The Wellwood Globe
March 2024 Issue
Our School Mission
Wellwood International strives to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring students in an engaging, rigorous and multi-cultural environment to instill inter-cultural understanding and respect.
Principal's Message
It’s hard to believe that March is already here! The days are getting a little longer, a little warmer, and Spring will be here before we know it. This is a great time to check on your child’s progress. Teachers regularly enter grades in Schoology and send work home. Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have concerns about low scores or missing assignments.
We will soon be entering testing season for our intermediate students. Fifth graders will take the MISA test this month to measure their science knowledge and our third, fourth, and fifth graders will take MCAP in April and May to measure their reading and math knowledge. The support you provide at home is crucial to making sure our students are successful on these important assessments. The most helpful thing you can do is make sure that your child arrives on time and stays all day. Students miss important learning when they aren’t in school. Late arrivals, early departures, and absences all hinder student success. If your child must miss school, please be sure to communicate with the teacher.
The Board of Education will vote on the boundary change on Tuesday, March 5th. You will soon receive information about your child’s new school if he/she is no longer zoned for Wellwood.
In 2024-2025, we will be a schoolwide Title I and Community School. Title I and Community School funds help to provide extra resources for all students. If you want to be a part of the Title I transition team, our final meetings will be held on March 6th and March 14th at 5:30 PM at Wellwood. Email me for more information.
We will have Preschool (3 years old) and Pre-K (4 years old) next year! Information about PS, PK, and Kindergarten registration is forthcoming.
Have you joined the PTA? The PTA is working hard to support Wellwood and needs your time and ideas. Please join! You may email wellwoodpta@gmail.com for more information. We need your support to make great things happen.
Have you taken the BCPS Climate Survey? The survey closes on March 8th. It takes less than three minutes and is available in many languages. Take it now and make your voice heard!
We are here to support and partner with you! Please reach out with any needs, questions, or concerns.
Mrs. Alonna Thompson
Dates to Remember
March 5 (T): Board of Ed vote on Northwest Boundary Study
March 8 (F): BCPS Climate Survey closes (Take it here!)
March 25 (M) - April 1 (M): Schools & Offices closed for Spring Break
April 2 (T): Schools & Offices Reopen
Brennan's Buzz
Special Education:
Wellwood International Special Educators and Assistant Principal met with Pikeville Middle School last month to discuss each 5th graders IEP and services. This will assist Pikesville Middle with scheduling these students to receive support services in their courses next year. If you have questions about this, please contact Michelle Brennan at mbrennan5@bcps.org
Reminders about Arrival and Dismissal at Wellwood:
Cars are not allowed in the bus loop between 8:45-9:20am and 3:50-4:20pm. Please use the carpool loop or drop off/pick up on Smith Avenue to ensure our students are safe when entering or exiting the building and our buses and utilize the bus loop.
Testing Updates:
5th graders will take the MISA assessment in March. The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is the umbrella for annual statewide assessments in English Language Arts/Literacy, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The Science (MISA) assessment will focus on the ability to demonstrate the essential knowledge and understanding of science and engineering to make sense of real-world phenomena and solve authentic problems.
The assessment includes 4 sessions. Each regular session is 40 minutes in length.
Please make sure your 5th grader arrives to school on time with a charged laptop on March 7th, 8th, 11th, and 14th. Testing will take promptly at 9:45am.
Attendance:
When a child is sick, it can be difficult to determine whether they should stay home or not. We know common illnesses and viruses rise in the winter months and children need time to rest in order to heal their bodies. Students may go to school when they do not have a fever, vomiting or diarrhea. They may go to school if they have a mild cough, cold symptoms, stomachache or temperature under 100 degrees for 24 hours. Our school nurse will monitor students and call if any of these symptoms worsen. If you have questions about a child’s illness and if it is safe to send them to school, please call Cari Seidler at 443-809-1212.
❗ 24-25 Wellwood Boundary Changes ❗
On Wednesday, December 6, the committee charged with considering boundary options for Northwest area elementary schools reviewed and discussed all survey results. The committee voted that they were prepared to make a recommendation to the board.
The committee voted to recommend Option A.
On Tuesday, March 5th, the Board will vote on approval for the new school boundary.
For more information on the boundary study, please visit the Northwest Area Elementary School Boundary Study #1 website.
💗 Counseling Corner
Hi Wellwood Families!
Theme of the Month
As part of our School Counseling Program, your child’s class will have the opportunity to engage in a counseling core curriculum lesson each month based on a different theme. It is our 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.
The theme for the month of March is Mindfulness. Students will engage in classroom lessons focusing on mindfulness strategies. Students will learn about the importance of practicing paying mindful attention, identifying grounding techniques, and applying these techniques in stressful situations.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions about the program. Ms. Best will be teaching the K – 2nd grade lessons, and Ms. Delis will be teaching the 3rd – 5th grade lessons. We can be reached at the contact information listed below.
