Archive for category: TPES Events

Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on June 7, 7-8pm

Agenda will include: (1) Voting on Executive Committee and bylaws; (2) break-out panels for rising TMPS and PBES families to discuss the process of transitioning to a new school; and (3) importantly, please join to share kudos and appreciation from this year, hopes and ideas for the next.

7:00    Welcome from Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications

Upcoming Dates and Announcements – Chris Campbell, TPES VP of Communications. Refer to Updated MCPS School Calendar 2021-2022 

— TPES Outdoor Lunch Option: The outdoor lunch option is once again open for sign up. Please remember children will be given the option of eating outside only if parents have signed them up using the link below. You must sign your child up again even if you signed up in the past. When children eat outside, they must follow the directions of the adults supervising them. By signing your child up for the option to eat outside you recognize the increased hazards that are associated with rain or low temperatures. We will work diligently to make sure eating outside is safe, comfortable and accessible but during the spring months there may be mud and puddles. Children cannot run around, play in or throw things during outdoor lunch. This sign up will remain open until May 15, 2022, and the new roster of kids eating outside will go into effect on May 3, 2022. Once the sign up closes, there will not be another opportunity to opt into outdoor lunch. Sign Up for Cold Weather Outdoor Lunch

— May 2-6: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week; TPES PTA is sponsoring a breakfast and ice cream social for teachers and staff. PBES PTA is sponsoring garden gifts, a snack break, lunch, and coffee hour– and asks that families please send art, cards, notes, emails, photos and thank you messages to your student’s teacher and to the school’s main office for all staff by this Thursday May 5, for delivery by Friday.  Let’s help all staff feel appreciated for their hard work this year! Classroom parents, please remind your rooms to participate and please take this as a reminder to thank teachers on behalf of your whole classroom.   

— May 4: Bike to School Day 

– May 4-5: 3rd Grade State Testing (MCAP) at PBES  (schedule link)

— May 12: NAACP Parent Council meeting for Takoma Park ES at 6:30 via Zoom. We will be joined by Dr. Gadsden and will have the opportunity to talk about end of year transitions and how to best support our students over the summer.

— May 18: early release day 

— Sat May 21 4pm: MCPS Night out with DC United 

— May 15-31: Reminder about PTAs and the Takoma Park Safe Routes to School program have organized the 2022 Virtual 5K and Fun Run! Register TODAY to get a free t-shirt and be eligible to win one of four raffled gift cards. Prizes will be raffled every few weeks in the lead-up to the race, so the earlier the registration, the more chances to win! Will include the registration link in the chat: https://runsignup.com/Race/MD/WhereEverYouLovetoRun/TakomaParkSafeRoutestoSchoolVIRTUALTKPK5K

• PTA Executive Committee Openings- there will be a vote for the TPES and PBES PTA Executive Committee positions for the 2022-2023 school year at the June 7th PTA meeting. The positions are open to all. 

• TPES: the current President, Executive VP, Treasurer, Executive Secretary, MCCPTA  Delegate, and NAACP Representative are willing to serve a second year and the following positions are available/open: VP of Communications, VP of Membership, VP of Fundraising and VP of Equity. Please contact members of our nominating committee: Joyce, Chris and Kelly.

President	Margaret McDonnell
Executive Vice President	Joyce McDonough
Treasurer	Stephen Tippett
Executive Secretary	Diane Kirsch
Membership Secretary	vacant
Vice President Communications	vacant/TBD
Vice President Membership	vacant
Vice President Fundraising	vacant
Vice President Equity	vacant
MCCPTA Delegate	Rebecca Shaeffer
NAACP Representative	Sharon Gaskins

• PBES PTA positions:

PBES	2022-2023
President	vacant
Executive Vice President	vacant
Treasurer	Kate Bauer
Secretary	vacant
Vice President Communications	Emma Cheuse [may shift to a different spot]
Vice President Membership	vacant
Vice President Fundraising	vacant
Vice President Equity	vacant
MCCPTA Delegate
Appointed, not elected:
NAACP Rep
Gifted and Talented Liaison
Webmaster

• TPMS: Greg Swaluk joining from TPMS PTA to highlight the need for PTA volunteers at the Middle school next year: 1 min.

