Greetings Parents, Guardians, Students, Community and Staff!

Greetings Parents, Guardians, Students, Community and Staff!

Although it may seem impossible to be true, spring is in the air. We are headed into the last three months of the school year. As spring approaches, so do assessments. We have some important state assessments right around the corner. The results of these assessments help guide our faculty in setting goals for academic school improvement and professional development. They are also helpful in identifying appropriate academic interventions for individual students. We encourage and expect our students to do their very best on these important tests. As parents you play a very vital role helping to ensure that our students get plenty of rest, understand the importance of testing and attend school each day throughout the testing periods. Our dedicated staff will be cooking and serving hearty breakfasts every day of testing.

We offer extra time and support for students who need additional help. Every teacher here offers coach classes for students to utilize. We encourage our students to take responsibility for their own learning by utilizing these resources and by taking advantage of the one-to-one attention they can receive from every teacher. It is our goal to help our students become career and college ready. Academically struggling students need to take advantage of this assistance now to help them BRIDGE over. Every student and parent must believe that it is not too late to improve their class grades. Our teachers are very good at availing themselves and assisting students to achieve.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact any of our faculty or staff should you have any concerns about your child. I greatly appreciate the commitment our students make to do their best, and I realize it wouldn’t happen without your support. I thank you for all your support. I remind you to continue to take care of one another. Remember that Spring Break begins March 26th and ends April 2nd. Please enjoy the break, the rest of the year will go by quickly.

Sincerely,

Ms. Rosa Carmon, Principal

“The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education.”

Plutarch

Attendance

Relationship between Student Attendance and Achievement in Urban Elementary and Middle Schools

There have been few investigations that have homed in on the precision of the relationship between individual attendance and student achievement. Based on an article by Michael Al. Gottfried in 2010, the number of days a student is present in school positively affected learning outcomes. To assess this, a unique empirical approach was taken to evaluate a comprehensive dataset of elementary and middle school students in the Philadelphia School District. Employing a fixed effects framework and instrumental variables strategy, this study provides evidence from a quasi-experimental design geared at estimating the causal impact of attendance on multiple measures of achievement, including GPA and standardized reading and math test performance. The results consistently indicate positive and statistically significant relationships between student attendance and academic achievement for both elementary and middle school students.

These students will not achieve positive results with regard to retaining information needed to pass Standardized Tests if he or she is not consistently present in school every day and on time. As educators, we share the responsibility of driving home this information to parents in order to make learning relevant for our students.

Ms. Jenkins

From the desk of Mrs. Hill,

Attendance Monitor

Just a reminder: there will be NO early releases without written documentation from a student’s parent or guardian. Any caregiver requesting an early dismissal should send a written note that includes a working phone number for verification of the request. It is school policy to verify all letters and notes via a phone call for the safety and security of our students. No student will be allowed to leave school premises without the proper documentation and verification.

By: Mr. Arnquist

What is St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture on or around March 17. It particularly remembers St. Patrick, one of Ireland’s patron saints, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many parts of the world, especially by Irish communities and organizations. Many people wear an item of green clothing on the day. Parties featuring Irish food and drinks that are dyed in green food color are part of this celebration. It is a time when children can indulge in sweets and adults can enjoy a “pint” of beer at a local pub. Many restaurants and pubs offer Irish food or drink, which include:

Irish brown bread, corned beef and cabbage, beef and Guinness pie, Irish cream chocolate mousse cake, Irish coffee, Irish potato champ, also known as poundies, cally or pandy, Irish stew and Irish potato soup.

Saint Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland. He is said to have died on March 17 in or around the year 493. He grew up in Roman Britain, but was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave when he was a young adult. After some years he returned to his family and entered the church, like his father and grandfather before him. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary and worked in the north and west of the country. According to popular legend, St. Patrick rid Ireland of snakes. However, it is thought that there have been no snakes in Ireland since the last ice age. The "snakes" that St. Patrick banished from Ireland, may refer to the druids or pagan worshipers of snake or serpent gods. He is said to be buried under Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, Ireland. Luke Wadding, a Franciscan scholar born in 1588 in Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland, was influential in ensuring that the anniversary of St Patrick's death became a feast day in the Catholic Church. Many immigrants from Ireland fled to other parts of the world taking with them Irish customs such as the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

The most common St. Patrick's Day symbol is the shamrock. The shamrock is the leaf of the clover plant and a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Many people choose to wear the color green. Other Irish-related symbols seen on St. Patrick’s Day include the harp, which was used in Ireland for centuries, as well as a mythological creature known as the leprechaun and a pot of gold that the leprechaun keeps hidden.

By: Mr. E. Schaule

March is an ever-changing month. The weather is all mixed up. Some days are cold, some are wet, some have snow, and some are just plain hot. You never know what to wear, long sleeves, short sleeves, sweaters, coats, boots or tennis shoes. One can never know what to expect. Then you throw in time changes, we lose an hour in March, you walk around tired for the next week and you realize that March is a unique and crazy month. There is one day in March that does spark interest though, good old St. Patrick’s Day. Some say it is a lucky day. There are symbols of the day everywhere you go; four leaf clovers, three leaf clovers, leprechauns, the color green, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I remember being told that finding a four-leaf clover was good luck. I know I tried to find one for countless hours, but I only ever found three -leaf ones. Do you know what the odds are of finding a four-leaf clover in a field of clovers? The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – it’s a myth. I never found one and I don’t know one person who has ever even found the end of a rainbow! As for finding a leprechaun, the closest I ever got to one was following a short man in a green suit. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in luck, just not the magical kind.

Luck isn’t something you find like a leprechaun or a pot of gold. It isn’t a magical creature like a unicorn. Luck is a verb. It is an action. Luck is made or is given. Luck is chance. I believe that you are the creator of your own future. Luck consists of the choices you make and the paths you choose. When I was young, I was a handful. I didn’t always make the best choices. There were times when I let my parents down, but although I was too young to realize it at the time, I let myself down and bore the consequences because of it. As a man I have learned how truly lucky I am. I met a beautiful woman, introduced myself and we eventually got married. I got a college degree, even though I wasn’t a great student when I was young. Having a degree allowed me to become a teacher. Being a teacher gave me the funds to buy a home. My wife and I have a precious little girl. I tell her how lucky I am to have her in my life.

These wonderful things happened because of the choices I made in my life. The choices gave me luck. Yet maybe – luck is really the blessings you have in your life. I know I am a lucky man, because I am so blessed! So, I don’t wish you the luck of the Irish, instead I wish you the luck of a life well lived!

1. I have two US coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the coins?

2. What number belongs in the empty triangle?

3.What number belongs in the Box at the top of the pyramid?

Solve both problems, show Ms. Taer, Ms. Vinson, Ms. Shaw or

Mr. Muldrew, and win a prize

With the March winds come March testing. It’s true. We are looking forward to our Science testing that will take place this month! All 5th and 8th graders are required to take the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA). The test consists of four units.

As an incentive for taking the test, our staff will prepare breakfast for our students each day of testing. In addition, students who complete all four units of the test will earn an additional 100 behavior points!

If you are not able to complete the test during the regular testing times, you can still take the test. Please see me so that I can schedule the make-up test for you. We have until Tuesday, March 20, 2018 to finish the test. Students who do will still earn the 100 points.

*REMEMBER TO BRIDGE OVER YOU WILL NEED TO EARN5000 BEHAVIOR POINTS*

Dreams - Poem by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes