Mary G. Porter Traditional School

From the Principal...

Dear Porter Families, Thank you once again to all of our parents who attended the Back to School nights we had in September. It was great to see the strong support that our students have from home. We are well on our way to beginning another successful year. The staff is excited and working diligently to ensure your child is learning. The year will bring us many challenges, no doubt; but

if we work together we will overcome them.

We want to inform our new families and refresh our returning families of how you can assist us in providing the “Best Educa-tion” for your child. Many of you heard this message at Back to School Night, but I would like to reiterate some of the issues

that I addressed those evenings – here is a list of ‘PLEASES:’

PLEASE...help your child maintain excellent ATTENDANCE. Don’t make your child tardy because of lack of preparation in getting them ready for school on time and not to have an early dismissal. We are prepared to give your child the BEST educa-tion he/she truly deserves; we only have 184 days to accom-plish this task. Please do not plan vacations, doctor appoint-ments, etc. during school time. If a child misses 10 school days (excused OR unexcused) within a school year, he/she may be considered for retention, have his/her transfer revoked at the end of the year, or be placed on Attendance Probation for the following year. 10 or more tardies may result with the same actions. Please refer to your Code of Behavior booklet for the guidelines on what is considered excused and unexcused. It is imperative that your child be in school so we can do our job of

instilling in them a solid knowledge foundation.

PLEASE...check your child’s AGENDA daily, the SCHOOL FUSION SITE weekly, and the PORTER POCKETS on Wednesdays. Your child’s agenda and the teacher’s school fusion page is where homework, communication, upcoming tests, and test (IA) scores are recorded. Porter pockets are full of valuable information sent home from the school/PTA/clubs/

sports/etc. Don’t forget to read with your child nightly.

PLEASE... be sure to REGISTER for the PARENT PORTAL, if you have not done so already. Our website and the Parent Portal are very valuable tools in monitoring your child’s success in school. You can get homework assignments, check their progress in completing assignments, see your child’s grades, email your child’s teacher(s), as well as find out tons of infor-mation about what is going on at Porter. The classroom teach-ers post this information (concerning your child’s performance) to gain your assistance in assuring that all of our expectations are met. I cannot stress upon you how important it is to moni-tor your child’s progress, and to inform them you are, be-

cause you want to help them be the best student they can be.

PLEASE join our PTA, you can earn volunteer hours and learn

about what is happening in the school.

All Children CAN Learn…

All Children WILL BE Challenged at Porter

October 2015, Volume 12, Issue 1

In The Issue:

1st Grade Update ..................................................... page 3

2nd Grade Update .................................................... page 3

3rd Grade Update ..................................................... page 3

4th Grade Update ..................................................... page 4

5th Grade Update ..................................................... page 4

6th Grade Update ..................................................... page 5

7th Grade Update ..................................................... page 5

8th Grade Update ..................................................... page 6

Life Learners I........................................................... page 4

PE ‘Gym Shorts’ ....................................................... page 6

PTA Happenings ...................................................... page 7

Spanish I & II ........................................................... page 5

PLEASE…remember to always check in at the front office when coming into the building. You will need to sign the Visi-tor’s Log, leave a picture ID, and obtain a Visitor or Volunteer badge. You are more than welcome to visit the school; howev-er, we ask that you please make an appointment with your child’s teacher if you need to discuss matters about your child. Teachers want to give you their uninterrupted time; they can not give you that if the children are in the classroom. Please don’t just drop in to meet with your child’s teacher; they are profes-

sionals working with our most valued gift….your children.

PLEASE…make sure your child is following the uniform policy.

You may view the policy on our website.

PLEASE…continue to emphasize and praise your child for ex-

cellent conduct at school.

We are anticipating another productive year with academic growth. Let me emphasize that the staff at Porter are here for your child, if you have any questions, concerns, or information about your child, please do not hesitate to call our office at 703-580-6501 to set up an appointment with the teacher and/or my-self. We need and want to establish an open line of communi-

cation.

