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Dear Hawthorne Families,

February promises to be another exciting month here at Hawthorne! We have several events planned for parents and students this month including the quarterly academic awards assemblies to be held on Tuesday, February 9th (the assembly times are listed on page 2).

Due to the inclement weather our Winter Concert had to be rescheduled and will now be held on Wednesday, February 10th at 6:30 pm. Students in the band and orchestra have been working hard in order to perform for you. Additionally, the National Elementary Honor Society Induction Ceremony for new members will take place on Tuesday, February 16th at 6:30 pm. Membership in The National Elementary Honor Society is one of the highest honors that can be awarded to our students. Fourth and fifth grade students are selected based upon their accomplishments in the areas of scholarship, responsibility, service, and leadership.

Students recommended for membership by their teachers must have A’s and B’s on their report cards, as well as 1’s and no more than one 2 in effort and behavior. We will also be celebrating the academic accomplishments of many of our students during our

quarterly Awards Assemblies on Tuesday, February 9th. You will be notified if your student is receiving an award and we encourage you to attend the assembly if possible.

Please plan to join us for the annual STEAM night on February 18th from 6:00 -7:30pm. Students will have art work on display throughout the school in addition to an information session for parents of fourth and fifth grade students on the upcoming STEM fair projects. Lastly, there will be engaging, hands-on learning opportunities for students and families.

Congratulations to the boys and girls in Hawthorne’s Robotics Club! The students worked hard and practiced for months after school and on Saturdays to prepare for the Robotics Competition held this past Saturday. The team showed tremendous improvement and they are excited to continue competing in the future. Special thanks to Kathy Benson for sponsoring our first robotics club!

As a Lighthouse School, our teachers and students continue to lead the way for other schools in BCPS by implementing one-to-one personalized learning, and by creating an innovative, comprehensive digital learning culture. HES serves as a model demonstration site, welcoming visitors from all over BCPS and beyond.

As you can see, your children and the teachers are working hard and taking advantage of their opportunities to

learn and achieve. Thank you for supporting us as we work together to build 21st century leaders.

With warm regards,

Yvonne Barhight

Principal’s Message

February 2016

Yvonne Barhight, Principal

Katherine Miller,

Assistant Principal

Kristi Enriquez,

Assistant Principal

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Winter Weather Advice 2

Dates to Remember 2

Robotics Club 3

Have you found us online? 3

Star Students 4

Parent Involvement 4

How much sleep should you get? 5

Free Microsoft 365 5

BCPS Now App 5

Southeast Advisory Council Meeting 6

Library Events 7

American Heart Association Flyer 8

Annual Stakeholder Survey 8

Inside this issue:

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Dates To Remember

February 10th

5th Grade Concert 6:30

February 15th

Presidents Day– No School

February 16th

National Honor Society Induction Ceremony 6:30

February 18th

STEAM Night 6:00

February 4th

American Heart Assembly

February 8th

Report Cards Distributed

February 9th

Awards assemblies

9:15- 10- Grades K and 1

10:10 -11- Grades 4 and 5

1:35-2:15- Grades 2 and 3

February 19th

1st Grade Author's Showcase 1:30

American Heart Program

March 1st

Family Reading Night at the Essex Library 6:00

March 4th

Professional Day– 12:30 dismissal

In the 1920s, Carter G. Woodson led efforts to

celebrate the accomplishments of prominent African

Americans during February.

Why did Woodson choose this month? Help your students

figure it out. Post their answer to our Facebook page!

We hope you and your family are settled in after the holidays and snow break. This is the time of year when winter takes a toll on school attendance. Snow and slushy weather can keep parents from getting their children to school. Colds, fevers and earaches often come with the winter months. These absences, even if they are excused, can add up to academic trouble. These absences can result in lower test scores and grades. There’s not much we can do about the weather, however below are a few key steps every family can take to help avoid absences this year.

Develop back up plans for getting your children to school in winter weather. Consider checking with other families who have a car that can manage in the snow or forming a “walking school bus” to walk your children to school with other parents. If you’re stuck, call the school. We can connect you with other parents or staff members who can help.

Keep your children healthy. Dress them warmly for the cold weather and make sure they have hats and gloves. Encourage them to wash their hands regularly, and send them to school with a bottle of hand sanitizer. If your children get sick, talk to a doctor or the school nurse about whether they should come to school and when it is okay for them to return.

Above all, let us know how we can help. We want your children to succeed, and that means attending school every day possible.

Winter Weather Advice

Check out some of our Robotics Club members, be sure to read more about them on page 3.

