Farmland Elementary School Barnyard Bulletin April 2016

Farmland Elementary School
Barnyard Bulletin
April 2016
7000 Old Gate Road
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 230-5919 FAX (301) 230-5424
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/farmlandes/
Mary Bliss, Principal
[email protected]
Daniel Tucci, Assistant Principal
[email protected]
Farmland Elementary is a school
where students can achieve their
greatest potential in a positive and
safe learning environment.
Dear Farmland Families,
Talking to students, families, and staff, I know we are all looking forward to a well-deserved
spring break! Hopefully, spring weather will finally be a constant so that everyone has an
opportunity to enjoy many outside activities. Whatever your plans for spring break, I hope
that they are joyful.
Even though we will still have a remaining quarter of this school year to complete upon our
return on April 4th, Farmland has already begun the process of planning for the upcoming
school year. We have received our preliminary allocations for the 2016—2017 school year.
We have a few gains in positions and hours, and we did not lose any positions. I will continue
to update you with staffing changes throughout the spring and summer. Our teaching
allocations remain the same with five classes at the kindergarten through third grade levels,
and four teachers at the fourth and fifth grade levels. Our reading initiative allocation has
increased so that we will have the equivalent of six full days per week of reading instruction
support for our primary grades. We were also able to increase our art, music, and physical
education allocations by another half day. This means that in addition to Mr. Rodriguez, Mr.
Adkins, and Mrs. Kasab, we will have part-time specialists working for an equivalent total of
one and half full days per week. Our instrumental music allocation will remain the same at
one and one-half days per week. We will continue to have our four full-time ESOL classroom
teachers next year. We are happy to remain at three LFI classes with a full-time teacher and
special education paraeducator in each classroom. Special education, paraeducators, and non
-classroom teacher positions remain unchanged.
We will be closely monitoring our student enrollment for the remainder of the school year and
into the summer. Allocation of staff is carefully monitored throughout the spring and
summer as allocation is based on student enrollment. Given our relatively high mobility rate,
the number of withdrawals and enrollments from now until even the first few weeks of school
can vary by as many as 100 students both withdrawing and enrolling. This is one of the
reasons we monitor enrollment regularly and why we are not able to finalize class
assignments until just prior to the start of the new school year.
We are especially pleased to have increased our lunch and recess assistant hours by twohours. As a follow-up to previous letters regarding recess, I wanted to share that with the
revised playground rules, we have had far less playground injuries and recess referrals. We
are making every effort to have all recess choices--black-top, playground equipment,
basketball court, and field--open for each recess as much as possible. Thank you to those
parents who have volunteered whenever they were available.
April is Disabilities Awareness month and we will be finding multiple ways to honor and
recognize our friends with disabilities. Please reinforce to your child that “We are more alike
than different.”
“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.”
– Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Warmest Regards,
Mary Bliss
Principal
Farmland ES
Important Dates
April 5

