The Patriot Parent Newsletter
February 2022 Brooklyn Park Elementary School
Mr. Walker's Desk
Dear Brooklyn Park Community,
First, I want to thank you for an amazing 2021. Although we battled Covid19 restrictions and contact tracing, "YOU" were gracious and understood the complex restrictions we faced. Again, thank you for being patient. As you know, we are no longer contact tracing. We will contact you via Connect Ed for positive cases within a grade level, but we no longer quarantine for close contacts. Please continue to communicate with our school nurse if your child has a positive test result. There are additional updates below..
Staffing
We welcome the following new staff members
Demi Iszard- Secretary/Registar ( bilingual)
Eden Brewster, Jenna Fairson, Jennifer Bennett- Student Support
Absences
January Attendance Data was concerning. I know we had unexpected snow days and they impact many of our families, we need our students in school. Our data shows that half days have higher absentee rates. Although I understand the conflicts with half days, we need our students in school every day, On half days, we shorten the instructional day, but the students still receive full instruction. In order to close instructional gaps, we need our students in school. Today, 47 students were absent from school. Please understand my professional perspective as your principal, I need our kids in school, every day...
Valentine's Day
We are excited about Valentine's Day on Monday, Feb. 14th. Below is an outline for the day.
- Although we appreciate the community support, no outside food or candy will be allowed. Please don't send pizza orders, candy, snacks, gift bags, or anything with food. Pencils, stickers, bookmarks, and cards will be accepted. Outside food will not be accepted. The classroom teachers will be showing a brief movie and celebrating in their classroom with snacks or incentives. Thank you for your understanding..We are also asking students to wear red, white, or pink, on the 14th.
The students are completing Black History Month Research Projects. The projects are awesome and our students are expanding their learning. Have a nice month celebrating love, diversity, and understanding.
Mr. Walker
Lost and Found
Attendance Matters
During first marking period, First grade had the highest attendance percentage with 93.96%. It is important for your children to be in school every day! Missing just one day, can add to anxiety and feelings of frustration and confusion.
Before & After Care
Here is a link to our website where it walks the parents through registration processes. Parents will need to create an account to sign up for the program.
New Wall Mural Painted By Ms. Fitzmaurice
2nd Grade - Art in Ice Cream
Serving the Community and Celebrating Black History Month
Morning Announcements
Classroom News!
Pre-Kindergarten
Happy February, families! This month, we are moving into a new theme; The Earth, Our Home. We will learn about the places on Earth that animals live, how weather changes through the year, and how we can take care of our Earth. We will be introducing the letters; Tt, Ss, Rr, and Zz. In math, we will be focusing on addition up to 5.
Please continue to work on buttoning pants, putting on coats and trying to zip. Please remind your child that they MUST wear their mask properly (up over their nose,) and send extra masks in their backpacks.
With Valentine’s day approaching, please keep an eye out for information regarding card exchanges. We appreciate your continued support!
Kindergarten
We have hit the ground running in 2022 and cannot wait to see what is in store for all of your children! During writing, we are beginning to write narrative stories. Narratives are stories that are written by characters, happened in real life, tell us how the writer feels and are written in order. During literacy, students are working on independently reading books, identifying letter sounds and building sight words. Please encourage your child to practice their letter sounds and sight words at home because this will help them immensely while they are at school. In math, we have been learning how to add numbers through 5. Soon, we will change gears and begin subtraction. As always, continue to encourage your child to work in math i-Ready while they are at home. As always, if you need anything please reach out to your child’s teacher- we are here to support you!!
First Grade
First graders are continuing to work hard! We are finishing our theme on how things are connected and will be moving into how to share ideas. In math your child is exploring making a ten to add as well as adding three numbers. We will be moving into understanding tens and ones. In reading, we continue to work on tapping out sounds to blend words. Students are also working on using the sounds to correctly write their words in writing. Students are also meeting with their teachers for guided reading to work on these skills. We are working on comprehension skills such as retelling the key events, finding the main idea, sequencing, and what lesson the story can teach us. Please have your child continue to complete their homework and read at home. As always, please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
Second Grade
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we move into the third marking period, we are changing the units of study that we are focusing on in our curriculum. We were focusing on being good economists. Now we are going to move changing the world, by seeing through the eyes of others.
We understand that math is very different now from the way we learned as children. 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. We are all here to work together in helping our children grow and blossom into responsible and independent life- long learners.
~ The Second Grade Team
Third Grade
Reading
The third marking period has started! This quarter, your child will read fiction and non-fiction texts. 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. Some fiction skills that you can help your child with at home are as follows: ask them questions about what they read, have them look for text clues to help them figure out unknown words, summarize what they read by identifying the story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution, events), describe characters using character traits, and determine the central message (what did the author want the reader to learn from the story?).