7:10-30:  Principals Presentations & Q&A re learning disruption and recovery 

Ms. Oberdorf-

School Improvement plan

Literacy and mathematics instructional focus

Assessment OF and FOR learning

Acceleration of learning

Tutoring and intervention support

Professional learning

 Example of MAP data 3^rd grade- Fall 2021- Wnter 2022- increasing the percent of students on grade level

Comparing cohorts of grade level students to see how they are doing

Do data analysis at each level to get big picture

Math Recovery:
Focus on Major Content

3 year plan focused on Eureka math

Continue with curriculum

Focus on foundational principals- catching up building foundational content

Tutoring and summer program

Equip- preassessment tool to allow teachers to preassess before module

Started Jan

Allows for targeted instruction of foundational skills within grade level instruction

Planning for engagement

Hands on opportunities

School wide focus on supporting student discourse

Reading- intentional big picture then focus on smaller picture- seeing where kids are 3^rd graders

Left out year of virtual testing

Reading recovery:
consistent instruction at grade level

Move forward into grade level content with supports

Increased direct instruction of foundational skills and word study skills in small reading groups

Tutoring/summer programs

Prioritizing level skills and content

Coteaching

Ongoing progress monitoring to drive planning and instruction

Outside: Doing a lot to increase student wellbeing

Counselor allocation increased to 2.0

School wide kindness initiative- highlight acts of kindness as reported to PB Jelly

To report each other for kindness

Student wellbeing committee

Review student attendance and references from teachers

To give students/ families help that they need

Dr. Gadsden:

Same thing that Mrs. Oberdorf

Data: March 2022

Current KG- toddlers when pandemic start; 1^st graders most affected- because virtual pandemic year; 2^nd graders- ¾ of KG was in person, so reading less affected.

Reading at target in March 22-

KG: 80%

First: 62%

2^nd: 81%

What this data does not show is what the growth that kids made- many kids, although still behind, have grown tremendously this year.

Math:
KG: 91%

1^st: 86%

2^nd: 77%

Second graders not doing as well in math due to change in curriculum. 2^nd graders least amount of exposure to Eureka

Working with teachers to help them adapt to new curriculum and formats.

Data by Categories: 1^st grade- reading- reading level, Math- Formative assessment March

Only 4 Asian students- all 4 are meeting benchmarks-

African American 62% Reading 89% math

White: 71 reading/85% math
Hispanics- 25% reading 55 Math

English Language Learners 31/ 63;

FARMS 39/70%

Special Ed/IEP 44/78%

Didn’t take MAP in January

1^st grade most impacted and largest group

2^nd: challenge- kids came in at Kindergarten reading level, grew 1 year in ¾ of a year, but still not at grade level

Reading/math

AA 84/63

Asian 100/75

W: 82/93

H 33/40

M 76/92

ELL 32/55

Special ED

FARMS

Kindergarten- doing Fantastic!
Generally representative of how students do

Reading/math

AA 80/98

Asian 80/100

W 100/100

H 44/86

ELL 55/ 90

FARMS 64/93

Sp ed 100/100

Summer school

Create ARTS- target kids 2^nd language learners

Tutoring

Other programs for recovery

Student wellbeing team working biweekly on attendance

Biggest challenge Attendance- lots of children kept home kids because they were scared would miss school. Can’t teach if kids don’t come to school

After school tutoring in person and bus transportation- for PBES

After school tutoring at TPES 5 days a week

Summer school at middle school for TPES and PBES with KA giving before and aftercare

PBES: Summer school invitations went out for students not on grade level

For TP- tutoring- reached out to specific kids who are behind

MCPS says no one will be turned away even if they were not invited

8 teachers teaching- 200 invitations sent out

Looking to see what response- to see if can open up to more students at a later point

If interested don’t hesitate to reach out to teacher or school

If worried about students losing knowledge/skills over summer, sign them up for summer school even if meeting targets

Summer school will have reading, math and specials

7:30: Emma Cheuse (PBES PTA and volunteer with the Joint PTA Panthers & Dolphins Rainbow Club) will introduce Mark Eckstein to talk about inclusion, support, and affirmation for LGBTQ kids and allies in our schools. Mark is Chair of the MCCPTA LGBTQ Subcommittee and Member of the MCPS PrideAlliance and he will speak to and address questions on resources available for our local schools such as policies and guidelines for LGBTQ+ and gender identity inclusion, anti-bullying, curriculum and family support across the rainbow spectrum.  Please get your questions and comments ready in the chat. 

 

Mark Eckstein MCCPTA

MetroDC has Pride Alliance

LGBTQ at MCPS:

Curriculum:

MCPS will begin an initiative this fall will be doing LGBTQ inclusive curriculum K-12-

Imbedding it into Benchmark curriculum

Has been working on this for 5 years

1 LGBTQ inclusive lesson per grade offering content 2-3 days

Data: if represented in curriculum and seen, bias incidences/bullying will go down

Bias and Bullying-important to use MCPS forms- has spent a lot of time in making them LGBTQ inclusive in terms of language

With reporting get data and funding- so very important for form to be used

Federal Title IX mandates now includes gender identity/expression and sexual orientation

By and large the MCPS LGBTQ doing well and thriving

Lots of affirming initiatives:

MoCo Pride Students

LGBTQ studies class

Restrooms- trying to revamp- refocus bathrooms to improve experience for all students including trans/gender nonconforming

Minimum; at least 1 all gender single stall restroom in each school

Authentic identification- lot of data about virtual learning through the pandemic and hardships for our students because of naming/pronouns