Respectfully, Darci Whitehead

Mary G. Porter Traditional School Principal, Darci Whitehead Assistant Principal, Kaitlyn Engelmeier

15311 Forest Grove Drive Woodbridge, Va. 22191 Office: 703-580-6501 Fax: 703-580-6646 Website: porter.schools.pwcs.edu

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Volume 12, Issue 1 Page 2

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES All current volunteer opportunities can be found on the Porter web-site by click on the VOLUNTEERS link on the left hand side of the Porter website, then click on the VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

link. Here are just a few:

OFFICE GREETERS. . .You can now SIGN UP ONLINE! We

need volunteers to sit at this desk, welcome and direct visitors to the front office. We need coverage EVERY school day from 9am - 3:30pm. We ask that you at least work an hour, aside from that, you can work as little or as long as you would like. To sign up, click on the VOLUNTEERS link on the left hand side of the Porter website, then click on the FRONT DESK Sign up link...and select which

month you want to sign up for!!

CAFETERIA HOSTESS HELP...Any day of the week, the

cafeteria hostess can use your help! The hours are 10:30am - 1:30pm; you help out in the cafeteria with things such as: opening a student’s milk carton, getting a fork or straw that a student forgot, keeping the students in their seats, making sure the classes leave at the scheduled time, etc… Best thing about it, is that you just show up, you don’t have to schedule your day. Just sign in at the office, leave your ID, get a ‘volunteer badge’ and come on down! Try it, you

might enjoy it!

INTRAMURAL COACHES NEEDED!... For Any

Sport at Any Grade Level Interested in serving as an intramural coach after school or in the evening? And earn all of your parent volunteer hours! As a volunteer coach, you choose the sport, age group, practice day and time. Mrs. Misencik will help you reserve a space in the gym/on the field, create a flyer, collect the permission forms, and get started. Please email misencks@pwcs.edu to express your interest.

PORTER MAKERSPACE The Porter Makerspace is up and running! We are meeting in a room adjacent to the library and are excited about offering after school opportunities to students to

also meet in this space starting in November.

Makerspaces are areas designated for discovery, invention, creativity and tinkering. Our Porter Makerspace will offer both low tech (crafting , repurposing, etc.) as well as high tech (3-D printing, cod-ing, programming, etc.) options for students. We also plan to have several Family Night events for families to come together and take

part in “maker” movement activities.

The first Family Night event will be held on Tuesday, October 20th

at 6:30 p.m. in the Porter gym. We will be taking part in the Global Cardboard Challenge. Information about this event, as well as RSVP links after school club activities will be available soon on our

Porter Fusion page. We hope to see you there!

Be sure to check

your teachers’

School Fusion sites.

For ALL of Porter’s UPCOMING EVENTS check out the calendar on the front page of our website or click below:

UPCOMING EVENTS

CAREER DAY coming soon! We need your help!

Every year we come together as a school to teach our students about different careers and hobbies in our community. We do this as a way to demonstrate how our parents and community members carry out their Star Qualities through-

out their workdays and during their leisure time.

In order for the day to be a success, we ask our parents to participate by shar-ing their talents with us and volunteering their time. We are asking each volun-teer to:

Participate in a half-day or a full-day of presentations

Prepare a 20-45 minute presentation about your career/hobby

We know that our Porter families and community members have a wealth of information to share with our students. It is a rewarding experience, and the

time volunteered will count towards your yearly community service requirement.

CAREER DAY ENTRY FORM and information can be found on our website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by phone at 703-580-6501 or by

e-mail at pruskime@pwcs.edu. Thank you in advance for your support.

Family Life Education Program Notification The parent letter/opt-out form is part of the PWCS student “Code of Behavior & Forms.” Objectives by grade level are posted on the Science and Family

webpage; choose the Family Life Education link.

Parents should visit the site and review the objectives for their child’s grade level or course. Parents may exercise opt-out for any of the FLE sensitive con-tent by returning the opt-out form (found on the PWCS Science & Family webpage) to the appropriate teacher any time during the school year, but prefer-

ably within the first month of school.

Questions about the FLE program or the opt-out procedure may be directed to

Molly Pruski, School Counselor at pruskime@pwcs.edu.

