Coming up
Our next virtual PTA meeting will be Thursday, December 3rd at 7pm. All are welcome to attend, zoom details will be emailed prior to the event.
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10/27/2020 BOE Meeting Notes
The meeting focused on diagnostic assessments data (ie loss of learning measured by MAP testing), changes to the elementary school schedule, athletics, enrollment numbers, and county health metrics for reopening. There was not a discussion of detailed plans for a hybrid learning model or return to in-person learning. Specific recommendations of a reopening timeline and how to bring back groups of students (if metrics allow) will be discussed in upcoming meetings on November 6 and November 10. If you'd like to look over unofficial notes of the meeting Moderately Moco has published them online.
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2019/2020 Yearbooks and Individual Pictures
Yearbooks are handled by the PTA. If you have not been able to come to the yearbook distribution days but would still like to collect last years' yearbook please contact Mary at President@greenwood-pta.org.
Individual class pictures are being distributed directly from Lifetouch. If you have not yet received your pictures from 2019/2020 contact Fred Blanton directly at fblanton@lifetouch.com (NOTE: if you believe you have already contacted Fred and he has been unresponsive check the email address!)
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Join the PTA today!!
Join the PTA through Memberhub and stay connected throughout the year.
- GET CONNECTED! There is no better way to know what’s happening at school.
- TAP INTO A NETWORK! PTA connects you to other parents & teachers through meetings, events, & communications, helping to build a sense of community.
- IMPLEMENT IMPROVEMENTS! By getting involved in the PTA you’ll help to make positive changes.
One membership is only $10 and each subsequent membership for someone in your household is an additional $5. Join now by going here.
Our PTA has started using an online communication tool called MemberHub.com to bring you into our school community and keep you informed and engaged with what is happening. Within our MemberHub site, you will find our e-store, newsletters, signup sheets, shared calendar events, files, photos, reminders, and much more all in one place!
With MemberHub you can:
- Join the PTA by clicking here
- When you join the PTA your receipt will include a link to create your Memberhub account
- Donate to the Greenwood scholarship funds by clicking here
- Sign up for volunteer time slots or needed items and receive reminders
- Receive emails and/or texts with communications from all levels of your school
- Share files and photos in a secure environment
- Utilize a school calendar and receive event reminders
- Access a private online school directory with PTA membership
- Install the MemberHub app on your smartphone for info on the go
Your information is stored securely and privately. Please click here to add you and your family to our organization's MemberHub site.
We would love to have you as PTA members; please visit our e-store to join the PTA.
Wishing the Greenwood community a successful and healthy school year!
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Equity Hubs
Addressing the childcare need in our county, while schools remain in a virtual environment is a huge need in our county. Equity Hubs is specifically for students (of financially impacted families) who may not have internet access and/or adequate adult supervision to ensure successful distance learning. As these Hubs launch, there is a specific area of need, right up the PTA/community alley! These students in the hubs need higher quality headphones (similar to link) than those the young scholars bring with them or are currently available through the schools.
If you or members of your PTAs are interested, your tax deductible donation can be made through this link! Just indicate “headphone fund” as the purpose in the comments! https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/childrensopportunityfund If there are organizations interested in adopting an entire hub or cohort of students, and for paperwork purposes it is easier to buy the headphones directly and deliver, we can make that happen!
Several hubs already open as well as some that are “coming soon.” Also, a registration link is available you are welcome to pass along for families that could benefit from being part of one of these cohorts!
Please see the Minutes page for a flyer of this program.
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MCPS Tech Webinars
MCPS is hosting parent webinar series for parents prior to the start of school. They cover ParentVue, MyMCPS, and Zoom troubleshooting. The list of webinars is here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S7qQJcm_zk4yQUtRPPZY7uoo16govBitrtMUPHljav0/mobilebasic
For more information about the various platforms being used for virtual learning please refer to our tech talk page.
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School Supply Lists
Administration has provided school supply lists. Note that these are optimized for in person learning. Use lists as a reference when setting up your at home stations but teachers may have suggestions once classes begin. I would recommend earphones and a dry erase board of some sort (page protector works just fine). Click the link below to view lists.
http://greenwood-pta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/school-supply-list.pdf
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School supplies for those in need:
The annual Give BACKpacks campaign is pivoting this year to respond to the needs of our students. For just $10, you can provide a student in need with supplies for virtual learning, which could include, paper, crayons, pencils/pens, white boards, dry erase markers, and more.
