GES Paw Prints - March 13, 2019

Wed, 03/13/2019 - 12:10pm
 

 

                                        

 

Note from Mr. Davis

What an exciting last week!  Guilford has so much to celebrate!  

Congratulations!

Sylvia Hennessie, kindergarten teacher was selected as one of two Howard County Teachers of the Year!  What a honor for Sylvia, we are so excited to be able to highlight all the hard work and dedication she has to not only her students but to the entire Guilford community.  Way to Go!

Connie Stahler, former Assistant Principal at Guilford, was named Maryland Assistant Principal of the Year by the MAESP (Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals).  As you know Connie gave so much of herself for eight years at Guilford and is doing the same at Laurel Wood Elementary.

Catherine McNamara, Stephanie Stetz, and Charlene McDaniel who were nominated for the Gifted and Talented Educator Recognition Award for their work in empowering and challenging our students.  They will be honored on April 2nd at River Hill High School. Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the PTA sponsored Raise Craze!  We raised over $4000 and I was forced to dress as a penguin all day last Wednesday.  Not only did we raise a lot of money, our students participated in thousands of Acts of KINDNESS!  It was so great to see so many intentional acts of kindness from our students!  Even though the fundraiser is complete, let’s remember to be kind each day. 

Jonathan Davis

Principal
Guilford Elementary School

 

                                        Dates To Remember for 2019

March  2019
3/13 - PTA Restaurant Night: Modern Market at 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
3/14 - Read With Me Night at 6:30 p.m.
3/15 - Spirit Day - Green Day
3/21 - Read With Me Night at 6:30 p.m.
3/27 - 5th Grade Field Trip to Annapolis
3/27- 2nd Grade Field Trip to Robinson Nature Center
3/29 - Spirit Day - Tie Dye Day

April 2019
4/2- MESA Day Competition from 8:15 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
4/3 - Spring Individual and Class Photos
4/7 - Spring Chorus Concert for 5th Graders at 7:00 p.m.
4/8 - 4th Grade Field Trip to Annapolis, Maryland
4/5 - 3 Hours Early Dismissal - Professional Work Day
4/9 - PTA Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
4/10 - Spring Band Concert at 6:30 p.m.
4/12 -  PTA Beatles Band/Magical Mystery Girls Concert Fundraiser at Ridgely's Run Community Center 7:00 p.m.
4/12 - Coffee with Administrative at 9:30 a.m.
4/15 thru 4/22 - School Closed – Spring Break
4/24 - Report Cards Issued
4/24 - Family Night: Talk with ME at 6:30p.m
4/26 - Spirit Day – Earth Day
4/30 - Kindergarten Field Trip to the Library at 9:45 a.m.
4/30 - Intermediate Reading Night at 6:30 p.m.

 

From the Title I Team

At GES, our Learning Compact and Plan includes goals for student achievement.  The GES goal for this week's focus is to talk your child about what they have read.  For information to meet this goal, please click on the link: http://ges.hcpss.org/news/2019/03/title-1-team-0

News

BRING JAN BRETT TO GUILFORD!

     It’s very simple to enter a vote - visit the website below, and enter your name, email, and contact information of our school.

http://www.janbrett.com/contest_2019/2019_free_school_or_library_visit.htm

The contest ends April 8th. Please encourage your family and friends to vote as well!

GES' contact information:
Guilford Elementary School
7335 Oakland Mills Road
Columbia, MD 21046

Bridges News

Dear Parents;

  Your students have been participating in WE Schools for our Bridges program. This past November we did the WE Walk For Water Campaign to ensure good weather for the event. We walked and had a relay race and read a book about the water walk in Africa .This book told of the hardship women and girls endured to gain access to clean water in their country. Our students expressed how thankful they were to have clean water in our country and they shared some stories of their families in other countries. This is our 2nd year with WE. Last year WE showcased our school at WE Day Baltimore. This year WE is having a fundraiser event for clean water to their villages they support around the world. If you would like to donate for clean water please go to this link
https://www.crowdrise.com/donate/event/we-walk-for-water-usa?lang=en-us

Type in the team name: Deborah Robbins - GES Bridges

Click here to view Flyer:   WWFW_Parent_Resource.pdf 

Thank you for your support,
Deborah Robbins
GES Bridges Service Learning WE Schools Educator

March Reading Madness

Guilford’s schoolwide reading program, MARCH READING MADNESS, will kick-off
this Friday, March 1st.  Throughout the month of March, all students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade, will be reading the same 16 pictures in order to determine Guilford’s favorite book.  Students will have several options to enjoy each story through
 classroom read alouds, independent reading time, or listening to the story being read by a GES staff member through the March Reading Madness website (https://gesmarchmadness.weebly.com/).
  Throughout the month, students will keep track of the stories they have read or listened to on a reading log.  Beginning April 1st, the students will vote for their favorite books on the reading bracket in order to determine Guilford’s favorite book.  On
 April 12th we will announce the schoolwide winner! We are looking forward to building community through the joy of reading!

