farmland elementary school barnyard bulletin may 2017 materials! mrs. regnell, the reading...

Farmland Elementary School

Barnyard Bulletin

May 2017

7000 Old Gate Road

Rockville, MD 20852

(240)740-0660 FAX (301) 230-5424

http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/farmlandes/ Mary Bliss, Principal [email protected] Vincent Fazzalare, Acting 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,

How wonderful it is to welcome in the month of May! From here on, the tempo speeds up and before

we know it, the end of the year is upon us. We still have much to accomplish and many activities to

enjoy!

The PTA held the annual Geography Bowl this past week and it was as exciting and impressive as

ever! Mr. Fazzalare and I had a thoroughly pleasurable time as judges. The Masters of Ceremonies

were Mr. Alexander, Mrs. Weissenburger, and Ms. Peters. They did an incredible job and entertained

our audience with corny geography jokes! Many thanks to them! An enormous amount of gratitude

and appreciation for our Geography Bowl Chairs, Mrs. Cordray-Stewart and Mrs. Bingley, who spent

hours and hours to put this event together and then served as the ever-efficient Time-Keeper and

Score-Keeper! Our heroes are all of the students who (to quote Mr. Alexander) “had the courage” to

choose to attempt this challenge and study regardless of whether or not they made it on stage. The

students who did serve as representatives of their classes were magnificent and may very likely have

known more about geography than many adults in the room! You were very impressive! We applaud

you!

We also had a great deal of fun at our Grade 3-5 Family Fun Night. It is so terrific to see all of our

intermediate students, their families, and school staff enjoying time together. Thanks to the following

staff who came out to join us for the evening: Mrs. Murphy, Mrs. Powelson, Mrs. Hanifin, Ms.

Heckelman, Ms. Strauss, Ms. Peters, Mr. Adkins, Ms. McClure, Mr. Trachtenberg, and Mr. Alexander.

Matt Wellen and KAH provided the entertainment and the PTA organized the refreshments. All three

groups worked beautifully together to make this night a success!

We have Kindergarten Orientation for the 2017-2018 school year next week on Monday, May 1st

through Wednesday, May 3rd. There will be no school for our current kindergarteners during that

time; please be sure to make alternate arrangements for them. If you know of any families that have

incoming kindergarteners and have yet to register, please encourage them to do so at: http://

www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/farmlandes/news/K%20Letter%20to%

20Community%2017-18%20doc.pdf. Enrollment for next year is based on full registration of incoming

students; there cannot be any incomplete mandatory documentation. This is very important as

staffing for teachers is based on enrollment numbers. Currently, we have 110 incoming

kindergarteners registered.

As our school has a high mobility rate between the end of this school year and the beginning of the new

one, it is fairly common to decrease and then increase by as many as 100 students. Hopefully, you

have turned in your Intent for Next Year form and your Child Profile Sheet sharing information about

your child’s strengths, learning style, and best learning environment. If not, you can request another

form from your classroom teacher. It will be extremely helpful for our next year’s planning and

staffing if you inform your classroom teacher if you will not or may not return next year. I also need to

once again respectfully request that you do not ask for or mention teachers by name regarding next

year. We cannot take specific requests; to be fair, we can only consider the input from your Child’s

Profile Sheet. There are many factors that go into the creation of classrooms and we hold articulation

meetings with grade levels, administration, special education, ESOL teachers, and the counselor to

create these classes.

We are in the midst of our final testing windows. We are finishing our MAP assessments

(Kindergarten through Grade 5 in reading and Grade 2-5 in math.) The state Partnership and

Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) assessment in reading and math for grades 3-5 begins next

Friday, May 5th and continues throughout the month. Kindergarten through Second Grade will have

their mCLASS reading administration in May as well. Please be sure to inform your classroom

teacher if your child is going to be absent for any length of time beyond a couple of days during this

window so we can ensure they are assessed during the window. Once a window closes, we are unable

to assess a student.

“Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” – Zig Ziglar

Warmest regards,

Mrs. Mary Bliss

Important Dates

May 1 – 5

Staff Appreciation Week

Food Service Recognition Week

May 1

Kindergarten Orientation

May 2

Fourth Grade Marine Invertebrate

Workshop 9:30 am


May 3


Instrumental Music Concert 7:00 pm

May 4

Instrumental Music School

Concert – Grades 3 – 5 10:30 am

First Grade Field Trip to Sharps

Farm

May 8

Volunteer Appreciation Tea 4:15

pm

May 9

Fourth Grade Field Trip – St.

