Please see below for the Principal’s Spotlight for the week of October 7. You can also click here for a PDF.
Mon., Oct. 7 Hip Hop, 3:30-4:30, gym
Cyber Minecraft, 3:30-4:30, rm. 214
Cooking, 3:30-4:30, rm. 163
I9 Sports Lacrosse, 3:30-4:30 pm
K Daisies, rm. 121
Tues., Oct. 8 Big Learning for K-1, 3:30-4:30, rm. 219
Art Escapades, 3:30-4:30, rm. 163
MSA Basketball, 3:30-4:30, gym
MSA Soccer, 3:30-4:30
Guitar, 3:30-4:30, rm. 121
Wed., Oct. 9 Walk to School Day
Beginning/Intermediate French, 8:00 am, rm. 240
Spanish Intro, 8:15 am, rm. 212
Adventure Theater, 3:30-4:30, rm. 124
MSA Street Hockey, 3:30-4:30
Beginning Spanish, 3:30-4:30, rm. 235
Gr. 2 Brownies, rm. 128
Gr. 4 Juniors, rm. 239
Thur., Oct. 10 Kung Fu, 3:30-4:30, rm. 121
Big Learning for 2-4, 3:30-4:30, rm. 223
Art Escapades, 3:30-4:30, rm. 163
Beginning Chinese, 3:30-4:30, rm. 218
I9 Sports Soccer, 3:30-4:30
Fri., Oct. 11 Wear your Bells Mill Spirit Wear Today!
Interim Spanish, 8:00 am, rm. 239
Play-Well Tek., 3:30-5:00, rm. 163
Odyssey of the Mind, 3:30, Media Center
A Look Ahead
October 14 Open House 9:15-11:30 am, Parents Welcome!
Book Fair opens, 10:30 am, Media Center
October 15 Book Fair evening hours, 6:30-8:30 pm, Media Center
October 16 Book Fair evening hours, 6:30-8:30 pm, Media Center
October 17 Walk for the Homeless, 2:30
- Beginning Monday, October 14, the Bells Mill cafeteria will offer a Salad Bar as a part of the lunch time menu. A few details:
- Initially we will begin with 4th and 5th graders, and in subsequent weeks we will offer it to the remaining grades as we get used to it.
- Students purchasing a lunch will be able to visit the salad bar as a part of the purchased lunch for no extra charge.
- The salad bar will replace the side items that go along with the main entrée, or students can continue to choose the side items and not the salad bar; their choice.
- The salad bar will include vegetables that are typically found on salad bars. Several dressings will be offered.
- The salad bar will be offered 5days a week. Additionally, students may purchase a salad separately at a cost of 43 cents per ounce. No preordering required.
- Reminder from the health room, please check your child’s head for lice on a regular basis throughout the school year. This is our best form of preventing the spread of lice in the community.
- On Wednesday, October 9, we will participate in the county-wide Walk to School Day. This event is part of Safe Routes to School, a program to create safer walking and biking routes so parents are comfortable allowing their children to walk and bike to school. To ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in this event, we are asking parents who normally drive their child to school to have their children walk to school on October 9. If you must drive your child to school on that day, please drop your child off at Cabin John MS. Bells Mill teachers and patrols will be onsite to escort students as we walk to school together. Please drop off your child by 8:50 am.
- The Bells Mill Book Fair opens on October 14 in the Media Center. All proceeds from book sales go directly to the purchase of reading and math materials for teachers and the media center. The Book Fair opens on Monday, October 14, at 10:30, and runs through Thursday, October 17, at 1 p.m. Evening hours are on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 15 & 16, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please check backpacks for more details.
- Our annual Walk for the Homeless will take place on Thursday, October 17, at 2:30 pm. All students will participate in the walk. Those students who are registered online will receive a FREE Tshirt. The $20 online registration fee is tax deductible and directly benefits Stepping Stones Shelter in Rockville. To register visit http://www.hthwalks.org/site/TR/Walk/General?team_id=20390&pg=team&fr_id=1839 . Questions, [email protected] .
- Attention Grade 3 Parents: Every Grade 3 parent/guardian should have received an application for the Elementary Centers for the Highly Gifted (HCG). Forms were mailed directly to homes from MCPS. The application deadline is November 8, 2013. Follow instructions for mailing the form to MCPS. Do not return the form to school, as this will only delay the process. Applications are also at: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/highly-gifted-centers.aspx . There will be two Parent Information Meetings: October 22at Northwest High School and October 24at Wheaton High School. Both meetings will take place at 7:00 pm in the school auditorium. Information about the parent meetings is also included in the application materials that parents received. Interested parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to attend.
- FREE flu mist vaccines will be offered to children between the ages of 3 and 18, November 1, 9:00 am- noon, at Kennedy, Richard Montgomery and Seneca Valley High Schools. In order to participate in this program the families need to make an appointment by visiting www.montgomerycountymd.gov/flu or calling 311.
- Attention Grade 5 Parents: Middle School Magnet program applications and Middle School Magnet Consortium choice forms are due November 8, 2013. Every Grade 5 parent/guardian should have received information on the magnet programs. Information was mailed directly to homes from MCPS. Parents can choose from three information meetings: Thursday October 10, Roberto Clemente MS ((Humanities and Communication, Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science), Thursday October 10, Takoma Park MS (Math, Science, Computer Science), and Tuesday October 22, Eastern MS (Humanities and Communication). All meetings begin at 7:00 pm. Please visit the MCPS website for more information, www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms .
- Home work Hotline Live! is back for its 28th season, offering students in grades K-12 free homework assistance from MCPS teachers. Homework Hotline Live! can be viewed on Comcast 34, Verizon 36, RCN 89, and at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/itv/hhl/. Students can call, send text messages, or email questions on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 4:00-9:00 p.m. Questions received by phone are answered between 4 and 6 p.m.; all other questions are answered up until 9 p.m. Students can: call 301-279-3234; visit the website askhhl.org; send a text message to 724-427-5445; email [email protected]; post a message to facebook.com/AskHHL; or “tweet” to Twitter (@askHHL) .
- The latest edition of mcpssuper highlights the new Strategic Planning Framework that will guide the work of the school system in the coming years. The Framework is built around three core competencies—Academic Excellence, Creative Problem Solving, and Social Emotional Learning. These are the competencies students will need to compete and thrive in the 21st century. The show will be broadcast regularly on MCPS TV and can be viewed online at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/superintendent/mcpssuper/current/.
- Save the Date! MCPS State of the Schools Event is set for November 11. Superintendent Joshua P. Starr will deliver his second State of the Schools address on Monday, November 11, at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda. MCPS parents and community members are invited to join Dr. Starr as he shares his vision for preparing all students for success and we celebrate the outstanding students of Montgomery County Public Schools. This free event will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and will feature artwork and performances by MCPS students. Visit the State of the Schools website at www.mcpsstateoftheschools.org for more information and to RSVP.
Thank you for being partners in your child’s education.