Future Guilford Tigers

Calling all FUTURE Guilford Tigers! (birth through 5)

Do you have a future Guilford Tiger in your family?

Do you know of someone who does?

If so, we’d like to be able to send you resources and communicate with you about upcoming events that may be of interest to you and your family. Please fill out thisGoogle form so we can learn more about your child, and can identify what could best address your needs.

We’d also like to introduce you to Talk With Me – Howard County, a new initiative in partnership with HCPSS. Talk With Me works to support parents and caregivers in gaining a greater understanding of the powerful brain-building that occurs through early interactions with babies and toddlers.

More information about  Talk With Me – Howard County can be found at their website:https://www.hcpss.org/launch-into-learning/talk-with-me/ or by contacting Mrs. Hennessie at Sylvia_Hennessie@hcpss.org.

Early Interactions Build Brains! We hope you will spread the word!

Student Survey

Recent state law requires that all public schools in Maryland survey students about school climate. The purpose of the survey is to gain valuable information about the quality and character of each school’s learning environment so that schools can promote a climate that supports student learning.

Students will take the survey during regular school hours between March 4th – April 26th. The survey will ask students about topics such as student engagement, interactions with adults and with other students in the school, the school environment, bullying, and safety. The survey will not ask about a student’s personal experiences, and students will not be asked to provide any information that might violate his or her privacy.

The survey is confidential and school personnel will not have access to the responses of specific students. The responses your child provides will be combined with the responses from other students in the school, and results will be reported for each school and district.

We are eager to receive this very important information about your student’s school and about schools across the state.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Trish Lannon. Thank you.

Registration for the G/T

Registration for the G/T Summer Institutes is underway. You can find the catalog on the HCPSS website at https://www.hcpss.org/f/summer/gt-summer-institutes-talent-dev-catalog.pdf (Links to an external site.)

Scholarships are available for students participating in the Free and Reduced Meals program.

Please feel free to contact Ms. McNamara or Ms. Stetz if you have any questions at all.

Before & After School Classes with Howard County Recreation & Parks

For complete information on these Before & After School classes, including how to Register, please go to http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1101410824386&ca=7e11e213-9db3-48bb-b660-968d74bfd10d&id=preview

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 OneTraining Course - click through each page of the training course.

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

Step ThreeRegister 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 

Our Raise Craze fundraiser was a HUGE success!  Thank you to everyone who took time to participate!  $4,190 was donated through this campaign, of which our PTA keeps $3,893.40 (93%)!!  More than 55 students registered for the fundraiser, 138 Acts of Kindness were logged on the Raise Craze site, and hundreds more were performed around the school in the month of February!  Students and teachers alike enjoyed seeing Mr. Davis dressed as a penguin as we reached our school-wide goal! 
 
Join us at Modern Market for a fun restaurant night this evening (Wednesday 3/13)!  Bring your flyer that was sent home last week, and Modern Market will donate 50% of sales between 5-8pm back to our PTA!
 
Thank you for all your Box Tops!  We just submitted over 900 Box Tops, earning $90.10!  Keep clipping and sending them in!  
 
Save the date!  Kick off your spring break with a family-friendly concert featuring our own Mrs. McDaniel!  The Magical Mystery Girls will be performing at Ridgely's Run Community Center on Friday April 12th at 7pm.  Ticket sales will benefit Guilford's PTA.  Look for ticketing information to come home next week.
 
PTA's ROAR cart will visit students four more times this year!  There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer for this if you are available during the school day - the students LOVE spending their hard-earned ROAR tickets!  Consider signing up at http://signup.com/go/GjpwKzX.
 
Want to stay in the loop?  Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/guilfordpta/ to keep up with school announcements, upcoming events, and more!  Any PTA related questions can be directed to guilfordpta@gmail.com.

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.