Good evening, Waters Landing family,
November is Native American Heritage Month. There is a read aloud linked above that tells the story of a Native American woman who loves dance and it's significance dance holds in her life.
The November meeting of our PTA was last Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Here is the report I shared. We are in the process of rebuilding our PTA and we need you. Our next meeting is December 5, 2023 at 7:00pm in the Media Center. Our PTA President, Mr. DeFelice, charged everyone with bringing someone to our December meeting. I hope to see you there. Also, PTA Restaurant Night at Tortacos is coming up on Monday, November 20, 2023. Eating there that evening will benefit our school.
On Monday, November 13, 2023 we will live stream from the Landing the MCPS Parent Academy "Parenting Strategies for Managing Behaviors". This will be presented by Dr. Susanna McQuarrie and Dr. Rachel Singer, who both specialize in behavior management. You may feel you don't need the support, but there's always something new to learn. The reason we are offering this opportunity is because one of our main concerns is the impact of behavior management on school safety. We are all in this together as a team. The relationship between home and school is important. It has been a challenging couple of years with some of the behaviors we have seen, so we are offering parents an opportunity to gain some support and strategies to implement at home that we can also transfer into the classroom and school environment. Challenging behaviors not only cause stress for parents and teachers but create challenges for our students as well. We want to encourage all our parents to take advantage of this opportunity to join us. The class with the most parent participation will receive a special class party and a gift card for the teacher. Please register here.
Mother Figure Monday is Monday, November 13, 2023, Father Figure Friday is Friday, November 17, 2023. This is your opportunity to come see what your child is learning in school and to experience firsthand how they interact with staff and peers in the school setting. Remember that young children may not accompany you on these visits. Please let us know you are coming by clicking the links below.
Our annual Boosterthon Fundraiser is scheduled for November 28 - December 6, 2023. This year we are doing Dance Fit to raise funds to support students and staff, which is what the money raised last year went towards. Schools are budgeted money based on the number of students who attend the school, for instructional materials only. The money cannot be used for field trips or to support student or staff refreshments, parties, after school activities and school-wide events. That is why I do the Boosterthon fundraiser each year, so that there is additional money available for school use outside of instructional materials. The focus was on Student and Staff Wellness last year, which means anything students or staff need to feel that we care about them. The plan was to also create a Wellness Room, but we ran out of physical space in the building. The money from last year that has been spent to date has been used to cover the outstanding balances on field trips, after school activities, student parties/treats, staff refreshments, gifts for staff who left WLES at the end of last year, school-wide events, student end of the year celebration certificates and pins, car circle numbers, zip ties and items that will be used in a Wellness room (Himalayan salt lamp, sound machines, curtain lights, stuffed Dolphin, book of poetry, mindful maze boards, coloring book of inspirational quotes, dolphin jigsaw puzzle). Our goal for this year is the same as last year-$10, 000. More information will be forthcoming.
In accordance with Maryland State Law students in Montgomery County Public Schools are screened for possible vision and hearing problems. Trained hearing and vision screeners will be screening students new to MCPS, students in Kindergarten and Grade 1, and students referred by teachers because of possible signs of hearing or vision problems. The screeners will be at Waters Landing on Friday December 1st, Monday December 4th, and Tuesday December 5th. Children who do not see clearly or are unable to hear what their teacher and classmates are saying have a harder time learning at school. You will receive a referral form, via US mail, to take to your child’s doctor if your child fails the screening. If your child is already under care for a hearing or vision problem, or you do not wish your child to be screened at school because of conflicts with your religious beliefs, please notify the school nurse in writing. If your child wears glasses or contacts, they should wear them every day, including on the day of the screening. School based vision screenings may not detect every vision problem. To learn more about possible vision problems and symptoms or health conditions that may require additional evaluation go to Montgomery County Government’s website at this link:
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/PHS/SchoolHealth/HearingVision.html
Contact your school’s nurse if you have questions about your child’s screening.
Attention families of Grade 2 students: As part of the Universal Screening of second graders for Gifted and Talented (GT) Identification and to help inform your child’s teacher about how your student learns, your child will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). The CogAT provides a snapshot of your child’s verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning abilities. Waters Landing Elementary will be administering the test on Ms. Armogida, Ms. Galdo, Ms. Pham, Ms. Morris, and Ms. Reyes on Monday, December 4. Ms. Theodore and Ms. Watkins will test on Tuesday, December 5. Testing will take place during the school day. The testing session will be scheduled for 2 hours and consist of 9 subtests. The tests are untimed, but each subtest typically lasts approximately 10 minutes. The CogAT is an abilities test, so children do not need to study or prepare for the test. Instead, they will be able to become familiar with the test format and items through teacher-directed practice activities before testing. Additionally, practice questions will be administered during the testing session to familiarize students with the online testing environment. It can be helpful for students to be well-rested and have a good breakfast on the day of testing. Here is a video link that explains more of what CoGAT is. The test will be administered on Monday and Tuesday, December 4 and 5, 2023.
Have an amazing week.
With Dolphin pride,
Mrs. Hammond, Principal
Mrs. Nelson, Assistant Principal
Mr. Kim, Assistant School Administrator
