Glen Haven Elementary School PTA

Hello Glen Haven friends! This week’s Scoop will be a HUGE triple serving, covering this next week as well as the upcoming weeks of Spring Break.

HAVE A FUN AND SAFE SPRING BREAK, AND SEE YOU BACK AT SCHOOL TUESDAY APRIL 23!

This Week and Beyond:    

• • April 8-24 – Read-a-Thon begins!
  • April 8-12 – College and Career Awareness Week
  • April 9-10 – Kindergarten orientation for incoming students. No school for current kindergarten students.
  • April 10 – Drama Club parent meeting (7:30 pm – 8 pm)
  • April 12 – Career Day (9:15 am – 11:15 am) ; STEAM Day (1:15 pm – 3:15 pm)
  • April 13 – Sweep the Creek day!!
  • April 16 – Report cards distributed
  • April 17, 18, 19, 22 – Spring Break—No school for students and teachers; offices closed April 19 and 22
  • April 20 – Earth Day!
  • April 24 – Secretaries’ Day
  • April 25 – Take Your Child to Work Day
  • April 26 – 2nd Cup of Coffee- Merienda- Principal’s Book of the Month (8:40 am – 9:40 am); Volunteer Appreciation Brunch (10 am – 11 am)

Announcements:

• Our Read-a-Thon has started and will be running through April 24!! Your support will help us raise money for our kids, while also promoting reading skills and the value of education! Visit https://www.read-a-thon.com/school/Glen-Haven-PTA_25025 to donate to readers or the Glen Haven PTA.
• This week is College & Career Awareness Week! We hope this week provides our students with the understanding that preparing for college and a career begins now, by forming good work habits and learning to set goals. Join in the fun each day!
  • Monday April 8: Dress for Success- Students and staff are encouraged to wear their “best” outfits since we are “Dressing for Success.”
  • Tuesday April 9: Your Path to College & Career Begins with Glen Haven Spirit- Students and staff are asked to wear Glen Haven spirit wear and/or colors to demonstrate that they believe the path to college and career begins at Glen Haven Elementary School.
  • Wednesday April 10: Dreaming of Going to College- Students and staff are encouraged to wear pajamas to school.
  • Thursday April 11: College Suits Me to a T! Students and staff are encouraged to wear their favorite college t-shirt or jersey to school.
  • Friday April 12: Choose Your Career with College! Students may dress as their future career. This is also Glen Haven Elementary School’s Career & STEAM Day!!
• Kindergarten orientation will be Tuesday and Wednesday April 9 and 10. Current Kindergarten students will not have school those days- enjoy the days off!
  • Do you know an upcoming Kindergartener? Remind their parents to call Glen Haven to schedule orientation for their student!

• Sweep the Creek is this coming weekend!! Join us on April 13 from 9:00am to 11:00am to help clean up and keep our community beautiful!. Flyers will go home this week with more information..

PTA advocacy news and events:

• Tuesday, Apr. 9th: Parent Curriculum Information Night
  • 7:00 pm, Cafeteria, Montgomery Blair High School
  • MCPS is beginning the implementation of a three year roll-out of curricular and instructional materials and supports for elementary and middle English Language Arts (ELA) and Math to maintain high levels of teaching and learning for all students. Parent and community members are encouraged to come learn more from MCPS staff and the new curriculum vendors about what will be implemented in our schools. There will be a presentation of both the ELA and Math curricular and instructional materials and supports and an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.
• Tuesday, April 9th: “Screenagers” movie at SSIMS
  • 7:00 pm, Band Room, Silver Spring International Middle School
  • The PTSA will be showing  the award-winning documentary “Screenagers, Growing Up in the Digital Age.”  This documentary looks at how tech time impacts kids’ development and also offers solutions on how adults can empower their kids to best navigate the digital world and provides practical resources to help them do it.  There will be a brief discussion after the movie.  The film is intended for students and parents together so bring your 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders along! Light refreshments will be served.
  • The PTSA is asking for a $5 donation per family, at the door.  RSVP here: https://impactflow.com/event/presented-by-ssims-ptsa-10081
• Wednesday, April 10th: Boundary Analysis Parent Information Meeting
  • 7:00-9:00 pm, Cafeteria, John F. Kennedy High School
  • Earlier this year, the Montgomery County Board of Education adopted a resolution asking the superintendent to utilize external consultants to conduct an in-depth review and analysis of how existing school and cluster boundaries support or hinder the effective use of school facilities in MCPS. To help gather input from the community regarding the scope of work for the consultants, the framework for the assessment of the district’s school and cluster boundaries, and how the consultants will focus their efforts and analysis, MCPS is hosting four regional community conversations. No specific boundary recommendations are under consideration. The purpose of the conversations is to obtain feedback to inform the work of the consultants. More information can be found here: https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/community-input-sought-school-cluster-boundary-analysis/
• Tuesday, Apr. 24: Equity Accountability Model Meeting
  • 7:00-8:30 pm, Cafeteria, Montgomery Blair High School
  • Join Montgomery County Public Schools for a series of community meetings to learn about the MCPS Equity Accountability Model and other strategies the district is using to monitor and report student achievement. Due to limited space, we request that you RSVP at this link.

