Page Pinewood Pinewood · 2015. 2. 13. · Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 2 If you...
Transcript of Page Pinewood Pinewood · 2015. 2. 13. · Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 2 If you...
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page
Franchesca Brown, Principal
Terry Davis, Assistant Principal
Laura Nossel, Editor
February is always a celebratory month at
Pinewood! We will celebrate the 100th day of
school, our Black Saga team competes in a county
competition, and its National Counselor’s Week.
With Black History Month, we commemorate and
honor the works and accomplishments of African
Americans with the Black Saga team members.
They share important facts with us daily on the
morning announcements. Our monthly Spirit Day,
February 6th, marks the 100th day of school. Wear
your school colors, green and white, and bring in
a $1.00 bill, which equals 100 pennies, to benefit
the American Heart Association.
February is also a great time to express
our love and gratitude to our parents and com-
munity members that have supported us. Volun-
teers spend countless hours working to help us
make learning exciting and enduring.
A huge part of our success is due to the
on-going efforts of the Pinewood PTA members
who work tirelessly to create a strong communi-
cation and supportive bond between home and
school. Under the leadership of our PTA Presi-
dent, Mrs. Julie Hubbard, our PTA meetings are
informative and offer a myriad of opportunities
to support our school’s success. Please enjoy
the letter from our PTA President on page 2.
I extend a warm thank you to Mrs. Neer
and her team of parents who implement the Ad-
ventures in Art program in our classrooms. Our
fitness endeavors, like the Trick or Trot and the
Family Fit Night were huge successes thanks in
part to Mrs. Hubbard, Mrs. Obaza, and their
team of parents. Also, thank you to Mrs. DiBiasi,
Mrs. Linhard, and Ms. Lee for coordinating the
Scorecard celebration.
Building and maintaining a positive and
friendly climate is extremely important to the
culture we embrace here at Pinewood; Mrs.
Hartman and her team continue to support this
endeavor with spirit wear. PJ the penguin is also
a valuable part of our school spirit initiatives. I
would be remiss if I did not take time to thank
the Sunshine Committee, Mrs. Mueller, and
other PTA members who coordinate wonderful
treats for the staff. I would also like to thank
Mrs. Esslinger for hosting new family parent
tours. During this school year, we have trained
over 240 parents and they have recorded over
5,000 volunteer hours. Our volunteer program
reflects the commitment of our parents who make
Pinewood’s instructional program one of the best
in Baltimore County.
In addition to the parents mentioned so
far, a sincere thank you is extended to Ms. Ferrer
for increasing the number of PTA memberships;
and many thanks for all of the classroom events
which are led by Mrs. Massengill and her roster
of room parents. We are awaiting the results of
the National PTA Reflections Program entries.
Thanks to Mrs. Classen for coordinating this pro-
gram. These
are just a few examples of how parents support
our school. There are so many more unsung he-
roes, who continue to contribute their time and
talents, each day. If you have not already done so,
please consider joining the PTA. The membership
is $10.00 per person. All are welcome to join,
including grandparents, family, and friends.
For sure, there are few better experiences
for a child than one shared with a caring vol-
unteer. I honor your dedication to volunteer-
ism and I send my heartfelt thanks and apprecia-
tion to all of you. Happy Valentine’s Day!Happy Valentine’s Day!Happy Valentine’s Day!Happy Valentine’s Day!
From the Principal, Franchesca Brown
February 5, 2015
A message from the PTA
2
Proud
Penguins
3
General
Information
4
Health &
Guidance
5
Related
Arts
5 –7
Pinewood
Happenings
8
Pinewood
Information
9
Pinewood
Calendar
10
Inside this
issue:
On the web
pinewoodes.bcps.org
200 Rickswood Road
Timonium, MD 21093
Phone 410-887-7663
Fax 410-252-1962
Arts Integration
February gets off to a rockin’ start as Ms. Seward and
Mrs. Pilson bring Drums Alive to
our students. Be on the lookout for field trips at
every grade level to provide the children cultural
opportunities. On February 19th, our grade four
students will visit Goucher College for a produc-
tion exploring the life of Harriet Tubman. On Feb-
ruary 27th, the last Friday in February, Pinewood
will hold its second annual “Believe Big” mug
decorating activity. This was great fun last year
and promises to be as uplifting and enjoyable
this year … information will be coming soon.