Really try to support students with names and pronouns

In elementary schools big things students using gender neutral pronouns-

Don’t want to out people- can be traumatic

Resources:
List of LGBTQ resources for elementary schools

Annual PRIDE townhall Sat May 21 8:30-12:30 WJ high school

MCPS has new LGBTQ webpage

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/lgbtq/

Netflix series: heartstopper

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/LGBTQ/Metro-DC-PFLAG-Gen-Res.pdf

 Closing comments by Jon Frederick (TPES Parent) and volunteer with the Joint PTA Panthers and Dolphins Rainbow Club. Jon will also highlight the Rainbow Club’s next event – Drag Queen Story Hourcohosted by the Takoma Park MD Library on Sunday June 5, 1pm in the Takoma Community Center auditorium, with a meet-and-greet outside afterward.

https://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=3728&EventID=461479&PK= 

7:55    Treasurer’s Reports 

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer and Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer 

Kate Bauer:
17,000 earmarked grants

Spent 11,000

Need executive committee members next year- will have significant carryover, will need to have more activities next year to do the programing and support the school

Stephen Tippet:

Raised 35,000 (thought it would be less)

Tommy’s pantry separating this month

Spending less than raised. Continuing to spend some money on events through rest of year and into the summer.

Notes from the Principals’ presentation:

Please contact your student’s teacher if you would like to sign up for after-school tutoring and bus transportation.

More info on summer school — Last week some of our students received an invitation to attend summer school.  The goal of this year’s program is to support students who need additional or repeated instruction of the previous grade level and/or are currently achieving below grade level in reading and/or math.  If you received an email about summer school, please use the directions at the link in the message to register in ParentVUE by May 3rd.  If you have any questions please contact Robert Bledsoe, our Reading Specialist at Robert_Bledsoe@mcpsmd.org.

Summer school will have reading, math, and specials.  If you think your child would benefit from summer school and did not receive an invitation by email, please contact your child’s teacher or the principal for information on how to join.

Links from tonight’s meeting with resources.  

Mark Eckstein’s presentation on LGBTQ+ Resources at MCPS

For county-wide information and resources, please feel free to contact Mark Eckstein at markeckstein@hotmail.com or reach out to the Rainbow Club at PBES/TPES at: rainbowclubtkpk@gmail.com

Slides link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FLMLawDpPyB3jjgwT-Vs9JrH2jZHWTPEGMUkkArd4ng/edit#slide=id.g127b1693411_0_124

Here is the Bullying Form to use to report LGBTQ+ or any other bullying incidents, please include specifics to help ensure all incidents are tracked and coded –https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/compliance/

MCCPTA Leaders

–  https://www.mccpta.org/mccpta-leaders.html

Free State Justice

https://freestate-justice.org/

Student Leadership at MCPS – Pride:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/pride.aspx

LGBTQ Resources for Elementary Schools — https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yYQe87ancNwD6s5xBveRmidW8HXlBNmg_eqm4kNM79Y/edit

New MCPS LGBTQ Webpage for staff, students and families — https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/new-lgbtq-webpage-includes-resources-for-staff-students-and-parents/?fbclid=IwAR0-5ryIe4TGAAVMFI0mqYKb8MDKEGa0Zjm3aiCUxb7JspdZmeNkpQxC5CI

Here is a resource for any attendees who have middle school or older students – GSA Network – Devising Freedom: https://gsanetwork.org/campaigns/devising-freedom/  They are hosting a youth movement assembly on June 21st

Become a PTA member:

Takoma Park Elementary https://www.tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

 

Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

 

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on April 5 7-8pm 

 

7:00 Welcome from Chris Campbell, TPES PTA VP of Communications, and sharing of Upcoming Dates and Announcements by Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications 

Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS School Calendar 2021- 2022

 

Upcoming Dates and Announcements: 

 

— Many thanks to Jumana Musa and Sharon Gaskins, our NAACP representatives for the PBES and TPES PTA for arranging for Ben Jealous to speak at our Feb PTA meeting and for organizing a fantastic virtual Black History Night event last Thursday. More than 100 kids joined to learn, share, read passages, listen to music, and create quilts with the theme “My Life Matters because…”  

 

— Feb 25-March 4: TPES Scholastic Book Fair. Over to Shivani Sutton for a quick update and thank you to volunteers.  For more details about the fair, including shopping hours, popular titles, and no-cash payment options, check out our homepage. Please contact Shivani Sutton if you’d like to help out: shivani.sutton@gmail.com.

 

— March 2 and throughout March: COVID-19 Vaccine clinics will be held at PBES every Wednesday. Volunteers are needed both to help out at the clinics and to provide snack donations, which can be dropped off at PBES’s main office. Please keep an eye out for emails from Alisa O’Brien & contact her if you can help: Alisaobrien10@yahoo.com. 

