up and students can choose a book based on the description words that are on the front wrapping.
In December before we broke for the winter holiday we hosted our Dog Friends and their handlers back for “Read-to-a-Dog,” and had our 1st and 4th graders read with these kind canines. Everyone seemed to have a barktastic good time. Students received about 10 mins each with the dogs and received a bookmark at the end of their time with our human and furry friends. Our dogs and handlers were dressed up to celebrate the spirit of the season! What could be better? We expect that they will be back in January, this time to visit and read with our fifth graders.
As always, I welcome a second set of hands in the library since we should be receiving some new books and I will need help with that as well as weeding out some of the older books to make room for the new ones!
Any book suggestions or ideas for programs please feel free to share them with me at emcdaniel@bantasd.org. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2022! Go Banta Readers….keep reading so that we can reward you with your AR points and prizes as we progress into the second trimester.
Cheers,
Dr. McDaniel
December Book Review
There are so many good books out there, but here are two that are worth perusing. One is for our younger readers, the second for those slightly older who enjoy curling up with a good book.
Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri
What could be better than a secret pizza party? Well, Raccoon LOVES pizza! That’s all he wants, but everyone is always chasing him away from the pizza. He loves the “gooey cheesy-ness, salty, pepperoni-ness, sweet, sweet tomato-ness and the crispity, crunchity crust.” It is so delicious. Does raccoon throw a pizza party? Or does Racoon just keep getting chased away? Who knows! In order to find out you had better check out this book today. Also by these two fabulous authors are Dragons Love Tacos. Be on the lookout for books by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri. Maybe even enjoy a taco or a piece of pizza after reading their books!
If you like gnomes otherwise known as Nisse, then this book is for you. Come into the inviting world that our author Michelle Houts paints as she describes a tradition of long ago that spawns quite the story. Young Bettina is looking after her baby sister Pia in her parent’s absence during Christmastime. They forget to leave out a bowl of warm rice pudding for the little nisse (gnome) and this is where the shenanigans begin. Baby Pia goes missing during an afternoon nap. Bettina must get her sister back even if she has to enter the nisse’s magical world. Won’t you go on this adventure and see what happens!
Read to a Dog is a bow-wow success!

Dressed in their holiday best, members of the Paws 4 Friends group came to the Banta Elementary School twice this month as part of their regular visits for the Read to a Dog Program.
Each month the therapy dogs and their owners come to the school library to take part in the Reading Education Assistance Dogs program or R.E.A.D. The program is designed to help students improve their reading skills by giving them the opportunity to read aloud and not be judged by their audience, which in this case is a dog.
In the past dog visitors to the school have been both big and small. Handlers and their pups have included Laura Francis and Abby, Cheryl Herkenrath and Shasta, and Sue Barnes with Miss Morgan.
On Dec. 14 the group dressed for the holidays and included Sue Barnes and her dog Bailey, Sue Whatley and her dog Vegas, Dottie Thompson and her dog Seamus, and Margo Berenberg and dog Rascal.
Each month the group brings different dogs to read to a different group of students in the library.
Field Trips with Hank and Ozzy
Parent, Faculty Association/ DLAC / LCAP
In our monthly meetings, we actively share ongoing academic successes and needs for all students, especially those learning English as a second language.
Please join us, virtually, this year as we continue to honor Banta’s rich history and community involvement.
Meeting Days and Time Wednesdays from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
● January 19, 2022
● February 16, 2022
● March 6, 2022
● April 20, 2022
Ann Jayne is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75756161567?pwd=blVPTFF2Qy8vNFhOQjFzQ nhDSTdlUT09 Meeting ID: 757 5616 1567 Passcode: EVb4SJ
Look Who's At Banta
This month's Look Who's At Banta profile features first grade Teacher Kate Fornaciari, and fifth grade Teacher Kim Mate. Each month "Banta Bios" will highlight a Banta Elementary School staff member's educational background, training and what they like to do outside the classroom

Teacher Kate Fornaciari, 59, originally from Scotts Valley, California
Family:
Husband Neal, son Theo and their Border collie dog Coach.
Educational background:
Bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Fresno State College, and teaching credentials from the University of Phoenix. She has been teaching for 20 years at various school districts, but Banta has been her home for the last 5-years.
Hobbies:
When she is not spending time with her family, she enjoys being outdoors in nature, cooking, reading, and traveling. Her cooking skills are broad and she enjoys trying new recipes that primarily focus on comfort food. Her favorites, which are all made from scratch, are macaroni and cheese, homemade pastas, fish tacos and Hungarian Goulash. She likes to start with a recipe, but eventually the dish evolves over time as she adds her own twist to it. Her favorite genre for reading is mystery, particularly those novels by authors Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith. When she is not relaxing at home with a good book or preparing a tasty dish, she likes to travel both around the United States and internationally. Her travels in the past have taken her to such destinations as Italy, Greece, Africa, Alaska, and numerous national parks. She and her husband are currently building a home on Mount Lassen for their retirement years, where she hopes to eventually operate a horse rescue for abused horses.

Teacher Kim Mate, 52, originally from San Bernardino.
Family:
Husband Robert and son’s Kyle, Jarod and Caleb
Educational background:
Associates Degree from Riverside Community College, and Bachelor’s degree from Park University in Missouri. She is currently attending the Teachers College of San Joaquin for her teaching credentials. She has been at Banta for six years in the capacity of teacher, substitute teacher and instructional aide, and most recently a fifth grade teacher.
Hobbies:
Outside the classroom, her hobbies include camping, hiking and crafts like scrapbooking. She is also an avid athlete as a former softball player, and currently a soccer player on a co-ed team in the city of Tracy. She has been playing soccer since the second grade in a variety of positions, but now mostly as a midfield player. She has also coached and managed the teams of her three sons over the years. “I always have a ball in the car,” she said. When it comes to traveling, she likes to go to Arizona to visit family members. Staying busy is her motto, but she always makes time to be with family and friends.


