PTSA Newsletter 2008­09, Vol. 9, October 2008 President’s Letter September has been a busy month! The PTSA kicked off the school year with our annual Back To School Picnic on Sep­
tember 4th. It was a perfect day for a picnic with great tunes Kathy Moffett courtesy of Unique Dreams DJ, hot pizza from Armand’s and cold drinks. We had a great turnout this year – thank you to everyone who came out to this event and a special thank you to our organizers, Cindy Shapiro and Cheryl Lopez. While most of us were squeezing in those last few rays of summer, Jennifer Baker and the staff at Til­
den were busy preparing for the school year. As a thank you for their efforts, the staff luncheon was held the Friday before school and was a big success thanks to Wendy Silverman. Back to School Night gave everyone the op­
portunity to see firsthand the fantastic tech­
nology that has been made available to us through the Middle School Reform Initiative. Want a closer look? Come to our first PTSA meeting, Tuesday Oct.14 for more on middle school reform and the high school level classes that are offered as part of that initia­
tive. The living room moved outdoors on Sept. 19 as many of you joined us for our Family Movie Night presentation of Night at the Museum starring Ben Stiller. Hot cocoa, Ar­
mand’s pizza and hearty laughs kept the nighttime chill away as we all enjoyed this family­friendly comedy. Thank you to Bar­
bara Ferry, the Eures family and all the vol­
unteers who helped make this event happen. Don’t forget to renew those subscriptions! Tilden’s magazine drive, a school sponsored fundraiser, has just begun. Subscriptions make great gifts for the holidays and benefit Tilden directly. No candy to buy (and no calories) and you won’t even have to wrap it (Continued, page 3) From Principal Baker’s Desk Dear Tilden Community, The school year is off to a fabulous start! The students are very focused and seem de­
lighted with the new technol­
ogy available in most of our Jennifer Baker classrooms. The Promethean Boards are a big hit with both teachers and students and it is thrilling for me to see veteran teachers so excited about creating new lessons for (Continued, page 2) October PTSA Meeting
Tuesday, October 14,
7:00 p.m.
Tilden Media Center
Speaker: Jennifer Baker
on “Middle School Reform” International Night. Last year’s turnout was great at both of these events. Additionally, the PTSA meetings, which are held the second President Kathy Moffett 301­929­8828 [email protected] Tuesday of each month, are a great way to stay informed of the wonderful things happening at Vice President Susan Verner 301­984­5942 Tilden. Each month we have a topic of special [email protected] interest for parents. This month I will be giv­
Vice President Melissa Keller 301­881­2837 ing a short presentation on two topics, high [email protected] school courses in middle school and on our Treasurer Suzanne Fanaroff 301­231­5949
Middle School Reform initiative. I will be us­
[email protected]
ing the Promethean technology to illustrate the experience that your children enjoy in their Secretary Kelly Ann Dorfman 301­717­4160
[email protected] classes. PTSA Officers MCCPTA Ted Feifer 301­468­5680 Delegate & [email protected] PTSA Special Needs Liaison MCCPTA Cate Hammaker 301­770­3048 Delegate [email protected] From Principal Baker’s Desk (Continued) their curriculum using the Promethean technology. I know their excitement is translating to students in a very positive way. School Events I appreciate the efforts of the PTSA and the parents who helped out with the Family Picnic and Family Movie Night. It was great to see the community come together for such relaxing and fun events. Although we had an excellent turnout at both func­
tions I hope that future events will bring even more community members to the school. I believe it is very important for our students, your children, to see us work­
ing together as partners in their education. Here are some other opportunities to come out and support the school. Monday, Oc­
tober 13, 2008, is our annual Parent Visita­
tion Day and we hope you will come out to see your child’s teachers in action. In Feb­
ruary the PTSA will sponsor our charitable fundraiser and faculty basketball game. In March we will host our second 2 School Improvements In October we also kicked off our magazine drive fundraiser. This is the only major fund­
raiser that Tilden conducts each year. The money raised last year, almost $8,000, went directly back to the school to purchase items that we would otherwise be unable to afford. Last year we bought a Promethean Board for our Media Center, four LCD projectors, digital cameras and printers for the school. We appre­
ciate your efforts and participation. This year we plan to buy another Promethean Board and more technology to help improve our school. I am pleased to report that the Tilden sign will finally adorn our building on Monday, October 13, 2008. Getting the sign placed on the build­
