The Acorn Oakwood Elementary School

330 Oak Manor Drive

Glen Burnie, MD 21061

Dear Families,

We want to pass along a great BIG Thank You to everyone who was able to join us for our American Education Week Pancakes for Parents breakfast event. We hope you enjoyed the special time with your child(ren) as well as the opportunity to visit your child’s classrooms or join them for a special lunch.

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, we prepare for one of the busiest months of the year. During December, the Scholastic Book Fair visits Oakwood, we will host our monthly Ledo’s Pizza Dine-out Night on December 18th, and for the first time, be hosting a Spirit Night at Texas Roadhouse in Pasadena on Monday, December 9th (4:00-10:00). In addition to the $1.99 kid’s meals for guests 12 and under, the restaurant will be providing free ice cream sundaes for kids, a ‘Balloon Twister’ from 5:30-8:00, and a craft table. Please come out and enjoy this exciting PTA-sponsored event which also supports the financial goals of our school.

As we enter the holiday season, we are also provided with special opportunities to gather as a school community to begin celebrating the coming holidays. Please join us for the Winter Concert (Dec. 3rd), Seasons Readings Reading Night (Dec. 12th), and the Kindergarten Holiday Performances (Dec. 17th & 18th).

And for a few reminders: On Thursday, December 5th, Oakwood will be participating in the continuation of ‘Unity Day’ across AACPS focused on equity and are encouraged to wear the color Orange. Students will be dismissed two hours early this day so teachers can participate in professional development sessions focused on equity practices. We will all be enjoying the Winter Break from December 23rd through January 1st. Schools will reopen for students on Thursday, January 2nd.

We wish you and your family a beautiful holiday season filled with an abundance of love, joy, and happiness and a very happy New Year!

Jed Kling, Principal Stacie Henson, Assistant Principal

December 3 Winter Concert- 6:00pm

December 4 Fall Picture Make-up Day

December 5 2-hour Early Dismissal No PM Pre-K or PM ECI classes Unity Day – Wear the color Orange

December 6 1st Grade Field Trip – Baltimore Synphony

December 9 Texas Roadhouse Spirit Night- 4:00-10:00

December 9-13 Scholastic Book Fair

December 12 Family Reading Night- 6:00pm

December 13 Interim Reports Sent Home

December 16 PTA Meeting- 6:30pm

December 17 Kindergarten Holiday Performance- 9:00 FOR STUDENTS IN MYLES, DAILEY &

GRANT’S CLASSES

December 18 Kindergarten Holiday Performance-9:00 FOR STUDENTS IN RAFTOVICH, BOYLE,

GOODWYN, & DUDGINSKI’S CLASSES Ledo’s Dine Out Night- 11:00-9:00

December 22 Hanukkah Begins

December 23 – January 1 No School – Christmas/Winter Break

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 Kwanzaa Begins

January 2 - Classes Resume

DECEMBER AT A GLANCE

Together in Education - It’s as easy as linking your VIC

card to our school to help us earn funds! Log onto

your Harris Teeter account and add Oakwood

Elementary to support our school when shopping!

Jessica Noratel, President

Stacey Arthur, Vice President

Texas Roadhouse Dine-Out Night

Monday, December 9, 4:00pm-10:00pm

Seasons Reading Night

Thursday, December 12th from 6-8pm.

• Holiday Stories

• Book Fair

• Cookies and Milk

• Photo Booth

Look for flyer to come home with more

information.

Please RSVP by December 11.

Please join us for our October Dine-Out Night

Our school will receive 20% from Oakwood’s sales. Please come out and support our school!

Ledo Night

Wednesday, December 18

(11:00am-9:00pm)

(Veteran’s Highway location)

Please join us for our next

PTA meeting.

Monday, Dec. 16 at 6:30pm

All are welcome!

Our reading lessons will focus on reading stories

of high interest associated with the holiday

season. Students will answer comprehension

questions over these oral read alouds. Pictures

will always be included in these activities.

Our math lessons will continue to be

individualized but we will also be counting

and adding/subtracting various objects

associated with the winter holidays.

As our weather continues to grow

consistently colder, we will discuss the

concepts of hot and cold through our

science lessons.

