A Message from Gayle Starr, Principal · A Message from Gayle Starr, Principal ... very tired or...

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A Message from Gayle Starr, Principal The fourth quarter officially began this past Monday! Springtime brings many exciting activities for our children that involve after school hours events or practices and a very busy, full after school schedule. Sometimes, students begin to feel pressured about “squeezing in” all of the things that they have to accomplish in the evening. Homework sometimes becomes a more anxiety laden time because our students are more exhausted when trying to complete it after practice. Then because it gets darker later (which is a great thing), students tend to go to bed later. The cycle continues because the next morning finds our students not always ready to come to school refreshed and saying that they are still very tired or sleepy (even grumpy or testy). This condition makes for a long day at school for these students due to the challenges in focusing and continuing to be engaged in instruction. If this sounds familiar to you, then, please, sit down with your child and see what can be done in arranging the family schedule to better accommodate the child’s need for more rest and down time. I know that many times, students have reported that they are so exhausted because they stayed up too many hours past bedtime playing video games in their bedroom when they were supposed to be asleep. The children that I often see for not attending to their classwork, usually reported the above rationale for their behaviors. Our young students rarely see the impact that missed sleep or inadequate rest has on our bodies until they have really had a rough day at school trying to concentrate. As the radio commercial says, “Not a sermon just a thought.” Continue to enjoy the warmth and beauty that comes with springtime! Counselor’s Corner Here we are…already in our 4 th Marking Period. As you receive your child’s MP3 report card, take time to celebrate your child’s successes. Discuss which areas need improvement and make a plan on how to achieve goals during these last 9 weeks. Please share any concerns with your child’s teacher. I will be sharing ideas as we get closer to June on ways to prevent the summer slide and assure your child is ready for the next grade level. PARCC Testing The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a group of states working together to develop a set of assessments that measure whether students are on track to be successful in college and their careers. These high quality K–12 assessments in Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy give teachers, schools, students, and parents better information whether students are on track in their learning and for success after high school, and tools to help teachers customize learning to meet student needs. English language arts/literacy (ELA/L) assessments will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text. Students are required to write well-written essays. Mathematics assessments will focus on applying skills and concepts, and understanding multi-step problems that require abstract reasoning and modeling real-world problems, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools. In both content areas, students will also demonstrate their acquired skills and knowledge by answering selected response items and fill-in-the-blank questions. www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/woodfieldes Thursday, April 14, 2016 Main Office (240) 207-2550

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A Message from Gayle Starr, Principal

The fourth quarter officially began this past Monday! Springtime brings many exciting activities for

our children that involve after school hours events or practices and a very busy, full after school

schedule. Sometimes, students begin to feel pressured about “squeezing in” all of the things that they

have to accomplish in the evening. Homework sometimes becomes a more anxiety laden time because

our students are more exhausted when trying to complete it after practice. Then because it gets darker

later (which is a great thing), students tend to go to bed later. The cycle continues because the next

morning finds our students not always ready to come to school refreshed and saying that they are still

very tired or sleepy (even grumpy or testy). This condition makes for a long day at school for these

students due to the challenges in focusing and continuing to be engaged in instruction. If this sounds

familiar to you, then, please, sit down with your child and see what can be done in arranging the family

schedule to better accommodate the child’s need for more rest and down time. I know that many times,

students have reported that they are so exhausted because they stayed up too many hours past bedtime

playing video games in their bedroom when they were supposed to be asleep. The children that I often

see for not attending to their classwork, usually reported the above rationale for their behaviors. Our

young students rarely see the impact that missed sleep or inadequate rest has on our bodies until they

have really had a rough day at school trying to concentrate. As the radio commercial says, “Not a

sermon just a thought.” Continue to enjoy the warmth and beauty that comes with springtime!

