The mission of Patterson Park Public Charter School is to provide a community-centered learning environment that values

diversity and embraces a whole child approach to develop well-educated citizens.

Reading Buddies

Ms. LaHair’s 8th grade

class (Skidmore) goes to

Ms. Ontiveros’ 2nd

grade class every other

Wednesday to read

together. The 8th

graders and 2nd graders

take turns reading to

each other. Students

have the same reading

buddy every week. The

2nd grade students love

reading with the older

kids and look forward to

seeing their buddies.

Skidmore also reads

with Ms. Grandchamp’s

1st grade class on

Wednesdays. Mr.

Hendrick’s 8th grade

class (Hopkins) reads

with Ms. Ontiveros’ and

Ms. Harris’ 2nd grade

classes. Mr. Bradbury’s

7th grade class (Notre

Dame) reads with Mrs.

Hendrick’s 2nd grade

class on Fridays.

Principal’s Message

The 4th Quarter is just beginning and we are looking forward to a strong finish to what has been a fantastic year!

A major task ahead of us is the PARCC test for 3rd-8th graders. Students will be taking seven sessions of math and reading tests in May. Teachers will provide details about the scheduling; additional information and practice items are available at http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/. Take some time to review this with your family and contact me with any questions.

One of the most important events supporting the school is our Spring Into Art fundraiser. We are thrilled to a host our celebration on April 9th which will include great food and an art auction. Tickets will be on sale at the front desk and our website – tell your friends and neighbors

Finally, I want to acknowledge our National Academic League and Boys’ Basketball teams, who both made it to the City finals, our Destination Imagination team going to States, and our Robotics team going to the World competition later in the Spring. Great job!

Sincerely,

Dr. Kramer

DI Success

The PPPCS 3rd & 4th

Grade Destination

Imagination team

won 1st place at

Saturday’s North

Central Regional

Tournament

competition, so the

team will go on to

the State

competition!

1st graders visit SPCA

PPPCS 1st graders visited cats and dogs at the Maryland

SPCA. They took a tour of the shelter and spent some

time reading to the animals. Organizers said that the

audience couldn't be more attentive. The animals hung

on every word and, at times, even howled in

appreciation.

Bilingual Scholar Tradition

Ms. Ramos has started a new tradition in her class. Each

week one student in each class will pass down a

"bilingual scholar" tie, showing that he/she recognizes

and appreciates someone's effort in Spanish class. They

get to wear the tie for a whole week with their uniform

until they pass it on. Big congratulations to the first

bilingual scholars. Thank you to those who donated ties,

decorated ties, and have been congratulating students.

Mr. Trash Wheel’s Team Visits

Friends from the Waterfront Partnership visited our 4th

grade Green Team to accept our donation of $500 for the

Canton Water Wheel! Students sold ornaments and

candy grams to raise money. Their gift is being matched

by another donor! The Green Team members are now

official Clean Captains for their neighborhood!

Staff Members of the Month

Congratulations to Ms. Simon for being elected Staff

Person of the month in February and congratulations to

Mr. Hendrick for being elected Staff Person of the month

in March. Ms. Simon is a Special Education teacher here

at PPPCS, and Mr. Hendrick teaches middle school

Science. Ms. Simon is pictured below co-teaching in 3rd

grade. Mr. Hendrick is pictured as the Court Jester at the

2010 Medieval Faire.

New Partnership with Design Collective

Friends from Design Collective are visiting 5th grade

twice a month for a new partnership! Design Collective is

a multi-disciplinary and award-winning design firm. They

are teaching our 5th graders some basics in the fields of

architecture, planning, interiors, landscape architecture,

and graphics. This month the students were practicing

placement of features for a recreation center in

Patterson Park.

HOPPP

African

American

Heritage

Dinner and

Program

HOPPP and

school staff

welcomed

families to

celebrate how

amazing our

students are

with live

performances

and sharing a meal! Over 60 families attended. Special

thanks to Ms. Pinkett for organizing.

