The Wellwood Globe

Wellwood International strives to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring students in an engaging, rigorous and multi-cultural environment to instill inter-cultural understanding and respect.

Hello Wellwood Families!

Happy December! As we approach the winter season, we have so much to celebrate and reflect on. It’s hard to believe how quickly the school year is moving along, and I’m grateful every day for the energy, kindness, and curiosity our students bring to our school.

December is a wonderful time to pause and recognize all the growth we’ve already seen this year. From mastering new math skills to building confidence in reading and writing, our students are making strides each day.

As winter break approaches, I encourage you to take time to enjoy family traditions and activities that bring you joy. This can also be a great opportunity to incorporate learning at home in fun and meaningful ways—reading together, playing word games, or even storytelling can all support literacy in natural and enjoyable ways.

Looking ahead, we have many engaging events and activities planned to make the winter months productive and enriching for all. Be on the lookout for updates on family events, winter celebrations, and important reminders as we wrap up the calendar year together. Coming up next: our Winter Concert on December 10th at 6:00 PM and Math Night on January 14th at 5:30 PM. Please join us!

Thank you for your ongoing support, and I wish each of you a joyful, safe, and restful winter break.

Warm wishes,

Alonna Thompson

athompson8@bcps.org

12/2 (M): Book Mobile Visit for Grades PreK - 3rd

12/3 & 12/4 (T & W): 2nd Grade CogAT Testing - 9:00 - 11:00am

12/4 (T): Picture Retake Day

12/10 (T): PTA Meeting - 5:30 - 6:30pm

12/10 (T): Winter Concert - 10am, 2pm & 6pm

12/11 (W): PTA Fundraiser Glow Party

12/20 (F): Early Dismissal @ 12:25pm - Winter Break Begins!

1/2 (Th): School Reopens

Wellwood International has a new occupational therapist! Please welcome Ms. Jordana Musman. Ms. Musman has worked for BCPS for many years and is an expert in educational OT services. She is working at Wellwood part time and will be in the building on Mondays.

CogAT:

All Grade 2 students in Baltimore County Public Schools will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) between Monday, December 2, 2024 and Thursday, December 19, 2024. The CogAT is an online assessment consisting of three batteries: verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal reasoning. The data provided by the CogAT, along with additional data collected throughout the school year, will be used by schools as part of the universal screening process completed in the spring to identify students as Gifted and Talented (GT) in Mathematics for Grade 3.

CogAT is being added to Baltimore County Public School’s universal screening process to comply with changes to the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) governing gifted education in Maryland. These changes to COMAR require the use of a group-administered cognitive ability assessment as part of the universal screening process. Of the four assessments approved by the Maryland State Department of Education, CogAT was chosen for use by Baltimore County Public Schools.

Grade 2 will take the assessment on Tuesday 12/3/24 and Wednesday 12/4/24 from 9:00-11:00am.

Wellwood’s Positive Incentives for Attendance!

Wellwood International is committed to supporting students and families with attending school daily and on time! Students can earn positive incentives for being at school by 8:40am.

1. Every day on the morning announcements there is a drawing for 3-4 students to win a free Wellwood t-shirt. Students who are in their classroom on time able to earn this prize.
2. Everyday, students place a sticker on the attendance bulletin board when their class has perfect attendance. The primary class and intermediate class with the most stickers at the end of the month get a special activity with a special area teacher.
3. Twice a month the attendance fairies visit classrooms. Attendance fairies come unannounced and pass out positive paws to every child that is in school. Students can buy items at the positive paw cart twice a month.

November was an eventful and impactful month for Wellwood International School! Our Wellness Night was a resounding success, and we extend our gratitude to LifeBridge Health, the Baltimore County Health Department, SNAP, the Fire Department, and Healthy Smiles for their valuable contributions.

We’re also excited to announce that the American Heart Association Kids Challenge is coming to Wellwood soon—stay tuned for more details!

For those who ordered Wellwood apparel, your items will be delivered in time for the holidays.

Thank you to everyone who participated in American Education Week; your presence and support mean so much to our school community. We look forward to a busy and productive December ahead!

As your Community School Facilitator, I’m here to connect you with resources like emergency food, health services, afterschool programs, housing support, and more. Feel free to reach out at mfriedberg@bcps.org.

Stay tuned for next month’s community updates—exciting events are on the way!

Your Community School Facilitator,

Miriam Friedberg

Our school has partnered with Amira Learning in support of our readers. Amira is a digital reading tool that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to assess students’ reading mastery and coach them through new reading skills.