LI BRARY NEWS Our Porter Library is excited with the new physical changes that took place over the summer and the continued changes planned for this year. We encourage you to stop by and see how we have redesigned many of the common areas to

increase more collaborative learning and flexibility.

The first week of October is also our FALL BOOK FAIR from Bookworm Central. Family Night will be on Wednesday, October 7th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Students are able to shop Monday through Friday during regular school hours,

in addition to the evening Family Night event.

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3rd Grade Update... What do you get when you combine brilliant stu-dents, supportive parents, and exciting curricu-lum? You get a great beginning to an amazing school year filled with explorations in math and socials studies, discoveries, and experiments in

science and reading.

We are off to a fantastic start. Our first few weeks of school have been spent learning about each other, our expectations, and classroom routines. We have been building a strong com- munity of learners and continue to challenge them to think deeper and reach higher.....to be their personal

best.

We have completed initial assessments and have completed our first math and social studies unit. Please refer to Parent Portal and our class webpages often for up to date assignments, activ-ities and test scores. Together, we will make an incredible team in support of your child's educa-

tion. Here is to a great year ahead.

The 3rd Grade Team

1st Grade Update... We have had so much fun getting to know each other and learning about how to be a Porter

Patriot and how to show Star Quality behavior!

Our students are hard at work as you can see from our hallway and classroom displays! We are well on our way to discovering our place in a changing world. Here is what has been hap-

pening in our classes.

Language Arts: We are starting our guided reading groups, so please make sure that your child has their guided reading books here at school every day. Continue to read with your child nightly, and review all word wall words often. We will be making predictions on what the story is about by previewing the pictures beforehand. We will be discussing what hap-pens in the story, focusing on the beginning, middle and end. Students will also be learning new strategies to tackle unfamiliar words. In our writing, we are learning to brainstorm ideas, and form sentences from our thoughts. We are working hard to remember the mechanics of writing (capitals, spacing, punctuation, and us-ing our neatest handwriting). The expectation

for the first quarter is 3 completed sentences.

Math: Students are learning how to read a graph, determine which has more and which has less, and comparing numbers using greater than, less than and equal signs. We reviewed addition equations, practiced how to use differ-ent numbers to make the same sum, and how to make and pick out groups of ten in a number. It is a good idea to practice counting to 100 by

1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s at home.

Social Studies/Science: We are busy studying American symbols and their importance to our country. We are busy observing the world around us; watching for seasonal changes of fall (weather, our surroundings, clothing, and foliage) and are getting excited about our pump-kin unit. As a culminating activity we will be holding a pumpkin investigation. FIELD TRIP - to the Washington monuments on October 21st. Information was passed out at Back to School Night and went home in your child’s red folder. Please make sure that you return a signed permission slip as well as the $20.00 fee. Chaperones will be chosen by lot-

tery and you will be notified if chosen.

The weather is changing; please make sure your child has a jacket for outside. Please en-sure that it is labeled with their first and last name. You may also send in a sweater to wear indoors, but it must be Porter colors and free of any logo. Happy autumn, Your 1st grade team

2nd Grade Update... September flew by! It seems like school just started yesterday. We have been very busy in

2nd grade learning new routines and concepts.

In Social Studies, we’re learning about being a good citizen and using our Star Qualities. We’re also learning about Famous Americans and their contributions to our country. We are researching and analyzing historical documents involving the contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jackie Robinson. In October, we will finish our unit on Famous Americans and Citizenship and begin our unit on Communities,

past and present.

In math, we are improving our number sense skills with place value, skip counting, ordinal numbers, comparing numbers, odd and even numbers, and problem-solving. We’ve been ex-ploring concepts with hands-on activities and practicing problem-solving strategies. When teaching math, we follow the PWC curriculum and use a balanced, integrated approach. Please continue to practice addition and subtraction

math facts.

In Science, our focus is on Science skills and matter. We visited the science lab with Mrs. Reck, one of our gifted teachers, to conduct sci-entific investigations involving matter. We have learned to identify properties of matter, evaluate changes in matter, and measure matter in terms of mass and volume. We will soon transition to

our unit on Weather and the Water Cycle.