PTA Meeting 7:00 pm
April 6

Celebration Assemblies
April 8

3rd Marking Period Ends
April 12

Spring Photos
April 18

Kindergarten Orientation
(No school for Kindergartners)
April 19

Kindergarten Orientation
(No school for Kindergartners)
April 20


International Night
Geography Bowl Quizzes
April 21

Geography Bowl Quizzes
April 22

Report Cards Distributed
April 28

Take Your Child to Work Day
April 29

Career Day
May 1

PTA Spring Carnival 1:00 – 4:00 pm
May 2 – May 6

Teacher Appreciation Week
May 3

Take Your Parent to School 6:30 – 8:00
pm

PTA Meeting 7:00 pm
Geography Bowl
May 4

Geography Bowl
May 5

5th Grade to St. Mary’s City
May 11


2nd Grade to Brookside Gardens
Staff Basketball Game 4:00 pm
May 12

2nd Grade to Brookside Gardens
May 17

Safety Patrol Picnic
May 23

Spring Instrumental Concert (grades 35)
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Farmland Elementary School
Counselor’s Corner
In Kindergarten, third grade, and fifth grade we will discuss personal body safety. Students will be able to identify what a “safe” and “unsafe” touch is and how it makes
them feel. Students will also learn the importance of telling a trusted adult about any
situation that makes them feel unsafe, uncomfortable, confused, or scared. Students in
first, second, and fourth grade will identify what anger looks like and feels like. They will also learn strategies that they can use to reduce their anger. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. My email address is Stephanie_ [email protected] and my telephone number is 301-230-5919.
I look forward to working with you and your child!
Career Day at Farmland
Our annual Career Day will be on Friday April 29th. We would love to have you come and
present your exciting career! A variety of presenters are needed for all grade levels. If you
volunteer, please note that you may present to any grade. If your child is in a different grade,
he or she will have an opportunity to come and listen to your presentation. If you would like
to present, please email me at [email protected]. Additional Career Day information will
be coming soon.
Kindergarten Orientation
April 18—19
If you have a future Kindergartener please call the main office to schedule an appointment at 301-230-5919. If you have a friend or neighbor who has a future Kindergartener
please tell them to call the main office to schedule an appointment.
Student Council
Pennies for Patients:
From April 11-22, The Student Council is sponsoring a “Pennies for Patients” drive at Farmland to benefit the Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society. Since 1994, millions of dollars in coins and bills have been raised by schools nationwide to support the
Society’s mission of curing blood cancers and improving the quality of life of patients and their families.
Help your class win a pizza party by bringing in your loose change – or dollar bills! -- and putting it in the collection box in your
classroom. Parents can also go online to donate.
Donations are due no later than Friday, April 22. At the end of this two-week period, the two classes that have raised the most
money will be treated by the Student Council to a pizza party! There will be one winner from grades K-2 and one winner from
grades 3-5.
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Farmland Elementary School
Music News
What will students learn during music in April?
In April, students will be working on mastering a variety of skills during their music
classes.
Kindergarten:
This month students will learn that symbols can be used to represent sounds in music.
Students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic reading music by creating a
sound piece by placing pictures in a configuration which will indicate how corresponding sounds should be
performed. We will continue to practice our steady beat and rhythmic skills. Our critical thinking skill focus will be
on originality and our academic success skill focus will be on metacognition.
First Grade:
This month students will learn that sounds and symbols can be organized in creative ways to express musical
thoughts. Students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic creating music by arranging sounds to
create a repeated pattern (ostinato) to enhance a given song. We will play our creations on classroom instruments.
Our critical thinking skills focus will be on originality and our academic success skill will focus on metacognition.
Second Grade:
This month student will learn that music has its own vocabulary and written language composed of symbols through
which musicians communicate. Students will continue to demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic
reading and notating music by composing and notating simple eight-beat rhythm patterns using standard notation.
Our critical thinking skills focus will be on synthesis and our academic success skill will focus on effort, motivation,
and persistence.
Third Grade:
This month students will learn that musical symbols can be interpreted to read music and perform a song and how
pitch and rhythm are indicated on the staff. Students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic
reading and notating music by notating simple rhythm and pitch patterns on the musical staff. Our critical thinking
skills focus will be on elaboration and our academic success skill will focus on effort, motivation, and persistence.
Fourth Grade:
This month students will demonstrate mastery of the measurement topic analyzing and responding by learning to
conduct music with meter in three and four. Our critical thinking skills focus will be on flexibility and our academic
success skill will focus on intellectual risk taking.
Fifth Grade:
This month the students will demonstrate mastery of the measurement topic creating music by composing and
notating an eight-measure melody using original pitches and rhythms. We will also practice performing these
melodies on pitched instruments, such as glockenspiels, metallophones, and xylophones. Our critical thinking skills
focus will be on evaluation and our academic success skills will focus on effort, motivation, and persistence.
**Check out student work on the music blog: http://MusicAtFarmland.blogspot.com
Contact Information:
Anne Kasab: [email protected]
Theresa Kormann: [email protected]
Samantha Lalley: [email protected]
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Farmland Elementary School
Art News
What will students learn during art in April?
Kindergarten Textile Patterns
Students in Kindergarten will be introduced to textiles arts and how artists decorate fabric. Using
color markers, students will decorate a piece of muslin with their own original pattern. Next using
water, students will blend their colors together, to unify their piece of cloth. Next students will be
