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CHEETAH NEWS
Principal’s Desk
We did it! Five full days of school this week! The children are happy to be here and the staff is glad
to have them here. Thank you for being so flexible with all the rescheduling of meetings. Our
teachers are coordinating schedules and contacting parents to put everything in place. HCPSS is
waiting for the possibility of winter weather to be over before deciding about how to make up the
missed days of school. We will let you know as soon as we do!
PARCC testing continued this week in grades three, four, and five. The children felt confident about
their performance. We will continue to look at what we can do to prepare better and increase student
stamina. This is a learning time for everyone.
Tonight is the Howard County Spelling Bee at Reservoir High School at 7:00. Our children that won
the Bumble Bees in first, second, and third grades will be recognized on stage before the Bee. Then,
our representative, SaKeth, will take the stage in the Bee. Please join us wishing him good luck!
There are so many fun events for your family here at school. Tonight, March 13th, our PTA is having
BINGO. It will be a night with prizes and raffles of baskets the teachers have created. Monday,
March 16th is UNO restaurant day. Eat at UNO with the purple flyer that came home in Friday folders
and the restaurant will donate 20% of the check to Bellows Spring. We also have Family Fitness on
Wednesday, March 25th. This is a wonderful night full of healthy fun. Please know how much we
appreciate your support of the Bellows PTA and all the school events.
Important Upcoming Dates
Mar 17th 4:10
3rd Grade GT
Parent Meeting
Mar 24th 6:00
Variety Show
Tryouts
Mar 25th 6:15
Family Fitness
Night
Mar 27th
12:55 Dismissal
Every classroom in Bellows
Spring Elementary will be a
place of excellence in
teaching and learning. Our
staff will demonstrate
leadership, caring and
respect in all that we think,
say and do. Through
collaboration and rigorous
instruction, we will help all
students reach their full
potential and eliminate the
achievement gap.
End of Marking
Period
Mar 30th thru Apr 6th:
Spring Break
Our Vision
Announcements
P.E. Department News:
Our BSES Students and Staff have been doing a great job eating a
rainbow of colors with their lunches! Each Friday, one color of the
rainbow is highlighted and students are asked to pack in their lunch or
select a fruit or vegetable from the school lunch that matches the color.
Students who eat their fruit or vegetable will receive a ticket. Students
will write their names on their tickets and be entered into a weekly
raffle for a variety of prizes.
The remaining dates and colors are:
Fri., Mar 13th--Green
Fri., Mar 20th--Blue/Purple
Fri., Mar 27th--Yellow
Family Fitness & Wellness Night is coming!
Please join us for BSES Family Fitness & Wellness Night on Wed., March
25th from 6:15 pm - 8:15 pm. Enjoy an active evening with your family
at BSES! Parents and current BSES students are invited to participate.
(We are sorry but only current BSES students can attend due to limited
space.) Forms were sent home in Friday Folders.
You and your family will enjoy:
--Participation in 5 sessions: fitness, whittle equipment, cosmic bowling,
yoga, karate
--Learning a variety of activities that your family might hopefully enjoy
doing together
--Local activities that can be enjoyed in our community
--Healthy snacks
--A variety of door prizes will be raffled during the event from local
businesses
--Getting 75+ minutes of activity as a family!
Only 125 participants are able to attend due to space, so please return
your form as soon as possible, as we will accept registrants based on
when forms are turned in. We will contact all participants with more
information in the coming weeks.
Elizabeth Schultz
Bellows Spring Phys Ed Teacher
Health & Wellness Chair
GOTR & Chasing Cheetahs
http://bsesphysed.weebly.com/
12th Annual Bellows Spring Variety Show
Friday, May 8, 2015 at 7:00
Start warming up your acts because the show is back! Students may
perform alone, with friends, or with a family member. Acts may be
singing, dancing, telling jokes, performing magic tricks, playing an
instrument, or any other family-friendly special talent. Our goal is to
have at least two acts per grade level, and about 18-20 acts for a one
and a half hour show. Acts should be no longer than two minutes
each. If we have more acts than we can accommodate, acts will be
chosen on a lottery basis.
