19 PTO All Things Glo Dance Mattaponi ES 6 8:30 P.M

NEWSLETTER #22 301-599-2442 http://www1.pgcps.org/mattaponi/ February 19, 2016

WE LOOK AHEAD February 2016 19 PTO All Things Glo Dance @ Mattaponi ES 6 – 8:30 p.m. 23 Claire’s Gourmet Fundraiser Kick-off 24 Mrs. Broadie’s Class to Newseum 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 25 Yearbook Groups/Candid/5th Grade Pano Pictures 26 African American History Program 8:30 a.m. 29 5th Grade to the Publick Playhouse 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. March 2016 1 PTO Meeting 6:15 p.m. 2 National Read Across America Day 4 K and 1st to Maryland Hall 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 7 3rd Quarter Progress Reports Released 8 Claire’s Gourmet Fundraiser Orders Forms Due 18 PTO Family Game Night 22 Claires’ Gourmet Fundraiser Pick-up 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. 23 End of 3rd Quarter 24 Grading/Teacher Planning – Schools Closed for Students 25-28 Easter Holiday – Schools and Offices Closed 29-31 Spring Break – Schools Closed for Students April 2016 1-4 Spring Break – Schools Closed for Students 5 Classes Resume 5 PTO Meeting 6:15 p.m. 12 3rd Quarter Report Cards Released 20 Spring Individual and Class Pictures 26 Primary Election Day – Schools and Offices Closed

PRINCIPAL’S CORNER Dr. Janice P. Hay, Principal Mr. Stephen I. Green, Jr., Acting Principal

5 th Grade TAG Students – Specialty Programs Continuity Parents – if you haven’t sent your Accept/Decline Response Form, for Specialty Programs Continuity, into Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries, please submit it as soon as possible, as they were due on February 2, 2016. If you did accept the placement at Walker Mill Middle School, you must come to Mattaponi ES to register for Walker Mill Middle no later than Monday, February 22, 2016. Please bring your updated/current proof of residency (monthly mortgage statement or tax bill and your photo ID- original documents only).

African American History Month Mattaponi Presents - The Journey of a Lifetime: A Reflection of African American History Please plan to join us on February 26, 2016 @ 8:30 a.m. as we commemorate African-American History Month, through song, dance and drama. After our morning program, we encourage our parents to take a walk through our African American History gallery to view projects completed by our students in various grades. Please contact Ms. Virgil with any questions. [email protected]

Solar System and Beyond: Educators Learn about Space Environment February 29, 2016, at 5:30 - 6:30p.m. EST

NASA Wallops Educator Resource Center is organizing a free 60-minute webinar with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on February 29, 2016, at 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. EST. We will be connecting online with you live to investigate the effects of temperature on space telescopes from information presented by a NASA Thermal Engineer Expert working on the James Webb Space Telescope mission. Feel free to ask questions! NASA Educators will present how James Webb can be brought to the classroom through engineering design challenges and other resources that address the Next Generation Science Standards ESS2 and PS3. Following the webinar, teachers will receive a 1-hour professional development hour certificate. Hope to see you there!

Click THIS LINK to register.

Encourage Parents to Attend a PARCC Night

Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) will host four district-wide PARCC Nights to help connect parents and students with resources to prepare for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments and gain knowledge of the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards. The testing window for PGCPS students will begin April 2016.

PARCC is Maryland’s new accountability program, replacing the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) in Reading and Math. It is the first assessment aligned to Maryland’s College and Career Ready Standards, and sets a higher bar for student learning. PARCC requires students to demonstrate critical thinking, problem solving, clear writing, readiness for more challenging academic work for elementary, middle and high school students, which is measured in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics.

Click here to read more.

PGCPS Now Accepting Applications for Its Specialty Programs Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is now accepting online applications for the following specialty programs for the 2016-2017 school year:

· French Immersion: Kindergarten only · Talented and Gifted: Grades 2 to 8 and student must be TAG identified or in screening process · Montessori: Pre-K; K-8 only with current, full-time cert. Mont. exp. · Creative and Performing Arts: K-5 only; Grades 6-8 must audition · Spanish Immersion/Dual Language: Kindergarten only

Interested families can submit an online application by visiting https://forms.pgcps.org/specialty/. Families with children in grades 6-8 interested in the Creative and Performing Arts Program at Thomas Pullen, Benjamin Foulois or Hyattsville Middle, must apply here.

Applications are due by March 14 at 5:00 p.m. For additional information, please contact the Department of Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries at 301-952-6300. PGCPS’ Charter School Office is also accepting online applications for the 2016-17 school year.

Brain STEM Prince George’s County Memorial Library System is excited to partner with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/NIH to present fun hands-on programs promoting neuroscience education and awareness to students in Prince George’s County. Please see the link with dates and times on our web page. http://www1.pgcps.org/mattaponi/

Dress for the Weather – Brrr! As the cold weather arrives, we stand by our belief that children need fresh air and physical activity even during the winter months. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for recess and P.E. class. Remind your children to wear hats, gloves, mittens, scarves and thermal undergarments. It is also advantageous to dress in layers, so students may adjust clothing according to the temperature at the time of the outdoor activity. Generally, the students have outdoor recess when the temperature is between 35° to 40° or above. The wind chill factor will be considered in the decision to have indoor/outdoor recess or P.E.

Box Tops for Education We continue to raise money for our school by collecting Box Tops for Education! Please remember to send in your Box Tops.

Arrival Time Children should arrive at school no earlier than 7:30 a.m. to enter the school building for breakfast or to report to class to prepare for the school day. School begins at 7:45 a.m. Very Important Reminder for Change in Dismissal Plans Any changes in your child’s regular dismissal plan MUST be in writing. We will no longer accept a phone call to make a dismissal change. Also, no students will be called for early dismissal after 1:40 p.m. Parents who need to pick up their child(ren) must do so before this time. We will not remove students from school buses once dismissal has begun. This is an unsafe practice and interrupts the bus schedules for our school and all subsequent schools serviced by our busses. Thank you for your support in keeping all our students safe!

How to Contact a Staff Member Mattaponi’s school office hours are 7:15 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Teachers are available for phone calls from 7:15 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Calls will be sent directly to voicemail during instructional time and staff members are asked to return phone calls within 24 - 48 hours, if possible. All conferences must be scheduled with teachers before coming to the school to discuss your child’s academic program or any issues that may need to be resolved. Thank you for your understanding.

Lunch Accounts The cost for lunch is $2.75 and $1.60 for breakfast. If a student does not have lunch money, the cafeteria will provide a cheese sandwich and a drink. Parents may pre-pay for school meals and monitor account balances at www. myschoolbucks.com.

PTO Corner – Mrs. Spencer, President TONIGHT is the NIGHT!! The PTO'S All Things GLO- PARTY will take place from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.!! Old man winter has had us stuck indoors with snow and chilly temperatures for the past few weeks. Come out and dance away the winter blues!! Students who received an award at the assembly this morning, come out and celebrate your accomplishments!! For students who did not pay in advance, there are a few packages left to purchase at the door, but once they are gone, they are gone! Admission is $10.00!! We look forward to your attendance, so come out and let your Soulllll Gloooo ;-)!!

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. ~ Vince Lombardi