 

– Feb. 28-March 6: Sign-up for PBES After School programs. Scholarships are available.  https://www.hisawyer.com/little-scholars-llc/schedules?sched_ids%5B%5D=101681&schedule_id=   Scholarship sign-up link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOLDcHUffny8zAg2oB4myGSVmL2ROWo3fzujRkcTdYSFL_lw/viewform 

 

– Thanks to our awesome volunteer Abby Anna, TPES is also offering a range of afterschool programs through Little Scholars starting late spring through the school year. An email went out from Margaret McDonnell this afternoon. Registration will be from March 9-14 (see link in chat: www.littlescholarsllc.com/takoma-park/). If your child is interested but the cost is a barrier for your family, please consider applying for a scholarship by this Friday, March 4 (see link in chat: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAbNSei_bHWy1b0FOW5ZS79SYqlQ3a08GtUXQ-7vDYxJh45g/viewform). We have funding for approx 25 scholarships for families in need. If you’re eligible and approved, we will give you a special code to use instead of payment at registration.  

 

— March 4-31: TPES Read-a-Thon- Chris Campbell and Sara Lewis will present at end of event announcements. 

 

— March 9 at 7pm: Family Tech Talk presentation with an internet safety expert from Trend Micro [please see info in chat]

 

“Texting, gramming, Roblox, Minecraft, TikTok, YouTube. Technology is changing fast, and many of us are struggling to stay one step ahead of our kids and learn everything we can about being online. (Not an easy task when most of them know more about it than we do!)

 

Join us for a virtual Family Tech Talk presentation with an Internet safety expert from Trend Micro, who will share the latest trends, give advice on how to help your child use the Internet responsibly, and answer parent questions in a Q&A session. The Zoom event will be on Mar 09, 2022 (Wed) at 7pm. Click the link at the bottom to join the event.

 

We’ll discuss what our children are doing online—and how to teach them to be smart, safe, and respectful digital citizens. We’ll also cover privacy and security issues, how to encourage responsible Internet use, and even more.

 

In addition to learning some helpful tips, you could win a Trend Micro Internet security product! Five copies of Trend Micro Maximum Security will be raffled off to families attending the event.

 

We hope you join us on March 9th 2022 at 7pm to learn more about this important topic.

 

Event link: https://trendmicro.zoom.us/j/97682566330?pwd=QTRjT2EvWnJsdXJhNG41QURaeEo2UT09 

 

— March 11 and April 1: MCPS Early Release Day for Students (April 1 was formerly a day off) 

 

— April 11- 18: MCPS spring break

 

— May: the City of TKPK has decided that the 5K will be virtual again this year. On a related note, TPES’ Health and Wellness Committee is considering organizing a fun outdoor event- perhaps a kickball tournament- for TPES and PBES teachers, families and students who’d like to join for sometime this spring. Stay tuned! 

 

7:10: TPES Read-a-thon, Sara Lewis and Chris Campbell 

 

7:15: Introduce guests, Margaret McDonnell 

 

7:20: Presentation from representatives from four local non-profits that have kid-friendly service/volunteer opportunities (5 minutes each)

 

– Drennan Lindsay, A Wider Circle

– Abbe Spokane, DC Diaper Bank

– Roxanne Yamashita, Small Things Matter 

– Meg McDonald, Tommy’s Pantry

 

7:40/45: Time for Q&A with Dr Gadsden and Ms Oberdorf regarding the anticipated lifting of mask mandate, TPES’ loss of designation as a focus school, etc 

 

7:50 Treasurer’s Reports 

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer and Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer 

 

Become a PTA member: 

Takoma Park Elementary https://www.tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, December 7, 2021 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on Tues, Jan 4 7-8pm

7:00    Welcome & Introduction of Interpreters from Chris Campbell, TPES PTA VP Communications

Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS School Calendar 2021- 2022

 

    Upcoming Dates: 

— Dec 23-Jan 2: School closed for winter break

— TPES Scholastic Book Fair: February 11-18 – please note forthcoming announcement that we’re in need of volunteers to form a book fair committee  

— TPES Read-a-Thon: March 

— Reminder about the weekly Sharing our Stories held every Monday from 7:30-8pm on Zoom to celebrate the unique culture and traditions of students, teachers, staff, and community members. Anyone interested in participating or volunteering to assist with the program, contact Shana Sabbath Sabbathshana@gmail.comor complete google form: Sharing Our Stories sign-up form (to share in chat).

 

Announcements/ opportunities for engagement: 

— THANKS to TPES PTA’s VP of Fundraising Kelly Young and to all donors to the Dolphin Drive in November, we surpassed our $10K goal, raising $10,117! This is fantastic as there are many needs to assist in our school and community’s recovery efforts. As an example, we have already committed $5K of those funds to purchase resources that complement teacher’s existing materials to support reading recovery, progress and enrichment. 

