Piney Ridge Elementary School Principal 2018 December News Asst. Principal

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1 Piney Ridge Elementary School Principal 2018 December News Asst. Principal Pat Reed Greg Raeder Greetings, As we come to the close of 2018, I would like to reflect upon the many positive things that I continue to observe on a daily basis at Piney Ridge. I have seen so much excellent teaching and learning going on. Students are involved with technology and engaged in meaningful learning. We are fortunate to have such an outstanding staff of teachers, resource specialists, instructional assistants, hourly supports, cafeteria staff, office staff, custodians and our school nurse. At Piney Ridge, we work together with our PTA to support students, staff, and the school community. Please welcome the newest addition to our staff. Mr. Dalton Yohn is our new 1st grade STEM teacher. He recently graduated from McDaniel with his Master s degree in Teaching. Congratulations Mr. Yohn and welcome to Piney Ridge! On first Veterans Day program at Piney Ridge was a huge success. Mr. Trpisovsky, PRE parent and PTA V.P. had special tee shirts made and our veterans wore them for classroom visits. We want to thank all of the veterans who shared their stories, brought maps that showed their travels, spoke about the skills they developed in the military and how they used those skills during their service. Several veterans brought examples of the culture in the areas they served. All of our veterans actively engaged our students and answered many questions. We want to send out a special thank you to Mr. Trpisovsky for bringing his idea to fruition at Piney Ridge. We hope to make this an annual tradition. On November 16, we hosted Grandparents Day during American Education Week with 340 grandparents visiting the school. Many of them visited classrooms and stayed for lunch. Students and staff enjoyed their visits. Thank you to our PTA for organizing this event and providing maps, schedules and extra assistance as needed to all those who attended. We appreciate the support from our PRE community. Our winter concerts are also coming up quickly. The 4 th grade band/orchestra concert is Thursday, December 6 at 7:00 P.M. and the 5th grade Concert and All Chorus program is Tuesday, December 13 at 7:00 PM. Join us to hear all of our musicians and performers. We hope to see you here! We have discovered that several PRE families with students in grades 3-5 have not created an account in Home Access to view their children s grades online. All general education staff in grades 3-5 along with special area staff utilize an online gradebook. This allows parents to monitor their child s progress throughout the school year. Parents can set up their account to be notified when a grade is entered in their child s teacher s gradebook. The information on how to set up this account is available on the CCPS website. Please contact the school for more information if you have any questions. From all of us here, we wish you a winter break filled with time to enjoy family and friends! Thank you for sharing your children with us! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to bring out the best in our students! 6315 Freedom Ave Sykesville, MD (410) (410) (410) FAX SCHOOL HOURS 9:15 3:45 pm OUR VISION To inspire a community of caring independent individuals who positively impact NOTICE OF NONour DISCRIMINATION changing world Carroll County Public (CCPS) does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry or national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or age. CCPS provides nondiscriminatory access to school facilities in accordance with its policies and regulations regarding the community use of schools (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts). The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Gregory J. Bricca Director of Research and Accountability 125 North Court Street Westminster, Maryland (410) Happy New Year! Pat Reed Principal

2 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 2 Hanukkah begins Hanukkah Ends B.O.E. Mtg 5:00 6 Band/Orchestra Concert 7:00pm 13 Concert Band and Chorus 7:00pm PTA Mtg. 7: Pearl Harbor Day First Day of New Years Eve 25 Christmas Jan Jan. 2 Re-open January 2,

3 Did you know that Sykesville Middle School has a food pantry? December 5 th, 19 th. January 2 nd, 16 th, 30 th February 13 th, 27 th March 13 th, 27 th April 10 th, 24 th May 8 th, 22 nd June 5th The Sykesville Middle Food Pantry is open to the community every other Wednesday afternoon from 3:00 4:00 pm during the school year. If you know of an individual or a family that is in need of this vital resource, please spread the word. Anyone may come in and get food!! The food pantry also accepts donations of nonperishable food items from the community throughout the school year. Donations are much appreciated and they can be dropped off in the main office of Sykesville Middle during regular school hours. Free Money for Piney Ridge Elementary Turn in your empty inkjet, toner cartridges and old cell phones and we will return them into escrip recycling for cash for our school. There are bins in the lobby outside of the office. Drop them in and we will do all the work. It s money for the school and good for the environment!! Nurses Notes As cold weather approaches please remember to dress your child appropriately. Including hats, scarves, gloves and coats. Frostbite is damage to the skin from freezing and is due to prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, usually below 32. Frostnip is less severe and affects the cheeks, ears, nose, fingers, and toes. The skin may be reddened and feel numb or tingly. Students will be outdoors for recess as long as the weather is not under 32 degrees, or it is pouring rain/thunderstorms. Please dress your children appropriately for cooler weather.

4 Counselor s Corner December 2018 We continue our series on school challenges to focus on Tourette Syndrome (TS). We have several students in our school who have been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and some that have Tic Disorders and have been undiagnosed. Tourette Syndrome is a disorder that affects the central nervous system. It is not contagious. Some children have only motor tics, which are sudden movements. These can include blinking, nose wrinkling, shoulder shrugging or hand movements. Some kids have only vocal tics such as squeaking, grunting, sniffing or coughing. Kids with Tourette Syndrome usually have both kinds of tics. Their tics vary in frequency and severity from day to day. Stress situations such as a test or squeaking in front of the class will often make tics worse. Tourette Syndrome has no effect on intelligence or learning ability. However, more than half of children with Tourette Syndrome also have a co-existing disorder, such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). These conditions will not always be diagnosed at the same time. One of the biggest challenges that students at our school have is when peers believe that they are purposely making those sounds or movements. Tourette Syndrome and the associated motor and vocal tics are completely involuntary, and not under the person s control. Teasing and taunting a child with Tourette Syndrome usually makes the situation worse and the child feels ostracized from their peers. What's It Like to Have Tourette Syndrome? Explaining to your child Tourette syndrome is a condition that affects a person's central nervous system and causes tics (movements or sounds that a person can't control and that are repeated over and over). Tics are kind of like hiccups. You don't plan them and you don't want them. You can try tricks to make the hiccups stop, like drinking water upside down, but you can't just decide to stop hiccupping. Hiccups that last too long can even start to hurt and feel uncomfortable. Tics can be like that, too. Sometimes, tics can also be a little like "scratching an itch." You don't really want to scratch the itch, but you just can't help it. In these situations, the person has some control over the tic. The person feels an urge to make a movement or a sound before actually doing it. The person can even hold back the tic for a while. But eventually the person will have to let the tic out. Making fun of someone with Tourette Syndrome (or making fun of anyone) is inconsiderate, disrespectful and unkind. Please consider speaking with your child about Tourette Syndrome at home to help them understand their peers who may have struggles with this disorder.

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