Author: ccollins3

WINFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Mammoth News

September 2016

Winfield Vision:
Winfield ES is a school where students’ academic achievement and social/emotional needs are the priority of all members of our school and community at- large.
How to Help Your Child Succeed in School
Set routines with a good night’s sleep and nutritious meals.
Fill out and return all forms.
Discuss with your child and sign the BCPS
Student Handbook
Safety and Security Information
Parents and visitors must have photo ID to visit beyond the front office when children are in the building.
—They must also have their photo ID scanned
into our Raptor system.

Principal’s Message

Greetings Families and welcome back to a new school year! This year I will be trying a new way to get information to you. The first week of each month, please visit our school website for the Principal’s Mammoth Message.
Aricka Porter, Principal
http://winfieldes.bcps.org

Assistant Principal’s Message
Hello Winfield families. We are off and running to start a great new year and we need your help. Recently we launched a campaign to recruit parent volunteers who are interested and available one(1) hour per month, to assist in our cafeteria between 11:30am and 1:30pm. Interested parents can sign up by contacting Mr. Collins at 410 887-0766 or ccollins3@bcps.org.
Lori Grant, Assistant Principal
Lori Grant, Assistant Principal

Parent Service Coordinator’s Message
Welcome to Winfield Elementary School and another great year of teaching and learning. As Parent Service Coordinator, I am responsible for organizing programs that promote and encourage your engagement in your child's education. Parent engagement programs we are planning for this school year include Family Math, Reading, Science and Engineering Nights, PARRC and MAP Test Information workshops, Parent Volunteer Recruitment and Orientation and expanded Parent Lending Library services. Don’t forget to save the date for the Winfield Welcome Back Block Party-Friday, September 30, 2016, 5:30pm-7:30pm.
Clifford Collins, Parent Service Coordinator

Snapshot of Sept. Activities at Winfield
Sept 12- Professional Development Day-School Closed for Students
Sept 13 , 6:30 - PTA Meeting
Sept 21, 9:30-10:30-Pinwheeels for Peace
Sept 30, 5:30-7:30-Welcome Back Block Party
Visit the Winfield Website at http://winfieldes.bcps.org or call 410-887-0766
For Additional Information visit our website at http://winfieldes.bcps.org

Grade Level General Information
Pre-K
Welcome to Pre-K! This year will be an exciting one for you and your child. By staying involved in what your child is doing at school and by working on activities together, you can ensure that this year will be a successful one.
During the next few weeks, your child will be introduced to the school, their classroom, and the daily routines that will shape their days over the course of the school year. Understanding their environment and how the school day is structured will help to calm any fears the children may have and begin to develop their self-confidence.
Kindergarten
Welcome to Kindergarten! Today is the first full day for our kinders!! This month we will be focusing on identifying the letters and the sounds each letter make and counting to find the number of objects in a set! We will assess each student on their reading levels using Fountas and Pinnell and will focus on increasing their reading levels throughout the school year. Here's to a great school year!!
1st Grade
Welcome to first grade! We've enjoyed getting to know your students and are looking forward to a fun and educational year. In September, we will continue to review letter sounds and begin to read fiction texts. Students will learn how to identify the characters, setting and beginning, middle and end of a fiction story. In math, we will continue to work on basic addition. Please practice addition facts at home with your child in order to commit them to memory. If you have any questions please contact your child's teacher. The first grade team is looking forward to a great year!
2nd Grade
Second grade has had a wonderful start to our year! In September, we will begin working on Unit 1 in Math and ELA. In math, we will be working on telling time to the half hour, solving story problems, identifying values of coins, and much more! In ELA, we will be starting our unit on friendship. We will be reading stories with dynamic characters and focus on how characters change. We will also be focusing on story elements. The Second Grade Team looks forward to a fun filled year of learning.
3rd Grade
We are so happy to welcome our students to 3rd grade. We have many exciting challenges and opportunities this year. In the first unit of ELA, the students will be researching endangered species. They will be using graphic organizers to write a report on the informational text they find on an animal they choose. We hope you ask your student about the animal they will be researching to see if they can summarize some information for you. In Unit 1 of Math, the students will be learning the foundation of multiplication and division. We will learn what it means to multiply and divide, not just find the answer. Students should be able to represent each multiplication and division fact using pictures, words, models, number lines, and mathematical properties. Being able to show their work different ways is important. We look forward to helping your student with all of these important tasks!
4th Grade
Welcome to the new 2016-2017 school year! The 4th grade teachers are so excited about what is in store for the 4th grade. In math, the 4th grade will be working on analyzing and understanding the concepts of multiplication! In language arts the 4th grade will be working on building independence on silent reading and analyzing different character traits. The 4th graders will be given the Fountas and Pinnell to assess the level that the students will work on improving throughout the year. The 4th grade teachers thank you all!! - Ms. Kuehn, Ms. Wharton, and Ms. Paul
5th Grade
Our 5th graders have been busy learning all-school routines and procedures for entering the building in the morning, classroom entry and exit, morning meetings, cafeteria expectations and so much more. Teachers have been engageing students in conversations regarding positive culture, empathy among students, conflict resolution, ability to connect grit and positive mindset with success, and goal-setting. Please be sure to reviewed the expectations in the student handbook and send it back to school signed. We are all very excited about the year ahead!!
Specials
The Special Area team would like to welcome all of you for what is going to be an exciting 2016-2017 school year. In this section, keep an eye out for upcoming events and recaps of what is going on in Instrumental and Vocal Music, Art, Library, and Physical Education. If at any point in time you have any concerns or questions in regards to our programs, please don’t hesitate to contact us either through email or by calling school. We look forward to helping your students to grow a love of learning outside of the core subjects!!

