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Narwhal Newsletter
March 3rd, 2024
Hello Marsh Creek,
I hope that everyone is having a great weekend. We have a number of fun and exciting events for our Narwhals scheduled this Spring, beginning this afternoon with our Ice Skating Event for students. Please see below for more information related to our HSA's Ice Skating Extravaganza event. During the month of March, we are encouraging our students to participate in both our 100 Page Challenge, and our Marsh Madness Math Challenge. Please see below for more information related to these opportunities that encourage students to enrich their literacy skills and have fun learning! Next Sunday is Daylight Savings time, where we all move our clocks forward one hour. This can be a challenge for students, as they need to adjust their sleep schedule in order to feel rested and ready for school. Students will be off on Monday, March 11th, for a district Professional Development day. Additionally, we will be celebrating Women's History month throughout March, and we are looking forward to DASD's Unity Day on the Friday before Spring Break begins. Thank you all for your support of our students, and our wonderful community. I hope that everyone has an amazing week!
-Matt
This week at Marsh Creek - Week of March 3rd
Sunday - 3/3
- Ice Skating Extravaganza - (more information below)
Monday - 3/4
- The Importance of Community - Brandon Graham - 6-8 pm - Downingtown East High School (more information below)
- CTC Parent Group - Grit and Resiliency - Marsh Creek Library - 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Notable Upcoming Dates
Sunday - 3/10
- Daylight Savings Time - Turn the clocks ahead
Monday - 3/11
- No School for Students - Professional Development Day
Friday - 3/22
- DASD Unity Day
March 25th - 29th
- Spring Break - No School for Students or Staff
Ice Skating Extravaganza
Our Home and School Association is hosting an Ice Skating Extravaganza Event to support the students of Marsh Creek. Tickets are on sale for the event taking place on Sunday, March 3rd, at The Campus in Downingtown. Please see the attached flyer for more details about this fun opportunity for our students to connect!
A Day at the Creek
Marsh Creek Aidan's Heart Club
Congratulations to the 24 members of the Marsh Creek Aidan's Heart Club chapter who earned their American Heart Association CPR certification this past week! These Heart Heroes participated in a three-hour training on Thursday and learned skills such as infant CPR and abdominal thrusts in addition to CPR. We thank Aidan's Heart Foundation and April Locke of Good Fellowship Training Institute for providing this opportunity to our students. Stay tuned for more opportunities for your child to become CPR-certified and help make our community more heart-safe!
Spotlight artwork that students have been working on this school year!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to our own Riya Jain and her team (Smart Cookies), who won the Excellence Award and Teamwork Championship Award at the "Eastern PA State Championship VEX IQ Challenge "Full Volume" - Elementary School" earning them a spot at the "2024 VEX Robotics World Championship - VEX IQ Competition Elementary School Event" in Dallas in May.
Marsh Creek 100 Page Challenge
In honor of Read Across America in March, we will have a gift basket drawing available in the Library. If students read 100 pages, they can earn one entry for the gift basket. For each slip that they turn in, they get one entry in the drawing. Slips can be picked up in the Library.
Welcome to Marsh Madness!
Our students have started to participate in a math intervention and enrichment program called Marsh Madness. This opportunity is designed to enhance our children's mathematical skills and create excitement for the students! Spiraling back on previously learned skills, and providing enrichment opportunities using the IXL program, students will have the opportunity to earn tickets as they complete the skills and activities assigned to them. These tickets can be used to earn prizes chosen by them, much like they would earn when playing arcade games to win tickets.
Students will be turning in their Skill Sheets to their math teacher every Monday, and will be earning tickets that can either be entered into our Raffle Bags, or can be saved throughout the next few months to earn a larger reward. This month, we kick off our Team Challenge, as each team will get to compete to see who can complete the most skills each week. Thank you for supporting and encouraging our students as they build their skills and confidence related to math!
ELD Family Night
The Downingtown Area School District has a diverse population that continues to grow and expand. We have families from many countries across the world. Combined, these families speak over 40 languages. This diversity enhances our DASD community.
To help these families feel welcome and connected, the DASD’s English Language Development (ELD) team hosts an annual ELD Family Night. To increase attendance and community outreach, we are asking for donations from our schools’ H&S Associations.
The ELD Team will be raffling off prize baskets. We are asking for theme items and gift cards. Any amount of donation is appreciated.
Themes: Movie Night, Outdoor Fun, Family Game Night, Food Fun, Arts & Crafts
A collection bin will be located in the front office. Thank you!!
