1. education
2. school

Christa
McAuliffe
Volume 1, Issue 4
December 2010
Message from Administration
Important Dates:
December
x
7 PTA Meeting 6:45p.m.
x
16 Eat-Out Night: Chuck E Cheese
x
20-23 Silver Chip Events
x
24 Holiday, Schools and Offices Closed
x
27-31 Winter Break; Schools Closed
Winter break is almost here! This is a time to celebrate the hard work of our staff and
students and the continued partnership between home and school. Parent support is
crucial for the success of our students. We applaud our students, staff and parents for a
job well done!
As we look ahead to the new year, we are enthusiastic to continue working on the goals
we have established. Now would be a good time for our students to reflect on and refine the goals they’ve established at the beginning of the year. Assist your child in identifying an area needing improvement and then work on a strategy to achieve that goal. Encourage your child to focus on these ideas:
x Complete homework
CHRISTA MCAULIFFE ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
x
Develop organizational skills
12500 Wisteria Drive
x
Apply reading strategies
Germantown, MD 20874
x
Learn basic math facts
(301)353-0911
x
Arrive at school on time
WWW.ChristaMcAuliffe.org
Exciting news! Students and staff at McAuliffe have just completed another successful
food drive to benefit those in need in the Germantown area. Over 25 boxes were filled
to the brim! The classes with the most goods collected were Ms. Swan's and Ms. JensenStone's. Thank you to everyone throughout the school community who showed such
generosity and caring to those less fortunate.
School Hours For Students
8:50-3:05 P.M.
Loretta Favret, Principal
[email protected]
We wish you and your family a safe and happy break. May you have an opportunity to
relax and refresh with family and friends. We look forward to your return from the winter break. Enjoy !
Celeste King, Assistant Principal
[email protected]
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Help with Translating
Communication between parents and school staff is very important to us. We are
pleased to announce that we are once again able to offer Spanish to English translation in
the office every morning between 8:15-9:15. Mr. Elmer Jurado, one of our paraeducators, will be in the office and he will be able to translate the concerns and questions of our Spanish speaking parents. Please do not hesitate to stop by or call.
Message from Administration
1
Help with Translations
1
Super Star News
2
Reading Corner
3
Ayuda con Traducir de Ingles a Espanol
Winter Chorus Concert
3
MSA and TN2
4
Student Government
5
Important Reminders
6
La comunicaacion entre padres y la escuela es muy importante. Estamos muy feliz anunciar que otra vez podemos ofrecer translaciones de Ingles a Espanol aqui en nuestra oficina cada manana entre 8:15-9:15. Mr. Elmer Jurado, un asistante, sera en la oficina para
traducer con algunos problemas o preguntas que tiene. Por favor, puede llamar o visitor
entre las horas y el puede ayudarle.
We
Expect
Super Star News
Responsibility
Reach
for the
Stars
Teamwork
Safety
Respect
Bravo! It’s time to celebrate our students for showing respect, responsibility,
safety and teamwork! Teams will be hosting Silver Chip events during the week of December 20th. So
save your tickets and get ready for a good time.
Congratulations to the following STARS of the Week:
Kindergarten: Morgan Holt, Malaika Minofu, Nicole Nati, Ramiyan Varghese, Sammy Lakhal, Kobe Neal, Antoine Campbell, Zora French, Froylan Hernandez, Alex Nguyen, Lucien Lachance, Jakiha Hebron, Sophia Burke
First Grade: Daniel Camacho-Lopez, Emily Bejeck, Paige Stuart, Samara Elliott, Gabriella Reyes, Jaden Coleman, Julius Smith, Caroline Quiroga, Minada Pandithage, Nehemiah Negron, Amaan Omar
Second Grade: Jaylen Hammond, Alex Huerta, Chloe Bort, Alioune Diop, Hope Francois, Sydik Camara, Jordan Campbell, Alajah Roebuck, Britney Procopio, Giselle Badoo, Areej Khan
Third Grade: Cayla Ymaya, Skylar Jeffries, Catherine Midlam, Devon Clyburn, Brian Arevalo-Carran, Sophia
Clari, Ann Dahlman, Kayley Velasquez
Fourth Grade: Claudia Diaz, Breezy Lachance, Jose Arevalo, Eric Solis, Alex Srey, Jasmine Combs, Kaitlyn
Smith, Elijah Warner, Kevin Machado
Fifth Grade: Troy Lee, Noel Snowdy, Christopher Lima, Mac Luu, Kayli Quaye, James Combs, Karen Granados-Sura, Sanya Brown, Alejandra Benetiz, Zion White, Angelica Barzola, Phoebe Qui, Tamara Alston
Congratulations to the following classes. We are proud of your achievement!
