Keep Kids Reading ALL Summer Long!

Happy Summer!  

Reading is one of the most important and fundamental skills anyone could have. If you can read, you can follow directions to get around town, become gainfully employed, drive, cook, etc. Reading makes life so much richer, easier and enjoyable. That’s why, summer months are crucial that our children stay on track with their reading.

I have included a link to Scholastic.com where you can read information about their FREE summer online reading program, or you can sign your child up at the local library (Savage is temporarily located at 8851 Gorman Road, Ste. 102 ~ Laurel, MD 20723 ~410.880.5975 until July 22.).

For me, I am planning a book club for me and my children to get some of that reading in.  Let’s join together to make this summer a READTASTIC summer and set our children on the right footing for the  2014-2015 school year.

Read more about the Scholastic Summer Reading Program by clicking here:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/keep-kids-reading-all-summer-long

40 Years Stronger!

Whew, what a year! The school turned 40 years old and we have been able to see how richly it has grown. From starting as Whiskey Bottom Road Elementary School to Laurel Woods Elementary, the tradition of family, school and community still remains strong.

And that is why your PTA works as hard as we do – to maintain those relationships.  We have been in overdrive this year to not only give you those activities and programs that you have come to expect, but also implementing new ones to commemorate the school’s anniversary.

Did you know that the PTA is responsible for:  Artist in Residency program, many of the school’s assemblies, co-sponsor of the Science Fair, Girls on the Run, Bricks 4 Kids, Butterfly Garden and Gardening Club, Spanish Club, the Memory Book, Movie Nights, International Night, Skating Nights, Family Night Out at local restaurants, the School Store, Spirit Gear, Joe Corbi’s fundraiser, Hershey Park fundraisers, Back 2 School Picnic, Summer Camp Expo; and I can go on and on.  And this year, we are proud to have sponsored the 40th Anniversary Dance in December of 2013 and the end-of-year 40th Anniversary Carnival in May of this year.

Through these activates and many others, we have seen families come together and share ideas; the community (churches, retail, former students, teachers, staff and parents) come out and volunteer for events; and smiles of the children as they learn a new skill, push their endurance, make a new friend, and just be happy!  It’s rewarding.

Many of us are transitioning to middle school to begin a new year in a new PTA, and many will remain and will need extra hands, minds and enthusiasm to continue establishing relationships as well as forge into new territories. If you feel you have what it takes to keep LWES moving forward, click on the links to see where you can be best used—Board Member or Committee Chair?  If you feel as though you can’t make the commitment, just know that we can use you in ANY capacity that you are able to serve.

Here’s to 2014-15 Laurel Woods, PTA and the community—

standing stronger than ever ~ TOGETHER!

Would you consider being all that you could be?

The year is winding down fast and there is still so much to do! We have the upcoming International Festival (April 30) and we will close out this very busy academic year celebrating the 40th anniversary of Laurel Woods with our 40th Anniversary Carnival (May 30).  For both of these we need volunteers. Please consider and contact us at lwespta@gmail.com

Also, we need leaders for the upcoming 2014-15 school year. We need dedicated and committed parents and guardians to step up and seriously think about volunteering to keep this PTA thriving. It has come such a long way and we can't let it die off.  We have brought the students of LWES many great after school programs (Girls on the Run, Lego Bricks 4 Kidz, etc.) , assemblies, fun family events (movie nights, International Festival, Back 2 School Olympic Picnic, etc.), we have sponsored the Science Fair. . . and the list goes on.

Many of our parents will leave this year and begin serving with PTAs at middle schools. It is imperative that we keep Laurel Woods PTA flourishing--if not for the sake of the school but for the sake of your child and many other children.  This is where they are getting their foundation. By the time they reach college age, the competition will be fierce. And it all starts right here, right now.

We need serious consideration for the following positions:

President - Will preside at all meetings of the association and executive board; will coordinate work of the officers and the committees in order to achieve the objectives of the association; will be a member ex officio of all committees except the nominating committee.

