The Dolphin’s Tale The bi-weekly principal’s newsletter of Travilah Elementary School

The Dolphin’s
Tale
The bi-weekly principal’s newsletter of Travilah Elementary School
Susan J. Shenk, Principal
February 26, 2016
Issue #12
February African American History Month
26
1:20pm
Early Release – Grading and Reporting
March Women in History Month
1
2
3
10
7:00 – 8:30pm
11
17
23
7:00 – 8:30pm
24
25
PTA Meeting – Small Group Instruction presentation
Cultural Arts Adventures with Raptors
Grade 5 Poet in Residence
Grade 2 Mad Science All About Animals
Grade 5 Poet in Residence
PTA Movie Night – AP Room
Grade 1 Mad Science Magnets
Flyer distribution Day
Grade 5 to Baltimore
3rd Marking Period ends
No School for students – Professional Day
No School - Spring Break begins
April
4
5
13
14
19
20
26
27
28
7:00 – 8:00pm
6:00 – 8:00pm
School Resumes
PTA meeting – Media Center
Individual Spring Portraits
Report Cards Distributed
New Kindergarten Parent meeting
Cultural Arts – Interact Story Performance
Holiday – Primary Election Schools and Offices closed
Grade 5 to Philadelphia
Take your Child to Work Day
Visit our website! http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/travilahes/
School Phone: 301-840-7153
School Attendance Line: 301-670-8223
School Fax: 301-670-8230
Visit the PTA website! http://www.travilahpta.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PRINCIPAL’S WRITING WALL – Each week students’ writing is displayed on the Principal’s Writing Wall.
All students will be featured at least once during the year. The following students’ work was highlighted during the
week of February 16, 2016.
First Grade: Ms. Rivera’s class – Abby Lee, Christy Tekelsion, Damian Sanchez, Charlie Rothbard,
Quinn Lam-Vu
Mrs. Fishman’s class – John Chu, Skye Cushing, Linda Wang, Alex Yang
Mrs. Koval’s class – Abby Meyers, Kylie Zhang, Matthew Lucchese, Ashkhan Ganeshan
Third Grade: Ms. Emr’s class – Devani Shah, Arman Rostami, Michelle Pan, Mia Silbert, Ali Abdullah,
Saanvi Gadila, Kent Zhang, Nathan Yap
Mrs. Knight’s class – Aiden Feng, Ray Yuan, Saniya Shah, Jasmine Geeng, Jacob Dorfman, Derek Hsu, Isaac Pipes,
Sietse Venema
Mrs. Perel’s class – Anna Lizondo, Emily Chen, Nitya Mahawar, David Wang, Yael Zief, Anirudh Gowda,
Sammy Lucchese
SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION IN READING - Attention Travilah Parents!
Come out and join us for a presentation on Small Group Reading Instruction March 1 from 7:00-7:30, followed by
the PTA meeting from 7:30-8:30. Your very own Travilah teachers will share how reading instruction takes place
and the research behind it! There will be opportunities to learn how to support your child at home and many
resources will be provided! We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
The Reading Committee
KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION - Our Kindergarten Orientation is scheduled for May 4th and 5th. Children
who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2016 will be eligible to enter Kindergarten in August 2016. If
you have a child who will be entering Kindergarten next fall, please complete the attached form and return it to the
school office. Please pass this information on to your neighbors and/or friends. We will also be having a Parent
Orientation meeting on April 19, 2016 from 6:00 – 8:00pm. This meeting is for parents only and will include time
for registration, time to meet with the school nurse and discuss medical forms, a tour of the school, and an
information session. Just a reminder, there will be no Kindergarten classes for currently enrolled Kindergarten
students for the two days of Kindergarten Orientation as the teachers and classrooms will be involved in the
orientation.
YEARBOOK COVER CONTEST – This year we had many, many entries for our Yearbook Cover Contest. The
entries were numbered and voted on by the staff. Here are the results:
Congratulations to:
Front Cover Winner: Saatchi Barochia in Mrs. Singal’s class
Back Cover Winner: Caroline Min in Ms. Bock’s class
Front cover runners-up:
Gabrielle Lizondo in Mrs. Singal’s class
Nicole Yu in Ms. Clarke’s class and Julianne Yao in Mrs. Singal’s class (joint submission)
Michelle Hsiung in Mrs. Singal’s class
Lindsay Lim in Mrs. Hart’s class
Back cover runners-up:
Linda Wang in Mrs. Fishman’s class
Diane Liu in Mrs. Fishman’s class
Nathan Leitan in Mrs. Fishman’s class
Skye Cushing in Mrs. Fishman’s class
We are so proud of all the students who entered the contest. All entries will be on display in the school hallway.
CHANGE OF SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT FOR FY17 - Montgomery County parents/guardians who wish to
request a Change of School Assignment (COSA) for their children from their home school may begin the process
during the upcoming transfer season—February 1 through April 1, 2016. Except for students in the Northeast
Consortium (NEC), Downcounty Consortium (DCC), and Middle School Magnet Consortium (MSMC) areas,
students in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) are assigned to a school on the basis of their place of
residence or their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and are expected to attend their home school. Assignment
changes for students from one school to another are permitted under the following limited circumstances:




Younger sibling wanting to attend the school of an older sibling in the regular/general program, if the
older sibling will be attending the requested school the following school year, absent a boundary
change;
A continuation in a feeder pattern from middle to high school, except when affected by boundary
change, application program acceptance, or Consortium Choice guidelines;
When a family moves within Montgomery County, preference to remain in the original school will be
considered to complete the current school year only;
A documented, unique hardship situation.
