Dragon Blast
Mary C. Howse Elementary School
From the Principal
Dear MCH Parents:
The end is quickly approaching and this is another time during a school year when emotions can run high and all over the place. As educators and parents, it is so important to try as best as we can to maintain our focus and stay as even keeled as we can. Our children need that - the end of school brings excitement, stress, sadness, anxiety over the next grade (or middle school), to name a few - and, that is just from us as adults! :-).
Take a moment below to read some very positive stories - in fact, we received one from a current senior at Henderson HS who spent her elementary years here at MCH!
Field trips, end of year shows, parties in addition to wrapping up instruction will continue. Our concert season ended and was as awesome as ever! Mrs. Pettigrew ended her 35 years in education on the stage last evening with her final performance at MCH! A wonderful job by her, our students and Mrs. Belczyk and Mrs. Litzenberg. We were also so appreciative of everyone's patience and understanding. The weather certainly threw everyone for a loop and I was unable to send any updates until 6:40. However, when I arrived, we had a little more than half of our groups here and parents waiting patiently and safely and ended with 69 out of the 75 students here.
We had a wonderful turnout for our volunteer tea - we appreciate all you do so much!!!
As we look toward the 19-20 school year, we have some staffing updates:
a. Cindy Greaves will move from Kindergarten to 5th grade
b. Lauren Leary (from Westtown Thornbury) will join our 3rd grade team
c. Lisa Giampalmi (from Penn Wood) will join on Kindergarten team
d. Kristin Grecco will move from 4th grade to 5th grade
e. Matt Viggiano (from Hillsdale) will replace Mrs. Maria Selke (who is relocating to Texas with her family), enrichment.
We are very excited to have them join our team!
In addition, Robbi Giuliano will be taking on a new adventure - she will be teacher Social Studies and English at Fugett Middle School. We will miss our Mrs. G!
Lastly, we had our senior walk this past Tuesday - take a look below at Mrs. Wackerman's 2nd grade class from 2008-09 and today - like we always say - they grow up fast!!!
Dr. Cat
Announcements and Reminders
- Car line ENDS at 8:55 AM this year. Please make every effort to get your child to school before then. We have seen such an improvement thus far.
12:10 Dismissal - Half Days June 12th, 13th & 14th.
June 14th - last day of school!!
MATH CLUB
Congratulations to the 4th and 5th Grade Math Club for their hard work and dedication to Math. Our 5th grade won overall and we brought the trophy back to MCH. The following students participated:
Ajay, Aarav, Ashmi, Danica Hailey, Sean D, Tejas, Ava, Anvi, Brynne, Rio, Denis, Sukriti.
See the pictures below!
KINDERGARTEN KICKSTART!
Are you looking for a summer camp opportunity for your preschooler? WCASD has partnered with Chester County Night School to offer a one week or two week camp called Kindergarten Kickstart for students who will enter kindergarten this fall.
The program will be taught by WCASD teachers and aims to provide children with a smooth and positive transition to school. It will be held at Penn Wood Elementary School from July 8-19. Choose a morning or afternoon three-hour session.
A description of the CHECK program can be found at www.chestercountynightschool.org. You can register there, too! If you have a 1st or 2nd grade child, check out the Reader’s or Writer’s Workshop on the same Chester County Night School website.
For more information, see the attached poster. Poster.pdf
FROM THE NURSES OFFICE
Check out Healthy Tips for Spring from the MCH Nursing Office News Website:
https://sites.google.com/wcasd.net/nursing-office-news/health-update
SUMMER ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES!
The West Chester Area School District is pleased to announce a partnership with the Chester County Night School to offer more than 20 summer enrichment opportunities for students. Please take a moment to review the variety of activities offered for one to two weeks this July. All classes are taught by certified WCASD teachers in our schools.
- What: Exciting, fun, and affordable summer classes covering lots of subjects!
- Where: Most classes are at Rustin High School. Some classes for younger students are at Penn Wood Elementary.
- When: July 8-19 (one week and two week sessions available)
- Who: Any student from pre-school to high school from any school. This is NOT restricted to WCASD students. Parochial, private, and students from other districts are more than welcome.Taught by WCASD certified teachers.