Remember…”the arts are about joy. They are
about the experience of being moved, of having one’s life enriched, of discovering our capacity to feel. If that was all they did, they would warrant a generous place at our table.” - Elliott W. Eisner, Stanford University
Pinewood Pinewood Pinewood Pinewood
HeraldHeraldHeraldHerald
75%
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 2
If you haven’t had your ID scanned, please stop by the office the next time you are at
Pinewood and we would be glad to do this for you. Thank you for your cooperation.
February, 2015
Dear Pinewood Parents and Teachers,
We hope you have had a wonderful Holiday season and have been enjoying the New Year! As we are starting off on
the second half of the school year, I wanted to take this time to reconnect with all our Pinewood Families and reiterate
our goals, needs and accomplishments.
The 2014 / 2015 school year has already been a great PTA success, we have successfully launched and completed
numerous PTA sponsored events, some of which were brand new to Pinewood Elementary School. Here are just a few examples of how your direct donation dollars support our Pinewood PTA;
Welcome Back to School Teacher/Admin Breakfast: The PTA donated and served breakfast to our wonderful PES Teachers and Administration in August to help ease them back into the school year.
Kindergarten Fire & Ice: We began the year with a fun-filled, informative event, led by the Chestnut Ridge Volun-teer Fire Fighters, which welcomed the almost 100 new kindergartens and their families to our Pinewood Family.
Trick or Trot: Over 300 Pinewood family members joined us for an exciting new haunted obstacle race on a beauti-ful fall afternoon. Students/families jumped, climbed, ran, crawled, skipped, hurdled, their way through 10 ob-
stacles before finishing up and grabbing some great sandwiches generously donated by Jersey Mike’s sub
shops.
American Education Week: Our PTA volunteers helped facilitate, organize, and welcome the numerous family members who visited PES throughout the week. We provided light refreshments, information on the PTA, and
had Spirit Wear apparel for sale.
Write On! December heralded the kick-off of our annual Write On program. Numerous students have contributed their original works of literature to be published and distributed by June. Stay tuned for the annual cover contest
details!
Adventures in Art: Our Adventures in Art program successfully completed the fall project where each student cre-ated a unique coat of arms illustrating what makes themselves and/or their families unique. This project was
thoughtfully imagined with the help of our resident Art Guru, Mr. Lebowitz, in an effort to support and tie into the
Pinewood Arts integration program. Another great program is planned for the spring!
Again, these are just a few examples of the numerous programs and initiatives sponsored by our PTA. Our hope is that we are able to continue providing this level of support for the remainder of the year and this is where we need
your help...
Today, we are 75% closer to our Membership and Direct Donation goals. However, in order to bridge the gap to
100%, we need your support. If you haven’t already joined the PTA, please consider becoming a member. Our goal
is to have an individual PTA member for every child at Pinewood. Additionally, we hope you will participate in our
tax-deductible Direct Donation campaign, which supports all the above mentioned activities and more. Our sug-gested donation is $45.00 per student BUT we would be grateful for ANY amount donated. Membership and Direct
Donation information can be found at www.pinewoodpta/forms.
Should you have any questions regarding this information please contact me at [email protected] at your con-
venience, I would be grateful for the opportunity to speak to you.
Thank you for your time and on behalf of the Pinewood PTA, we hope you and your child(ren) continue to have a re-
warding and successful school year! Julie Hubbard, PTA President
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 3
Proud Proud Proud Proud
PenguinsPenguinsPenguinsPenguins
Ryan J. Artist of the Month
Congratulations to the following
students
who were chosen from all the st
udents
who were recognized during th
e month
of December for being “Prepa
red, Po-
lite, and Persistent.” They had l
unch with
Mrs. Brown: Aiden Z., Gus H., H
anjun K.,
Spencer B., Matthew B,, and Lia
m T.
