The Panther Press
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Pleasant Plains Elementary School
8300 Pleasant Plains Road, Towson, MD 21286
Mrs. Maureen Pa rtilla, Principal  Mrs. Lauren Tillman, Assistant Principal
February 2015
Mrs. Meredith Wade, PTA President  Dr. Monique Wheatley-Phillip, Area Assistant Superintendent 
S. Dallas Dance, Ph.D., Superintendent
Visit us online @ www.pleasantplainses.bcps.org
Important Dates
February 2nd – 6th
th
5 grade Ballroom Dancing
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February 5th
Distribution of Report Cards
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J u n e 1and
5 , 2 0 0 5that means…
It’s FEBRUARY
It’s time to DANCE!!!
PPES Winter Dance Fundraiser
Friday, February 20
th
6pm-8pm
Food, dancing, games, face painting,
silent auction and more!
Cost: $2.00 Adults
$1.00 Students
All children must be accompanied by
an adult during the dance.
(All funds will be allocated to school’s
discretionary fund)
February 6th
Grade-5 Columbus Center Field Trip
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February 12th
Parent/Community Involvement Meeting
6:30pm-7:30pm
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February 13th
EARLY DISMISSAL @ 12:15
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February 16th
SCHOOL CLOSED- President’s Day
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February 20th
Grade 4 - Meyerhoff BSO Trip
PTA Meeting 5:30pm & PPES Winter Dance
@ 6pm
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February 23rd
School Progress Plan Meeting 3:30pm4:30pm
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February 24th
Multicultural Day at PPES
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February 25th
Grades 3-5 Patapsco High: Shrek
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February 27th
Grade 2 Trip: Solar Cars
From the Principal
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January 29th, 2015
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Happy New Year! We have just celebrated the birthday of Dr. King, and our students
are learning about famous African Americans in history this month and next month for
"Black History Month." They have been sharing poems, stories, and songs on the
announcements and we thank the teachers for helping our students to learn about the
dream of Dr. King and to help their dreams for peace and justice to become a reality.
On January 23rd our second quarter ended. We have completed the first half of the
school year. Please remember that you can and should follow your child's work online
throughout the school year. Many of you are following along and looking at the grades of
your children as they occur. This is outstanding. You can then call or contact the teacher
in order to find ways to help your child, if there is a problem. Ms. Sarah Haff, is our
Technology Liaison and she can assist you in logging on to BCPS One in order to log into the
parent portal. On this portal you can not only review your child's grades but you can
access reading and math resources for your child. You need a verification code in order
to sign in so please contact Ms. Haff by phone at 410-887-3549 or by email at
[email protected] for assistance.
Students are taking MAP testing in all grade levels, again in reading and math,
through early February. This assessment is another indicator of progress for our individual
students, classes, and our school. Mr. Jasper and Ms. Lindsay have been coordinating the
schedule and the testing sessions along with the classroom teachers and we thank them for
their work with the students as they take this online assessment.
In February, our students in fifth grade will be participating in the BCPS Ballroom
Dancing program again. More information is in the newsletter about this worthwhile
program in the P.E. Report from Mr. Ey and Mr. Smith.
We thank you for your support of all of our school and PTA activities. Please read the
newsletter and keep it handy with the calendar from our school so that you can participate
in events that will let your child know that you are partnering with us in order to help them
achieve.
Sincerely,
Maureen Partilla
Principal
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Panther Press Parent Connection
PPES Vision: PPES will be among the highest performing schools in the county with the collaboration of all educators, students, parents and
community members that will prepare students to meet the challenges of college and career readiness in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics) centered school.
PPES Mission: PPES will provide the highest quality inclusive education using Common Core State Standards, STEM integration, 21 st Century
learning skills and technology in a safe, secure, positive environment conducive to teaching and learning that ensures every student is a productive
citizen in a diverse and changing world.
February 2015
PARENT NEWS AND UPDATES
Tracy Barr, Parent Service Coordinator
(Celebrating diversity continued)
February is an extra exciting month here at
Pleasant Plains as we celebrate AfricanAmerican History Month and will be celebrating
a special school-wide Multicultural Day. We
feel very fortunate to have such a diversified
student body here at PPES and this month we
want to celebrate the richness that it provides for
our learning environment. Both of these
celebrations also provide a wonderful opportunity
for parents to get involved and volunteer their
time or simply just come in and partake in the
celebration. Please consider joining us the week
of February 23rd. Details are listed in the next
two articles.
