April, 2014 - Loudoun County Public Schools

April, 2014 - Loudoun County Public Schools

Volume 3, Issue 8
Phone:
571-434-3250
Fax:
703-444-8055
Absentee: 571-434-3251
Absentee email: [email protected]
COUGAR COURIER
20624 Countryside Boulevard
Sterling, VA 20165
Richard Rudnick, Principal
V O L U M E
Jennifer Zecher, Assistant Principal
1 ,
I S S U E
8
6:00 p.m. Taste
of Our World
7:15 a.m.
Cougar
Council
Meeting
9
Report Cards
Sent Home
9
6:30 p.m. PTA
Meeting
10 5th grade
Panaramic
Photo
10 7:00 p.m. 2nd
grade musical
14 NO SCHOOL
SPRING
BREAK
WEEK
21 School
Resumes
24 7:00 a.m.
Munchkins
with Mom
(A—L)
25 7:00 a.m.
Munchkins
with Mom
(M—Z)
29 9:00 a.m.
DARE
graduation 5th
grade
S E P T E M B E R ,
2 0 1 1
April, 2014
APRIL
2
1
Spring has arrived, but the weather outside sure does not represent it.
We are hopeful that it will warm up soon.
Our second grade students will be presenting the musical, Hats, on
April 10th at 7:00 p.m. We hope that you will be able to join us for the
musical.
The playground addition has been approved. A picture of the new
playground is on the PTA page of this newsletter. Also, we will have our
third annual Walk-A-Thon on Friday, April 4th. This year, the Walk-A-Thon
money will be dedicated to purchasing technology. There are more details
located on the PTA page and the flyer that has gone home.
In the month of May, we will begin the student placement process for
next year’s classes. We invite you, the parents, to share information about
your child or family that we do not have access to at school that you believe
would impact your child’s educational placement. If you choose this option,
please send me a letter, on or before Friday, May 9. Your letter should not
request a specific teacher. It is impossible to grant those requests, and I
know that it can be disappointing when your child does not get placed in the
classroom of the teacher requested. Please do not approach your child’s
current teacher to ask who he/she thinks would be the best teacher for your
child. That could potentially be an uncomfortable situation for both the
parent and/or teacher. Please be assured that a great deal of thought and
consideration goes into placing children into classes at Countryside, and we
do our best to make the correct placement choices.
Finally, we wish everyone a safe and relaxing Spring Break. There is
no school for the students and staff the week of April 14th -18th. We hope
that you are able to spend some time with family and friends. We will be in
the home stretch when we return.
With Cougar Pride,
Richard Rudnick
Richard Rudnick, Principal
If due to a disability, you need assistance to enable you to
participate meaningfully in any of our school programs, please
contact Richard Rudnick, principal at 571-434-3250 at least
five working days prior to the activity
Come celebrate the many cultures
and customs that make up our
Countryside Elementary community!
Join us for Taste of Our World
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
All children must be accompanied by an adult for this wonderful evening!
Bring a prepared dish that represents your country/culture to share. Enjoy getting a taste from other
countries around the world!
———————————————————————————————————–————————Taste of Our World Ingredients for Prepared Dish
(This comes in on the night of the event. )
Due to numerous allergies, we request that you write all the ingredients you have in your prepared dish.
Please label your serving items and dishes with your name and your child’s teacher’s name to help identify
them.
Please attach this portion of the form to your dish and bring it in with your prepared dish the day of the
event.
Name of dish: ____________________
Country it represents: ___________
List all ingredients:
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
¡Venga a celebrar las múltiples culturas
que comprenden nuestra comunidad en
Countryside Elementary!
Celebre con nosotros “El Sabor de Nuestro Mundo”
Miércoles 2 de abril, 2014
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
¡Todos los niños tienen que estar acompañados de un adulto durante la divertida noche!
Traiga un plato típico de su país/cultura para compartir. ¡Saboree alimentos deliciosos de otros países alrededor del mundo!