Our social studies lessons will focus on giving and

sharing. We will be demonstrating examples of

how to share and how good it feels to give to

another person. Students will be involved in role

playing. Please reinforce these very important

concepts with your child at home.

ACC Intermediate

How quickly the year has gone by! We’re now into December and this month our curriculum focuses on

Holiday Pen Pals. We’ll also be exploring different holiday celebrations around the world.

Upcoming Events!

ACC Holiday Party! This will be our third annual Holiday Pinata. Students will work with their peer buddies

to break the pinata and play other games. It’s a great time and all students have fun celebrating the upcoming

holidays together.

Cooking Class: We will be starting our monthly cooking class this month! Students will focus on reading,

math, sequencing, and life skills to make simple, nutritious, and tasty snacks.

Curriculum Focuses

Math: Students will be focusing on a variety of math skills this month. We started off the year with single digit

addition and are expanding our addition skills into 2-digit numbers. In order to do that, we will focus on

learning place values.

Reading and Literacy: Our ACC class will continue to practice our reading skills, from identifying letters and

sight words, to understanding what we’re reading.

Writing: Students work on a variety of writing skills daily – from physical writing to constructing sentences

with pictures and correcting sentences (does it have a capital letter or punctuation?). Each part helps them build

their abilities while giving them the foundations for effective communication.

Independence: We will also continue to focus on independence! From doing work by themselves, to managing

self-care and belongings, to managing feelings and behaviors – students will continue to expand their

independent skills.

The “S” Squad

The Ins and Outs of Mrs. Smith’s and Mrs. Schwarz’s

First Grade Classrooms

December Happenings

There will be a 2-hour early dismissal on December 5th.

We will be taking a field trip to the Baltimore Symphony

Orchestra on Friday, December 6th. Please send in

your permission slips and money as soon as possible.

We will be having a holiday

celebration. Please be on the lookout for further

information😊

Students who are struggling academic and/or

behaviorally for the second marking period will be receiving an interim

report on December 13th.

Curriculum Notes

Reading - Theme 2: I am curious about how things are connected.

Please be sure to read the curriculum newsletter that was sent home.

We will be working on our Primary Talent development project for

building a house for the fourth little pig. Thanks to all who contributed

building supplies to help construct our

buildings!

We will be learning about traits and what

traits make us who we are.

Third Grade News December 2019

Third graders are excited for the cooler weather and the holiday season! With the second

marking period in full swing, we are busy writing, inquiring, collaborating, organizing, and

reading! Read on to find out what we’re up to!

Math

Students have been tackling the

challenging field of fractions over the past

few weeks! This month, we will revisit

multiplication strategies, explore line plots,

and do some measuring. Please encourage

your child to practice basic math facts at

home, as this will help them be successful

with more challenging problems.

Some things to think about:

• Be positive about math! Let your child know

that everyone can learn math.

• Point out how math is used in daily activities.

• Include your child in activities that involve

math, such as making purchases, measuring

ingredients, and determining elapsed time, etc.

• Play math-related games with your child.

• Encourage your child to explain his/her thinking

when solving problems.

• Count everything with young mathematicians.

• Make connections between real world situations

involving fractions and measurement.

Reading and Writing

The beginning of marking period

two focuses all on informational texts. We

will be reading non-fiction texts, as well as

writing our own. Students will be using

different AVID strategies to help them

successfully meet our reading and writing

standards.

We have completed our first

informative writing pieces, and we will

begin writing another one this month.

Students are researching topics that

they are interested in, and then writing

multi-paragraph essays on the topics. We

are adding non-fiction text features to

our writing pieces to reinforce how

helpful these are.

Important Dates:

December 5th - 2 Hour Early

Dismissal

December 12th – Reading Night

December 23 – January 1 -

SCHOOLS CLOSED for Winter Break

Reminders:

Homework is assigned on Mondays and isn’t

due until Friday.

Please be sure to send your child to school

with a jacket for outdoor recess.

Happy Holidays from the Art Room

~Mrs. Caple

Congratulations to two Oakwood artists for having their winter art on display at

the Westfield Annapolis Mall AACPS Winter Wonderland Exhibit. The students are

Lily B. in 1st Grade and Morgan K. in 4th grade. The show runs from December 3rd

until January 6th. Please visit the mall to see all the wonderful art on display from

the elementary schools in our county.