   

PTA organizational news:

At this month’s PTA/Parent Informational meeting, the nominating committee presented the “slate” of officers (positions which require the vote: President, President-elect, Vice President, VP Communications, Treasurer, Treasurer-elect, and Secretary) to vote on for the 2019-2020 school year. Voting for the slate, as well as the other volunteers for leadership positions, will take place at next month’s PTA meeting (May 7).

• Wanna join the team? We are still looking for volunteers to lead Membership, Translation, Audit, and (co-lead) Room Parents!.

Reminders:

• The school year has been extended; please see the revised academic calendar at the end of this email.

• MCPS provides meals for students with negative account balances through Dine with Dignity program. Launched in November 2018, the Dine with Dignity program allows students with negative account balances to enjoy traditional breakfast and lunch choices at no cost. Families will be asked to pay off, or to contribute within their means when they can, toward the outstanding balance on their student’s lunch account; the Dine with Dignity Fund pays the remainder.
  • Community members who would like to contribute to the Dine with Dignity Fund can donate online at: https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/pages/our-programs/dine-with-dignity-program

• Fifth grade parents! If you weren’t able to make our December Parent Information Session/PTA meeting to meet administrators from Sligo Middle School, no worries! Check out our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/glenhavenpta/) to view a recording of the presentation by Sligo Middle School principal Shauna Jorandby, 6th grade Coordinator Patrick Bilock, and Sligo PTA president Rachel Cornwell.

Other ways to help out the PTA:

• Help our PTA by purchasing items with the Box Tops for Education logo then clip and send them to school to be collected.  The classroom that submits the most Box Tops each month will celebrate with a popcorn party and an overall winner will get a class pizza party at the end of the school year!
• Sign up for eScrip at escrip.com earn special savings for you and money for the Glen Haven PTA.
• We now have a new way to support your Glen Haven PTA! If you shop on Amazon, use our Amazon Smile link (https://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-6018965) to donate some of the proceeds for your purchase to Glen Haven PTA. You’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com,  with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to the Glen Haven PTA!
• Register your Giant card at https://giantfood.com/school-rewards/.  For each purchase that you make, Giant will donate to Glen Haven Elementary.

Class Dojo:  Please make sure you set up a Class Dojo account for your child.  Your child’s teacher has the information regarding how to set this up or you can click on this link- https://classdojo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205417305-Create-a-Parent-Account#web. The school uses Class Dojo for most communications so it is very important for you to have access to your child’s account and check for announcements daily.

