MAY-JUNE 2017

A MESSAGE FROM MS. BROOKS

It is hard to believe that my first school year at Bel Pre is almost over and that this is the last edition of Panda Press for the 2016-2017 school year. I especially wish to thank Ms. Dorsey for being our PTA President for the past year and also Mrs. Kominski for being our Bel Pre PTA Vice-President! On behalf of everyone, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our PTA Executive Board for their support throughout my transition. Their support has been invaluable! A special thank you to all of our families and PTA for the gifts and meals to staff during Staff Appreciation Week. Thank you for your support and caring!

On behalf of Mr. Ricchini and all of us, a special thank you for supporting your children as they sought to support the American Heart Association through our JUMP ROPE FOR HEART fundraiser. This year we had all our students participate in the jumping event and over 150 students were able to help raise money for the American Heart Association. Together, Bel Pre Elementary School raised $5,019.00 for AHA! Awesome Job!

Save the Dates for Summer ELO Program

Bel Pre Elementary School will be offeringthe “Extended Learning Opportunity - Summer Adventures in Learning” (ELO-SAIL) program again this year. The program is free of charge for students who will be entering Grades K, 1, and 2 at Bel Pre in September of 2017. ELO-SAIL runs from July 10ththrough August 11thfrom 9:00 am to 1:00 pm with breakfast, lunch, and transportation provided. It is expected that students attend all 25 days to benefit from the program. Participating students will be working on concepts and skills that review their previous year’s learning and preview and reinforce the upcoming school year’s curriculum in reading, writing, and math. ELO registration forms were sent home. Space is limited so please return the completed forms to the office as early as possible, as spaces will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Confirmation letters along with the summer bus schedule and classroom teacher information will be mailed in June 2017. If you have any questions, please call the school at 301-287-8870.

General Information

As the school draws to an end, we will be reminding children of possible overdue books or outstanding bills. Please remind your children to return any outstanding library books. Thank you for your support in this matter.

As Shakespeare says, “Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow”

As the school year comes to a close, we must say goodbye to staff members who will not return in the fall. We wish to thank and acknowledge our long term substitute, Ms. Hoyt. We wish her the very best in her future endeavors. We also want to thank and appreciate at this time, our 1st grade teachers, Mrs. Debrowski and Mrs. Minehan, who will be leaving us and transferring to a new school closer to home. A special farewell to Mrs. Britton, a wonderful pre-K plus teacher and kindergarten teacher for many years at Bel Pre, and our Administrative Secretary, Mrs. Ramirez. Mrs. Britton and Mrs. Ramirez will be retiring at the end of this school year. We wish our dear colleagues who are departing Bel Pre the very best in their future endeavors.

Please join me in welcoming to Bel Pre the following new highly recommended staff member: Xiomara Gonzales, who will join our 1st grade teacher!

Upcoming Events for Bel Pre Elementary

May

  • May 1-5 – Staff Appreciation Week
  • May 5th – Strathmore/Bel Pre Daddy – Daughter Dance and Dinner at 6:30-8:30
  • May 8 – 2nd Grade In-House Field Trip – Maryland Science Center
  • May 10 – Pre-K/Kindergarten Spring Sing Show – 2:15-3:00
  • May 12 – Muffins with Moms – 8:30 – 11:30
  • May 12 – Pre-K/Pre-K Plus Field trip to Brookside Gardens @ 9:30-12:40
  • May 16 – Parent Workshop
  • May 16 – PTA Chipolte Fundraiser
  • May 18 – Interim Reports Go Home
  • May 22 – Field Day – Pre-K
  • May 24 – Field Day – Grade 2
  • May 25 – Field Day – Grade 1
  • May 26 – Field Day – Kindergarten/Pre-K Plus
  • May 26 – 1st Grade Field Trip to Sharps Farm
  • May 29th – No School – Memorial Day
  • May 31st – Field Day Grade 2 – RAIN DATE

June

  • June 1 – Field Day Grade 1 – RAIN DATE
  • June 2 – Field Day Kindergarten – RAIN DATE
  • June 7 – Field Trip – Grade 2 – Brookside Gardens @ 9:40-12:40 – 5 classes
  • June 8 – Field Trip – Grade 2 – Brookside Gardens @ 9:40-12:40 – 5 classes
  • June 9 – Volunteer Breakfast @ 8:30-9:30 a.m.
  • June 9 – Happy’s Birthday/Volunteer Assembly @ 9:30-10:00
  • June 16 – 2nd Grade Clap Out
  • June 16 – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL – EARLY RELEASE DAY – 12:55

End of the Year Information

  • Summer Parent Information Packets

We will be mailing the parent information packets for the next school year sometime in August. Please be on the lookout for this mailing as it will contain important information for the first day of school, September 5, 2017 and the newly revised busschedules.