The transfer process begins in the home school, where parents/guardians may request the Change of School
Assignment (COSA) Information Booklet that contains the COSA form, describes the process, and provides useful
information. The COSA booklet is available in schools and online at
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/transfers. The booklet will be available in both English and Spanish. Exempt
countywide programs that do not fall under the transfer guidelines are listed in the information booklet.
There is a different process to access the elementary language immersion programs. Full information and copies of
the elementary Immersion Interest Form are available at all elementary schools and online at
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms.
For information about assignments for students residing in the NEC, DCC, or MSMC areas, please contact the
Division of Consortia Choice and Application Program Services at 301-592-2040 or visit the website at
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/schoolchoice.
For more information about the transfer process, parents/guardians are encouraged to contact the principal at their
home school. Non-English speaking students and parents/guardians who may require assistance may contact ASK
MCPS to get the information they need by telephone at 301-309-MCPS (6277). Telephone operators who speak
English and Spanish are available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Parents who speak
languages other than English or Spanish who call the ASK MCPS telephone line and identify their language will
have their questions answered through a telephone interpreter.
PTA FUNDRAISER - Travilah Elementary School is inviting you to participate in a unique fundraiser to “Pave the
Way” for our students. Leave a lasting legacy by purchasing a paver to be permanently displayed and remembered
forever. Each paver that you sponsor may honor you, your student, a teacher or staff member, former student, a
family member, friend, local business or anyone! The pavers will be etched with your custom inscription and placed
within the landscaping around the circle, in front of our school.
All of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go to our PTA.
Please submit orders before Friday, April 15, 2016 for spring 2016 installation.
For more information please visit the PTA website or contact:
Erinn Foster at 301-370-4502 or mail to: [email protected]
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE ONE DAY CLASS – Montgomery College Youth Programs will conduct a day
full of fun with Futuremakers. This special theme based program is for all students in grades 2 – 5. It will be held
on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at the Rockville Campus from 8:30am – 2:00pm. Futuremakers programs consist
on experimental learning activities where you take on the roles, personalities, expectations, and experiences of
engineers, designers, and fabricators. Discover the challenges of invention! Turn problems and mistakes into
creative challenges, and learn the skills to work through them with practice, collaboration and serious play. For
more information about the program, check the website at: www.montgomerycollege.edu/youth Also, you can
contact Sharon Wolfgang at 240-567-7264 if you have questions.
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE SUMMER CLASSES - SUMMER 2016 YOUTH PROGRAMS Courses for
students in grades K - 12 held on all three campuses, Germantown, Rockville and Takoma Park/Silver Spring. There
are over 200 exciting full- and half-day courses that cover a wide range of topics, like art, music, science, math,
writing, sports, robotics, study skills, engineering, woodworking, cooking, debate, technology, and so much
more. The summer program runs for an eight-week period from June 27 – August 19, 2016. So, if you are
interested in doing something really different and fun this summer, REGISTER NOW online, by fax, by mail, or
come to the Rockville Campus, Campus Center, Room 220. Classes are filling quickly, so register NOW!! WE
REALLY HAVE IT ALL!!! For registration information, access our website at:
http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/wdce/youthsummerbrochure.html or contact YOUTH PROGRAMS office
at 240-567-7264 or 240-567-7917.Asistencia en Español Disponible.
PLAYGROUND SUPERSTARS – Weeks of February 1-19, 2016 are:
Grade 5: Charles Makobongo, Lunah Schleret, Kiryan Velasquez, Michelle Hsiung, Allison Yu, Lyndsie Lewis,
Hope Safai, Jessica Winson, Christian Vande Krol, Zara Okudo
Grade 4: Madeline Xu, Yousef Yaqub, Coby Pinto, Natasha Thamungruxsat, William Jong, Suved Pantula,
Grady Sellman
Grade 3: Ali Abdullah, Joey Song, Alan Liu, Alvand Fallahi, Alara Erkan, Jaden Hou, Jack Kerns
Grade 2: Mackie Noble, Cameron Cowen, Avery Wagner, Ellery Kringel, Aava Nikakhtar, Michelle Liu,
Christine Jeon
Grade 1: Linda Wang, Diane Liu, Quinn Lam-Vu, Nathan Leitan, Hannah Goren, Ava Rostami, Abbey Meyers,
Jerry Lu, Erin Eo, Christy Tekelsion
Kindergarten: Audrey Caulder, Hasti Sobhani, Elai Zief, Max Dates, Shiloh Ganeshan, Dalyan Celestin
P.E. CLASS OF THE WEEK – Week of February 22, 2016 Congratulations to Mrs. Egan’s class!
P.E. STUDENT OF THE WEEK – Week of February 22, 2016 Congratulations to Aashrith Nujella in
Mrs. Knoblach’s class!
SPECIAL DOLPHIN TALES THANK YOU TO:
 Kris Sellman and Kerry Bowman for keeping our school sign up-to-date!
 Beth Ann Edell, Phoebe Barsky, Esther Granneman, Bethany Liu, Nichole Lockhart, Andy Yang,
Monali Shenolikar, Manjunath Nagarajan, Li Yao, Mao-Fen Yu, Randy Wagner, Meera Barochia,
Morgan Hendrikkson for all your help with the STEM fair!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have read the newsletter and would like to make the following comments or ask the question stated below:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Name: _____________________________
Phone: _____________________________
Student’s name: _________________________________