Students will also use Amira to strengthen their reading skills. They will read out loud, receive interventions and support, and talk about the story they’ve read to build their comprehension skills.

Amira is a program committed to AI safety for students. Amira uses AI to select from a predetermined set of interventions and responses. Amira does not pull from the internet and cannot respond to students outside of the curated options vetted by humans. All student data is protected and owned by the district.

Starting Wednesday, October 30th, when students bring their computers home to charge, they should spend at least 20 minutes reading with Amira at home. Wednesdays are now all about Amira at Wellwood!

Please support us at home by:

• Helping your child set up in a quiet space.
• Not helping your child read the words - let Amira do the helping!
• Making sure your child reads to the end of each story so the data will be saved for the teacher to view.
• Celebrating when your child completes a story! (We will celebrate them at school too!)

Hi Wellwood Families!

Welcome to the Counseling Corner, where we will showcase helpful tips and information about Social Emotional Learning.

As part of our School Counseling Program, your child’s class will have the opportunity to engage in a counseling core curriculum lesson each month based on a different theme. It is our hope that the core curriculum counseling lessons will help to promote the social emotional, academic, and career development of our students. We hope that you can help your child reflect on these lessons by discussing their content together.

During the month of December, students will engage in personal safety and decision-making lessons. The lessons are based on Baltimore County Public Schools’ Personal Safety Program PreK-5: Making Healthy Decisions curriculum. This program includes age-appropriate information on body safety and neglect and abuse prevention strategies and highlights the importance of telling a trusted adult about uncomfortable situations. Our goal is to help children be better able to handle the issues of personal safety should they arise.

Keeping your child safe is of the utmost priority to all of us here at Wellwood International. It is our hope that these lessons will help to reinforce the information and strategies that you have already given your children, and that your family can discuss together the important information presented in these lessons. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the program.

Lunch & Learn: The Power of Play

December 13th - 12:30 PM

Virtual - The Center for Family Success

Click here to register for any of the events

• BCPS Virtual Calming Room
• Baltimore County Crisis Response: 410-931-2214
• Crisis text line: Text the word "TALK" to 741741 for free 24-hour support
• Maryland Food Bank: 410-737-8282
• 211 Maryland: dial 211 or https://211md.org/
• Maryland Suicide and Crisis Hotline: dial 988
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK
• Trevor Lifeline: Text “START” to 678-678 or call 1-866-488-7386
• Baltimore County Department of Social Services: 410-853-3000
• Sheppard Pratt's Urgent Walk-In Clinic is available through virtual appointments. https://www.sheppardpratt.org/care-finder/virtual-crisis-walk-in-clinic/

ldelis@bcps.org

443-809-1167

As we head into the colder months of December, it's important to keep our bodies healthy and strong! Make sure to dress warmly with layers to stay cozy, and don’t forget to wash your hands often to keep germs away. The flu and cold season are here, so try to get plenty of rest, eat healthy foods, and drink lots of water to keep your immune system strong. If you’re feeling sick, please stay home and rest so you can feel better and not spread germs to others. Let’s all work together to stay healthy and enjoy the holiday season!

The holidays are here and large gatherings and travel, and more time indoors can mean more viruses spreading. Immunizations are the best tools we have for preventing serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV. The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to get the vaccines recommended for you. Who should get the COVID-19 and Flu vaccine? The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older.

Practicing good hand hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands often, cleaning frequently touched surfaces and even opening a window can help. Also, staying home and away from others when you are sick will help keep everyone healthy! Let’s work together to ensure a safe and healthy winter season for our students and families.

*Every U.S. household is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. Order your tests at https://covidtests.gov/

Dinner will be provided. Please RSVP HERE with your interest for attending by December 11th.

Questions? Email cgoff@bcps.org or skatenkamp@bcps.org

The Baltimore County Public School (BCPS) Online Learning Program provides a full-time online educational environment for students in grades 4-12. The program offers a full day of synchronous instruction taught by certified BCPS teachers. The BCPS Online Learning Program is a co-enrollment model in which all students are co-enrolled with their primary school of enrollment or zoned school.

Click HERE to access the BCPS Online Learning Program (OLP) application for the school year 2025-2026. The application will close at 1:00 PM on 12/13/24.

Click the links below to view the OLP brochures:

OLP BROCHURE ENGLISH

FOLLETO OLP EN ESPAÑOL

Wellwood is a National Green Ribbon School and a Maryland Green School. In order to continue our efforts, we have several recycling programs available. Below is information on each of our programs. Please help us to continue our efforts to recycle as many materials as possible!