Mary’s

May 15

Staff Basketball Game 4:20 pm

May 16

Patrol Picnic

May 22

Third Grade Field Trip –

Baltimore Museum of Industry

May 23

Kindergarten Field Trip –

National Zoo

May 24

Spring Chorus Concert 7:00 pm

May 25

Jeans for Troops Day

May 29

No School – Memorial Day

May 30

5th Grade Field Trip – Mount

Vernon


Media Center News

What will students learn when they visit the media center during the

month of May?

It’s hard to believe that the school year is nearing an end! In the media center, this means

we must ask you to please help your child keep track of any books he or she has checked out

so that these can be returned before our final due date of June 5. If your child has an

overdue book, he or she will be receiving an overdue notice sometime within the week or two

prior to June 5, so please be sure to help your child be a responsible library patron by returning or paying for

any missing books. Media center obligations follow students all through their time at Farmland as well as

when they continue on to middle school. Please make sure your child has returned his or her books!

Kindergarten: Students will focus on identifying parts of a story and be able to list a sequence of events in

a story. Students will be introduced to the Destiny catalog to help them find books on a topic.

LFI: Students continue to visit the media center weekly to hear a story, use the computer, and check out

books.

1st Grade: Students will explore the Destiny catalog to find informational books about a topic or about an

interest. Students will work on note taking from our regularly used series of books on countries.

2nd Grade: Students will work on their typing skills. They will create a project related to a classroom as-

signment, utilizing their typing skills as well as PowerPoint software.

3rd Grade: Students will continue exploring genres and will participate in a “genre café” where the media

center becomes a restaurant and they choose their favorite genre.

4th Grade: Students continue exploring issues having to do with “fake news” and reliability of information.

Students will hear read-aloud books about the lives of important persons such as Supreme Court justices.

5th Grade: Students will research and write about the future of a career. They will learn how to use Pow-

Toons to create a video about their career and will use NoodleTools citation software for recording biblio-

graphic information.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns!

Calling volunteers to support and assist teachers and staff with

instructional materials! Mrs. Regnell, the Reading Specialist, is seeking

volunteers from all grade levels on a weekly basis to assist in organizing,

filing and processing books and materials for the school’s book areas. The

schedule is flexible as parents can come and assist as their schedule

permits. Teachers need materials returned and circulated often in their

classrooms and so that younger students are able to bring books home to “practice” their reading.

No previous experience necessary. Please contact Carolann Regnell via email at

[email protected]. Thank you so much for helping and supporting your child’s

school!

Music News


What will students learn during music in May?

Kindergarten:

This month students will learn that symbols can be used to represent sounds in music and that music can have a steady beat. The students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic reading music by creating a pictorial sound piece and “reading” picture symbols for long/short & high/low. The students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic Performing Music, by playing the steady beat, performing singing games and finger plays, and singing with a limited vocal range. 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. The 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. The students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic Reading and Notating music by reading simple rhythm and pitch patterns and by notating rhythm and pitch patterns on lines and spaces. 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. The students will continue to demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic Creating Music by composing and notating simple 8-beat rhythm patterns using standard notation. The students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic Analyzing and Responding by describing different musical contrasts. 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. The students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic Reading and Notating music by notating simple rhythm and pitch patterns on the musical staff. The students will demonstrate their learning for the measurement topic Creating Music by using their voice and musical instruments to improvise “answer” phrases for the teacher’s musical “questions”. 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 learn that applying proper performance techniques is one way to demonstrate understanding of musical elements. The students will review and practice performance techniques for a singing and conducting expressive qualities such as tempo and dynamics. They will also practice composing using a diatonic scale. Fifth Grade:

This month the students will learn that understanding musical elements is essential to enhance musicians’ skills. The students will listen to, perform, and identify changes in expressive qualities. They will sing or play in groups blending timbres and matching dynamic levels. They will also practice composing using a diatonic scale.

Fifth Grade Chorus updates: The Blue Ribbon Ceremony is on Wednesday, May 17, 2017; students should wear their fifth grade Farmland shirt, for their performance please. The Spring Chorus Concert is on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. for families. Students should wear a white shirt and black pants/skirt for the day and evening concerts, please. Students should arrive at Farmland ES at 6:45 pm. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Contact Information: Anne Kasab: [email protected] Samantha Lalley: [email protected] Theresa Kormann: [email protected] Alison Siegel: [email protected] Jacob Hartranft: [email protected]

Art News


What will students learn during art in May?