Like us on Facebook!  Glen Haven PTA @glenhavenpta (https://www.facebook.com/glenhavenpta/)

Community Events and News:

SSNS TRUCK TOUCH – Fun for Kids of ALL Ages! Join Silver Spring Nursery School’s 16th Annual Truck Touch on Saturday, May 4, 10 am-1 pm. The parking lot will be filled with vehicles of every kind for children to explore, including Montgomery County construction trucks, a fire engine, rescue vehicles, a school bus, Metro bus, and more. Enjoy live entertainment, a silent auction, food and drinks, arts and crafts, games, and face painting! Admission is $5/person, and children under age 2 are FREE. Additional tickets for food and activities can be purchased at the entrance. All proceeds benefit SSNS, celebrating 75 years of sharing, caring, and helping children learn through play. For more details and an updated list of vehicles and silent auction donors, go to https://www.silverspringnurseryschool.org/truck-touch or https://www.facebook.com/events/2130463637042579/

Story Time at the National Postal Museum. Taking place every Monday, the program includes a book reading and activities for little ones in the museum’s education space. Stay to explore the rest of the museum, which is full of interactive exhibits that all ages can enjoy. Story Time is at 10:30am and repeated at 11am. Admission is free.

Montgomery Parks Programs and Activities – Montgomery County Recreation and Montgomery Parks have hundreds of exciting programs and classes to promote active and healthy lifestyles. For more information, visit ActiveMONTGOMERY (https://apm.activecommunities.com/montgomerycounty).

Local Libraries

(http://host.evanced.info/montgomerycountymd/evanced/eventcalendar)

Silver Spring Library

Ongoing:

• • English Conversation Club (Mondays at 11:30 am)
  • Lunchtime Yoga Flow (Tuesdays at 12 pm)
  • Chess Club (Tuesdays at 3:30 pm)
  • Baby Storytime (Tuesdays at 10:30 am and 11:30 am)
  • Preschool Story Time (Tuesdays 1:30 pm)
  • Toddler Story Time (Wednesdays at 10:30 am and 11:30 am)
  • Homework Help (Thursdays at 6 pm)
  • Lego Weekend Play (Saturdays at 12:30 pm; Sundays at 1 pm)

Wheaton Library

Ongoing:

• • Pajama Storytime (Mondays 6:30 pm)
  • Toddler Storytime (Tuesdays at 10:30 am)
  • Building Block Time (Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:30 am)
  • Me and You-kulele Sing-a-long (Thursdays 4 pm)

Kensington Park Library

Ongoing:

• • Pajama Storytime (Mondays at 7 pm)
  • Chess Club (Tuesdays at 6 pm)
  • Storytime for Babies (Wednesdays at 10:30 am)
  • Storytime for Toddlers and Preschoolers (Wednesdays at 11:15 am)
  • Homework Help (Thursdays at 5:30 pm)

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School Information for Parents:

Parent guides to the Elementary school curriculum: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/elementary/guides.aspx

The MCPS Parent Academy – Sign up for FREE workshops at www.mcpsparentacademy.org

Student safety: As parents and caregivers, we often have questions about student safety. You can find information about how Montgomery County Public Schools approaches student safety at https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2018-2019/Ensuring-Student-Safety.html

A Look Ahead:

• • May 1 – National Military Appreciation month begins; School Principal’s Day
  • May 6-10 – Children’s Mental Health Matters week; Teacher Appreciation week
  • May 7 – Parent Information Session/PTA Meeting (6:30 pm – 8 pm)
  • May 8 – National School Nurse Day
  • May 9 – Spring Concert (6:30 pm – 8 pm)
  • May 24 – Drama Club performance (7 pm – 8:30 pm)
  • May 27 – Memorial Day—Offices and schools closed
  • May 31 – Drama Club performance (7 pm – 8:30 pm)
  • June 4 — Parent Information Session/PTA Meeting (6:30 pm – 8 pm)
  • June 5 – Professional day for teachers
  • June 6 – Field Day grades K-2
  • June 7 – Field Day grades 3-5; second semester SSL hours due
  • June 10 – Kindergarten Promotion/Picnic (10 am – 11 am)
  • June 11 – PreK/PEP Promotion/Celebration (9:30 am – 10:30 am)
  • June 12 –Grades 3-4 Awards/Picnic (9:30 am – 10:30 am); Grades 1-2 Awards (2 pm -3 pm); Grade 5 Promotion!
  • June 14 – Last day of school for students! Early release day for all students
  • June 17 – Professional day for teachers
  • **Report cards will be mailed the week of June 24, 2019