Note from Mr. FitzGerald

Greetings Guilford!

This edition of Paw Prints is being sent out a day earlier than usual because school is closed tomorrow (Wednesday) in observance of Yom Kippur.  I would like to thank everyone who came out for the PTA Yard Sale this past Saturday.  It was great seeing so many Guilford families!  The ever popular after-school Bridges Program begins next week.  There is a Bridges Parent Information Meeting this Thursday, October 10th at 6:30pm.  Parents of students participating in Bridges are encouraged to attend.  Next Tuesday, October 15th we'll have our next PTA meeting in the library.  I hope you are able to attend and find out about the many exciting PTA events that will soon be taking place at Guilford.  Girls Night Out is almost here! Ms. Dobbs is putting the finishing touches on coordinating what will be an extraordinary night for our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade girls on October 17th.  Please make special note on your calendars that there is no school for students next Friday, October 18th. Just a side-note, I typically like to keep the introductory Paw Prints paragraph short, for we have so many blurbs for you to read below.  Please make sure to read all of the information.  We don't want you to miss out on any of it.  The next edition of Paw Prints will be sent out on Wednesday, October 23rd.  If there is anything you need between now and then, do not hesitate to contact me.  

Have a great rest of your week!
Justin FitzGerald
Proud Guilford Principal

 

                                        Dates To Remember for 2019

October 2019
10/9  - Schools and Offices Closed
10/10 - Vision/Hearing Re-screening
10/15 - PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m.
10/16 - Spirit Day - Workout Wednesday
10/17 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Clark’s Elioak Farm
10/17 - PTA Potluck Dinner Event at 6:30 p.m.
10/17 - Girls Night Out at 6:30 p.m.
10/18 - Schools Closed for Students
10/29 - Flu Clinic
10/31 - Fall Fest & Turkey Trot -- Spirit Day - Wear Orange

 

News

Hearing/Vision Screening

Hearing/Vision testing rechecks on Oct. 10.  The screening will be for students in Pre-K, K, Grade 1 and students new to Maryland. If your child wears glasses, please make sure they have them on the day of the screening.

Title I News and Updates:
Guilford Elementary is one of 13 Title I schools in Howard County. Title I is a federally funded program designed to ensure all children have an opportunity to access a high quality education. Title I federal funding is used to support and enhance the school program and provide additional academic support.  The goal of this program is to close the achievement gap for all students. Our program allows all students to be eligible for additional academic support and the funds are used to support and enhance the overall school program.  During the school year, we would welcome any feedback related to our Title I School-wide programming.

Attendance Procedures:
When your child has been absent, please send a note in immediately on your child’s return to school.  The note should be sent within 2 days of returning and include:

•     student’s name
•     date(s) of absence
•     REASON FOR ABSENCE
•     parent signature

A doctor’s note is preferred for medical appointments.  We encourage you to have your child attend class both before and after medical appointments when possible.

Howard County G/T Program Parent Academy:
Wednesday, October 16, 7 – 8:30pm at Long Reach High School, 6101 Old Dobbin Lane, Columbia, 21045

HCPSS families interested in the Gifted and Talented (G/T) Program are invited to come learn about the advanced-level offerings available through the G/T Education Program and how their students can become involved.

The evening will begin with an overview of G/T Education Program offerings at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Following the general session, parents and community members will have an opportunity to meet by school level for a question and answer session.

Full Schedule:
7:00 – 8:00, G/T Education Program Overview Presentation – Auditorium
8:05 – 8:30, Question and Answer Sessions:
    •    Elementary G/T Program Offerings: Auditorium
    •    Middle G/T Program Offerings: Classroom A127
    •    High School G/T and AP Courses: Classroom B115
For more information, please email hcpssgtac@gmail.com or call 410-313‐6800.