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This was the first year Hawthorne had a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics team. FIRST (which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) provided fourth and fifth grade team members with hands-on opportunities to design robots, identify and solve science-based problems, develop models, and apply engineering and math concepts. A FIRST LEGO League challenge has four parts: a research assignment, robot design judging, a robot game, and exhibition of core values.

For the research assignment, our team was very moved by a movie they saw that showed a beached whale who eventually died because his blow hole was blocked by trash. We wanted to protect sea animals from the dangers of plastic. We knew that it was good to recycle, but we learned that reducing and reusing is even better. We recognized that everyone drinks a lot of soda so we wanted to design a better soda bottle that needed less plastic. They prototyped some different ideas and shared them with our teacher Mrs. Ross, who is on the Green Team for our school.

For the robot game, students design and program a Mindstorm robot to solve missions on a special obstacle course. By mid-January, we were able to score 156 points on the robot game. We used the engineering design process to repeatedly improve and in our final match at the tournament, we scored 329 point.

For the robot design, students share their strategic thinking about how best to build and program their robot to meet the challenges of the robot game. Since we are a rookie team, we wanted our robot design to be simple and reliable. For our chassis we started with the Base from the Core EV3 Educator kit and added the medium motor to control the arm. We researched different attachments and our first one was a push plate (like a bull dozer). Tyler figured out how to easily attach the plate to the arm of the robot. We created a bumper, but we discovered the push plate could do that too. We also invented a hook. We decided to start with the easiest missions and work on them one by one until they could be mastered reliably. Then we added more missions until we exhausted the 2.5 minute limit.

For the core values exhibition, teams are judged on important life skills including teamwork, sportsmanship,

and leadership. In school, we follow the Leader in Me (7 Habits of Happy Kids) program. The robotics team has helped us practice Habit 1: Be Proactive - (I am a responsible person. I take initiative. I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I do not blame others for my wrong actions. I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking). The team also exhibited gracious professionalism because they wished competing teams good luck and shared what they learned with each other. Through FLL, participants not only hone their STEM skills, but learn to be effective leaders, creative problem solvers, and better members of their communities. At the end of the tournament, the team members were proud of what they learned especially about persistence. They had a lot of fun too! Congratulations to this year’s participants were Jahlyl Whitfield, John Carter, Makla Rejch, Raul King, Tyler Nocar, Tybria Brown, Madison Gunn, Meriam Williams, Quanye Glover, Kenney Ison, Esther Or-donez, Faith Ballistreri, Daniel Hagan. A special thanks to our Coaches/Mentors Kathy Benson, Jess Ross, Melissa DeRuchie, Allen Atwell, Loretta Gunn, Chip Gunn.

Robotics Club

Hawthorne Elementary is on both Facebook and Twitter. Throughout this year we will share events, student work, pictures and stories as well as information from our Parent Resource Center. Following us is a great way for you to see and hear about everything that is happening at Hawthorne.

Be sure to subscribe to our event tab on Facebook to notify you when we have posted an event; this way you won’t miss out on any special events or happenings. We will post the days schools are closed for holidays and early dismissals, as well as grade-specific and school-wide events. Often times the dates for events are posted several weeks before informational flyers are sent home. This may help you to plan with your employer days that you may want to take time off to join us.

Don’t forget to check out our school website at Hawthornees.bcps.org! Our newsletters are posted there as well as school lunch menus and other helpful information. This year we are distributing the newsletter digitally. Have you “liked” us yet? Will you be our 275th

like? You may “like” us by searching Hawthorne ES or scan the following QR code with your mobile device’s QR reader app. Once you have “liked” us, be sure to invite your friends and family to our page as well.

To follow us on Twitter, search for @BCPSHES, or @YvonneBarhight. You may also scan the following QR code with your mobile device’s QR reader app. Many of our teachers post from the classroom as students are working or completing projects. You can get a bird’s eye perspective on your child’s classroom just by following us.

A valuable online resource is www.bcps.org. Baltimore County Public Schools’ website offers school lunch menus, calendars, parent tips and links to other educational resources such as Parent University. Parent University offers families informational workshops. The dates, time and places for these can be found on their page of the BCPS websites. There are links to games, grade level expectations, fun activity suggestions and other information all in one easy to navigate location. Please take a moment to take a look.

Have you found us online?

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display, and our 4th and 5th grade families will have a chance to learn about the upcoming STEM fair projects, and future coach classes that will be offered. Refreshments will be served. We hope you will be able to join us.

