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Volume 15 Issue 4 November 2016

Cheryl Thim, Principal School website Melissa Moser, PTA President

Leah Scarafile, Assistant Principal PTAbearcreek@

CALENDAR and Things to Know and Do

Wed., Nov. 2 Picture Make Up Day 1-3 pm

NEHS Meeting 3:30-4:30 pm

Thurs., Nov. 3 Environmental Club 3:30-4:30 pm

Fri., Nov. 4 Jump Rope for Heart

Mon., Nov. 7 Texas Roadhouse Night

PTA Meeting @ 5:30 pm

Tues., Nov. 8 Election Day – Schools & Offices Closed

Wed., Nov. 9 McDonald’s Night 4-7 pm

Thurs., Nov. 10 Flu Clinic

Report Cards Distributed

PK Conference Day – Schools closed for PK Students

Fri., Nov. 11 Elementary Conference Day – Schools closed for Elementary Students

M-F, Nov. 14-18 American Education Week

Chick Fil A Night 4-8 pm

Environmental Club 3:30-4:30

Fri., Nov. 18 Recognition Assemblies

9:00 Honor Roll Breakfast, Gr 3-5

9:30 Intermediate Recognition

10:30 Primary Recognition

Wed., Nov. 23 Flashback Day

Th-F, Nov. 24-25 Thanksgiving Holiday – Schools & Offices Closed

Thurs., Dec. 1 Environmental Club 3:30-4:30

Mon., Dec., 5 PTA Meeting @ 5:30 pm

Wed., Dec. 7 STEM Fair 3:30 pm

Thurs., Dec. 8 Winter Concert 6:30 PM

Fri., Dec. 9 1/2 Day Professional Development – Schools close 3 hours early for elementary & middle

American Education Week Schedule, Nov. 14-18, Visitation 9:15-11:15

Monday, Nov 14 Grade 1, Ms. Boller, Ms. Otterbein

Tuesday, Nov 15 Grade 2, Mrs. Winkler

Wednesday, Nov 16 Kindergarten, Grade 3

Thursday, Nov 17 PreK, PM PK visitation will be 1-3 pm, Grade 4,

Grade 5

Dear Parents,

Our first quarter has closed and teachers are preparing report cards.  In general, your child’s grade will be comprised of about 2/3 grades from classwork and a body of evidence; including but not limited to exit tickets, individual performances during the lesson, journals, discussions and projects.  About 1/3 of the grade will come from assessments.  Students have been given multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate the targeted standards in his/her instructional units throughout the course of the quarter.  Your child’s grade should be a reflection of the entire body of evidence demonstrated over the course of time.  Our teachers have worked together to ensure that each grade level provides a consistent, unified body of evidence towards the standards in reporting students’ grades. The new grading and reporting policies ensure that students are evaluated on their learning; separate from attendance and behaviors.  Grades will communicate what students know and can do. This evidence should not be skewed by behavior and attendance, however, in few cases, it is possible that behavior and attendance impact your child’s ability to engage in or complete the work and you should see evidence and clarification of this in the comments and on the BCPS Skills and Conduct Rubric.

 

As we work towards the 2nd quarter we will continue to refine our processes and systematize our practices.  We will continue to strive for frequent and clear communications to you about your child’s learning and progress through EnGrade and our grade level teams.  We appreciate your questions, concerns and feedback and will work hard to provide clarification as we work through these changes in grading and reporting.

REMINDERS:  Students should not arrive to school prior to 8:45 unless they are a school safety. There is no supervision for students on school property prior to this time and parents are responsible for their safety and well-being before school hours.

Shout out- Thank you for sending your students to school on Halloween and ready to learn!!  We saw some CRAZY hats today but we were still able to focus on instruction and the learning environment!  Learning is our CORE Purpose.

BCPS One Communication Center

On Friday, November 4, 2016, when parents log into BCPS One, a Communication Center will appear in the upper right corner of the landing page. This new feature will be used as a tool to share BCPS One related announcements with parents. Announcements shared with parents in the Communication Center will also be published in BCPS One Highlights.

Visitor Identification System

The safety of all students and staff in Baltimore County Public Schools is of utmost importance to all of us. Our school, as well as all Baltimore County schools, is utilizing a visitor check-in system. The system is called V-soft by Raptor, otherwise known as Raptor. The information collected will not be shared outside of the school and is stored on a secure server. Registration of all visitors is necessary so that in the event of an emergency in the school, a record of all people currently in the building will be available.

When you visit our school for the first time, you will be asked to present government issued photo identification or a driver’s license to a staff member in our main office. The ID will be scanned and your photo, name and date of birth will be extracted. This information will be used to log you in and compare your information against the national sex offender database. Once your ID is scanned and you are cleared, a visitor pass will be printed for you. The visitor pass you receive must be worn on your outer garment. You will need only to show your ID on future visits. You will be asked to log out with office staff upon completion of your business so that we know you are no longer in the building.