Not all students have the materials needed to learn at home. Your donation will help provide students with the necessary supplies to engage successfully in their lessons.
If you would like to donate to this program to help others in our community please visit here.
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Home Enrichment Websites:
https://www.storylineonline.
https://classroommagazines.
https://www.
Fun educational engaging website
https://www.abcya.com
Boundary Analysis Update
The MCPS Boundary Analysis Interim report has been released. The full document can be found here:
For a summary found in Bethesda Beat click here.
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November Newsletter
10/26/2020
Happy Fall Gators! Our next virtual PTA meeting will be Thursday, November 5th at 7pm. All are welcome to join.
Thank you to our Bingo Night organizers. They did an amazing job coordinating a fun, virtual night for our students.
We also had our first virtual assembly last month with Corey the Dribbler. I loved seeing so many of our students enjoying the tips and tricks that Corey shared. Thanks for tuning in!
Please consider donating a jar of jelly to help the local food bank, Olney Help, as part of a cluster-coordinated effort this Thanksgiving. Info below.
Book Fair
We're excited to be kicking off the 2020 Scholastic Book Fair this week! This year's fair will begin on Friday, November 6, and run through Thursday, November 19.
Because this year is virtual-only, we'll be sharing a unique link for you to shop through prior to November 6th. It's important to remember that the only way the proceeds from your purchase will be applied to Greenwood's book fair and benefit the school is to shop through that unique link during those dates.
During last year's book fair, as a community we spent more than $15,000, which earned almost $4,000 for Greenwood. Let's see if we can do even better this year! Funds earned for Greenwood through this year's fair will be used to support the 5th grade graduation, provide stipends to our wonderful teachers to purchase more materials for their classrooms, and more.
Click here to visit the Greenwood Book Fair homepage or here to view the flyer.
Teacher Appreciation
As part of the monthly PTA newsletter we’d like to offer a strategy to practice Gator Gratitude. Every month we will suggest a simple way to show appreciation to those in our Greenwood community.
In November, we pause to think about all that we are thankful for. Consider having your child write a personal thank you note to their classroom teacher or other staff member. Deliver the notes digitally directly to their email or print them out and have them handwrite (or draw) their message. We will place a “Thank You Box” outside the front doors of the school every Thursday in November (11/5, 11/12, 11/19). It will be there from 8am-8pm and any items will be put in the staff members’ mailboxes to be there for the next time that they are at school. The PTA will be delivering special gifts for our teachers this month as well, so they will be encouraged to stop by according to their availability.
Please take a few minutes to think how we can lift the spirits of our teachers and staff as we enter into the 2nd quarter of a virtual school year.
If you’re looking for some online templates:
https://www.greetingsisland.com/cards/thank-you/teacher-appreciation
https://www.canva.com/templates/?query=Teacher-Thank-You
Room Parents
We are looking for parents to become virtual room parents for each class. Normally room parents are in charge of planning and overseeing the Halloween and Valentine’s Day parties, as well as coordinating class gifts to teachers (such as an end of the year gift). This year is definitely different and we are working to redefine the role to fit our virtual classrooms for this semester and beyond. With the holidays coming up we want to make sure that each class has at least one room parent to support and show appreciation to our amazing teachers.
These are classes that DO have room parents:
George (K)
Boray (K)
Voorhees (K)
Matz (1)
Mankulish (1)
Cravath (2)
Falzarano (2)
Mencia (3)
Krantz (4)
Delaney (4)
If your students’ teacher isn’t listed above and you are interested in becoming a room parent for your class please contact the PTA.
Volunteers Needed
We have ideas; lunch break trivia time, milk and cookies virtual reading night, and DJ dance hours but we need you to make them happen! If you are interested in running any of our virtual events or have ideas of your own for fun virtual Greenwood events please contact Mary at President@greenwood-pta.org.
Cluster Food Drive
The schools in the Sherwood cluster are banding together to support our local food bank, Olney Help, in it’s distribution of Thanksgiving Baskets this year. Greenwood has been assigned the task of collecting jelly. There will be a drop box in front of my house (you can check our directory or email President@greenwood-pta.org for address) beginning November 1st. Thank you for your kindness!!
