Mammoth Mailing
October Issue
A Message Principal Bisker
As we move through the second month of school, I would like to remind families of the following:
-School hours are from 9:05-4:00 pm daily; please ensure your child is on time and prepared for learning each day.
-Breakfast is served between 9:05-9:15 daily.
-If picking up early, please do so before 3:40 pm to allow for a smooth and orderly dismissal.
-When picking up your child as a walker, please use all sidewalks and crosswalks. We must model proper traffic safety for our students.
-When requesting phone or email from your child's teacher, please allow 24-48 hours for a response.
Finally, I encourage you to get involved here at Winfield! Please join us for a listening session hosted by our Community School Facilitator, Monique Banks. Your voices and ideas are important to us. Additionally, please consider joining and supporting the Winfield PTA. They are an amazing team that continues to plan many exciting events for our students and families.
Contact Us
Email: dbisker@bcps.org
Website: https://winfieldes.bcps.org/
Location: 8300 Carlson Lane, Windsor Mill, MD, USA
Phone: 443-809-0766
Twitter: @WinfieldESBCPS
October Events
October 5th - Schools Closed
October 12th- PTA Meeting (Virtual)
October 13th - Fall Festival @ Winfield 5:00 - 7:00 pmOctober 21st - Schools Closed
October 28th- Book Character Day
October 28th - Trunk or Treat @ Northwest Hospital 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Fall Festival
Please complete the information below to RSVP. Please complete this form by Wednesday, October 12, 2022, by 3:00 pm. This information is needed to determine the total number of meals to provide.
Fall Festival RSVP:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_sGT-gocZKeyn2mSNStr65QinvbMGABBKXWuRHxR3mQQ7HQ/viewform
Thursday, Oct 13, 2022, 05:00 PM
Winfield Elementary School., Carlson Lane, Windsor Mill, MD, USA
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
A Message from Pre- K
Happy Fall Pre-K Families!
We had a very busy first month of school! The children have been practicing following our classroom rules and routines! We are still working on the geometry unit in math and will begin the unit on counting and the number system next week. We started our first unit in ELA, All About Pre-K, and the students will be learning their letters and sounds. Additionally, the students have been learning about the role of author and illustrator and the parts of a book. Thank you for your support!
Ms. Acie
A Message from Kindergarten
The kindergarten classes are doing great adjusting to the daily routines! Each class is working on building a school family. Ask your child to teach you a breathing strategy he/she learned to stay calm. We are looking forward to a fantastic year of learning!
In ELA, the students have been working on asking and answering questions about key details in a text, identifying the characters and setting in a story, and staying actively engaged in group reading activities. Students have been demonstrating an understanding of the basic features of print, like how to follow print from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
During October, we will also begin identifying the main topic and key details in a text, identifying the relationship between the illustrations and the text, and using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or compose an opinion piece.
Last month in Math, students worked on identifying and writing the numbers 0-5, building sets of 0-10 on five frames and ten frames using manipulatives, as well as creating and extending simple patterns. In October, we are beginning unit 2 in Math. We will cover topics like comparing sets of objects using the words more and less, showing different ways to make 5 and 10, counting objects, and writing the numeral to match and two-dimensional shapes. Please see the parent letter that went home in your child’s take-home folder to show ideas of how you can help your child at home.
Homework will begin in October. Please see the homework packet in your child’s Take-Home Folder for the weekly homework assignments. We are also asking that children read or be read to for at least 10 minutes every night. Your child will complete homework Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They will turn in their homework packet every Friday to be checked. It will be checked and returned to you by the following Monday.
Important Reminders:
*Label all belongings
*Bring a yellow folder daily and check/remove papers every night!
*Bring a water bottle daily!
*Bring in a complete change of clothes in case of an emergency
A Message from First Grade
First grade is off to a great start with learning. We are excited to start transitioning into new units in all subject areas.
In Math, students have been solving equations and story problems by adding and subtracting within 20, skip counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s, composing numbers 5 and 10, practicing ten and some more, and much more.
In Reading, we are starting to explore elements of fiction. Students will read exciting stories throughout the unit and identify the characters, setting, and major events of the story. Students will also get an opportunity to write their own fun stories!
Homework is assigned Monday-Thursday. It is handed out Monday and due back on Friday. Children should also be reading for 15-20 minutes every day to help with fluency and comprehension. This includes parents reading to their children.
As always, please feel free to reach out to your student’s teacher with any questions or concerns.
A Message from Second Grade
We are adjusting to the new school year. Thank you for your support!
In Math, we are determining how many more are needed to get to 20, identifying numbers as odd and even, and comparing numbers. Students are encouraged to practice addition and subtraction facts within 20 to build fluency.
In ELA, we are identifying story elements and retelling stories using the beginning, middle, and end. In phonics, we’re reviewing the sounds and using the corresponding spellings to write dictated words. Students are encouraged to read nightly. Students should ask and answer questions about what is being read. Homework should be completed nightly.
Please check your child’s yellow folder. Teachers can be reached via email. Please allow 24-48 hours for a response.