If you refuse to have your ID scanned, you will be denied access to the school. The only alternative to this process is to allow staff to see your ID to verify your name and date of birth so that this information can be manually entered into the system. This method does not store information. Therefore, you must go through this process each time you visit the school. You must have a government issued ID or a driver’s license to be manually entered. Other forms of IDs will not be accepted.

If you are matched to the sex offender database, you will be denied access to the school. Only the principal can override this decision and identify conditions under which you may visit.

Your assistance in keeping our students and staff safe is appreciated.

McDonald’s Night

We hope you can join us on Wednesday, November 9th at the Wise Avenue McDonald’s between 4-7 pm. Students will have an opportunity to see faculty and staff working at McDonald’s! All students who attend will receive a FREE HOMEWORK PASS and our school will earn money from the sales that will go toward our PBIS program.

Southeast AREA Education Advisory Council Meeting

Everyone is welcome to join the Southeast Area Education Advisory Council Meeting on Monday, October 24, 2016 at Dundalk HS/Sollers Point Technical HS Auditorium. Sign up begins at 6:30 pm and testimony begins promptly at 7 pm. This is your chance to give input to the Baltimore County Public Schools’ Operating & Capital Budgets.

If you are interested in joining the Southeast Advisory Council, please attend the meeting or contact Jackie Brewster at jbrews1@ for more information.

Magnet Programs

The Magnet Program brochures and applications for the 2017-2018 school year will be posted and available for download on the Office of Magnet Programs’ Web site offices/omp/ beginning at 12 noon on Wednesday, October 5, 2016 through Friday, November 18, 2016.

The Magnet Application deadline for the 2017-2018 school year is Friday, November 18, 2016. Magnet applications may be submitted online until 1 p.m. on Friday, November 18, 2016. Applications may also me mailed to the Office of Magnet Programs, postmarked by Friday, November 18, 2016.

Green School News

One way to reduce waste is to reuse items instead of throwing them away or recycling. There are many crafts you can create with everyday items that would normally be thrown out. Instead of recycling those plastic soda bottles, you can create bird feeders and storage containers. Check out the front showcase in the lobby at school for more ideas!

Also, one person's trash is another person's treasure. Instead of discarding unwanted appliances, tools, or clothes, try donating them. Not only will you be reducing waste, you'll be helping others. Local churches, community centers and goodwill will accept a variety of donated items.

Counselor’s Corner

As we prepare for the holiday season, we will be donating canned goods to a local food bank. Please bring in canned goods before Thanksgiving to help our community have a happy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday.

If you are in need of holiday help, it is available but on a limited basis. Please contact Ms. McGing at 410-887-7237 or cmcging@ for Thanksgiving and Christmas help ASAP.

What’s New with You….

Pre K

October has been a busy month in Pre-K and November promises to be just as busy! In November, we will begin our new unit titled All About Me! We will work with the letters Pp, Ff, Ll and Oo and will learn to recognize these letters and will learn their sounds.

In Math, we will be practicing recognizing the numbers 1-5, making sets of objects, and comparing these sets. Later in November, we will work with the numbers 6-10 and will also learn the number zero.

We look forward to welcoming our families to our classroom for American Education Week! November will be a great month in Pre-K!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten had a great trip to the North Point Library and even checked out their own books.  Please remember to return them by their due date to the public library.  In Science we are learning about what living things need to live.  We are using a map to tell if our school is a place where the checkerspot butterfly might be able to survive. 

In math we are comparing numbers to tell if it is more and less. If you have playing cards at home, have your child show you the game.   

In Reading we are looking for key details in our stories.  We are learning about what tools we use in different places.  For example how are the tools we use in the classroom different from what we use at home in the kitchen.  We learned that our hands are important tools for us.  Many children are getting close to 100 steps in the “100 Book Challenge” .  Keep reading at home!   

Grade One

First Grade is pleased to see how many steps we are making in 100 Book Challenge! At this point in the year, each student should be close to reaching 100 steps, if they have not already done so! Please, continue to read every single night, and sign their log to make sure they are getting credit for their reading.

In Math, we are well into our Geometry unit. We are focusing on 2-Dimensional shapes, such as square, circle, triangle, rectangle, and we were introduced to hexagon, trapezoid, and rhombus. What shapes can you and your child find together? One way to help them in this area is to complete puzzles, or filling a shape using different shapes!

In Reading, we have just learned about Nonfiction texts. We learned that Nonfiction texts have text features and the purpose for those features! What text features can your child point out to you while you read? Try reading some nonfiction texts with your child and having them identify those text features we learned and see what extra information they can read!

First grade has also just finished up our Social Studies unit, where we learned basic geography skills and we will soon be starting Science. We would also like to mention that your children are starting to use their devices and they are becoming quite fluent with the routines of logging in and finding our lessons for that day! Hopefully, we will begin to incorporate them more into everyday use throughout the year. Remember, as the weather begins to change and get cooler, please have your child wear a jacket to school, for we do go outside for recess and some days are cooler than others!