———————————————————————————————————---——————–—
Ingredientes en su plato para “El Sabor de Nuestro Mundo”
(Esto es enviado la noche de la actividad.)
Debido a las numerosas alergias que existen, le pedimos que por favor escriba todos los ingredientes que
consisten en su plato típico.
Por favor escriba su nombre, el de la maestro(o) de su hijo en los utensilios y recipientes que traiga
para poder identificarlos al final del evento.
Por favor adjunte esta parte de esta hoja a su plato típico y traiga con su plato típico el día del evento.
El nombre del plato: ____________________
El país que representa: ___________
Enumere todos los ingredientes en el plato:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Cougar Bookmarks
The Library Newsletter
April 2014
The Scholastic Book Fair Is Here!
Monday, April 7th– 8 AM-2 PM
Tuesday, April 8th– 8 AM-2 PM
Wednesday, April 9th– 8 AM-2 PM
Thursday, April 10th– 8 AM-2 PM AND
Thursday, April 10th- 5-7 PM (before the 2nd grade musical!)
Friday, April 11th– 8 AM-12:15 PM
It’s Only One Week!
Please note that this spring, Monday and Tuesday are browsing days and students are assigned a time to
shop on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. So please pay special attention to your child’s wish-list when it
comes home on Monday or Tuesday so they do not miss the opportunity to shop!
Volunteers Needed!
Please email [email protected] to sign up and get 10% off!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you send money with
your child to purchase books during the school day,
please attach a note letting us know how much your
child is allowed to spend. Please do not make a check
for a set amount as we cannot give change from
checks. We will fill in the exact amount and send
home a receipt. Make checks payable to Countryside
Elementary.
There are no RETURNS!
Shop Online!
You can also shop online April 2nd - 22nd. There are
thousands of books to choose from and free shipping to the school, which ship after April 22nd.)
Shop at:
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/
countrysidecougars
On-line purchases are only available until April 11, 2014. Orders placed after April 12, 2014 must be
cash or check ($20.00) made payable to Lifetouch and should be sent in with your child.
SOL TESTING SCHEDULE
MAY/JUNE 2014
Grade
Date
Test
rd
3 Grade (all)
Monday, May 12
Science
th
5 Grade (Davis and Heare)
Tuesday, May 13
Science
th
5 Grade (Kaciban and Lee)
Wednesday, May 14
Science
4th Grade (Balla, Mosley, Huey)
Thursday, May 15
VA Studies
4 Grade (Hermens and Black)
Friday, May 16
VA Studies
3rd Grade (Peak, Musick, Edgar)
Monday, May 19
Social Studies
rd
Tuesday, May 20
Social Studies
4 Grade (Hermens and Black)
Wednesday, May 21
Reading
4th Grade (Balla, Mosley, Huey)
Thursday, May 22
Reading
5 Grade (Kaciban and Lee)
Friday, May 23
Reading
5th Grade (Davis and Heare)
Tuesday, May 27
Reading
3 Grade (Peak, Musick, Edgar)
Wednesday, May 28
Reading
3rd Grade (Strehle and Washington
Thursday, May 29
Reading
3rd Grade (Peak, Musick, Edgar)
Friday, May 30
Math
rd
3 Grade (Strehle and Washington)
Monday, June 2
Math
4th Grade (Balla, Mosley, Huey)
Tuesday, June 3
Math
4 Grade (Hermens and Black)
Wednesday, June 4
Math
5th Grade (Davis and Heare)
Thursday, June 5
Math
Friday, June 6
Math
th
3 Grade (Strehle and Washington)
th
th
rd
th
th
5 Grade (Kaciban and Lee)
The view from the art room:
I have photographed over 1,000 artworks for our school’s digital art gallery on Artsonia. Please take a look at the amazing artwork
(http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?school=141591&sdt=7/1/2013&edt=7/1/2014)!If you haven’t turned in your
permission slip it’s never too late (I have extra in the art room.) Students can earn a cougar paw for filling out an artist statement.