In Language Arts we have discussed what good readers do while reading, along with purposes and strategies for reading comprehension. We are completing reading assessments and will begin Readers’ Workshop soon. In our Writers’ Workshop, students are learning about the writ-ing process; composing a well-developed narra-tive with a strong beginning, middle, and end. They are working on using descriptive language to enhance their written expression. We will be keeping many of their pieces for conferences and their writing portfolios. We will send home pieces for you to read and encourage you to have your

child read them to you too.

We would like to extend a thank you to all the parents who were able to attend Back to School Night. If you were unable to attend, we encour-age you to contact us if you have any questions. We would also like to inform you that our first field trip is on Thursday, October 22nd. Please stay on the look-out for more information to come home in your child’s yellow folder. We look for-ward to continuing on this exciting journey with

you and your student!

The 2nd Grade Team

PWCS celebrates NAT’L SCHOOL LUNCH WEEK!

October 12-16 is National School Lunch

Week. This week gives PWCS School Food

& Nutrition Services an opportunity to show-

case the quantity of our nutritious meals and

promote all of the great things we are doing?

Go to the PORTER CAFETERIA webpage

to learn more about PWCS's SCHOOL

LUNCH SNAPSHOT.

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Volume 12, Issue 1 Page 4

5th Grade Update... We've gotten the year off to a great start and accomplished so much. The children have learned the routines and are becoming confident fifth graders. We've made our first trips to the library, makerspace, computer lab, and science lab. All of our pre-assessments are completed and we are settling into a normal routine. It's been a pleasure getting to know your child and we are looking forward to a great school year.

Math: We have ended our Unit 1 & 2 studies and have begun Unit 3 Multiplication & Division. Stu-dents will explore differentiated methods for mul-tiplication & division, as well as distinguishing between prime and composite numbers. Multi-step word problems including addition, subtrac-tion, multiplication, and division will be a focus. Math facts mastery is critical to your child's suc-cess in math, especially during this unit. Please practice math facts daily.

Writing: For the month of October, the class will be reviewing the Writing Domains and learning how to use the PWCS writing rubric to score and edit their own papers. We are building a strong foundation for our writing by reviewing parts of speech, sentence structure, and punctuation. Students are learning how to write friendly letters by writing book letters describing what they are reading at home.

Reading: For October, we are starting our read-ing groups. Students will soon after assume their roles in Literature Circles where they will reflect & make connections (text-to-self, text-to-world, etc.) with their novels, and explore other reading strat-egies. We will be introducing the requirements for the book reports that students are required to complete each quarter.

Social Studies: We are beginning our unit on the Northeast. Students will navigate through the Northeast geography to differentiate between the New England vs. the Mid-Atlantic States. We will explore the region’s cultural characteristics, early settlements, natural resources, economic activi-ties, and historically significant events. We will focus on events such as the stock market crash, Ellis Island, and the Industrial Revolution.

Science: Students will distinguish properties of each phase of matter, construct and interpret models of atoms and molecules. Identifying sub-stances as being an element or a compound, along with mixtures and solutions will be ex-plored.

Have a great October and we look forward to seeing you at our fall conference!

The Fifth Grade Team

4th Grade Update...

We have been busy becoming better ac-quainted with your child; determining levels in math, language arts, social studies, and sci-ence, as well as learning more about their personal likes and dislikes. At this point, your child should know all the routines of the class-room, and be able to share those with you. We use our agendas every day, so please check for important information there. In addi-tion, our Fusion pages are loaded with useful information, ideas, and links to activities/resources on-line that are educational and

fun.

In reading we have been working with identi-fying genres of text, as well as determining the author’s purpose. We’ve also been prac-ticing using main idea and supporting details to summarize and retell our reading. The students are participating in reading and writ-ing centers along with guided reading lessons

to develop these skills.

Math has been a mix of place value review, rounding, and addition and subtraction word problems. Next we will be working on multipli-cation and division, as well as data analysis. Students should be able to show mastery of 0-9 multiplication and division facts. We’ll be adding through 12’s for the second quarter. The Factors, Multiple, and Arrays IA will be on

October 30th.

