Note from Mr. FitzGerald

Greetings Guilford! Three signs that autumn has officially arrived: cooler temperatures, leaves have started to fall, and the Turkey Trot is almost here! In my short time at Guilford, I have heard so much about the Turkey Trot. Getting to see it in action next Thursday, October 31st is going to be exciting! Much thanks to Ray Somerville for coordinating the extraordinary experience. We also have some exciting to news about the Play 60 Challenge.  Thanks to the efforts of our PE teachers Carol Walter and Gregory Hines, as well as our Guilford students and staff (who logged over 350,000 activity minutes in two weeks), we have been selected as the Baltimore Ravens Play 60 Challenge recipients! On November 4th, our students and staff will be visited by Ravens players, Poe the Ravens mascot, and Ravens cheerleaders to celebrate our commitment to exercise.  Due to space constraints, this event is ONLY for students and staff. Boys Night Out is fast approaching. It will take place on November 14th for our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade boys. HUGE THANKS to everyone who came out to make our Girls Night Out such a success! The next Paw Prints will be sent out on Wednesday, November 6th. If you need anything between now and then, do not hesitate to contact me.

Justin FitzGerald
Proud Guilford Principal

 

                                        Dates To Remember for 2019

October
10/29 - Flu Clinic
10/29 - Safety Patrol Induction Ceremony
10/31 - Fall Fest & Turkey Trot -- Spirit Day - Wear Orange

November
11/1 – School Close 3 Hours Early – No Half Day Pre-K
11/4 – Ravens Play 60 Challenge Celebration
11/8 – Spirit Day – College Day
11/11 – Report Cards Coming Home
1211 – PTA Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
11/13 – String-a-Palooza Field Trip at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
11/14 – Boy’s Night Out at 6:30 p.m.
11/15 – Coffee & Coversations w/Admin. at 9:30 a.m.
11/18 – Fall Pictures Retake Day
11/21 – Spirit Day: Dress-Up Day
11/22 – 1st Grade Field Trip to Toby’s
11/25 & 11/26 – Schools Close 3 Hours Early for Conferences
11/27 – School Closed for Conferences
11/28 & 11/29 – School/Offices Closed

 

GES NEWS

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.

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.

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.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!!

 Volunteers still needed for Turkey Trot and Fall Festival

     Thank you to everyone who already signed up to help with this year's Turkey Trot and Fall Fest on Thursday, October 31st!!!  (Please note our new rain date: November 11th).  We are still in great need of volunteers for the openings below.   If you can help out, please contact Mrs. Wolter at carol_wolter@hcpss.org or our volunteer coordinator Ray Somerville at rainman066@gmail.com.  No need to sign up if you already volunteered.  Thank you for your support!!!

9:30 - 10:15 - 2nd Grade Turkey Trot - 5 Volunteers still needed

9:30 - 10:25 - 5th Grade Fall Fest - 10 Volunteers Needed!!!

10:15 - 11:00 - Kindergarten Turkey Trot - 3 Volunteers needed

10:25 - 11:20 - 4th Grade Fall Fest - 5 Volunteers needed

11:00 - 11:45 - 1st Grade Turkey Trot - 8 Volunteers needed!!!

11:20 - 12:15 - 3rd Grade Fall Fest - 1 volunteer needed

11:45 - 12:30 - 5th Grade Turkey Trot  - 11 volunteers needed!!!

12:15 - 1:10 - 2nd Grade Fall Fest - 1 volunteer needed

12:30 - 1:15 - 4th Grade Turkey Trot - 5 volunteers needed

2:00 - 2:45 - 3rd Grade Turkey Trot - 6 volunteers needed

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.

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.

Save The Date

These are the dates, times and locations for Howard County families to get free coats, gloves, hats and scarves:

DISTRIBUTION #1 WILL BE OCTOBER 26, 2019 AT THE NORTH LAUREL COMMUNITY CENTER, 9411 WHISKEY BOTTOM ROAD, LAUREL MD 20723. 9:00-11:00 AM.

DISTRIBUTION #2 WILL BE NOVEMBER 16, 2019 AT WILDE LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL. 10:00 AM-2:00 PM

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

We’d like to thank everyone who purchased Mums and participated in the community yard sale.  Both were great successes!  Spirit Wear is due TOMORROW (10/23), if you'd like to order online you can do so through the PTA website store.

The Turkey Trot and Fall Fest are a little over a week away and we are super excited for the students.  We are still looking for help on the day of to run events (sign up here).  If you can’t volunteer your time and would still like to help we are in need of turkeys to give out.  Please send the PTA an email if you are interested (guilfordpta@gmail.com).

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 November 12th 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.