Sneaker Recycling: Do you have any old sneakers or tennis shoes and don't know what to do with them? Drop them off in our lobby in our collection bin to be recycled!

Ink Cartridge Recycling: We take LaserJet and inkjet cartridges. Drop them off in our bins in the lobby to support Green School activities at Wellwood!

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, 5th graders researched an influential, Hispanic person and then created an informative presentation that highlighted that person’s impact on our world.

Students researched using BCPS Digital Content. These databases can be accessed in school and at home on students’ school computers by opening BCPSLinks – the Apps Portal – and then clicking on the BCPS Digital Content icon. This page has the needed login information for each database.

Families of grades K-5 students, please remember to check in with your child to see if they have been returning their library books so that they are able to check out different books each week.

Happy reading!

Mrs. Garde

Fourth grade students are starting the PERCUSSION UNIT! For their final project, students are designing and building their own percussion instruments out of recycled materials. Students should collect these materials over their Winter Break and we will build their project in school in January.

I am also accepting donations of extra recycled materials, especially items that can be used as shakers like popcorn kernels or beads.

Fifth grade students are practicing music to prepare for the Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 10th.

Day Concerts: 10:00AM, 2:00PM & Evening Concert: 6:00PM

Please check Schoology for the list of concert music and background tracks to practice along with. Please remind your child to practice every day to prepare for the concert and submit sticker/karate belt videos to Mrs. Sherman on Schoology.

Mrs. Sherman

Instrumental Music

adickerson3@bcps.org

Ms. Marcussen is excited for fifth grade to show off their musical skills on December 10th - the concert starts at 6pm, don't miss out on this awesome showcase!

The Pikesville Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library came to read and sing songs with our PK 3 and PK 4 students. What a wonderful time we had enjoying stories with our stuffies and using egg shakers to follow the rhythm of songs!

We've been been making learning FUN with our PreK 3 Center activities! This month, we also headed outdoors to review and practice our playground safety rules.

PreK 4 students are making connections to the ocean habitat at center time. We are creating environments with recycled materials and examining sea creatures!

This past month, our Kindergarten students had an assembly about fire safety from the Red Cross. They enjoyed the opportunity to get to speak to community members and learned so much about keeping themselves and their families safe if there is ever a fire.

First Grade continued to work with SNAP-ED this month! Students got the chance to make a taste delicious fruit kabobs!

In science, the students made models of something that can pick up litter like how a birds uses its foot. This is called biomimicry! In math, they are also working hard to discover different ways to make 10.

This month, 2nd graders wrote Pumpkin-grams to friends in school to let them know how much they appreciate their friendship. The pumpkin-grams will go on their friend’s locker for all to see!

The month of November has been a time of discovery and growth for our third-grade students! In Reading, we wrapped up Unit 3, where students explored the rich history and significance of American symbols. From the U.S. Constitution to the stars and stripes of the American flag, students delved into the meanings behind these iconic emblems. We ended the unit with a special focus on the Statue of Liberty, a powerful symbol of freedom and hope that sparked meaningful conversations in our classroom.

In Social Studies, our Civics and Action unit inspired students to think about their role in the community and as future leaders. They learned about the responsibilities of citizenship, the importance of rules and laws, and how they can make a positive impact in the world around them. The discussions have been engaging and empowering, showing just how thoughtful and creative our third graders are when it comes to making a difference.

We are proud of all the hard work our students have put into learning this month. As we look forward to the new year, we are excited to continue exploring, growing, and achieving together!

This has been an amazing month of growth, discovery, and resilience for our fourth graders, brimming with opportunities to learn and shine. Together, we’ve explored literature that sparks meaningful conversations about the persistence needed to overcome challenges. Students were left in disbelief as they read about a daring scientist surging into the eye of a hurricane to conduct groundbreaking investigations and felt a burst of inspiration when we read a play about a princess who chooses independence over matrimony. These powerful stories remind us of what we’re capable of when we embrace courage and determination. We’ll extend this conversation in upcoming health lessons, tackling the emotional and social challenges of growing up and equipping ourselves with practical tools to stay safe and make wise choices—all while expanding our vocabulary to new heights.

(By the way, this paragraph contains nine of our new vocabulary words! Ask your local fourth grader to help you spot them.)

Wellwood International School

2901 Smith Avenue

Baltimore MD 21208

Phone: 443-809-1212 | Fax: 443-809-1213