Hello Marsh Creek,

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend. This week's newsletter contains information related to a number of fundraising opportunities, and events taking place around our community. It is hard to believe that we are starting the last week of February. We have a number of fun and exciting events for our students scheduled this Spring, beginning next Sunday, with our Ice Skating Event for students. Please see below for more information related to our HSA's Ice Skating Extravaganza event. Last week, our students and staff participated in our annual Marsh Creek Student/Faculty Floor Hockey game. All proceeds from the event were donated toward our Backpack Boost Program. Thank you to all that participated and supported this awesome tradition. Thank you all for your support of our students, and our wonderful community. I hope that everyone has an amazing week!

-Matt

Notable Upcoming Dates

Tuesday - 2/27

• Child Centered, Data Driven presentation - 3:45 pm - Zoom (more information below)

Sunday - 3/3

• Ice Skating Extravaganza - (more information below)
  

Monday - 3/4

• The Importance of Community - Brandon Graham - 6-8 pm - Downingtown East High School (more information below)

Our Home and School Association is hosting an Ice Skating Extravaganza Event to support the students of Marsh Creek. Tickets are on sale for the event taking place on Sunday, March 3rd, at The Campus in Downingtown. Please see the attached flyer for more details about this fun opportunity for our students to connect!

Purchase your tickets ahead of time using the link below!

Purchase Tickets Here- Ice Skating Event

We are looking for some assistance during this event. If you are interested in volunteering, please consider signing up to support our team using the link below.

Volunteer Sign Up Form

Spotlight artwork that students have been working on this school year!

Congratulations to our 2024 DASD Honor Band Musicians!

Marsh Creek Band students were selected through audition to represent our school in the 5th and 6th Grade Honors Band. This Honor reflects hard work, commitment, dedication and leadership. The Honors Band Program is meant to provide a reward and incentive for students who are leaders in their own school bands and to encourage these students to pursue their musical endeavors into the future. The 5th and 6th Grade Honors Band is made up of approximately 120, 5th and 6th Grade students selected from each of our ten elementary schools and the Sixth Grade Center.

Our “Narwhal” musicians have been hard at work in evening rehearsals, so please wish our students good luck in their Tuesday, February 27 concert! This event features three performing groups; the 5/6 Honors Band, the 7/8 Honors Band as well as the Downingtown West High School Symphonic Band.

Our students have started to participate in a math intervention and enrichment program called Marsh Madness. This opportunity is designed to enhance our children's mathematical skills and create excitement for the students! Spiraling back on previously learned skills, and providing enrichment opportunities using the IXL program, students will have the opportunity to earn tickets as they complete the skills and activities assigned to them. These tickets can be used to earn prizes chosen by them, much like they would earn when playing arcade games to win tickets.

Students will be turning in their Skill Sheets to their math teacher every Monday, and will be earning tickets that can either be entered into our Raffle Bags, or can be saved throughout the next few months to earn a larger reward. Thank you for supporting and encouraging our students as they build their skills and confidence related to math!

The Downingtown Area School District has a diverse population that continues to grow and expand. We have families from many countries across the world. Combined, these families speak over 40 languages. This diversity enhances our DASD community.

To help these families feel welcome and connected, the DASD’s English Language Development (ELD) team hosts an annual ELD Family Night. To increase attendance and community outreach, we are asking for donations from our schools’ H&S Associations.

The ELD Team will be raffling off prize baskets. We are asking for theme items and gift cards. Any amount of donation is appreciated.

Themes: Movie Night, Outdoor Fun, Family Game Night, Food Fun, Arts & Crafts

A collection bin will be located in the front office. Thank you!!

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the first American Heart Month to raise awareness of heart disease in the United States.

In order to support St. Baldrick's and our student Frankie Knowles, long time friend Teaghan has decided to shave her head to support TEAM FRANKIE. Please consider supporting Frankie and Teaghan by clicking on the link below to donate to St. Baldrick's! We are truly inspired by these students, and want to do all that we can to support research designed to address childhood cancer. Thank you so much for anything that you can do to help support this worthy cause, and our amazing students!

This program provides supplemental nourishment for our students. Participating students receive a bag of non-perishable food items every Wednesday, which will be distributed in a discreet and caring manner by our staff. Click on the flyer below to complete the confidential form so that we can help in any way that we can.

SFP 10-14 has been implemented throughout Chester County since 2010. SFP 10-14 is a universal, evidence-based prevention program that targets adolescents ages 10 to 14 and their parents/caregivers. This free skill-building program is delivered in seven weekly sessions and is offered as independent, concurrent learning sessions for caregivers and youth, followed by joint family sessions. The primary goals of the program are to build life skills in youth, including stress management, conflict resolution, and refusal skills. For caregivers, the program enhances parenting skills and promotes effective parenting styles, with the goal of strengthening family bonds, increasing positive communication, and enhancing collaborative problem-solving skills within the family unit.

