Bells Mill Elementary School PTA

We are currently in the beginning stages of planning a summer program for all students at Bells Mill ES. There will be no cost to the program and it will run from July 13 – July 31. Students will be able to choose three courses that will be live taught lessons over zoom during this three week program. Students will have the option of taking up to 3 courses. One will be a Math Boost, one a Reading/LA Boost, and the third will be a variety of enrichment classes being developed by our teachers or those in the cluster.… Read Full Post

Now that summer is here, you may be looking for activities to do with your children to keep their minds sharp for the next school year. Statistics in Schools (SIS) can help! Check out the following resources from SIS as you plan their days.

• New SIS Parent/Caregiver Toolkits. These easy-to-use toolkits, designed for parents and guardians, break down the best resources for keeping kids at all grade levels learning and engaged outside of school. Each toolkit provides tips, best practices, and instruction on how to adapt SIS activities and resources for at-home use.

Since we weren’t able to celebrate the amazing diversity of Bells Mill with our traditional International Festival this year, the PTA would like to create a BMES International Festival cookbook for everyone to enjoy at home. The Bells Mill community is invited to submit your favorite recipes from where you’re from, where you’ve traveled, or just a favorite dish from your family.

Please submit your recipes with the following information:

• Contributor’s name (family name as you would like it to appear in the cookbook)
• Recipe name
• List of ingredients and amounts
• Recipe yield
• Preparation and cooking instructions (include cook times and temperatures)
• Recipe country of origin
• Contributor’s note – please share 2-3 sentences about the dish and its traditions or why it is important to your family

We will distribute it electronically at the end of the year.… Read Full Post

This week we are having a virtual International Festival on the PTA Facebook Page. Mark where your family would like to travel or learn fun facts about 15+ countries as we travel the world together.

The PTA is excited to sponsor a virtual science assembly with Mad Science  tomorrow (Friday, May 15). They will offer two shows: “Things That Go Boom” for grades K-2 at 1:00, and “Reaction and Action” for grades 3-5 at 2:00. Please check Mrs. O’s spotlight for Zoom information.

On Tuesday we had the final scheduled general meeting of the Bells Mill PTA for this school year, via Zoom.  Per the current rules in effect, we were not able to take any official votes during this meeting, but several issues were discussed that will be put to official votes at the next general meeting.  Thanks to all who attended, and a special thanks to Mrs. Kanter for presenting!

For those who could not make it, here is a quick recap:

• Devin Donaldson opened the meeting by thanking the volunteers who have been working to help reshape our PTA activities for this year, as well as the teachers for being so supportive and collaborative.

The Bells Mill teachers want you to know that they miss you! Check out this awesome video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2fpL08Qsfs&feature=youtu.be

BMES is taking part in OPEN’s National Field Day.  The field day module is on your myMCPS PE course.  There you will find videos of Mr. Tom and other MCPS PE teachers demonstrating the field day activities!  Watch the field day video trailer below.

OPEN NATIONAL Field Day: how to navigate the field day module

Be sure to watch the SPECIAL OPENING CEREMONY on MAY 7TH at 7:30PM by going to this link: https://openphysed.org/fielddayopening… Read Full Post

Check out the Mr. Tom’s “Do Good” challenge!

The Bells Mill parents and students would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Bells Mill teachers, staff, and administrators for their tireless dedication to making Bells Mill a wonderful school. While we miss seeing everyone at school, their positive and helpful attitudes have been so appreciated as we work together to make distance learning as successful as possible. We realize this is a challenging time for all – with everyone juggling demands of work, home, and family – and we cannot thank the staff enough for everything they are doing.… Read Full Post