Kindergarten artists just started their Snow Friends landscape mixed-media art.

Along with working on cutting and gluing skills, we discussed the terms landscape,

seascape, and cityscape.

First Grade students just completed their mixed-media

Winter Wonderland art. They used their cutting and gluing

skills to create a foreground, middle ground, and background

in their landscape.

Second Grade students are creating A Winter Village in the

Mountains. They will be filled with trees, houses, and much

more.

Third Grade students are constructing a city/seascape mixed-

media work of art. Included is a city skyline and boats on the water.

Fourth Grade students just completed a winter painting of

Owls on a Tree Branch. They are truly stunning works of art!

Fifth Grade students are using their observational skills to

create a contour line drawing of an animal. Next, they will add value (the lightness

or darkness of an object) by changing the color animal photograph into a black and

white painting.

As always, thank you for all your support!

News from the media center Mrs. McClure-Scott, Media Specialist

Oakwood ES Library Media Class Update - December 2019

Hello Oakwood and RHL families! Here’s what your student(s) will be doing in Media this

December:

2nd-5th grade students will continue to read and review Black-Eyed Susan (BES) books.

Grade 3 will also begin their graphic novel study, while grades 4 and 5 will begin to do

research on Afghanistan and South Sudan.

What is a BES book? BES books are recently published picture books that have

been rated highly by Maryland library media specialists and public librarians.

Public school students across Maryland, including our very own Oakwood ES

students, will read the books and then vote to select the 2019-20 Black-Eyed

Susan Award winning title!

PK – K and 1st grade students will listen to a variety of stories and make connections to

literature.

Questions about your child’s library account? Please email me at mmcclure-scott@aacps.org

Thank you!

Meredith McClure-Scott (Mrs. Scott)

Get ready to get some Holiday shopping done at the Oakwood ES Book Fair,

December 9 - 13! A flyer will be sent home soon with more details.

Want to help? Please send me or Ms. Doran (sdoran@aacps.org) an email.

MUSIC NEWS – December 2019

Traditionally, the holidays are filled with music. Can you imagine the December festivities

accompanied by silence?

The Oakwood chorus, band and strings will present a Holiday Program on Tuesday, December

3rd, at 6:30 p.m. I know the Chorus members are excited about this concert. We hope parents

and friends will be able to join us.

****

Ms. Daily’s, Ms. Myles’ and Ms. Grant’s Kindergarteners, will perform a traditional Winter

Concert on Wednesday, December 18th, at 9 a.m. Ms. Boyle’s, Ms. Goodwyn’s, Ms.

Raftovich’s, and Ms. Dudginski’s Kindergarteners will perform their Holiday Concert on

Thursday, December 19th at 9 a.m. This is certain to be an “Ahh-some” event and one you don’t

want to miss!

****

The First graders will go on a music field trip to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on

Friday, December 6th.

In the spirit of giving, please accept our sincerest gratitude for your support of music, not just

for the music program here, but for music throughout our community. Together we can make a

difference. Together we are making a difference. Your child and all the members of our musical

family are the benefactors.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season are extended to you

and yours. Let us begin the New Year with a renewed commitment to

music in our schools. Through music our children will be allowed to

live a rich life filled with expression, appreciation and creative growth.

MAKE A JOYFUL SOUND!

Ms. Blagojevic

General Music/Chorus Teacher

Music Notes by Mrs. Blagojevic

Physical Education ~ Mr. Kight

tkight@aacps.org

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

2019 is almost over! What a great quarter and a half, so far! Just a reminder as the

temperature drops outside, boots are great, but shoes are easier to maneuver on

PE days. Your students should know which day of the week they have PE so they

can dress accordingly.

K-2 Ball handling skills, leading to basketball and “everybody’s

favorite” -the parachute- are on the docket for December!

Kindergarten parents- Your kiddos are eager to learn how to tie their own shoes!

This will (k)not only help reduce “down” time at the beginning of class but will also

help their fine motor skills!

3-5 Wintertime calls for winter sports! Basketball and

Volleyball (and all the skills they entail) are our next units!

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” -Walt Disney

Speech & Language ACTIVITIES

for December

Morgan Schmincke, M.S., CCC-SLP// Murphy Atwell, M.S., CF-SLP

Use the reference below to select toys for the holidays that easily lend themselves to speech and language activities or

to find activities you can do with toys you already own!

