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!

Can you believe we have already reached the end of our first marking period? I want to express my gratitude for your ongoing partnership and support. We are so proud of the progress our students are making! This is a time for reflection and celebration of their hard work and growth.

On November 14th, report cards will be sent home with students in grades 1-5. Report cards provide valuable insight into your child’s progress in key areas of their learning. We encourage you to take time to review your child’s report card and to celebrate their successes while identifying areas for continued growth. Learning is a journey, and each child’s path is unique.

In addition, we will be holding parent-teacher conferences on November 18th (PreK) and November 19th (all students). Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, ask questions, and strengthen the home-school connection. Your support and collaboration play a significant role in your child’s success, and we look forward to working together to ensure a positive and productive school year. Please look for details from your child’s teacher regarding conference scheduling. Our goal is 100% parent participation! Thank you for your commitment to our school community and to your child’s education.

In the spirit of partnership, I hope that you will join and participate in our PTA. If you are interested, email wellwoodpta@gmail.com. Let’s work together to ensure each child feels supported and inspired to do their best!

Warm regards,

Alonna Thompson

athompson8@bcps.org

November 1 (F): Schools Closed for Students - Professional Development Day - Diwali

November 5 (T): Schools Closed for Students & Staff - Election Day

November 12 (T): Wellwood Wellness Night @ 5:00 PM

November 14 (Th): Report Cards Distributed

November 14 (Th): 3rd Grade Parent Night @ 5:00 - 6:30 PM - RSVP HERE

November 18 (M): PK 3 & PK 4 Conference Day - No School for PreK students

November 19 (T): Elementary Conference Day - No School for All Elementary Students

November 27 (W): Early Dismissal @ 12:25 - Thanksgiving Holiday Begins

November 28 & 29 (Th & F): Schools Closed - Thanksgiving Holiday

The Department of Special Education created a division of Family Support Services. Their goals are to:
• Increase parental involvement in the early intervention and special education decision-making process.
• Foster collaborative relationships through information and training.
• Help address concerns and make informed decisions regarding their child's education.

You can access their monthly newsletter here: https://www.bcps.org/curriculum/specialeducation/family_support_services/Keenya_Golden

Please help keep our buses safe by reviewing with your child our BCPS bus rules.

At the stop:

• Board the bus at your regularly assigned bus stop.
• Wait in an ordely manner, out of the way of traffic.
• Stand at least 5 feet back forom the stopping position of the bus.
• Wait until the bus stops completely before moving toward the bus.

On the bus:

• Follow the directions given by the driver.
• Stay seated, facing forward at all times.
• Keep all body arts inside the bus.
• Keep hands, feet, legs, arms, personal property, and your voice to yourself.
• No eating, drinking, or vulgar language at any time on the bus.
• Keep the aisle of the bus clear.

MAP:

Students in grades 2-5 took the Fall MAP assessment in reading last month. A family report explaining their score and suggestions to help your child at home will be sent home with report cards.

CogAT:

All Grade 2 students in Baltimore County Public Schools will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) in December. 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 English Language Arts and/or 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.

More information about the days and times of the assessment will be sent home in the beginning of December.

Reminder, the school day begins at 8:40am. This means that instruction begins at 8:40am. When students are brought to school late, they often miss the most important part of the lesson. Teachers begin teaching with direct instruction and modeling of a skill so students who arrive late miss this essential part of the lesson.

Strategies to attend school on time:

• Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
• Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
• Build in some down time in the morning so that there is wiggle room for unplanned occurrences.
• Eat breakfast at school.
• Use an alarm clock.
• Keep shoes in one place

In October, we successfully launched our Kindergarten and First Grade SNAP partnership, providing first and second-grade students the opportunity to explore a variety of healthy foods with guidance from our SNAP representative. Wellwood also partnered with United Way for their “Caw to Action” Day, where students created heartfelt thank-you letters to honor teachers and staff.

As part of National Dental Hygiene Month, we hosted an engaging "Lesson in a Lunch Box" event for our second and third graders in partnership with the University of Maryland Dental School. We were honored to welcome Senator Shelly Hettleman to this important event, showing her support for student health and well-being.

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.

The theme for the month of November is Relationship Skills. Students in both primary and intermediate grades will identify and reflect upon concrete social and communication skills that will enrich their close relationships with family and friends. Topics will include understanding the importance of personal space, peer pressure, and developing both coping and conflict resolution skills.

Special Education Resource Fair

November 16th – 10 AM – 12 PM

In Person- Padonia Elementary School

9834 Greenside Drive, Cockeysville, MD 21030

Lunch & Learn: Looking Forward to Family Meals

November 8th- 12:30 PM

Virtual- 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

Wellwood Wellness Night RSVP

Hearing and Vision is scheduled to occur at our school from November 4 through November 8.