introduced to Adinkra cloth, created by the Asante people of Ghana. They decorate their cloths with
printed symbols and wear them as clothing. Students will use round gadgets to print additional patterns onto their cloth. Students will demonstrate an understanding by decorating their textile fabric with both color pattern and printed patterns.
First Grade Stella Recycled Sculpture
Students in first grade will view the busy sculptures of contemporary artist Frank Stella. After learning about how his sculpture Jarama II was inspired by the sport of racing, students will use recycled cereal boxes to cut, layer and arrange curvy
organic shapes. To create even more movement and excitement in their sculpture, students will use oil pastels to add patterns
and rhythm on their organic shapes. Students will demonstrate an understanding by using 3-6 organic shapes and 3-4 different patterns to create movement throughout their piece.
Second Grade Stitchery Story Cloth
Second grade students will learn about stitchery and how it’s like painting with a needle. They will be introduced to three
stitching techniques: the running stitch, the cross stitch and the crouching stitch. After reading the story of the Raven by Gerald McDermott, students will compare McDermott’s Raven illustrations to other animals found in traditional blankets and
totem poles from the Pacific Northwest. Using burlap and colored yarn, students will design and stitch an animal story cloth.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of textile stitching by successfully using 2-3 different stitching techniques to
create the shapes and patterns of their Pacific Northwest animal.
Third Grade Clay Aztec Calendars
Students will study the Ancient Aztecs of Mexico and their giant stone sculpture called the Sun Stone. Not only an ancient
sculpture, this stone also functioned as a calendar for the Aztecs, with picture symbols for their days, years and even events,
circling around the important center sun. Students will learn the slab clay handbuilding technique, where a piece of clay is
rolled out into a flat, even surface. Out of their clay slab they will carve and construct a NEW Sun Stone. Students will
demonstrate proficiency by rolling out a clay slab and adding all their calendar symbols by carving in or added on raised relief.
Fourth Grade Clay Gargoyles
Students will study the architecture of the gargoyle and discussed their original use as decretive rainspouts that sit high atop
gothic cathedrals. After viewing and comparing examples gargoyles, chimeras, grotesques and other mythical creature, students will design a new chimera creature and sculpt their own functional rainspout gargoyle out of clay. Students will demonstrate an understanding by sculpting an original gargoyle that is comprised of 3-4 different creature features (i.e. elephant
ears, unicorn horn, Cyclopes eye, goat horns) and 2-3 different textures
Fifth Grade Shoe’s Value Drawing
Drawing from observation; fifth grade students will be drawing one of their shoes. Sounding simple, students will start off by
drawing a contour or outlines of their shoe. All students will be encouraged to draw what they actually see and not what they
think they see. After the shoe’s inner details and textures are added, student will focus on creating a three-dimensional shoe
drawing using value. Students will discover how to make different light and dark tones by using several value techniques; (i.e.
shading, stippling, cross-hatching and cast shadows). Students will demonstrate understanding by correctly using two or more
value techniques to create an accurate drawing of their shoe’s form.
Contact Information:
Carlos Rodriguez
[email protected]
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Farmland Elementary School
PE News
Physical Education
Thank you to everyone who participated in Jump Rope and Hoops
for Heart. Farmland Elementary School raised over $10,500 to help
fight heart disease. All proceeds went to the American Heart
Association.
Students should be selecting 3 books they might want to read for the Frederick Keys for Reading
Program. This program involves reading 3 books during the first few weeks of April. A red bookmark
will be handed out to each student to be used for keeping track of the book titles as well as marking a
page. Afterward the program, this bookmark can be redeemed for one free admission to a Frederick
Keys minor league baseball game on either April 29th, 30th or May 1st.
Kindergarten
Students will be working on striking a balloon with an underhand motion continuously and kicking
with the instep (shoelaces) of the foot.
First Grade
Students will be working on kicking with the instep (shoelaces) of the foot and striking a balloon continuously while
remaining in a self-space.
Second Grade
Students will be working on dribbling with the feet and striking a balloon with a paddle or racket while remaining in a
self-space.
Third Grade
Students will be working on striking a dropped ball using a forehand stroke and striking a ball with a bat off a tee.
Fourth Grade
Students will be working on striking a dropped ball using a backhand stroke and striking a lightly tossed ball using a bat.
Fifth Grade
Students will be working on striking a ball tossed over a low level line using a forehand stroke and striking a stationary
ball using a golf club.
Kindness Spirit Week April 4—8
Monday April 4 Powered by Kindness: Dress as your favorite Superhero
Tuesday April 5 World Kindness: Dress up in international costumes
Wednesday April 6th-Dream of Kindness: Pajama Day (No slippers or stuffed animals)
Thursday April 7th-Team Kindness: Wear your favorite team shirt or jersey
Friday April 8th Autism Awareness Day- Wear blue to promote Autism Awareness
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Farmland Elementary School
Media Center News
What will students learn when they visit the media center during the month
of April?
April is National Poetry Month so classes will focus on reading and appreciating
poetry! The media center has many, many poetry books, including classics by poets
such as Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, as well as newer poetry by popular poets
such as Jack Prelutsky. Encourage your child to read and write poetry. It’s such a
wonderful way to learn about and express feelings, thoughts and observations. Here is
what will be happening in classes this month in the media center:
Kindergarten: Kindergarteners will cast their votes in the Black-Eyed Susan reading program.
Kindergarteners will explore how the organization of resources in libraries help people find, use, and borrow
books and media to meet their information needs. They will search for materials themselves using the