 

THANK YOU to all TPES volunteers: 

• All the outdoor lunch volunteers; 
• Abby-Anna who organized Little Scholars after school enrichment program;
• Annie Kneedler who’s stepped up as room parent coordinator and all of the room parents, who are helping with communications throughout the year and organizing holiday gifts for the teachers and staff; 
• Kaitlin Caruso, social services committee chair who organized winter coat/clothing drive and now holiday gifts for TPES families in need (please see email 

 

TPES PTA Needs the Following Volunteers: 

• Shivani Sutton has graciously offered to co-organize the TPES book fair again this year but is in need of volunteers to form a Book Fair committee. The planning is largely done – I just need additional hands to prepare materials in the weeks leading up to the fair and manage volunteers. The fair is only scheduled to run during school hours, not after school or evenings. Please note that we will also need additional volunteers during the week of the fair to set up, cover the registers, and take down.
• TPES is also looking for a Teacher Appreciation Coordinator to help organize quarterly luncheons or special activities for our teachers to show them how much we care. We provided coffee/donuts for back to school, a luncheon in October to celebrate a month of school and hope to organize one on Fri, Dec 17th and would love if someone could step up to assist.  
• Speaking of, hopefully everyone saw Ms Paz’s note about organizing a Jolly Raffle as a fun way to help uplift the spirit and morale of TPES staff. She’s hoping to raffle tokens of gratitude and love, simple gestures and/or acts of kindness at least once or twice a week during the next few months. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, it could be as simple as a store bought pie, a gift card, a coupon for a dog walk, breakfast or lunch delivered, a babysitter voucher…the sky is the limit, anything that would cheer us up and put a smile on our face counts! If you are willing to contribute, please contact Ms Paz directly to make the proper arrangements.  No contribution is too small!

 

THANK YOU to all PBES volunteers: 

• Outdoor lunch volunteers, especially Vivian Khazendar and Shannon Earle who have repeatedly volunteered double or triple shifts to fill vacant spots. And Joyce McDonough who has made lunch outside possible!
• Book fair volunteers and coordinators Rachael Pierotti, Sarah Corcoran, and Chrissie Juliano

 

PBES PTA is looking for volunteers:

• to maintain the fish tank
• for possible help with student dismissal
• Individuals who would like to volunteer for Black History Month program and the PBES GEO-BOWL
• Volunteers for the end-of-year family gift drive.

 

If you would like to volunteer; please contact us at pbesvolunteer@gmail.com

PBES is having a Holiday gift card drive to support PBES families during the holidays – and new book donations are also encouraged. Please contact Emma Cheuse (echeuse@gmail.com) if you’re interested in contributing, for more details.

— As always, PTA is looking for volunteers who speak Spanish or Amharic to assist with   translating and interpreting PTA notices and events.  Please contact Shellyhill711@gmail.com. 

— Again both TPES and PBES both appreciate and welcome volunteers. Requirements have been circulated on the listserv. 

— MCCPTA: MCCPTA sent a letter to the MD State Board of Ed recommending that mask mandate stay in place until at least 2/28 and suggested that “Considerations that should be taken into account include 1) COVID-19 case rates and 2) pediatric vaccination rate and availability.”). 2/28was chosen based on anticipated (full) vax rates by then and because it would take us thru the holiday season.

See this link for more info on the progress towards planning dollars for PBES to be renovated or rebuilt: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2021-2022/Community-Update-20211119.html

Jaime Koppel, PBES:   jaimekoppel@gmail.com

Rebecca Shaeffer, TPES: Rebecca.Shaeffer@gmail.com

 

7:15    Presentations from TPES and PBES Reading Specialists Ms Bozel and Mr Bledsoe about Benchmark about our reading curriculum and resources available to students and families

Ms. Bozel- TPES; Mr. Bledsoe: PBES

Benchmark Advance overview:

Agenda;

Developing literacy routines

Key principles

Close reading of complex text

 

Instructional shifts addressed in Benchmark:

Built to support the college and career ready standards for literacy

 

Important to build routines:

Each grade will begin the school year with review and routines

Reintroduce previous material so that can seamlessly go into next material- lasts 15-20 days

Bridge ideas learned previously to new school year

Helps students build stamina

Fosters independent reading and thinking

 

Building collaborative conversations with each other

Time for accountable talk and active listening

Partners

Group roles- book discussion

All built into the standards of Maryland learning outcomes

 

Practice word study:
K: Letter formation

K-1: Phonological awareness

1-2: phonics patterns

3-5 syllable patterns, vowel teams, suffixes

Chromebooks- technology

 

Benchmark has clear principles- with consistency from grade to grade

e.g. Unit 1 is Government and citizenship

Unit 2 Characters

3: life science

4. point of view
5. technology

6 theme

Etc

Go throughout the grade levels

Backwards-mapped design

Each unit 3 weeks

Week 1: Teach for transfer- teacher modeling and short reads

Week 2-3 students build knowledge and apply learning

End goal is mastery over time by the end of the year- not after each lesson

Content spirals across subjects

 

Close reading of complex text:

Interact with the text- annotation symbols

Students writing directly on text and take note in margins

K-1: shared reading – interact with text as first step, lots of modeling by teacher

