Safety FirstFor security purposes, ALL VISITORS AND VOLUNTEERS must register through the Raptor System in the school office and obtain a VISITOR/VOLUNTEER badge. In the interest of safety for everyone in the building, visitors must inform the office staff of the purpose and location of the visit. In order to avoid classroom interruptions, parents/guardians should stop in the office rather than escort their child to the classroom or pick up their child from the classroom. Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

FEBRUARY2 Watch D.O.G.S. Donuts

for Dads, 9:00 am9 PTA Meeting, 7:00 pm10 Kids Helping Hopkins

Dance, 7:00 pm17 Half Day of School,

12:15 pm dismissal20 Schools Closed,

President’s Day21 Black History Month

Celebration, 6:30 pm

MARCH2 Family Reading Night,

6:30 pm9 PTA Meeting, 7:00 pm12 Daylight Savings Time

Begins22 Weather Night at

Halstead Academy, 5:30 pm

31 Third Quarter Ends, Half Day of School,12:15 pm dismissal

APRIL3-7 Scholastic Book Fair5 PARCC Night, 6:30 pm10-17 Spring Break18 Schools Reopen20 Report Cards24 Lifetouch Picture Day24 School Progress Plan

Meeting, 3:30 pm

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Attendance and TimelinessRegular school attendance contributes to your child’s success in school. Children are expected to attend school every day unless they are sick or have one of the following reasons for being absent: death in family, religious holiday, lack of authorized transportation, court summons, work approved activity, or school closing. Family trips or vacation are not excused absences.

Arrival for students takes place between 8:30am and 8:45am. To ensure that your child is a part of all instruction, make certain that they arrive at school on time. Students should be in their classroom and seated by the 8:45am bell. Students arriving after this time are considered tardy.

Notes to Excuse Absence: When your child is out for any reason a note must be written to explain that absence. Should your child be late due to an appointment, a slip from the professional with whom you had the appointment should be presented to the office when returning the student to school.

Early Dismissal: In the event of an unavoidable appointment during school hours, please send a note stating the reason, date, and time you will be picking up your child. In such an event, parents should meet the child in the school office, where they must sign the early dismissal book. If someone other than the parent is picking up the child, they will be asked to present identification. Thank you for your help in keeping our children safe.

Early dismissal ends at 3:00pm. After 3:00pm, students can be met on the front porch or picked up via carpool at dismissal time.

BCPS Stakeholder SurveyThe BCPS stakeholder survey is now available online at www.bcps.org. The survey will be open through Friday, March 3rd. Your voice matters! Your feedback has helped guide school improvement, staff training, office safety, and reorganization planning. The survey takes about five minutes to complete, is now available in 16 languages, and can be accessed on a phone, tablet, or computer.

Math Homework HelpersMath Homework Helpers is back for another season! To participate in this program, tune into the Education Channel, cable channel 73, every Wednesday, from 4:30pm until 5:30pm. This is a great way for children to get involved with math activities, receive help with their homework, and win some prizes.

Winter WeatherParents are asked to listen carefully to the news on the television or radio for the latest information regarding school closings or delays. The Baltimore County Public Schools’ Hotline 443-809-5555, BCPS NOW app, and website, www.bcps.org, also contain this important information. Additionally, by logging into www.schoolsout.com you can register to receive free e-mails regarding school closings and delays. Please avoid calling the school for this information.

Emergency Closing FormsThank you to all parents who have returned their completed Emergency Closing Forms. It is essential that we have a completed form for each student at Pleasant Plains Elementary School. Information on the forms will be used in the event of an emergency-related or a weather-related early dismissal. If BCPS implements early dismissal, your children will be dismissed to only those adults listed on the form. In addition, all adults picking up the children during an emergency closing should be prepared to show picture identification. It is imperative that the information provided to the school be updated should any changes occur. Additional forms are available in the school office.

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Reminder: In the event of a countywide emergency early dismissal, we will not personally contact each parent. In the event that only Pleasant Plains Elementary School closes early, your child may not leave school until a representative of the school speaks directly with a parent or emergency contact.

Nurse NeedsMrs. Schaefer, our school nurse, is in need of new or gently used children’s sweatpants or pants with elastic waistband in sizes 4-14. Any clothing donations would be greatly appreciated.

CCBC SealantsA community outreach program, sponsored by the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) and Maryland Dental Hygienists’ Association (MDHA), will provide clear, colorless, protective coatings (sealants) on permanent molar teeth for children ages 6-17 to help prevent tooth decay. This free service will be available on Saturday, February 25 th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at The Community College of Baltimore County Dental Arts Center located at 7200 Sollers Point Road, Dundalk, MD 21222. Appointments are required. To request an appointment, please call 443-840-3340 and provide a daytime phone number where you can be reached to schedule an appointment.