Fever Policy
Howard County Public Schools require that any student with a temperature over 100.0 stay home from school. If your child has a fever, here are some tips to remember:

•     Check your child’s temperature about every 4-6 hours when awake.
•     Encourage fluids
•     Give a fever reducing medication such as Ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil) or          Acetaminophen (Tylenol).  Follow the dosing instructions on the package.
•     Keep your child at home when ill or having a fever (100F or above).  Students should stay home until fever free WITHOUT a fever reducing medication for 24 hours. Consult with your health care provider if fever persists and/or symptoms worsen.
•     Encourage your child to wash their hands frequently.  Persons coming into contact with the child should also wash their hands.

If you have any further questions, please contact the health room.

HC DrugFree Updates for Parents/Guardians:

Free Parenting Classes for Parents/Guardians of 9-14 Year Olds: HC DrugFree and the Howard County State's Attorney's Office,   partnering with the Howard County Public School System and the Howard County Health Department, will once again provide the evidence-based series Guiding Good Choices for parents to gain skills and knowledge to reduce the risk that their children will use drugs. This 4-week series will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, October 22, 29 and November 5, 12 at Wilde Lake Middle School in Columbia. Parents are expected to attend all 4 sessions. To register, go to  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GGCOct2019 or see attached flier. Free workbook included. If you have questions, email Joan Webb Scornaienchi, HC DrugFree’s Executive Director at Admin@hcdrugfree.org or call 443-325-0040.

Drive-thru EpiPen, Medication and More Collection: Howard County's next convenient drive-thru collection for over-the-counter and prescription medication and “sharps” (needles, syringes and EpiPens) will be held on Saturday, October 26 between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in the Wilde Lake Village Center parking lot near the Swim Center and The UPS Store. HC DrugFree and the Howard County Police urge you to clean out your medicine cabinets. Teams, clubs, students, PTAs/PTSAs, families, scouts, etc. are welcome to volunteer at the event and receive community service hours. Please visit HC DrugFree’s website at  www.hcdrugfree.org and go to the Events/Drug Take Back Day page for more information about medication disposal, or let us know you plan to volunteer by emailing  Admin@hcdrugfree.org or calling 443-325-0040.

Community Service Hours: All students (elementary through college) may receive community service hours for volunteering during any HC DrugFree event.  For information, please email Admin@hcdrugfree.org or call 443-325-0040.

Information and Application for Free and Reduced Meals

Most parents know that the Free and Reduced-Price Meals program offers meal benefits, but did you know there are many other benefits for qualified families? Here is a partial list:

• · Reduced health insurance for your child through the Maryland Children’s  Health Program
• · Reduced fee for the Columbia Association
• · Reduced fees for Howard County Rec and Park programs
• · Reduced fees for YMCA before and after care, and summer camps
• · Comcast Internet Essentials for $9.95/month plus tax
• · Child care subsidies
• · Housing assistance
• · Energy assistance
• · Waivers that allow your child to take the SAT for free
• · Waivers that allow your child to take the ACT test for free
• · Reduced registration fees for AP exams

For more information, go to www.hcpss.org/farms/.

To apply for Free and Reduced-Price Meal benefits, go to www.MySchoolApps.com. If you would like a paper copy of the application, please send an email to Lisa_Goodwin@hcpss.org.

National School Lunch Week is October 14th-18th and the theme is “What’s on your Playlist?” Food and Nutrition Services will have an art competition and details are attached in the flier.

MAP Assessment Window Begins Soon!

The MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessment window for Grades 1-5 opens on October 1st. The window runs from October 1st - 29th.   

This assessment is designed to measure student growth in math and reading, both during the school year and across multiple school years.
Each student will complete one day of reading testing and one day of math testing during the month of October.  The assessment allows teachers to see instructional strengths and needs for each student.

The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments are computer adaptive achievement assessments in Mathematics and Reading. As a student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down the difficulty of the questions presented to the student.  MAP assessment items are designed to align to objectives in the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards, which are now being taught throughout the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS).

