FRIDAY, June 6, 2008

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Bushy Park Families,
As we say “Good-Bye” to 2007-8 … This is the last edition of the Bushy Bear Tales for this school year.  As always, we will send any timely messages and/or reminders that families may need between now and the 13th, as well as at any other time during the year, through email via www.eschoolnewsletter.com.  Please let your students’ teachers know if you will be away during any part of this last week of school so that they can prepare the correct amount of materials for end-of-the-year activities as well as provide closure to the school year for your children.       

The youngest child in each family will receive a “Bushy Bear” folder on August 25, the first day of school for 2008-9.  Your family’s folder will include the year’s school calendar, County policies, PTA and other school information.  You will want to keep this folder to add school announcements, emergency information, etc. to throughout the year.  Our school beginning and ending hours remain the same for next year, 9:25 and 3:55.  

2007-8 has had its fair portion of surprises, interruptions, and opportunities.  We will miss sharing our day-to-day routines and the predictable passage of the school calendar.  There is an exciting renewal that goes with the year-to-year cycles of an elementary school.  We will miss our fifth graders, and their families, and we look forward to seeing everyone else back at Bushy Park on August 22!  Enjoy the summer!

With warm regards,

Becky Straw

FLAG DAY CEREMONY
The SGA will sponsor Bushy Park’s annual Flag Day celebration on June 11 at 9:25.  We would like to invite any of our parents who are serving in the military to join us for the morning of the 11th so that our students might salute you and your service to our country.  Please let the office or me know if you are able to join us in uniform so that we might recognize you on the 11th.

WITH OUR THANKS!

Heartfelt thanks to our fifth-grade instructional assistant, Debbie Carroll, for getting a sign for us to commemorate the first fifth grade and kindergarten classes at the new Bushy Park.  The sign was donated by Jory Schunick of “Just Posters”.  We would also like to recognize Mrs. Carroll’s husband, George, for the beautiful job he did printing our fifth grade memory books for us this year and for making the contact with Just Posters on behalf of Bushy Park.

Thank you to all of the parents who assisted us with Field Day.  We had a gorgeous day, and it looked as if everyone had a great time!  We appreciate Mrs. Zitnay and Mr. Cruz coordination of this school-wide event for us.  Our thanks, also, to the fifth grade parents who assisted us with this year’s Simulated Congressional Hearings on Monday.  I was so impressed with our fifth graders’ understanding of the Constitution and how articulate they were in their answers to the Hearing judges.  Ms. Huelskamp and Ms. Solomon coordinated this concerted fifth grade team effort.  It was most memorable!

Last, but not least, Kudos to the Friday PTA collating crews who assembled our bi-weekly BBT’s and Friday flyers for our staff and BPES families.  You were a tremendous help saving our office staff and teachers hours of stapling and counting.  A special thank you to Eileen Dietz for coordinating the Friday crews for us – in addition to being PTA President!

END OF THE YEAR EVENTS
Bushy Park has traditionally held picnics as an end-of-the-year rite-of-passage for each grade level. This year, we had to consider these factors as we planned for our end-of-year grade-level events: specific State/County food policies; larger school population; lack of grassy, shaded area on our school grounds; etc. 

The traditional Grade 5 picnic was held on June 3.  Kindergarten and Grade 1 will walk to the Western Regional Park on the mornings of June 11 and June 12 respectively to enjoy their bagged lunches.  Parents will park at the park and meet their children there.  There are no raindates for these picnic dates.  Specific details will be sent to parents.

Grades 2, 3, and 4 will have their picnics at Bushy Park on June 10.  We will do a “Beach Day” on the 10th, and students will eat in the cafeteria.  Students can either bring their lunch or purchase a chicken nugget lunch.  Room parents will provide veggies, watermelon slices, and baked goods for dessert.  We will extend the regular lunch and recess times.  Please note that the Grades 2 - 4 picnics will just be for the children.  Teams will be in touch with the room parent captains to work out details.

Students will be permitted to wear a hat or visor; shorts; beach prints; sandals; and/or sunglasses on the 10th for our school-wide spirit day, “Beach Day”.  Please note that if your child has PE on Tuesday, he or she must wear tennis shoes to be able to participate in gym class.  Parents, we appreciate your help in monitoring your child’s dress to make sure that it is appropriate for school.  Halters, midriffs, or hairdyes are not permitted.

LIFETOUCH PICTURES
Please send in your money ASAP for any pictures that you wish to keep.  Send any pictures that you do not wish to purchase back to BPES with your student.  There are extra envelopes in the front office if you need one in order to turn in your money.  Please call Mrs. Welling if you have any questions. 

