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The Bear Bulletin
November 2023
A MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL ROBERTSON
Dear Families,
I want to congratulate our students on their work during the first marking period of school! November is a short, but very busy month here at LVBES. The end of the marking period is Friday, November 4th. Wednesday, November 1st will be a professional day for teachers in order to finalize grades. We are excited to begin using the Remind App for daily classroom and schoolwide weekly communication starting November 5th. Please see additional information below.
We are thrilled to welcome parents to the school on Friday, November 10th for Open House. Please see additional information about the schedule and registration below.
This month, our teachers will be holding parent/teacher conferences to discuss your child’s progress. Monday, November 20th and Tuesday, November 21st are half days designated by MCPS for parent/teacher conferences, however, conferences may be held throughout the month of November and early December. Please contact your child’s teacher for more information.
There will be NO SCHOOL from Wednesday, November 22nd- Friday, November 24th due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
As I reflect on the things I am thankful for this month, I continue to be grateful to be the leader of our amazing Barnsley community. I am thankful for our committed staff, students, and families. I am thankful for my health and my family. I hope that you are able to enjoy some quality time with family and friends during the Thanksgiving holiday. Stay healthy and safe travels to those of you who are going out of town.
Sincerely,
Ms. Robertson
Congratulations to our October BEARS_C.A.R.E. Award Winners!!!
Ms. MacNeil's Class
Ms. Kozorosky's Class
Ms. Ritenour's Class
IMPORTANT CALENDAR REMINDERS
October 30th-November 3rd: Mental Health Awareness Week
November 1st: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS; GRADING AND REPORTING DAY
November 10th: Open House
November 20th & November 21st: Early Dismissal Days; Students dismissed at 1:20 PM
November 22nd-November 24th: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS & STAFF; OFFICES CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Mental Health Awareness Week at LVBES
REMIND APP UPDATE
We are excited to share that MCPS is transitioning to the use of Remind to engage with its school communities! If you're not already familiar with Remind, it's a communication tool that makes it easy to stay involved with your child's learning. Remind is free to use, and you'll be able to get and send messages on any device - even a simple text message from your mobile phone!
As part of this pilot, accounts have been created for all teachers, staff, parents and students ages 13 and above. On or before November 1st, you'll receive an email or text message to your mobile phone from Remind. All you need to do is follow the steps in the message to finish setting up your account. Also, we've already set the preferred language for you and your child so you can receive messages in your home language. As long as the teacher has set up their Remind account to enable replies to support two-way communication, you can also send messages back in your preferred language, and they’ll automatically be translated into the teacher’s preferred language.
We encourage you to watch the Getting Started with Remind Video and review our Parent Remind Quick Guide to get more specific tips on how to use Remind.
Translated Remind Quick Guides
English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Amharic, Korean
We're excited to begin using Remind to make connecting with your family more easy and engaging!
LVBES OPEN HOUSE IS NOVEMBER 10th
On Friday, November 10th, parents and guardians are invited to visit their child/children's K-5 classroom(s) to catch a glimpse of what learning at Lucy V. Barnsley looks like each day. We have scheduled the following times for visitation:
Session 1: 9:45 - 11:00 am
Session 2: 2:15 - 3:15 pm
Certainly we understand the need to be flexible to accommodate all, but if you are able to adhere to these guidelines, it will help us to reduce the number of visitors in the building at one time. Unfortunately, we do not have the space and the ability to maintain safety for students by having families join us for lunch or recess on this day, which is why we have planned the first session prior to our first lunch and recess times. Please reach out to your child's classroom teacher if you have questions about what instruction is taking place during each session as your child may be in art, music, or PE during the session time frames.
Although we love younger siblings, the open house will be happening during instructional time, and we respectfully request that you make other arrangements for them that day. In order to provide the highest level of safety for our students, we do ask that EACH INDIVIDUAL MUST pre-register by completing this form before 3 p.m. on Friday, November 4. Completion of this form will allow us to have your badge pre-printed sign-in with the main office staff, show your ID, pick up your badge, and start your visit immediately! (Please remember your photo ID!). If you do not pre-register, you will need to check in through the VMS system. We will be signing in all pre-registered visitors first. Please be prepared for a line, as the use of the system does take time.
We look forward to seeing you!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdn8Jc6244nD_nU6z1HcpR2Bvxn2-I_huI18W9xk8VDFW3ijQ/viewform
PERSONAL BODY SAFETY LESSONS
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is taking an active role in the prevention of child abuse and neglect through early prevention and intervention education.
During the months of November and December, our school counselors and classroom teachers will be presenting lessons on the topic of child abuse and neglect. The lessons are known as Personal Body Safety Lessons and their purpose is to help students to:
Develop knowledge, decision making skills, and behaviors which promote safe living in the home, school, and community;
Learn skills for self-protection and identifying child abuse and neglect;
Learn skills for asking for help for self and others and practice reporting to a trusted adult; and
Engage in positive and appropriate interactions with peers and adults.
If you have any questions or concerns about the topics that will be covered, please contact your child’s classroom teacher or the school counselor.
PTA Updates
We look forward to welcoming families to the LVBES PTA Fall Festival on Saturday, November 4th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on the Barnsley blacktop. We need parent volunteers to make this event happen! We still require parents' support for various activities, including fall crafts, supervising the inflatable, helping children with Barnsley Bear costume wear, and overseeing games. If you can help support this event, please sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0844AAA92FA0F49-44711831-barnsley?useFullSite=true
We will also have a Cub Scout troop table collecting canned food at the fall festival. We invite families to join in this initiative.
Our next PTA Meeting on Tuesday, November 7th. We will have a in person option in our Media Center or a virtual option via Zoom. Please see information below.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/83817845937?pwd=QkFsWmJOMk1VSDdXa21VWGJTa3pMQT09
Meeting ID: 838 1784 5937
Passcode: LVBESPTA