Hard to believe it’s the last full week of January already!

• Wed Jan 24 No Pre-K Classes
• Wed Jan 24 Thomas Viaduct Middle School Rising 6th Graders Parent Orientation 6:30 PM
• Wed Jan 24 Road to Kindergarten- informational meeting for parents with children attending kindergarten 2018-2019 school year. 6:30 PM at Oakland Mills High School
• Thurs Jan 25 No Pre-K Classes
• Fri Jan 26  Early Dismissal for students at 12:50 PM.– NO Pre-K
• Fri Jan 26 Quarter 2 Pep Rallies
• Fri Jan 26 End of Marking Period

Next week we have our dental clinic. We are in need to two parents to help escort children to and from class on Monday. Please sign up here: http://signup.com/go/HAutUpD

This Week at Guilford

• 9   PTA meeting at 6:30 p.m.
• 10 BSAP Council of Elders Celebration at 7:00 p.m.
• 12 Cozy Reading Day

Here’s what’s happening the rest of January:

• 15 MLK Jr. Day – Schools and Offices Closed
• 16 Restaurant Night at Bertucci’s 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
• 19 Spirit Day – Crazy Sock Day, wear a crazy pair of sock today!
• 24 No Pre-K Classes
• 25 No Pre-K Classes
• 26 All Schools Close 3 Hours Early – NO Pre-K
• 26 Quarter 2 Pep Rallies
• 26 End of Marking Period
• 29-31 Dental Clinic

Welcome back to school!  It’s a short week with not much going on, to help ease us back into the regular routine.

Friday, January 5 is Numbers Days — wear clothes that have numbers on them.

Here’s what’s happening the rest of January:

• 9   PTA meeting at 6:30 p.m.
• 10 BSAP Council of Elders Celebration at 7:00 p.m.
• 12 Cozy Reading Day
• 15 MLK Jr. Day – Schools and Offices Closed
• 16 Restaurant Night at Bertucci’s 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
• 19 Spirit Day – Crazy Sock Day, wear a crazy pair of sock today!
• 24 No Pre-K Classes
• 25 No Pre-K Classes
• 26 All Schools Close 3 Hours Early – NO Pre-K
• 26 Quarter 2 Pep Rallies
• 26 End of Marking Period
• 29-31 Dental Clinic

PTA News

Volunteer of the Month – October and November 2017

We love our volunteers! At our monthly PTA meetings, we draw a name from the list of all the volunteers from the previous month for recognition in PawPrints and a special prize.  Thank you we couldn’t do it without you!

October’s volunteer of the month is Randi Hepburn .                                  November’s volunteer of the month is Courtney Skidmore.                               Congratulations and thank you Randi and Courtney!!

Congratulations to our November winners – once again it’s our 2nd graders!!    There was a total of 683 boxtops submitted and 2nd graders won by just a  few boxtops!!   PLEASE  remember to mark your child’s GRADE on the ziplock bag you are submitting the boxtops in.   The grade that brings in the most BOX TOPS each month will receive 10 extra ROAR tickets,(that’s per student in that grade).  Whether you have 5 or 50, send them in. Each valid box top is worth 10 cents to our school. It really does add up. Thank you Guilford families for sending in your box tops.    Thanks for supporting our school!

Don’t Forget to Join the PTA!

You can join on our website at http://www.guilfordpta.com/whatwedo/membership/ and send in a printed membership form with your student.  The cost is $15 for an individual membership or $20 for a family membership.  Thank you!!

Only 4 more days!

Spirit Wear has arrived! Check your student’s backpack if you ordered some.

Dates to Remember in December

• 19 Winter Band and Orchestra Concert
• 21 Restaurant Night at Grotto’s Pizza 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
• 22 Interim Report Cards come home
• 22 Class Holiday parties
• 25 – Jan 1  Winter Break

Looking Ahead to January

• Jan 2 — school starts back
• Jan 9 — PTA Meeting
• Jan 10 — 5th Grade Field trip to UMBC

Hard to believe we are a week into December already and there’s only 2 and a half more weeks before winter break!

Check out this note from Mr. Davis about our superintendent Dr. Martirano’s recent visit to Guilford.

Dates to Remember in December

• 12 PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m.
• 14 Winter Chorus Concert
• 15 Spirit Day – Culture/Tradition Day, show off your heritage
• 19 Winter Band and Orchestra Concert
• 21 Restaurant Night at Grotto’s Pizza 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
• 25 – Jan 1  Winter Break

PTA News

Congratulations to our November winners – once again it’s our 2nd graders!!    There was a total of 683 boxtops submitted and 2nd graders won by just a  few boxtops!!   PLEASE  remember to mark your child’s GRADE on the ziplock bag you are submitting the boxtops in.   The grade that brings in the most BOX TOPS each month will receive 10 extra ROAR tickets,(that’s per student in that grade).  Whether you have 5 or 50, send them in. Each valid box top is worth 10 cents to our school. It really does add up. Thank you Guilford families for sending in your box tops.    Thanks for supporting our school!

