GES Paw Prints - 9.25.19

Wed, 09/25/2019 - 10:24am
GES Paw Prints - 9/25/19

 

                                

Note from Mr. FitzGerald

Greetings once again Guilford! We just completed our third full week of school and things are in full motion! Staff have been hard at work planning, preparing, collaborating, and instructing our extraordinary students. As I walk the halls during the day, students are always quick to give me a fist bump and let me know that they are giving their best effort.  When I visit classrooms, I witness that impressive effort and know that great things are and will continue to happen at Guilford.  In the coming weeks, we have some very exciting events that I can't wait to be a part of. We have our first Cross Age Buddies Day coming soon, in which our older students will be working with our younger students. Please make note that we have two days off coming up (September 30th and October 9th).  I'll hope to see everyone at Guilford on Saturday, October 5th for the Guilford PTA Yard Sale.  Also, do not forget that Bridges Parent Information Night will take place on October 10th at 6:30pm.  The next Paw Prints will be sent out on Tuesday, October 8th.  If you need anything between now and then, do not hesitate to contact me.

GOOOOO TIGERS!!!!

Justin FitzGerald
Proud Guilford Principal

 

                                        Dates To Remember for 2019

September 2019
9/26 - Hearing and Vision Screening
9/30 - Schools and Offices Closed

October 2019
10/4  - Spirit Day - Diversity Day
10/5  - PTA Yard Sale and Mums Delivery
10/7  - Fall School Picture Day
10/7  - PTA Restaurant Night at Coal Fire Pizza
10/8  - Interim Progress Reports
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.
10/18 - Schools Closed for Students
10/24 - Girl’s Night Out at 6:30 p.m.
10/29 - Flu Clinic
10/31 - Fall Fest & Turkey Trot -- Spirit Day - Wear Orange

 

News

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.

Revised Parent Communication for Progress Reports and Report Cards

The following parent communication documents have been revised to align with the new 2019-2020 quarterly interim progress reports and report cards:

Understanding Your Child’s Elementary School Interim Progress Report.
Understanding Your Child’s Elementary School Report Card

Each document will be translated into Spanish, Korean, and Chinese and uploaded to the linked website by October 4, 2019. Please share this information with staff and parents.

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!!!

September 26, 2019 - Hearing/Vision Screening

Hearing/Vision testing will be held at GES on Thursday, Sept. 26 with 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.

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's 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

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!

Rec and Park Program Offering at Guilford

Here are the offerings available at GES through HoCo Rec & Parks.  Ways to register:
Online:
Online registration opens one day before other methods each season: https://apm.activecommunities.com/howardcounty (an online account is required and may take up to 48 hours to approve).
Phone:
Phone registration is available from 8 AM-4:30 PM, Monday-Friday: 410-313-7275 (voice/relay)
Fax: 410-313-4658
Mail-in:
Howard County Recreation & Parks
7120 Oakland Mills Road
Columbia, MD 21046

Walk-in:
Howard County Recreation & Parks Headquarters
7120 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia (8 AM-4:30 PM, Monday-Friday)

Abrakadoodle After School - America the Beautiful                                                  September 25-November 6, 2019
Wed 4:05pm-5:05pm
Age: At least 5 but less than 13
Price $99.00

After-School Soccer - Session 1
September 17-October 22, 2019
Tues 4-5pm
Age: At least 8 but less than 11
Price: $55.00

Learn Now Music After School - Groovy Guitar
September 26-October 31, 2019
Thur 4-5pm
Age: Grades K-5
Price: $139.00
 
Learn Now Music After School - Poppin Piano
September 26-October 31, 2019
Thur 4-5pm
Age: Grades K-5
Price: $139.00
 
Mighty Kickers Soccer
September 14-October 19, 2019
Sat 9:30-10:15am
Age: At least 3 but less than 5
Price: $75.00

Might LAXers Lacrosse
September 14-October 19, 2019
Sat 10:30-11:15am
Age: At least 3 but less than 5
Price: $75

TGA Premier Youth Tennis (Before School)
September 27-November 22, 2019
Fri 8:10-9:10am
Age: At least 6 but less than 12
Price: $128.00
--
Guilford Elementary School PTA
www.GuilfordPTA.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/guilfordpta/

PTA News 

Our health room is seeking several volunteers to help escort our younger students to and from their vision and hearing screening on Thursday, September 26th.  If you can spare a couple hours in the morning or afternoon, please consider signing up at https://signup.com/go/OGNcVxy to help this process run smoothly.

Our community PTA yard sale is coming up next Saturday, October 5th from 9-1pm.  Spaces are still available!  See our flyer for more information or reach out to guilfordpta@gmail.com with questions.  

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.