Volunteer Spotlight: Mary Whye

We would like to introduce you to one of our volunteers,

Mary Whye! She is a proud great grandmother of 3

PPPCS students; two 6th grade twins and one 4th grader.

One of Mary’s most memorable PPPCS volunteer

experiences was shortly before the first day of the 2015-

2016 schoolyear where she distributed book bags to 300+

students of need that were returning and entering PPPCS

for the year. This experience was very satisfying for her

because she got to meet many students and witness the

excitement of their parents as they start another school

year. Another memorable experience was her support in

teaching her then 5th grade granddaughter’s class a Core

Math lesson. Mary found joy in learning this lesson as she

taught it. She enjoyed becoming a student all over again!

What motivates Mary to volunteer at PPPCS while raising

her 3 grandchildren? Mary appreciates the diversity of

PPPCS students, enjoys meeting them, learning about

their unique backgrounds, and she simply loves the

overall process of learning! Thank you Mary for your

contributions to PPPCS!

Awesome Season in Basketball Closes

The PPPCS Boys’ Basketball team made it all the way to

the Baltimore City finals tournament, where they closed

the season seated as #2. Dr. Kramer guest-coached the

final game against Thomas Jefferson. Eight 8th graders

were on the team this year, so we wish them a fond

farewell and wish them luck in high school sports. The

played hard and showed great sportsmanship. There is a

big trophy in the trophy case by the Main Office—be sure

to check it out!

Spelling Bee Winners

Congratulations to the

PPPCS Spelling Bee

winner Camille

Jannuzi, 7th grader,

and the runner up

Maisha Telfer, 4th

grade. Camille and

Maisha will compete in the Baltimore City Spelling Bee on

March 19.

Bingo Thanks

Thanks everyone for coming to

Bingo! We raised $1,900 for our

school, and we couldn't have done it

without you!

Robotics Taking on the World AGAIN

The PPPCS Robotic Defenders are heading to the VEX

World Championship for the Second Year in a row! With

a Top 5 Robot at the State Championship and as a

Baltimore City Excellence Award Winner, we have

qualified to travel to the World Championship in

Louisville, Kentucky, April 20-23, 2016!

NAL Team Reaches Nationals

The PPPCS National Academic League made it all the way

to the National competition this year. National games are

played by using video conferencing technologies.

Congratulations to the team for their great

accomplishments this year!

Sports now includes Lacrosse

Girls’ Lacrosse has begun at PPPCS. Special thanks to Ms.

Hanley for coaching the team!

Family Math Night

PPPCS hosted its annual Family Math Night in February.

Staff and families gather over math games, “make and

take” materials and games, a hot dinner, homework

passes, volunteer hours, and prizes!

Follow us on Social Media!

Be sure to follow PPPCS on Social Media! Follow @pppcs

on Twitter and Like Patterson Park Public Charter School

and Hands on Patterson Park Public on Facebook.

Dear PPPCS Parents,

Don't be late for this very important date!

Spring Into Art

Saturday, April 9, 2016 6-10 pm (Bidding will end at 8 pm.)

2726 E. Baltimore St. Baltimore, MD 21224

Spring Into Art is a silent auction of art made by local fine artists and

current students at PPPCS. Raised funds support the schools' arts

programming, including partnerships with MICA, OrchKids, and

artists-in-residence.

Tickets are $30 and include admission to the silent auction, entertain-

ment, hors d'oeuvres, and 2 libations. Stunning art work, raffle tick-

ets, and libations will be for sale. Purchase tickets at http://

www.pppcs.org/springintoart

If you would like to buy tickets with cash or check, please put your

payment in an envelope marked “Spring Into Art” and your name and

give it to our Main Office. We will send you a receipt and put your

name on the Will Call list at the door. No paper tickets will be given.

Be sure to buy your ticket in advance! They will be $40 at the door.

Dress is casual and Alice in Wonderland attire is encouraged.

*Spring Into Art is for community members 21 years old and up.

Thank you to our Impressionist & Art Nouveau Sponsors!

M&T Bank, Aaron & Shannon Fries, Pat Murray