Don’t Forget to Join the PTA!

You can join on our website at http://www.guilfordpta.com/whatwedo/membership/ and send in a printed membership form with your student.  The cost is $15 for an individual membership or $20 for a family membership.  Thank you!!

Other School News

Chorus Students will perform NutCracker

4th and 5th grade Chorus students will perform “Nutcracker” Winter Performance on Wednesday, December 13th at 9:40 a.m. and   2:40 p.m. The evening performance will be Thursday, December 14th at 7:00 p.m.
REMINDER:  DUE December 8th – ALL Parts memorized, ALL Costumes labeled/brought to school, $10.00 donation

Two Guilford students to perform in Howard County Children’s Choir   

Guilford’s Vocal Music instructor,Ms. Cousins is proud to announce two of our Guilford Elementary students, Janie Sung and Damus Almoza will be performing in the Howard County Children’s Choir – Cantus Choir – Winter Concert.  The concert will be on Sunday, December 17th at Mt. Hebron High School (9440 Old Frederick Rd. in Ellicott City) from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Please come out to show your support and enjoy this seasonal concert.

Has your child told you about  Dreambox ?

Guilford is fortunate to continue, 24 hour access to a great math website, Dreambox Learning. DreamBox Learning empowers students to master key concepts, increase achievement, accelerate student learning, and boost long-lasting confidence in math.  It does this by customizing itself based on your child’s skills.  We have begun using Dreambox at school and encourage you to have your child log in regularly at home. Research has found that regular use of this engaging program can aide in increasing math skills. You can even set up a parent dashboard to monitor your child’s progress at home. Be sure to have your child log in to Dreambox this year using hcpss.me as outlined in the letter that went home in Wednesday folders. .  Feel free to contact your child’s math teacher, or Cheryl Akers, Math Support Teacher if you have questions.

It’s American Education Week!

Parents are welcome throughout the week.  We wanted you to be aware that each grade level is involved in Long Range Planning this week for part of a day.  There will be a substitute teaching on these days and we encourage you to find another time to visit the classroom.  

Tuesday:  November 14^th

• 9:30 to 10:15 Growth Mindset Parent Training
• 12:45 to 1:30 Growth Mindset Parent Training
• 6:30 pm PTA meeting in the Cafeteria

Wednesday, November 15^th

• 1^st grade teachers will be in Long Range Planning from 9:00 to 12:00
• 3^rd grade teachers will be in Long Range Planning from 1:00 to 4:00

Thursday, November 16^th

• 2^nd grade teachers will be in Long Range Planning from 9:00 to 12:00
• Kindergarten teachers will be in Long Range Planning from 1:00 to 4:00

Friday, November 17^th

• 5^th grade teachers will be in Long Range Planning from 9:00 to 12:00
• 4^th grade teachers will be in Long Range Planning from 1:00 to 4:00

A few reminders to help maintain a learning environment while visiting: 

•              -sign in and wear a badge indicating you are a visitor
•              -while in the classrooms keep conversations to a minimum
•              -turn off cell phone, please no cell phone use in the building, step outside as needed
•              -bringing young children may be a distraction to learning
•              -if you want to talk with the teacher, please sign up for a parent teacher conference
•              -space in the classrooms is limited and it is challenging to accommodate strollers. Parents with young children may want to join your child at lunch and/or recess.

Here are dates to watch for this week:

• Nov 13-17 — American Education Week
• Nov 13 — Scholastic Book Fair Week
• Nov 14 — Focus Day for American Education Week
• Nov 14 — Information Session about Growth Mindset, 9:30-10:15am or 12:45-1:3-pm in Professional Learning Room
• Nov 14 — PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m. in Cafeteria
• Nov 16 — Book Fair Family Fun Night 5:30-7:30pm in Media Center
• Nov 17 — Report cards sent home
• Nov 17 — Crazy Hair Day – Wear your hair in a wild style:spike,fancy hair clips….

More Updates From the PTA and the School:

GES Spirit Wear 2017

GES Spirit Wear forms  are going home in today’s Wednesday folder and are due back by November 20th.   Click here to view form spiritwear.pdf

BOX TOPS for Education

Congratulations to our October winners – 2nd grade. They  submitted 415 boxtops!!!!