SUMMER REGISTRATION
We usually have several families over the summer who need to register for school.  We are generally able to process these registrations more efficiently when we designate specific dates and times to take care of new students.  This summer, we are asking that registrations, whenever possible, take place by appointment on Wednesdays, 9:30-2:30.  If a family cannot make this time, they are asked to call the school office, or stop by, to set-up an appointment.  There will be registration packets and a sign-up appointment sheet on Mrs. Welling’s desk for parent convenience.  Please pass this information on to any families who plan to register their students over the summer.

The following information is necessary to register a student with the Howard County Public Schools:  proof of residency (a deed or lease); utility bill (BGE preferred); child’s birth certificate; social security number (optional); and parent/guardian picture identification such as a driver’s license.  Please note that approval from Central Office (Kay Brooke, 410-313-6997) is required in order to register students who have not yet moved into our district.

STAFF CHANGES
Staff changes are always a part of closing out a school year.  As most of you know, Baby Gavin Alexander arrived around two weeks earlier than mom, school psychologist Andrea Cohn and husband Aaron, were expecting.  He weighed 6 lbs 9 oz, and he is adorable!  We will miss Andrea next year as she has decided to stay home with Gavin.  Andrea’s replacement will be Anne Marie Kasuda.  Mrs. Kasuda is a veteran Howard County school psychologist, and we welcome her to Bushy Park!

We also send our “Thanks and Best Wishes” with kindergarten inclusion teacher, Debbie Young, who will be a special education resource teacher at Veterans Elementary next year.  Mrs. Young has been a member of the Bushy Park staff for eight years, seven of those as an instructional assistant, and, last year, as a teacher on our Regional Early Childhood staff. 

Unfortunately, we also have to say “Good-Bye” to our third grade team leader, Dan Notari.  Mr. Notari will be at Longfellow Elementary as a resource teacher next year.  He is completing his eighth year as part of the Bushy Park staff having served as team leader for both fifth and third grades.  We will miss these three dedicated staff members!!

SCHOOLKIDZ ARE IN!

If you ordered a school supply kit for next year, please stop by Room # 121 during one of the following pick-up times:  Monday, June 9, 9:15-12:00 or 4:00-6:00; Tuesday, June 10, 9:15-12:00 or 4:00-6:00; Wednesday, June 11, 9:15-10:45; Thursday, June 12, 9:15-10:45.  If you cannot come any of these scheduled times, contact Deanne Reese at 410-489-4611 or Maria Poltorak at 410-489-5545 to make other arrangements.  Please make sure you check the contents of your supply box – if there is a problem, it must be reported ASAP as there is only a limited time to make changes.

ART NEWS
There are several two and three-dimensional pieces of Bushy Park artwork on display in the Children’s Section of the Glenwood Library until June 10.  Check them out!  Also, check out the display case in our front hallway.  The felt vessels on display were made by our first graders under the direction of parent Kathy Dilworth.  Thank you, Mrs. Dilworth, for organizing this felting project with our first graders!  We also appreciate the parent volunteers who helped our first graders with this project.

A special thank you, also, to Mrs. Bower who coordinated our volunteers for our mural project.  If you haven’t seen our newest creation, please check out the second grade/kindergarten hallway.  Ms. Knighton will also like to thank all of the parent volunteers who helped our resident artist, Kristin Helberg, and our fourth graders with this project.  This project would not have been successful without your help.

THANK YOU, MONITORS
We want to publicly recognize the contributions of this year’s monitors to our lunch and recess coverage.  Shelly Marchozzi, Kim Feaga, Mona Matokovich, and  Robin Writt alternate days to cover the cafeteria lunch shifts for us.  Linda Jones, Tracy Trobridge, and Sandy Wolfgang have served as Subs for our monitors when needed.  Jennifer Wamsley, along with our instructional assistants, has provided our recess coverage.  Our wonderful monitors provide invaluable assistance in keeping our students safe and making lunchtime a pleasant experience.  Thank you, Ladies!

NEWS FROM THE HEALTH ROOM
If your child has medication in the Health Room, it must be picked up by June 13 at 2:00.  After that time, any remaining medications will be disposed of.  We cannot keep any stored medications beyond this time limit.  Please note that another adult can pick up medication for you as long as you have written a note to the Health Room giving them permission.  Our Health Assistant, Barb Davis, will be sending home medication forms to be completed for next year.  These forms must be dated July 1 or later to be valid for next year’s use.  If you have any questions about Health Room forms or policies, please contact Mrs. Davis or our cluster nurse, Denie Gorbey-Creese. 