 

First Vice President - Will act as the aide to the president and will perform the duties of the president in the absence or inability of the president to serve. Will perform other duties as assigned by the board of directors.

 

Second Vice President - Will fulfill the duties of the first vice president during the absence or inability of the first vice president to serve. Will perform other duties as assigned by the board of directors.

 

Secretary - Will record the minutes of all meetings of the association and the executive board; will maintain a current copy of the bylaws and membership list; and will perform other designated duties as assigned.

 

Treasurer - Will be responsible for keeping an accurate account of all funds and the receipts of expenditures; will make disbursements of monies authorized by the president, executive board, or association in accordance with the adopted budget; will present a written financial statement at each executive board and general membership meeting; will also be responsible to make sure appropriate tax forms are submitted.

 

2 Delegates - Shall represent LWES at the PTA Council meetings, which are held monthly, and report back to the PTA Executive Board at the monthly meeting.

Please carefully consider doing more next year. Your child, my child and other children will thank you.

Ready, Set, Test!

It’s March and the two things that I think of are spring and testing!!! Yes, it’s once again time for our children to take the infamous, Maryland State Assessment tests (MSA). In my house, there is always chatter from my children about not wanting to “fail” the MSAs. And while I remind them that they cannot fail, I do, however, try to impress upon them to make sure that they take their time, read each question thoroughly and answer to the best of their ability.

The MSA is a barometer that indicates whether students are making progress toward mastery of state content standards, and it also measures a school’s academic performance. Preparing for the MSAs, or any exam, will take a great deal of effort, time and instruction not just from the schools, but also from the home. And don’t think that one or two nights of going over online MSA sample test questions will boost your child’s score.—it can help familiarize your child with the look and feel for test questions-- The MSA is a comprehensive exam covering material taught from the beginning of the year.

To follow is a list of edited suggestions from Great Schools.com to help your child prepare throughout the academic year.

Review homework together – You must stay on top of daily assignments: First, make sure your child completes all of their assigned homework. If you check homework, you will see if he/she understands what they are doing and can review and explain the difficult parts in a way that best suits their learning ability. Review the chapters, class material, study sheets, and notes with them a day or two (or more) before the test, frequency will depend on age level.

Break information into chunks -- Break the information up into smaller sections. Sometimes kids get overwhelmed by the amount of content they need to learn. By breaking the information up, they can feel successful when the information is retained.

Practice with your child -- Make sure to go over material with your children. The most important thing is telling them that they're ready to take the test, this will boost their confidence.

As I see it, to be successful in taking any test, children must build on their prior knowledge and feel confident about their abilities. This is how we turn our children into life-long-learners. If we in turn support the curriculum being taught in the classroom, we become active participants raising young men and women who are confident and knowledgeable students, test takers and adults.  

Have you joined the LWES PTA yet? If not, click this link to join. It’s never too late to join. We need volunteers to help us with our upcoming events, International Night (April 30) and 40th Anniversary Carnival (May 30).

Celebrating 40 Years of Academic Excellence with Solid Community Partnerships

Laurel Woods Elementary School turns 40 this year and what a great way to celebrate the anniversary than with community partnerships. We saw a wonderful demonstration of this during our 40^th Year Anniversary Celebration held January 10 at the North Laurel Community Center. Many of our LWES families, administrators, teachers, staff, and business partners attended, as well as, former students, staff and special invited guests. 

Laurel Woods has evolved over the years becoming a school with high academic standards and increased performance. I believe that this feat could not have happened without the partnerships of the school, parents and the community at-large.

I hope that the next 40 years form even a tighter bond among these entities. Perhaps, we can see a presence of more of our parents with their own businesses partner up with the school and PTA to sponsor a particular after school program, in-house assembly or other valuable activities and programs like the Science Fair, Dolphin Dance or Heritage Dinner to name a few. 

There’s an old African Proverb that states, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  I would like to add to it if I may, “It takes a village not only to raise a child but to also educate one.”

Share your thoughts about Laurel Woods turning 40 or where you would like to see it 40 years from now.    

