Dragon Blast
Mary C. Howse Elementary School
From the Principal
Dear MCH Parents:
Concern for your child is always at the forefront of your mind as a parent. Growing up, most of us did not think about anything dangerous at school other than getting in trouble for goofing off or not doing your homework. Our parents had no reason to fear the safety of their child. That has changed. With the Internet, we are now up to date with every tragic event that occurs, and when it happens to our children, it is exemplified. Here at MCH and within the WCASD, we have many proactive measures to protect your child. Rather than list this, see the video below for a personable explanation. Ironically, we are scheduled to have a safety drill in the next week. For this one, each teacher will discuss with the children (at their developmental level) and take them through what they need to do - which is basically to follow their teacher's guidance. Our students do a great job of this.
Some events coming up - Math assembly on March 1st during the day, then evening with parents/children who have signed up. We have our Jump Rope for Heart on Tuesday and our Spring Fair on March 17th (more to come on that). We also will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with Read across America week next week. There is another video below which shows our student during lunch and recess - many times, parents hear horror stories about these times of the day, or they reflect on what it was like when they went to school. So, we decided to, again, do an impromptu video. Enjoy!
Dr. Cat
Announcements and Reminders
- Tuesday, February 27 - Jump Rope for Heart
- Wednesday and Thursday March 7 & 8 1/2 day for students- Conferences
- Friday, March 9th - No school for elementary students
- Kindergarten Registration has started: go to www.wcasd.net to register
FAMILY MATH NIGHT
Please save March 1st for MCH Family Math Night hosted here! Sponsored by our PTO, we will have Greg Tang visit us! See: https://tangmath.com/
He will be conducting student assemblies that day as well!
Do you have students who struggle with their facts? Do you wish they would practice more at home? Do you wish your parents were more helpful and supportive? Consider hosting a family math night!
Our new Family Math Night Kit includes 5 stations that are proven to get students excited about math. They target critical strategies and skills, and give kids the repetition and practice they need. Best of all, when parents play our games with their children, they begin to think about numbers – and math – in new and better ways.
Here at GregTangMath, we believe a successful family math night is the single best way to generate excitement about math and bring families together. When it comes to math facts, we need our parents’ help. Strategies can be learned in class, but practice begins at home.
All of our games have been carefully designed and tested to maximize learning and fun. We focus on number bonds – also called fact families – and use multiple representations to model numbers, deepen understanding, and encourage efficient thinking.
More information to come - the audience must be capped at 300 so we will send out sign up info. soon!
Summer Math Camp
Looking for a Math Camp this summer? We have your answer-Greg Tang Jr. Summer Camp coming to Peirce Middle School this summer. We are offering two weeks-June 18-22nd and July 16-20, Monday-Friday 9-2.
Spaces are going fast! Sign up today!
View the attached video to see the Math, Coding, and Literacy your child can experience at Greg Tang Jr. Math Camp.
https://tangmath.com/products/summer-camp?variant=5925541380123
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART
P.E. NEWS: The JUMP ROPE FOR HEART is coming to MCH next week on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27th !!!! All students should have brought home their pledge envelope with all the information you would ever need to know about this event which benefits the AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION.
But this is what you need to know: All students are jumping in the Gym during their special subject area time slot:
Grade 5 9:10 – 10:00 We’d love to have you come in to spin
Grade 4 10:00 – 10:50 ropes especially for students in Grades K-2.
Grade 3 10:50 – 11:40 No experience necessary J It’s on the job
Kindergarten 1:00 – 1:50 training. Please contact me directly to let
Grade 1 1:50 – 2:40 me know if you can help out:
Grade 2 2:40 – 3:30 cmcginley@wcasd.net Mrs. McGinley
Students may bring in their pledge envelope any day over the next 3 weeks. OR make life very easy any make your pledge on-line !! Go to heart.org/jump and put Mary C Howse (NO period after C) and get started !!!
See you next week !!!
February is National Love the Bus Month!
February is National Love the Bus month! Every day parents across the West Chester Area School District place their trust in Krapf School Bus drivers who safely transport their children to and from school. Please help Krapf School Bus celebrate their dedicated and caring drivers by having your child share what they love about their bus driver. Click here for digital entries or click here to download and print a form. All entry forms are due by March 2. Krapf will present awards to five students and their bus drivers as a way to say thank you.