Kindergarten Starry Night Construction Shapes

Students in kindergarten will view the work of Vincent van Gogh and analyze his painting, Starry Night to visu-

ally see how an artist can create the design principle of movement in a still picture. Students will also learn

about geometric shapes and how different houses and forms of architecture are comprised of a variety geometric

shapes or forms. Students will demonstrate an understanding of movement and shape by creating a composition

that includes at least two forms of movement throughout the picture as well as a small town built out of only geo-

metric shapes.

First Grade Paper Loom Weaving

Students will be introduced to the concept that cloth and fabrics can be created by a process called weaving. Stu-

dents will start off by creating a paper loom, by cutting long parallel lines, one inch wide across their paper. Then

using long colored paper strips, students will fill in their loom, alternating colors as they weave in a colored pat-

tern. Students will demonstrate an understanding by creating a paper loom and successfully fill in their entire

loom by weaving a colored pattern using 2-3 colors.

Second Grade Project InSECT

Students in second grade will learn about the mobile artist Alexander Calder and identify how Calder was able to

balance different lines and shapes in his sculptures that would hang down from above. Using butterflies as the

theme to their hanging mobile, students will then use scientific butterfly identification charts and books to see

the difference in butterfly designs and shape to use in their mobile. Students will demonstrate proficiency by cre-

ating a balanced mobile of 4-8 butterflies drawn and hung by the student’s own observations.

Third Grade Turning Thaumatropes

Students will be introduced to an animation device called the Thaumatrope. These optical toys consist of two sep-

arate images on each side of a round disc, that when twirled. the two images are perceived together as one single

image. This is possible because of the eye's ability to retain an image for a fraction of a second after the object is

gone. With this knowledge, students will create their own original Thaumatrope spinner. Students will demon-

strate proficiency by successfully combining two separate images on their Thaumatrope disc into one using mo-

tion and the principle of persistence of vision.

Fourth Grade Fashion Design

Students in fourth grade will be introduced to how teams of fashion designers collaborate together to create a

unified clothing collection. Starting with a pattern or color, designers draw fashion croquis or rough outline

sketches of figure models, so they can illustrate how different ideas can become a part of a cohesive collection.

Students will work with classmates to create a new clothing collection. Students will produce a design board that

shows the fashion croquis, fabric patterns and color scheme in their team’s collection. Students will demonstrate

proficiency by creating an original clothing design by arranging art elements and design principles for an original

fabric design.

Fifth Grade Contemporary Relief Mask

With the construction of their relief masks complete, students will now focus on adding color and contrast to their

masks. Using color as a way to communicate a feeling or expression, students will use color pastels in any area on

the surface of the mask. After covering all the surface area with color, everything will next be painted black. With

everything now covered. Students will scratch off the black and reveal areas of color to bring back some of the

color. Students can also add color designs and color textures by scratching off parts of the black. Students will

demonstrate proficiency by using the scratch art technique to create contrast and texture in 4-8 areas of their

masks.


PE News Field Day is June 9th. Rain date is May 12th. This annual event involves all Farmland students

participating in physical education activities throughout the school day. There are two shifts (am/

pm). The K, 1st, 2nd graders will participate in field day from 9:30-11:30. The 3rd,4th,5th

graders will participate in field day from 12:30-2:30. Parent volunteers are needed to assist with

22 different activities.

If you would like to volunteer for field day, please go to the following link to register:

http://tinyurl.com/FarmlandFieldDay

Here is what is going on in Physical Education over the next several weeks…

Kindergarten

Students will be learning about being respectful, responsible and cooperative. One activity that the students will be involved in is

called capture the flag. We will also be reviewing field day activities such as jump rope, parachute and hula hoop roll.

First Grade

Students will be learning about health-related fitness (muscular strength, cardiorespiratory, flexibility). One activity that the

students will be involved in is called capture the flag. We will also be reviewing field day activities such as soccer shots, tennis ups

and tumbling.

Second Grade

Students will be learning about setting goals and persistence. One activity that the students will be involved in is called capture

the flag. We will also be reviewing field day activities such as softball toss, scoop toss and ring toss.

Third Grade

Students will be learning about FITT guidelines (frequency, intensity, time, type) for exercise. One activity that the students will be

involved in is called floor hockey. We will also be reviewing field day activities such as rope climb, tumbling and balance beam.