Watch D.O.G.S.The Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program is back! With the help of Mr. Kevin Blodger, parent of a 1st grader and our new Top Dog, we will be hosting a kick-off Donuts for Dads event on Thursday, February 2nd at 9:00 am. Watch D.O.G.S. is an innovative father involvement program that encourages fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and other father-figures to volunteer for one full school day each year. During the day, Watch D.O.G.S. assist teachers, work with students, monitor hallways, play at recess, and eat lunch with their child(ren).

If you are unable to attend the Donuts for Dads event and would like to sign up to become a Watch D.O.G.S. volunteer, please contact our Parent Service Coordinator, Heather Sferlazza, at 410-887-3549 or hsferlazza@bcps.org.

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Restorative PracticesRestorative practices rely on proactive approaches to relationship building that create a sense of belonging, safety, and social responsibility within the school community and responsive approaches when harm has happened, as well as practices that help to prevent harm and conflict. Questions that we encourage you to ask your children are home are:

What happened? What’s going on? How do you feel about this?What do you want to have happen? How can you/we make this better?

Kids Helping Hopkins Dance in FebruaryThe John Hopkins Kids Helping Hopkins program provides students of all ages with the opportunity to learn about helping others without personal gain and nurturing life-long values: compassion, respect, citizenship, leadership and philanthropy.

Pleasant Plains Elementary will host a Kids Helping Hopkins Dance on Friday, February 10 th from 7:00-9:00 pm, please join us to dance and raise money for the Children’s Center!

Family Reading Night in MarchJoin us for Family Reading Night on Thursday, March 2nd at 6:30 pm. We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday with literacy games, take-home materials, and dinner! More information will be sent home closer to the event, please be sure to RSVP to this exciting event.

Weather Night in MarchSave the date for an exciting time at Halstead Academy! Pleasant Plains Elementary families are invited to attend Weather Night at Halstead Academy on Wednesday, March 22nd from 5:30-7:00 pm. This interactive night will be full of hands-on activities from the Department of Natural Resources, the Fire Museum of Maryland, the Maryland Science Center, the Walters Art Museum, and more. More information will be sent home closer to the event.

Ey on SportsCurrently our 5th grade students are diligently working to learn their ballroom dances. 5th grade parents and families please join us this Friday, February 3rd at 2:15 PM in the gymnasium for the 5th grade ballroom dance finale.

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During the month of February Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students will be learning and exploring the components of fitness: aerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, body composition. Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will be participating in a floor hockey unit which will include stick handling skills, passing, shooting, and teamwork. All K-5 students will also be participating in a rope jumping unit. Short and long ropes will be utilized along with a variety of skills. Rope jumping is a great physical activity to increase your heart rate and jump ropes can be found very inexpensive.

Be on the lookout for information regarding our upcoming Jump Rope for Heart event for the American Heart Association!

Don’t worry, warm weather will return to Baltimore before we know it and we will be outdoors again. Thank you for your support of the physical education program at Pleasant Plains.

Steve Ey, sey@bcps.org & Lamont Smith, lsmith3@bcps.org

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Counselors’ CornerWe are excited to continue our Terrific Kids Value of the Month program with the Kiwanis Club of Loch Raven. Each month our students focus on learning about a new value. At the end of each month, the teacher and students will determine which student demonstrated that value the most in their classroom. He or she will be invited to attend a special Terrific Kids assembly to celebrate the wonderful accomplishment. A parent letter will be sent home inviting family members to attend. The student will be asked to prepare a short speech or drawing to read/show at the assembly. The Kiwanis Club will present each nominee with a certificate, a button to wear, a pencil, and a coupon. Each month a new value or character education trait is introduced, we will be celebrating the following values for the remainder of the school year: February – Honest, March – Helpful, April – Cooperative, May – Patient, June – Leadership

Mrs. Voegtlin, School Counselor

Notes from the Music DepartmentCheck out what your student has been learning in music class:

Kindergarten Vocal Music: Kindergarten is learning to maintain a steady beat by practicing on sand blocks, rhythm sticks, maracas, bells, and wood blocks. Kindergarten is also beginning to read basic rhythms using quarter notes (ta) and eighth note pairs (ti ti) to compose and perform rhythms independently and in groups.

First and Second Grade Vocal Music: First and Second grade students are composing in partners using dynamics Forte and Piano as well as Crescendo and Decrescendo using a wide variety of classroom instruments including sand blocks, maracas, triangles, rhythm sticks, and cymbals. Students are also learning how to conduct dynamics in partners and groups.

Third Grade Vocal Music: Third grade students have continued developing their ability to read solfege (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, and do) in major keys. Students have played the game “Solfege Rally” to work on quickly recognizing and reading solfege and have performed the song “Apple Tree” using solfege notation.