Pinewood Aut
hor Celebrati
on Breakfast
On February 3rd, our Black Saga team went to Dumbar-
ton Middle school to showcase their knowledge. The
students have been working very hard, and we correctly
answered 7 out of the 11 questions. We are still awaiting
our scoring placement. Stay tuned for more news to
come. Pictured from left to right Lindsey H., Sofia L., and
Ava W. Thanks to Ms. Adkins and Mrs. Westerberg for
coaching our students. Teams of students, representing 29 Baltimore County
Public Schools elementary and middle schools, will
compete in three regional competitions to determine
which teams will advance to the countywide Black Saga
finals. Culminating each year during Black History
Month, the Black Saga Competition challenges students
with a variety of questions related to the African-
American experience.
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 4
Schools Close 3 hours
early on 2/13 at 12:15 pm.
Lunch Account Pre-Payment
Please take advantage of the SNAP program to deposit money to your child’s lunch account. It is
important to fill out the pre-payment form, checks preferred,
with your child’s name (NO NICKNAMES). If you need to
send cash, please put it in an envelope with the pre-payment
form. Additional copies of this form are available in the school office.
CafeteriaCafeteriaCafeteriaCafeteria Mark your Mark your Mark your Mark your
CalendarCalendarCalendarCalendar
NEW FAMILY TOUR
February 25, 2015
9:30 am
Please contact Mrs. Esslinger at
[email protected] for further information and to RSVP. Adults only.
Schools-out.com
Is a free public service
website to email parents
directly about unex-
pected changes in the
school schedule. The
schools-out.com web site
is tied directly to Balti-
more County Public
Schools and is updated
by BCPS staff. The BCPS
website www.bcps.org
provides the most defini-
tive information about
unexpected changes in
school scheduling. Par-
ents may also call 410-
887-5555 for information.
Vision &
Hearing
Screening
Volunteers are needed to
help escort students to the
health suite for vision and
hearing screening April 16,
17, 20, 21, 22, 2015. Stu-dents in grades, K,1,4 and
all new students to BCPS
will be screened. If you
have a student in grades
2,3,or 5 that you would like
added to the list or can as-
sist with escorting students,
please contact Mrs. Frankle
Thank you.
Information on the BCPS
Stakeholder survey has
been sent home. We want
to hear from you. The sur-
vey will be available online
from January 30 through
February 28 at the BCPS
Web site (www.bcps.org),
A message from Dr. Dance
can be accessed at
https://vimeo.com/116695825.
Pinewood Elementary
Kindergarten
Registration
for the 2015–2016
school year
will be held on
April 17th & May 18th,
2015
from 9 A.M. — 3 P.M.
by appointment only.
Please contact the school office
at 410-887-7663 to schedule an
appointment and to pick-up the
registration packet.
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 5
From your School Nurse From your School Nurse From your School Nurse From your School Nurse
Mrs. Pam FrankleMrs. Pam FrankleMrs. Pam FrankleMrs. Pam Frankle
Guidance Counselor’s CornerGuidance Counselor’s CornerGuidance Counselor’s CornerGuidance Counselor’s Corner
By Mrs. Linda Reines NCC, LCPCBy Mrs. Linda Reines NCC, LCPCBy Mrs. Linda Reines NCC, LCPCBy Mrs. Linda Reines NCC, LCPC
Physical Education Physical Education Physical Education Physical Education
by Pat Pilson by Pat Pilson by Pat Pilson by Pat Pilson
Mr. Matthew May, a member of the Hunt Valley Rotary Club and a Pinewood parent was the guest speaker at an assembly for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students on January 12th. He ex-plained the history of the Rotary Club to the students and also informed them about a poster contest that is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Maryland. The poster contest is called the “The Four-Way Test.” It is an extension of Pinewood’s Code of Conduct and it reinforces problem solving skills. There are four components of The Four-Way Test to think about when making a decision.
They are: 1. Is it the truth?
