Somerset ES Staff Bulletin
Week of September 28th
"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." Og Mandino
Events This Week
Sunday (9/27)
5:00-7:00 PM Back to School Picnic (rain or shine)
Monday (9/28)
9:15 Core Team Meeting
2:00 3rd Grade Community Speakers (Classrooms)
3:45-4:45 Leadership Team Meeting
Tuesday (9/29)
8:15 Evaluation Year Meeting (Media Center)
Wednesday (9/30)
12:00-4:00 SSPGS Training (Maureen out)
12:00-4:00 Connect Ed Training (Kelly out)
Thursday (10/1)
12:00 - 4:00 PCU Meeting (Maureen out)
IEP/EMT -- Coverage
8:30 Hopkins -- Lambert-Williamson
10:30 Janniello -- Lambert-Williamson
1:30 Thompson -- Andreassi
2:30 Matwey -- K. Truppner
Friday (10/2)
8:00 - 12:00 PCU Meeting (Colleen and Kelly out)
12:30 - Visit from Cheryl Smith (Director of the Office of School Support and Improv.)
12:55 Early Release
Upcoming Events
Tuesday (10/6) - 6:00 PM State of the School PTA Meeting
Wednesday (10/7) - 10:30 Announced Shelter/Lockdown Drill
Monday (10/12) - 9:00-11:00 Open House and 3:45-4:45 Leadership Meeting
Staff Recognition
Kudos to:
- Michelle G., and the Somerset staff, for being so flexible this week with the changes in her schedule.
- Barbara for helping with additional coverage/classroom support.
- The Reading PLC for an excellent Daily 5 Training at our staff meeting.
- HeeJung and Naina for their patience and dedication to revising the ESOL schedule to meet the needs of our students.
- Hannah for giving up her TLC time last minute for the staff LanSchool training.
Happy Birthday to:
10/30 Kathryn Truppner (Para, Lunch/Recess)
Announcements and Important Information
- A big welcome to Ms. Gail Klein who is our new critical staffing para-educator replacing Ms. Hana Godana who accepted a position at a different school. Please stop by Karen's room to say hello and welcome her to Somerset.
- A big farewell to Ali Pluznik who has accepted a larger allocation at Bethesda ES. We will miss her!
- Open House/Parent Visitation Day is Monday, October 12 (Columbus Day) from 9:00-11:00. When parents are in the room, they always enjoy seeing the children work and learn. Keep this in mind as you plan for October 12th.
Halloween Update in TIN this Week
Our Halloween parade on October 30th, will begin at approximately 1:30 PM, weather and ground conditions permitting. The off campus Halloween parade route is as follows: We will walk out the front doors of the school, up Cumberland, left on Surrey, left on Dorset crossing over Warwick and left onto Deal and back into the building using the rear entrance. Police Officer Davidov and friends will monitor the walk and block off the streets as needed. In order for your child to participate in all of the events we will need parent approval. Please return the permission slip to your child’s teacher by October 27th. Parents and other visitors should plan to stand near the parade route. If it rains, we will transfer the fun inside and have the parade throughout the building ending in the All Purpose Room. Classroom parties will take place immediately following the parade. Please ask your room parent if you would like to volunteer or contribute.
We request that parents be mindful of appropriate costumes for the school setting and select costumes that reflect positive characters in place of aggressive or negative characters. Costume accessories of a violent nature, such as toy swords, knives, guns, pitch forks, etc. will not be permitted for the safety of our students. If any of these items are inadvertently brought to school, we will keep them in the main office to be picked up at the end of the school day. We also encourage that masks which obstruct your child’s vision not be worn to or at school. Costumes should be of the type that your child can change into with little or no assistance and should not be worn to school. Should you or your child have any questions about their costume or accessory, please do not hesitate to contact me. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this request.
We respect that some families choose not to participate in Halloween activities so alternate arrangements have been planned for those students’ enjoyment. Parents who prefer that their children not participate in the costume parade and/or party should fill out the permission slip and send it in to their child’s teacher. These students will meet in the Media Center once the afternoon activities begin. We welcome all parents to come and enjoy the festivities in either location with their children.
- It’s that time of year: MCPS will begin converting from air conditioning to heating on October 1st. Most schools cannot automatically switch from air conditioning to heating because the same piping is used alternately for cooling and heating. Therefore, the Division of Maintenance mechanics must open and close various valves in the piping system in a process that may take up to a day in each school and two to three weeks to cover all of the schools. Therefore, please dress with the weather forecast in mind.
- Please make sure that a copy of all work samples you plan on sharing at an EMT/IEP meeting are given to Barbara McCartney by the deadline provided in your invitation email. All documents for an IEP meeting will then be copied and sent home. Copies will also be available for you at the meeting. In addition to the work samples, please remember classroom teachers must be able to share and provide data in reading and math. If your student has a different reading or math teacher, you are responsible for getting that information to present at the meeting.
- We will not be sending home interims during the first quarter. If you have any academic concerns for any of your students, please make sure you set up a face to face or phone conference with the parent(s).
- During indoor recess teachers will have to combine classes. We only have two or three aides available for each lunch/recess period. Classroom teachers are to make sure the rules and expectations are established for the students. Classroom teachers are to pick students up from the cafeteria and take them to indoor recess locations.
-Unless a child is in the care of Wonders Child Care, no children are permitted in the building before 8:40. Student helpers are not allowed in your room before 8:40; so please do not invite students or tell their parents to drop them off before 8:40 a.m.
- Please pick up your students from specials, lunch and recess on time, and please arrive to your duties on time. We all depend on each other for a smooth and efficient school day.
-As you are planning your weekends towards this fall, please consider:
1) Stopping by the Fall Back to School Picnic which is scheduled for Sunday, September 27th on our field from 5 – 7 PM
2) Registering for the Back-to-School Classic on Sunday, October 25th. More information is available online at: http://www.somersetrace.com/
-Just a reminder about allergies. Our school policy is that we encourage students to refrain from bringing nut products to school for lunch or snack. For monthly celebrations, please ask parents of students who have allergies to supply a snack/treat for their student (such as: fruit snacks, rice crispy treats, etc). Check with Linda or Megan for more ideas. Most baked goods are cross contaminated as they are made in facilities where nuts are processed.