ing took over one year, but the time has finally come and the Tilden name will be displayed proudly and prominently on the side of the building facing Old Georgetown Road. It will read, “Tilden Middle School at Charles W. Woodward”, thus preserving the historic Woodward name. Additionally, a large blue T and yellow M and S will hang to the left of the awning. I believe the addition of the Tilden name to our building was long overdue and I am delighted to bring this project to a close. Character Education Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed, “A man's character is his fate.” This year at Tilden I am forming a committee which will involve (Continued, page 7) Back­to­School Picnic A beautiful evening, a great turnout, pizza, and a DJ made Tilden’s Back­to­ School picnic a wonderful way to start the school year. (Continued) (or buy the wrapping paper). Our membership drive is in full swing, if you have not joined it’s not too late! Visit the Til­ den website or see the membership form at­
tached to this newsletter. As a final note – this newsletter is “going green.” Beginning next month, the Tilden PTSA Newsletter will be delivered only elec­ tronically via the listserv and the Tilden web­ site. If you have not already done so, I would encourage you to sign up for the listserv. To join the listserv: 1. Send a blank message to tilden­[email protected]. President’s Letter 2. 3. Send a message to Karen Cole, [email protected], E­Group Mod­
orator, identify yourself (name) and your connection to Tilden so that your subscription may be validated. Register at http://groups.yahoo.com/
group/tilden to be able to post mes­
sages. When you go to that page, you will be prompted to To post, simply send your email to til­
[email protected]. Get connected, stay informed and be involved – your kids will thank you! 3 Department Updates Math Algebra 1 Reminders: Unit 2 Test on Func­
tions will be Thurs­
day, October 16, 2008. If you are missing an assignment, please see Mr. Szymkowiak as soon as possible. Thank you to all parents and guardians who returned and signed the last sheet in the information packet from the beginning of the school year. In our current unit of study, functions, stu­
dents can refer to textbook sections 4­3 through 4­8 for additional resources and practice. Unit 3 will begin Tuesday, October 21, 2008. The unit addresses "slope." Addi­
tional resources and practice can be found in Chapter 5 in the textbook. Remember: this is a high school credit course that requires successful completion of the final exam in June in order to earn credit. Investigations into Math Reminders: Survey Projects are due Monday, Octo­
ber, 13, 2008. Unit 1 Test on Statistical Application & Set Theory will be Tuesday, October, 14, 2008. After the Unit 1 test, we will begin the sec­
ond unit, "Real Number Systems." This will include powers & exponents, rational numbers, and mathematical properties. 4 I am seeing a lot of homework being com­
pleted and hearing great questions in class. I thank you for your support of your child at home. If your student if having difficulty in either Algebra or IM, encourage him or her to stop and see me for additional support. Parents with questions can contact Mr. Szymkowiak by email at [email protected] or can call the school. Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) The FACS classes have gotten off to a wonderful start this year! We are planning to create more new and exciting recipes. The sixth grade stu­
dents began the se­
mester with home­
made fruit smooth­
ies. There were many exciting reci­
pes being made on that day in class. The second lab was que­
sadillas. This is a great recipe to make at home. Our next lab was vegetable fried rice. This is a quick and healthy recipe that (Continued, page 5) Medieval Times for 7th Graders On October 31st, Tilden’s 7th graders will travel back to the days of knights in armor and jousting matches at the Medieval Times in Arundel Mills. We will eat an authentic Medieval lunch. Don’t forget to return the permission slip so your stu­
dent can participate in this exciting event! Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) (Continued) can be prepared at home as well. Just this week we made chocolate chip pancakes. By the second day all the students became quite the chefs when preparing this yummy delight. I look forward to seeing the sixth grade class progress as we get into more challenging recipes The seventh grade students began the semes­
ter with home­made muffins. The second lab was quesadillas. We than moved on to vege­
table fried rice followed by pancakes. Soon the seventh graders will be selecting their own recipes and preparing many­meal like dishes that are sure to be a hit at home! The eighth grade students started off ready and willing to get right into the kitchens. First we began with home­made pizzas. All the pizzas looked like they just came from a piz­
zeria. Everyone worked well together to cre­
ate this wonderful dish. We then moved on to cheese quesadillas. Following the quesadilla lab was home­made cinnamon buns. The FACS room smelled of fresh baked goods. We just completed our quick bread lab, where recipes were selected by the group and a variety of breads were prepared in class. We will soon be moving onto to stir fry; this is a great meal to make at home! I look for­