organizational system of the library.
1st Grade: 1st graders will cast their votes in the Black-Eyed Susan reading program during the week
following spring break. To support students’ study of poetry, in media students will explore and discuss a
variety of poems in different formats. Using a digital drawing tool, students create an image to accompany
poems.
2nd Grade: Students have begun using “Type to Learn” to learn keyboarding. They will use their typing skills
to create a word cloud about their favorite Black-Eyed Susan book, and they will also cast their vote online.
Students will work on creating their poetry in writing and will enhance their poetry by presenting it in a
digital format.
3rd Grade: Students begin working on research for their “issue” inquiry project. During the research,
students evaluate the authority of sources used to determine if they have gathered information from sources
with a variety of points of views (e.g., expert individual, professional organization, educational institution,
government agency, business).
4th and 5th: Some students participated in the optional Black-Eyed Susan chapter book and/or graphic novel
reading program. If students read at least three of these books in a category, they are invited to attend our
voting party in mid-April. We will discuss the books and have some snacks, and of course, vote!
4th Grade: Fourth graders will research a social studies or science topic to write both informative and opinion
pieces for their fourth quarter inquiry project. Students will use the inquiry process to determine whether a
question is a researchable question and will use their skills to find print and non-print resources in the media
center that are relevant to their topic.
5th Grade: Fifth graders will be working on the fourth quarter inquiry project, examining what careers are
likely to be in demand in the future. They will research a career, including the training/education required
and skills needed for the job, and make predictions about the job’s future. This will be a fun inquiry project!
LFI: LFI students listen to weekly read alouds about seasonal topics, such as springtime, gardening, animals,
and holidays and do an activity associated with the read aloud at every lesson.
Happy Reading!
Mrs. Gleeson
PTA
International Night is April 20th! We have some organizers, now we need lots of
participants! We have a fabulous and vibrant community at Farmland which is
composed of at least 73 different nationalities. Farmland International Night
typically has 1-2 country "parent ambassadors" for each country interested in submitting either a display or a performance or both. Please email Amanda
Michalowicz at [email protected] if you would like to be a parent ambassador or if you are interested in participating. *Flyers coming home next week*
Kindergarten Orientation is April 18th and 19th from 9am-345pm. We are in need of a few volunteers as the PTA runs a hospitality table
with snacks, spiritwear, and PTA membership information during Kindergarten Orientation. If you are able to lend a hand, we would appreciate it. Please contact Amanda Michalowicz, [email protected] or
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E084CABA92DA64-kindergarten
Geography Bowl is a voluntary enrichment program similar to the Spelling Bee. Each year, Farmland highlights
world geography by offering Geography Bowl study guides to the upper grades, including maps and facts about countries
and regions of the world. Students in Grades 3-5 already received a packet to complete and return to their teachers before
Spring Break. The packets will be corrected and returned to all students to enable them to study for the Bowl. Geography Bowl pretests are held on April 20th and 21st during recess. By taking the test, students compete for the right to
serve as one of 3 classroom representatives in the Geography Bowl Assemblies, held on May 3rd and 4th, depending on
grade level. This is a spirited academic event which is much loved by the Farmland community. We hope your children
choose to participate!
Follow us on Facebook (Farmland PTA) which will help us keep you informed!
We are utilizing our website http://www.farmland-pta.org , so you can check there for ALL PTA info!
Thank you!
Amanda Michalowicz
Farmland Elementary PTA President
News
County Executive Releases Operating Budget Recommendation for MCPS
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett has released his recommended operating budget for FY 2017 and
is proposing a $135.9 million increase in spending for MCPS. This is about $44 million less than the $2.5 billion
operating budget the Board of Education had requested. The Montgomery County Council will hold public hearings on the County
Executive’s budget recommendation on April 5, 6, and 7. This is an opportunity for parents, staff, students, and community members
to share their thoughts with county leaders about why it is important to fully fund the MCPS budget. To sign up to testify at a
hearing, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/PHSignup.html or call 240-777-7803. Stay informed and engaged on the
budget request on the MCPS operating budget website: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/
Study Released on MCPS Choice and Special Academic Programs
MCPS has released its comprehensive study of choice and other special academic programs. The study was commissioned by the Board
of Education to analyze how well choice and special academic programs advance the district’s mission, core purpose, and core values,
and to recommend ways MCPS can improve these programs. Over the next several months, MCPS will engage with the community
and work to develop a plan to address the report’s findings and recommendations. Three community and work to develop a plan to
address the report’s findings and the vision for choice within MCPS. The meetings will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. o n April 6 at
Gaithersburg High School. The report is available at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/choice/report.aspx. Where feedback also can
be submitted online.
Are You Up to the 5th Grade Challenge?
The MCPS Educational Foundation invites you to join local dignitaries and community leaders for a night of fun and celebratio n at the
fourth annual “Are You Up to the 5th Grade Challenge?” event on Monday, April 11. The event will be held at 7 p.m. at the AF I Silver
Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. The event will test local celebrity contestants on their knowledge
of Grade 5 facts. Students from more than 20 MCPS elementary schools will participate in the event. The event is free and o pen to the
public. Those who wish to attend are asked to register online at www.mcpsfoundation.org/fifth-grade-challenge-2016.