Bush Hill Elementary
Panther Press
Volume 16, Issue 8
April 14, 2015
Principal’s Message
Greetings Bush Hill families,
Spring is finally here! Many trees and flowers are in bloom, our students are happy to go outside for recess, more
students are on their bikes and playing outside after school, and organized sports have started! The teachers continue
to offer critical and creative thinking activities in their classes each day. When I walk through the building, it is so
exciting to see students actively engaged in their learning.
Our Kiss and Ride Lane continues to offer us safety challenges. Just a reminder that there is no passing in the lane
and we ask you not to use your cell phones. At arrival or dismissal, it is a wonderful opportunity for you to talk with
your child rather than talking to someone else. Moments with parents giving children their full attention mean
everything!
Many of our parents continue to bring their children late to school. School begins promptly at 9:00 AM. Students
are coming into the classrooms at 8:50 so they can unpack and settle into their classrooms. If a student arrives at
9:00 or after, they are interrupting the rest of the students and not having that time to greet their classmates and get
organized for the day. Parents, let’s make that extra effort to be on time for the rest of the school year.
Thank you to all of the parents who helped Mrs. Freer with our very successful Book Fair in March. Thank you to
Ms. Manganiello, (5th grade teacher) for planning and coordinating our Science Fair.
The labels for the Race for Education are coming in nicely. If you have not sent in the names, you still have time.
We are privileged to host the Edison Pyramid Art Show on Thursday, April 23rd from 5:30-6:30 PM. Our art teacher,
Ms. Swoboda, has been working hard to make this a lovely event featuring our artists in the elementary schools,
Twain Middle, and Edison High School.
We look forward to seeing you on Friday, April 24th, for the Spring Auction/Bingo Night. Remember to donate an
item for your student’s theme baskets to be auctioned. Monetary donations are welcomed too.
This week is Inclusion Week at Bush Hill. Be sure to ask your children about the video they saw on our morning
news today. We will host students from Falls Church High School tomorrow. They will visit with our students and
answer questions about being physically challenged and what it is like being in High School. We appreciate the
wonderful differences in all of our students. This is a great time for us to be thankful for each and every one of our
students.
KIINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION is Thursday, April 16, at 2:30 PM. If you have a child ready for kindergarten
or know of any neighbors or friends that have kindergarten age children, please invite them to attend. We always
look forward to this fun event with our newest little Panthers.
Thursday, April 16, students will be dismissed 2 hours early at 1:40 pm. There will be no school on
Friday, April 17.
Counselor’s Corner
Welcome Spring! I hope you all enjoyed a restful and restorative Spring Break with your
families.
The month of April brings many new and exciting events and opportunities for our Bush Hill students and
families, and I wanted to share just a few of those with you below.
5th and 6th grade students in our Recycling Club will be collecting used sneakers and shoes as part of the Nike
“Reuse-a-Shoe” program throughout the month of April. All donated footwear will be taken to a Reuse-aShoe collection center, in Woodbridge, and then returned to Nike who will grind up the old sneakers and then
use the materials to make playground equipment. Our students have made posters and will appear on the
morning news program throughout the month to advertise the drive.
Additionally, students and staff throughout all of the schools in the Edison High School pyramid will celebrate “Love Your Earth Week” April 20-24, 2015 by hosting educational programs and wearing various colored clothing to recognize a variety of ways that we can show our love for our planet.
The schedule of themes and suggested clothing colors per day are noted at the bottom of this article.
Fairfax County’s annual Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration, SpringFest Fairfax, will take place on Saturday,
April 25, 2015 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Workhouse Arts Center, 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton,
VA 22079. Admission is free as is parking. The event will include food trucks, rock climbing walls, pony
rides, games, a petting zoo and more!