Counselor’s Corner

Here we are…already in our 4th Marking Period. As you receive your child’s MP3 report card, take time to

celebrate your child’s successes. Discuss which areas need improvement and make a plan on how to achieve

goals during these last 9 weeks. Please share any concerns with your child’s teacher. I will be sharing ideas as

we get closer to June on ways to prevent the summer slide and assure your child is ready for the next grade

level.

PARCC Testing

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a group of states working

together to develop a set of assessments that measure whether students are on track to be successful in college

and their careers. These high quality K–12 assessments in Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy give

teachers, schools, students, and parents better information whether students are on track in their learning and

for success after high school, and tools to help teachers customize learning to meet student needs. English

language arts/literacy (ELA/L) assessments will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text. Students are

required to write well-written essays. Mathematics assessments will focus on applying skills and concepts, and

understanding multi-step problems that require abstract reasoning and modeling real-world problems,

precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools. In both content areas, students will also demonstrate their

acquired skills and knowledge by answering selected response items and fill-in-the-blank questions.

www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/woodfieldes Thursday, April 14, 2016

Main Office (240) 207-2550

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The testing window at Woodfield begins on May 9th. It is truly a team effort to prepare, coordinate, and plan

for the testing that will occur. Parents are an important part of our team! In these next two weeks as we

practice and finalize plans, please be mindful of your child’s level of stress. In counseling we will be focusing

on testing strategies and how to handle test anxiety. We are providing test practice opportunities to build our

student’s stamina and doing our best to help students “test their best.”

Career Day

Woodfield Elementary invites you to be a guest speaker at our annual Career Day! Career Day at Woodfield

is quickly approaching and we need YOUR experiences! Whether you are a nurse, mechanic, engineer, or

business owner—we need YOU!!! We are looking for a variety of people interested in spending an afternoon

speaking to our students about their career. We would like to share career opportunities available to them

and this is a fantastic way to provide them with firsthand knowledge of potential career paths. This is also a

great way for you to get involved in our school and make an impact on our students’ future! If you are not

interested, but know someone

who is, please feel free to provide their contact information. The 2016 WES Career Day is Tuesday, June 7th

from 1:00-3:00pm. Thank you in advance for your involvement!

If you have any questions or would like further information please contact Mrs. Jenkins.

PBIS

Students continue to earn Blue Tickets for being Respectful, Responsible, & Ready to Learn. Thank you to the

parents who help us get our students in and out efficiently at the SOAR store each month! Our next SOAR

Store will be on April 15th. We are collecting new summer games, toys, and outdoor equipment for our end

of the year PEP Rally. Please feel free to send in any donations to Mrs. Jenkins. Thank you!

Attention Parents of Grade 2 Students: (and Gr. 3-5 new students and students who were rescreened for

Gifted & Talented).

Our school is in the process of gathering information about students to plan instruction for the upcoming

school year, including screening for gifted and talented identification. The process gathers information from a

variety of sources, including parents, staff, student performance and a cognitive assessment. You have the

opportunity to observe your child in a different setting and may notice special skills or qualities that may or

may not be evident in the classroom. School staff wants to consider information you can provide to plan your

child’s instructional program. You have received the Parent Input Form in the mail. The completed form was

to be returned to school no later than Monday, March 21st. Our school staff will use this information in

planning your child’s instructional program and class placement for the 2016–2017 school year. If you have

any questions or need another copy o f the form, please feel free to contact Mrs. Jenkins.

Summer Plans Yet?

Montgomery College Workforce Development & Continuing Education Youth Programs is offering over 200

classes for students in grades K-12 for summer 2015 in art, computer graphics, cooking, math, music, reading,

robotics, science, sports, theatre, web design, writing, yoga, and more. To see a full list of classes and for more

information, please visit

their website at www.montgomerycollege.edu/youth or call Youth Programs at 240-567-7264 or 240-567-

7912.

If you have a question or concern or would like to talk with me about your child’s academic, emotional, or

social needs, please contact me. I can be reached by email at [email protected] or by calling my

direct line at 240-207-2526. I look forward to working closely with you and your child.