March is Youth Art Month. To celebrate I provided a template for the kids to show how art is important in their
lives. They could draw or write inside the space. We have chosen the yearbook contest winners: 1st place is
Joann George (5th gr), 2nd place Shikriti Ghosh (5th gr), the three honorable mentions will also be featured in
the yearbook, Brianna Daly 4th gr Eliana Safarian 2nd gr, and Madison Pugh 1st gr. Congratulations to the
winners and thank you to those of you that participated.
Fifth grade is completing a scratchboard drawing of an endangered species using texture and value. Fourth grade
has just started a unit on perspective. They will be making a three dimensional drawing of their ideal bedroom
and shading it. Third grade is finishing a drawing lesson inspired by the rainforest showing layers of space. In honor of Women’s
History Month second grade is learning about the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe and making abstract enlarged flower drawings.
They will be mixing and blending colors and using sgraffito technique to add details. First grade is also learning about two women
artists. First they learned about Mary Cassatt and her impressionist style. They made a charcoal drawing of a furry dog and blended.
Next they will learn about non-objective art of Sonia Delaunay and will create a composition to paint using the elements of art.
Check out the Loudoun County Art page on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/LCPS-ArtDepartment/414820798627760?ref=stream. Also I am in need of some old shirts to use as paint smocks if you have any please bring
them in! Thanks Ms. DeBaere
Top Free Comprehension Apps
The ultimate goal of reading is good comprehension. Listed below are apps that provide
practice with specific comprehension skills.
Aesop's Quest
Free Aesop’s Quest, based on Aesop’s Fables, is a learning game where
the student must remember elements of a story to complete a level.
At the end of each story segment/level, the student is rewarded with
puzzle pieces. After solving the puzzle the story is complete, and
the child can continue to the next story. Developed in association
with the Virginia Department of Education. (Compatible with
iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad)
Opposite Ocean
Free In Opposite Ocean, Luna and Leo must master the magic of words
by correctly identifying the antonym that is the opposite of the
given keyword. Children earn pearls when they drag the correct
bubble word to the enchanted clam. Developed in association with
the Virginia Department of Education. (Compatible with iPhone,
iPod touch, and iPad)
Professor
Garfield
Fact or Opinion
Free Professor Garfield Fact or Opinion is part story, part game, and part
online safety lesson. When Garfield’s friend receives an “F” on his
report about goats for using opinions instead of facts, Professor
Garfield steps in to explain the differences between a fact and an
opinion (particularly with regard to the Internet), how to read with
a questioning mind, and how a fact can be verified. Developed by the
Virginia Department of Education. (Compatible with iPad)
Same Meaning
Magic
Free In Same Meaning Magic students help Luna and Leo, young
magicians at magic school, toss word stones into the wishing well
to earn gold coins and jewels by choosing the best synonym.
Developed in association with the Virginia Department of
Education. (Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad)
Same
Sound
Spellbound
Free Same Sound Spellbound is an adventure designed to help the player
understand homophones. Luna and Leo, young magicians at Magic
School, must use their spell book to bring animal statues to life. In
the game, students must correctly identify the homophone which
best completes the puzzle sentence, in a given time. If the word is
correct, the animal statue comes to life. If it’s incorrect, the statue
crumbles. Developed in association with the Virginia Department
of Education. (Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad)
Adapted from Reading Rockets (www.ReadingRockets.org)
Cougar Council News
Cougar Council is sponsoring a
Backpack Buddies’ school program food
drive. This food drive helps kids by giving
them food to take home each weekend.
The Backpack Buddies program began on
March 18th and it will end on April 7th.
Please put your donations in the large
cardboard box
labeled "Backpack Buddies" in the front hallway of Countryside.