2. Is it fair to all concerned
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
The contest asks the students to demonstrate these 4 ques-tions in a poster using different media, that expresses the main parts of the test. A letter went home explaining the re-quirements to the parents of Pinewood’s 3rd,4th, and 5 grade students. Mrs. Schneyer Reines, Pinewood’s School Coun-selor, and Pinewood’s Guidance helpers put up examples of “The Four Way Test” posters around the school, that had been created by Pinewood students from prior years. The posters will be judged by grade level and the winners will receive a monetary prize. All the posters for The Four Way Test poster contest are due in the office by Monday, March 9. Good luck to all the participants.
Mr. and Mrs. May also presented a dictionary to each third
grade student at Pinewood.
Wow! February already and Spring is
around the corner.
We have some exciting things happening in
PE. In January, our students were very busy
learning to bowl and keep score without
computers. They were challenged to beat
the teacher and got their names on the wall.
During the first week of February, students
will be working on rhythm and performing
routines with drum sticks and exercise
balls.
They then move onto volleyball and the
much awaited volleyball game between the
teachers and the 5th grade students. The
game will be held on February 27th at 2:00
P.M.
Please remind your child to wear or bring
tennis shoes on PE days.
SAVE THE DATE
Tuesday March 3, 2015
6-7 pm before the PTA meeting
Topic: Keeping you and your family safe online
Speaker: Michael Bachman, Director of Information Technology at
Towson University
This program will provide greater awareness of social media safe-
guards, malicious digital behaviors, knowing what informa-
tion you don't want to follow your kids in the future, and
how to preserve data/cyber-security. More information to
follow.
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 6
The kindergarteners will design a beauti-
ful February calendar with a Valentine’s Day
theme. We will continue with seasonal lessons
which will include classics such as Little Bear’s
Valentine by Else Holmelund Minarik and Go to
Sleep Groundhog! by Judy Cox. The first graders will be learning note taking skills and using the
Table of Contents, the Index, and text features to
obtain their information. The second graders will
be learning about the life of Ezra Jack Keats and
will understand his motivation to write the classic
stories that are enjoyed by children everywhere.
His story, The Snowy Day, won the Caldecott
Medal for the beautiful pictures, the way he cap-tured the innocence of childhood, and for the abil-
ity of the illustrations to compliment the text. The
students will write and illustrate a sequel in re-
sponse to the story. The third graders will continue
with their Baltimore inquiry by selecting a topic
with their partner to research, taking notes cor-
rectly, and citing their sources. The fourth graders have completed their study of the Dewy Decimal
system and will become members of the Fourth
Grade Reading Club which will allow them to
learn the arrangement of the library by obtaining
books from the different Dewy Decimal Classes.
The fifth graders are just beginning their Revolu-
tionary War Research unit which compliments their classroom curriculum. The students will se-
lect three characters or three events to research
with their partner. The premise is that by studying
the biographies of famous people and important
events, we can learn about the history surrounding
the Revolutionary War.
Recommended Reading
Picture Books: 1. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
by Mo Willems, grades K-2, ©
2004.
2. Goldilocks and the Three Bears, retold by Jan Brett,
grades K-2, © 1987.
Chapter Books:
1. Summer of My German Sol-
dier, by Bette Greene, grades
4-5, ©2003. 2. The Hundred Dresses, by
Eleanor Estes, grades 3-5, ©1972.
Note: The above titles are found in the Pinewood Library as well as the Baltimore County Public
Library NewsLibrary NewsLibrary NewsLibrary News
bybybyby Marilyn LockwoodMarilyn LockwoodMarilyn LockwoodMarilyn Lockwood
The Art Beat by Sheldon Lebowitz
ART NEWS ALL AROUND!
Be sure to stop by the Cockeysville Public Library to see our very first exhibit
by fifty Pinewood School children. A special reception will be held for these children on
Monday, February 9, from 6:30—7:30 p.m.
BELIEVE BIG DECORATING MUG FUNDRAISER
Mark your calendars for Friday evening, February 27, from 6:30—7:30
p.m. This event will give you and your family a chance to purchase a mug, decorate it
beautifully, and have the mug and the money raised go toward the Believe Bug founda-
tion to benefit patients and families affected by cancer. We hope to see you there!