A Message from Third Grade
Our third graders have been working on building classroom routines and focusing on establishing set rules and expectations for a safe learning environment. They have been working on building phonics skills by working on reading and decoding long and short vowel sounds.
In Math, we are practicing addition and subtraction strategies, including problem adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. The students are also working on 2-digit by 2-digit addition and subtraction. Students are encouraged to practice addition and subtraction fact fluency to increase their knowledge. Students can continue to work on fact fluency by logging into their First in Math.
In ELA, we are identifying the main idea and key details while learning about the connection between humans and nature. Students should read 15-20 minutes nightly to help increase fluency. Students can access Raz Kids and Tumble Books to access extra reading materials if needed!
For content we are starting with our health unit, which is a “Healthy Start to School.” This unit will allow the students to set goals for the school year, communicate effectively with others, making good decisions and managing stress.
A Message from Fourth Grade
We are off to a good start to the school year. Students are settling down and getting familiar with the rules and procedures of 4th grade. Please encourage your child to come to school prepared and ready to learn each day.
This year 4th grade is departmentalized. Mrs. Lorenz and Mrs. Barton are teaching ELA, Social Studies, and Health. Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Hixon are teaching Math and Science. Mrs. Jacobs will be in for Mrs. Lorenz during her absence while she is out with her baby.
This is the first year that students receive letter grades. We encourage second chance learning, so students are given the opportunity to repair and return assignments if they would like to improve their grades.
Homework is given Monday through Thursday in math and ELA. Although it is not graded, it is an opportunity for students to practice the skills and standards taught in the classroom. We will look over the homework to check for accuracy and completion as well as any misconceptions that need to be addressed in class. We appreciate your support in advance for helping your child to practice skills learned in class daily.
A Message from Fifth Grade
Students have been adjusting to the routines and expectations of the 5th grade ELA and Math classrooms. Students are developing the responsibilities of switching classes in the afternoon and behaving appropriately in the lunchroom and during recess.
Some students still struggle to put away their phones during the school day. Please remind your child that phone usage during school is not allowed at Winfield Elementary. This includes in the classroom, in the bathroom, and while outside for recess.
Every night students should bring home a yellow folder that contains homework and parent communications. This folder should be returned to school every morning. It would also be helpful if students brought a full water bottle to drink throughout the day. Please be sure that students bring water only.
A Message From our Music Department
Special Area- Instrumental Music
5th grade students who signed up for band and orchestra have begun learning their instruments! Ask your student which instrument they are learning to play.
Katie Aiken
she/her
Instrumental Music
A Message from our Art Department
In Art, all students created Getting to Know You paper sculptures. Students in grades K-2 created All About Me self-portrait collages, while students in grades 3-5 completed individual pieces of each classroom puzzle. Currently, students in K and Gr1 learning about the line as an element of art. Students in Gr2 create positive murals for their community. Students in Gr3 complete grid drawings about their summer vacations. Students in grades 4-5 design sunglasses and draw a reflection of their summer in them.
Oksana Trent
Art Teacher
A Message from our School Librarian
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents should read aloud to their children from birth. It is obvious that many Winfield Elementary students have developed a love of reading and a rich vocabulary. Your students have learned how to check out EBooks from their county and school databases. Continue to stress reading/read-alouds every evening!
So how do you make a child a better reader? READ MORE!
A Message from the Guidance Counselor
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As part of our School Counseling Program, your child’s class will have the opportunity to engage in a counseling core curriculum lesson during October on Bullying. This month’s topic explores what it means to be a bully and how to respond when you or someone else is being bullied. Additionally, students will learn about what it means to be a social justice advocate through discussions about segregation, race, and stereotypes.
We hope that the core curriculum counseling lessons will help to promote the social-emotional, academic, and career development of our students. We hope that you can help your child reflect on these lessons by discussing their content together. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the program. I can be reached via phone at 4438092461 or via email at ofunmilayo@bcps.org
Additional resources to aid in the discussion of this counseling lesson at home include:
https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/beyond_golden_rule.pdf
https://www.pbs.org/parents/talking-about-racism
https://www.unicef.org/parenting/talking-to-your-kids-about-racism
I will be visiting each classroom to talk about Bullying in this month of October, and the SEL team need your support for this cause to provide a safer environment to every child at Winfield Elementary School. Please join in the following:
Week 1
Discuss what bullying is with your child:
“Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. It is mean behavior purposely happening over and over”
Please encourage your child to
Speak up, Reach out, and be a friend.
Week 2
Students pledge to stand against bullying by speaking up, reaching out, and be a friend.
Note signs of Cyberbullying
Some warning signs that cyberbullying is happening around a child’s use of their device
- Noticeable, rapid increases or decreases in device use, including texting.
- A child exhibits emotional responses (laughter, anger, upset) to what is happening on their device.
- A child hides their screen or device when others are near, and avoids discussion about what they are doing on their device.
- Social media accounts are shut down or new ones appear.
