1. education
2. school

CHEETAH NEWS
Principal’s Desk
We’re back! We hope everyone had a relaxing spring break, because it is busy until
the end of the year! We wish our students that are competing in the Battle of the
Books at Oakland Mills High School good luck tonight. The Battle of the Books is
sponsored by the Howard County Library and supported by teacher and parent
coaches.
Calling all parents! There are many opportunities to volunteer in the spring. We
have field day, field trips, and something new this year - JA in a Day. JA in a Day is
May 8th and we need parent volunteers for each homeroom. Parent volunteers will
lead the lessons on financial literacy with the children. We realize it is a big
commitment of time, but children learning how to be responsible with money is
important. Please look in today’s Friday folder for more information.
Important Upcoming Dates
Apr 13th PTA Meeting @ 7pm
Apr 14th Report Cards Issued
Apr 15th Spring Class & Individual
Pics, 5th Gr. Panoramic
Apr 16th TVMS 6th Gr. Parent
Orientation/6:30-8:30pm
Apr 21st MWMS 6th Gr. Parent
Orientation/6:30-8pm
Apr 22nd Chemistry Musical
6-7:30pm
See 5th Grade News*
Apr 23rd STEM Night/6-8:30pm
Our Vision
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.
Announcements
From the P. E. Department:
Save the Date…Field Day 2015 is coming! Friday May 29th will be
our school-wide Field Day. Primary Grades will have their activity time
in the morning from 9:30-11:30 am and Intermediate Grades will get
their activity time in the afternoon from 12:45-3:15 pm. We will need
many volunteers to make this day a success, so please save the date
and look for more information in the upcoming weeks.
M&M Calendars:
In Friday Folders this week, you will receive an M&M Calendar for each
child. This Mind and Muscles Reading and Activity calendar is to
help increase mind and muscle power! Students will receive an M&M
calendar each month to record the amount of time they read and
exercise out of school. The program will run from April through May.
Goals: Mind – read for 20 minutes four days per week & Muscle –
exercise for 20 minutes four days per week. Students should circle the
book and/or ball each day they meet the goal! Calendars are due to
homeroom teachers the first week of the following month and must be
signed by an adult. We will have a celebration for students who meet
the monthly goal. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs.
Schultz or Ms. Eastridge at school.
The Walking School Bus will continue to meet every Friday as long as
the weather is good! So join us along the way for the walk to school!
We will start at the corner of Coachlight Lane & Old Stockbridge Drive at
8:55 am and make the walk up Old Stockbridge Drive to Bellows Spring
Elementary in time for the start of the school day. Students and
parents who want to walk to school are welcome to join us along the
way. We will be on the sidewalks only, on the side of the neighborhood
pool & our school.
We live in a great neighborhood for walking to school and getting some
exercise before the school day! If you have any questions, please
email: elizabeth_schultz@hcpss.org
From the Guidance Department:
Career Week is quickly approaching! If you (or someone you know)
have some time during the week of May 18-22 to spend with our
students talking to them about your occupation, please contact Beth
Ivey at elizabeth_ivey@hcpss.org. Additionally, we have the ability to
have visitors via Skype, so let us know if that is an option for you as
well. Thanks for giving your time to our Bellows students!
Congratulations are in order!
Congratulations to 5th grader Sofia Scherer, whose Benjamin Carson
Scholar Fund Essay was chosen to represent Bellows Spring in this
year's essay contest! Sofia wrote a wonderful essay about why reading
is an important part of her life, and how reading the book The
Unwanteds changed how she thinks about other people. Great work,
Sofia!
Congratulations to 1st grader Teju Suresh, whose poster was selected
as the Grade K-2 Prize Winner for the 2014-15 Howard County Public
School System’s Choose Civility poster contest. This year’s poster
contest theme was Civility in Sports. As the first place winner, Teju
and her parents will be having lunch with HCPSS Superintendent, Dr.
Renee Foose. We're proud of you, Teju!
From the GT Department:
Don't forget to come see the fifth grade CEU Chemikids in action in their
chemistry musical "What's the Matter?!" on April 22nd at 6:30 pm at
BSES.
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
From the GT Department cont’d:
The Maryland Summer Centers for
Gifted and Talented Students is
celebrating its 48th year this
summer. Programs are available for
Gifted and Talented
students/advanced learners
currently in grades 3 through 12.