Who will be screened? Students in their first year in BCPS. (e.g., prekindergarten or kindergarten). Students in grades 1 and 4. Students who were scheduled to be screened last year but were absent.

If your child wears glasses be sure they bring them to school on the days of screening.

Please keep an eye out for any fevers or coughs at home! If you'd like information on understanding the different symptoms of respiratory illnesses, read more here!

Please continue to encourage your child to take good care of their Chromebook. Students are responsible for damage, even if it is accidental. (Think about it- if you accidentally drop your library books in the bathtub you will still have to pay the fine even if it was an accident.) Remind your child to keep their device in the book bag, carry it with 2 hands and keep it off the floor.

Les Olympiques continuent in our World Languages French classes!

Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade honored their heritages, families and interests on their personal Olympic flags painted with the five colors of the Olympic rings. Partners listened as their peer painter said a French statement for every circle! TPR, or Total Physical Response, is the natural way of learning languages - languages come alive in the doing!

3rd graders recalled their animal friend names as they added more details to their mini conversations.

Colors in song were also a central theme in 1st and 2nd grade. Our younger friends sang in French about colored houses and made their own beautiful version with colored paper. Vive les couleurs!

Kindergarteners have been singing about their feelings, routines and names. They caught "un petit poisson" with their fishing polls. Who said schools and fish don't go together?!

Students in our PK classes have been doing a great job learning about how to care for books while reading them.

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

5th Grade students are preparing music for the Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 10th. Students should be practicing a little bit every day to learn their music! We have also started STICKER SONGS and KARATE BELTS. Students should take home their devices on Wednesdays to submit music videos to Mrs. Sherman.

In 4th grade Exploratory Music Class, students have been exploring the “Woodwind Family” by playing the clarinet, putting on reeds, and classifying different woodwind instruments.

Looking for Donations of Recyclable Materials!

Fourth graders will be participating in a project in January that involves building instruments from recycled materials. Please start saving recyclable materials! If you can donate some to exploratory music, please send them in with your child. Thank you!

Mrs. Sherman

Instrumental Music

adickerson3@bcps.org

This month, our PK students are playing games to enhance their locomotor skills. The primary students have been having a great time using scooters to build spatial awareness. Finally, our grade 3-5 have been working on the rope jumping skills! Way to go, Wellwood Wildcats!

Our students are wrapping up their fall season lessons. Check out the beautiful student artwork displayed in our halls anytime you are at school!

Families of third grade students - be on the lookout for information on recorders. A letter will be sent home with students the first week of November. If assistance is needed in acquiring a recorder for your third grader, please feel free to contact Ms. Marcussen at hmarcussen@bcps.org.

PK 3 students celebrated fall by exploring the inside of a pumpkin and describing what it felt like! We were amazed at what happens when we mixed baking soda and vinegar together, what a fun surprise!

Our PK 3 students explored features of nature as we launched our new unit on the environment.

PK 4 students continue to explore various materials as we learn more about our classroom. We made our own solution suitcases as we learn different strategies to solve problems and are practicing using our big voices!

Kindergarten students started their first science unit of the year. They are learning about push and pull. They explored and completed a sort on Wixie.

This month first grade learned addition strategies by playing Sort the Sum with a partner. They also got the chance to taste foods from the five food groups thanks to our school partnership with SNAP! Many students tried a new food for the first time that they loved!

2nd graders received a lunch box with everything they need to keep their teeth healthy from the University of Maryland Dental School! They learned of the importance of brushing their teeth and flossing.

Our third graders have just wrapped up two exciting units! In math, we completed our multiplication unit, where students mastered their multiplication facts and explored various strategies to solve problems. In social studies, we concluded our financial literacy unit, learning about money management, saving, and smart spending. We’re so proud of our students for their hard work and dedication! Keep up the great work, third grade!

Last month, our 4th graders extended their repertoire of strategies for describing and solving multi-digit multiplication and division problems. In ELA, they completed a unit on sensory experiences, highlighted by a story about a young man who relies on his seeing-eye dog to navigate the world and connect with others. Students also chose an interesting animal to research and write about, applying their growing literacy and research skills. In Science, we began an investigation into various energy sources and their environmental impacts—a study we look forward to continuing this month.

Wellwood's oldest students had two great science experiences in October. In addition to a successful trip to Oregon Ridge Nature Center, where students documented a wild variety of species, we also concluded out unit "Blast Off." Students conducted a series of investigations to facilitate the launching of their rockets.

Wellwood International School

2901 Smith Avenue

Baltimore MD 21208

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