In Geography students are learning about the climate in Virginia, archeology, and the past and current tribes found in the state. The unit test for Geography will be the week of October 12th. The next unit will cover the First

Permanent English Settlement of Jamestown.

Science has been a study of Natural Re-sources, which ties in nicely to our Geography unit. Students have learned about the water-shed and are participating in a Chesapeake Bay pollution problem with Jayne Reck. We’ve finished up our Natural Resources unit and have moved on to Ecosystems. We are very excited about our upcoming field trip to the Air and Space Museum on October 15th! We’ve had an amazing first few weeks in fourth grade and can’t wait to see what fan-

tastic learning and experiences come next.

Your Fourth Grade Team

Life Learners I It seems like just yesterday school started! Life Learner 1 students have been working very hard learning how to be a Porter Patriot, and

new routines, and concepts.

In Reading, we have been working on reading comprehension and answering who, what, where, when questions about what we read. We are also working on identifying the charac-ters, setting, problem, solution, and main idea of a story. Students will be bringing home their sight word stories on Friday’s please encour-

age them to read their stories to you.

In Writing, students are working on writing complete sentences and 3-5 sentence para-graphs, and using descriptive words in their writing. We have been working hard on narra-tive writing where students have written about their favorite food, their favorite pet, and a fall

poem. Many more writing prompts to come!

In Math, we have focused a lot on our addition and subtraction facts. Students have also worked on telling time, to the hour and half hour, writing our numbers 0-30. Others have working on adding and subtracting two and three digit numbers, rounding to the nearest ten and hundred, and place value. Encourage

student to practice their math facts at home!

Science: Second grade has been studying states of matter and learning about changes in matter. Students completed states of matter sorts, and a short experiment to help explain freezing, evaporation, and condensation. Third grade has been learning about animal adapta-tions such as hibernation, migration, camou-flage, and mimicry. Students in fourth grade have been learning about watersheds and

Virginia’s natural resources.

Social Studies: Second grade has been learn-ing about citizenship and how they can be a good citizen at school, home, and the commu-nity. Third grade has been studying maps, the continents and oceans, and map grids. Fourth grade has been learning about Virginia’s bor-

dering states, landforms, and major rivers.

Thank you all the parents who were able to attend Back to School Night! Our first field trip is October 15th. Please be on the look out for more information to come home. I encourage you to join Parent Portal and my Fusion Page to stay up to date on classroom happenings. I am looking forward to an exciting year with you

and your student!

Miss Cross

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6th Grade Update... Social Studies: US History has capped off an awesome start to the year. Students are success-fully learning history through the eyes of a histori-an as they analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents to make historical claims. As we move into October we will be learn-ing about the Age of Exploration and how it led to both cooperation and conflict between Europeans and Native Americans. The first USI test will be at the end of the First Quarter. Thank you for won-

derful students!

Language Arts: This year has started off with a bang and the students are so excited about the days to come! After a review of the PWCS Code of Behavior, we jumped into our Word Study and Fiction Units. We have been working on word origins, prefixes and suffixes to better understand new vocabulary words. We have also begun read-ing our first class novel, "Hoot', as a part of our Fiction Unit. There have been lots of great discus-sions on the material and students have enjoyed working with their peers on the chapter reviews and vocabulary words. Please continue to encour-age your students to read in a way that they are comprehending all that is happening in the book (setting, plot, theme, characters, etc) as this is what we will be discussing in class. As we are moving through the Fiction unit, we will be doing lots of work on reading comprehension and un-derstanding how all of the elements of fiction fit

into a storyline.

Science: We started the year trying to quench man’s perennial thirst to know more and more about the Planets, Comets, Meteors etc. and in October we will be learning about the phenomena like Eclipses, Seasons, Tides, Phases of the Moon, which result due to rotation and revolution of the Earth. We shall also learn about some his-tory of Astronomy, famous astronomers like Ptole-my, Aristotle, Galileo, Kepler and learn about how the Geocentric theory became obsolete and how we started with the Heliocentric theory of our So-lar System. In the end we will learn about Space Exploration missions in the modern times, espe-cially the ones to the Mars as Nasa’s latest dis-covery of liquid salty waters has catapulted our hopes to see some forms of life there. We shall also be choosing our topic for the Sci-ence Fair using the library’s resources. Hope you are checking our Fusion pages, Edmodo and the Parent portal weekly to stay on top of your child’s progress.