POD Pride Update
Please Support our Students and Childhood Cancer Research
In order to support St. Baldrick's and our student Frankie Knowles, long time friend Teaghan has decided to shave her head to support TEAM FRANKIE. Please consider supporting Frankie and Teaghan by clicking on the link below to donate to St. Baldrick's! We are truly inspired by these students, and want to do all that we can to support research designed to address childhood cancer. Thank you so much for anything that you can do to help support this worthy cause, and our amazing students!
Community and Family Support - Backpack Boost Program
This program provides supplemental nourishment for our students. Participating students receive a bag of non-perishable food items every Wednesday, which will be distributed in a discreet and caring manner by our staff. Click on the flyer below to complete the confidential form so that we can help in any way that we can.
Counselor's Corner
Greetings from the Marsh Creek Counseling Department! We will use this area to keep you in the loop with updates from our department as well as helpful resources throughout the year. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. We are here to help!
Narwhals, let’s become amazing test takers in the third marking period. Over the next few weeks, we will share tips to help you ace your tests! You got this!
Check out these community resources!
A great local resource! Communities That Care offers groups, blogs and podcasts to support parents and guardians in the Downingtown area.
Click here for more information.
Please encourage your child to check out the Marsh Creek Counseling Department Schoology course. It’s filled with lots of great resources including stress management strategies, study skills, directions for how to check your grades and more!
As always, reach out if you need anything!
Chromebook Care
The most frequent damage to a Chromebook is a cracked screen. Follow these tips to avoid damage.
- Always carry a Chromebook closed. Never hold a Chromebook by its screen and always use two hands to carry the device.
- If carrying the device from classroom to classroom, hold the Chromebook close to your chest much like a hug.
- Be sure to set a Chromebook on a flat surface during use and avoid slanted, uneven surfaces which could lead to the device sliding off and dropping to the floor.
For more tips about protecting your device, and information related to getting a protective case for your device, click the following link to our technology page. Thank you for your assistance!
https://www.dasd.org/departments/technology/11-technology-initiative/chromebook-care
Clubs and Intramurals
Below is a link to the Activities page on our Marsh Creek website, which has been updated with all information that students and parents will need to engage in our extracurricular programs. It contains information related to the options available this year, as well as information related to Activity Fees, and the Activity Shuttle Bus. Students can work with our teachers to pick up information and to express interest in the activities offered this year.
Cultural Connections Club
Join MC6 Cultural Connections Club!
The CCC will allow students to get together once a month for group discussions, activities, leadership opportunities, and games. It will be a fun way to make new friends while celebrating diversity and strengthening our connection to the school community.
There is still time to join MC Cultural Connections Club! Sign Up Here -
MC6 Cultural Connections Club Interest Form
“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” ~ Maya Angelou
Marsh Creek Home and School Association (HSA)
Thank you to our HSA for all that they have done this year to support our students and staff! We are so lucky to have a wonderful team of parents willing to help Marsh Creek. If you are interested in participating in our HSA this year, please consider joining us for future meetings. If you would like to contact our HSA to find other ways to support our students and school, please feel free to contact them at marshcreekhsa@gmail.com.
DASD Community Events
Downingtown Area School District is thrilled to announce that Philadelphia Eagles' defensive end, Brandon Graham, will be visiting Downingtown High School East on March 4th, 6-8 pm, for a special program titled "The Importance of Community." The event is organized by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office, showcasing Graham's insights on fostering unity, looking out for one another, and sharing lessons learned during his time with the Eagles, including his experience as part of a Super Bowl-winning team.
To register: Click Here
Downingtown East Girls Lacrosse Camp and Clinics
Employment Opportunities at Marsh Creek
Interested in working at Marsh Creek? We have several positions available for anyone interested in supporting students as a Paraprofessional. Please click below to start the application process, or feel free to reach out to Matt Barr at mbarr@dasd.org to express your interest! We would love to have you join our team!
The Downingtown Area School District has an opening for a part time position in our Print Center as an assistant. Please click the link below if you are interested in this position.
2023-24 Yearbook Sale
Order your child’s 2023-2024 Marsh Creek 6th Grade Center Yearbook online at www.balfour.com. Click on Shop My School and enter our school name. Then click on the icon for Yearbook Products and Ads. You will need to enter your child’s name and grade. Then select your child’s Advisory teacher. Yearbooks cost $30 and will be delivered to students at school during the last week in May. Order now before they are all sold out!
Any Questions? Please contact:
Mrs. Allen at lallen@dasd.org or Mrs. Leister at rleister@dasd.org.