R e t r i e v e r N e w s l e t t e r - AACPS

Spring is in the air, and we couldn’t be happier! I hope everyone enjoys their Spring Break! The third marking period report cards will

be sent home with the students on Wednesday, April 17th, right in time for Spring Break! Please remember to sign and return the report card

envelopes to the teachers. Be sure to contact the teacher if you have any concerns. We want the last marking period of this academic year to be

as successful as possible for all of our students, with teachers, students, and parents all working together towards this goal.

We could not be more proud of all of the growth our students have made so far this year! Thank you all for your support. Together we

are better!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bennett

Principal

R e t r i e v e r N e w s l e t t e r

P r i n c i p a l ’s M e s s a g e

April

2nd Gr. 3 STEAM Showcase

3rd Kindergarten Registration Begins, 9am-2pm

5th Class Photos & 5th Grade Panoramic

PTA Ice Skating Night, 6:30 pm

8th & 9th 2 Hr. Early Dismissal

9th Coffee w/ the Principal, 9 am

11th PTA Restaurant Night– Chick-fil-A

12th Career Day, 1pm

17th Report Card Distribution

18th-22nd NO SCHOOL-Spring Break

27th PTA Greenscape, 8:30am-11:30am

29th-May 3rd Gr. 5 PARCC Testing

W e s t A n n a p o l i s E l e m e n t a r y

M a r k Yo u r C a l e n d a r

AP R I L 20 1 9

A Look Ahead to May

7th-13th PARCC, Gr. 3 & 4

C u l t i v a t i n g L i f e L o n g L e a r n e r s

Ki nde r ga r t e n R e g i s t r a t i on

K i n d e r g a r t e n H i g h l i g h t s

Kindergarten Registration for the coming school year will be held at West Annapolis Elementary, daily from 9am—2pm, beginning April

3rd. Eligible kindergarten students must be five years of age on or before September 1st, 2019.

To register a child, parents should bring the child’s original birth certificate, a copy of the immunization record and two proofs of residency

(rental agreement, lease/ mortgage documents are mandatory and a current utility bill). If you have any questions or need further

information, please contact the school @ (410) 222-1635.

R e t r i e v e r N e w s l e t t e r P a g e 2

F i r s t G r a d e H i g h l i g h t s

F o u r t h Gr ad e H i g h l i g h ts Math: Students will focus on classifying geometric shapes based on properties of lines and angles. Students first investigate relationships between

parallel and perpendicular lines, and extend that knowledge to identify attributes of polygons. Students revisit angle measurement as they classify

triangles and quadrilaterals, and explore the concept of additive angles using diagrams. Students will continue to build vocabulary as they identify

lines of symmetry in familiar figures.

Science: Students will explore different sources of energy, determine their origin, how they address human energy needs, and discuss their positive and

negative impact on the environment. This unit culminates with students synthesizing their learning to make decisions on how to power a town given

budget and environmental concerns.

Social Studies: The current unit investigates the public issues and policies of modern Maryland in order to prepare students to be active participants in

Maryland civics and economics.

Reading: Students continue to read novels and analyze with depth and complexity.

Explicit Comprehension: Students will draw inferences from a text by referring to details and examples in the text. Students will also determine word

meaning and interpret phrases and information in a text.

IRA: Students will describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story drawing on specific details in the text.

S e c o n d G r a de H i g h l i g h t s

This month in Language Arts we are starting our final writing unit, poetry. Students will be reading poetry, studying different tools and strategies

poets use, and writing their own poetry!

In math we will be working with telling time and solving problems involving time. Please keep practicing addition and subtraction facts with your

child.

We will continue to have homework in math on Tuesdays and Thursdays unless otherwise noted. Please check your child's agenda and take-home

folder each night.

Please check with your child to see if any of their school supplies need to be replaced. Thank you!

T h i r d G r a d e H i g h l ig h t s Language Arts: We are currently finishing up our persuasive speeches and letters. Our next unit of study will be fictional writing. Students will be

writing their own version of popular fairy tales. In reading we will be reading fractured fairy tales and folktales. We will be discussing theme as well

as central message. Please continue to read at home.

Math: We are continuing our unit on comparing fractions with like denominators and like numerators. Please continue to practice math facts every

night and to take advantage of all the online math games.

Social Studies: Students are enjoying learning about economics.

Science: We are finishing up our unit on life sciences and will be starting a mini unit on weather and climate.

