Arbutus Elementary School



Arbutus Elementary School

1300 Sulphur Spring Road

Baltimore, MD 21227

410-887-1400/1401

Attendance is tremendous, all day, every day!

Principal: Brent C. Grabill Assistant Principal: MaryJane Salaga

Calendar of Events, October 2014

Monday, October 13th PTA Meeting in the school library, 6:30- 7:30 p.m.

Friday, October 17th Professional Development Day MSDE Convention– Schools Closed

Friday, October 17th PTA Fall Fun Fest, Trunk or Treat at 5:30 and Fun Fest from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Friday, October 31st First marking period ends- Elementary and middle schools close 3 hours early

Monday, November 3rd Half-day system wide professional development- Schools close 3 hours early

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|Deep Creek Middle School (21st Century Digital-Age|Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |6 – 7:30 p.m. |

|Learning) | | |

|Deer Park Middle Magnet School (Fine Arts, |Wednesday, October 29, 2014 |6 p.m. |

|Science, Mass Communications, Spanish) | | |

|Lansdowne Middle School (Center for Career & |Wednesday, October 1, 2014 |6:30 p.m. |

|Professional Studies) | | |

|Loch Raven Technical Academy (Arts Exploration, |Wednesday, October 15, 2014 |6 p.m. |

|Science, Law & Finance) | | |

|Parkville Middle School and Center of Technology |Wednesday, October 8, 2014 |Session I: 6 p.m. Session II: 7 p.m. |

|(Exploratory Program) | |Same information at both sessions. |

|Southwest Academy Magnet School for Science and |Thursday, October 9, 2014 |6 p.m. |

|Engineering | | |

|Sudbrook Magnet Middle School (Performing Arts, |Thursday, October 30, 2014 |5 p.m. |

|Science, Visual Arts, World Languages) | | |

Middle School Magnets Showcase Events

|Student |Bucket Filling Action |

|Collin P |welcoming new students to AES |

|Alexis B |helped Ms. Downing with the ELMO document camera |

|Reagan M |great helper in her first grade classroom |

|Brandon N |helped another student keep organized in homeroom |

|Madeline Y |always willing to help her classmates and teacher |

|Sofia D |a good listener and helper in kindergarten |

|James A |helping other students |

|James |being polite and helping someone tie their shoes |

|Cayden H |helped a classmate tie their shoe |

|Maxwell F |stands by his friends and classmates |

|Zoe F |helped classmates all week |

|Caleb B |is an awesome listener |

|Gigi M |following class rules and being a role model |

|Alyssa S |following class rules and being on task |

|Nathan R |helping other students feel more comfortable in school |

|Morgan R |always has a smile and is ready to help teacher and classmates |

|Olivia G |has a positive attitude and is kind |

|Rose N |helping a friend put things away and be organized for work |

|Samantha M |smiled at an unhappy friend |

|Craig M |helps others and is helpful in the classroom |

|Mackenzie L |consistently demonstrates loyalty to her friends, her safety duties, and her class work |

|Colleen T |helpful and sunny attitude |

|Kamora W |helpful with classmates and becoming more independent all the time |

|Samantha W |always there to help anyone who needs it |

|Elsie C |keeps her desk very neat and helped another student organize her desk |

|TJ N |pushed in chairs |

|Juliahna T | always keeps clean, neat, and organized folders and desk and helps put things back in the classroom! |

|Johnny M |does his work neatly everyday |

|Abby W |keeps her materials organized and turns in her work on time |

|Kaitlyn W |helps others complete work in an orderly fashion |

|Macayla W |always helping clean up the classroom |

|Noah G |encouraging his tablemates to clean up and be ready on time and pushing in the chairs of the classmates who forgot |

|Ava C |kind and helpful and keeps her desk neat and helps classmates do the same |

|Keith R |helping a teacher keep track of her place in a book |

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In September, we learned about loyalty, orderliness, and faithfulness as it relates to keeping promises.

We are very proud of the following students who were selected as

Bucket Fillers of the Week in September.

Keeping Students Healthy in School

Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) has implemented standard procedures to prevent, monitor and respond to the spread of contagious diseases. Each year, a variety of illnesses are seen in students in our schools, including the colds and flu which are caused by viruses, bacterial infections caused by streptococcal and staphylococcal germs, and viral gastrointestinal illnesses. This fall, the media has been full of reports about ebola disease in Africa and enterovirus D68 that was first seen in the mid-west.

BPCS has full time school nurses in each school who take the lead in preventing and monitoring contagious illnesses.