Toy Speech Ideas Language Ideas

1. Cars

Work on those /k, g, r, f, sl, and st/

sounds! Key words include car,

fast, slow, go, and stop.

Take turns with your child, wait for

them to request the car, focus on

adjectives like color or speed.

2. Blocks

Work on those /b, t, and st/

sounds! Key words include build,

tower, tall, and stack.

Wait for your child to request the

block, add language to fun routines like

knocking the blocks down, focus on

location of where the blocks are (on top

of, next to, etc).

3. Toy House

Target any sounds that are

appropriate for your child. This is

a great toy for multi-syllabic

words like kitchen, bathroom,

refrigerator.

Practice pretend play with your child,

give specific directions and help your

child follow them, label common

objects throughout and relate them to

your own house, work on pronouns (he,

she, they).

4. Play Food

Target any sounds that are

appropriate for your child. This is

a great toy for multi-syllabic

words like watermelon, broccoli,

chicken.

Practice pretend play with your child

through a fake picnic or restaurant,

label common objects throughout, wait

for your child to request an item before

giving it to them, ask wh- questions

(ex. what, where).

5. Puzzles

Work on those /p, f, and t/ sounds!

Key words include put in, take out,

and fit.

Work on categorizing the pieces within

the puzzle, label and identify basic

objects and concepts like color or

shape, ask wh- questions throughout

(what, where, when, why), practice

animal sounds.

6. Ball/Shape Toy

Work on those /p and b/ sounds!

Key words include ball and pop

Take turns with your child, wait for

child to request before allowing them a

turn, ask child to follow directions,

expand on child’s utterances (if child

says blue add to it with shape and

action.

Books to Read:

A Winter Candle by Jeron Ashford & The Shortest Day by Wendy Pfeffer

Tamla Williams, R.N.

School Health Services Positions The Anne Arundel County Department of Health is seeking LPN’s and health

assistants to provide health services for students in Anne Arundel County Public

Schools for the current school year. The positions include:

Full-time positions

No nights or weekends

Summers off – follows the public school calendar

Health Insurance and leave benefits

457 Deferred Compensation Plan

For more information or to obtain an application, please call 410-222-6838 or visit

our website: www.aahealth.org. Smoke-Free Workplace. EOE.

How to support our School!

BOX TOPS PROGRAM – **NEW PROCEDURES** Digital Box Tops

are now being accepted by scanning your grocery store receipt

with the NEW BOX TOPS APP. Please download the app for your

phone and choose our school to earn funds when you shop and

purchase qualifying items. If you wish, you may send your

receipt to school and we will scan it.

Oakwood still earns 10 cents for every box top collected. Some

products still have the box top on them. Please send in all

unexpired Box Tops from qualifying General Mills, Betty

Crocker & Pillsbury products.

COCA-COLA GIVE Enter the codes from your favorite Coke products

and designate them to Oakwood Elementary, so we can redeem the points for

sports, technology, art and/or school supplies. NEW!! Now you can use your

phone to scan the code and earn points for our school. You can also enter the

codes online. Go to www.coca-cola.com/give/ and ‘Oakwood Elementary

School’ to help us earn funds!

AMAZONSMILE Select Oakwood PTA as your organization when you

shop online using https://Smile.Amazon.com and your purchases will

generate a donation to Oakwood Elementary.

Harris Teeter – Together in Education. It’s as easy as linking your VIC card to

our school to help us earn funds!

THANK YOU for your continued support of our fundraisers to provide

for Oakwood Elementary School. We have earned thousands of dollars in free classroom

supplies, art, music and physical education equipment for our students.

OSP is available at insertSchoolnamehere! Pay for school items, fees and activities online

using a credit or debit card (Visa or Mastercard) (Online payment for school activities is currently being

piloted in a limited number of schools for selected activities)

1. Choose your student’s school from the AACPS.org website:

2. Click on the OSP link:

3. Create a new user account and then add Student Profiles (Student ID required)

**Student name must match exactly to school database (as it appears on report card) if you have any problems contact the school office

4.

http://osp.osmsinc.com/annearundel

**4% convenience fee applied at checkout