Swansfield Newsletter: November 16, 2018

Sat, 11/17/2018 - 8:31pm

 

Upcoming Events:

  • Monday and Tuesday, November 19 and 20: Parent/Teacher Conferences (see more below)

  • Monday and Tuesday, November 19 and 20: Gifted and Talented Placement Information Sessions (see more below)

  • Tuesday November 20: PTA Turkey Bingo/Pie Potluck, 6:30-8:00 pm

  • Wednesday through Friday, November 21 - 23: Schools Closed

  • Friday November 30: School Picture Retakes

  • Friday December 7: PTA Game Night, 6:00-9:00 pm

  • Friday December 14: Deadline for Young Authors' Contest

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Parent/Teacher Conferences Monday, November 19 and Tuesday, November 20 

The window to register for parent/teacher conferences closes Monday morning, November 19, at 8:00 am.  You can log on to HCPSS Connect at www.hcpss.org/connect to access Synergy Conference Management in order to schedule your conferences.  For parents without online access, please contact our front office staff at 410-313-6907 for assistance.

GT Teachers Offer Gifted and Talented Placement Information Sessions

Parents who are interested in learning more about placement in the GT program, including the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAt), should plan to attend one of four information sessions planned by Swansfield Gifted and Talented teachers.  The sessions will explain the criteria used to determine student placement and will allow time for parent questions. The sessions will be held from 4:00 to 4:30 pm and from 5:30 to 6:00 pm each evening, Monday November 19 and Tuesday November 20, in Ms. Malcotti's GT Classroom 173.

Come Play Turkey Bingo and Enjoy Some Pie

Join our PTA along with Swansfield families and friends on Tuesday, November 20, from 6:30-8:00PM for Turkey Bingo and Pie Potluck! This event is FREE (No purchase of Bingo tickets is necessary to participate.) Parental supervision is required. Bring your favorite pie to share, play Bingo, and meet your Swansfield CommUnity!

Entries Being Accepted for Young Authors' Contest

The Young Authors' Contest has begun! This contest is for students in grades 2 through 5 who like to write short stories and/or poems and would like to submit an entry.  The contest begins at Swansfield where students will compete with their classmates for the best short story and poem. One winner from each category will be selected at each grade level to compete at the Howard County level. Winners from Howard County will then go on to compete at the Maryland state level.  

This is a wonderful opportunity for Swansfield students to showcase their writing talent to the Swansfield community and beyond! Students in grades 2-5 have received the guidelines, cover sheet, and writing rubric for the contest. If your child would prefer to email his or her story, rather than print it, you can send all entries along with the completed cover sheet to keynora_greenwood@hcpss.org. Please have your child save his or her story as a WORD document. Swansfield winners will need to submit their entries to Howard County electronically. If you have any questions, please contact keynora_greenwood@hcpss.org.  

The deadline for entries is December 14, 2018. We are looking forward to reading many amazing stories and poems. Happy writing!!

Bullying Awareness Spirit Day

We have one more spirit day planned for students to help us raise awareness about and stop bullying:

  • November 29 - Wear numbers to show we all are valued and we all count!

Donations Needed For B-I-N-G-O

As part of our PBIS celebrations, we are planning a school-wide live bingo November 30, but we need your help collecting prizes for bingo winners.  Do you have any used games or toys in good condition?  Any items we could use as prizes would be much appreciated.  Please send in your donations to the front office marked "BINGO".  Thank you in advance for your support!

Do You Have A Baby Or Young Child Age 4 Or Under In Your Home?

Would you like your child to receive one FREE BOOK, EACH MONTH, until age 5?

Swansfield has been selected to participate in Read with Me, a partnership between HCPSS, Bright Minds, the Howard County Early Childhood Advisory Council, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Any baby or young child age 4 or under who lives in the Swansfield Elementary area can participate. One book each month will be mailed directly to your child.

If you would like to sign up or learn more, stop by the school or contact Deborah Slater at Swansfield at 410-313-6907 or deborah_slater@hcpss.org. Also, flyers will be coming home early November.

Please Update Your Emergency Card In Family File

HCPSS utilizes Family File for parents/guardians to complete emergency information. By now parents/guardians should have verified and/or updated information for each child.  If you haven't done so already, please log in to HCPSS Connect, select the Family File tab and then click on Family File.  Instructions are available online.

Visitor Procedures

Throughout HCPSS, the safety of our students and staff remains our number one priority. Front office staff have been asked to follow specific procedures before admitting anyone into the building, which includes using the front door, presenting an ID and signing in with LobbyGuard. Review visitor procedures.

We appreciate your cooperation as we work together to build a safe and productive learning environment for all our students.

Volunteers/Chaperones Must Complete Training

All volunteers and field trip chaperones in HCPSS schools must complete the online training course prior to volunteering (see link below), print a completion certificate and return it to the front office. If you are unable to access online a printed version is available at school.

Connect With Our PTA

Learn more about upcoming PTA activities, how you can get involved, and even join the PTA if you haven't done so already.  Visit http://swansfieldpta.org/

Visit http://swansfieldpta.org/newsletters/ to catch up on all things PTA.

Community News and Programs

Please visit the Community News and Programs page at http://www.hcpss.org/community-news-and-programs/ for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.