Message From The Principal

December Dates: 12/6, 12/9, 12/10: Scholastic Book Fair! *shop ‘til 8pm on 12/10! 12/10: PTA Business Meeting, 3:30 p.m.; Winter Chorus Perfor-mance, 6 p.m. 12/11-12/12: 3rd Gr. NASA Video Confer-ence, 12:45p 12/11: Interims go home; LEAP 7:00pm Admin Bldg. 12/13: Simpson MS/LCHS Chorus Perfor-mance, 9am 12/17: Kirby Kanga-roo 12/18: Author Visit Assembly, K-2 @ 8:45 and 3-5 @ 9:45; Staff Ugly Sweater & Tie Day...feel free to join in the fun if volunteering that day! 12/23 - 01/1: Winter Break 1/2/14: Classes re-sume 1/3/14: School Geog-raphy Bee, 8:30 am 1/13-14: Winter Uni-versal Screening, K-5 1/15/14: Intruder Drill

Catoctin Courier J e n n i f e r R u e c k e r t , P r i n c i p a l

j e n n i f e r . r u e c k e r t @ l c p s . o r g

A n d r e w H e i r o n i m u s , A s s i s t a n t P r i n c i p a l

a n d r e w . h e i r o n i m u s @ l c p s . o r g

Dear Families~

Thank you, parents and volunteers, for the extra time you served with our children

during the month of November. With only 16 instructional days in the month, we

still hit record numbers of volunteer hours and visitors each week. Parent-teacher

conferences, Veteran’s Day, American Education Week, and your support with

the Fire Up With Reading parade are just a snap shot of the dedication, commit-

ment, and care our community shares. The mission of Catoctin Elementary is to

ensure high levels of learning for all students. The countless volunteer hours to-

ward that mission is evident. Thank you! We couldn’t do it without you!

December is also another short month — only 15 instructional days — but it will

be another busy couple of weeks! December kicks off with one of MY favorite

events: the Book Fair! Admittedly, I have a book addiction. Music will fill our

cafeteria both by our own chorus of 4th and 5th graders, and the voices of the

Simpson and Loudoun County High School chorus. This month also brings

(usually) our first snowfall of the season, much colder weather, and a host of ex-

citing family traditions for the young and young at heart. Most grade levels will be

having Winter Parties on Friday, December 20th during the last hour of the in-

structional day. Look for additional information from your child’s teacher on the

party details.

I wish everyone a very happy holiday season. Enjoy the winter break cherishing

those you love most and making memories with your children each and every day!

See you in December~

Mrs. Rueckert

SOL Testing Dates — SAVE THE DATES

If you have a student in grades 3, 4, 5, please mark your calendars for the SOL test-

ing this year. The 5th grade Writing SOL will occur during the weeks of March 17-

28. Classroom teachers will determine specific dates as scheduling for March gets

closer. SOL testing for grades 3-5 in all non-writing subjects will occur between

May 12 through June 9th. Please schedule appointments outside of these testing

windows.

Fitness Matters Mr. Shepard Mr. Harris

Catoctin Courier

Responsive Instruction (RI)

We are extremely excited to be having another great year in Physical Education. We are into our second quarter and have covered a lot of great things with your wonderful students. This month we will be covering Kickball, jump roping/hula-hoops, and dance. We also will continue in-corporating muscles. Once again, we are very excited and enthused about Physical Education.

I feel humbled and honored to have the job I have. I love working with the students. I hope that they will bring some of the activities and knowledge of healthy practices home with them. If you have any questions/concerns or are interested in helping out at Field Day feel free to call or email. As always, thank you for all of your support, time, and effort. It is always appreciated! Will Shepard Physical Education Teacher Catoctin Cardinals

Groups continue to meet every morning for Power UP Time from 8:00-8:30am. We have an ex-

tremely creative staff working with the Intervention Groups on “embedded vowel sounds”

through games and activities to improve decoding and fluency skills. Other staff are working with

some of our 1st and 2

nd grade students to improve math fact fluency. Our fantastic homeroom

teachers are working with the Core and Extension Groups, to work on extended reading skills

such as: making inferences, determining the main idea, sequencing, cause and effect, and vo-

cabulary. Next Universal Screening Date is Jan 13th & 14

th.