Parent University Events
Parent University March Events
- March 8th – 12:30pm Lunch & Learn – Compassion vs Control: Finding the Balance You Need (Virtual)
- March 9th 10am – 1pm Mind Over Matters – Kick off Event, Mental Health Matters Month (George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology)
- March 12th 12:30pm Lunch & Learn – Introduction to Bullying Prevention (Virtual)
- March 15th 12:30pm Lunch & Learn – Celebrating Baby Sleep Day: Preventing Sleep Problems Before They Occur (Virtual)
Resources
BCPS Virtual Calming Room https://scs.bcps.org/departments/social_emotional_support/office_of_student_support_services/mental_health_services/virtual_calming_room
Baltimore County Crisis Response: 410-931-2214
Crisis text line: Text the word "TALK" to 741741 for free 24-hour support
Maryland Food Bank: 410-737-8282
211 Maryland: dial 211 or https://211md.org/
Maryland Suicide and Crisis Hotline: dial 988
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK
Trevor Lifeline: Text “START” to 678-678 or call 1-866-488-7386
Baltimore County Department of Social Services: 410-853-3000
Sheppard Pratt's Urgent Walk-In Clinic is available through virtual appointments. https://www.sheppardpratt.org/care-finder/virtual-crisis-walk-in-clinic/
Lindsey Delis
Renee Best
🩺 Nurse's Notes
Winter illnesses are here!
Having trouble deciding whether to send your child to school? Use the chart below for guidance. For more information and assistance with health related matters, check out the BCPS Office of Health Services webpage.
💻 Password Parlance
Things we don’t share in school: food, money, germs…. and PASSWORDS!
All BCPS students have a username and password that they use to sign in to their device. Our youngest students often need help with putting in their usernames and passwords in the beginning of the year. To help, teachers might have a card available with the log in, or students will have their username and password on their device. While this is an easy-fix, it is not best practice. Since we are [insert time/how long we have been in school], all students should memorize their username and password. If your child has not yet learned their password, please help them practice at home.
Our passwords have patterns, does your child see it?
While it may be obvious to adults, sometimes students don’t realize the pattern to their username and password. Pointing out the patterns can help students memorize their password.
Black History Month Assembly
On February 8th, Wellwood hosted Illstyle & Peace Productions, founded in 2002 by Brandon “Peace” Albright and Forrest Webb. Their affiliations and performing credits include Crew Scanner Boyz, Boys II Men, Will Smith, LL Cool J, and Renee Harris Pure Movement. The company, based in Philadelphia, PA, is a multicultural, mixed-gender dance company whose work focuses on the movement and spirit of hip-hop with a variety of performance disciplines such as ballet, jazz, and tap. The company delivered a positive message of individual expression to our Wellwood audience!
Black History Month Door Contest
This month, one of the many ways Wellwood celebrated Black History Month was by holding a door decorating contest! Each grade level focused on a different aspect of Black Excellence in the Arts. All of the classroom doors were amazing! A special shout out to our winners:
Kindergarten: Ms. Stein
Grade 1: Ms. M. Johnson
Grade 2: Ms. T. Johnson
Grade 3: Mrs. Boyd
Grade 4: Ms. Tingle
Grade 5: Mrs. McKethan
Library Land 📚
During February, Library lessons focused on honoring Black History Month. Kindergarten students were able to bring home Library classwork showing what they learned about important leaders such as Mary McLeod Bethune and Jackie Robinson. First graders applied their learning of making text connections to books written about influential African Americans such as Willma Rudolph. Be sure to ask your 2nd grader to see the Wixie that they created about a “Black History Hero”. Or ask your 3rd grader about the haiku that they wrote about a famous African American and how they improved our world. Our 4th graders read “The Book Itch” and learned about the obstacles that Lewis Michaux Sr. faced opening the “National Memorial African Bookstore” in 1932. Finally, 5th graders have been learning how to analyze the point of view and the perspective of the narrator in texts. They extended this skill as we studied books that have received The Coretta Scott King Book Award which leads well into Women’s History Month.
I also wanted to remind everyone about the important resources that are available to your students through our BCPS Digital Content. Students can read E-books through our Destiny Library Catalog, watch educational videos on BrainPOP or Discovery Ed, or listen to a read aloud on Tumble Book Library or Pebble Go. These databases can be accessed in school and at home on students’ school computers by opening BCPSLinks – the Apps Portal – and then clicking on the BCPS Digital Content icon. This page has the needed login information.
😊 Mrs. Garde
Library Media Specialist
Autism Caregiver Support Events
Please Join Us!
All are welcome!
Friday, April 12, 2024 - 12-1:30 pm
Christina Pocius, Special Educator
Information about IEPs and an overview of special education services to connect parents with school system resources.
Google Meet Meeting Link: https://meet.google.com/qyt-amaj-zqw
**Spanish Interpretation Provided**
For more information and to be added to the weekly email list with schedule of events please contact: Ilene Berman, School Social Worker, BCPS iberman@bcps.org
💡 Spotlight: Ms. Pontier's Class
Ms. Pontier's third grade students met with some Pikesville High students from Ms. Cone's class to collaborate on a fashion show they are creating. The “Trashion Show” will utilize only items made from recycled materials. The students were thrilled to hear about the project and to assist in creating some accessories for the show!
Wellwood Green School 🍃
Recycling Program
Wellwood is a National Green Ribbon School and a Maryland Green School. In order to continue our efforts, we have several recycling programs available. Below is information on each of our programs. Please help us to continue our efforts to recycle as many materials as possible!
Sneaker Recycling: Do you have any old sneakers or tennis shoes and don't know what to do with them? Drop them off in our lobby in our collection bin to be recycled!
Ink Cartridge Recycling: We take LaserJet and inkjet cartridges. Drop them off in our bins in the lobby to support Green School activities at Wellwood!
About Us
Wellwood International School
2901 Smith Avenue
Baltimore MD 21208
Phone: 443-809-1212 | Fax: 443-809-1213