- How: For class descriptions and to register, go to: https://chestercountynightschool.org/ShowSchedule.awp?&Mode=GROUP&Group=CHECK&Title=Kids%27+Summer+Camp+Enrichment+(CHECK)
If your child is taking a morning and an afternoon class, inquire about lunch bunch opportunities by contacting Leslie@chestercountynightschool.org.
If you have questions about the classes or teachers, contact Linda Mangold at lmangold@wcasd.net.
Cooking
Orchestra – Elem & Middle
Band – Elem & Middle
A Cappella Singing
Robotics & Coding
Readers & Writers Workshop
Kindergarten Kickstart
Art
Irish Dance
POSTIVE PRAISE
Dr. Catrambone,
Feeling as grateful as I did yesterday, reliving those MCH memories at my senior walk through had to be the highlight of my year!
I wanted to personally thank you so much for creating the safe, secure and welcoming environment for my senior class and I, right back where it all started. Seeing all of the hard working, dedicated and kind hearted staff members share hugs, memories and an applause spoke words for how amazing Mary C. Howse truly is. I’m so blessed to have been able to attend the best elementary school ever, I mean that. My future plans are to become a teacher at a primary school, so that I can impact young children the way you all, the entire MCH community, helped me grow as a better student and person. With that being said, it’s a dream of mine to work for such a great school like MCH someday.
Wishing you good luck with the rest of your school year, and a big Thank You from all of us Henderson seniors (especially me). Beyond appreciative of you, Dr. Catrambone + MCH!
I didn’t get a chance to tell you in the mass exodus of field day, but I noticed how AWESOME the kids were with their teammates who were the “slow turtles” today. ;) One was in Mr. Benfield’s class, and I’m not sure whose class the other was in...but both boys were on the red teams. I was really impressed how those kids did not get frustrated with their teammate’s very slow pace even in the environment of “competition”, but still tried to “tag” them and kept up their own enthusiasm.
If you would not mind passing this along to their teachers, perhaps they would want to share with their kiddos. I know these boys have been their classmates all year, but it was great to see their kindness and tolerance - at least at our cup stacking station!!!!
Hey Dr. Cat!
With it being teacher appreciation week, I thought now would be a good time to reach out and praise a few staff members at MCH. It’s so easy to complain, but I want it to be known how thankful I am.
As you’re aware, my daughter received an IEP this year. There has been a team of strong, positive educators behind her and I’m starting to notice the difference!
In no particular order...Ms. Dougherty has made her classroom a safe space for my daughter. I feel like she has been an extension of me in that I know she encourages and offers whatever support she needs while she’s at school. Ms. Dougherty has kept me informed and up to date, even emailing me when my daughter started speaking up more in class. She gives her dragon dollars for participating and speaking nice and loud.
Dr. Stanton! What can I say...she is so accepting and empowering. She’s always saying things like “girl power,” or “purple power” to my daughter. When I see her at school she always offers a hug.
Mrs. Watson...it takes a special person to be a teacher and it takes an even more patient and caring person to be a special ed teacher. From the moment I met her, I knew my daughter would feel comfortable with her. She is on top of her game!
Everyone else on the team...Mrs. Orth, OT, and all the aides. I notice everyone that helps out makes sure to say an enthusiastic “Hi" when they see her, and slowly she is responding...even if she waves or smiles, that’s an improvement.
Oh and I can’t forget Mrs. Gorrie! Although our daughter doesn’t see her anymore, she still wishes she did.
We wanted to take a moment to thank you for the wonderful experience we had tonight at the Reading Olympics.
It takes a great deal of time and energy to help the students prepare and feel confident. It was absolutely fantastic watching them shine as they celebrated reading!!!
Thank you for everything you do each and every day at MCH for our children!
Hi Dr. Cat,
This isn't a questions... but I just wanted to say how much I love Mrs. Hower's use of SeeSaw! It's such a fantastic way to be connected and to see a slice of their life in the classroom!!
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.
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
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