Catoctin Courier

Wow, November flew past. We were very busy with Veteran’s day and Original Works projects. The fund raiser was a great success and helped to pay for the Veteran’s Day calendars that featured student art. The attending Veterans have always been very complimentary of the calendars so we hope to continue this tradition. Thank you for all of the orders that make the project possible. The remaining funds will go towards a camera for the art room that connects to the promethean board. This camera will allow me to record demonstrations. The demo can then be projected on the promethean board making it easier for all of the students to see and many times review the demo for things they might have missed or forgotten from the first time around. The Original Works orders are expected to be back at school around Dec. 15. As soon as they arrive I will send them home. If there are any parents that would rather pick up their child’s items please let me know and I will hold them to the side. This is such a busy time of year, if you didn’t get your Original Works order in and still want to order I will be sending in a late order. This will most likely go out at the beginning of the second week of December. The orders sent in late are not guaranteed to arrive before the holiday break. The Art room is still looking for empty/clean ketchup and mustard bottles, the kind that are upside down. Please send them in when you finish one up, I’m going to use them for paint. Thank you for your continued support of the Catoctin Art program. Kris Bennett

Thank You Catoctin Staff By Daphne Holt

Hi. It’s me, Daphne. I’m in Brownie Troop 2718 at Catoctin. There are 13 girls in my troop and we’re all in 2

nd grade. This year, for our holiday service project, we collected stuff to

send to a Marine unit in Afghanistan. Some of us took our extra Halloween candy and gave it to the dentist. She gave us a dollar for every pound of candy, and we used the money to help pay for sending the boxes. I put a box in the teacher’s lounge, and the staff made it full of things like tissues, playing cards, footballs, trail mix, and toothpaste. They also wrote notes to the Marines on some Christmas cards I made. At our last Brownie meeting, we packed all of those things in boxes, and we added some candy canes and pom-poms that we made to make it nice. When the Marine unit gets the stuff they will be happy! I love Girl Scouts because we get to do awesome stuff. Thank you Catoctin staff! You were a big help for our Girl Scout Christmas project!

THANK YOU!

Catoctin Courier

News From the Library: As I write this article for the newsletter, I am thinking about our Catoctin Kids and how much reading they have done during the month of November. WOW! Our goal was to read 2500 books in 20 days. At the end of Day 16, we are near our goal—we have read 2382 books……only 118 to go! I truly believe that we will be able to say that we read MORE than 2500 books in only 17 days…..Go Catoctin Readers!! I’m so proud of you and I’m sure the time you’ve spent reading togeth-er has been warm and wonderful for you and your family. Thank you, parents, for helping us to reach our goal. Now for upcoming events…

Catoctin’s Book Fair

Is

Happening Soon!

December 6, 9, and 10 Friday, December 6 7:30 am to 5:00 pm

Monday, December 9 7:30 am to 5:00 pm

Tuesday, December 10 7:30 am to 8:00 pm

(Note that we will be open before AND after

the Choral Concert)

Come and Shop With

Us at Catoctin

Catoctin Courier

The Rust Library has some great programs coming up in December--including several family programs over the holiday break, in case folks are looking for

something fun and interesting to do! We hope you and your child/children

can attend a few. Enjoy reading together during December!!

Grades K-2

Fractured Fairytale “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” Scavenger Hunt Saturday, December 7 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. (Drop-in) Whole families welcome. No registration required. Holiday Concert presented by Little Mozart Academy Sunday, December 8 @ 2:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required. My First Book Club discusses Big Bob and the Winter Holiday Potato by Daniel Pinkwater Tuesday, December 10 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Mothergoose Math: Snowflake Bingo Thursday, December 12 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Me & My World: The Winter Sky Saturday, December 14 @ 2:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Mothergoose Science: The North Pole Monday, December 16 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Social Studies and Me: Bonjour Paris! Tuesday, December 17 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Afternoon Board Games Thursday, December 26 @ 3:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required. Winter Break Matinee: Wreck-It Ralph Thursday, December 27 @ 2:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required. Winter Break Matinee: Cars 2 Monday, December 30 @ 2:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required.

Catoctin Courier

Grades 3-5 Fractured Fairytale “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” Scavenger Hunt Saturday, December 7 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. (Drop-in) Whole families welcome. No registration required. Holiday Concert presented by Little Mozart Academy Sunday, December 8 @ 2:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required. “It’s Out of this World” Science Fiction Book Club discusses The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale Wednesday, December 11 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Social Studies and Me: Bonjour Paris! Tuesday, December 17 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Picturing America: Norman Rockwell Wednesday, December 18 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Go! Go! Green!: Recycled Holiday Gifts Thursday, December 19 @ 4:00 p.m. Call 703-771-5624 to register. Afternoon Board Games Thursday, December 26 @ 3:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required. Winter Break Matinee: Wreck-It Ralph Thursday, December 27 @ 2:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required.

Winter Break Matinee: Cars 2 Monday, December 30 @ 2:00 p.m. Whole families welcome. No registration required.