What does BCPS do to prevent illnesses?

The best way to prevent the spread of contagious illnesses is regular and thorough hand washing. Beginning in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, students are taught the correct methods and times to wash their hands. Teachers regularly remind students to wash their hands.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers kill many, but not all germs. Students are encouraged to use hand sanitizer when water for hand washing is not available. However, washing hands with soap and water is the single most effective way to prevent someone from becoming sick.

Cough and sneeze etiquette is also important. Students are taught to “sneeze into their sleeve,” and properly use and dispose of tissues.

Students with signs of contagious illnesses (i.e. fever, rash, vomiting and/or diarrhea) are excluded from the classroom and sent home. Students must be free from symptoms and/or cleared by a health care provider to return to school.

School nurses also provide screening programs for students who are at high risk for certain illnesses. For example, school nurses collaborate with the Baltimore County Department of Health (BCDH) to provide a tuberculosis screening program. This fall, nurses are using guidance from the Centers for Disease Control to screen students from certain countries to identify risk for ebola infection.

How does BCPS monitor contagious illnesses?

BCPS participates in the ESSENCE absence monitoring system. Each day, the Coordinator of Health Services and the epidemiologist at the Baltimore County Department of Health receive a report about absence rates in all schools and notes schools that have higher than normal absenteeism.

School nurses keep statistics on student illnesses and report situations that are out of the ordinary to the Baltimore County Department of Health.

If a school nurse notes an abnormal/increased number or cluster of illnesses, the nurse immediately reports this information to theBCDH.

In addition, state law requires a school nurse to report a single case of certain illnesses (e.g., enterovirus D68, ebola, meningitis) to the local health department.

The Baltimore County Department of Health collaborates with the state health department and BCPS to provide guidance to parents and school staff on the response to unusual illnesses or clusters of illness.

In general, parents are not notified of routine illnesses that do not require special prevention, response or monitoring. Exceptions are sometimes made when the illness is creating concern in the media or is extremely widespread (e.g., H1N1.)

Parents are immediately notified by letter, the media and phone calls if their child may have been exposed to an illness that would require them to take the child to a health care provider, keep the child home from school, or take any other special precautions.

What Should Parents Do?

Parents can support the school system efforts in several ways:

Keep children home if they have a fever, vomiting or diarrhea. Do not send the child back to school until the symptoms have been gone for 24 hours.

Report any unusual illnesses to the school nurse.

If your child has a condition that requires special monitoring or care (e.g., your child is on medication that affects his or her immune system), notify the school nurse so the nurse can work with you and your child’s health care providers on special steps to keep your child safe at school.

Reinforce and model good health habits like hand washing and cough/sneeze etiquette.

Be sure to keep your child up-to-date on immunizations, including annual flu shots and boosters for pertussis.

We write this to reassure you that our school system is well-prepared to prevent and respond to any illness that may arise during the school year. If you have concerns about your child’s health, please call your school nurse or the Office of Health Services at 410-887-6368.

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Administrative Corner

All of our students, except for our kindergarten students, have completed the fall MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing. These are individualized, computerized, adaptive achievement tests in math and reading.

We will give this assessment three times throughout the year. Kindergarten through grade 5 will take it again in January and Kindergarten through grade 2 will take it in the spring. Grades 3, 4, and 5 will take the PARCC in the spring.

The results of the MAP tests are used to measure your child’s progress in reading and math. Teachers will use these test scores to keep track of growth in these areas. If you would like more information about MAP please visit the website: http: .

Our kindergarten students are currently working on the new Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). This assessment will be used by your child’s teacher to measure what your child knows and can do in the areas of social foundations, language and literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and physical well-being and motor development. For more information on this assessment, please visit .

Student Behavior Handbook

Students in grades K through 5 have received the 2014-2015 Student Behavior Handbooks. Parents are asked to demonstrate their support of the Baltimore County Student Behavior Handbook by reviewing its contents with their children. We also ask that they sign and return the form acknowledging receipt of the handbook. This is on page 27 of the handbook. All students are expected to adhere to the rules and regulations outlined in the handbook

Attendance

Students are expected to maintain satisfactory attendance at the state standard of 94%. A student absent from school must bring a note immediately upon his or her return to school.

The note, signed by the parent/guardian, must include the name of the student, the date of, and the reason for the absence.

If a student is absent for an extended period of time due to illness, a written statement of explanation may be required from the physician on the day of the student’s return to class.