Math
This month our Mathematicians will connect what they have learned about fractions and number lines to how to use a ruler to measure objects. Students will also learn to collect data, construct a line plot, and use the line plot to analyze the data. We will continue focusing on fact fluency. Students should be fluent with the 0s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s facts. This is such an important skill. Please ensure they are practicing daily. They can use First in Math to help them practice. Thank you for your support.
Social Studies
After our final unit on communities comes to a close, we’ll begin exploring ways we can make good economic choices by discussing things like opportunity costs and needs and wants. This will lead us to examine ways in which we can obtain money and use it to get the things we need and want. To build on what your student is learning in class, start having conversations at home about money and financial responsibility. Consider helping them build these skills by having finding ways for students to earn money and then use it to buy things they want.
Science
To build on what we’ve learned about ecosystems and heredity, we’ll soon begin exploring how certain characteristics cause some organisms to survive in certain environments as well as how plants, animals, and environments of the past are similar and different from current plants, animals, and environments. As the month progresses, ask your scientist to explain what they’re learning in class and apply their learning to environments around them.
Fourth Grade
February is full of fun for 4th graders!! We are at the halfway point of the year! The pace does pick up and things are challenging! Remind your learners that it is OKAY to ask for help!! They also must be doing their nightly vocabulary words, math problems and reading daily. iReady and First in Math, as well as Scholastic are all resources that will help your child be successful in the classroom.
The whole theme of quarter three is CRITICAL THINKING! This can be reinforced in many places of life!! This month...
In Math we will be entering into adding and subtracting of fractions with the same denominator.
In Language Arts we will be back to fictional texts and in writing we will be doing their favorite...OPINIONS!! This is always a fun unit for the kids!
We will be back into Social Studies in February, and we will be entering into the American Revolution!
Exciting times ahead...as always please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher and we will be glad to support you and your child's learning adventure!
Ms. Nauman, Mr. Sheehan, and Ms. Dacus
Fifth Grade
As fifth grade begins the fifth quarter, we are preparing students for the upcoming state and county assessments. In reading students are working on understanding theme, inferencing and figurative language. In math students are focusing on multiplying fractions with whole numbers as well as with other fractions. In science students will learn about physical and chemical changes, earths spheres, and prepare for MISA assessment. Students just finished focusing on what caused the Revolutionary War and will now focus on the Revolutionary War. Please remember to send your students with coats and headphones daily.
ESOL
In the early parts of February, English Language Development students will continue WIDA Access testing in the domains of Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening. Upon completion, Kindergarteners will study weather, first graders will study inventors/inventions, second graders will explore kindness and their community, third graders will dive into the environment and their responsibilities, fourth graders will study different forms of energy, and fifth graders will be able to differentiate among the states of matter.
Tracy Burke, P.E.
February is national heart month. We will be celebrating by participating in the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge (formerly known as Jump Rope for Heart). Students in all grade levels will be participating in jumping and jump rope activities all month long and will learn how to keep their hearts healthy and strong. There will be a special culminating event the week of February 28th during all PE classes with stations for students to celebrate their healthy hearts. A packet will be going home soon with information for families who would like to collect donations to support the American Heart Association, or you can register now by going to heart.org/KHC and registering for our school's site. Students collecting donations should turn them in by Friday, March 11. All students will participate in the events in PE class, regardless of whether or not their families choose to collect donations.
Sneaker Reminder:
Although the weather is cold, sneakers are required for physical education class. Please help your child remember to wear their sneakers on the days they have PE class, or pack them in their bookbag to change at the beginning of class. Students wearing boots will not be able to participate alongside their classmates for their safety. I do have a bin of sneakers that students may borrow from if they would like. If you have any gently used children's shoes at home, I gladly accept donations. If you would like to check the days that your children have PE class, please click on the link below to access my weekly schedule.
Kelly Nolan, Library Media Specialist
Hi families! The library is seeing some major changes! I am working on doing a complete makeover with the help of students to make it more accessible to them. Each month, I will be spotlighting a well-love read aloud book. This month was Each Kindness and students worked hard to spread kindness throughout the school.
Carolina Montenegro, Bilingual Facilitator
Laura E. Wells, LCSW-C School Social Worker
(410) 222-6590.
Title I News
Here is our Schoolwide Title I letter that was sent home with students earlier in the school year.
Here is our School Wide Title I Plan for you to view. The plan is also located on our school website.
After you have viewed the Title I Plan, you are able to leave feedback.
The feedback will be used to help us improve our Title I Plan in the future.
Thank you!
Girls On The Run
Brooklyn Park Elementary
Connect, Engage and Discover
Email: erwalker@aacps.org
Website: https://www.aacps.org/Page/4088
Location: 200 14th Avenue, Baltimore, MD, USA
Phone: 410-222-6590
Twitter: @BParkElemAACPS