  • Are You Moving?

Parents are asked to contact office at 301-287-8870, if they have a child currently enrolled in PreK through 1st grade and the family will be moving “away from the Bel Pre area” during the summer.

  • Medications

Parents are asked to please pick up any student medications in the health room by 1:00 p.m. Monday, June 19th. By MCPS regulations, medications that have not been picked up will be disposed of.

  • Outstanding Debts

Please remember to pay any outstanding debts promptly and return all library books.

  • Lost and Found

Please check the lost and found for any missing items. All items remaining after June 20th will be donated to charity.

  • Leaving School Prior to the Last Day

If children must leave school prior to the last day, please send in a note to the teacher and the office. Also please remind your child to bring home any belongings they may have in the classroom. Children’s personal belongings, kindergarten report cards, and 1st/2nd grade report card comments (if necessary) may be picked up by parents at the school office through June 22nd. Any items not picked up by June 30th will be discarded.

  • Lunch Money

PIN numbers will remain the same for MCPS students who are returning to the same school next year. Students who attend a different school next year will get a new PIN. Account balances will carry forward for students that are returning to any MCPS school next year.

Looking Forward to the 2016-2017 School Year

Friday, September 1
1:00-2:30 PM / Bel Pre’s Annual Open House
An important Kindergarten Meeting will be held in K students’ designated new classrooms just prior to the Open House at 12:00 PM
Tuesday, September 5
9:00 AM-3:25 PM / First Day of School
Doors will open for students at 8:40 AM
Thursday, September 14 / Bel Pre’s Back to School Night
(currently planned date)

The staff joins me in wishing you and your family a safe and happy summer!

Media Center Memos from Mrs. Boyd

As we near the end of the school year, please take a look at the following events/reminders pertaining to the media center:

  • All student books should be returned to the library media center by Friday, June 2, 2017. Overdue notices were sent home with 3rd quarter report cards or in your child’s homework folder on or around April 20, 2017. A final reminder will be sent home the first week in June. Please help your child to be a responsible library user: send in overdue books or pay for lost ones so we can purchase replacements. Thanks so much for your help!
  • To promote summer reading, a public librarian will be visiting BES before the end of the school year. Students will meet with the public librarians to learn about the Montgomery County Summer Reading Program. Parents are encouraged to take their child to the public library this summer for fun reading activities and special programs. All events are free to the public. Library cards are free to all residents, so if you don’t have one already, sign up to get one! There is access to the Internet, print books and ebooks, magazines, DVD’s, and many other wonderful free resources.
  • The media center will hold a Summer Reading Book Swap in lieu of regular Book Exchange, beginningJune 5 and ending June 16, 2017. The Book Swap is a time when students may bring in up to six books at a time, in good condition from home to exchange for other “like new” books. Participation is optional. It is a fun way to get new books without spending any money! If a child would like to donate more than six books, we gladly accept donations. Extra books will be offered to classrooms or the public library.

Thank you! Read the spring and summer away!

Mrs. Boyd, Media Specialist & Mrs. Acin-Andion, Media Assistant

From the School Counselor, Ms. Morrison

Dear Parents,

In May, as part of our Panda Respect character education program, we will focus on showing responsibility by being a good citizen. The children can learn that they are part of a community, beginning with their class, school, and neighborhood. Citizenship involves responsibility, respect, kindness, honesty, and courtesy (many of the character traits we have focused on this year). School is a great place to learn how to work on projects with others, be a team player, and learn with others. Realizing that each of us makes a contribution to our communities through good citizenship increases a sense of belonging and competence. Our weekly focus will be:

I show responsibility when I am a good citizen.

I am part of our school as a learner, a team player, and a friend.

I join projects to help others.

I take care of my school and my neighbourhood.

Discuss questions with your children which focus on their role as a citizen. How does showing respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, courtesy, kindness, and fairness affect their class, their school, and their neighborhood? How is taking care of our environment part of citizenship? Maybe your child would like to talk about what they want to do to help their community when they grow up. Living near Washington, D.C. provides you with an opportunity to visit the National Monuments and the Smithsonian museums and learn more about the USA and American history. You might read about recycling and how it helps the environment on the internet. Perhaps you could volunteer for a project to clean up a park. This Montgomery County website has ideas of ways to get involved with your community.

