May 4th -5th

Grade

Panoramic

Picture

May 5th -4th

Graders to

Imagination

Stage

May 6th –Field

Day!

May 10th -4th

Graders to St.

Mary’s

May 27th –

Third Graders

to the

Baltimore Zoo

May 27yh -5th

Graders to the

American

History

Museum

May 30th –

Memorial Day,

Schools

closed.

Greetings Piney Branch Families,

May always signals springtime and a flurry of activities! During this 4th quarter, our staff is focused on keeping learning a top priority for the last full month of school. At our grade level community meetings we celebrated successes and set individual and class goals. We are so proud of all that our students have accomplished this year and are excited for them to have a strong finish!

We are looking forward to celebrating and thanking our staff during Staff Appreciation Week (May 2nd-May 6th). Please take the time to reach out and thank the many teachers, specialists, paraeducators, support staff, building services staff, cafeteria staff, and health room staff who are committed to supporting our students and community and making Piney Branch a great place to work and learn!

In May students will take the final Measures in Academic Progress assessments in reading and math (MAP- R/MAP-M) These benchmark assessments serve as a data point to help inform teachers of student progress. Although MAP scores are not factored into a student’s report card grade, it does give teachers information on student strengths and areas of improvement so they can plan instruction and differentiate learning activities.

During this month, students will also participate in the Partnership of Assessments for Readiness of College and Careers or PARCC. Students will test for four days and take four sessions of English/Language Arts assessments and four sessions of mathematics sessions. Please see the letter that was sent home on April 8th for more information. This letter appears on our website as well.

MCPS will extend the school year by one day and end the year on Monday, June 20, 2016. The MCPS request for a one-day waiver of the 180 day school year requirement was approved on April 18th by the Maryland State Department of Education. June 17th will now be a full instructional day. June 20th will now be an early release day. Our 5th grade Promotion Ceremony will take place on June 17th.

Parents, as the weather begins to get warmer, we typically see an increase of students playing outside in the neighborhood and in the parks before school. Please make a plan so that your child is supervised and safe during these times. We also have had some students walking to the Takoma Park Rec Center to play basketball after the bus drops them at school. Students are not permitted to leave school grounds unaccompanied once they arrive to school. This not only is unsafe, but causing some students to arrive late to school. We thank you for partnering with us to ensure ALL of our students are safe at ALL times. As always, thank you for your support! Mrs. DuBois and Ms. Mann

Donations are always a big help! Here are some things that we could really use this month: Recess Equipment: Kick balls

Soccer balls

Basketballs

Jump ropes

Classrooms: Tissues

Clorox Wipes

Hand Sanitizer

@PineyBranchES

As we continue into Marking Period 4, our third grade

is excited about all of the growth that we’ve made this year. During Quarter 4, we will be focusing on the TASS Skills of Elaboration, Effort, Motivation and Persistence. In Reading, we will be studying Traditional Tales. In Writing, we are working on Opinion Pieces. In Math, we will continue with our study of Geometry. We have exciting projects in both Science and Social Studies this quarter. Please discuss them with your child. We are also gearing up for our PARCC testing in May. Please make sure that your child is getting a good night’s sleep and is eating a nutritious breakfast so that they can be ready to do their best work!

In May, the fourth graders will be developing a deeper understanding of multiplication and division. They will learn to use a variety of strategies to multiply and divide multi-digit numbers. In Reading, we will complete our novel study of a realistic fiction text. We’ll also begin to read informational texts related to science and music. In Social Studies, we’ll study rocks and minerals. We’ll complete a feature article about a human interest topic. We are looking forward to our field trips to Imagination Stage and St. Mary’s City this month!

We made it to May! This month we will be testing for the first week of May and working hard to show our TASS skills of Persistence and Evaluation throughout the month. In Reading, students will spiral back to indicators previously taught, using informational text and plays. Students will also go on a field trip to the American History Museum. Parents should continue talking about the transition to middle school to ease any anxiety students may be experiencing.

2016-2017 Board Membership Thanks to all who came to our last PTA meeting and voted in some board members for the 2016-2017 school year. Here is a list of open and filled Board positions for next year:

President – Emmett Acquoi, Sr. Secretary – Kawsar Talaat VP of Fundraising – Heather Gleason VP of Communications – Lindsey Allen Vice President – Vacant Treasurer – Vacant VP of Membership – Vacant Delegates to Montgomery County PTA – Vacant (multiple positions)

If you are interested in filling one of the vacant positions listed above, please contact the Nominating Committee (manishpabla@aol.com, annesnouck@yahoo.com, and dawney66@aol.com). Upcoming Events Thursday, May 5 at 7pm - Spring Choral Concert and Bake Sale

Contact Michele Brier at michele@mvbcomm.com to volunteer. Tuesday, May 17 at 7pm (Media Center) - PTA Meeting

Come vote for the remaining PTA Board members! Thursday, June 9 at 7pm - Talent Show

Questions or want to help? Contact Ms. Hutton at Krystle_f_hutton@mcpsmd.org or Howie Schaffer at hbscaffer@aol.com.