On the counseling front, the themes for April classroom lessons for students in Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
grade will focus on “Impulse Control and Problem Solving” with developmentally appropriate lessons for
each grade level being taught using the Second Step© curriculum. April’s classroom lessons for students in
grades 4-6 will continue to focus on “Organization and Study Skills” following the STEP-UP© curriculum.
Parental letters describing the content and focus of all of these units will be sent home with students in their
Tuesday Folders, as the lessons are taught.
Small group sessions focusing on changing families and friendship skills will be continuing throughout the
months of April and May, 2015.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns as we enter this final quarter of the
school year.
Maureen Manzo
School Counselor
Bush Hill Elementary School
(703) 924-5619 (Direct)
(703) 924-5600 (Main Office)
[email protected]
“Love the Earth Week” Daily
Themes
Monday- Don’t Be a Water Waster Monday
Dress Suggestion: Dress in Blue
Activity: Students will be challenged to use reusable water bottle all week instead of throw-away bottles.
Tuesday- Focus on your Trash Tuesday
Dress Suggestion: Dress using Recycled Material (including “Hand-Me Downs” or clothing borrowed from a
friend or another family member).
Activity: Students will learn about and be able to explain “Why Should I Recycle?
Wednesday- Celebrate Earth Day
Dress Suggestion: Dress in Green.
Activity: Students will write their own Earth Day Resolutions; and the Pyramid
video will be shown.
Thursday- Turn the Lights Out Thursday
Dress Suggestion: Dress in Black to remind yourself to turn off the lights
Activity: Students will learn about electricity conservation and about Carbon Footprints.
Friday- Beautify your School Friday
Dress Suggestion: Dress Floral/Tropical Gear
Activity: Students will learn about and participate in beautification of their school and home spaces.
SAVE THE DATE for the next SCA Spirit Day:
April 16 is Super Hero Day
Dress up as your favorite super hero or be creative and come up with one
of your own.
PE News, Leigh Avery and Meaghn Mulcahy
ENERGY ZONE KIDS FITNESS CHALLENGE
Research shows children copy the behavior of adults in their life. If parents are
physically active, the children will be active, too. Exercise burns calories, which
assists in maintaining ideal weight. Fit adults and children exercise 60 minutes per
day.
KEEP MOVING TO STAY IN SHAPE TIPS
- Plan daily family walks.
- Limit television or computer time to 1 to 2 hours per day.
- Make exercise fun.
- Encourage play outside with other children.
- Assign chores that involve activity such as cleaning or walking the dog.
- Help your children find physical activities they enjoy.
Remember, making a healthy change takes time and don’t expect perfection.
News from the Music Department
Ms. Elizabeth Linsley, Music Teacher, Gregory Nakamura, Band Teacher,
And Alicia McMahan, String Teacher
Band, Strings and Chorus are hard at work preparing for our Spring Concert, Thursday, May 7, 2015, at 7
P.M. in the gym. We hope to see you there! We will also perform a concert for our fellow students at 2
P.M. that afternoon. We are looking forward to showing everything that we have learned this year.
Select Band students participated in Area Band at Edison High School on Thursday, February 19th. The
bands at Twain and Edison also performed, so students got to see what band is like at the upper levels.
Chorus also participated in the Edison Pyramid Concert on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at Edison High School.
It was fun getting to hear all of the other schools in our pyramid and being a part of this special annual
event. Additionally, we have six students participating in the Sixth Grade All-County Chorus Festival on
Friday, April 24th and Saturday, April 25th. Sixth graders from all over the county come together at Mt.
Vernon High School to form a huge chorus of almost 1000 students. This free concert is always very
memorable. The concert is Saturday, April 25th at 3 P.M. at Mt. Vernon.
In general music, our students have been learning a variety of songs and dances from all over the world.
Kindergarten, first and second grade students have been following John Feierabend’s First Steps in Music
curriculum. This program teaches our youngest students to become “tuneful, artful, and beatful” musicians.
