Arcola Elementary School
Gator Gazette
1820 Franwall Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20902
(301) 649-8590
FAX (301) 649-8592
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/arcolaes/
Emmanuel Jean-Philippe, Principal
Angela Ventura, Assistant Principal
Nothing but the best
will do!
December 2013
Important December Dates
Dear Arcola Families:
The holiday season is upon us. We hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing
Thanksgiving holiday. To those of you who celebrated Chanukah, we hope
it was a warm festival of lights. At Arcola students are demonstrating
excitement about the holiday season. The holiday season is a great time to
teach children about the true meaning of giving. Teach your children that
gifts don't have to be tangible. Consider having your children come up
with their own ideas of what they can offer, such as helping with specials
chores around the house. This allows children to learn the true purpose of
giving.
As you may know, we are having a 6 classroom addition built at the rear
of the school. The purpose of the addition is to increase the capacity of the
school to accommodate our student body. The project will officially begin
this month with the relocating of the 3 portables from the rear of the
school to the front during the winter break. There will be no interruption
to instruction due to the move of the portables. Please feel free to contact
the main office if you have any questions regarding the addition project.
Helping parents know how to support their children academically is very
important to us here at Arcola. As a result, grade level newsletters are
sent home regularly in order to provide information regarding curriculum
and how to support as parents. Please be sure to pay close attention to
these newsletters. Our teachers and content specialists are available to
assist with questions regarding curriculum and how to support at home.
We hope to see everyone during the month of December at Math Night
and Spaghetti Dinner on Monday, December 16th at 6:30 p.m. and our
Parent Coffee on Friday, December 20 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. These
are two opportunities to find out about the New Curriculum 2.0 and ways
to support your children.
As a reminder, the weather is changing, so please be sure your child is
dressed appropriately. Students will be going outside for recess as long as
the temperature outside is 32° or above.
On behalf of the entire Arcola Staff, Happy Holidays and a healthful,
prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
Emmanuel Jean-Philippe
Angela Ventura

December 16
Math Night
6:30-8:00pm

December 20
Parents’ Coffee
APR 9:00 am

December 23-January 1
Winter Break
No School

January 2, 2014
Classes Resume
News from the Parent Community Coordinator
If you were able to attend our November parents’ coffee you may have a clearer
understanding of the MCPS grading and reporting system and how it aligns with
Curriculum 2.0. Our Assistant Principal, Angela Ventura, gave us a clear overview of how
we are now measuring student progress and how parents are getting more information on
what and how students are learning. You will notice how each subject matter is broken
down into specific content areas. The new report cards are based on standards established
for each grade level and they will measure whether a student meets the standards (P), is working
towards meeting the standards (I) or is not yet making progress towards the standards (N). In
grades 1-5 you may also see a grade of (ES) which means the student is exceptional at the grade-level
standard. The report card will also tell parents about a student's learning skills, which involve work
habits, and thinking and academic success skills, which are critical to future success. These have not
always been accurately measured in the past. If you would like more information on how to read
your child’s report card please visit the following link: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/
grading/. See you in December!
THANK YOU TO OUR WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS!
Our school book fair was a resounding success; we raised a little over $1500 that we will use to purchase new
cameras and video equipment for the media center! We have some great parents who gave of their time, talent and, in some cases, treasure to help make it all possible. Please feel free to extend a special thanks to:
Lan BuiKevin Jackson, Jackie Nunez-Granados, Suronne Giancoli, April Williams, Sigita
Vilchez, Cassidy Mau, Tara Pereira, Rakhi Pradhan, Julia Stewart, Kevin Jackson, Jackie Nunez-Granados, Suronne Giancoli, April Williams, Sigita Vilchez, Michelle Demooy
We hope all our students and their families are enjoying their purchases. Never stop reading!
CHESS ANYONE?
Is your child interested in playing chess? An Arcola parent is interested in working with the PTA to start a chess
club at Arcola.
Chess is a game of skill and strategy dating back centuries. It has been proven to support math
skills, calculation and concentration. If you are interested in your child participating in this “sport”
or would like to learn more, please contact Mr. Todor Yalamov at [email protected]. Note
that the club will only move forward if there is sufficient interest and requires parental support to be
successful in the long term.
ARCOLA STUDENTS ROCK!!
Congratulations to our wonderful and environmentally conscious Arcola students for an outstanding
job planting our new trees! Our students partnered
with the Maryland Forestry Board on November
19th to do their part for
the environment
and school beautification.
The Board members were very impressed with the quick and hard
work of our students and noted “it was one of the
smoothest plantings yet”, and “the school’s effort will
be hard to match!” Thanks for making us proud!
News from Linkages to Learning
Hello Arcola Community!
My name is Merlin Martinez. I am the Site Coordinator for the new Linkages to
Learning program here at Arcola. I am so excited to be here and work with all of
you! Our program offers help finding community resources, after school programs,
classes for parents, and family counseling services. The Arcola staff has welcomed me to
the building and have generously contributed items to the clothing closet that will help
support our Linkages to Learning client families. They are working hard to make sure that
the Linkages program at Arcola is ready to help!
We will be hiring a family Case Manager and Therapist in January 2014. At the moment, I
am collecting information from the school community to learn what types of programs you
would like to see at your school and planning these programs for the spring. It was a pleasure to meet some of the parents from our community at the Parent Coffee this past
month. I want to thank everyone for making me feel part of the Arcola family!
IN SEARCH OF…. INDOOR RECESS GAMES AND TOYS!
As we head straight into winter, we anticipate some too-cold-to-play-outside
days. What to do with a class-full of energetic students? Play board games! As
you are out and about doing your holiday shopping, we would appreciate your
help in picking up any games or indoor activities that will keep the kids’ minds
and bodies occupied while the weather is frightening. We will also gladly take
your gently used or outgrown toys off your hands! Our upper grade students are in particular need of some entertainment. Please send in any contributions and we promise they will
bring much joy to our students on those gloomy indoor recess days.
REMINDER TO BUNDLE UP!
And to continue on the theme of cold weather…. We have noticed many of our
students are still not dressing appropriately for the change of season. Before
your kids run out of the door each day, please make sure they are wearing
coats/jackets, hats, scarves and gloves to keep them comfortable outside. As
long as it isn’t raining, sleeting or snowing and the temperature is 32 degrees
or above, we go outside!
AND FINALLY…..DON’T MISS MATH NIGHT!
Save the date for a sailing night cruise through mathematical mysteries!
On Monday, December 16, 2013 from 6:30-8:00. All Arcola families are invited. A savory spaghetti dinner will be served. Don’t miss it!