P a g e 3

F i f th Gr ad e H i g h l i g h t s

Math: We will continue to build on students knowledge of operations with fractional quantities using data and other real-world contexts. Students then

use their problem-solving strategies to interpret real world problems and select the appropriate operation. Students will also be generating and

interpreting data from line plots. We will then move into our next unit, Representing Algebraic Thinking. We will create simple numerical expressions,

as well as create real-world situations to describe an expression. Throughout this unit students will begin to write rules for the order of operations.

Science: We will be completing our study of the Earth's spheres and moving into Food Webs learning the roles of organisms in ecosystems: producer,

consumer, and decomposer.

Social Studies: We will continue our study of the American Revolution.

Language Arts: We are moving into our last unit called "Explore Creative Solutions" for our interactive read alouds. The texts in this unit are specific to the development of secret codes and inventions in order to highlight the creativity involved in solving specific problems. During the course of this unit, students will have read multiple texts that will enable them to compare and contrast stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics, as well as integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. We will be reading books like:

1. *Navajo Code Talkers, Brynn Baker

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel, Kathryn Gibbs Davis

*The Most Magnificent Thing, Ashley Spires

The Homework Machine, Dan Gutman

In writing, we will be finishing up our persuasive/opinion unit.

Keep reading and writing!

We will begin reviewing for our PARCC testing which will be the last week in April.

The 5th grade is excited for our extended day field trip to Philadelphia on May 31st! We are really looking forward to this Annual Trip!

M u s i c H i g h l i g h t s

This will be a busy month in music class. Our unit of study will focus on harmony and we will be learning about building chords

to accompany a melody. We will be using our voices, melody bells, and "Boomwhackers".

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!

·-Saturday, June 1st the 4th and 5th grade Chorus will be performing the National Anthem at the Bowie Baysox baseball game.

Students will be selling tickets as a fundraiser. Please watch for more information!

- Saturday, May 18th is the Music Department trip to Six Flags America. We will depart at 8:45 and return at 7:30pm.

- Wednesday May 8th 2nd Grade will attend a concert at Annapolis Symphony Orchestra

-Wed, May 15th the Spring Concert will be presented at 7:00pm. The band, chorus and orchestra will perform an exciting concert.

R e t r i e v e r N e w s l e t t e r P a g e 4

H e a l t h R o o m H i g h l i g h t s

Spring is here, which means that allergy season is upon us. The itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and runny noses are uncomfortable to say the

least! Allergy medications can help significantly, but it is also a good idea to clear our homes of the things that cause the symptoms in the

first place. Common culprits that trigger allergies and asthma include dust mites, pollen, and pet dander. Doing a good Spring cleaning at

home can help reduce the number of triggers, and thus reduce your allergy and asthma symptoms. To limit the accumulation of these

triggers in your home, try the following: vacuum floors and rugs with a good-quality vacuum equipped with a HEPA filter; change air filters

regularly; clean upholstery, linens, and blinds thoroughly. You may find it helpful to wear a mask and gloves while cleaning, to limit your

exposure to dust and pollen. Bathe pets regularly and try to keep them off of your furniture. Most of all, enjoy the beautiful weather!

P h ys i c a l E d u c a t i o n H i g h l i g h t s

Grades 3-5

Large group games that incorporate fitness, skills and teamwork.

Striking with paddles, racquets and bats

5th Grade will be finishing their Performance Benchmark

Tennis Skills

Grades K – 2

Kindergarten and First grade will be reviewing Locomotor Movements and incorporating them into movement patterns.

Teamwork and Parachute Activities

Large Group Games

Scooter Activities

S p e c i a l E d u c a t i o n H i g h l i g h t s

Mrs. Facciponti and Ms. Vitek want to remind parents that the PARCC Assessment will be administered in grades 3-5 during the month of

May. Please encourage your students to try their best and remember to use their test taking skills. Parents please make sure students are

getting a good night's rest and nutritious breakfast on these PARCC Assessment days.

Finally, the crocus's are blooming! Springtime is finally here and it is a great time for students to get out and enjoy the environment. Have

your children take walks and share their experiences by either keeping a journal or telling someone about their walk. Encourage

conversation and active outdoor play.

As the year winds down it is important to finish strong. Parents should encourage their children to read every night and continue to

practice their math facts. Students need to remember to continue to come prepared to school, be on time, and come ready to learn.

On those days when April Showers Bring May Flowers encourage your child to read or log on to the Connect Ed or First In Math and

complete some fun activities on these websites.

P a g e 5

C o u n s e l o r H i g h l i g h t s

*National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 8 – 12th this year.*

We thank all of our parents who give their time helping with classroom parties, field day, field trips, our ice-skating night, our Bingo night, our

annual Fall Fun Fest, reading to classes, helping with special activities and weekend events like Greenscape. These events would not be possible

without parent time and support.