The 6th Grade Team

7th Grade Update... Language Arts: This year started with "Getting to Know You" activities and investigating Thinking Maps (A Porter Tradition) as a way to organize our thoughts and seeing connec-tions. We have read and analyzed narrative nonfiction, and fiction in several short stories that had us visit India, where dinner guests came face to face with a cobra, and Sleepy Hollow where we came face to face with a headless horseman. We will continue to read, write, think and talk throughout the year in weekly class meetings, writer’s and reader's workshops, and cross curricular projects. Welcome aboard and please keep in touch through Fusion and Ed-

modo.

Life Science - As budding scientists, we went over the steps of the Scientific method last month and now that we have learned about the variables, Hypothesis, Controls, Constants, etc, we shall be applying them in our daily life to be able to understand these concepts better. We are right now exploring the amazing world of Cells, through various projects like Printing 3-D models of Animal & Plant Cells in our "Makers Space Lab" and our favorite "Cell-A-Bration" project, where students will be making models of cells with Jello and healthy stuff like fruits and nuts in there as various organelles with their parents and then we will have parents quiz their children on these organelles, while eating that jello. Isn’t it a great way to bond with the parents? We shall also learn about some life processes like Photosynthesis, Cellular Respira-tion to understand living organisms better. We shall also start working on our Science Fair

projects to come up with some quality projects for our Regional Science Fair.

Hope you are checking our Fusion pages, Edmodo and the Parent Portal to stay in touch with

your child's progress in school.

Math: We've already finished our first unit test in math (with a very successful average of 90.3!), and we'll have our second on the 7th of October. We're currently studying properties, number forms, and algebraic expressions and we've been moving very quickly back and forth between these topics to help us recall what we've learned. Our next unit is a short one on order of operations (ask the students about "Stewie Substitution" next week), and then we'll dive headlong into the heart of pre-Algebra -- equations! That should last us until well into

November.

Social Studies - US History has capped off an awesome start to the year in 7th grade. Stu-dents are successfully learning history through the eyes of a historian as they analyze and interpret primary and secondary source and interpret ideas from different historical perspec-tives. As we move into October the focus will be on Westward Expansion after the Civil War

and Industrialization.

The 7th Grade Team

7th/8th Grade Spanish ¡Hola! What a great first month of Spanish 1! Our students have learned how to properly greet one another, their teachers, and family members. Spanish 1 students are also able to ask how others are, and respond with how they are feeling. In the month of October, students will continue building their communication skills. We will begin the Spanish alphabet and counting 0-100. Students will be able to express their phone numbers and email addresses in Spanish. I am confident October will be just as

successful (and fun) as September!

Throughout the month of September, Spanish 2 students reviewed concepts learned from Spanish 1. We reviewed some expressions, vocabulary, and grammar concepts. In October, we will continue our review while introducing new topics. Students will express ongoing pre-sent tense actions using the "present progressive" tense. I am excited to finish our review and

begin learning new topics!

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8th Grade Update... Language Arts: our scholars are hard at work in Ms. Pollini's classroom! Just in the first month, we've tackled figurative language and poetry by Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. Students brushed up on their recognition of imagery, symbolism, and compare/contrasting writings. This month, students are diving into the Young Reader's Edition of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World... One Child at a Time adapted from Greg Mortenson's story of humanitarianism. Together, we're learning about the cultures of Afghanistan and Pakistan as we explore the story's characters and larger themes. Ask your scholars about their Language Arts class discoveries related to this text throughout

the month of October!

Science: We just completed an in-depth review of scientific meth-ods; evaluating the complex difference between mass and weight. The classes investigated the unique aspects of weight and how it changes depending upon ones location to a specific mass. We also reinforced our understanding of density as a characteristic property. As a class we have completed several labs and insured

competency with various pieces of lab equipment.

In October, we will be investigating the concepts of matter and how it interacts within our universe. We will discover the nature of the atomic theory of matter. Students will leave this unit with a full un-derstand of atomic structure, phase changes, and chemical struc-

ture.

