Oct 30 Fall Festival

Nov 4 Teacher Day

Dec 1 PTA

Jan 1 New Year

Feb 2 No School

The Best School in the Universe

December 2014 Is

Focus on Literacy Does your child read at home daily? During the months of August and September, our school read 1, 457 books. 25% of students meet the reading incentive goal. The reading incentive goal for primary students is 20 picture books and the goal for intermediate students is 3 chapter books. In October, our school read 1,339 books and 24% of the students meet the reading incentive goal. Please make sure that your child reads at home daily and records books read on the reading log. Reading at least 30 minutes a night will ensure that your child meets the goal. All students who meet the goal will receive rewards. Please check them out:

ü Certificate to redeem for a Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizza. Pizza Certificates will be distributed for the months of October through March.

ü School Dance in December for students who meet their goal in November.

ü Ticket to Six Flags America for students who read an additional 6 hours- Details in January 2015.

Longfields Leopards are innovative, creative, out-of-the box thinkers that know that CHOICE not chance, determine your destiny. In order to keep the lines of communication open between home and school, Longfields Elementary School has implemented a variety of different resources. Agenda Books are the vechicals that teachers utilize to communicate with parents daily. The agenda book will contain your child’s homework and important messages. The Blue Folder is distributed weekly to hold graded papers and other important documents. Several classroom teachers and specialists created a Weebly Website. Each of those sites contain critical information. As part of the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention & Support), selected classroom teachers utilize Dojo. This website provides parents/guardians with a shapshot of your child’s behaviors during the day. This monthly newsletter’s goal is to provide important dates and useful information for parents and students. Last but not least, the office has sent a variety of robo calls. If you have not received a robo call this year, please call the office to update your telephone number.

Longfields Elementary’s Newsletter

For Your Calendar:

v Fri., Dec. 5th- Blue Sky Puppet Theater

v Wed., Dec. 10th- 2 Hour Early Dismissal for Students

v Fri., Dec. 12th at 6:30 pm- Instrumental Music Program-

v Mon., Dec. 15th at 6:30pm- Music Program

v Mon., Dec. 22nd –Fri., Jan. 2nd Winter Break

v Mon., Jan. 5th- Staff and Students return to school

v Wed., Jan. 6th & 7th – SRI for grades 2-6

v Thurs., Jan. 8th – Bring in 2015 Dance v Wed., Jan. 14th – TAG Night v Mon., Jan. 19th – Martin Luther King Day-

No School for Staff and Students v Tues., Jan. 20th – Fri., Jan. 30th –

Window for Mandatory Unit Assessment for Math & Reading and FAST Science

v Fri., Jan. 23rd – End of Second Quarter of School

v Mon., Jan. 26th – Grading/Teacher Planning- No School for Students

v Wed., Jan. 28th- STEM Fair

Miasha Strong, Principal

Here are Longfields’ Weebly sites: PreKindergarten Ms. Bernabe - longfieldsprekindergarten.weebly.com Kindergarten Ms. Villarosa - http://kindergarten-villarosa.weebly.com First Grade Ms. McCoy - http://mrsmccoyfirstgrade.weebly.com/ Third Grade Ms. Sokolowski - http://msokolowski3.weebly.com Fourth Grade Ms. Chapman - msachapman.weebly.com Mr. Junaid - www.tjunaid.weebly.com Art Ms. Riley - http://msrileyart.weebly.com ESOL Ms. Panga - http://teacherpanga.weebly.com Guidance Ms. Richardson - http://greatbychoice2014.weebly.com ICAL Ms. Beger- http://longfieldsical.weebly.com Music Ms. Lewis - http://mrslewismusicrocks.weebly.com/ Physical Education Mr. Sokolowski - sokolowskipe.weebly.com Reading Ms. Reed - www.choosereading.weebly.com

Musical Melodies The music department at Longfields has been working hard to highlight the musical expertise of our students. Please do not miss our Winter Holiday Performances:

v Friday, December 12, 2014 at 6:30pm

Mr. Loftis’ Instrumental Music Students will be performing. Selected 3rd through 5th Grade Students will be presenting "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Mrs. Lewis’ 3rd through 5th Grade Chorus will end the show with festive holiday songs.

v Monday, December 15, 2014 at 6:30pm

Primary Students (Pre-K through Second Grade Students) will preform "December Holidays" A Multicultural Celebration.

News from Our Professional School Counselor

Positive Behavior Intervention System (P.B.I.S.) Longfields’ students are demonstrating P.R.I.D.E.! They are prepared, showing respect, and demonstrating integrity and excellence in every way. Students are using their P.R.I.D.E Bucks to purchase toys and coupons from the P.R.I.D.E. cart. Our P.B.I.S. monthly theme for December will focus on integrity. Please discuss the importance of integrity throughout the month of December and continue your conversations about the importance of demonstrating P.R.I.D.E. daily. Student of the Month One student from every classroom is recognized each month for demonstrating P.R.I.D.E. Students are given a Student of the Month certificate, a pencil and a seat at the V.I.P. table during lunch. Please continue to encourage your child to their best daily so that he or she may earn this wonderful award! Blue Sky Puppet Theatre

WHAT: A Puppet Theatre Presentation About Peaceful Conflict Resolution When: December 5, 2014 Where: Longfields Elementary School Time: Pre-K to Grade 3 – (8:15-9:00) Grades 4 to 6 – (9:15-10:00) Cost: $3.00 Personal Education Plan (PEP) Personal Education Plan (PEP) sessions for grades one and four will begin on Monday, November 24, 2014. PEP sessions provide an opportunity for students to explore career interest. If you would like to join a PEP session with your child, please complete the PEP invitation that was sent home on Friday, November 7, 2014 and return it to your child’s homeroom teacher. General Outstanding Leadership Development (G.O.L.D) Committee The General Outstanding Leadership Development (G.O.L.D.) Committee and the Sunshine Committee would like to thank everyone for their canned food donations! We would also like to thank Ms. Aurora Reed, Longfields’ Reading Specialist, for coordinating donations from Kettering Baptist Church.

ESOL TALK by Mrs. Panga This is to share what has been happening to our ESOL community here at Longfields ES. At present we have 46 students who are receiving ESOL services either on a pull out or push in model. Last October 13, during the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, students held a Day of the Dead parade (Dia de los Muertos. Studnets came in their national costumes, sombreros, and decorated masks, and walked around the building while singing and dancing to Hispanic songs. Hispanic Parents held a meeting with Principal Strong to discuss and clarify concerns and issues regarding their children’s education last October 28. The schedule for the next meeting is n December 3, 2014. Nine students were selected to participate in the Imagine Learning Program, a computer based program with first language support. The Summative Writing Assessment will be administered from December 8 to 12. Please make sure that students come to class during the testing window. Our ESOL Parent Contact is Ms. Melissa De La Cruz. You are welcome to approach her for assistance anytime. Parents who need help in setting up Schoolmax accounts, please see Ms. Panga after school. Thank you for your support and cooperation. Together we can build a better learning community for our children.

Note from ICAL Hello Parents! This month in ICAL we will be learning about the winter season and holiday celebrations in your child's country of study. We will discuss how other cultures celebrate the season and compare/contrast with how we celebrate in the United States. If you do not wish for your child to participate in any holiday activities, please let me know so that I can make accommodations for him or her. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday break! Mrs. Beger ICAL instructor tamara.hayes@pgcps.org 301-817-0455

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Longfields Elementary School 301-817-0455 ___________________ ________ Principal Approval Date