The grade that brings in the most BOX TOPS each month will receive 10 extra ROAR tickets,(that’s per student) so be sure you write your students GRADE on the ziplock bag. Whether you have 5 or 50, send them in. Each valid box top is worth 10 cents to our school. It really does add up. Thank you Guilford families for sending in your box tops.  We have submitted 1902 boxtops so far for this school year and have earned $190.20  Thanks for supporting our school!

Don’t Forget to Join the PTA!

You can join on our website at http://www.guilfordpta.com/whatwedo/membership/ and send in a printed membership form with your student.  The cost is $15 for an individual membership or $20 for a family membership.  Thank you!!

Upcoming Dates for the rest of November:

• Nov 20 — School Closes 3 Hrs early,No PreK,  Parent Teacher Conferences
• Nov 20 — Jump Rope for Hearts – Grades K-1st
• Nov 20 — Spirit Wear Orders Due
• Nov 20-21 — P/T Conferences
• Nov 21 — School Closes 3 Hrs early, No Pre-K, Parent Teacher Conferences
• Nov 21 — Jump Rope for Hearts – Grades 2nd-5th
• Nov 22-24 — School Closed
• Nov 28 — Fall Individual Picture Re-take Day
• Nov 28 — Restaurant Night at Jason Deli 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
• Nov 29 — Grade 2 In-House Field Trip – Fire Safety House

This week at Guilford:

Donations need for Fall Fest/Turkey Trot (contact Ray Somerville at rainman066@gmail.com )

1. 3 pumpkins (any size) — **Harris Teeter had them for  2/$10
2. 5-10 assorted gourds (plastic preferred or regular)
3.  plastic apples (5 Red) (10 green)
4.  donations for turkeys  – cash or gift cards (Harris Teeter or Giant)

• Oct 25 – Pre-K field trip to Clarks Elioak Farm
• Oct 27 – Kindergarten field trip to Sharps Farm

Check out all of our PTA volunteer opportunities.

Next week and beyond:

• Oct 31 – Orange Day- Fall Fest/Turkey Trot Day
• Nov 1 — 9:45am Coffee with Administration
• Nov 3 — Scheduling for P/T Conferences begins
• Nov 2 — Fall Fest/Turkey Trot Rain Date
• Nov 2 —  Primary Math Night – Grades K-2nd
• Nov 2 —  Intermediate Math Night – Grades 3rd-5th
• Nov 8  Grade 1 – field trip to Howard County Conservancy
• Nov 10 School Closes 3 Hrs early -NO Pre-K
• Nov 10 Sweat Shirt Day – wear your favorite sweatshirt
• Nov 10 — First Quarter ends
• Nov 13-17 — American Education Week
• Nov 13 — Scholastic Book Fair Week
• Nov 14 PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m.
• Nov 16 Book Fair Family Fun Night
• Nov 17 — Report cards sent home
• Nov 17 Crazy Hair Day – Wear your hair in a wild style:spike,fancy hair clips….
• Nov 20 School Closes 3 Hrs early,No PreK,  Parent Teacher Conferences
• Nov 20 Jump Rope for Hearts – Grades K-1st
• Nov 20-21 — P/T Conferences
• Nov 21 School Closes 3 Hrs early, No Pre-K, Parent Teacher Conferences
• Nov 21 Jump Rope for Hearts – Grades 2nd-5th
• Nov 22-24 School Closed
• Nov 28 Fall Individual Picture Re-take Day
• Nov 28 Restaurant Night at Jason Deli 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
• Nov 29 Grade 2 In-House Field Trip – Fire Safety House
  

A note about Parent Teacher Conferences:

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, November 20th and Tuesday, November 21st. We will be holding Language Arts Conferences for all students, parents will also be able to conference with their child’s related arts teachers if they choose.

If your child has Mrs. McNamara or Mrs. Brown for math, you will have the option to have a math conference with them as well.

All conferences are scheduled by using the Conference Scheduler found via your Family File. Once you log into your Family File, you can select conferences and begin to schedule your conferences. Parents can begin scheduling starting conferences on Friday, November 3rd. Please contact the front office with questions.

See Guilford’s calendar here: http://ges.hcpss.org/calendar

This week at Guilford!

• Oct 16 – Restaurant Night  – Panera Bread 6:00 p.m.-9:00p.m. Get the flyer here
• Oct 17 – PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m.
• Oct 19 – Wacky Tacky Day – Be creative
• Oct 19 – Intermediate Math Night 6pm
• Oct 20 – School Closed for students
• Oct 21 – Mums pick up 9am-12pm

Later this month:

• Oct 25 – Pre-K field trip to Clarks Elioak Farm
• Oct 27 – Kindergarten field trip to Sharps Farm
• Oct 31 – Orange Day- Fall Fest/Turkey Trot Day
  

See Guilford’s calendar here: http://ges.hcpss.org/calendar