Catoctin Courier

MUSIC—worthy News From Ms. Olejer

Welcome to the music room! The Standards of Learning for music education are varied and great. Our students work on accomplishing these standards throughout the year through many activities. Our composer of the month for December is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. All students will be learning about his life and music in music class, as well as listening to music composed by him. 1

st grade is playing singing games and learning about quarter

notes and eighth notes. 2nd

grade is learning songs that they will be performing in a musi-cal in February. 3

rd grade is learning about different instrument ensembles including band,

chorus and orchestra. 4th grade is learning the notes of the treble clef and learning how to

play the soprano recorder. 5th grade is reviewing notes on the treble clef and beginning to

play new notes on the recorder. We are all working hard on some winter songs to sing in a sing along at the end of December. All grade levels will continue to learn about notes and rhythms, which they practice every day. In addition to our learning in the music classroom, we also have some chorus news for this month.

CHORUS NEWS!

The chorus will be having a winter concert on December 10, 2013 in the cafe-

teria/ auditorium at 9 am for the students only, and 6:00 pm for the friends and family of the

students. All students in the chorus need to wear a white, long sleeved, button down shirt,

and black pants for both performances. Girls have the option of wearing a LONG black

skirt (to the ankles) and black tights. All students should have black shoes. Please make

sure your child is ready for the concert and has their costume ready. The chorus members

are doing a great job and are very excited to share their talent with you at the winter con-

cert. Hope to see you there!

Catoctin Courier

GIFTED ORGANIZATIONS

Many parents, educators, and community members have questions about gifted education. While it is always helpful and advisable to speak with the SEARCH teacher at your child's school concerning questions you might have about gifted education, there are many more resources which are worth ex-ploring. Local, state, and national organizations offer a wealth of information about every aspect of giftedness: characteristics of gifted children, parenting the gifted child, local, state, and national stand-ards, and opportunities for involvement. Let's explore a few ways to learn more about gifted educa-tion, both here in Loudoun County and all over Virginia and the U.S. The first and best way to learn about LCPS gifted programs is to attend public meetings. A series of meetings was held in September for parents in several venues around Loudoun County. Similar meetings will be held after the winter break. There is no better way to understand gifted education in LCPS than to attend one of these meetings. Dates and times will be announced soon, and your SEARCH teacher will post this information on the school website. Every other month, the LCPS Gifted Advisory Council meets at the LCPS Administration Building in Ashburn. Various topics of local interest about gifted education are explored at these meetings, which are open to the public. The next meeting is December 12, so if you are interested in Loudoun County gifted education, make plans to attend. More information can be found here: http://www.lcps.org/page/624 If you are interested in gifted education around the state, you might want to investigate the Virginia Association for the Gifted (VAG): http://www.vagifted.org/index.html Membership in the VAG is $20 per year and your dues will not only furnish you with ongoing communications (a long and interesting monthly newsletter) but will support gifted issues in the Commonwealth. The Parent Resources sec-tion of the VAG website maintains a current list of summer and enrichment opportunities for gifted chil-dren, as well as articles of interest to parents. The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is the national organization which supports gifted children, their parents, gifted research, gifted education, and advocacy for the gifted. There is much to explore on the NAGC website (http://www.nagc.org/ ) and, for parents, there are numerous articles and position papers concerning many "Hot Topics" in gifted education (http://www.nagc.org/HotTopics.aspx ).

There are many resources for learning about gifted education—the issues, the research, and the rec-

ommendations. Explore some of these resources, but first and foremost, don't forget to attend the

winter Gifted Information Nights. We'll be announcing the times and places soon, so make plans to

attend one of them. You'll be glad you did!

Catoctin Courier

Counselor’s Corner — Mr. Lotz

Thank You for Supporting Catoctin’s Food Drive Thank you so much to everyone who participated in Catoctin Elementary's food drive and donated non-perishable goods in support of Volunteer Loudoun's "Make a Difference Day". Catoctin families donated nearly 450 food items this year! The items we collected were combined with food from 56 other LCPS schools, as well as Loudoun residents and businesses, to support Loudoun In-terfaith Relief’s efforts to provide food during the holiday season to less fortunate members of our community. This year’s food drive collected over 22,000 pounds of food for Loudoun Interfaith Re-lief’s food pantry! If you would like to learn more about Volunteer Loudoun and Loudoun Interfaith Relief, please visit http://www.volunteerloudoun.com/ or http://www.interfaithrelief.org/. Thank you again and Happy Holidays! George Lotz School Counselor

Have You Heard About the Cups?

To better encourage positive behavior during lunch, Catoctin has introduced a

Cafeteria Challenge! Our PBIS team has placed a stack of 4 cups at the end of

each table in the cafeteria. The cups are 4 different colors – Blue, Green, Yellow

and Red. The colors represent how well each class is being Respectful,

Responsible and Ready in the cafeteria. A Red cup means

the class did not show the 3 R’s during lunch. Yellow means

the class is working towards being Respectful, Responsible

& Ready. A Green cup means they did it! Blue cups are giv-

en only to classes that had exceptional cafeteria behavior.