1,000 star tickets: Mrs. Andrade (Morales), Ms. Gane, Mrs. Howington, Mr. O’Neil, Mrs. Riffle, Mrs. Sherman,
Ms. Ortiz, Mr. Lord, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Whittington, Ms. Bobrow, Ms. Terrell, Ms. Holland, Mr. Howington, Ms.
Pinckney
2,000 star tickets: Mrs. Jensen-Stone, Ms. Swan, Ms. Hill, Mrs. Allnutt
3,000 star tickets: Mr. Parker, Mrs. Ohm
Hosted by: Grade level teams
When: During the week of December 20th
Page 2
Page 3
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4
Reading Corner
Is your child a reluctant reader? Here are some tips to help motivate him/her to read more.
1) Make reading relaxing and low key.
2) Read aloud to your child, maybe a funny or interesting part of your favorite book.
3) Draw your child in with riddle books, magazines such as Sports Illustrated, or comics.
4) Find a movie that is based on the book. Read the book together and then watch the movie.
5) Talk to your child about what you are reading.
Most importantly, make reading fun. You can do this by playing games based on what your child reading, using computer programs, or creating incentives for reading.
Congratulations to Mrs. Speer’s kindergarten class for receiving the Slice of the Month Award
for having 57% of the class met their reading goal. Each month the class with the highest percentage of participants in the Pizza Hut Book It program is awarded the slice. The class with the
most slices will win a pizza party in April. So, do not forget to encourage your child to read and
fill out their reading chart nightly.
Winter Concert
Come and join us on January 11, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. for the Chorus Winter Concert. Our chorus will be combining their voices for a spectacular performance!
The students will be singing a variety of songs featuring patriotic, jazz and gospel themes. For the first part of the
year, chorus students learn the art of blending their voices together to try to make "one" sound as a group. They
also spent time understanding the importance of aural memory and maintaining one tune while someone else next
to you may be singing a different tune.
Some parts of the concert pieces will be sung in unison, meaning "one voice" and other parts will be sung as partner songs where you will hear two sections of singers singing two different parts. Also featured in the concert
will be a soloist, which is a very brave individual who will be singing by herself! Come and be dazzled by this performance!!
Band and Orchestra Concert
January 25, 2011
7:00 PM
MSA and TN2 Assessments
As you begin to plan your children’s spring appointments, please be aware of the upcoming spring
testing schedule. Students in second through fifth grades will participate in standardized assessments. The Maryland State Assessment (MSA), which measures student performance in reading and mathematics, will be administered to students in grades 3, 4, and 5. Each testing session, which includes multiple choice and Brief Constructed
Response (BCR), lasts approximately two hours and includes periodic breaks. Students in the second grade will
take the Terra Nova 2 (TN2). The TN2 measures student performance in reading, language mechanics, mathematics and math computation.
The strength of our instructional program is in part measured by the performance of our students. Students who
are absent and are unable to make up the test receive a score of zero which is reflected in our total school score.
It is critical that students are in school and on time during testing. Make-up tests may only be administered during
the testing window. Please make every effort to avoid scheduling conflicts so that your child(ren) can take the
test on the regular testing days with their peers.