Please plan to attend an initial practice/tryout to present your act
on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 6:00 pm in the cafeteria. Your act
does not need to be perfected, but the act needs to be the act you will
perform in the show. You may not change your act or song between
the audition and the show.
Please make sure you can commit to both dates below before
you come to the tryouts.
Rehearsal- May 7th at 6:00 pm
Show- May 8th arrive at 6:40 pm show at 7:00
Any questions please contact Amy English @ amy_english@hcpss.org
EMERGENCY SCHOOL
CLOSING
ANNOUNCEMENTS
In the event of bad
weather, please check your
local TV and/or radio
stations including Verizon
Channel 42 for any
emergency school delays or
closings. In addition, any
school delay or closing
news will be announced via
the HCPSS website,
www.hcpss.org, or HCPSS
newsletter. Please note
that no announcement will
be made if schools are
opening on time.
INFORMATION ABOUT
CHECK PAYMENTS
The HCPSS Finance Office
has contracted with the
Envision Payment
Solutions, Inc. for the
electronic collection of
check payments. If the
check is returned unpaid,
Envision Payment
Solutions, Inc. will assess a
$35 fee allowed by
Maryland state law and
charged as an electronic fund transfer.
Announcements
Attention Parents of 3rd
Graders:
Any interested parents of third
graders who would like more
information about the GT
Mathematics Program which starts
in 4th grade are welcome to attend
an after school information session
(rescheduled) on March 17th from
4:15 - 5:00 pm where we will go
over the math course sequence,
how it fits into the new Common
Core Curriculum, and what to
expect if your child enters from an
on grade level or above grade level
class, or later in fourth grade.
Suggestions for topics to review or
cover over the summer will be
offered. Third grade CogAT test
results have already been mailed
out. Individual conferences will not
be available at this information
session. For further guidance in
making GT math placement
decisions, we recommend that you
discuss options with your child's
math teacher as well as consult GT
teachers Valerie Thompson and
Noel Richman. This meeting will be
held at Bellows Spring in the GT
classrooms.
5th Grade Parent Orientation for
Puberty Education:
Puberty Education will take place
the week of May 11th for fifth grade
students. This course requires a
signed permission slip to
participate. Parents are invited to
preview materials and ask questions
about the puberty education
curriculum on April 22, 2015 from
4:10-4:40 in Mrs. Westendorf's
classroom. This information
sessions is for adults only, no
children may be in attendance.
Please contact Jessica Westendorf
at jessica_westendorf@hcpss.org
with any questions.
6th Grade Parent Orientation for
Thomas Viaduct Middle School:
Please join the Thomas Viaduct
Middle School administration and
staff for our 6th Grade Parent
Orientation on April 16, 2015, from
6:30-8:30 pm. Parents will hear
about the many opportunities
offered at Thomas Viaduct Middle
School for our students. We are
excited and looking forward to
meeting our new members of the
Thomas Viaduct Middle School
family. Please contact Student
Services, 410-313-8247 with any
questions.
6th Grade Parent Orientation for
Mayfield Woods Middle School:
Mayfield Woods Middle School is
holding their 6th Grade Parent
Orientation on April 16, 2015, from
6:30-8:00 pm. Parents are invited
to hear about the many
opportunities offered at Mayfield
Woods Middle School for students.
If you have any questions, please
contact Student Services at 410313-5025.
Art Department:
Ms. Rubock is currently collecting
magazines, large gallon plastic
containers in various shapes and
sizes (milk cartons, etc…) shoebox
lids and toilet paper rolls. If you
have any of these materials, please
send them in with your student!
Thanks for all of your help!
New to Bellows! Electronic
Payments!
You may now pay for field trips,
yearbook, RECC tuition, etc. with
your credit/debit card. You will
create an account at
http://osp.osmsinc.com/HowardMD.
The event that you are paying for
will be listed there the day you
receive the permission slip or order
form. Please remember that you
still need to send in the permission
slip or order form to the appropriate
person. If you have any questions
you may call Mrs. Stickles at 410313-5057. Yearbook News:
Yearbooks are still available for
$20.00 each. If you have any
questions, please email Ginny
Stickles at
ginny_stickles@hcpss.org or call
410-313-5057.