Dining Night Out
November’s DNO will be Wednesday, November 18th, at Chipotle from 5-9pm. Take a break from trying to think of what to make for dinner and pick up some take out! A portion of the proceeds will be given to Greenwood PTA.
Yearbook
The following is a note from our yearbook coordinator Andrea Hesse:
I am excited to start planning for the 2020-2021 Greenwood Elementary yearbook. This year, I would like to celebrate our Gators’ hard work in the distance learning world as well as capture special memories during this unique time in their lives.
I will be creating folders on Greenwood’s Shutterfly shared site for picture uploads throughout the year. Below are some of the folders I have there currently: ∙ Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade (Pictures captured throughout the school year that do not fit the other categories.)
∙ Summer 2020
∙ First Day of School
∙ Virtual Bingo Night
∙ Spirit Days
∙ Behind the Masks (Students should wear their masks in the picture) ∙ Halloween
∙ Quarantine Hobbies
If you have questions about the yearbook or Greenwood’s Shutterfly shared site, email yearbook@greenwood-pta.org for assistance. I check the inbox frequently and am happy to help.
Thank you for helping us create memories at Greenwood Elementary!
Spirit Wear
In November there is a promotion of 10% off Coast Hoodies as well as the usual Free Shipping on orders over $50. Check it out at http://www.greenwoodspiritwear.com/
Memberhub
I’m thrilled that so many families have joined the PTA already this year. Your participation and input is invaluable. Most families have purchased their PTA memberships but in order to utilize our new communication portal we need you to complete the registration process by joining *Memberhub as well. Within our MemberHub site, you will find our e-store, newsletters, signup sheets, shared calendar events, files, photos, reminders, and much more all in one place! At the very bottom of your PTA receipt there should be a link to create a Memberhub account. However you can also join by going to https://greenwoodpta.memberhub.com/join/5apfcc.
Sister School Committee
After our last PTA meeting a Sister School Committee was formed in order to help others in our MCPS community. We are in the process of partnering with Strathmore/Bel Pre Elementary Schools. If you are interested in helping out in the committee or if you have questions or concerns, please contact Mary at President@greenwood-pta.org.
MCCPTA News
Boundary Analysis
At the recent boundary analysis webinar they discussed an interactive boundary explorer. The tool has been developed by WXY Studios (WXY) as part of its ongoing work with the district to provide a comprehensive assessment of MCPS boundaries by analyzing various data points. They are asking for people to use it to explore the data pertaining to the MCPS school boundary analysis. More importantly, there is a survey included. Definitely take the time to complete the survey! The interactive boundary explorer can be found here:
http://interactiveboundaryexplorer.com/
Board of Education
The October 27th Board of Education meeting focused on diagnostic assessments data (ie loss of learning measured by MAP testing), changes to the elementary school schedule, athletics, enrollment numbers, and county health metrics for reopening. There was not a discussion of detailed plans for a hybrid learning model or return to in-person learning. Specific recommendations of a reopening timeline and how to bring back groups of students (if metrics allow) will be discussed in upcoming meetings on November 6 and November 10. If you'd like to look over unofficial notes of the meeting Moderately Moco has published them online.
Library Books
Hundreds of books were turned in to the media center in the past few weeks. Thank you! If you aren’t sure if you have a book hidden somewhere in your home you can check using the Destiny system. This is the system recently introduced by Mr Chludzinski that you can use to check media books out weekly. Bins are placed outside of the front doors of Greenwood daily for book return.
Important Dates
November:
- Recovery Plan to be reassessed in November 2020 for Second Semester
- Week of November 2: Imagination Celebration Art Classes Begin
- November 3: Schools and Offices Closed
- November 4: Schools Closed
- November 5: 7-8pm Virtual PTA Meeting
- November 6: BOE meeting
- November 6-19: Virtual Scholastic Book Fair
- November 9: School Closed
- November 10: BOE meeting
- November 23: Early Release Day
- November 24: Early Release Day
- November 25: Early Release Day
- November 26: School Closed
- November 27: School Closed
December:
- December 9: 4pm Chick-fil-A Dining Night Out
Thank you for your continued understanding and patience during this extremely unique and difficult time. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Mary Quirion
PTA President
President@Greenwood-PTA.org