ward to seeing all the recipe selections as the semester progresses. FACS is a great way to work together as a group, make friends, learn to cook and be responsible individuals, and learn about nutritional as well as healthy choices. Creative Communications The Creative Communications class is off to a wonderful start this year. The students have been so excited about the variety of activities that have taken place in class so far. We have done pantomime activi­
ties, short skits, journal writing, short story writing, public speak­
ing and tongue twisters. Creative Communications is a wonderful way to meet new people, expand on writing skills, use your imagination, work with oth­
ers and self expression. As the semester pro­
gresses we will begin the poetry unit. I look forward to seeing the writing pieces created by the students. Creative Communications is a great way to interact with others! Student Government Association (SGA) Interested in getting involved in your school? Making decisions and organizing events? Well, the SGA is for you! The SGA is off to a great start. The students are very excited about the upcoming elec­
tions. We will be voting for a sixth grade representative, a seventh grade representa­
tive, Vice President and President. Damali Lizarazu and Karina Romero are the head of our annual food drive this year which sup­
ports Harvest for the Hungry, Kids Helping Kids Food Drive. Canned and non­
perishable food items can be brought in to Ms. Tucker's room (A133) starting October 20th through November 7th. Thank you for your support for this wonderful cause. Our first dance will take place on Friday No­
vember the 7th. Tickets will be sold for $4 dollars in advance and $5 at the door. The dance is from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and is for Tilden students only. Parents we need chaperones. If you’re interested contact Ms. Tucker at school at 301­230­5930 ext. 128. 5 Tips for Seventh Grade Parents 1. Get to know your child’s teachers. Let them know that you expect your child to do well in school. Introduce yourself to the principal, Mrs. Baker, too. 2. Stay in touch with the counselor, Mrs. McMullin. It is her job to keep track of the students and to get in touch with you if any problems develop. The phone number for the guidance department is 301­230­
5940. 3. Monitor your child’s performance care­
fully. You can check his/her homework assignment book, ask to see recent class work, and/or look up assignments online using Edline. If you want to get to the or­
der Edline, log on to Tilden’s web site at http://mcps.k12.md.us/schools/tildenms/ and then hit the icon that says Edline. 4. While you are using the website, you might want to check for any upcoming events by looking at the Tilden MS Calen­
dar. Check the website for information about Student Service Learning, clubs and activities, and other programs at the school. 5. Be familiar with Tilden’s Policies and Discipline Code which contains informa­
tion on school procedures. 6. Contact the team leader or counselor if you have concerns about your child’s pro­
gram. The team leaders are Ms. Kwak and Ms. Fountain. If you have a concern about a particular subject, contact that teacher directly. 7. Read, react and respond to notes and other communications from Tilden. Important messages are frequently sent to the entire school community. The middle school 6 locker can become a bottomless pit, so occasionally ask your child if there are any messages from school. 8. Volunteer! Tilden has many uses for par­
ent volunteers including chaperoning field trips and dances, talking with students on Career Day, sharing your scientific exper­
tise in a classroom, helping with the book fair or serving on the School Improvement Plan review committee. Whatever your talent is, we appreciate your help. 9. Join the PTSA and become involved in the Tilden Middle School community. Join us in the home/school partnership. 10. Be your child’s advocate. Ask questions. We look forward to working with you and your child. The Seventh Grade Teams Adapted from: The Middle School Years: A Parent’s Handbook (Kerewsky) Student Service Learning (SSL) Tips Give a Little Time… Make a Big Difference Students gain KNOWLEDGE from high quality service learning. SSL is a graduation re­
quirement in the state of Maryland. Understand the SSL plan in Mont­
gomery County Public Schools (MCPS) by contacting the SSL coordinator, Ms. Stasko, in any middle or high school and exploring the SSL Web site www.mcpsssl.org <http://
www.mcpsssl.org/> . SSL hours may be earned through involve­
ment in the campaigns of those running for (Continued, page 7) Families Enjoy Night at the Museum at Tilden Movie Student Service Learning (SSL) Tips (Continued) public office by submitting MCPS Form 560­50 for approval in advance of any service. No SSL hours are awarded for neighborhood canvassing, or solicitation of donations. All active
ties must occur in public places under the supervision of adults other than parents or relatives representing the campaign. Holidays and early release days are great times to get involved in service­