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Field Day

The field day date for our PEP, K -2 is Friday, May 6th

The field day date for grades 3-5 is Friday, June 3rd

Lost and Found

The Lost and Found box, located in the cafeteria, is overflowing! Please remind your child to

check for lost items before/after school or during lunch. There are jackets, sweat shirts and

shirts, etc.

Science Fair

Congratulations to all the participants and thank you to the parents that worked with their children, to make the Science Fair such a huge success! Thank you to Mrs. Jeremias and Mrs. Felrice for all their work in coordinating such a wonderful learning opportunity at Woodfield!

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

On Thursday, April 28th, 2016, MCPS permits students to participate in “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day”. On this day, parents traditionally expose their child (ren) to life in the workplace. If you wish to take your child to work with you on that day, please complete the attached and return to the school office by Monday, April 25th. A note is required by MCPS for your child’s absence to be excused. Please call the school @ (240) 207-2550 with any questions.

Kindergarten Orientation

Kindergarten Orientation for children who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2016, will be held at Woodfield Elementary on Friday, April 29th, 2016. Please

contact the office at (240) 207-2550 to schedule a time, or if you have any questions.

Note that on this day, there will be no school for our current kindergarten

students.

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Yearbooks

Yearbooks are now on sale! Don’t miss the Early Bird pricing!

Please click the link below to order your Woodfield Yearbook

through the Lifetouch website using a credit card. Early Bird

price is $27.00 until April 24th. Regular price is $28.50.

https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/Order/LookupJob?jobnumber=11534616

You still have a few days to send in pictures for the yearbook.

Contact Martha King at [email protected] with any

questions!

Spring Book Fair

The Scholastic Spring Book Fair is coming!

Preview dates for the students is Thursday, April 27th and

Friday, April 29th. The book fair ends Friday, May 6th. More

information will be sent home next week.

Keys for Reading

Keys for Reading Month at Woodfield - March 21-April 22

How the program works:

Each student receives a Keys for Reading Bookmark and a Friends and

Family Informational Flier.

Students read THREE books suitable for their reading ability in a

one month time period and record the information on the RED Keys for

Reading Bookmark. Parents sign the bookmark.

The bookmark is the ticket voucher and once completed, follow the

instructions on the back to redeem the students’ FREE ticket and

purchase additional tickets.

Students do not return the bookmark to school.

Students redeem their tickets the weekend of April 29-May 1.

Happy Reading! More information can be found at www.frederickkeys.com.

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PARCC Testing Schedule

This is a tentative schedule for PARCC administration. The testing

window runs from Monday, May 9th through Friday, June 3rd. Students in

grades 3-5 will have 4 sessions of math, one session per day, and 3

sessions of reading, one session per day, for a total of 7 sessions or

days of testing.

On testing days please make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast and

arrives at school on time. If a student arrives after testing has begun

they will not be able to join their class and would need to make up the

testing for that day. Please try to avoid unnecessary absences on days

that your child is scheduled to test. If your child does wake up ill one

morning, please do not send your child to school. Make-up days are

scheduled within the testing window.

Monday, May 9th: Math, Grade 3 & 5

Tuesday, May 10th: Math, Grade 3 & 5

Wednesday, May 11th: Math, Grade 3 & 5

Thursday, May 12th: Math, Grade 3 & 5

Friday, May 13th: Math, Grade 4

Monday, May 16th: Math, Grade 4

Tuesday, May 17th: Math, Grade 4

Wednesday, May 18th: Math, Grade 4

Thursday, May 19th: ELA, Grade 3

Friday, May 20th: ELA, Grade 3

Monday, May 23rd: ELA, Grade 3

Tuesday, May 24th: ELA, Grade 5

Wednesday, May 25th: ELA, Grade 5

Thursday, May 26th: ELA, Grade 5

Friday, May 27th: Make-up testing

Monday, May 30th: No School

Tuesday, May 31st: ELA, Grade 4

Wednesday, June 1st: ELA, Grade 4

Thursday, June 2nd: ELA, Grade 4

Friday, June 3rd: Make-up testing

*ELA is English Language Arts

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SUMMER SCHOOL

The 2016 Regional Elementary Summer School brochure is available from the MCPS

website. Cedar Grove Elementary will also hold a summer school. Please see attached!

