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
April 15, 2016
April
Issue #14
Month of the Young Child
18
19
5:00 – 8:00pm
6:00 – 8:00pm
20
22
23
26
27
28
9:00 – 1:00pm
Grade 4 to Glen Echo Park Aquarium
Grades 3 – 5 Montgomery County Parks – Arbor Day
Travilah Night at California Tortilla to support 5th grade
New Kindergarten Parent meeting
Cultural Arts – Interact Story Performance
Kdg. – Echoes of Nature
Report Cards Distributed
PTA Spring Clean Up
Holiday – Primary Election Schools and Offices closed
Grade 5 to Philadelphia
Take Your Child to Work Day
May
1
2-6
3
4
2:30 – 4:30pm
7:00 – 8:00pm
4-5
6
9
11
13
17
18
19
23
24
26
27
30
31
2:30 – 3:30pm
Travilah Moves!
Staff Appreciation Week
PTA Meeting
Grade 3 Imagination Stage – Roberto Clemente
Grade 5 photo
Kindergarten Orientation – No School for Kindergarteners
Grades 1 & 2 Imagination Stage Roberto Clemente
PARCC Assessments begin
Interims sent
Grade 1 Rose Hill Manor
Grades 1 and 2 concert
2:45pm for students
7:00pm for parents
Grade 3 Bread making
Patrol Picnic
Grade 2 Mad Science Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Grades 1-4 Field Day
Kdg. and Grade 5 Field Day
Grade 2 – Potomac Pizza
Grade 5 Racing West
Memorial Day
Wootton High School graduation
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
weeks of March 18, 2016 and April 11, 2016.
Kindergarten: Ms. Bañales’ class – Preeti Mangalapurapu, Caleb Van Grack, Audrey Caulder, Victoria Wang,
Noelle Davis-Astrada, Chris Ngako, Katie Jeffers, Max Dates, Seth Weiss, Lily Pratt
Mrs. Foley’s class – Henry Si, Dalyan Celestin, Sasha Rosenman, Colette Shuman-Powell, Yazeed Skido-Achulo,
Alex Huang, Alisia Yan, Teo Lukaszewski, Ethan Gong-Norton
Fourth Grade: Mrs. Knoblach’s class – Varun Kannepalli, Jasmin Wu, Monica Cheng, Natalie Min,
Gareth Bennett, Emerson Noble, Sineth Jayasundera
Mrs. Hart’s class – Samantha Sanchez, Emily Liu, Suved Pantula, Jonathan Zhou, Omid Motamedi, Lindsey Lim,
Alex Bergen, Divya Subramanian, William Jong, Kayla Ray
First Grade: Mrs. Koval’s class – Siran Levy, Jonathan Aquilante, Lucas Kim, Sophia Wang, Aaditya Tumbde,
Elani Goren, Jayden Ahn
Mrs. Fishman’s class – Erin Eo, Gabriel Gorbach, Sophia Greenwald, Riya Gupta, Jerry Lu
Ms. Rivera’s class – Nathan Geeng, Rishik Shenolikar, Hannah Goren, Kelsey Wang, Jashwin Fernandes
Third Grade: Mrs. Knight’s class – Joseph Lee, Nate Dates, Shriya Krishnan, Tejusvi Vijay, Ava Helgeson,
Alex Foster, Jack Edell
Ms. Emr’s class – Adam Blutstein, Yana Kohli, Shreya Mahawar
Mrs. Perel’s class – Praneel Mangalapurapu, Sophie Huang, Katarina Hartmann, Naomi Negussie, Zain Syed,
Alvand Fallahi, Bethany Vande Krol, Sannidhi Gupta
TAKE YOUR CHILD TO WORK DAY - TAKE YOUR CHILD TO WORK DAY – Thursday, April 28th is the
annual “Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” Please see the attached letter describing Travilah’s goals for
this program, procedure needed in order for your child to have an excused absence, and process for receiving the
required activity packet. We are excited to support this annual event and hope that our students have a meaningful
visit to your work site!
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.
FIFTH ANNUAL TRAVILAH MOVES - Mark your calendars! Sunday, May 1st 2:30-4:30
It is sure to be a great event for the entire family.
The Travilah PTA is happy to announce that TRAVILAH MOVES - our fifth annual Fun Run and Wellness Day -will be held at the school on Sunday, May 1 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. TRAVILAH MOVES will once again be a
major community event, and we expect over 400 children and adults to participate and enjoy the festivities.
TRAVILAH MOVES will include a one-mile Fun Run and a shorter Dolphin Dash for younger children. In
addition, health and fitness organizations from our surrounding community will hold demonstrations, offer classes,
provide information, and distribute promotional items. The primary goal of TRAVILAH MOVES is FUN! Each
child who registers for the event and participates on May 1st will receive the free event t-shirt and will be eligible to
for a wide variety of raffle prizes.
Registration forms will be coming home in backpacks soon. Please fill them out, sign them, and return them to the
school as soon as possible.
The Travilah Moves committee of volunteers is currently gathering corporate sponsors to cover the cost of the event
so that it will be completely free to all who participate. We are also gathering demonstrators, food and drink
donations. If you have interest in helping with the preparation in advance or helping on the day of the event, please
feel free to contact Sue Potts at [email protected].
BIKES FOR THE WORLD - Attention Travilah Elementary Community:
We need your used bikes to aid developing counties!!!