That means everyone did a fantastic job and exceeded our

high expectations for them.

Classes that receive green cups earn 1 point towards the

Cafeteria Challenge. Blue cups are worth 2. Green and blue

tickets are placed on the wall outside the cafeteria to track our progress.

Our first quarter challenge ended on November 1st. The students earned 306 points, sur-

passing our goal of 300. As a reward, the entire school participated in a Wii “Just Dance”

challenge at our November PBIS Assembly.

A new Cafeteria Challenge is underway now. We have set a new goal of earning 400

points before Winter Break. Please remind your students to be Respectful, Responsible

and Ready in the cafeteria as we work towards reaching our goal!

Catoctin Courier

November Cardinals of the Week

Every student at Catoctin is expected to be Respectful, Responsible and Ready at all times. When teachers notice students demonstrating the 3 R’s, they may reward that student with a red Cardinal Cash ticket! Every week, one student per class who has earned a Cardinal Cash ticket is selected to be the Cardinal of the Week! Cardinals of the Week are recognized during the morning announcements, receive a certificate & wristband, and have their names added to the PBIS display located be-tween Pods 2 & 3. Congratulations to all of the students who were selected during the month of Novem-

ber!

Kindergarten Angelina Guevara Anna Herlihy Clair Pho Cole Johnson Cordelia Laughlin Ferry Elaina Donyina Elisha Casarrubias Emma Hawkins Harper Sabetto Jocelen General Keira O'Malley Miles Beal Nathan Martinez Nathanael Harvey Olivia Leatherman First Grade Claire Chamberlain Cole Terhune Elaina Neumiller Isaiah Boesche Jackson Mulvihill Jamison Moran Layla Rethy Lex Libby Macy Singleton Noah Estinto Slater Baggett

Stephanie Hernandez Second Grade David Craven Faith Fanning Hayley Sutton Isaac McIntosh Jacob Calmet Kalel Salifou Katherine Garvey Kristina Breland Mariana Gonzalez Patrick George Ruby Zeiter Gherst Sam Bowles Sean Csizmedia Sebastian Laughlin Ferry Tyler Leatherman Third Grade Alexa Sison Alexis Cuatlacuatl Andrea Lara-Echaverria Annie Mercado Ariana Lai Caleb Preshong Carlin Laques Cole Schenck

Hannah Perez-Jacobs Henry Hancock Pete Cooper Wren Griner Fourth Grade Abbigail Jacobs Emily Figueroa Esteffani Torres Kieran Fensterwald Logan Wagner Michael Walsh Rachel Kelly Tess Lattanzi William Hogsett Fifth Grade Colin Welsh Ellie Wooten Hannah Quintana Jaquon Jones Joshua Berstein Madeline Sicking Olivia Davis Sarah Klein Sean Brennan

Catoctin Courier

Catoctin Courier

1. The clinic has been busy with the usual skinned knees at recess, injuries from balls in PE

and ever present stomach aches. But over the last few weeks there has been an unusu-

al increase of cases of head lice. There is no pattern regarding the grade, the class, the

bus, the gender, after school activities, etc. So, we are responding by having all children

store their coats in their backpacks. I’ve asked teachers to be on the “look out” for fre-

quent head scratchers in their class and to send them to the clinic for further evaluation by

me. I ask you parents to please occasionally check your child’s heads for the eggs which

are found at the top of the hair shaft near the scalp or any LIVE bugs. Lice travel from hair

to hair so discourage your kids from sharing hats, combs, touching heads, etc. After

some research I have been informed that since head lice do not have grippers on their

little feet they cannot stick on the headphones so they are not a risk for spread. Head lice

can live only 24 hours without a HUMAN head. It takes about three weeks for them to

cause symptoms of itchiness and sense of “crawling bugs”. (Three weeks ago was Hal-

loween so that could be a factor). The most prevalent season for lice infestation among

our elementary kids is over the holidays when they visit family and friends. They don’t

care who you are or where you live. Here is the LCPS link: LCPS website - Student

Health Services. Once on this page click head lice in the left hand column for information.

Feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions. Also, please let me know if your

child has been treated for head lice.

2. It is the beginning of Flu Season. I encourage you to get your families immunized. I

have seen a few cases of the flu already at Catoctin.

3. Donations: If you find your child has outgrown his/her pants we could use spare pants for

our younger grades for the occasion. I would be very grateful for sizes 4T to size 7. No

larger sizes are needed.

Catoctin Courier

Students must be in their

classrooms by 7:50 ready to

learn. Otherwise, they will

be marked “tardy.”

Excessive tardies will be

referred to the Attendance

Officer.

Catoctin Courier

Catoctin Courier