It is the responsibility of the student or his/her parent/guardian to request missed assignments for each lawful absence. Teachers will assist students in making up missed work for excused absences. Students absent for unlawful reasons are not entitled to make-up work. This includes missing school due to a vacation.

For more information, please visit the BCPS website. Go to Our System, click on Policies and Rules. Click on the 5000 Series on the left hand side of the screen. Policies 5120P and 5120R pertain to attendance.

Student Contact Information Forms

This year we have sent your child’s/children’s Student Contact Information Form/s to you for any corrections necessary. Please return this form to school as soon as possible, since this is our only way of reaching you in case of an emergency. Thank you.

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The Nurse’s Corner

School: The more you go, the more you know!

Attendance

There are times when children need to stay home. A temperature of 100 or greater is considered a fever. In order to return to school, your child must be fever free for 24 hours. In addition, if your child has had vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours they should stay home.

Flu Season

To prepare for the flu season speak to your primary care provider about vaccinations. Different viruses can live on surfaces for 20 minutes to 2 hours. It is particularly important for young children to frequently practice proper hand washing to help combat the spread of those viruses. Access for this and other health related topics. The kids’ link provides educational games.

Wellness

Students that arrive to school well rested and healthy are better prepared to participate and benefit from rigorous classroom instruction. Beginning the day with breakfast provides much needed energy for the educational and physical demands of the school day. Children between the ages of 5-12 need 10-11 hours sleep each night in order for them to be alert and attentive. Eating well, getting enough rest and exercise leads to life time habits for a healthy life style. For more information and educational games for your child, visit .

As classroom celebrations begin, please refer to BCPS Policy 3301 for non-food ideas and a list of popular healthy party snacks. Brochures are available online at or in the information center at the main office entrance.

I look forward to working with you on behalf of your children.

Paula Canaan-Reisz, MPH, BSN, RN

410-887-1489

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Resources:



(available in Spanish)



(information on the food pyramid)



offices/sss/health/

Attached is information about keeping your child healthy at school.

Lunch

Students have a 30 minute lunch period every day. This is preceded or followed by a 20 minute recess break. We do want this time to be enjoyable and stress free, however, in order for this to happen we must ask children to follow some rules. Please review these rules with your child so that all students may have a pleasurable lunch time.

• Please do not share food or touch another student’s lunch.

We have many students with allergies.

• Do not leave your seat without permission.

The trash cans are brought to students. If they need to use the restroom or get a drink they need to raise their hand and ask for permission. They may be asked to wait for other children to return from the restroom or drinking fountain.

• Please talk quietly with your friends at your table.

If students are too loud, they may be asked to move from their table to a quiet table to finish their lunch.

• Do not touch anyone.

If you have any questions or concerns please see Mr. Grabill or Mrs. Salaga.

Rise and Shine for Grab and Go Breakfast!

Students may purchase breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning as they enter the building. They take the food back to their classrooms to eat.

“Jump Starts” Breakfast Bags may include:

• Frosted Flakes (reduced sugar)

o Graham Crackers

o 100% Apple Juice

• Breakfast Pizza

• Oatmeal Chip Bar

• Breakfast Sandwich

• Yogurt

• French Toast Stick

• Milk and Juice

Student Breakfast Prices:

$0.30- Reduced Payment Breakfast

$1.55- Paid Breakfast

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Parent Volunteers

Thank you to all of our parents and grandparents who have completed the training on line. In order for you to volunteer in the classroom or chaperone field trips you must complete the BCPS Volunteer Training each school year.

The website for the training is . Once on the site go to the Community heading and scroll down to Volunteer with BCPS. There you will find step by step instructions to follow in order to complete your training.

Submit your application and certificate of completion to Mrs. Buchler, our school secretary, in the office. Applications must be submitted a month before a field trip in order to be a chaperone.

Spirit Days

Orioles Spirit Day – October 1

College Shirt Day – November 5

Pajama Day – December 3

Crazy Hat Day – January 7

Read a Shirt Day – February 4

Green Day – March 4

Tie Dye Day – April 1

Mismatched Day – May 6

Purple Friday (every Friday through December)

School Wear Friday (Every Friday Jan – March)

Orioles Friday (Every Friday April – June)

Middle School Magnet Programs

Below you will find several events that showcase the magnet programs at various middle schools in Baltimore County. The application for the magnet programs is available on line for the 2015-2016 school year. It will be available until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 25, 2014. Please visit the BCPS website for more information. You may also contact our school counselor, Susanne Olsen with any questions.

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