Algebra I: we are currently beginning Unit 3 on Relations and Functions. We are off to a good start so far with Algebra 1. Contin-ue checking Parent Portal to view your child’s grades, if you have any questions please let me know. At the end of the month we will have our Benchmark 1 Exam, remember this is worth three times a normal test grade. Continue having your child review the material

from the beginning of the year!

Math 8: we are beginning Unit 3 on Equations, one of the most important pieces of our Math 8 Curriculum moving forward. Things have gone well so far in our class and the students are working very hard. We will be having our Benchmark 1 Exam coming up at

the end of the month which covers the first three units.

Civics: students have been enthusiastically exploring what it means to be an effective citizen; by researching what average Americans know about their country’s history and workings. Thank you, parents, for participating in our research. Our prediction was correct: we found that our Porter parents are far and away more informed citizens than many Americans! Discussions have consid-ered the factors that may lead to Americans being less involved in their government, and why this can be detrimental to our country. Students also learned the process for obtaining U.S. citizenship, and then shared the journeys our families have made to be able to live in America and benefit from the rights and responsibilities of

U.S. citizenship.

We are currently learning about the five fundamental principles underlying our Constitution, and analyzing how they are impacting current events and our lives each day. Students are comparing the history of English law to the foundations of our government, and learning how our very own state of Virginia was a leader in outlining the rights and responsibilities that are reflected in our Constitution today. Students will soon be delving into the Constitution itself, and

studying its role in today’s political processes.

The 8th Grade Team

PTA Happenings President ····················· Tracy Stohlman Vice-President············ Stephany Stewart Secretary ························ Joey Miranda Treasurer ···················· Rebecca Arraya

The PTA would like to welcome all the new families that joined this year. To all our returning families, welcome back! It's still not too late to join the PTA. Membership forms can be found in the front office as well as on our fusion page. We encourage everyone to check out our fusion page

often to stay up to date on events and PTA happenings.

The PTA has joined Remind 101 to get the word out about PTA happen-ings, via text. Please text @porterpta to 81010 to receive updates on

PTA events.

THANK YOU to all of the families that came out to the Ice Cream

Social and Bingo Night. Everyone had a fun time!

Out last PTA meeting had a great turnout, we hope to see everyone back and welcome new families at our next meeting, Oct. 13th at 7pm in the

library.

Brixx Spirit Night was a great night and fun time was had by

all! Thank you all for your support!

THANK YOU to all the families that sold Yankee Candles! Orders will arrive for pick up at school in 2-4 weeks. Please remember that orders

will not be able to be brought home on the buses.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS... October 13 ............. PTA meeting at 7:00pm

October 31 ............. PTA COLOR RUN! Pre-register by 10/11 for the $30 per runner/walker registration fee and be guaranteed a t-shirt. After October 11, registration price increases to $35/registration. We have been working hard and can't wait to enjoy the day with you! It will be a very fun and colorful event. Please visit the PTA fusion page

for more details or to sponsor a runner.

Due to the inclement weather, our PTA Outdoor Movie will

Please remember to keep clipping and sending in your Labels for Educa-tion and Box Tops and continue to check the PTA Fusion Page of all PTA happenings and updates!

Join the Porter PTA Click here for a Membership form.

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Volume 12, Issue 1 Page 7

The Prince William County Public School Division does not dis-

criminate in employment or in its educational programs and activi-ties against qualified individuals on the basis of race, color, national

origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, veteran status, or disability.

In an effort to continue to increase our fitness test pass rate, students are given time every day at school to run Miler Club laps and jump rope or hula hoop. It is up to the individual stu-dent to actively participate in these wonderful fitness opportuni-

ties.

Please refer to Porter’s Fusion PE webpage (a “Class Files” document) to view an explanation of the testing/practice proce-dures and the required scores for passing for all four Fitness

Testing areas.

Thank you, in advance, for helping at home to improve the health, fitness, and wellness of our Porter students by encourag-ing daily exercise, plenty of sleep, staying hydrated and healthy

eating habits!