2-5 annotation is for

 

This is to answer questions and gather evidence – helps with reading closely

First reading- identify key ideas and details, summarize

Built about multiple reads of same text

Analyze and craft structure, make inferences draw conclusions, compare and contrast multiple texts

 

Writing is used at all grade levels- connected to unit discussed in classroom

 

Writing to sources

Consistently taught across grades

Mini-lessons explicit teaching and modeling

Focus on text evidence to support an idea or opinion

Students write informational, opinion and narrative texts based on one or more sources

Builds up to extended research

 

Benchmark focuses on literacy foundations and explicit phonics aspects

Print concepts;

Phonological awareness (ability to hear different sounds

 

Phonics/vocabulary – works with phonics and vocabulary in grades K-6.

Explicit teaching of academic vocabulary builds content knowledge

 

Differentiation:

For students to allow all students to work with grade level texts

English learners (Multilingual learners):
Integrated English language development in every lesson -light, moderate or substantial support

Separate ELD lessons designed for English learners with the grade level text

Amplified texts provide picture support

Flip grids

Some given by classroom teacher, others esol teacher

 

Striving reader:

Teacher can read text aloud

Students read with partners

All texts are online with text to speech

Amplified texts scaffold the grade level complex

Small group instruction with texts on students’ reading levels- eather move forward or back

Intervention programs for foundational skills and comprehension

 

Benchmark advance enrichment

Challenge activities built into many lessons

Literature circles- with novels

Small group instructional with texts on students instructional reading levels

Inquiry Projects

 

Every unit has an enrichment activity

 

Novel studies: Benchmark advance

Curated by MoCO for diverse and excellent writing

 

Grade 2: Bad Kitty for president

Freedom in Congo square

 

Grade 3: Dany Dollar Millionaire Extroidinare

How tia Lola came to visit

Where the mountain meets the moon

 

Grade 4: Finding Langston

 

Who participates in BMA:

Any student demonstrating a need for enriched and accelerated instruction

Students with performance metrics showing advance

PBES: all students participate in Inquiry

 

 

Q&A:

         What does it mean that my child is in 5^th grade and is working on novel study but is not doing one of the novels listed on that slide:

That is not an exhaustive list, there are other novels that are included

 

Quotes are not always necessary they can paraphrase

 

The Benchmark was used for last 2 years but modified because of virtual

 

Looking at this year as first year of full implementation

 

Each of the lessons are very systematic with a lot of exposure to text

 

Are 5^th grade novel study packets standard across classes?

These are grade level decisions are being made- the exposure in novel is across all grade, but the material that the teacher is using to teach is may vary from teacher to teacher

Reading logs may be something that teachers may ask them to keep to make sure that they are keeping up

 

All students have the opportunity to take part in the Benchmark Inquiry

 

Students above grade level reading have to do enrichment

At TPES have enrichment programs that have put in place, and parents can volunteer to help.

 

In K-2- bags of books are being sent home at their grade level- optional for teachers. If you haven’t gotten it, and wants it, you can ask your teacher

Ms. Anderson, TPES media specialist- can be reached out to for motivational reading if interested.

 

 

In Piney Branch, if student is not caught up at grade level reading, they are assessed at least quarterly and interventions are made to help them catch up.

 

All students at Piney Branch took home MAP scores for reading and math

For TPES  shared in parent teacher conference—if not in parentvue, ask Ms. Bozel

 

5^th graders reading only graphic novel- Mr. Bledsoe- reading graphic novels is fine; sometimes it is more complex with vocabulary and information; usually ok as long as reading.

Chapter books can be stressed in classroom

If free reading, can read whatever they enjoy

They need to be interested in reading.

 

There are graphic novels that are also chapter books

 

E.g. complex graphic novels for 5^th graders- reach out to teacher can let student borrow one

 

e.g. Percy Jackson

My hero academia

A wrinkle in time

 

Enrichment above grade level is always happening

Students reading above grade level gets 3 kinds of enrichment at PBES.

 

PBES Treasurer:

Carryover: 27,373

Booster donation 3,095

Total receipts for bookfair- 8,622,60. Doesn’t affect our total income

Fundraising: 12,115 budgeted, currently 1,744

Very generous contributions for grants: 12,000 budgeted 11,745

Need a

 

Stephen Tippett

TPES:

Dolphin drive -beet goal of 10,000 raised 10,117 in 1 month of fundraising.- thanks to Kelly Young for organizing

 

Fundraising income 14,317.

Tommy’s pantry- 29,511 so far this year

 

Expenses: moved forward rapidly to support school with various effort

Especially reading and reading recovery – spent 5000 on it so far

 

Net

Net deficit projected 17,431 because of last year; we will have 17,847

 

Tommy’s pantry number 62,000 available cash balance

 

TPES Voted to establish a $1500 budget line item for the social service committee

 

7:50    Treasurer’s Reports and Membership Vote to Approve Budgets 

Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer & Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer 

 

Principal’s update:

Soon will be sending out something about child’s vaccination status- so that if they are exposed, they do not need to be vaccinated.