Assessment
MSA Reading
Testing Group
March 7 and 8
Grades 3 and 4
March 9 and 10
Grade 5
March 11and 14
Grades 3 and 4
March 15 and 16
Grade 5
MSA Science
April 11 - 15
Grade 5
TN2
April 4 - 8
Grade 2
MSA Mathematics
Page 4
Dates
Page 5
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4
Student Government
Congratulations! Ms. Swan and Ms. Terrell would like to thank all of the responsible and respectful student council candidates who
worked hard to run for office. Our elected officials could learn a few things from the McAuliffe candidates. All of our students did
a super job. In may cases, class officers won by only a few votes. What a close race! We are proud of all of our students.
Congratulations to our elected Student Government Association officers for the 2010-2011 school year.
President
Vice President
Sebastian Balcazar
Breezy Lachance
Treasurer
Secretary
Alexis Pulliam
Chris Lima
Historian
Page
Veronica Tabares
Brian Arevalo
Sergeant-At-Arms
Aura Colachagua
Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade classes also elected two representatives that will join the class officers for monthly meetings
and assist them in developing ways to improve learning at McAuliffe. Class representatives will also be expected to share important details and event information with their homeroom classes. The elected class representatives are:
Second Grade Representatives
Ms. Bobrow
James Byrd
Aliyah Cupeta
Ms. Gane
Britney Procopio
Syniah Foye
Mrs. Jensen-Stone
Tatiana Reyes
Lindsay Sorto
Ms. Mercer
Jewel Epps
Thomas Schaper
Mr. O’Neil
Lauren Gower
Regina Balcazar
Ms. Swan
Emily Lachance
Kelly Garretson
Ms. Terrell
Dineth Meegoda
Chrisly Nguyen
Third Grade Representatives
Mr. Howington
Sean Quiroga
Jlen Johnson
Katherine Midlam
Ms. Ortiz
Kush Savsani
Elvis Gomez
Ms. Pinckney
Xiomara Choque
Eric Ginsburg
Fourth Grade Representatives
Mrs. Ohm
Ariana Colachagua
Viet Phi Quach
Mr. Parker
Jasmine Combs
Brandon Taylor
Mrs. Riffle
Sandra Aching
Alia Collazo
Fifth Grade Representatives
Mrs. Chidakel
Cheryce Coleman
Aja Carter
Mr. Lord
Ashley Michalik
Joel Gonzalez
Ms. Hill
Emily Elliott
Luis Hernandez
Mrs. Toomey
Stacy Basmera
Elizabeth Terry
Student Council meetings will be held the first Friday of each month from 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. in Ms. Swan’s room. If you are a parent who is
interested in helping us organize all of our great ideas and plan for future events, please contact Ms. Swan at [email protected].
Thanks for all of your support!
School Calendar
'HFHPEHU
7
PTA Meeting 6:45p.m.
16 PTA Eat-Out Night: Chuck E Cheese
20-23 Silver Chip Events
24 Holiday; Schools and Offices Closed
27-31 Winter Break; Schools Closed
-DQXDU\
11
We’re on the Web!
Winter Chorus Concert; 2:00pm & 7:00pm
13 Club and Candid Pictures
WWW.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/mcauliffees/
17 No School; Martin Luther King Day
21 Gold Chip Event
24 No School; Teacher Professional Day
25 Winter Band and Orchestra Concert; 2:00pm & 7:00pm
28 Family Bounce Festival
31 Vision and Hearing Screening; K & 1
)HEUXDU\
Vision
and Hearing Screening; K & 1
Pennies For Patients Campaign begins
127($OOXSGDWHVZLOOEHSULQWHGLQEROG
Important Reminders for Parents
“Straight Talk: Helping Your Children Make Good Decisions:” Please join the PTA on Tuesday, December 7 at 6:45pm in
the Media Center for this dynamic workshop presented by Mr. Wayne Whigham, former Principal of Seneca Valley High School.
Label It! : Writing your child’s name on his/her clothing, backpacks and lunchboxes makes it easier for your child to reclaim lost
items.
Important Information to Know: Please make sure that your child knows his/her address, telephone number and how to reach
a parent in an emergency.