Please see “More
Bellows News” on
the next page.
PTA
Our next PTA meeting is
Monday, April 13th at
7pm in the Media
Center.
Restaurant Nights:
Apr. 8th:
Chic-fil-A @ Executive
Park Dr @ Rt. 100 from
5-9 p.m.
Apr. 28th:
McDonald’s on Snowden
River Pkwy from 5-8
p.m.
Our 2014-15 PTA
Executive Board is:
President: Ronnie
Miller
VP of Fundraising
Events: Charissa
Rothman
VP of Activities &
Programming: Jen
Mertes
Treasurer: Laurie
Ramey
Corresponding
Secretary: Erin Adero
Recording Secretary:
Angela Perez
PTAC Delegate:
Debbie Eikenberg
--More Bellows News-It’s Time to Register for Kindergarten—Registration for students entering Kindergarten in August 2015
continues at Bellows Spring Elementary School. If you (or someone you know) have a child that will turn 5
years old by September 1, 2015, please call 410-313-5057 for an appointment to register your child. Parents
or guardians are to register students at the school serving the address where the child’s parent or guardian
resides.
The following documents are needed for registration:
•
Child’s evidence of birth
•
An authorized record of immunizations
•
Proof of residency in the form of a lease or deed and a utility bill
•
Photo ID of parent/guardian
•
Proof of custody (if applicable)
If you have a child currently attending an HCPSS Pre-K program, there is no need to reregister your
student for Kindergarten.
Pre-K Application & Registration:
The Howard County Public School System offers a Pre-K program for income eligible children who will be four
years old by Sept. 1, 2015. Applications for the 2015-16 school year will be available beginning Tuesday,
February 17, 2015. You may pick up an application in the Bellows Spring office during school hours. Please
visit http://www.hcpss.org/schools/pre-k-programs/ for more information.
RECC Learning Together Peer Program:
Regional Early Childhood Center (RECC) preschool programs include children with and without disabilities who
will be three or four years old by Sept.1, 2015. A limited number of openings are available for children without
disabilities and selection is based on a lottery process. The monthly fee for the preschool program is between
$150 and $270 monthly depending on the number of hours of participation in the program. Applications will be
available in the Bellows Spring office from February 17, 2015 through March 20, 2015 during school hours.
Questions about both programs can be emailed to Willow Maldonado @ willow_maldonado @hcpss.org.
Coffee & Conversation:
Members of the Howard County community are invited to join the Board of Education for Coffee &
Conversation. The Board of Education of Howard County regularly holds Coffee & Conversation sessions at
schools throughout the county. These meetings provide citizens with an opportunity to share a cup of coffee
and chat informally with Board members. The meetings are held in various regions of the county but
interested persons from throughout the county are invited to attend any or all of the meetings. The next
Coffee & Conversation with the Board of Education will be held: Thursday, March 19, 2015, 7:30 to 9 p.m.,
Lake Elkhorn Middle School Media Center, 6680 Cradlerock Way in Columbia.
Counselor’s Corner
Want an easy way to support
BSES? When you shop at
Giant, Safeway and Target
you can support our school.
With the exception of Target,
please be sure to re-designate
your store cards each year.
Please send in your saver card
numbers, with store names
and your name and address
or call Mrs. Stickles to request
a form.
Howard County Public Schools have full time counselors in every
elementary school - our more highly enrolled buildings have an
additional half time counselor as well! This is definitely not the
case in all areas; I feel fortunate to live in a place where
children's mental health and emotional development is so highly
valued. School counselors provide a variety of services to
students, staff, and parents. For more information on the schoolcounseling program here at Bellows Spring, please check out my
website: http://bsescounselor.weebly.com
Here you'll find general information about my program, as well
as what I'm currently teaching at each grade level, a monthly
Home/School Connection newsletter, and a few other things of
interest. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if
I can be of support to your child and/or family!