It’s clear that winter is here to stay!  We hope you were able to enjoy the snow day on Monday as well as the late opening on Tuesday.  As a parent, I always appreciate when HCPSS makes the decision at night so our family is able to plan accordingly, however we do know that there will be mornings that the county will delay or cancel school early in the morning.  Our staff receives the closing information the same way you as parents do, via the HCPSS eNews blast, the HCPSS website, Facebook, Twitter, and the local news media.  Please visit the section of the HCPSS website listing the many ways you can be informed of weather-related school closings.  Our hope is that you will get closing and delay information through these sources and not need to reach out to the school via phone.  If you must make a phone call, please call the HCPSS Information Hotline 410-313-6666, they update this immediately once closing or delays are determined.

   We hope you will join us for our Band concert tonight, January 16th at 6:30 pm and the Strings concert on Thursday, January 17th at 6:30 pm.  Our students have been working extremely hard to prepare for these concerts.

   Join us for Coffee with Administration on Friday, January 18th at 9:30 am to talk with the administration about what’s happening at Guilford.  Hope to see you on Friday!

   Have a great rest of the week and dress warmly!

Jonathan Davis

Principal
Guilford Elementary School

                                        Dates To Remember for 2019

Janurary  - 2019

• 1/17 -  Winter Strings Concert at 6:30 p.m.
• 1/18 -  Coffee with Administration at 9:30 a.m.
• 1/21 -  School and Office Closed - MLK Jr. Day
• 1/23 thru 1/25 -  No Half Day Pre-K
• 1/25 -  Sprit Day- Crazy Socks Day
• 1/28 -  3 Hour Early Dismissal - Professional Work Day

From the Title I Team

  At GES, our Learning Compact and Plan includes goals for student achievement.  This section of the Paw Prints will be used to share information parents can use to support their children in achieving the goals.  We hope that this information is helpful to you!  

  GES goal: Proper nutrition - The American Academy of Pediatric Doctors states that children should consume a variety of foods from the five major food groups. Each food group supplies im­portant nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. These five groups and typ­ical minimum daily servings are: vegetables: 3-5 servings; fruits: 2-4 servings; bread, cereal, or pasta: 6-11 servings; protein foods: 2-3 servings; and dairy products: 2-3 servings.

  You can help your child meet these guidelines by making snacks count!  Popular snacks often have a lot of sugar and salt, and don’t support a healthy eating plan.  Children may even become hungry faster after eating processed foods.
Children are more likely to eat a healthy snack if it is ready to be eaten and they can grab it quickly when they are hungry.  Some easy choices are grapes, cherries, small carrots, pieces of cheese, sliced cucumbers, bell pepper strips, edamame beans, whole grain
 dry cereal, and whole grain tortilla chips.  Yogurt is high in protein, as is nut butter.

  Teach your child to eat a rainbow of colors every day.  Have fun choosing foods that have the various colors and see how many different fruits and vegetables you can find - they might find that they like green avocados, purple potatoes, or yellow bell peppers!  Encourage your child to keep trying new foods, and even try foods again that they once didn’t like.  Sometimes taste preferences change over time.

  Did you know that the Howard County Public Library offers free non-perishable afternoon snacks for youth ages 18 and younger?

  At the East Columbia Branch, the program runs Monday – Friday, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM, and at the Central branch (Warfield Meeting Room, HCLS Central Branch, 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy), the program runs Monday – Friday, 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM.  Snacks are available on days only when Howard County schools are in session  and the children  must be present to receive the snacks.

                                                  News

GES Pep Rally

We are having our GES Pep Rally on January 25th.

Here are the time for the Rally:

9:35 - Kindergarten and 1st grade

10:10 - 2nd and 3rd grades                                                                     

3:00 - 4th and 5th grades

A Special Congrats

Congratulations to all of the students who participated in Guilford’s Young Author’s Contest!  We are so proud of your excellent writing!