 

The Common Core State Standard

You may not have heard much about Common Core so far — but here’s the cheat sheet. In the past few years, a new set of education standards have been adopted by every state except these five: Texas, Nebraska, Virginia, Alaska, and Minnesota who has not adopted the math standard. Named the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), they set out what children should learn in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade. Although there are still a lot of unknowns about how and when these standards will be implemented, they are a first for the U.S. since previously each state created its own set of standards.

The adoption of a common set of standards tackles a couple of fundamental problems in American education. Because the previous state standards vary so radically, kids in one state can get a very different education from those in another. The other issue is the growing evidence that American schools are not preparing kids to compete in the global economy: students aren’t prepared for college and employers can’t find enough highly skilled workers. The reality for every parent is that these standards could greatly affect their child’s learning. In short, it’s a pretty big deal.

The elephant in the classroom

Having read every Common Core standard for each grade (our bedtime reading!), we know that they are more rigorous overall than many of the standards they will replace. They also strike a good balance between mastering the basics and learning the kinds of skills — critical thinking, problem solving, etc. — that every child will need in order to thrive in this complex and rapidly evolving world. They also encourage teachers to collaborate to help students build essential skills across subjects. Does that make them perfect? No. Do we have a crystal ball to know how this huge educational experiment will end up? Hardly. But we do know that in the midst of the bickering, parents will need a neutral, accurate source of information — designed just for you.

Beyond the blah blah blah

No matter how you feel about the Common Core, they will influence your child’s education.
New standards are likely to mean changes in the classroom. Your child may be asked to read different sorts of books, take home new assignments, do more writing across subjects, and think in new vocabulary. Homework may be confusing. Report cards may be totally unfamiliar. And finally, your child’s standardized test scores may fall if your state uses new, more difficult standardized tests. This could mean parents whose kids have been proficient in reading or math suddenly being told their children are failing to meet expectations and need to attend remedial summer school, for example.

Standards! Curriculum! Assessments! Oh my!

While the education wonks are battling over the finer points of curriculum, standards, and formative and summative assessments, we want to cut through the conflict to help you figure out what the Common Core may mean for your child. Because no matter what, we know you are your child’s first, and most important, teacher.

Share your thoughts about the new Common Core State Standards.

 

(Article by C. Lloyd of Great Schools.com)

Many of you may have heard that Laurel Woods is turning 40 this year. And what an amazing transformation the school has had over the course of these years. From originally being named Whiskey Bottom Road Elementary School to the name change in the 90’s to Laurel Woods. While the neighborhood has changed and continues to change, showing the deep diversity of Howard County, Laurel Woods has academically improved with each given year.  Yes, Laurel Woods continues to evolve into a first-rate elementary school with first-rate administrators, teachers, academic programs and of course, students.

The PTA is sponsoring a number of events to coincide with this anniversary and we need your help. Committees are forming and will form for celebratory events, programs and activities. If you are interested in helping, please contact us at lwespta@gmail.com.

We would also like to hear your thoughts and/or ideas on Laurel Woods turning the big 4-0! Are you a parent who attended Laurel Woods or former teacher? Have you had children to transition from Laurel Woods to middle school or still have children attending? If so, we want to hear your most fond memories of the school. Also, if you have any ideas on how we can celebrate the school, feel free to leave those thoughts as well.  Please leave your comments.

Cheers to Laurel Woods for

40 years of Academic Excellence in bridging the past to our future!       

Welcome back Laurel Woods Community!

The PTA is excited about the upcoming 2013-2014 school year especially knowing that we are embarking the 40th Anniversary of LWES! And we are planning to celebrate Laurel Woods in style!!!

We need you--each of  you to make a difference. That is why we are asking that you join your PTA. 

Whatever you can do, help out occasionally with events or afterschool programs, chair a committee, make copies, make phone calls, whatever you can do we would be more than happy for your help. Volunteering doesn't have to be laborious, just an hour a month, whatever you can give.

With that said, we would like your feedback to this question:

Why are you/why are you not a PTA member?