Our first graders are working hard to finish informational books about animals from the Chesapeake Bay. They are looking forward to sharing them with family and friends during their Author’s Showcase on February 19th starting at 1:30. Light refreshments will be available. Please be sure to RSVP.

Mark your calendar and look for flyers in upcoming Wednesday folders for these exciting events. March 1st is our Reading

Night at the Essex Library, and April 19th will be our Family Fitness and Fun Night. Reading Night will offer families a chance to learn new ways to encourage reading with students. You will have a chance to watch a movie, get a free book and voucher for the Spring Book Fair. Family Fitness and Fun Night offers everyone a chance to find a fitness activity they enjoy. There will be nutritional, safety, health and attendance information.

Thank you for your support,

Kristen Goldstraw Parent Service Coordinator

Parent Involvement

Winter is here, and of course this may mean snow days, delayed starts, or early dismissals. Be sure that you have communicated to the office and your child’s teachers when your contact information has changed. This way you are sure to get the connect ed phone messages from BCPS about closures. I would also encourage you to check out the BCPS Now App information on page 5, and follow us on Facebook to be sure you are well informed.

As you might expect the school closings from last week have caused us to make some changes to upcoming events. Our students will now be bringing home report cards on February 8th instead of February 4th. We will hold our awards assemblies on Tuesday, February 9th,

(please see the schedule in our Dates to Remember section on page 2). Our 5th grade concert previously scheduled for January 26th will now be February 10th starting at 6:30. I will be available at both of these event to share with you our Title I documents to get your input.

The Annual Stakeholders Satisfaction Survey is now live and we encourage you to complete it before February 29th. It takes just a few minutes to complete. You can do it from your mobile device, or I can provide a computer for you to complete it.

On Thursday, February 18th, we will hold our STEAM Night. Robotics demonstrations will be available, a variety of student art work will be on

January

Star

Students

Cobb: Brianna T.

Yourell: Kamren B..

Bohnenstengel: Destiny V.

Haley-Class: Briella R.

Reed: Zion H.

Krause: Madison W.

Brown: Kimari C.

Buckingham: Moses G.

Delinski: Jerome B.

Rider: Mariah D.

Donnell: Michael H.

Morrison: Daniel K.

Ford: Tianna E.

Mancuso: Mekhai D.

Morin: Xylia S.

Krause: Layloni R.

Evans: Hope A.

Frank: Tamya W.

Myers: Jayden R..

Todd: Antoine D.

Gumbert: Deric F.

Zderko: Cody E.

Schindler: Sophia Z.

Hinal: Kalia R..

Ross: David S. & Brendon P.

Johnson: Lillian A.

Bess-Graves: D’Onte W.

Thompson: Nevaeh B.

Safety: Harmanee W.

Congratulations to all of our Star students, and a BIG “Thank you” to our sponsor Mary Kraft Staffing & HR Solutions.

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FREE Microsoft 365 for Families

BCPS is participating in the Microsoft Office 365 Student Advantage program. The program gives enrolled students and other family members access to as many as five copies of the Microsoft Office 365 suite for personal computers, tablets, iPads, iphones, and Andriod devices, all free of charge.

The Microsoft office 365 suite contains all of the most widely used Office functions– Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher software tools. Proficiency with the suite of applications is among the most commonly required skills among employers both nationwide and internationally.

To access and download Microsoft Office 365, BCPS students should go to www.bcps.org/Office 365 and log in using their full BCPS username (including @bcps.org) and password. Students who do not know their BCPS usernames are asked to contact their school’s technology liaison for assistance. On the installation page, make sure the language is set to “English (United State)” and then click on “install”. Microsoft office 365 will automatically install the 32-bitversion of its product; BCPS does not recommend installing the 64-bit installation due to compatibility issues.

Students who encounter any problems installing the software, or would like instructions for installing Microsoft Office 365 on Apple or mobile devices, should click the “Troubleshoot Installation” like on the main installation page.

BCPS NOW APP

BCPS NOW MOBILE APPLICATION - NEWS AND NETWORK STATUS ALERTS BCPS Now is a free

mobile application and communication tool for employees, parents, and students when inclement weather affects school openings and closings. As well as access school lunch menus,

BCPS One and many other quick links through the resources tab. With the latest release of BCPS Now, mobile device users (Android, iOS, and Windows phones) can receive alerts of

important BCPS news and events, as well as alerts for any disruptions to the delivery of instructional online resources. New BCPS Now users can access BCPS Now from his/her

mobile device by visiting http://www.bcps.org/mobile to download the application from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or Windows Store.