Subject areas include Ecosystem
Education, Engineering and Robot
Design, Fine and Performing Arts,
Creative Writing, Physics of Wind
and Solar Power, Space Engineering
and Robotics, as well as
Biotechnology and Forensic Science.
Some Centers offer a residential
experience and others are held
during the day only. All Centers
offer partial or full financial
assistance for eligible students.
For more information and to begin
the NEW ONLINE APPLICATION
process, please visit the Center
website
at:
www.marylandpublicschools.org/
summercenters. The application
deadline for most centers is April
17th. We hope your children can
take advantage of the exciting
programming the Summer Centers
offers our highly able and motivated
students. If you are in need of a
recommendation or have any
questions, please contact Mrs.
Richman (noel_richman@hcpss.org)
or Ms. Thompson
(valerie_thompson@hcpss.org).
Items Needed/GT Department:
One of our CEU classes is in need of
some props for an upcoming play
they are performing. If you have
any of these items below that we
may borrow, please contact Ms.
Noel Richman as soon at
noel_richman@hcpss.org. We are in
search of: several white lab coats in
average to smaller sizes, a white
“Einstein” wig, eight graduation
caps, paper towels, inflatable or
play instruments, a Maypole,
fedora/suit jacket for a “reporter”.
Volunteers are needed too! Thank
you for your support.
From the ESOL Department:
ESOL Library Night will be Tuesday,
April 28th at 6:30 pm. We will
meet at the Elkridge Library for a
scavenger hunt and story time with
the librarian. We'll also learn about
the summer reading program,
summer reading prizes, free online
books and resources, as well as fun,
free summer classes! All Bellows
Spring children are welcome to
attend although the focus is on
multilingual resources. Please RSVP
by Tuesday, April 21st to Lindsey
Kim: lindsey_kim@hcpss.org.
*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 session
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 their 6th Grade Parent
Orientation on April 16, 2015,
from 6:30-8:30 pm in TVMS’s
cafeteria (7000 Banbury Drive,
Hanover, MD 21076,
www.tvms.hcpss.org). Please
contact Student Services, 410-3138247, with any questions.
6th Grade Parent Orientation for
Mayfield Woods Middle School:
Mayfield Woods Middle School
(7950 Red Barn Way, Elkridge, MD
21075) is holding their 6th Grade
Parent Orientation on April 21,
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 410-313-5025.
PTA
Our next PTA meeting is
Monday, April 13th at
7pm in the Media
Center.
Restaurant Nights:
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
Community Information
CAMPS
Centennial High School Boosters
2015 Lady Eagles Basketball Camp, girls ages 8-14, July 13-17, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m., Centennial HS, 4300
Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, MD. For information contact Bobby Macheel, 443-474-5558,
macheelr@gmail.com
University of Maryland
iEngineer@UMD a summer STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) camp for rising 4th and 5th grade
girls. This one-week commuter day camp is an exciting opportunity for girls to learn more about STEM through
a variety of fun, hands-on activities. Mon., Jul. 6 –Fri., Jul. 10, 9 a.m. -3 p.m. for more information and to
apply, visit http://wie.umd.edu/k12/iengineer ES
UMBC Summer Day Camp
The UMBC summer Day Camp will be celebrating it’s 36th year of existence in 2015, and we hope that you will
send your child to spend all or part of the summer with us. Please let us know if you have any questions 410455-2638 or email us at summercamp@umbc.edu
Savage Boys and Girls Club
Savage Recreational Baseball, register now and learn from the 2014 Maryland High School Coach of the Year.
Coach Adam Leader of the Reservoir Gators will conduct free in-season Coach & Player clinics this season.
Ages 5 - 14 can register at Savagebgc.org or call Ken Harn at 443-605-6977
Baseball Factory
July 6-10, 2015 at Kiwanis-Wallas Park, July 13-17, 2015 at Kiwanis-Wallas Park.
All Star Camp Designed for boys and girls ages 8-11. Grouped according to age and ability, players will learn
the fundamentals of baseball through individual, group and team instruction.
Elite Camp This camp is for boys ages 12-15 and is designed to teach fundamentals, advanced skills and
strategies of baseball. Learn and improve skills through an intense week of instruction, drills and simulated
game experiences. All proceeds benefit the Factory Athletics Foundation, the charitable arm of Baseball
Factory. www.baseballfactory.com/camp Mark Lemon at 800.641.4487 x 109 ES, MS
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!