As always, thank you for your support and we
hope to see you soon!
CELEBRATING CULTURAL DIVERSITY
During the months of January and February
Pleasant Plains Elementary School students are
learning and writing about famous African
Americans and their noteworthy and significant
contributions to society. Students are also
exploring other cultures as they prepare for our
Multicultural Day at PPES on February 24th.
Each classroom will become a country for a day,
representing over 30 different countries in all.
Students will visit 3 different countries throughout
the school day, learning and exploring about
other countries, cultures, and customs. Each
classroom will host two (2) information sharing
sessions as well, sharing what they learned as a
class. Please consider being a part of this day by
helping classes plan fun activities to teach about
different cultures. If you have a connection to a
different country, culture or language we welcome
your help! You may teach songs or dances, show
flags, pictures, artwork, clothing, books or teach
how to write or say words in another language. We
invite parents, guardians, and grandparents to join
us on this special day. You will receive a schedule
of your child’s classroom visits very soon. Please
contact Katie Hess @ [email protected] to get
involved!
GUEST READERS
During this same week we also will be hosting an
African-American Read-In Chain to further
promote and celebrate cultural diversity at PPES.
This program is scheduled to be held on the
following days: Monday, February 23rd,
Wednesday, February 25th, Thursday, February
26th and Friday, February 27th.
We are looking for community members, parents,
and grandparents to read a book written by an
African American author to one of our Pleasant
Plains classes during classroom library times. We
will have a variety of books available for you to
select. Please contact Jaclyn Silverthorne via
email for more details and to sign up for a time to
read. Email address is: [email protected]
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Panther Press Parent Connection
P.E. REPORT
(P.E. continued)
Steve Ey & Lamont Smith
Email: [email protected] & [email protected]
Ey on Sports
Happy New Year! A lot has occurred in the past
month at Pleasant Plains and the physical
education department:
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Family Movement Night on December 17th
was a huge success for Pleasant Plains
and Halstead with over 300 in attendance.
Families were engaged in physical activity
and making healthy choices throughout an
evening of fun and community. Thank you
to everyone for their attendance!
The Bowl-A-Thon for the Children’s
Cancer Foundation was successful again
this year. We had 254 students go bowling
on January 9th as a result of their
fundraising efforts for the Children’s Cancer
Foundation. To date, over $2,000 has been
raised for the Children’s Cancer Foundation
this year. Way to go Pleasant Plains!
Third, fourth, and fifth grade students
had an exciting field trip to Loyola
University to watch the Lady Greyhounds
basketball team and learn about the
importance of teamwork, education, and
good physical health.
February 2nd – 6th will be our 5th grade ballroom
dancing program. Students will participate in four
days of practice to learn the Merengue, Tango,
Swing, and Cha-Cha. On the last day, students will
put on a final showcase for their parents and
families to show what they have learned. Fifth
grade students will be receiving a letter prior to the
event.
Don’t forget to be active for 60 minutes a day (even
with the cold and snowy weather!) and do not
forget to check out the PE webpage for daily family
fitness activities to do at home. As always, please
do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
KINDERGARTEN NEWS
Kindergarten is currently working on the following
skills at school. The kindergarten team would like
to encourage families to work with their students
on these skills at home as well.
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Segmenting the sounds in a word
(identifying the beginning, middle, and
ending sounds in a word) and blending
them together.
Practice all of the kindergarten sight
words.
Identify one more/one less of a number.
Identify two quantities and explain which
set is more/less/greater than/less than.
Decomposing numbers in various ways.
Please remember to ask your students questions
after reading with them. This helps to ensure that
they comprehend what they are reading.
Thank you for your continued support!
DONATION REQUEST
5th grade teachers are in need of hand
sanitizer (economy-size preferred) & tissues
for their classrooms. If you are able to donate
these items, please bring them in to the front
office, attention Ms. Lindsay.
THANK YOU!