Thank you so much volunteers!

*The County-wide Volunteer Recognition Tea *

This annual event will take place on Thursday, May 16th at “Michael’s Eighth Avenue” in Glen Burnie

From 8:30 – 10:30 am.

Invitations will be sent home in April with the children and will also be available in the main office.

We will be arranging carpools because of limited parking space.

*** Arrange your day off of work now….

Please contact Mrs. Rogers at [email protected] for any questions.

**** Look for our May newsletter for information on our Spirit Week in June!

M e d i a H i g h l i g h t s

April is School Library Month! This month the students will be doing

activities in class that celebrate the essential role that strong school

library programs play in transforming learning.

Kindergarten 1st and 2nd graders are beginning lessons on Code.org.

The students are doing amazing with creating specific algorithm to finish each computer program that they are working on. If you would like to

practice code at home just go to https://studio.code.org/courses. Once there you can explore all the site has to offer. 3rd through 5th are working on

coding lessons on Scratch. Scratch is a coding platform created my MIT. If you would like to practice at home please go to https://scratch.mit.edu/ .

We would like to thank the families that came out to support our Cultural Arts Showcase! If you are in the school, please walk through and see the

amazing digital postcards created by 3rd grade about various topics related the Andes Mountains.

S p e e c h H i g h l i g h t s

Screen Time and Language Development

It is critically important for parents to monitor and set limits to their child’s screen time use. Research suggests there is a link between

screen time exposure and expressive language delay in toddlers. That is, the more screen time to which toddlers are exposed, the more

likely they are to have an expressive language delay. This supports the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for screen time, which

are as follows:

For children younger than 18 months, avoid the use of screen media other than video chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of

age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand

what they’re seeing.

For children ages, 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children

to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.

For children ages 6 and older, place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does

not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.

Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.

Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.

Ar t H i g h l i g h t s

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Please remember to dress for the mess in art!!!

Special announcements:

Congratulations to all these students who had art on display at the Youth Art Month Reception at Discoveries: The Library at

the Mall! If you weren't able see the exhibit no worries! There will be a second viewing here at WAES during the Talent Show.

Save the date: 4th grade has a field trip on Friday, May 31st to the National Gallery of Art

The annual 3rd grade STEAM and LA study on cultures of the Andes will occur on April 2

5th: Plaster Cast Mask

4th: Dale Chihuly Faux Glass Sculpture

3rd: Sock Puppets (donations of fun socks requested)

2nd: Underwater Porthole/Chilean Rain-sticks

1st: Aboriginal Shields

k: Japanese Dolls/Garbage Monsters

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M a r c h V. I . R . ’s -

We are continuing the V.I.R. recognition program at WAES this year. Each month, classroom teachers will pick a trait or a behavior that the class

will concentrate on for that month. Some examples are perseverance, cooperation, responsibility. The classroom teacher will then pick a student that

has exemplified that trait throughout the month. This student will be named a V.I.R. - Very Important Retriever. The students will be recognized

with a certificate that will be displayed in our gym lobby showcase. They will also have their names announced on the morning announcements and

in the monthly newsletter. The V.I.R. will also be able to bring in a small item to display with their certificate. Some examples include pictures of

family, pictures of pets, a favorite stuffed animal, or an award or trophy that the student is proud of.

I am proud to announce the following V.I.R.s for the month of March:

Elijah B. Mrs. Giaimo’s Class

Athena O. Mrs. Ganey’s Class

Morgan C. Mrs. Riley’s Class

Helena B. Mrs. Stanley’s Class

Morgan T. Mrs Kegley’s Class

Eloise D. Mrs. Minzak’s Class

Althea F. Mrs. McLaughlin’s Class

Ainsley R. Mrs. Thorn’s Class

Toby C. Mrs. Galyon’s Class

Blake B. Mrs. Taneyhill’s Class

Jack P. Mrs. Portocarrero’s Class

Kelsi R. Mrs. Jeffries’ Class

S T E M H i g h l i g h t s Look at what’s happening in STEM in Society this month. Lots of new projects underway!

Kindergarten: Kid Robot How can I use what I know about measurement to create an actual size robot of myself? In this project, students will create

an actual size robot that is a one to one ratio of themselves using pre-cut shapes. Each week students will measure one part of their body (arms, legs

torso, and head) and represent that using a specific shape for that week. Students will be able to personalize their robots by giving them special

features and jobs. A super fun project!