Action Team Information
The Parent Engagement Action Team of teachers representing each grade level will assist and support our Parent Service Coordinator with organizing parent engagement events and activities throughout the 2016-2017 school year. You will learn about the PBIS, Advanced Academics and Social Committees in future editions of our newsletter.
Academic Resources Team Information
Mrs. N. Jacobs, the new STAT Teacher, will assist teachers with developing a plan to support best learning practices for students. Her job also includes supporting the Winfield staff in the utilization of technology into daily lessons, in order to further prepare our students to be globally competitive graduates. In addition, she will provide Professional Development in areas such as: learner-centered environments, the new Report Card & Grading Policy, and project-based learning.
Families are encouraged to read to or with your children every night. Children should also have an opportunity to talk with you about what they’ve read (prompt students with questions, if necessary). Examples of questions are: who are the characters, where does the story takes place, what is the problem, and what is the solution. Examples of questions for informational text are: what is the main idea and what are several facts. Pre-K and K students should practice counting. Students in grades 1 and 2 should practice addition and subtraction facts. Students in grades 3 – 5 should practice multiplication and division facts. Look for resources and strategies next month.
Special Education Information
The Special Education Department is very excited about the upcoming school year! This year, we are working towards a more inclusive environment where special education teachers are in the classroom helping all students! We look forward to a successful and productive school year!
Social/Emotional Information
Welcome Back to the 2016-2017 School Year! The Social-Emotional Team would like to briefly describe the highlights of the Social-Emotional Plan for Winfield Elementary School (WES) this year which aligns with WES core beliefs. The following outline will describe some of the components of the WES social-emotional plan:
Bucket-Fillers- Please ask your child if they have been a “bucket-filler” today. This is our character education program that is focused on kind acts being “bucket fillers.
Incredible 5 point scale- This is a scale from 1 (calm) to 5 (out of control) to help students express and learn to manage their feelings. This is a school-wide social-emotional lesson for the next month.
Morning Meeting/Closing Meetings- These are the circles that your student participates in that will help them engage in learning, make friends and good relationships with their classmates, and allow them to feel like they are an important part of the leadership of the classroom.
High Five Mammoth Squares- This is the Positive Behavior Incentive that WES is using school-wide. Students are given stars towards completing their square when they are following the WES Code of Conduct.
Health Suite and Cafeteria Information
Parents are reminded to complete and submit to the Nurse’s Suite all appropriate forms and documents pertaining to your child’s health status. Families who qualify for free and reduced price lunch must complete a Household Meal Benefit Application. Parents of Winfield students who need help with filling out the Meal Benefit application online can come to our school for assistance between 9:30am and 2:30pm.

Grade Level Information

Magnet School Information
Magnet School brochures will be distributed to Pre-K and 5th grade students on Wednesday, September 14, 2016. The Magnet Expo will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2016 at the Radisson Hotel North Baltimore in Timonium from 10 am to 2 pm. Winfield will also be hosting its own Magnet for interested parents and students. The date and time will be announced later. The application process will open online at 12:00 pm Wednesday October 5, 2016 and close at 1:00 pm on Friday, November 28, 2016. For more information please contact the Office of Magnet Programs at 443.809.4127 or check out their website (www.bcps.org/offices/omp).