The Talent Show will also perform during the school day on June 8 June 14, 6-8pm - Swim-a-thon

Stayed for more information on this fantastic end of the year event that helps our kids continue to swim at the Piney Branch Pool!

THANK YOU for a Successful Election Day Bake Sale!!!! Thanks to Michele Brier and Peapod and the rest of the parent volunteers for a great day. Nearly $1,500 was raised for PBES. Stayed tuned for more bake sales to come!

Chorus

Spring Chorus Concert is May 5th at 7pm in the APR! The 4th and 5th grade chorus will take you to the movies, performing songs

from movies from the 70’s to the present.

Third graders:

Many students are still continuing to forget to bring in their recorder. Please place a note on your calendar or in your phone of the day your child has

music. If your child has lost their recorder, they need to purchase a new one. We will be playing the recorder until the end of the school year. If they

forget to bring their recorder to music, they will be at a disadvantage, will be given an alternative activity, and their graded will be effected.

Mondays Tuesdays Wednesdays Thursdays Fridays

Dunlap Mazariego Snyder Tisch Brown

Howell Libbee Hernandez

Last 2 Recorder Playing tests coming up: Week of May 9-13 and June 6-10

Composition All grades will be working on composition until the end of the school year. Fourth and Fifth graders will be in the computer lab every other week

creating their compositions on Noteflight. Third graders will be writing their compositions on paper.

Third graders will be notating simple rhythm and pitch patterns separately which will be played on their recorders.

Fourth graders will be writing an 8 beat (2 measure) melody based on an 8 beat rhythm pattern they are given, using notes in the C pentatonic

scale. They then will add on to their 8 beat rhythm, creating an 8 measure composition (32 beat).

Fifth graders will be creating their compositions from scratch. They will create a 16 beat (4 measure) rhythm and melody using the note choices

of dotted half note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, and quarter rest. They will be using notes in the C Major scale. Then they

will add on their 16 beat composition to make an 8 measure composition.

**Fourth and fifth graders are using the website Noteflight. They will be writing out their composition on paper and then transferring it onto

Noteflight. Students can access the website at home by typing in the following website: piney-branch-es-music.sites.noteflight.com. Username: 6 digit

log in number and the password. The password for classes Madsen, Wilson and Cottrell are PineyBranch16 (case sensitive), all other classes use the

password: PBES16 (case sensitive)

All Grades

Each class did a wonderful job in their drum battles. Congratulations to each class winner! Students had the opportunity to improvise on the drums and

battle classmates for the title of Drum Battle Champion of their class. This leads into each grades objective of…

Third Grade- Demonstrate the ability to vocally improvise a simple melody in a question and answer format.

Fourth Grade- Improvise simple rhythmic variations and melodic ornamentation of familiar melodies using classroom instruments, as well as conduct

music with meter in three and four; leading the class as a conductor.

Fifth Grade- Notate improvised four-measure melodies on the treble staff using standard notation, improvise using a variety of vocal sounds including

traditional melodic sounds and other nontraditional vocal sounds, and improvise short instrumental pieces using a variety of sound sources including

traditional sounds, non-traditional sounds found in the classroom, and body percussion

May’s Composer of the Month: Prince (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016)

Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was a musical innovator and known

for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, extravagant dress and makeup, and wide vocal range. His music integrates a wide variety of styles,

including funk, rock, R&B, soul, psychedelia, and pop. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of

all time. A few of his famous compositions include but are not limited to: “When Doves Cry”, “Kiss”, “Let's Go Crazy”, “Raspberry Beret”, “Purple

Rain”, “Little Red Corvette”, and “1999”.

Students in media classes this month are asking questions and gathering information for their projects. Our goal is to be efficient users of ideas and information while finding “just right” resources. Students will continue to check out books in these final weeks of school. Popular books include all graphic novels, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and the Boy/Girl battle series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Our featured author is Beverly Cleary who turned 100 in April! Please make sure your child has turned in their books so far and replace or pay for any lost books. See Mrs. Edgar or Miss Ceesay for student account information. Happy May Reading!

FIELD DAY IS COMING! FIELD DAY IS COMING!

Friday May 6th is our annual field day here at Piney Branch! This year’s field day theme is “Let Your Hero Out!” We will be discussing and demonstrating what it means to be a hero. On this day, please remember the following recommendations; sneakers, sunscreen, and a water bottle.

Volunteers are needed for field day! The more volunteers we have, the more fun we have! Each volunteer will be helping out with a station. Therefore, if we get more volunteers, we can have more stations! Please look for a volunteer slip that has been sent home with your child, thank you!

PE in May: We will be working with short and long handled equipment such as tennis racket, badminton racket, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and much more! Please be ready to go outside for physical education this month!

Mrs. Litzner Physical Education Teacher Piney Branch Elementary School