At the conclusion of the assessment, each student receives a score that aligns to where he or she is instructionally based on this assessment.  MAP in conjunction with other measures throughout the school year help teachers differentiate instruction within their classrooms.

To learn more about this assessment, please visit the HCPSS website.

GUILFORD ELEMENTARY's PLAY 60 CAMPAIGN
     The Baltimore Ravens have invited all Howard County Elementary and Middle Schools to join in their Play 60 Challenge.  All students in Kindergarten through 5th grade have received their purple activity logs and should fill them out daily from September 23rd - October 6th.  PLEASE return them to school on October 7th so we can tally our totals.  The school with the highest number of activity minutes will receive a visit from the Baltimore Ravens.  Even if you are not a Ravens fan, this is a healthy and exciting challenge for our school and the Guilford community.  Let's GO GUILFORD!!!  If you need a replacement form, please email carol_wolter@hcpss.org or students can stop by the gym to pick one up.  Thank you for your support!

BRIDGES REGISTRATION
    Guilford Elementary School's before and after school Bridges program for 3rd - 5th grade students will begin on October 14th.
This program is provided by a grant from the Maryland Department of Education.  Registration forms went out Monday, September 23rd to all students based on teacher recommendations from each grade.  Please return these forms ASAP.  If you have any questions, please contact the Guilford Bridges site coordinator: Carol Wolter at carol_wolter@hcpss.org or (410) 880-5930.  Thank you!!!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!!
     Guilford Elementary School will hold its annual Turkey Trot and Fall Festival on Thursday, October 31st, (rain date: November 4th.)
We are need of at least 25 volunteers every hour from 9:30 - 3:00 p.m. If you can volunteer please fill out the volunteer form that goes home this week or sign up at Sign Up Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4da9ad28abfb6-turkey
Questions: Please contact our PTA volunteer coordinator, Ray Somerville at rainman066@gmail.com.  Thank you for your support!!!

October 29, 2019 - Flu Clinic

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a serious illness that affects people of all ages. Last year was a bad flu season and many people got very sick. One of the best ways to prevent the flu is through vaccinations. Once again, we will work with the Maryland Partnership for Prevention (MPP), the state’s immunization coalition, to offer flu vaccinations here at GES. They will be at our school on Tuesday, October 29th and consent forms will be sent home with each student. Please consider allowing your child to receive the flu vaccine. If you have any questions about it, please contact Shanita Brooks, our Health Assistant, or Carolyn Kotz, our School Nurse

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in sponsorship with the Howard County Education Association and the Restorative Justice Partnership, will be hosting a community conversation on restorative justice. The event will take place October 7 from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm in Rouse Theater. Refreshments will be served from 6-6:30 pm. Please see attached flyer for details.

Columbia Association Points Program

Greetings Parents,

If your child is participating in the Columbia Association Point's Program, you must fill out the paperwork and return it to your child's homeroom teacher by 9/27. There will be a Parent Information Meeting on Thursday, October 3rd at 6:00 p.m. at the school. We look forward to sharing more about this opportunity. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Mrs. Maiden.

No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in out Town  

Know someone that needs a bed? We are a charity that uses donations and voluteers to build and deliver complete beds to kids ages 3 to 17 tht don't have their own.
Visit Us:
facebook.com/shphowardcounty
shpbeds.org/request-beds
E-mail: md-howardco@shpbeds.org,    Donate: Bit.ly/shphocodonate

Hammond High School's Little Bear Nursery Lab School currently has openings for 3 and 4 year olds.  We meet Thursday and Friday mornings  from 9:30-11:45.  Email Paula Lancaster @ Paula_Lancaster@hcpss.org for more information. First day is October 25th.

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

If you haven't joined PTA yet, it's not too late!  You can download the form from our website at http://www.guilfordpta.com/whatwedo/membership/  and even pay for your membership online!  Our next PTA meeting is October 15th from 6:30-8:00pm, childcare is provided.

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.