The guidance about quarantine changes or resolves

If not sure- ask with email

Try to be sure about contact tracing

 

Become a PTA member: Takoma Park Elementary https://www.tpespta.net
Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES)

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 from 7-8pm on Zoom

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on Tues, Nov 2 7-8pm when we’ll hear from Ms East and Ms Faulk, our TPES and PBES math specialists about our math curriculum and resources available to students and families

7:00    Welcome & Introduction of Interpreters

(Chris Campbell, TPES PTA VP Communications)

Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS Calendar

         Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP Communications

— PTA is looking for volunteers who speak Spanish or Amharic to assist with   translating and and interpreting PTA notices and events.  Please contact Shellyhill711@gmail.com

— Starting in October, TPES and PBES are allowing volunteers in school. Please see Dr Gadsden and Ms Oberdorff’s notices re requirements for volunteers, which include COVID-19 vaccination documentation, a background check and completion of a 1-1.5 hour training around identifying child abuse and neglect. Forms can be found here: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/volunteer.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3LcxGTkVE_zgiTrKqzhuFJAXdDsKY5vLdIefhL7Mb5TaP6hnhP0Axjrmg (will include link in meeting chat)

–Oct 5: 8-9pm, Orientation meeting for outdoor lunch volunteers at TPES directly after PTA meeting. Please contact Joyce McDonough if you’re interested in volunteering to support outdoor lunch and recess as colder months commence: JoyceKimMcDonough@gmail.com. 

— Oct 6: walk to school day

— Oct 14-22: Registration for Little Scholars after school enrichment program at TPES. First session starts the week of Nov 9. Registration for LearnNowMusic.org/com is ongoing with registration deadline of 10/13 and classes starting 10/20. 

— Oct 18: Sharing our Stories: Hispanic Heritage Month. Mid-September to mid-October, we are celebrating the unique culture and traditions of students, teachers, staff, and community members who trace their roots to Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. SOS will be held every Monday from 7:30-8pm on Zoom.  Anyone interested in participating or volunteering to assist with the program, contact Shana Sabbath at Sabbathshana@gmail.com or  fill out google form to participate: Sharing Our Stories sign-up form.

— October is LGBTQ History Month – this is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements.  It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. LGBTQ History Month provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ community. In the United States, it is celebrated in October to coincide with National Coming Out Day on October 11 and to commemorate the first and second marches on Washington in 1979 and 1987 for LGBTQ rights.  The PBES and TPES PTA’s  celebrate this month and encourage families interested in a newly forming Rainbow Club to reach out to Emma Cheuse at echeuse@gmail.com or Britt Peterson, brittpeterson@gmail.com

— The MCCPTA encourages every school to identify volunteers to represent their school community on these MCCPTA committees. If you’re interested in being the rep for any of these, you can sign up using the e-mail below. Jaime Koppel (jaimekoppel@gmail.com), one of our MCCPTA delegates can offer more context regarding these committees:
special education committee Stephanie Frumkin — specialed@mccpta.org

gifted child committee, Audra Dove — gifted@mccpta.org

DEI committee – diversityandinclusion@mccpta.org

— Nov 2 7=8pm: PTA meeting focused on math instruction where we will hear from Ms East and Ms Faulk, our TPES and PBES math specialists about the math curriculum and resources available to students and families to help to address learning loss and for enrichment

— Nov 8-12: PBES book fair- more to come!

— Nov: TPES’ Dolphin Drive- fundraising effort to support recovery efforts for students’ academic development, socio-emotional learning and physical and mental well-being overall

— Dec 7: PTA meeting focused on reading- will be joined by TPES and PBES reading specialists 

7:15     Presentations from TPES and PBES Counselors about Socio-Emotional Learning and time for Q&A/ Dialogue

Mr Max Althofer, School Counselor, TPES

Ms Karen Johnson and Mrs. Erin M. Coco-Content, School Counselors, PBES

 

Services school counselors provide for all students:

1. Whole class guidance lessons on various SEL topics, TPES SecondStep- weekly for K, monthly 1^st and 2^nd
   1. PBES- teachers use SecondStep and counselors provide other lessons- monthly for PBES
2. Small group counseling on topics as needed (anger management, making friends, changes in family structure, etc)
   1. Referred by teachers and parents 3-8
3. Individual counseling as needed – 2-minute check or longer
4. Crisis response- both minor and major (CPS)
5. Consultation with teachers on classroom management, behavior challenges for individual students or groups, supplementary lessons on specific topics as needed
6. Case management of 504 plans for students with identified disabilities
7. Liason for families needing various social supports – food, housing, homeless,

 

Services school counselors can provide to parents who may need more support

 

Tier 2- more support for a targeted group; not been successful with Tier 1 supports and need additional supports that is more specific and direct

