The Patriot Parent Newsletter
Brooklyn Park Elementary January 2020
Our Mission and Vision at BPES:
Mission: Rigorous instruction, engaging experiences, positive relationships, no exceptions.
Vision: With the collaborative support of our families, staff and community, Brooklyn Park Elementary will be a school of excellence focused on the academic and social needs of ALL students.
Mr. Walker's Message
Hello BPES Community:
I can’t believe we have entered into a new decade. I remember in 1999 when we worried about Y2K and the impact on computers. My first job out of college was a Customer Service Manager at Provident Bank of Maryland. ( Do you remember Provident Bank?) The financial industry was concerned about how the computers would respond to the data when the clock struck 2000. Well, we have come a very long why since 2000. Below are some highlights:
- The iPhone and evolution of cell phones
- Computers and Tablets
- Self-Driving Cars
- Advancement in medicine
As the world continues to evolve, I want our students to be prepared for the next decade and decades to come. My focus will continue to be student safety, rigorous instruction, positive relationships and engaging experiences. I look forward to 2020 and providing our students the skills they need for the next decade and beyond. Have a wonderful and safe 2020.
As always, please email me if you have questions..
Your principal,
E. Rodney Walker
Mrs. Chisholm's News!
January PBIS News
Welcome back! We are so glad to have everyone back. January is a packed month ending with the end of the 2nd marking period. This month is often full of learning opportunities for students. It is very important for students to come to school every day. The weather can often be unpredictable during January. If you have any indoor recess activities, I know teachers would appreciate some updates. Please consider sending in games or activities that your children can use during inside recess.
Thank you for all your continued support. Together we can make 2020 the best year yet at BPES.
Happy New Year!
K. Chisholm
Upcoming events:
January 6th BPES School Spirit Day
January 9th Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
January 13th BPES Spirit Day
January 15th Winter Hat Day
January 17th Disney Character Day
January 21st Hug Day-PBIS Fund raiser (See below)
January 24th Compliment Day
January 27th BPES Spirit Day
January 31 Hot Chocolate Day- PBIS party for Students on Honor Roll for second marking period.
(If you are able to help with an event, please contact me at kchisholm@aacps.org or call school at 410 222 6590.)
Attendance matters.
Please bring your child to school every day! If your child is sick, please send him/ her back to school with a note. If your child is out for 3 consecutive days, he/she needs a note from a doctor.
November Attendance Percentages
Pre-k
89.3
K
93.7
1
92.5
2
93.7
3
95.4
4
94.6
5
93.1
• Key academic concepts are being covered everyday.
• Time on task on a daily basis is needed to learn coursework.
• One missed day of school = as many as three days of catch up for a student to learn all the missed information and skills.
Perfect Attendance gift card parent winners:
September- Ann Duval
October-Jessica Mellendick
November-Panthak Khalas
December-Zaw Latt
Thank you for sending your students to school every day. If you haven’t collected your prize, please contact Ms. Selznick.
January PBIS Fundraiser:
We are selling HUGS! Order forms will be coming home, if you would like a hug delivered to your child on January 21st, please fill out the form and send it to your child’s teacher. Hugs are $1.00. Thank you! (Funds raised will support the PBIS Program)
Employee of the Month!
Ms. Raines is January’s Employee of the Month! BPES staff member’s say Megan takes on so much responsibility as a Special Education Teacher and Leader. She is genuine and thoughtful. She goes above and beyond for her students and other staff members. If you ever need anything, Megan is the go-to person. She works extremely hard to meet the needs of our special education students. She is selfless when it comes to the needs of our children. She is a dedicated member of our BPES family and we are lucky to have her here!
January Important Dates
2 Welcome Back! School Opens
15 3rd Grade Music Showcase at BPES 6:00 p.m.
20 Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Commemoration. School Closed
28 & 29 End of second marking period. Two-hour early dismissal
30 School Closed
31 Beginning of third marking period.
February 5th -Pre-K Application Begins-By Appointment Only (410) 222-6590
Please Visit AACPS Website for Pre-K Information
PTA Happenings!
16 Chick-fil-A Night 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
21 PTA Meeting! All are welcome. 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
24 Chuck E Cheese 3:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Band and Strings Winter Concert
The 3rd Grade Music Showcase is fast approaching! January 15th at BPES, 6:00 p.m. Students will be showcasing their talents on string instruments and recorders. We can’t wait to see you there!
Classroom News!
Pre-Kindergarten
Happy New Year families! We hope you had a relaxing and restful break. We are excited to see your students back in our classrooms ready to learn. For the remainder of this month, we will be finishing our theme: Health and Community. The students will be learning about exercise and staying clean through read-aloud's, videos, play and hands on activities! Following this theme, we will begin a new theme: Our World Around Us. The first week is learning all about how Earth is important to us. We will learn the letters Ee, Yy, and Gg and their sounds. We will also introduce the sight words; can, you, and is. We will review all previously taught letters, sounds, and sight words the last week of January. In math, we will continue counting verbally to 15, creating sets of objects up to 10, matching a numeral to a set of objects up to 10, and writing numerals. We will start identifying and describing 2D shapes towards the end of January.
The Pre-K team has decided to begin sending home practice activities. This is not mandatory "homework" but a way for you to interact with your child on the learning that is being done in the classroom and help them reinforce their skills. We will be sure to celebrate students who complete the extra practice in our classrooms. Thank you for your continued support!
