Greenwood PTA

Mark your calendars for the following PTA events!

November 4          No School, End of first quarter grading

November 5-12    Scholastic Book Fair

November 10       Dining Night Out Mamma Lucia 4-9pm

November 22       Lifetouch Picture make-up day

November 22       Early release day and Parent Teacher Conferences

November 23       Early release day and Parent Teacher Conferences

November 24       Early release day

November 25-26  No school

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Yearbook Cover Contest

The Yearbook Cover contest has begun!  The flyer is posted here.

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Membership

You can still join the PTA and stay connected throughout the year. As a member you will be added to our mailing list for the monthly newsletter and won’t miss out on any fun events or activities we have planned. You can join now by going to https://greenwoodpta.memberhub.com/store.  For those of you new to Greenwood joining the PTA is a two step process. You first have to pay to join the PTA and then create a memberhub account. When you join the PTA your receipt will include a link on the bottom of the email to login to create your Memberhub account. All members of the PTA are asked to update their contact information in our Memberhub directory annually. The directory is available to members only and it is an amazing resource.

Note: The Memberhub app is no longer supported and is no longer in use. You must use a browser to access Memberhub.

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Scholastic Book Fair

The Book Fair will be held on Friday, November 5 - Friday, November 12.  You and your students can shop three different ways:

1. Shop Online: You can shop online at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/greenwoodelementaryschool25. This Virtual Book Fair will be open starting Friday, November 5.
2. Student Shopping & eWallet: Your students can shop the Book Fair during their assigned Media Center times. We strongly encourage you to set up a Scholastic eWallet. This will give your child a safe, cashless way to shop at the Book Fair. This digital payment option can be used at the in-school Book Fair or online at the Virtual Book Fair. To set this up, go to https://www.scholastic.com/bf/greenwoodelementaryschool25 and look for the eWallet section on the page. (Cash and checks made payable to Greenwood PTA also will be accepted but the Scholastic eWallet is our preferred method of payment.)
3. In-Person Parent Shopping: Parents can shop the Book Fair in-person as well. On Monday, November 8 - Thursday, November 11 at 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., parents will be allowed into the Media Center to shop. PLEASE NOTE: You MUST sign up in advance and you are allotted a 20-minute window to shop. Your students are allowed to join you, and everyone must follow CDC guidelines while shopping. To sign up, go here: Greenwood Elementary School: Book Fair Parent Shopping Hours (signupgenius.com).

We need your help! 

We are still looking for volunteers to staff the cash registers during both the Student Shopping and Parent Shopping hours. If you can join us, please sign up here: Greenwood Elementary School: Book Fair Volunteers (signupgenius.com). Your time and participation are much appreciated.

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Give the Gift of Reading

Greenwood Gives is our program to help Bel Pre and Strathmore Elementary Schools' students in need. As part of Greenwood Gives, a Scholastic eWallet has been created to help these schools buy books for students. If you would like to make a donation to benefit these students, you can do so here: https://shop.scholastic.com/ewallet/fund?lang=en_US&walletId=3449333.

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Volunteer Training

All volunteers must meet the MCPS requirements:

• Online Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect Training via their myMCPS Classroom/Canvas account (it takes about 30 minutes)
• COVID-19 Vaccination Attestation (*New)

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Dining Night Out

November’s Dining Night Out will be at Mamma Lucia from 4-9pm on November 10th. Take a night off from cooking and grab dinner on your way to or from your child’s sports practice! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Greenwood PTA.

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Calling all volunteers!

We need your help! We are hoping to host a community event or activity each month. We need volunteers to coordinate, plan, and/or help each of these activities as well as all the other jobs needed to keep the PTA up and running. Want to help? Please contact Mary at President@greenwood-pta.org.

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Gifted and Talented Liaison 

Each PTA is strongly encouraged to identify a volunteer to serve as its Gifted and Talented Liaison for the 2021-2022 school year. The GT Liaison plays a vital role in advocating for the needs of highly able learners by providing a critical link between the school community, the MCCPTA Gifted Education Committee (GEC), and MCPS. The time commitment is minimal and more than one person from each school can participate if interested. The virtual nature of our current environment makes participation flexible and accessible. No prior experience is needed for the role--just a desire to support this unique community of learners.