SUMMER PROGRAMS
Bushy Park will serve as a site for RECC Multiple Intense Needs Preschool and Preschool Extended School Year programs.  These two programs will be housed in our preschool classrooms from June 30-July 31.  The MINC-P will meet on Monday-Thursday, 9:20-1:20.  The Preschool will meet on Tuesday-Thursday, 9:20-1:20.      

We will also house a Summer Reading Camp from July 1 – August 7 for Bushy Park and Lisbon students.  This reading intervention program is being funded by a grant from the Horizon Foundation.  The Reading Camp will meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:00-10:30.  Students will be invited to attend based on teacher recommendations. 

HCPSS is also offering a Comprehensive Summer School at Northfield Elementary this summer for students in grades K-8.  This program is for students who either need additional support and/or enrichment in reading and math.  There are also courses in drama, technology, ESOL, science, and music.  It runs from 8:15-11:45 daily from June 30-August 1.  The cost is $200 per course, and registration is on Saturday, June 7 from 9:00-11:00 at the Homewood Center next to the Board of Education.  Email ella_bradley@hcpss.org with any questions.

SUMMER PRACTICE
The County’s Curriculum Office has compiled about 30 practice worksheets into summer packets entitled “Staying Sharp in the Summertime” for students going into grades 1-5.  These packets will be sent home with your students this week. Current fifth graders will receive packets entitled “What Students Should Know When They Enter Grade 6 Mathematics”.  These booklets also contain about 30 practice pages.  Please let the front office know if you did not receive these packets.

LOST AND FOUND
Lost and found items will be placed on tables in the front hallway for June 11-16 for students or parents to reclaim.  Anything not picked up by the end of the day on the 16th will be given to charity.

MEDIA CENTER NEWS
The media program serves every child in the school each week.  We are very fortunate to have the assistance of many dedicated volunteers.  At the end of every school year, we are required to complete an inventory of all media items.  This process usually requires thirteen days of assistance provided by our weekly volunteers as well as many additional volunteers.  Thank you to all of our media volunteers!!

The annual summer reading lists for grades K-4 will be distributed to students as part of the County’s summer practice packets.  Grade 5 students will also receive copies of the list.  The library media specialists, in collaboration with the staff of the Howard County Library, compile the summer reading lists.  Staff members from the Glenwood Branch of the Library have spoken to all students in grades K-5 about the library’s summer reading program.  Please encourage your child to visit the Glenwood Branch to register for the program.  Summer provides wonderful opportunities for family reading time.  Enjoy!    Ms. Pickeral & Mrs. Weinberg

CAFETERIA NEWS
Please remind your students to bring their lunch money for next week as they will not be able to borrow lunch money from the cafeteria for the last three days.  If you child has borrowed lunch money this year that he or she has not paid back, please make sure that it is sent in by June 10.  Notes have been sent home with students who owe lunch money to the cafeteria. 

Menu June 9 - 13
June 9 – Beef Tacos, Pepperoni Pizza, Cheese Pizza, Yogurt & Bagel, Delicious Salad, Fruit, Corn, Milk
June 10 – “BEACH DAY” – Chicken Nuggets w/roll, Pizza, Yogurt & Bagel, Apple, Carrot & Celery Sticks Milk

Menu Changes for 3 Hr Early Closing Days – Students eat in their Classrooms
June 11 – Fish Shapes w/roll, Cheese Sandwich, Yogurt & Bagel, Fruit, Raw Veggies, Milk
June 12 – Hamburger, Cheeseburger, or Veggie Burger w/ wheat roll, Cheese Sandwich, Yogurt & Bagel, Raw Veggies, Apple,          Milk
June 13 – Chicken Patty, Cheese Sandwich, Yogurt & Bagel, Apple, Carrot & Celery Sticks, Milk

COMMUNITY NEWS

• Howard County Recreation & Parks Sports OR Science Camps – for schedules & registration information, contact 410-313-4630.
• Howard County Park’s Summer “Travelin’ Bands” Concert Series for 2008 – call 410-313-7275 or visit www.hwardcountymd.gov/RAP for a schedule of these free summer events.
• Western Howard County Soccer – registration for fall 2008 programs runs through July 15.  For more information, go to www.whcsoccer.org.
• Kangaroo Kids will hold jump rope workshops on July 2 and 3 from 10:00-2:00 at the Columbia Presbyterian Church.  To register, email kangarookids1@gmail.com.
• The Soccer Association of Columbia/Howard County is registering for the 2008-9 season.  Email www.SACKICK.com for schedules and details.