LIBRARY NEWS
Library News!
Hi everyone! Please click on the link below to see our first trimester Library Newsletter. It is filled with information and pictures about how your students are reading, researching, creating and innovating in our library!
Enjoy!
Contact and Additional Information
Email: scatrambone@wcasd.net
Website: http://www.edline.net/pages/mary_c__howse_elementary_schoo
Location: 641 West Boot Road, West Chester, PA, United States
Phone: 484-266-1302
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mchpto/
Twitter: @SteveCat19
POSITIVE PRAISE
Mrs. Kane,
Thank you so much for taking a moment to have "our son write to us!" It was such a wonderful email to receive!!! He truly has started to enjoy & therefore develop as a reader this year!
We greatly appreciate everything you are doing to help him flourish in first grade! He loves being in your class!!! We thank you so much for helping him grow as a learner!!!
Thank you
Good morning, Ms. Noone,
I wanted to thank you for the time you took with my children and I yesterday on the school tour. You really eased the kids’ minds and nerves about starting there. Even though our daughter didn’t say much, she said afterwards that she liked her teacher, the principal, and you!!!
Mary C. Howse seems like such a special learning community, I feel confident about my choice of moving our family out there.
And thank you for pursuing band for my daughter and safety for my son. As you know, those things are big in the lives of these kiddos. We appreciate your kindness and support. We have few resources in our school district. We have a part-time emotional support staff member who is assigned to elementary schools and she’s responsible for all IEPs/504s, in addition to minimal guidance support. So I’m extremely happy to see your role in the traditional sense (I taught a long time ago) and you’re very good at your job!
Thank you again, Ms. Noone,
From the Kitchen
See: https://www.wcasd.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=209
for information on food services or see a menu.
Tracey Dwyer - tdwyer@wcasd.net
Mary C Howse Elementary School
Cafe' Manager
484-266-1380
Parent Portal
Use the link below to access the parent portal page:
http://home.wcasd.net/pages/West_Chester_Area_SD/ForParents/Parent_Portal
On the page, there is written documentation (English and Spanish,) as well as videos (English only) that walk parents through how to set up your parent portal account, how to access grades and set alerts, how to view the online report card, how to check attendance, etc. There is even an app for your phone if you prefer.
Please call the office for your child’s user name and password if you do not have the information that was provided to you at the beginning of the school year.
SCHOOL DISTRICT WELLNESS POLICY
9/7/2017 BoardDocs® PL
http://www.boarddocs.com/pa/wche/Board.nsf/Public# 5/6
a. School/Classroom parties/celebrations with food/beverages shall be limited to no more than
three (3) per school year. At each event at least one fruit and vegetable will be offered.
There is a maximum of one sweet or salty snack that will be offered. All packaged foods
must be labeled with the ingredients and nutritional information.
b. Parents/Guardians shall be informed through newsletters or other efficient communication
methods that foods/beverages should only be brought in when requested for scheduled
parties/celebrations.
3. Shared Classroom Snacks:
a. Shared classroom snacks are not permitted in district schools except if it is part of the
curriculum as stated in #1 above.
The district shall provide a list of suggested nonfood ideas and healthy food and beverage alternatives
to parents/guardians and staff, which may be posted via the district website, student handbook,
newsletters, posted notices and/or other efficient communication methods.
Marketing/Contracting
Any foods and beverages marketed or promoted to students on the school campus during the school
day shall meet or exceed the established federal nutrition standards (USDA Smart Snacks in School)
and comply with established Board policies
Full policy guidelines can be found on the West Chester Area School District website.
Parent Resources
Community Bulletin Board:
For activities offered around West Chester, see:
http://home.wcasd.net/pages/West_Chester_Area_SD/Community_Bulletin_Board/Other
Articles to consider:
Should we still give grades?
Are letter grades failing our students?
- http://neatoday.org/2015/08/19/are-letter-grades-failing-our-students/
Allowing students redos and retakes: http://wp.vcu.edu/hhughesdecatur/files/2012/08/Wormeli_Redos-and-Retakes-.pdf
Our Mary C. Howse School Pledge
I pledge
To be the best that I can be
Respect myself and others
Make safe choices
And take responsibility
For my learning and behavior