The Goshen Link
Connecting Home and School
Goshen Elementary School
Linda F. King, Principal
Jason Berg, Assistant Principal
Goshen’s Vision
We, the staff, students and parents of Goshen
Elementary School, will work together to
provide a respectful and equitable education
that prepares every student to be lifelong
learners and successful citizens.
September 7, 2011
From Your Principal ……….Linda King
Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year. We have over
600 students in our school this year – 4 classes at grades
4 and 5, 5 classes at grades K, 2, and 3, and 6 classes at
grade 1 – an increase of 5 classrooms over last year.
Class size in grades K – 2 is 18-20 students per class. In
grades 3 – 5, class size is 22-26. Our students are
already hard at work and have accomplished much in
their first week.
We welcome many new students this year. I urge our
new families to be part of our school community and be
active participants in our school activities
September
15
6:00 p.m. Instrumental
Music Info.Meeting
6:30 p.m. Back to School
Night
28
29
Early Release 1:00 p.m.
No School
October
4 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
7 Individual Student Pictures
10 Open House
11 5th Grade to Strathmore
Music Center 11:00-2:00
Our Mission
At Goshen Elementary School, we
come to school every day the Grizzly
Bear way. We show our:
B:
Best Behavior
E:
Effective Effort
A:
Awesome Attitude
R:
Respect and Responsibility
We are again celebrating the success of our students in
grades 3 – 5 on the MSA (Maryland State Assessments).
Our students performed well and we made AYP
(Annual Yearly Progress – the goal for all schools in the
state of Maryland). We are proud of the hard work and
efforts of both our students and our staff. I would also
like to thank our parents for their support. It is a team
effort!
I enjoyed seeing so many of our families at our Back to
School picnic last week. Everyone seemed to have a
great time! Thanks to Bar T for providing the DJ and
thanks to our PTA for organizing and funding this super
fun event.
From Assistant Principal……Jason Berg
Hello Goshen ES community! I am excited to be the
new Assistant Principal of Goshen Elementary School.
I have been an MCPS employee since 2000. I was a
second grade teacher at Stonegate Elementary for 4
years, followed by 3 years there as a Staff Development
Teacher. I am entering my fifth year as an assistant
principal in MCPS. I have served the Arcola ES and
Washington Grove ES communities for the past four
years. In this new position, I am looking forward to
working closely with the staff, students and parents of
Goshen in order to provide a rigorous, differentiated
instructional program. In my spare time, I enjoy the
outdoors and spending time with my family. Please
don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any
questions/concerns.
Did you know you have a School Psychologist?
Hi! I'd like to introduce myself. I am Debra Wotherspoon, Goshen’s School Psychologist. School
psychologists help children succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. They collaborate with educators,
parents, and other professionals to create a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment for all students. I
typically participate on school teams to assist students having academic or social/emotional difficulties. I also
help to identify children that have educational disabilities and assist in developing an individualized educational
program based on their specific needs. I am usually at Goshen one or two days a week. I am also available to
meet with parents to talk about any developmental, behavioral or learning concerns you have about your child.
Please let me know if there are questions I can answer for you or if I can help your child be more successful in
school! The best way for you to reach me is by e-mail: [email protected]
To find out more you can go to my web page. On this page, I provide you with quick access to information
related to parenting, learning, mental health and school psychology:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/goshenes/psychology/
Back to School Night: Thursday, September 15 for grades 1 – 5.
6:00 Instrumental Music meeting for parents
6:30 Session I- Report directly to your child’s homeroom.
7:30 Session II (repeat of session I)- Report directly to the homeroom.
We hope to see all parents at our Back to School nights.
Head Lice and Bedbugs
I want to remind you that head lice are a fairly common condition found in elementary-age children. And,
unfortunately, bedbugs are now a world-wide epidemic. Information is attached which will provide you with
facts on how to identify, inspect, and treat head lice and bedbugs. If you have any questions, please contact our
Health Room.
Thanks to our PTA
Thank you to our wonderful PTA for the fabulous breakfast that was provided to the staff on our preservice day,
Friday, August 26. Everyone enjoyed the delicious treats.
Going Green
At the request of many parents – and in an effort to save trees – the LINK is going green! In September, the
LINK (as well as the grade level newsletters) will be sent home in student backpacks. However, starting in
October, the LINK will NOT be sent home -- but will be posted on the Goshen ES website and can be accessed
there.
If you prefer a hard copy, please notify your child’s teacher or pick one up in the office.
Thank you for helping us to help our environment.