Referrals to outside agencies: grief, anger management, anxiety, establishing and making friends

Groups for 6-8 sessions based on social skills anger management, study skills

 

Sometimes some schools run groups from outside agencies within the school ex. Good grief Group

Check in/check out- students check in and out with counselor each day to report progress

Weekly check-ins with the same student- teacher referral or parent request to address behaviors

Behavioral intervention plans: team develops a plan for the student- implement strategies to improve behavior in classroom/overall

 

Mentors/mentoring groups for student- assigned to staff member

 

Tier 3: functional behavior assessment- tried Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions, but needs not met

Team- parent, teacher, counselor, administrator and school psychologist or behavioral specialist

 

6 week intervention- collaborative team

 

Some steps parents can take to support SEL at home

Take care of yourself

Care for the whole you… mind body spirit before you can start talking about child

Small acts of self-care are entry point to broader wellness- one baby step at a time

Modeling how to handle stress

Know and demonstrate that it’s ok to not be ok all of the time

Problem-solving in real time

Do you have tap-out options- another person to hand off a situation if you need a break? Or at least “pause then proceed” protocols?

 

Wellness resources:
Yoga with Adriene- free online yoga videos tailored to support various physical or mental needs

 

Zenhabits.net minimalist blog focused on simplicity and mindfulness in daily life (use search bar and archives!)

Greatist.com light-hearted health and fitness content

 

Partner with your child in strategies

Taking walks together

Sitting and coloring a mindfulness coloring sheet together

Mindful breathing practice together

Yoga together

Reading books together that also teach skills

 

https://inspired-motherhood.com/social-emotional-books -for kids/

 

Have a toolbox of strategies that with trial/error are reliably effective for your child and family

The simple act of listening: dedicate time where your only job is to hear what your child is feeling/thinking, witholding judgement/solutions, etc.

Have safe zones in the house- spots that can be used as calm-down corners- a- do not disturb area

Asking about what worked: -ask your child how they were able to get a good grade, still make it to school when tired/not in the mood/ be brave, etc.

Goal-setting, intention setting- what are we hoping to accomplish most today? (Goal) what is our hope/plan for how we want to feel (intention)

Check-in Check-out- to provide framing and debrief before and after day (can be short)

Note-passing: when things get hectic, leave sticky-note messages in places your child will see with affirmations, compliments, things to look forward to, silly drawing, etc

Feelings thermometer or similar visual: google and find many options- helpful if identifying/verbalizing feelings at home can be hard

Emphasizing internal locus of control

 

List for 2020-2021 is in the document

 

 

Seeing anxiety more in 1^st and 2^nd graders, not as many in kindergarten

So far seemed like a typical year in what they have disagreements about/overall needs

 

Thunderstorms have been a trigger for so many students

Students are very anxious about it.

Also hard to being back with others, relating with others, sharing; a little regression.

 

Stamina is tough- used to having ability to break when they need it at home.

 

Incorporating student voice in everything is a work in process

 

Homework: most of homework is not graded, it is practice.

 

How to get students to talk about their day- open ended specific questions

What is something that went well?
what was a challenge and how did you overcome it?

 

Parent suggestions:

What was good, what was hard, what are you proud of?

Two truths and a lie about the day?

What did you do in special?

What book did you read during reading?

 

What was a yay, an oops, and a blah!

Ask them to teach us something they learned

 

 

7:50     Treasurer’s Reports and Membership Vote to Approve Budgets

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer & Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer

Stephen Tippett: Treasures report:

Total PTA Income- 33,550 (Tommy’s pantry- 60,000)

Tommy’s pantry will separate out in the next couple of months financially

 

Total cash balance July 1, 2021: 35,278

Fundraising expenses, outreach and social events, PTA admin expenses, school programs expenses, staff support expenses

Total PTA expenses 48,581

 

Budget approved with >10 for, none against

 

Kate Bauer PBES:
Carryover 27.373

Membership and booster: 4,000

Fundraising $12,115 about the same like last year- no in person fundraising events (pool-a-palooza)- Panther appeal, readathon, gear sales, TKPK5K box tops

Earmarked grants- $12,000

Other income $1- interest-

Total income 55,489

 

Expenses: Events and fundraising 4,000

Programming and committees 18,789- including swim instruction- PTA funds through

Staff support 8,000

PTA operating 3,470- paypal, communications translation

Membership dues and insurance

Earmarked grant spending 12,000

Budeted carryover 7,500

Expenses: 55,489

 

Budget approved with >10 votes for, none against

 

 

Become a PTA member: Takoma Park Elementary https://www.tpespta.net
Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

 

Zadia Gadsden is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

 

Topic: TPES/PBES PTA Meeting

Time: Oct 5, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/82738851239?pwd=dEphSnJMTHJwVzY2WU5KTi9KeGRlQT09

 

Meeting ID: 827 3885 1239

Passcode: PTA2021

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