Kindergarten
We hope that you had a restful Winter Break! Now is a great time to make sure your child has a change of clothes in their locker that fit. It is also a good idea to practice zipping coats and putting on gloves/mittens.
During the next month we will continue to explore how things move through hands on activities and experiences. Students will begin to explore measurement using nonstandard units (hands, teddy bears, counting chips, etc...). We will also continue to practice letter sounds, rhyming, syllables and sight words.
We encourage everyone to complete homework nightly and return your notebooks on Friday. Please reach out on Dojo if you have any questions or concerns.
First Grade
Happy New Year! We are excited to have a fresh start for 2020. We will be reviewing expectations and setting goals to begin the new year. Students will continue with writing informative books to teach readers about a topic. In math, students will continue exploring with 2-digit numbers, including adding, subtracting, and comparing numbers using the less than, greater than, and equals signs. In social studies, students will learn more about cultures and how culture connects people. We are preparing for our first field trip in February, so please remember to send in all permission slips and money before January 17. We will be contacting chaperones soon! Thanks for all of your support. We are looking forward to a great start to the new year and a fantastic finish to the 2nd marking period!
Second Grade
As we move into the second half of the year we are changing the units of study that we are focusing on in our curriculum. We were focusing on us being explorers to make sense of the world around us. Now we are going to move into looking at real world problems and developing solutions that will help us to make the world a better place by working together as a team. Be on the lookout for the math newsletters that are sent home at the beginning of each topic. These newsletters provide information for you as parents to better help you understand what you child is doing in class. Feel free to send your child’s teacher any questions you have via class dojo if you have signed up or send in a note with your child to school. We are all here to work together in helping our children grow and blossom into responsible and independent life- long learners.
The reading homework Choice boards will be changing again for the start of third quarter . They will be changing at the beginning of each new marking period. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Third Grade
Math- In January we will continue to learn about elapsed time. Students have access to clocks and will use number lines as a strategy. The Quarter 2 assessment is at the end of the month and we will spend several days reviewing. Students need to continue to practice their multiplication facts nightly. Basic fact questions are on the assessment.
Winter is officially here which makes a great time to snuggle up with a good book! Your child visits the media center each week and has the opportunity to select books of their choice to read for enjoyment and practice the reading skills they are learning during their Guided Reading lessons. We have been working on identifying the main idea and key details of a non-fiction text. Encourage your child to select at least one non-fiction book each week and tell you what the text is mostly about (main idea). Then have them prove it by selecting key details from the text that support the main idea they chose. This is a great way to summarize what was read and work on identifying the main idea and key details.
Science: Third grade scientists will study the characteristics of an organism's traits inherited from parents and from environmental factors.
Writing: As the culminating project for informative writing, students will begin working on a brochure as a way to share their knowledge of a topic with their audience. A short research project will be conducted to help students with fact proving.
Fourth Grade
Happy New Year from 4th Grade!! 2020 is going to be an amazing year and we are so lucky to be sharing it with your child!
Please remind your child to wear their coat, gloves and hats to school everyday, while they may not need it on the bus we will be going out for recess, unless it is below the AACPS policy of 32 degrees. If you are in need of these winter-wear supplies please reach out to your child's teacher and we will take care of it.
In Math, we will be beginning to hit word problems really hard and apply them to real life problem solving using all four operations and different forms of measurement. We will be working at breaking these problems apart and knowing when to use what operation. Please practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division at home with your child. Also, working on real life problems, like doubling a recipe etc. will help in the classroom a lot! We will be preparing for our Marking Period 2 Benchmark Assessment on January 29 at 9am. Please make sure your child is at school on time and ready to go for the assessment!
In Language Arts, we will continue with our study of non-fiction texts. We will be looking for main ideas and supporting details. We will be looking at biographies and diving deeply into what makes a person important to our society and finding details to support. We will gather research and form essays that show our research to our classmates. Our Marking Period 2 Benchmark Assessment is scheduled for January 23 and 9am. Again please make sure your child is here and ready to go on time.
In Social Studies, we will continue our study of the early colonization of Maryland. We will bring Maryland up to the Revolutionary War and discuss how Maryland played apart in that important time of our countries history.
Keep in mind we will be closed on 1/20 for MLK Jr. Day as well as 1/30. Also, 1/28 and 1/29 are 2 hour early dismissals for students.
Again, if you need anything at all please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher via ClassDojo!
Fifth Grade
January is going to be a busy month for 5th grade. Students will be participating in CoGAT testing in addition to our regular marking period assessment. We will also be going to the Chesapeake Arts Center to see "The Diary of Anne Frank" on the 16th. Permission slips will come home the first day back from Winter Break.
We will continue working on multiplying and dividing fractions. This is always challenge for our students. Please lend a hand with homework whenever possible. Students should be reading every day to practice their fluency skills.
Mrs. Wells News!
Brooklyn Park Public Library
1 East 11th Ave., Brooklyn Park, MD 21225
Onsite service to assist parents in achieving or maintaining economic self-support and self-sufficiency.
Wednesdays 9:00-5:00- P.M. Referral & Linkage Services Community Outreach
4th Wednesdays at the Library 12:00-1:30 Free Lunch
For information, please call Takiya Green, MSW Casework Specialist (410) 421-8481.