Kindergarteners Our kindergarten friends, in between creating some won-derfully personal clay coat of arms from the Renaissance to represent their own families, are creating some fun farm ani-mal paintings—our first big painting activity of the year. Ask your kindergar-tener how to keep the paintbrushes clean in Mr. Le-bowitz’s art room and you will likely hear the “Pinewood School, one-step-at-a-time, painting rhyme: DIP, DRIP, WIPE THE TIP!
First graders Our Renaissance gob-lets, created by first making a pinch pot (for the cup portion) and then sitting it on a base made of clay coils (for the stem of the goblet) are going to be quite lovely. Balance is key here as the cup portion needs to be supported by the stem, which then needs a bit of a wider base to support the weight of the gob-let itself. All very technical and all very well crafted. Glaze and overglaze will make for a super ceramic finish. Just right for a cup of tea!
Second Graders Second Graders Adding all of the de-tails to our three di-mensional clay figura-tive bust sculptures has helped to make these look more and more like ourselves. During the renaissance, these were popular to immortalize those who could afford to have their portraits pre-served in stone for-ever. Now immortal-ized in clay, our second graders will be painting and decorating with acrylic paint their self-portrait sculptural busts. Details and textures certainly add interest and variety to
the
Third graders Third grade friends are in the process of finishing the most glorious, great, grotesque, grand gar-goyles, popular during the renaissance to guard buildings and to keep evil spirits away. Our gargoyle sculptures are filled with textures and physical features to help describe the sculptures. As they are ready to be fired, the clay goes from greenware to bisqueware. Wait until you get a look at these gargoyles! A little acrylic paint and the gargoyles will be good to go!
Fourth graders Fourth graders are finishing their Hopi Kachina dancers and chalk pastel drawn and blended backgrounds and the regions of the American Southwest will soon be filled with terrific Hopi dancers. Depth, textures, and details make these backgrounds look as if they came straight out of New Mexico, Ari-zona, or Southern Cali-fornia. Next, we’ll ex-plore castles of the renaissance as we cre-ate clay slab relief castles!
Fifth graders Fifth grade friends are definitely not draggin’ their feet when it comes to their wonderful clay sculpture dragons. From scales and tails to spikes and snouts, these sculp-tural fantasy crea-tures convey move-ment and action by how they are posed—this also contributes to bal-ancing the sculpture. A damsel in distress would gladly be res-cued by any of these creative clay creations!
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 7
Musical Notes from the desktop of Ms. Godfrey
Students are learning about
and listening to music from the ro-
mantic time period. We are learning
about composers like Schubert, Schu-
mann, and Brahms.
Kindergarteners have been
learning about instrument families.
We are learning about the percussion
family and have worked to separate
instruments into three categories: hit,
shake, and rub. We have also
learned the musical story of “Peter
and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokiev.
First graders have also been
learning about “Peter and the Wolf”
as a way to identify instrument tone
qualities as well as classify instru-
ments in the orchestra. We are also
learning about So and Mi as pitches
that are high and low. We are learn-
ing how to recognize these sounds
and how to make songs with these
pitches.
Second graders are learning
how to read and write rhythms and
are learning about note values. They
are also practicing writing expres-
sive and informational paragraphs
about music. Second graders will
also be using puppets in order to tell
a musical story.
Third graders are playing
pitches B, A, and G on the recorder.
We continue to practice rhythm and
reading notes on the treble staff.
Please remind your child that they
need their recorders each week in
music class along with their music
folder.
Fourth graders are creating a
musical lap book with music expres-
sive and notational symbols. We are
learning about how to have polished
performances and how to create in-
teresting music. They will also con-
tinue to learn about and apply knowl-
edge of harmony
to vocal singing as
they begin 4th
grade choir this
month. Choir will be on rotation day
5.
Fifth graders are comparing
and contrasting musical genres and
are going to practice solfege sight
reading. We are learning about jazz
music, jazz artists, and style tech-
niques like scat singing. We will be-
gin to learn about I, IV, and V chords
as we move into blues music and
practice our own improvisational
singing. After school choir for 5th
grade will begin this month. We will
practice after school on Thursdays
from 3:30-4:30. If your child is inter-
ested, please turn in their forms
ASAP!