On Sunday, May 1st during our Travilah Moves Day from 1:00 – 4:30, Bikes for the World is teaming up with
Travilah ES to hold a one-day collection of used bicycles at our school. The donated bikes will be distributed
overseas, where they will be reconditioned by community organizations to improve the lives of impoverished people
by helping them get to work, school and health clinics. A $10 donation is suggested to help defray the cost of
shipping. All donations are tax deductible. Visit www.bikesfortheworld.org to see how donated bikes are helping
change the world!
ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE FOR MANNA FOOD CENTER – We are currently conducting our annual food drive
for Manna Food Center. Until April 29th, our students will be collecting non-perishable food items for Montgomery
County families. The need for food assistance is great, especially among families with children. We are very proud
of our school community’s history of generous giving to those who struggle to feed their families. Our Fifth Grade
community Service Volunteers will help organize, publicize, collect, and box all donations. Non-perishable foods
may be brought to your student’s classroom. Thank you for supporting this worthwhile project.
PARCC ASSESSMENTS - Many of you are aware, the state mandated assessments for Grades 3 – 5 begin next
month. This test, PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is based on the
Common Core standards. Students will be taking this assessment on our Chromebooks (small personal computers).
Please make sure your children are present, if possible and are well rested and given a good breakfast. For more
information, you can go to the PARCC website at: http://www.parcconline.org Also, attached to this Dolphin’s
Tale is a calendar that shows the seven specific testing dates for each grade.
BEAUTIFICATION DAY AT TRAVILAH - Celebrate Earth Day by taking care of our school! Please bring your
family and help get Travilah in shape for a Beautiful spring. We have jobs for all the little ones and we need BIG
muscles too. SSL hours available for middle/high school students.
When: Saturday, April 23, 2015 9:00am to 1:00pm
Where: Travilah Elementary School
What to Bring: Suggested, Not Required: Straight shovel, rake, trimmers, clippers, tarps, gloves, sunscreen, bug
spray, snacks and lots of water!
Please contact Erinn Foster with any questions. 301-370-4502 [email protected]
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]
CONGRATULATIONS - Our very own Jasmin Wu’s (Mrs. Knoblach’s 4th grade) poster was selected as the
winner of the Montgomery Parks’ Arbor Day Contest. Her winning poster will be displayed at Montgomery Parks’
four nature centers throughout the month of April. Because Travilah had the winning poster, Montgomery County
Parks will be coming to lead some exciting Arbor Day activities with all our students in grades 3 – 5 on April 19th.
How exciting for Jasmine and our school. Congratulations to Jasmine! Congratulations to Tiffany Ke (Mrs.
Singal’s 5th grade) for winning the bronze medal at the North American Table Tennis Hopes Trials last weekend in
Markham (near Toronto), Canada. Tiffany is a member of the Maryland team and is now on the USA National
Team. We are so proud of you, Tiffany!
PREKINDERGARTEN AND HEAD START - Important information for parents of four year olds or soon to be
four year olds: Montgomery County Public Schools offers free Prekindergarten and Head Start programs for
families whose child would be eligible for free or reduced lunch (FARMS). If your child will be 4 years old on or
before September 1, 2016, you may be eligible! After March 14, applications for fall 2016 will be accepted. You
may apply at Rocking Horse Road Center, 4910 Macon Road, Rockville, MD, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4
pm. Additional registration events are offered at community locations and there are evening and Saturday
registrations scheduled. Please call 301-230-0676 or check www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org for more information
about where to apply and what to bring with you.
PLAYGROUND SUPERSTARS – Weeks of March 7-18 and April 4-8, 2016 are:
Grade 5: Charles Makobongo, Hope Safai, Nina Dorfman, Christian Vande Krol, Liam Graham, Chris Castelli,
Saatchi Barochia, Zara Okudo, Naba Syed, Max Choi, Andy Doan
Grade 4: Natasha Thamungruxsat, Ian Fox, Coby Pinto, Gareth Bennett, Michael Purring
Grade 3: Isaac Pipes, Naomi Negussie, Max Lizondo, Shriya Krishnan, Dhyan Sesha, Joey Song, Jason Yin,
David Wang, Jaden Hou, Kent Zhang, Jack Kerns
Grade 2: Roshali Abeywarna, Joseph Ancheta, Mackie Noble, Ellen Ming, Cameron Cowen
Grade 1: Linda Wang, Erin Eo, Sophia Greenwald, Katie Graham, Kelsey Wang, Ethan Kwon, Kai Anderson,
Quinn Lam-Vu, Ashkhan Ganeshan, Nathan Leitan, Chrissy Tekelsion, Diane Liu, Luke Wang
Kindergarten: Stephanie Zhu, Menna Negussie, Audrey Caulder, Elai Zief, Neela Krishnan, Max Dates,
Chris Ngako, Brianna Yan, Dalyan Celestin
P.E. CLASS OF THE WEEK – Week of April 4, 2016 Congratulations to Ms. Rivera’s class!
P.E. STUDENT OF THE WEEK – Week of April 4, 2016 Congratulations to Linda Wang in
Mrs. Fishman’s class!
P.E. CLASS OF THE WEEK – Week of April 11, 2016 Congratulations to Mrs. Facine’s class!
P.E. STUDENT OF THE WEEK – Week of April 11, 2016 Congratulations to Laney Meyer in
Ms. Clarke’s class!
SPECIAL DOLPHIN TALES THANK YOU TO:
 Yausamin Abediyeh and Ingrid Aquilante for helping out with the Class Pictures!
 Tim Clarke, Julianne Greene, Brett Costatino, Dep. William Debley, Peter Yuen, Amisha Barochia,
Jason Shafer, Tony Shiflett and Paul Lochard for their wonderful presentations at the 5th grade Career
Day!
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