Margaret Brent Elementary
It's a great day to be a Bobcat!
Margaret Brent Elementary School
Email: _@staffordschools.net
Website: https://www.staffordschools.net/mbes
Location: 2125 Mountain View Road, Stafford, VA, USA
Phone: 540-658-6790
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Margaret-BrentElementary/609963239129515
Twitter: @MBESbobcats
February Principal's Message
February is here and promises to be filled with more cold weather and the potential for more snow. When I think of February, the words relationships, caring, love and heart come to mind. At MBES, our teachers and staff exemplify these very words each and every day. They develop strong relationships with the students and families and care deeply for the academic, emotional and social well-being of each student. Our teachers and staff and have a huge heart for kids!
Our annual Jump Rope for Heart event was amazing thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Sargent and Mr. Fernandes as well as your generous donations to the American Heart Association. Each month we task our school and community with an outreach project to impact those in our immediate area as well as the surrounding jurisdictions. This month we will be supporting the Fredericksburg Area Reginal Food Back via the MBES Canstruction Project. Here is the link for more information and a flyer will be forthcoming to families with details on how you can help. https://www.fredfood.org/canstruction
Inclement Weather Information
When a decision is made to delay or close schools due to inclement weather, notification to parents, students, and staff is made as quickly as possible. For a full list of weather closing announcement locations, see the winter weather information page of the Stafford County website at https://www.staffordschools.net
Congratulations Mrs. Nixon, Margaret Brent's 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year and Stafford County Public Schools Teacher of the Year Finalist!
One School, One Book is HERE!!
This year, Margaret Brent proudly presents The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney as our One School, One Book! Enjoy this precious time together as a family reading about the adventures of a class hamster named Humphrey.
The benefits of reading aloud are remarkable. Studies have shown that reading to children helps them listen better and longer, build bigger vocabularies, understand concepts better, and feel positive about both books and learning.
When an entire school reads the same book, the buzz and excitement around the book augments these benefits. Reading a book together brings the added joy of building and expanding a sense of community among students, parents, teachers, and staff.
MBES 2019 Canstruction Project Details
Library News
BRRR...It’s cold outside. I know a good book will always warm you up. That’s exactly what The World According to Humphrey will do. Our One School, One Book is in full swing and everyone at Margaret Brent is hamster happy. I love the themes in this book; you can learn a lot about yourself by taking care of another species, responsibility, family, kindness, and compassion. I have scheduled four meetings throughout the month of February to meet with all students (Feb. 1, 8, 15, 22). These meetings will include movement, music, art, technology, and literacy skills. The students are ready for the challenge.
Families, don’t forget that Rappahannock library offers programs for students of all ages. Also, apply for a library card and you will be able to borrow more than ten books at a time. Central Rappahannock Regional Library is celebrating African American History Month with an African American Read-In, a joyful sharing of literature and music, presented in partnership with the Stafford NAACP, at Porter Branch, 2001 Parkway Boulevard, 22554, on Saturday, February 2, 2:00-3:30 p.m
Our Spring book fair is scheduled for March 1-8 and family night is March 5 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The theme for this fair is Dino-myte. With the proceeds from this fair I will be purchasing nonfiction books to add to the collection, support for our One School, One Book, makerspace supplies, and additional chromebooks.
Thank you for all you do to support your child’s literacy.
Mrs. McConnell
Books you will love this month:
Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin,
Roses are Pink, and Your Feet Really Stink by Diane De Groat
The malted falcon : from the tattered casebook of Chet Gecko, private eye by Bruce Hale.
Math/Technology News
Dear MBES Bobcat Families,
We are excited to introduce Dreambox to our students this school year! Dreambox is an on-line adaptive MATH program that K-5 students access using their Clever Logins. Please take a moment to read the “Healthy Habits” listed below. If your child has any issues logging in, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.
We encourage you to set up your parent logins (click here for parent login directions) to receive information on what skills your child is working on.
Nurses Notes
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE FLU!!
The flu season has arrived and we must all be diligent to keep our students as healthy as possible. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by various influenza viruses. Symptoms of the flu include: high fever, headache, fatigue, dry cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle aches, and GI symptoms including nausea, vomiting or diarrhea (more common in children than adults). The flu spreads in respiratory droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. It usually spreads from person to person, though occasionally infection may come from articles infected by the nose or mouth droplets of an infected person. The single best way to prevent the flu is to get the “flu shot” each fall. The flu shot this year protects against the seasonal flu viruses expected to be active this year. Other measures you can take to help prevent the spread of flu germs are:
WASH YOUR HANDS. This is the #1 prevention measure you can take. Unlike the flu vaccine this simple measure will protect you from other viruses, infections, and colds as well as the flu. Wash your hands after using the bathroom, coughing or sneezing into your hand, blowing your nose, before meals, and any other time you feel your hands are “dirty”. Wash your hands using warm water and an antibacterial soap. Scrub well, especially between your fingers and the palms of your hands. Teach your children to wash for about 20 seconds (that is as long as it takes to sing the ABC song twice). An antibacterial hand washing gel can be used if there is no soap or water available.
Teach your children to cough into their elbows. This simple practice really helps stop the spread of germs by keeping the hands clean.
Teach your children to keep their hands away from their face, no fingers in mouth to wiggle loose teeth, or rubbing eyes, or wiping their nose with their hand, and if they do immediately wash hands.
Keep yourself and your children healthy by eating right and getting plenty of sleep.
If you’re sick, stay home. If your children are sick, keep them home until their temperature has been below 100º for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, they are eating and drinking normally, and they feel well enough to return to school. Children often miss 3-5 days of school when ill with the flu virus.
These few simple measures do help stop the spread of the flu and other illnesses. Practice these good habits everyday and hopefully you’ll have a healthy winter.
Nurse Johnson
Counselor's Corner
Dear Bobcat Families,
Happy February! Groups being offered at this time include Confidence Building and Friendship(K-2) as well as Mindfulness Training (3-5). Details about each of these group opportunities can be found on our webpage. If you would like your child to be included in a small group, please email or call us, and we will send home an informational permission form for your review.
Guidance lessons for the month of January focused on positive behavior in school (K), learning from mistakes (1), and how to handle teasing (2), listening skills and conflict resolution (3) and developing S.M.A.R.T. goals and how to handle rumors/gossip (4-5). The SCPS Word of the Month for February is RESPECT. As an additional emphasis on Character Education, we will be offering a school-wide writing/poster contest related to our #onebookoneschool initiative: The World According to Humphrey. More information regarding this contest will be shared your child during the first week of February and available on our webpage.
If you have any questions, concerns, or input regarding small group offerings, individual counseling, or community resources, please feel free to contact us. Please remember to view our webpage for a variety of counseling related resources!
Your Bobcat School Counselors,
Nancy Siems (K-2) / siemsnl@staffordschools.net
Laura Hoover (3-5) / hooverls@staffordschools.net