Free dinner and childcare will be provided to all those in attendance. Dates, time and location will be announced shortly.

If you’d like your family to participate in the Strengthening Families program, please scan the QR code on the flyer with your cell phone and fill out the linked google doc to indicate your interest.

If you have any difficulty accessing the google document through the QR code and you’d like to register your family for the program, please reach out to your child’s counselor at MC:

Teams A, D, E – Mrs. Lyman at klyman@dasd.org

Team B and G- Ms. Mallon at dmallon@dasd.org

Team C, F and H- Mrs. Busby at mbusby@dasd.org

Greetings from the Marsh Creek Counseling Department! We will use this area to keep you in the loop with updates from our department as well as helpful resources throughout the year. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. We are here to help!

Narwhals, let’s become amazing test takers in the third marking period. Over the next few weeks, we will share tips to help you ace your tests! You got this!

Check out these community resources!

A great local resource! Communities That Care offers groups, blogs and podcasts to support parents and guardians in the Downingtown area.

Click here for more information.

Please encourage your child to check out the Marsh Creek Counseling Department Schoology course. It’s filled with lots of great resources including stress management strategies, study skills, directions for how to check your grades and more!

As always, reach out if you need anything!

The most frequent damage to a Chromebook is a cracked screen. Follow these tips to avoid damage.

• Always carry a Chromebook closed. Never hold a Chromebook by its screen and always use two hands to carry the device.
• If carrying the device from classroom to classroom, hold the Chromebook close to your chest much like a hug.
• Be sure to set a Chromebook on a flat surface during use and avoid slanted, uneven surfaces which could lead to the device sliding off and dropping to the floor.

For more tips about protecting your device, and information related to getting a protective case for your device, click the following link to our technology page. Thank you for your assistance!

https://www.dasd.org/departments/technology/11-technology-initiative/chromebook-care

Below is a link to the Activities page on our Marsh Creek website, which has been updated with all information that students and parents will need to engage in our extracurricular programs. It contains information related to the options available this year, as well as information related to Activity Fees, and the Activity Shuttle Bus. Students can work with our teachers to pick up information and to express interest in the activities offered this year.

Join MC6 Cultural Connections Club!

The CCC will allow students to get together once a month for group discussions, activities, leadership opportunities, and games. It will be a fun way to make new friends while celebrating diversity and strengthening our connection to the school community.

There is still time to join MC Cultural Connections Club! Sign Up Here -

MC6 Cultural Connections Club Interest Form

“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” ~ Maya Angelou

Our Cultural Connections Club creates a display and hangs posters in celebration of Black History Month.

Thank you to our HSA for all that they have done this year to support our students and staff! We are so lucky to have a wonderful team of parents willing to help Marsh Creek. If you are interested in participating in our HSA this year, please consider joining us for future meetings. If you would like to contact our HSA to find other ways to support our students and school, please feel free to contact them at marshcreekhsa@gmail.com.

Downingtown Area School District is thrilled to announce that Philadelphia Eagles' defensive end, Brandon Graham, will be visiting Downingtown High School East on March 4th, 6-8 pm, for a special program titled "The Importance of Community." The event is organized by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office, showcasing Graham's insights on fostering unity, looking out for one another, and sharing lessons learned during his time with the Eagles, including his experience as part of a Super Bowl-winning team.

To register: Click Here

Cornelius Minor, a distinguished Brooklyn-based educator is set to lead a transformative training session for the Downingtown Area School District (DASD) Cultural Equity Taskforce. The training, scheduled for February 26th at 3:45 pm, will take place on the Zoom platform and is open to teachers, staff, and community members. This event is offered free of charge, aligning with Minor's commitment to advancing equitable literacy reform.

Date: February 26th

Time: 3:45 pm

Location: Zoom Platform

Registration: Click Here

Interested in working at Marsh Creek? We have several positions available for anyone interested in supporting students as a Paraprofessional. Please click below to start the application process, or feel free to reach out to Matt Barr at mbarr@dasd.org to express your interest! We would love to have you join our team!

The Downingtown Area School District has an opening for a part time position in our Print Center as an assistant. Please click the link below if you are interested in this position.

Order your child’s 2023-2024 Marsh Creek 6th Grade Center Yearbook online at www.balfour.com. Click on Shop My School and enter our school name. Then click on the icon for Yearbook Products and Ads. You will need to enter your child’s name and grade. Then select your child’s Advisory teacher. Yearbooks cost $30 and will be delivered to students at school during the last week in May. Order now before they are all sold out!

Any Questions? Please contact:

Mrs. Allen at lallen@dasd.org or Mrs. Leister at rleister@dasd.org.