learning activities. Stay aware of ser­
vice opportunities promoted at school through listservs, bulletin boards, tele­
vision shows, and morning announce­
ments. SSL is provided without financial com­
pensation. From Principal Baker’s Desk (Continued) members from our staff, student body and parent community called “Tilden Cares.” The purpose will be to form a strong charac­
ter education program at Tilden to address issues such as low level bullying and teasing. In looking forward, I hope to create a com­
munity of caring at the school which will be prominent and evident when one enters the building and observes the interactions of our students. I will keep everyone posted as to the success of the program. It is great to be back for my second year as principal. I look forward to our continued partnership as we come together to support the children at Tilden and create an excellent middle school experience for all. 7 Counseling Corner Sixth grade The primary focus in September was helping sixth graders transition to Tilden Middle School. Every sixth grader that was pre­
registered prior to the opening of school re­
ceived a schedule on the first day of school. On September 30, 2008, Mrs. Hammie­
Bonner visited science classes to present in­
formation on starting middle school. This visit was designed to help sixth grade students identify resources for academic, personal, so­
cial, and health concerns and seek appropriate help when needed. It is important for sixth graders to understand that personal responsi­
bility and independence are built upon spe­
cific knowledge and skills. Now that our sixth graders have started middle school, they have more opportunities and independ­
ence. Middle school is different in many ways and there are new rules for them to fol­
low. Mrs. Hammie­Bonner stressed the importance of knowing who’s who in starting a new school. During her presentation, she identi­
fied some staff members who guide, help, and protect students at Tilden MS. In doing so, she reviewed the role and responsibilities of the school counselor, reasons why students see their counselor, and how to request to see their counselor. After meeting some of Til­
den’s staff that teach, guide, help, and protect students the sixth grade reviewed their re­
sponsibilities and suggested ways to make sixth grade a good year. Seventh grade The beginning of seventh grade has been wonderful. We have welcomed 29 new stu­
dents from various parts of the county, state, United States, and from various foreign coun­
tries. The seventh graders enjoyed seeing their classmates after the summer recess, and thrilled in being familiar with the building and guiding lost sixth graders to their desired 8 location. Recently the seventh graders learned about goal set­
ting, evaluating choices, and the steps to problem solv­
ing. These skills should help the stu­
dents prioritize, make good choices, and achieve academically. Next we will focus on time management and conflict resolution. Eighth grade Eighth graders have begun their year at Tilden with gusto, working hard and setting high goals for themselves. Fourteen students in the eighth grade attend first period classes at Wal­
ter Johnson High School and then continue their classes at Tilden; eighteen new eighth graders have enrolled from countries around the world and from within the United States. While it seems early in the year to talk about high school, Ms. McMullin visited eighth grade English classes to discuss high school choices that students will soon make. Early in October all students will receive letters of in­
formation from the local high school, Walter Johnson, and many students will receive letters from different magnet high schools. Early in October a group of eighth graders will visit the Edison Center High School of Technology to get an idea of what careers they can begin pre­
paring for as early as grade 10. Students were given an overview of the application process for each school. This information also can be found on Tilden’s webpage on the guidance page, under the title, “What Happens after Middle School?” It is important for parents to check the school calendar to learn about and then to attend the information nights at each of the high schools: these nights occur in Octo­
ber. The next focus in eight grade is how choice of classes helps prepare students for different career areas. DID YOU KNOW . . . A monthly feature for information, strategies, and/or tips that will help your child enhance his/her literacy skills. MAP­R MAP­R is the Measures of Academic Progress in Reading assessment. With the exception of students who read English below a second grade level, it is administered to all students enrolled in MCPS middle schools in the fall and spring and some or all students in the win­
ter. This is an untimed, diagnostic test, so there are no accommodations. The results are used by teachers to help plan instruction for students. Students at Tilden Middle School took the MAP­R between September 10 – 26, 2008. Did your child show you the letter with his/her score? If not, contact Claudia Fraser, AEI Literacy Coach, Tilden Middle School at 301­230­5930.
