Groveland Paw Print
April 2014 Newsletter
Administrative Message
Welcome Spring!
It seems as though Spring has arrived - there are plenty of signs here at Groveland-Portfolio Conferences, Groveland's Art Show, PSSA, outdoor recess, baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse practices. I think it is safe to say, fingers crossed, that spring has finally sprung! We have entered into the 4th marking period - a busy time of year for our families, both at school and at home. Be sure to check out the Dates to Remember link below for upcoming class trips, home and school events, and other pieces of important information.
Portfolio Conferences
Parents, teachers, and students are participating in our spring conferences over the next few weeks. The purpose of the portfolio conference is to celebrate the growth your child has made in the areas of writing, reading, math, and overall work habits. In addition, you, your child, and your child's teacher will analyze pieces of your child's work and set goal areas your child to improve the quality of his/her work. We are proud of the progress our students have made. Remember to take the time to celebrate your child's progress. We look forward to seeing you at conferences.
Groveland's Art Show
Our hallways are full of some of the most beautiful masterpieces created by our very own Groveland artists. The Art Show will be on display throughout the month of April until May 2nd. Please tour our art show when you visit Groveland for your child’s portfolio conference. Enjoy the masterpieces created by our talented artists!
Sixth Grade Assessment
Our 6th grade students have completed their 6th grade assessment. This culminating assessment is an opportunity for the students to showcase and demonstrate all of the concepts and skills they have learned throughout their elementary years. It is truly amazing how this assessment has evolved over the last 20 years - and more importantly, how our students' skills have evolved. Congratulations on a job well done!
PSSA
Our students in grades 3-6 have completed the reading and math portions of PSSA, and 5th grade has completed writing. The 4th grade science PSSA will take place on April 28th & 29th.
Reading Olympics
Congratulations to our five teams who represented Groveland at the annual Bucks County Reading Olympics last week. Over the past several months, the students worked hard reading several books and answering many questions during the Olympics. Many thanks to Mrs. Angstadt-Sullivan for coordinating this event for our students and to all parents and staff members who came out to encourage our students.
New Staff Member
We would like to welcome Ms. Cristina DiSandro to our staff. She is teaching 6th grade for the remainder of the year, as Mrs. Turner is out on maternity leave.
Kindergarten & New Student Registration for 2014-2015
Do you have a child who will be 5 on or before August 31, 2014? If so, Central registration is open for familes who need to enroll their children for next school year. Please click HERE for information on how to register your child for kindergarten. If you know of any neighbors or friends who have students who will be age 5 on or before August 31, 2014, please remind them to register their child. The sooner the students are registered, the more effective we can be with enrollment projections for next year.
Calendar Reminders
Please remember the calendar revisions for this week.
Thursday, April 17th - 1/2 Day for Students - Portfolio Conferences in the afternoon
Friday, April 18th - No School for Students -Offices Closed
Monday, April 21st - Full Day of School for Students
We wish our students and families a wonderful spring. Take some time to enjoy the outdoors with your children!
Dress Code Reminders
As the warmer weather approaches, the following are apparel guidelines for all students. Please help your child to make good judgements when choosing their attire.
1. All clothes should be clean, neat, and in good taste.
2. The length of shorts is to be appropriate for school and there is to be no wording on the seat.
3. Flip-flops and beach footwear are not appropriate for school. Children will be playing outside on the woodchips, running on the blacktop and the field.
4. Biking shorts, or spandex shorts are not permitted.
5. Halter, spaghetti straps and crop tops for girls are not permitted. In addition, undergarments should not be visible.
6. Students may not wear destructive clothing or footwear - i.e. rivets, cleats, ornamental belts, etc.
7. Indecent and unsavory slogans, expressions, etc. are not to be worn on clothing.
Any attire the administration considers to interfere with the quality of education shall not be permitted.
Dates to Remember
Elementary Report Card Revisions
Our district continues to provide information and resources regarding the revisions to our student progress reporting system. The first parent cluster meeting was held on April 7th. Thank you to those parents who came out to hear more information about the revisions being proposed for our new reporting system which will go into effect next school year.