MCPS NEWS

Montgomery County Public Schools recently released a study of the district’s school choice and other special academic programs (language immersion, magnet and other selective admissions programs, elementary center programs for highly gifted students, and middle and high school

consortia). The study examines how well these programs advance our school system’s core

values of excellence and equity and whether the programs are meeting their intended goals.

MCPS wants to hear from parents, staff, students, and community members as we develop a plan to address the report’s findings and recommendations. Join us at one of three

Community Dialogues to discuss the study’s recommendations and the vision for the

role of choice in MCPS. All events will be held 7:00–8:30 p.m.

April 6, 2016 Gaithersburg High School, 101 Education Boulevard, Gaithersburg

April 18, 2016 John F. Kennedy High School, 1901 Randolph Road, Silver Spring

May 5, 2016 Walter Johnson High School, 6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda

Free child care (ages 4 and older) and interpretation services will be provided. Participants also

will have the opportunity to talk in language-specific groups. To request a sign language

interpreter, call 301-517-5539 or visit educationalinterpreters.com/mcps.

For more information about the Study of Choice and Special Academic Programs, visit the

Choice website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/choice/. Comments on the report’s

recommendations and general feedback about the study can be provided at the link above. For

additional information about the Community Dialogues, visit the Choice website or call 301-

309-6277.

Parent Academy

Please visit the Parent Academy page on the MCPS website. The spring 2016 schedule of workshops is

available at:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/parentacademy/

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Lunch Menu Change

Monday, April 18th - Manager’s Choice Only

Wednesday, April 27th - Manager’s Choice Only

2015 - 2016 Important Dates Thursday, April 14 Flyer distribution day

Friday, April 22 Report cards distributed

Friday, April 22 Earth Day

Tuesday, April 26 Holiday – Primary Election Day – No School

Wednesday, April 27 Donuts with Dad 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Thursday, April 28 Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

Friday, April 29 Kindergarten Orientation – No School for Kindergarten

Monday, May 2 – Friday, May 6 PTA Staff Appreciation Week

Tuesday, May 3 5th grade picture – 1:45 p.m.

Tuesday, May 3 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.

Friday, May 6 Field Day –Grades PEP, K, 1st & 2nd

Friday, May 6 4th Grade field trip to Inner Harbor Baltimore-Living Classrooms

Friday, May 6 5th Grade field trip to Washington DC

Monday, May 9 – Fri., June 10 PARCC Testing Gr. 3-5- See schedule above

Monday, May 9 Muffins for Mom A-M 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday, May 10 Muffins for Mom N-Z 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday, May 10 1st Grade field trip/ Rose Hill Manor

Friday, May 20 Patrol Picnic 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 24 3rd Gr. Field Trip – Baltimore Museum of Industry

Tuesday, May 24 Kindergarten Field Trip to Catoctin Wildlife Preserve & Zoo

Wednesday, May 25 Band, String, and Chorus Concert @ Woodfield 2 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Monday, May 30 Holiday – Memorial Day Offices and School closed

Wednesday, June 1 Volunteer Luncheon – Media Center 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Friday, June 3 Field Day for grades 3rd, 4th and 5th

Tuesday, June 7 Career Day

Friday, June 17 End of 4th Marking Period

Friday, June 17 Last day of school for students – Early release 12:55 p.m.

Monday, June 20 Professional day for teachers

Monday, June 27 Report cards mailed Note: Dates that have been added this week are in bold

* Date Correction

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