Fourth Grade Vocal Music: Fourth grade has spent January reviewing reading melodic dictation in major keys using solfege (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, and do) in order to label and perform independently. Fourth grade will begin researching specific geographic regions including either Southern States in America, Northeast States in America in relation to the Harlem Renaissance, West Coast of Africa, and Caribbean to create a group project on culture, music, art, and traditions in preparation of Black History Night taking place on Tuesday, February 21st at 6:30pm.

Fifth Grade Vocal Music: Fifth grade is learning music history through the development of coded messages in spirituals in relation to significant events in American history such as the Civil War and the development of the Underground Railroad. Fifth grade will begin to research music genealogy in the influence of spiritual music to blues, jazz, and pop genres in order to develop performances for Black History Night taking place on Tuesday, February 21st at 6:30pm.

Fourth Grade Exploratory Music: The fourth grade classes are continuing their unit on the Woodwind Family. So far we have discovered what makes an instrument a member of the woodwind family, the three ways to create vibrations and sound on woodwind instruments, and the history of the clarinet family and the bass clarinet. We will continue to explore and learn about the woodwind instruments of the orchestra and the students will be practicing simple songs and techniques on the clarinet. The students have mastered putting their reeds on to the mouthpiece and are working on putting the entire clarinet together.

Fifth Grade Band & Orchestra: Students are working on learning their first major scale, the B-flat scale for band students, and the D scale for orchestra students. This requires 8 notes! Your students have come a long way since they

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first started in September! For the third quarter, students will be working on musical style by adding dynamics and phrasing to their music!

Musically yours, Ms. Ciaccio, sciaccio2@bcps.org & Ms. Seymour, kseymour@bcps.org

Pre-KindergartenPre-Kindergarten students will learn about animals, including pets, farm animals, and wild animals. We will identify the letters and sounds of Gg, Bb, Ii, and Cc. In Math, we will continue to learn about measurement including how to compare lengths and height, identify objects from shortest to longest, and use our counting skills to help with measurement.

KindergartenIn February in kindergarten we will be learning about weather, we will learn about the four season, different types of weather and how to be safe in bad weather. We will learn the sight words is, little, if, let, she, was, had, ran. In math we will be finishing up the patterning unit students should be able to give the mathematical rules for patterns, label patterns and create with concrete objects. Students will begin to learn about 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes in the geometry unit.

First GradeIn math, students will develop understanding of collecting, representing, describing, and interpreting data. Additionally they will focus on developing the ideas about linear measurement, telling time to the hour and half-hour, and partitioning a whole into equal parts and naming each part with a fraction. In reading, students will explore the distinct features of different animals, examine how animals work together in teams, develop an understanding of how animals survive in nature, and learn about people who train animals and work to preserve their habitats. Throughout the unit, students will identify the main topic and retell key details, use various text features to locate facts or information in texts, and use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

Second GradePhonics – Students will be working r controlled vowels. We will address the different sounds that can be made by the same combinations of letters, for example the different sounds that can be made by “er”.

Language Arts – Students will finish unit 3 with the big idea of “Live and Learn”. This unit will end with a focus on informational text. It will culminate with students creating an infographic about wild weather. They may begin unit 4 which starts off with a study of poetry. Math – Students will finish up with number systems and begin the next unit on data analysis. They will engage in all the phases of data analysis as they pose questions, collect and sort information, and make representations of data as a way of sharing their findings with others.

Third GradeIn third grade reading, we will be continuing our third unit, Invention and Innovation – How Solving Problems Leads to New Ideas. Students read short biographies and informational texts about inventors and their inventions to gain knowledge about the creation, innovation, and continuing development of inventions. In math, we will be beginning unit four, Fractions. In this unit, students understand and represent fractions, including fractions greater than one, as numbers by using number lines. Students compare fractions using models and by reasoning about the number of equal parts and the size of equal parts. Students understand fraction equivalence using area and linear models, including fractions equivalent to whole numbers. Students should also continue practicing their multiplication facts with their triangle flash cards. These should be studied nightly in order for students to gain fact fluency.

Fourth GradeMath – All math classes are now in the fractions unit! Throughout the unit, students will be identifying and comparing fractions as well multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting fractions.Language Arts – We are beginning our new reading unit entitled “Taking a Stand.” Students will learn about ethical issues via reading texts, watching videos, and analyzing infographics. Science – We are continuing our STEM Fair unit. Students are working in their selected groups in order to complete their own STEM Project.

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Fifth GradeMath – Students will be working on adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. We will also be multiplying whole numbers and fractions. Science – Students finished their STEM fair projects in school. Please keep a lookout for the school STEM fair date. Students are beginning the weather. Language Arts – Students will be working in unit 3 and independently reading their historical fiction novels in class. This month’s text will consists of World War II, and The Great Depression.

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