Two other parent cluster meetings are scheduled for :
April 23rd - West Cluster at Pine Run Elementary, 7 PM
April 28th - South Cluster at Titus Elementary, 7 PM
If you were unable to make the East cluster meeting, please feel free to come to one of the others. Please CLICK HERE to RSVP.
In addition, the CBSD website, continues to house many resources for parents and teachers to help inform our community. Newly added this past week was a Parent Handbook. Please CLICK HERE to learn more.
Classroom Updates
2nd Grade Habitat Study
2nd Grade Learns Farm to Table Production
5th Grade Celebrates the Winter Olympics
By. Ms. Jaclyn Gordon
In honor of the Winter Olympics and as a reward for good behavior, my 5th grade class had our very own mini-Olympics in classroom 209!
The children were put into teams for 5 events and had to choose a representative for each event. Students traveled together as a team to areas in the room where the following events took place:
Sock Speed Skate
Cotton-ball Shot-put
Straw javelin
Standing Long Jump
Timed book balance
Our 5th grade class had so much fun participating, timing, and measuring distances for each event!
Hopping Into Research - 1st Grade
By: Mrs. Jennifer Frantz
Mrs. Frantz's first graders have been researching rabbits. After reading a non-fiction book on these cuddly creatures, the students showed a continued interest in learning more about rabbits. As good readers, we know it is important to talk about our lingering questions after we complete a book. Each of us chose a continued wondering that we had about rabbits and took that question to the computer lab to research the answer to our question. In time, we will eventually form a PowerPoint slide that discusses both our question and the answer we found in our research. We will then present these slides to theses slides to the class.
After hearing about our rabbit research, Maddie Brodany and her family reached out to her cousin, Lydia who works with rabbits through the 4H club. Lydia was kind enough to bring in one of her rabbits, Blueberry. She spoke to us about where rabbits live, what they eat, how to care for them, and more. We learned so much from Lydia that we have invited her to come back in the spring when her new baby bunnies are born to discuss them, as well!
A special thank you to Lydia and her family for adding an extra special touch to our on-going rabbit research!
Boomerang Nominations
April Boomerang Nominations
Asset #25 - Reading for Pleasure
Young person reads for pleasure most days of the week, either alone, with family members, or with friends.
If you would like to nominate one of our Great Grizzlies for this month's boomerang, please email Mrs. Albanese, Student Support Counselor, at mkolpack @cbsd.org Please remember to provide specific examples as to how the student demonstrates this asset. Nominations are due by April 22nd.
Art News
Home & School Updates
From Carol Benson, GHSA President
Come Join us for the FINAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE YEAR, MAY 1st at 7pm in the Cafeteria. Dr. David Weitzel will be in attendance to answer your CBSD related questions. We will also vote in our Executive Board for the 2014-2015 school year and give a BIG THANK YOU to all of our volunteers in 2013-2014.
EXECUTIVE BOARD NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED APRIL 1-30.
If you are interested in holding a position on the GHSA Executive Board, or know someone who would be great in a position, please email Erin Kettler NO LATER THAN APRIL 30 at erin.kettler@gmail.com. Feel free to email or contact an existing member of the Executive Board with any questions.
2014-2015 COMMITTEE CHAIRS NEEDED
If you are interested in becoming more involved with GHSA and would like to chair one of the following committees, please email Carol Benson.
A full description of each committee is available by scrolling over the Committee name on the Volunteer page of the GHSA website.
The following committee: Explorers' Club
The following committees need a cochair for 2014, to become chair in 2015:
40 Assets
Veggie Garden
Great Grizzly 5k - A Great Success!
By Chrissy Grube
From the Great Grizzly Race Committee - a note of thanks and gratitude to all of our sponsors, volunteers, fire/EMS/police crews, supporters and participants in the 8th Annual Great Grizzly Race Event. It was a wonderful example of how the community, our athletes, young runners and all of our surrounding neighborhoods can come together to celebrate a common fitness goal. I can tell you the best part of that day was watching and cheering everyone into that finish line. So many exemplary examples of sportsmanship, cooperation, respect and responsibility.
Many Finished Before Fantaskey!!
Box Top Winners
Mrs. Strychowski
Mrs. Strychowski's 2nd grade class is the winner for December with 237 box tops collected!