Make Your Shopping Dollars Count for Tilden Giant Food's A+ Bonus Bucks The program requires that you re­designate your choice of school each year. All you have to do is log on to www.giantfood.com/aplus and re­designate Til­
den Middle School (ID #00732) as your school of choice or dial 1­877­366­2668 to designate over the phone. Safeway Club Card for Education Run by E­Scrip, this program also requires yearly renewal. Earn up to 3% of your monthly Safeway purchases for Tilden and the money is automatically deposited into the schools account. Log on to www.escrip.com to renew or enroll. Tilden’s ID # is 6632921. Target’s Take Charge of Education Continues year round and donates 1% of REDcard (Target Visa and Target credit card) purchases made That students need to read a minimum of 25 self­selected and/or assigned books (or book equivalents) a year in order to process 1 million words and maintain academic progress? This means that stu­
dents need to read books at their inde­
pendent reading level for about 30 min­
utes per day, every day! ~ Maryland Dept. of Education LITERACY is critical thinking through reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. Be a literacy role model! at Target and Target.com and 1/2% of Target Visa purchases made elsewhere, to the school of your choice. Checks are mailed to the school twice a year, in March and September. The ID# for Tilden Middle School is 58230. To register, log onto www.target.com , click on “community” at the bottom of the page, then “Education” then “Take Charge of Education”. Dates to remember! Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7:00 p.m. PTSA Meeting Tilden Media Center Friday, Oct. 17 — No school. Wednesday, Oct. 22, 7:00 p.m. 8th Grade Parent & Student General Info Night at WJ WJ Cafeteria Friday, Oct. 24 — Picture Day 9 Tilden PTSA needs YOU! Your Tilden PTSA funds many activities and services that benefit your children, and help our staff make Tilden a great place to be, such as:
Cultural Arts programs to enrich the English curriculum
Classroom materials and Wish List items for teachers to enhance
instruction
The Student Directory – one copy given FREE to each Tilden student
After School Activities – something for everybody!
The Tilden PTSA relies on dues and donations to fund the services it offers to
Tilden students and the items it purchases for the school. Please consider
making an optional donation, of any amount, when you join the PTSA.
Parent(s) Name (s) __________________________________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________________ Zip Code: __________ Home Phone _____________________________________________ Parent (s) e­mail address: _____________________________________________________________________ (Please include your email so we may personally invite you to be on the Tilden list serve) Student’s name(s) _______________ Grade ______________ _______________ ______________ One parent membership @$25.00 _______________ Additional parent membership @$10.00 _______________ Teacher or Staff membership @$10.00 _______________ Donation _______________ Additional Directories @ $5.00 _______________ Total included _______________ Check # _________ Cash: ____ PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO TILDEN PTSA. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Return this form to the school office, or mail it to PTSA Membership, Tilden MS, 11211 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, MD 20852. You may also return the form to the PTSA on Tuesday, October 14, at 7:00pm at the PTSA meeting in the media center. 10