Below please find the Principal’s Spotlight for the week of January 20th. Enjoy the long weekend and Tuesday. Click here for a PDF.
Week of Jan. 20
Mon., Jan. 20 School Closed, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Tues., Jan. 21 No School for Students, Professional Day for Teachers
Wed., Jan. 22 Beginning/Intermediate French, 8:00 am, rm. 240
Intermediate French, 8:00 am, rm. 223
Spanish Intro, 8:15 am, rm. 212
OM Giraffes, 3:30 pm, rm. 154
Fitness Fun, 3:30-4:30, rm. 103
Gr. 4 Juniors, rm. 239
Beginning Spanish, 3:30-4:30, rm. 235
Chess, 3:30-4:45 pm, Media Center
Thur., Jan. 23 Beginning Chinese, 3:30-4:30 pm, rm. 218
Big Learning for 2-4, 3:30-4:30, rm. 163
Art Escapades, 3:30-4:30, rm. 163
Adventure Theater, 3:30-4:30, rm. 128
Tae Kwon Do, 3:30-4:30, rm. 120
i9 Basketball, 3:30-4:45 pm, gym
Incoming Kindergarten (2014-2015 school year) Parent Info Mtg, 7:00 pm, APR
Fri., Jan. 24 Wear your Bells Mill Spirit Wear today!
Intermediate Spanish, 8:00 am, rm. 239
OM, 3:30 pm, Media Center
Play-Well TEKnologies Legos, 3:30-5:00, rm. 163
A Look Ahead
Jan. 27 International Night Planning Meeting, 7:00-8:00 pm, Media Center
Jan. 30 Report cards distributed
- A huge thank you to Mrs. Cristin Caine and her group of volunteers for the extremely successful and fun evening of literacy and math games. It was a wonderful family night of fun and learning. We had a great turnout and hopefully will be the first in a long history of family fun nights. I think everyone learned the benefit of playing games with the family.
- International Night Planning Meeting will be held on Monday, January 27, 7:00-8:00 pm in the Media Center. Anyone interested in sponsoring a country is welcome to attend. This year International Night is on Friday, May 2, 7:00-9:00 pm. Join the festivities by signing up to sponsor a country through Signup Genius at www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084CA5AB29A31-2014/312021 , and join us for the Planning Meeting on January 27, 7:00-8:00 pm. Questions: Stefie Heideman, [email protected] or Audre Park, [email protected].
- New sessions of after school activities have started. Please be sure your child’s teacher and after school childcare provider know your child’s dismissal plans.
- News from the Health Room: Recently we have seen a few confirmed cases of lice in school. Please routinely check your child’s hair for lice. Encourage your children to wear their own hats, scarves and coats and to hang them up at school. Please contact the Health Room if you need assistance.
We have had several reported cases of strep throat at school. Please check backpacks for an information sheet on the signs and symptoms of strep throat. Contact your child’s doctor if you have any concerns.
- Please help us get the message out to parents with incoming kindergarteners for the next school year. We are now gathering names and contact information for next year’s kindergarten class. Please ask your neighbors to call the school if they have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2014. Parents of incoming kindergarteners are invited to an information meeting on Thursday, January 23 (snowdate January 30), 7:00 pm, in the APR, where they will learn about our kindergarten program and get their questions answered. This year we are offering two dates for Kindergarten Open House. Parents and their children may choose to come on either Thursday, February 6, or Friday, February 7, 9:30-11:30 am observe a typical morning in a kindergarten classroom (we ask that younger siblings not attend). Our tentative dates for Kindergarten Orientation are Thursday and Friday, April 10 and 11 (by appointment).
- Mark your calendars! July 7-25, 2014, we will again offer Camp Bells Mill for students entering grades K-5. This is our popular summer learning camp taught by our own teachers which prepares students for next year. In March students will bring home letters containing registration/tuition information.
- Attention Grade 5 parents, you are invited to attend a parent orientation meeting at Cabin John MS. At the meeting you will learn about the registration process for 6th grade, Thursday, February 6, 7:00 pm, Cabin John MS Multipurpose Room.
- The Book Drive is coming! Here’s a chance to recycle the books your children have outgrown. From Monday, February 3, through Thursday, February 6, please send in your donations of gently used books. Donation boxes will be located in the main hall. On Friday, February 7, all students will have an opportunity to select and keep a book from the books collected. Teachers will then select from any remaining books for classroom libraries, and the rest will be donated to non-profit organizations. What a terrific way to give our children a wonderful book to read!
- MCPS offers foreign language immersion programs at selected elementary schools throughout the county. Selection for the 2014-2015 school year is done by lottery. Parents who are interested in entering their students in the foreign language immersion lottery process may submit an interest form between February 1 and April 4, 2014. Information about the lottery process, the foreign language immersion programs and the interest form are at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms . Completed forms should be returned by U.S. mail to DCCAPS, Spring Mill Field Office, 11721 Kemp Mill Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20902, hand carried, or faxed to 301-649-8155 no later than April 4, 2014. Please do not send forms to Bells Mill.
- Superintendent Joshua Starr is recommending that MCPS consider changing school start and end times, also known as bell times. MCPS would like to hear from you. The remaining forum is at 7:00 pm, Monday, February 10, Montgomery Blair HS, 51 University Blvd., East, Silver Spring. Free child care (ages 4 and older) and interpretation services will be provided. For information about the bell times proposal and ways you can provide input, visit www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org, search “bell times.”
Thank you for being partners in your child’s education.