Students really enjoy the songs, dances, and games. Third graders have begun playing recorder and have
just started Unit 2 of their recorder booklets. They are working hard and becoming great musicians. Fourth
and fifth grade students have been playing recorder, learning a variety of folk dances, rounds, and songs,
and have been learning to move expressively to music. We have also brushed up on our note-reading abilities. Sixth grade students just completed the county-wide Sixth Grade Music Assessment. They were given
a poem and were asked to create an advertising jingle. The students worked very hard and created some
catchy melodies!
Bush Hill Elementary School
Thursday, April 23, 2015 from 5:30-6:30pm
Edison Pyramid
Art Show
5927 Westchester St. Alexandria, VA 22310
Bush Hill Elementary
Franconia Elementary
Twain Middle School
Cameron Elementary
Mount Eagle Elementary
Edison High School
Clermont Elementary
Rose Hill Elementary
Twain MS Odyssey of the Mind Team goes to VA State Competition
A group of 7th graders from Mark Twain MS, including former Bush Hill student, Alina Hollister, won first
place in their division at the Region 12 Odyssey of the Mind Tournament on March 21st, 2015.
Odyssey of the Mind is a program designed to teach students to learn creative problem-solving methods
while having fun in the process. The team began working in November and their dedication paid off.
The regional win over 9 competitors sends this team to the VA State Odyssey of the Mind competition April
18, 2015 at South County HS. A first or second place win at the state competition will send this team to the
World Finals at Michigan State University. Learn more about the team and Odyssey of the Mind at
http://sites.google.com/site/twainmsom Come out and support our local team!
Back: Julia Drennan, Jessica Lee, Raieesa Norat, Madelyn Khoury, Michelle Khoury (coach)
Front: Alina Hollister, Francis Reyes, Miranda Khoury
Race For Education 2015
On Friday, May 1st, Bush Hill Elementary School will hold its fourth annual Race for Education. The 2015 Race for Education raises money to purchase and install ceiling mounted projectors.
Last year and with sponsors’ support, we successfully provided SIX new projectors to our kindergarten
and first grade classrooms and we hope to raise $7,000 to replace more projectors. We hope you will be
able to support our school! We will be jogging/walking around the Panther Path for a one-hour period on
May 1st. Not only will we be doing our part to raise money for our school, we will also be promoting
health and fitness in our school and community. All donations are greatly appreciated. Please visit our
school PTA website: www.bushillpta.org to make an online donation. Thank you in advance for your
generosity. All gifts are 100% tax deductible.
SAVE THE DATE!
SPRING BINGO AND SILENT AUCTION NIGHT! APRIL 24, 2015
We are looking for auction basket donations. Each Grade Has been Assigned a theme basket. Please
send your donations in by April 17. If you would prefer to send in a monetary donation to help purchase
items for your class basket, we will gladly accepted that too! Thank you!
SPRING CONCERT IS COMING!!!
Thursday, May 7, 20015 at 7:00 p.m. (Gym)
Participants wear white tops and black pants or skirts. Students need to arrive at school by 6:30 p.m.
If you have strings or band be sure to bring your instruments.
Upcoming Dates:
April 16-2 Hours Early Release -1:40 pm
Kindergarten Orientation-2:30 pm
April 17-Student Holiday
May 25 –Memorial Day Holiday/Student Holiday
April 2015
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
12
13
14
15
17
Student Holiday
18
19
20
21
22
16
*3rd Grading
Period Ends
*SCA-Spirit Day
-Super Hero Day
*2– Hour Early
Release
*Kindergarten
Orientation
23
Edison Pyramid
Art Show-5:306:30 p.m.
24
Spring Bingo &
Silent Auction
Night
25
30
*6th Grade Field
Trip
*Kindergarten
Field Trip
31
4th Grade
Field Trip
26
27
28
29
May 2015
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
1
Sat
2
Race for
Education
3
4
5
6
PTA Meeting
7
Spring Concert7:00 p.m.
8
9