- A child starts to avoid social situations, even those that were enjoyed in the past.
- A child becomes withdrawn or depressed, or loses interest in people and activities.
Week 3
Join us as we stand against bullying wearing the following colors each day of through the 3rd week in October.
“Wear a Color for Character” Week of October 17th – October 21st
Monday: BCPS blue for Civility
Tuesday: Green for Equity
Wednesday: Orange for Unity
Thursday: Red for Respect
Friday: Purple for positivity
Week 4
Encourage your child to speak to the mental health professionals at school. School counselors, school social workers, psychologists, and nurses are all there to help.
Mrs. Omolola Funmilayo
School Counselor
Math Corner
Math At Home
Math is everywhere. That's great news for parents, because we can talk with our kids about math in fun, natural ways and the kind of math-talk is really important.
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/5-ways-build-math-your-childs-day
1. Bake something together
You can’t help but use math when you’re baking. Doubling recipes requires multiplying, halving a recipe requires dividing, and measuring a ½ cup or a ¼ teaspoon gets you working with easy fractions. At a more basic level, kids love counting out chocolate chips. (And so do the parents; we speak from experience!)
Ask your child: How many chocolate chips do you think it will take to fill one cup? How many for 1/2 cup? Count together and see how close you came to the right answer!
2. Measure, count, and record
Most kids love stopwatches and watching the seconds tick by gives them opportunities to practice counting. Measure distances and heights. Count jumping jacks, push-ups, or consecutive kicks of a soccer ball.
Ask your child: How far can you throw a ball? Take a guess, then throw the ball as far as you can and measure the distance.
How many jumping jacks can you do in a minute? Try it!
How many times can you jump rope or bounce a ball without missing? Count and see.
3. Build something together
Big or small, any project that involves measuring includes counting, adding, and multiplying. It doesn’t matter whether you’re making a clubhouse out of shoeboxes or building a genuine tree house. Legos and other building toys are wonderful tools for incorporating both numbers and spatial thinking into playtime.
Ask your child: How high can you build that stack of Legos?
How many Legos do you need to stack to reach as high as the coffee table?
Can you make a square? A rectangle? Other shapes? Talk about the shapes of whatever your child has created.
4. Plan dinner or a party
Whether you’re planning a party or just getting ready for a family dinner, there are plenty of math concepts involved. Have your child help set the table and count out the plates, napkins, and silverware. For a party, have your child help with the shopping. You know you’re going to have to do some math since all of those plates, balloons, and party favors are packaged in different quantities!
Ask your child: How many plates, napkins, and forks do you need for dinner?
If you’re inviting 10 guests to a party, and the plates come 8 to a pack, how many packs are you going to need? How many are going to be left over?
If you’re not planning a party in the near future, get creative. Why not host a tea party for your child’s favorite stuffed animals?
5. Mix in math to your bedtime reading
Most families read to their children at night. Why not add a math problem to the mix? Here’s one to try.
ELA & Reading Corner
Increasing Reading Skills through Read Alouds
Reading aloud—at any age—is great for parent-child bonding and boosting your child’s reading and listening skills. One of the most important benefits of reading aloud to your child is building fluency, allowing your child to hear you model fluent reading. Fluent reading includes rhythm, expression, phrasing, intonation (pitch, tone, and volume to reflect meaning as you read), naturalness, and use of voice as you read. This helps students spend less time decoding words and allows them to focus on the meaning of the text and comprehending the text.
Reading aloud also helps build other reading skills such as:
1. Vocabulary: Students will be exposed to more vocabulary words they may not be exposed to daily. This is a good time to pause and look for context clues to help your child figure out the word's meaning as it is used in context within the text.
2. Grammar: Students are exposed to complex sentence structures and proper grammar while listening to the text.
3. Knowledge: Reading aloud with your child helps them to hear stories and texts that they might not be able to read independently but helps build their comprehension as well as builds their knowledge of various topics and subjects that they may be unfamiliar with as they learn from the text and learn from discussions you have with them.
4. Culture of literacy: Reading aloud helps students engage with a text and have fun. This will help them develop a love of reading, motivate them to read, develop a curiosity about different subjects, and build interest in different authors and book series by engaging in reading as a family.
You can make read-alouds more fun by letting your child choose books they might not read on their own, books with more complex stories or longer chapters. Mix things up by having your child read a page or section to you, too. Echo read with your child- read a sentence or paragraph and have your child read it after you.
Thank you,
Chimère Neal
ELA Resource Teacher
Welcome Back from the PTA
We will host our first PTA meeting on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 6 pm. This will be a virtual event. Our google meet link is wespta. We will make sure the school-issued devices are sent home. If you need the google meet link, please email the PTA or Ms.Tindall by Tuesday night.
Also, to our existing members from last year PTA membership renewal is due by October 31, 2022. The cost is $5.00 for single membership and $10.00 for a family membership (2 or more adults joining).
We look forward to seeing everyone and working with the families to build a better tomorrow for Winfield. If you have any questions feel free to email them to wespta21244@gmail.com.