First Grade: Flower Power How can we design and grow a garden pattern? In this project, students observe and view patterns in life and nature,

ending on flowers and leading them to learn about flowers and patterns through researching types of flowers and how they grow. They will then learn

about and design a pattern to plant the flowers in beside our STEM garden. Students will observe seedling changes, sketch the changes weekly,

measure plant height, and discuss patterns and change over time. Finally, the students will plant the flowers! We can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Second Grade: Playground Access How can we, as playground designers, create a piece of playground equipment that meets the needs of all

students? In this project students will work in teams to design a feature of a playground that will be accessible to all students. Students will learn a

wide variety of disabilities that include physical, emotional, and developmental deficits. While students use the Engineering Design Process they will

have the opportunity to study a variety of playgrounds, create a definition for their school playground, apply their knowledge of measurement while

innovating and creating a model of one playground feature. I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Third Grade: Mini Drop Relief How can we, as Red Cross Aid workers, create a scale model of a parachute system that successfully delivers a pay-

load of needed materials to a target region? In this project, students will research current events and regional issues to target a region and that region’s

needs. Their research will focus on specific needs making sure to consider cultural aspects when preparing a relief payload. Students will also research

about parachutes. They will use the research to build a model parachute system. They will test the parachute model, focusing on the successful

delivery of the payload, landing in a specific, targeted area as a goal to achieve!

Fourth Grade: Battle Bots How can we design a spinning top to maximize the duration of rotations and/or to continue rotating when bumped into

other objects? In this project, students will explore spinning toys and make generalizations about the structure, the material used, and the effectiveness

of the spin. They will research top types and study the concept of angular momentum. They will use this knowledge to build spinning tops of their own

out of various materials, test them, make improvements, and finally “battle” other spinning tops designed by their classmates. Our fourth graders are

really excited for this project!

Fifth Grade: Mission to Mars How can we use our measurement, calculation and communications skills to navigate a human rover through a

mapped course? In this project, students will act as NASA scientists and engineers. Their mission is to deploy a remotely operated human rover to

retrieve a sample of terrain. Each member of the team will have a role that measures, calculates, and communicates information as part of the mission.

After several weeks of planning, teams will have the opportunity to complete three trial tests, learn about mission success and failures, and finally

complete the overall challenge against another group of 5th grade students from another elementary school. We are well on our way!

R e t r i e v e r N e w s l e t t e r

P a g e 8

R e a d i n g O f f i c e H i g h l i g h t s

Our annual Reading Incentive was very inspiring and we had many students and

families participate! Although we did not meet our reading goals of 1800 hours

and/or 85% participation, we are all very proud of the enthusiasm for reading

everyone showed! We did read for a total of 1557 hours – which is a very

impressive number!!! Thank you to everyone involved: from the families that

encouraged their children to read, to all those who supported our PTA, and to all

our guest readers.

The following Top Flyers were awarded special prizes for going above and beyond

our reading:

Grade Level Top Readers:

K – Hugh P. (18 hours)

1st – Helena B. (35 hours)

2nd – Quinn P. (48 hours)

3rd – Hayden L. (44 hours)

4th – Robbie H. (43 hours)

5th – Erin D. (78 hours)

Individual Students Who Read for More than 20 Hours:

Helena B.

Melanie T.

Quinn P.

Arthur C.

Althea F.

Hayden L.

Michael S.

Robbie H.

Victoria S-V.

Most Participation: Mrs. Giamo’s, Mrs. Stanley’s, Mrs. Minzak’s, and Mrs. McLaughlin’s Classes

Thank you so much to our generous PTA for funding the program and encouraging a love of reading in all of our students. Our

students are truly “magical readers.”

P TA H i g h l i g h t s

March came and went with a flurry of activities. Thank you to everyone who volunteered for and participated in the Talent Show.

The show was once again a wonderful display of our student’s courage and talent! Clubs are winding down with just a few sessions

left and it is finally time to bid winter farewell. Please join us for one last icy event on Friday, April 5th for Ice Skating Night! All

skate rentals and the ice time will be free thanks to the success of the Totally 80’s Homecoming night. Snacks will be available

for purchase at the rink to support Music in the Parks. Consider joining PTA on April 9th when we will host Coffee with the

Principal at 9 am in the STEM room. A community building night at Chic-Fil-A will take place on Thursday, April 11th come on out

and socialize with other WAES families. On April 27th we will prepare the school grounds for Spring with our biannual Greenscape

event. Bring your kids and your neighbors—grab a rake and come do some spring cleaning and planting. Thanks for supporting

PTA programming. Have a wonderful month!

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