Fourth Grade


involved in is called soccer. We will also be reviewing field day activities such as 4-square, basketball shots and baserunning.

Fifth Grade


involved in is called basketball. We will also be reviewing field day activities such as capture the flag, football toss and base

running.

This year students in Grades 3-5 will take the Partnership for Assessment of College and

Careers (PARCC) on-line assessments for reading and math. Students do not need to do

anything to prepare for the PARCC assessments other than get a good night’s sleep, eat a

healthy breakfast, come to school on time, and put forth their best effort! Please see the schedule below.

PARCC Testing Schedule

Grade 3 ELA: May 12, 15, 16,

Grade 3 Math: May 5, 8, 9, 10

Grade 4 ELA: May 18, 19, 25

Grade 4 Math: May 5, 8, 9, 10

Grade 5 ELA: May 18, 19, 23

Grade 5 Math: May 9, 11, 12, 15

*ELA denotes English Language Arts (Reading)

Note: We cannot interrupt testing to dismiss a student. It is best to avoid any appointments during this window; but if

this becomes necessary, please alert the school ahead of time. The student will need to miss the testing session and have

a make-up.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

PARCC

http://tinyurl.com/FarmlandFieldDay


Counselor’s Corner

During May, I will be reviewing the Pillars of Character in all classrooms. We will read the story Pickle-Chiffon Pie by Jolly Roger

Bradfield. Students will be able to identify the Pillars of Character in the story. Students will also have an opportunity to discuss

their favorite Pillar of Character. They will identify which Pillar of character is their favorite and write about it. 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.

Let’s Talk About Character

During May and June, we will be celebrating all six Pillars of Character: Respect, Trustworthiness,

Responsibility, Caring, Fairness, and Citizenship. Students demonstrate these character vales all school

year long. Please speak with your children about the importance of character!

Pennies for Patients

The Student Council would like to thank everyone who participated in the

“Pennies for Patients” drive at Farmland to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma

Society. Thanks to your generous donations we were able to raise $3,844.74! Way to go Farmland!

Clothing to Cash

OK, Farmland! Time to clean out those closets and donate to Clothing to Cash. We would like to challenge

the community to become one of the top three schools to donate in the area. See below for data. I am proud to announce that Farmland Elementary School collected 282.0 lbs. of clothing and shoes in

March. A check totaling $28.20 is scheduled to arrive.

The top three schools in Montgomery County for March are:

We can be a top three school and receive a bonus check. This is a great time to clean out those closets and donate to this cause. The money comes back directly to support your classrooms!!

Remember, clothes and shoes in any condition can be donated!

Thanks again for being green and being part of the Clothing to Cash – School Recycling Program.

1st Place Glen Haven Elementary School 2046.0 lbs. Extra $100 Total Check $304.60

2nd Place Brooke Grove Elementary School 1829.0 lbs. Extra $50 Total Check $232.90

3rd Place Judith Resnik Elementary School 1544.0 lbs. Extra $25 Total Check $179.40

Attention Parents of Fifth Grade

Students

As you prepare your student for advancement to middle school,

please be mindful of vaccinations required for middle school students. Please provide

your students updated vaccinations, including tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) and meningococcal

conjugate (MCV), to the school office. If you have any questions, please call the school’s health room at (240)-

740-0662

mailto:[email protected]

Come see Farmland’s fabulous staff face off in the annual…

Staff Basketball Game

Monday, May 15 4:20 p.m.

in the gym

Admission is $1 per person.

Your admission ticket is also your raffle ticket for the chance to

participate in games and win prizes at halftime! Order your

tickets using the form below.

All funds raised from the game will go purchasing flowers for the Walter Reed

National Military Medical Center

Staff Basketball Game – May 11, 4:20 p.m.

Ticket Order Form

Student Name (first and last)________________________________________________

Teacher Name _______________________________________ Grade ______________

Number of tickets (include parents) ___________ x $1 = __________________ Total

*Return this form with your payment to your classroom teacher. Tickets will be

delivered to students’ classrooms the day before the game.

Important Note: All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Students attending the game will remain in their classrooms until

after all buses have been called for dismissal. Parents waiting to

attend the game with their child should wait in front of the build-

ing on the cafeteria side to avoid interfering with the dismissal

of bus riders and walkers. Thank you for your cooperation.

farmland elementary school barnyard bulletin may 2017 materials! mrs. regnell, the reading...

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