DRUMS ALIVE!
Mrs. Pilson and I are excited to be teaching DRUMS ALIVE in the gym. The students are combin-
ing their musical knowledge and skills with aerobic
activity and having a GREAT TIME doing so! Drums Alive offers the students the chance to work coop-
eratively and creatively to create and learn routines
that incorporate drumming and movement. All stu-dents at Pinewood will get a chance to participate in
this fun ARTS INTEGRATION activity!
Band and Orchestra News
The 5th graders are hard at work, learning
new music and new skills! I am very excited for our concert in MAY!
3rd and 4th Grade Exploratory
The third and fourth graders have begun the Woodwind Unit, and will be learning simple songs
on the Clarinet. We will also be learning how in-
struments in this family produce and change pitch.
From the desktop of Ms. Seward
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 8
Pinewood HappeningsPinewood HappeningsPinewood HappeningsPinewood Happenings
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 9
Thank you for saving these items for our school.
PLEASE SUPPORT PINEWOOD!
�Labels for Education — Point Value and UPS is needed
�Box Tops — Bar code is needed
�Office Depot – 5% Back to Schools Program – ID # 70047487
����Target – Take Charge of Education – 1% of purchases – Target.com/tcoe
����Recycle - Please send in your used printer ink cartridges, laser toner cartridges and un-
wanted cell phones
����Soda Tabs – Send your soda can tabs to school to benefit Ronald McDonald House
����GIANT A+ Bonus Bucks – ID # 01103
����Drink Pouches — Please save your drink pouches We receive $.02 per pouch.
����ShopRite Rewards for Education at eScrip.com/ShopRite or by calling 800-931-6258.
Thanks to all the Pinewood families, faculty and staff for saving and sending
in their Box Tops for Education. Pinewood received a check in the amount of
$905.60.
A big thank you as well to Dawn Jemellaro for coordinating this program.
It’s Cold
As winter con-
tinues please re-
member:
• Children should
be dressed ap-
propriately, so they are warm and
comfortable in the building and
warm enough for recess. Please
label your child’s clothing. It
makes it easier to return when it is
lost.
• Please DO NOT drop off children
early in the morning to stand out-
side of our building. The school
doors do not open until 8:30 A.M.
• Please review your emergency
dismissal plan so that your child is
aware of what to do in the event of
an early dismissal.
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Pinewood Elementary School Herald Page 10
Mark your calendars.
Spring Break
Schools are Closed
4/2 thru 4/10/15.
February 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 National School
Counseling Week
Thank You
Mrs. Reines!
3
4 5 Report Cards go
Home
6 Spirit Day 7
8 9 10
Exhibits of Wonder
6 - 7 pm
11 12 Lincoln’s
Birthday
13
Schools Close 3 hours
early at 12:15 pm
14
Valentines
Day
15 16
Schools Closed
17 18 19 Wellness Day
wear RED
Grade 4 to Goucher
College
20
Bus Evacuation Drill
21
22Washington’s
Birthday
23 24 25
Grade 1 to Irvine
Nature Center
26
Grade 1 to Irvine
Nature Center
27
Believe Big
Make A Mug 6:30 pm
28
March 2015
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 Anti-
Bullying Week
2 Happy Birthday
Dr. Seuss
3 Internet
Safety 6 pm
PTA Meeting 7 pm
4 5 6 Spirit Day 7
8 Daylight
Savings
Spring
Forward
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 Family Fun
Night
First Day of Spring
21
22 23 Ballroom Dancing
Grade 5 all week
SIT 3:30
24 25 Maryland Day 26 27 Ballroom Dancing
Performance
28
29 30 Drama Club
Production
“On the Radio
31 Drama Club
Production
“On the Radio”
PARCC Testing—Grades 3, 4, & 5 - 3/2 through 3/13/15
PARCC Testing—Grades 3, 4, & 5 - 3/2 through 3/13/15