Second Grade:  Poetry Entries:  Belzarena Kim *Grade-level Winner

Short Story Entries:  Theo Kolb *Grade-level Winner, Zoha Ali, Henrick Hampton, Nishma Khanal, Shreeya Patel, Sydnee Roache, Maddison Wilson

Third Grade:  Poetry Entries:  Mariyam Iftikhar *Grade-level Winner, Ayden Bennet, Isabella Heskett, Richa Sachdeva,

Short Story Entries: Meerub Iftikhar *Grade-level Winner, Damus Almoza, Zeenat Alvi, Gavin Draminski, Sedami Felaho, Nia Hackett, Burhhan Khan, Audrey Morrison-Lang

Fourth Grade: Poetry Entries: Ashlee Robinson *Grade-level Winner, Sarah Cing, Naomi Effim, Ruth Effim, Konstantine Falco, Brianna Fleming, Odinachi Ofenedu, James Szewczyk

Short Story Entries:  Delina Woldu *Grade-level Winner, Zaib Aslam, Alyssa Burger, Angel Grannison, Kaleb Roache

Fifth Grade: Poetry Entries: Lawrence AJ Eliason *Grade-level Winner, Katie Cosgrove, Ava Matthews,Tessa Draminski, Alishba Hassan

Short Story Entries: Jackson Stolte *Grade-level Winner, Mona Mengestaeb, Janice Osomina, Kathy Rivera, Jillian Tindale

We will celebrate our Young Authors’ on Thursday, February 7th, 2019, at 9:20 with a breakfast celebration in Guilford’s Cafeteria.  Students who participated in the Young Authors’ Contest will receive an invitation with details about this event.  Parents/Guardians are welcome to join our writers at this celebration. Thank you for your continued support!

RECORDERS

  Students in grades 4th and 5th who already have recorders must bring them to school cleaned and ready for use before Friday, January 25th. 

  If you have any question please contact Mrs. Cousin /Music Teacher.

Before & After School Classes with Howard County Recreation & Parks

Columbia Spring Baseball & Softball Leagues

Columbia Tee Ball/ 4 yrs/ Saturdays starting Apr 6/ 9am-4pm/$125

Columbia Tee Ball/ 5-6 yrs/Saturdays starting Apr 6/ 9am-4pm /$125

Columbia Baseball League/ 7-8 yrs  Saturdays starting Apr 6/ 9am-4pm/ $149

Columbia Baseball League/ 9-10 yrs/ Saturdays starting Apr 6/ 9am-4pm /$149

Columbia Softball League/6-8 yrs / Saturdays starting Apr 6/ 9am-4pm/$149

Columbia Softball League 9-10 yrs Apr 6 9am-4pm Saturdays $149

TGA Premier Youth Tennis/6-11 yrs /Before School/ Classes: 6/Thursdays starting Jan 31/ 8:10-9:10am/$90

For Complete information on these Before & After School classes, including how to Register, please go to  www.howardcountymd.gov/afterschool

You may also contact:  William Banks -Youth Programs Coordinator, Howard County Recreation & Parks, 7120 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia, MD 21046, 410.313.4721

Parent Volunteer Information 

   "According to HCPSS Board Policy, all parent volunteers must complete a Confidentiality Training Course about protecting the privacy of our students, staff, and schools.  Please complete this course before registering to volunteer at Guilford Elementary School.  The course takes about 5 minutes to complete, please click on the pdf file to open Parent Volunteer.pdf and follow these 3 steps":

Step One: Training Course - click through each page of the training course.

Step Two: Certification of Completion - print the Parent Volunteer Certification Form and complete.

Step Three: Register to Volunteer - Bring the completed and signed Certification Form to school before or on the day you volunteer.

Clean Out Your Closet Challenge

  Guilford is participating in the Clothing to Cash Recycling Program - Help our school raise money!  We accept New and Used clothing, shoes, sneakers, towels, textiles, and stuff animals. We want items in ALL conditions unwanted, outgrown, and out of style.

   All items must be in a plastic bag and tied shut.  Look for the large white collection bin in the school parking lot.  Collections will be Reworn, Repurposed or finally Recycled.

  Save our landfills and give your items a second life.   This is a easy way for our school to raise money. Help support our school & save the environment one bag at a time!

PTA News

  You can sign up to volunteer for any ROAR cart dates throughout the year at http://signup.com/go/GjpwKzX.

Don't Forget to Join the PTA!

  You can join on our website at http://www.guilfordpta.com/whatwedo/membership/ and send in a printed membership form with your student.  The cost is $15 for an individual membership or $20 for a family membership.  Thank you!!

Community News and Programs

  Please visit the Community News and Programs and the HCPSS News page on the HCPSS website for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.