Examples of opportunities for GT Liaisons include, but are not limited to:

• Stay up-to-date on GT-related information from MCPS and MCCPTA, and ensure that information is shared with families in a timely manner
• Work with parents and staff at your school to understand and advocate for opportunities for highly able learners
• Participate in GT-related listservs and zoom meetings, where GT Liaisons and interested MCPS families stay current on changes and opportunities and discuss ongoing challenges and successes related to meeting the needs of highly able learners

This year is particularly important for families of highly able students in MCPS given the following:

• Varied learning loss means broader needs will have to be met by each teacher within each classroom
• Continued roll out of math and ELA curricula in grades K-8 with little/no content within the curricula to meet GT needs
• Year two of regional high school magnet IB programs at Kennedy, Watkins Mill, and Springbrook (advocacy for equal rigor and opportunity)
• Inconsistent school adherence to MSDE regulations and MCPS policy regarding GT education
• Uncertainty regarding CES and middle school magnet admission
• Inequitable opportunity, no minimum standards, and lack of oversight for enriched and accelerated ELA and math curricula in elementary schools
• Lack of minimum standards and oversight surrounding magnet program curricula

If you are interested in being the GT liaison for Greenwood please let me know: President@greenwood-pta.org

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NAACP Update

Parents, you have questions about vaccinating your children. Please join us this Thursday, November 4, 2021, at 7 p.m. (ET) for Securing Our Children’s Health: A Virtual Town Hall About Kids and COVID-19, as our panel of experts answer the important questions to help you make decisions for your family.

This special Facebook Live event, hosted by the Black Coalition Against COVID and the We Can Do This campaign, will feature school community advocates and childhood health experts providing information on issues concerning COVID-19, including vaccinating children and other ways to keep kids safe.

Join us at www.facebook.com/BlackDoctor.org. @BlackDoctor.org @BCAC19

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Grocery Program

If you haven’t already taken a few minutes to link your Harris Teeter, Giant, or Target Red card to Greenwood, now is the time! It takes only minutes to do, and all you have to do is shop like you normally do to earn money for the school.

Harris Teeter

To link accounts online:

• Log in to your Harris Teeter profile at the top of harristeeter.com
• Click on My Account once logged in
• In the Together in Education section, type Greenwood Elementary or "1268" (our school code) in the School Search toolbar
• Once the school name generates, click on the school name and then Add a School

To link accounts in the app:

• Go to "My Account" and click "Together in Education"
• Type in the school name in the search bar

To link in-store:

• Ask your cashier to link your VIC card to 1268 (our school's TIE code)

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Spirit Wear

Hello Gator Families! Did you know that you can custom-make your Gator Gear from dozens of options and have it shipped directly to your door?!? Fridays at Greenwood are Spirit Days and we encourage all students to show off their Gator Pride. Check out the spirit wear store at http://www.greenwoodspiritwear.com/

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School News: COVID Screening Testing

Greenwood ES has begun COVID screening testing for families who have opted in to this testing. The MCPS state-contracted vendor, CIAN Diagnostics, will be conducting the screening test on Tuesday afternoon each week, with random groups of students.

Parents/guardians will receive an email directly from CIAN Diagnostics containing negative result information.  Any positive results will be shared directly by MCPS staff with principals. Principals will then follow up with any families around their child’s positive result with next steps.

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Quarantine Instruction

Starting in October there was a change in the quarantine instruction for Greenwood students. Greenwood has opted in to a program wherein students from multiple schools join in a grade-level and class-specific zoom instruction. Details are below:

In the event that your child should have to quarantine for an extended period, quarantine instruction will be provided. Greenwood Elementary School is part of the regional QuaranTeam Instruction program, which started this week.  Students from elementary schools throughout the county will join the zoom rooms for live instruction in math and literacy for each day of their quarantine period with instructors. Some instructors are Greenwood staff members and some are instructors from other county schools. This regional approach provides an opportunity for students to stay connected to math and reading while they are in quarantine over an extended period. Attendance is not required, especially if students are sick, but the QuaranTeam  instruction  is a great way to remain focused on math and reading concepts, while being out for an extended period of time.  Additionally, daily check-ins will be established with staff from Greenwood ES to help the student stay connected to Greenwood during their absence. If the need arises for your child to quarantine, please notify their teacher, and someone from the school will be in touch with a daily schedule,  instructions for the quarantine period, and to answer any questions you may have. Above all, if your child is in quarantine because they are sick, they need to rest and focus on getting well first and foremost.

The turnaround time for results has been averaging two days, and families are encouraged to check their junk/spam folders if results are not received.

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Quarantine Guidelines

Attached is the MCPS flow chart for students that exhibit symptoms and close contacts.

COVIDguidelines_final (montgomeryschoolsmd.org)

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We invite (and encourage!) parents to join our Facebook Group, Greenwood Elementary School PTA, or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GreenwoodPTA.  All are great ways to stay connected.

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PTA meetings are held at Greenwood on the first Tuesday of every month (except for February of 2022). You do not need to be a member to attend meetings, we welcome any and all participation.  Feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or ideas at any time!