We have had a great year learning what it means to be respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. The children practiced being friendly, courteous, cooperative, fair, trustworthy, patient, and a good citizen. During counseling lessons, the children learned about feelings, using DeBug, sharing, making friends, being a good friend, handling teasing, and being a responsible learner. I hope our second graders will have a wonderful experience at Strathmore as they demonstrate the character traits of a good friend and student. I wish all of our Bel Pre students a great summer filled with many wonderful experiences and opportunities to use these skills with their friends and families. Enjoy your family time together!

Summer Opportunities

Montgomery College Summer Youth Programs

Website:

Phone: 240-567-7264 or 240-567-7917

Montgomery County Department of Recreation Camps and Classes www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/rectmpl.asp?url=/content/rec/thingstodo/camps/info.asp

Phone: 240-777-6840

Field Day Announcement

Parents,

We are a few weeks away from the start of our Field Days. You are welcome to join us for the fun on the day your son/daughter’s class is participating. Here is the schedule:

Schedule

Monday, May 22ndPre-K (a.m. classes) 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.

Pre-K (p.m. classes)1:30 – 2:35 p.m.

Wednesday, May 24thGrade 29:15 – 11:30 a.m.

2:15 – 2:50 p.m. Water Relays

Thursday, May 25thGrade 19:15 – 11:30 a.m.

2:15 – 2:50 p.m. Water Relays

Friday, May 26th Kindergarten/Pre-K Plus9:15 – 11:30 a.m.

2:15 – 2:50 p.m. Water Relays

May 31st, June 1 and 2nd are RAIN DATES!!!!

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US FOR FIELD DAY!

REMINDERS

  • Students should wear comfortable clothes/shoes that can get dirty and wet.
  • Students should wear shoes that tie or Velcro to their feet (Flip flops can be dangerous at some of our stations and I ask that students not wear them)
  • Each student should wear a water bottle with their name on it.
  • Each student should have sunscreen on.
  • Each student should wear a hat if they easily burn in the sun (like Mr. R)

Thanks in advance for making this a GREAT day for everyone!

Mr. Ricchini

From the Math Content Coach-Chris Miller

Summer is almost here! Keep math going throughout the summer with your student by practicing counting, basic facts, and math vocabulary every day!

PreK-count to 20; go on shape hunts around the house; point out numbers and have your child tell you the number as you are going different places; use math vocabulary like: up, down, behind, in front of, above, below, next to, more, less

Kindergarten-practice counting to 100 by ones and by 10s everyday; practice basic facts (1+2, 3+4, etc.); use math vocabulary like greater than, less than, add, subtract, more, less, fewer; fill in numbers on a 100 chart

1st Grade-practice counting by 10s starting at different numbers (e.g. 13, 23, 33, 43, 53, 63, 73); practice adding and subtracting two digit and one digit numbers (e.g. 23+8); use math vocabulary like adding, subtracting, more, less, compose, decompose, part-part-whole, fact family

2nd Grade-tell your student a 3-digit number and have them tell you what is 10 more, 100 more, and 1 more than that number; repeat the same activity but do 10 less, 100 less, and 1 less; practice all basic facts within 20 and time students to see how fast they can answer; use math vocabulary like place value, part-part-whole, fact family, how many more/less than

Parent Involvement Committee

Our Sail Through Summer event went very well! Thank you to all the families that came and were able to get a lot of great resources for the summer.

Our next event will be Muffins with Moms on Friday, May 12 from 8:40am-11am. We hope all moms will come and enjoy some muffins, a guest speaker, and then visiting their child in the classroom. We hope to see all of our moms on May 12! Watch for flyers coming home about this event!

Our last Parent Involvement Committee meeting will be on Friday, May 19 at 8:00am. We will review the year and make suggestions for next year.

2nd Grade Parents

Gifted and Talented decision letters will be sent home in early June.

From Reading Specialist: Tracy Dupree

Spring and summer is full of fun activities. Help your child pair them with stories! These stories will help your child to make real-life connections and improve their reading comprehension.

At the library

Visit your local library to pick up a few books to read and join the summer reading program.

On the beach

Pack beach stories or non-fiction books about ocean life. These books can be read under an umbrella and look around for things mentioned in the books (e.g. children building castles, shell hunting etc.) or have a beach day in your backyard with a wading pool and beach towels.

In the car

Keep books in the car that are related to places you go. Your child could read a story about food on the way to the grocery store then try to help you select some of the food identified in the story.

It is important to continue reading with your child and allowing him/her to maintain the reading skills they’ve worked so hard to learn over the school year. I will be sending home a Summer Reading Calendar in June. Please post this in a prominent place in your home

(e.g. the refrigerator) and write the titles of all the books your child reads during the summer months. This includes the month of June. In September your child will be rewarded with a certificate and a small prize for completing and returning the Summer Reading Calendar.

Enjoy the summer vacation and remember to read daily no matter where you may be!