Examples of individual serving size items that you can donate
include: oatmeal pouches, canned tuna/chicken/ham, granola
bars, easy mac and cheese, juice boxes, and canned goods. All
food donations must be shelf stable.
Please remember we are still collecting the soda can tabs for
the Ronald McDonald House
charities. Please go the extra step to collect these extremely
common tabs.
Thank You!
Written by: Alex Bates, Cougar Council Secretary
Counselor’s Corner
Kelso’s Choice
Here at Countryside all grade levels learn about conflict resolution and how to apply KELSO’S
WHEEL to various situations to solve problems. We teach them about the differences between BIG and small problems. Big problems require adult help and small problems are problems
a student should try and resolve on their own. We teach the students that there is conflict
and resolution at school, in their communities and in their homes. By teaching the students
how to identify a BIG and/or small problem, they then are able to use Kelso’s wheel to help
them through the problem they are experiencing. It is very important to teach the students
these coping skills so they can successfully transition from depending on an adult to solve their
problems, to taking care of these problems themselves. At Countryside, like at home, we want
to instill a can-do attitude in our students so that they'll bravely take on new challenges and,
over time, believe in themselves. While each child is a little different, parents can follow some
general guidelines to build their kids confidence using Kelso’s wheel of Choices. Selfconfidence rises out of the ability to do something successfully. The students will develop confidence because of their achievements, BIG and small ☺
Now it is time to introduce you to Kelso…..who is actually a frog!!
Examples of "small" problems would be when a friend doesn't want to play with you, someone
will not share with you, someone is making noises while you are trying to work, butting in line,
gossiping and not playing fairly. Examples of BIG problems would be physical aggression, stealing and threats.
When a student comes to an adult to solve their "small problem," the adult suggests they try
two of Kelso's Choices first. If that doesn't work, then the adult intervenes. Students are
always asked to talk to an adult for help in the event of a "BIG" problem.
Check out the wheel! We encourage you to use it at home.
Playground Expansion Approved!
We are thrilled to announce that the playground expansion has been approved by LCPS! The parts
have been ordered and it should be built and ready for FUN sometime in May. Thank you all for your
patience as we have worked through this lengthy process.
Expansión Playground Aprobado!
Estamos muy contentos de anunciar que la
expansión de juegos ha sido aprobado por
LCPS! Las partes se han pedido y debe ser
construido y listo para la diversión en algún
momento en mayo. Gracias a todos por su paciencia mientras trabajamos a través de este
largo proceso.
PTA Meeting
Wednesday, April 9th at 6:30 PM
Our meeting will begin with a special presentation by Ms.
Zecher on how to help your child(ren) prepare for the upcoming standardized tests. Also, find out how much we earn from
the Walk-A-Thon and have a say on how the money is spent.
Learn about activities that are scheduled through the end of
the school year.
Reunión del PTA
Miércoles, 09 de abril a las 6:30 PM
Nuestra reunión se iniciará con una presentación especial de la Sra. Zecher sobre cómo ayudar a su hijo (a) a prepararse para las próximas pruebas estandarizadas. También, averigüe cuánto ganamos desde el Walk-A-Thon e informarnos sobre cómo se
gasta el dinero. Aprenda acerca de las actividades que se programan a través del final del año escolar.
Chuck E. Cheese’s Spirit Event
Monday, April 14th ALL DAY
Support the PTA and have lots of fun all at the same time!!
Come to Chuck E. Cheese’s to play some games and eat
some pizza on the first Monday of Spring Break and the
school will get a percentage of your sale. No flyer is
needed.
Espíritu Escolar en Chuck E. Cheese
Lunes, 14 de abril TODO EL DÍA
Apoye el PTA y diviértase, todo al mismo tiempo! Venga a
Chuck E. Cheese para jugar juegos y comer pizza el primer lunes de las vacaciones de primavera y la escuela recibirá un porcentaje de sus ventas. No se necesita ningún volante.