PE Reminder

Please make sure your sweatshirts and jackets are well marked!  Using a permanent marker to write your child’s name

on the label will help ensure lost items get returned.. 

Milers Club

Porter’s Milers Club is back and in full swing! Each day Porter students enthusiastically circle the building or bus loop in an effort to accrue laps. Every ten miles, students are rewarded with a certificate, shoe token, and bulletin board recognition. Students may choose to run, jog, or power walk. Encouraging kids to “get moving and stay fit” is the lifetime goal we are trying to promote. This schoolwide effort is also a way Porter is work-ing to achieve PWCS’s Wellness Goal and Instructional Focus Goal for Healthy/Fit schools. Since all the classes participate on a daily basis, wearing (or bringing) athletic shoes to school each

day is great idea.

Intramural Update

Intramural sports are in full swing at Porter!  On sever-al afternoons and evenings, the building is full of intramural activity thank you to the dedicated parent coaches and volun-teers!  This is a great way to keep our Porter students moving

and stay fit! 

6th - 8th Grade Girls Volleyball Club – The Girl’s Volleyball season is in full swing.  The team is enjoying an action-packed season which included games against local Catholic Schools. 

Coaches: Kim Dettmann and Mrs. Hensley

5th-6th Grade Archery Club… is in full swing!  Club Spon-sors/Coaches:  Mrs. Black and Mrs. Hatton.

Keep Moving and Stay Fit!

Mrs. Misencik and Mrs. Yeatts

GYM SHORTS 1st & 2nd Graders are working on learning the rules and expectations during PE class. We have been working on locomotor skills, stretches, personal space and team games. We have been playing games such as Clean Up Your Room, Oscar the Grouch and Pin Bombardment! We have started & will continue working on the proper skills of throwing. Please reinforce the proper throwing

techniques of… point, step & throw, point. The kids will know!! :)

3rd Graders are also working on learning the rules and expectations during PE class. We practice our locomotor skills at the beginning of each class during the Instant Activity. The students worked on ball handling skills during Sideline Soc-cer, chasing and fleeing during Sharks and Minnows, and throwing and catching

during Pin Bombardment.

5th Graders also practice their locomotor skills at the beginning of each PE class. We started our Fitness Test Unit right away and every 5th grader received a Pac-er and Push-Up Pretest score. Please ask your 5th grader if he/she achieved a passing score and provide extra practice at home so he/she can show improve-ment. Please start stretching in your free time to prepare for the Sit and Reach

flexibility test!

4th & 6th Graders are working on their locomotor skills at the beginning of each class. We are just finishing a fun unit on Flag Football! I have been so impressed with the students learning the proper techniques of throwing and catching as well as different pass patterns. We have teams are and playing small sided games out on the baseball field outfield. On days when the weather is not cooperating we have played Jail Break. The kids are all doing a great job and had fun playing and learning the rules and terms associated with the game. Our next unit will be Fit-

ness Testing.

7th Graders started the school year with some team building activities such as Alphabetize Yourself, Brain Surge, and Spider Web Ball. We then embarked on our Fitness Testing Unit and enjoyed some competitive games of Sideline Soccer

and Jailbreak.

8th Graders are also finishing up a wonderful unit of Flag Football & just took their football test. The test information will came right off of the Football Study guide (p.3 of their notebook). They have really impressed me with their teamwork and

sportsmanship! We will move into Fitness testing for our next unit.

Fitness Testing

We are proud to announce Porter achieved above 85% in all four Fitness Testing areas during the 2014-2015 school year! That meant Porter received all four Fit-ness Testing points on our School of Excellence scorecard. Way to go our physi-

cally fit Porter Patriots!

4th-8th grade students will participate in Fitness Pre-Testing this fall. Baseline pretest scores will be taken in the 4 fitness areas of Aerobic Endurance (Pacer), Upper Body Strength (Push-Ups), Abdominal Strength (Curl-Ups), and Flexibility (V-Sit and Reach). All students will participate in Fitness Post-Testing in the spring. Students are expected to improve their spring fitness scores to show indi-vidual progress and growth. Retesting opportunities will be given throughout the

year to help students earn a passing score OR improve a passing score.