Grade Two

Now that the school year is well under way, the second graders have settled nicely into their daily routines, which include some instruction and assessments on their personal devices. The children have been very excited about that! We are wrapping up our unit in Language Arts about cycles in our natural world. In this unit, the children focused on how different plants and animals grow, develop, and survive in our natural world. This included studying the life-cycle of several different animals, including bears, butterflies, and the bald eagle. The children will also be doing a research project on an animal of their choice.

In math, we’ve started our unit on geometry. In this unit students identify the attributes of 2 and 3 dimensional shapes as a way of distinguishing them, and focus on the properties of rectangles and rectangular prisms. Geometry is a part of mathematics where shapes and angles are part of a child’s everyday world.

In Health, we are learning good practices to help prevent the spread of illness and disease and how good choices promotes the safe use of medicines and the avoidance of substances that have a harmful effect on the way the body functions.  If you catch a cold this winter, ask your 2nd grader for some healthy advice!

Grade Three

Third graders have moved on to their second ELA unit about Folktales and Fables. The students are very interested in this unit and we will be reading a variety of this genre of text over the next couple of weeks. Students will be taking another end of unit assessment that is pushed out by the county when this unit is completed.

In math, students are working on their new unit, properties of addition and subtraction. In this unit students are taking the properties they learned in our multiplication unit and applying them to addition and subtraction. Please let your child’s teacher know if you need any additional resources. WE WILL return to multiplication so it is very important your child continues to practice their math facts!

In content students are working hard in health to learn about building positive relationships with their peers while learning about Asian cultures in social studies!

Grade Four

In reading, we continue to use various strategies to improve our fluency and comprehension. One way to help your child at home is to read and reread the assigned semi-weekly fluency passages. Encourage your student to pause briefly at commas and periods rather than just reading straight through a passage. Asking questions after every few paragraphs about what your child has read is a great way to build your student’s comprehension skills.

In math, we are continuing to use various strategies to multiply single and double digit numbers by four digit numbers. Be sure to ask your child to show you the partial product and area model methods to multiply. Please continue to work with your child on their basic multiplication facts at home.

In science, students are learning how to develop a STEM fair project in class as they complete the science unit Too Hot To Handle. During this unit, students will learn and practice the steps of the STEM fair project process by completing an in class investigation. They are to apply this knowledge at home with their own projects. At home projects should be well underway. Parents can assist their child with this project by looking over their work before it is turned in to the teacher. A schedule of due dates has been sent home with each child.

Grade Five

Fifth graders have been hard at work on many great skills! In language arts, we are enthralled in the novel Out of My Mind. During the novel, we have practiced several skills and strategies, including analyzing Melody’s transformation, theme and change in characters over time. We’ve been gathering a lot of text “evidence” to justify our responses. Ask your child to tell you about the novel each night! Soon we will begin researching various adaptive technologies that are helpful to people that have cerebral palsy, like the main character Melody in our novel. Then students will plan and engineer their own assistive technology that would be useful for Melody! I’m excited to guide students through this “Maker’s Space” STEM activity while integrating our language arts curriculum!

In math, students will finish Unit 2: Multiplying Whole Numbers and Decimals. Students will begin Unit 3: Dividing Whole Numbers and Decimals. In this unit, students will use models and strategies to divide whole numbers and decimals.

Advanced students will begin working on their 2nd unit, Algebra: Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities. The students will explore numerical and algebraic expressions. They will also solve equations and inequalities.

Fifth grade just kicked off their STEM unit! This month we will be working our way through each step of the STEM process in order to create our STEM projects for the Bear Creek Science Fair. Students will work both in class, and at home to complete their projects for the fair. Students will identify a question to investigate for their project and begin collecting data to answer their question. Students will then evaluate their data by creating a graph and writing about their discoveries. We can’t wait to share our awesome projects with you at the fair in December!

Mrs. Winkler

The students in Room 24 have been keeping up to date on Current Events!  We read about the new Winnie the Pooh book celebrating the 90th birthday of the first book.  We also read about the upcoming election and the importance of being a good president.

In math the students have been learning about coins and counting money.  They discovered there are presidents on the coins!

Ms. Otterbein

Room 17 has been very successful during the first quarter! In reading, we finished James and the Giant Peach and have created dioramas to represent the story and our learning. Stop by during American Education Week to check them out! We have just started reading Fantastic Mr. Fox and have been focusing on identifying the structure of events in the text. This is something you can practice at home while reading.

In math, we are continuing on adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers using our knowledge of tens and ones. We also have fun CBI trips planned for the upcoming quarter and year!

Library News

Thank you for your support with the book fair this year. With the funds earned, I am able to purchase new books and furniture for the students to enjoy in the library. Would you like access to more books at home??? Did you know that Bear Creek has 114 eBooks that students can access with their login information? Just go to , select Bear Creek Elementary and have students sign in to read wonderful books such as Goblin Sharks, Amazing Football Records, Creepy Mammals, and Wonder. If you need assistance with accessing these materials, please email me at csheppard2@.

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