How much sleep should you get?

Last year a national panel of sleep experts released new recommendations that call for more hours of sleep for most young people. The National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at promoting healthy sleep and safety, says the amount of sleep a person needs is highly variable and that some people need more than others. Still, the new hour ranges for each age group recommend more hours for infants, kids and teens:

Newborns (0-3 months ): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18)

Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15)

Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)

Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13)

School age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)

Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours (previously it was 8.5-9.5)

Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)

Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours

Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)

Sleep deprivation greatly impacts academic achievement for more information see the full article available here.

Academic Awards

Principal’s List- Grades 3, 4, 5 All A’s and no more than 2 B’s and all 1’s in Effort and Learning Skills/Behavior

Honor Roll- Grades 3, 4, and 5 All A’s and B’s no more than two- 2’s in Effort and Learning Skills/Behavior

Special Area Awards: Grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Art, Music. Library, and Physical Education- chosen by the special area teachers

Attendance Awards: K-5

Perfect Attendance- All mean all- no absences and no tardies, no early dismissals

Excellent Attendance- 97% attendance for the quarter No more than 1 late and/or 1 early dismissal

2015-2016 Award Criteria

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Southeast Area Educational Advisory Council Meeting

Please join us on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 in the

General John Stricker MS Library.

Topic: Grading System & Policy

Presented by: George Roberts,

Senior Executive Director for Curriculum and Instruction

Please arrive early. Presentation begins promptly at 7 pm. Parents, students, guardians as well as community members are welcome to attend.

If you are interested in learning more about our topic

or have any questions regarding Baltimore County Public Schools,

please plan on attending. After the presentation, the Advisory Council meets

and we welcome input from our local stakeholders.

If you are interested in joining the Southeast Advisory Council, we are looking for additional members. Please attend the meeting or contact Jackie Brewster

jbrews1@earthlink.net for more information.

Next meeting: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 7 pm

Chesapeake HS Library “Career & Technology Education Programs”

Keep them Learning

When you are making meals ask your children to help you.

Find the fractions in your plan and ask them what would happen if you

need to make more?

Did you know?

If too many absences occur, it is still a

problem whether they are excused or unexcused because

they represent too much lost learning time in the classroom.

Have you visited our Parent Resource Center

recently? It is open everyday during school or after school during events.

Stop by and visit Ms. Goldstraw to check out

games, or books.

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Essex Branch: 1110 Eastern Boulevard 410-887-0295

www.bcpl.info

Anime and Manga Night Teen Come join us to draw, discuss manga and meet with other otaku. Light snacks provided. Feb. 11 Thu 7:00 PM

Songs of Africa School Age (Children under 8 with adult) Game Sons, Story Songs and Recreational Songs of Ghana and Zimbabwe are explored as students take part in the music, songs and games of Africa. Reg-istration required. Feb. 13 Sat 10:30 AM

School Age Build a beautiful gift basket for someone you love. All supplies provided by Celeebrate Us Gift Basket Company. Registration required. Feb. 13 Sat 2:00 PM

LEGO Fun School Age Create with LEGO blocks! All supplies provided. Registration required. Ages 6 – 12 (children under 6 with adult) Feb. 18 Thu 6:30 PM

Stem Saturdays School Age Make, create and explore at your branch. Join us each month for a new maker activity, experiment or craft. Registra-tion required. Feb. 20 Sat 2:00 PM

Wii and PS4 Gaming School Age Play Super Mario Bros., Madden NFL and other fun Wii and PlayStation 4 games. Feb. 23 Tue 6:30 PM

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American Heart

February 19th students in First through Fifth grades will be participating during their special area classes to support the American Heart Association. Information about this was sent home in Wednesday folders two weeks ago prior to the snow break. On Thursday, February 4th students will participate in a kick-off assembly. For additional information please contact Mr. Parks at 410 887 0138. Or go to our Facebook page. All money is due by February 26th

The BCPS Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey is now available online through February 29. There are different but related questions for school-based staff and administrators, central office staff, parents, students in Grades 4 through 12, and community members. Those who serve multiple roles or have children in more than one school are encouraged to take the survey more than once to reflect those experiences.

The confidential survey takes only about five minutes to complete on your phone, tablet, or computer. Every voice counts. Find the survey by logging onto www.BCPS.org, or use the QR reader on your mobile device to scan here.

You may also complete it when you are visiting our building by seeing Ms. Goldstraw.

BCPS Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey