Hello Singer Families,

Welcome to spring! The flowers are out, the seasonal allergies are in full swing and we're mostly recovered from the time change and starting to enjoy the extra evening sunlight.

If you missed the silent auction celebration on March 8th, here's a recap:

The kids were living their best lives and enjoyed pizza and movies and face painting thanks to KAH. #kidshaveitsoeasy.

Some parents hired babysitters instead of KAH, came to the auction to win some stuff, and then stayed up past 9pm (you crazy kids!) and made a night of it. #21again

There were parents who came to the auction but forgot to bid (or forgot to rebid when they were outbid) because they were having so much fun socializing. #mostlytheladies

There were other parents who were "bid happy" all week long and won a lot more than they thought they'd win (and we kindly thank you for your donations). #bigwinnersgotovegas

And then there were the sneaky parents who dropped off their kids at KAH and then snuck out to eat a grown up dinner at a real restaurant while they also bid on their auction items from the comfort of their own date night. #waytoworkthesystem

We're still counting the monies, but I'm confident enough at this point to say we made over $20k for the PTA (final numbers to be shared at the PTA meeting next week). It took lots of people to make it happen. Room parents who made awesome baskets (three cheers for the highest bid for Belgian beer and chocolate!), the committee who made the food, music, decorations, and computer magic happen, and last but definitely not least .... Julie Roddin and Hillary Geldner, who were so generous with their time for months to collect donations, set up the online auction, and make the evening the success it was. THANK YOU ALL.

Next up: Family Bingo Night, STEM fair, Earth Day and more!!!

Beth

Mark your calendars for the Flora M. Singer Elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Fair, to be held Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Singer AP room and gym.

This exciting event celebrates our students' innovation and creativity in STEM fields. Register to present a project, and come to see your classmates' scientific discoveries. The PTA will provide a tri-fold display board to all registered participants.

Our STEM fair is non-competitive! EVERY student will present their work to a judge and receive a fun award and a T-shirt. Please register by March 22 to ensure we order enough boards and T-shirts.

We'll also have a full slate of science-focused, hands-on demonstrations from community partners, and a concession stand to support the PTA.

Need project ideas? Want to know what to put on your display board? Need a refresher on the scientific method? It's all in the Official STEM Fair Guide (available in English and Spanish).

Get all the details and register here.

Can you volunteer on STEM fair day as a judge or help with set-up and clean-up? Sign up here.

Questions? E-mail Laura at sciencefair@singerpta.org

Mark your calendars for the Flora M. Singer Elementary Earth Day event to be held Saturday, April 20, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

We’ll meet out front of the school and celebrate Earth Day with the usual Singer spirit.

The school will not be open (so no bathrooms!) and this is not a drop-off event. Please join us for some Earth Day fun and community-building. The plan is 4-fold:

#1) Grounds Clean up

We’ll join forces, organize into teams to help do a litter sweep of the grounds at Flora Singer.

Please bring your garden gloves (although we will have some gloves on-hand as well!)

#2) Clothing Swap

They’ll be a no-cost clothing swap for the Flora community on site at the event. This event lines up well with spring cleaning, so please bring any clean, gently used clothing that your kids may have outgrown.

Anything not passed along will be donated to the clothing drop outside the school at the end of the event.

Please register if you plan to bring clothing to share with the community. They’ll be some tables onhand, but also helpful to know if you can bring a table to the swap. It’ll be a great way to reduce, reuse, and recycle. 🙂

#3) Shoe Drop

Kids Shoes - Do you have some gently loved kids shoes you can donate?

Feel free to bring those along to the swap too.

Adult Running Shoes - It’s spring, so it might be time to upgrade those running shoes?

If you have adult running shoes that are in decent shape, please bring those to the event. We’ll have an opportunity to recycle those!

#4) Art Stop

Art has been integral to Earth Day since it’s inception in 1970.

We’ll have some art opportunities to help share the message of building a better tomorrow.

More on this station closer to the event.

Looking forward to seeing you on April 20th!

Questions? E-mail Matt at mlloyd2010@gmail.com

20 per cent of sales go to the PTA

Mark your calendars for Family Bingo Night on April 26 at 6:30 pm in the All-Purpose Room at the school!

A flyer will be coming home with your kids soon and keep an eye out for an email with more details. It promises to be an evening of fun bingo with the kids, concessions, and swag.

We have the updated list and contact information of students by each class - check it out! Each year the PTA supports the creation of the school directory, which includes contact information for all students whose families have not opted out of sharing it.

Many thanks to PTA volunteer Anke Mann and Mrs. Glickman for leading the effort and judiciously going through the list to respect the wishes of families regarding inclusion or exclusion.

The school has partnered with Square 1 Art to celebrate creativity and raise funds for the school. Your child has been working with their incredible art teachers to create their own artwork.

Now you can purchase unique keepsakes and gifts that feature your child's art - mugs, ornaments, prints, keychains, plates and more. New this year: Items will ship directly to your home with no shipping fee. Orders are due on March 22!

You can find your child’s artwork and start ordering now through the following website below. Check out the personalized ornaments I recently received! https://shop.square1art.com/Shop/artwork/Search

This spring session we've added more vendors to offer programs before/after school. Our spring programming includes: sports, dance classes, coding, robotics, electronics, a "little vet school", chess club, cooking, karate, science, Spanish, and art.

Check out the Kiddo link for more information about these activities and to register your child: https://schools.kiddo.us/s/florasinger-md

Student scholarships are available for the spring session. For more information about scholarships, contact: Mrs. Kimberly Kincaid Kimberly_E_Kincaid@mcpsmd.org

Congratulations to the February winner - Mrs. Fleming!

“We cannot say enough about the impact that Mrs. Fleming has had on our child. Despite some challenges he has faced in kindergarten, Mrs. Fleming has shown expert support and care for his every need. She makes genuine connections with her students and imparts the skills and strategies they need to be successful as students and peers. Because of Mrs. Fleming our kindergartener has grown across the board: academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you, Mrs. Fleming!”