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Panther Press Parent Connection
BCPS PASSPORT- SPANISH
NEWS
FROM SENORITA REIE
¡Bienvenidos a la clase de español! Spanish class has become so exciting here at Pleasant Plains. The
students are constantly improving their Spanish acquisition and communication skills through a variety of
activities like Señorita Dice (Simon Says), Memoria (Memory), Zorrillo (Skunk), Toca Azul (Touch Blue)
competiciones (competitions), conversaciones (conversations), and canciones (songs). Most recently,
the students have begun to learn about the Spanish-speaking countries of the world. Did you know that
there are 20 countries in the world that have Spanish as their official language? Throughout the rest of
the school year, the students will have the opportunity to learn more about these countries and their
cultures. Be sure to ask the fourth grade students what they have learned in Spanish class! If you speak
Spanish, give them the opportunity to practice their skills!
¡Muchas gracias!
Señorita Reier
Here are some emotions in Spanish that you can use at home:
¿Cómo te
sientes?
Mi siento
triste.
Mi siento
content.
Me siento
enojado.
Me siento
nervioso.
Mi siento
emocionado.
¡Saludos desde la clase de español! Los estudiantes del cuarto grade siguen con sus estudios de
español y es increíble ver cómo los estudiantes hispanohablantes ayudan a sus compañeros en la clase.
Ellos ayudan con la pronunciación de vocabulario nuevo, la introducción de palabras nuevas, y las
instrucciones de actividades diferentes (cómo conversaciones, canciones, y competiciones) y la lectura
de la fecha y objetivo. ¡A veces corrigen a la maestra cuando ella se equivoca con la escritura o la
pronunciación…Bravo! Ahora en la clase de los estudiantes están identificando los países que hablan
español. En el futuro, los estudiantes van a hablar más sobre estos países y las culturas, y los
estudiantes hispanohablantes tendrán la oportunidad de hablar sus países.
¡Muchas gracias!
Señorita Reier
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Panther Press Parent Connection
Pleasant Plains Elementary
School Presents:
This year, Pleasant Plains Elementary students will present Disney’s 101 Dalmations KIDS. It is a
wonderfully animated tale of kidnapping villains and courageous puppies adapted for a new generation of
young performers. This forty (40) minute version for young performers is based on the classic animated
film. Disney’s 101 Dalmation KIDS, a fur-raising adventure featuring Cruella De Vil, one of Disney's
most outrageous villains, and 101 of the most adorable heroes to set their paws onstage.
Robert and Anita, both artistically-inclined pet owners, live happily in London with Dalmatian parents
Pongo and Perdita, stalwart dogs devoted to raising their puppies. Everything is quiet until, Anita's former
classmate, the monstrous Cruella De Vil, plots to steal the puppies for her new fur coat! When we present
the show in May, we hope that you will join all the dogs of London as they daringly rescue the puppies
from Cruella and her bumbling henchmen.
High-spirited musical numbers and lovable characters are sure to make this stage adaptation a charm
and delight for all audiences. The show’s adorable spotted dogs and larger-than-life villainess, Cruella De
Vil, provide a myriad of opportunities for creative costuming. This is a wonderful time to join our team of
teachers and students who work on the stage and costuming for the show.
Set Design Director – Ann Valuntis – [email protected]
Costume Director – Carol Marquess – [email protected]
Show Director – Uriah J. Moore – [email protected]
During the third week in January, students will receive a packet outlining audition procedures and
information regarding auditions for the play. This is truly a total school effort in producing the show and we
welcome all parents to help their child prepare for the audition and help out with different aspects of
production from costuming and set design to choreography and providing props. I have outlined the
audition schedule below. Only third, fourth and fifth graders interested in speaking parts will have the
opportunity to audition either on Monday or Tuesday. Students that audition on Monday should not show
up on Tuesday and vice versa. However, students interested in participating in the show only as dancers
must audition on Thursday. Please review the schedule below for more details. If you have any questions
feel free to call me at 410-887-3549 or email me at [email protected].
~Uriah J. Moore, Vocal Music Teacher
Audition Schedule:
Monday, February 2, 2015 –Speaking Parts Only - 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm (Those auditioning this day
don’t show up on Tuesday.)
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 – Speaking Parts Only - 3:30 pm to 4:45pm (Those auditioning this day
don’t show up on Monday.)
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 – Make Up Day for Speaking Parts - 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm
(in the event that Monday or Tuesday is a snow day.)
Thursday, February 5, 2015 – Dancer Auditions - 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm
(Only students interested in participating in the show as a dancer.)
Friday, February 6, 2015 – Make Up Day for Dancer Auditions - 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm
(in the event that Thursday is a snow day.)