Deep Run Digest 2-8-19

Thu, 02/07/2019 - 10:53pm

Dates to Remember

  • February 8         Scholastic Book Fair Opens
  • February 8         Spirit Day--wear your clothes inside out
  • February 8         Kindness Week Begins
  • February 8         PTA Movie Night--Coco--Doors open at 5:45
  • February 11       “BEE Kind” Spirit Day - Dress as a bee or your favorite bug!
  • February 12       “Let Kindness Shine”  Wear neon or shiny/sparkly clothes. 
  • February 13       “Team Kindness”  Dress in sports attire.
  • February 14       Valentines Day Card Exchange
  • February 14       Bring a "Buddy” --Bring a small stuffed animal to school.
  • February 14        Dismissal at 12:55 for Conferences, no 1/2 day RECC or PreK
  • February 15        Dismissal at 12:55 for Conferences, no 1/2 day RECC or PreK
  • February 15       “I Dream of Kindness” pajama day.
  • February 15        Spirit Day--Teacher Look A Like
  • February 15        Book Fair Ends
  • February 18        No School--Presidents' Day
  • February 20        Cozy Night of Reading 6:30
  • February 21        Class Picture Day
  • February 22        Spirit Day--Dress in tacky clothes

View full calendar

News and Events

Quarter 2 Report Cards Went Home Yesterday, February 7th

Report cards went home on Thursday, February 7th and we are celebrating our students' report card achievements.

This quarter we will once again recognize our Rangers' report card successes in a few ways. Students in first through fifth grade can earn one of two awards. The awards and criteria are listed below and will be sent home in students' report card folders on Thursday. We delay the opportunity for students to earn academic awards until first grade to allow our youngest learners time to adjust to school routines and academic expectations.
 
DRES Leading the Way Award:
    •    Grades 1-2: All I's/W's for grades and 1’s/2’s for effort & learning behaviors
    •    Grades 3-5: All A's/B's for grades and 1’s/2’s for effort & learning behaviors

DRES Principal’s Award:
    •    Grades 1-2: All I’s for grades and 1’s for effort & learning behaviors
    •    Grades 3-5: All A's for grades and 1’s for effort & learning behaviors

Another way students can be celebrated at report card time or any other time is through an Administrator Shout Out. Staff members can contact our administrative team to celebrate our students' academic success, growth, effort, or their modeling of our school expectations of being kind, engaged, and responsible. This is available to all of our students from preschool through fifth grade.

Parents, please take some time to discuss your child's report card with them, celebrate their successes and growth, and set goals for the third quarter. If you have any questions about our awards or if your child earned a certificate but did not receive one, please contact Mr. Notari at dnotari@hcpss.org.

DRES Drinking Water--Testing Revealed all Drinking Water Outlets are Safe

Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) began in September 2018 to test all schools for the presence of lead in school drinking water. The testing is being conducted to comply with a new state regulation requiring lead testing of drinking water outlets in all Maryland schools and not because of any concerns with drinking water in Howard County schools. The state regulations apply to all Maryland school systems. 
 
Deep Run drinking water outlets were tested on January 24th and 25th.  Results indicated that all drinking water outlets sampled were all below the action level.  Full results can be found at:

https://www.hcpss.org/schools/water-quality-reports/

​Please note that the sinks where there is red sign indicating "Do no use for drinking" means that the sink was not tested for lead but the water is provided by a public utility that is regulated under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Great Kindness Challenge

The Deep Run Great Kindness Challenge:  February 8th-February 15th

  • Friday, February 8 – During lunch shifts, school counselors will announce the GKC, with a slide show, video and information about what’s to come.
  • Monday, February 11 - “BEE Kind” Spirit Day - Dress as a bee or your favorite bug! Students receive the GKC checklists in homeroom.  Change Matters Campaign kicks off during lunch shifts.
  • Tuesday, February 12- Spirit Day - “Let Kindness Shine”  Wear neon or shiny/sparkly clothes.  School counselors run Kindness Stations with appreciation notes and pictures during recess. 
  • Wednesday, February 13 - Spirit Day - “Team Kindness”  Dress in sports attire. Police Officers from Columbia Pathway Patrol visit lunch shifts. 
  • Thursday, February 14 -” Bring a Buddy” Students can bring a stuffed animal to school. Students receive triple bear bucks for acts of kindness. 
  • Friday, February 15 - Spirit Day - “I Dream of Kindness” pajama day. Police officers, parents, community members, and available staff are invited to participate in a KINDNESS TUNNEL to welcome students as they come in to school. 
 

Flu Season is Here--Important Information For You to Know

 We are seeing an increase in fever and flu like symptoms in the Deep Run health room.  Here are some facts about the flu:
    •    Symptoms include fever, chills, body aches, cough, and sore throat. If your child has a fever they must STAY HOME.  Your child must be fever free (<100*F) for 24 hours WITHOUT fever reducing medication before coming to school (such as Tylenol or Motrin).
    •    The flu virus spreads through droplets from a person coughing and/or sneezing.  Continue to encourage children to cover their coughs and sneezes.
    •    The flu can spread from 1 day before symptoms start and last as long as 7 days after a person becomes symptomatic.   
    •    Get vaccinated!!  The flu shot helps prevent and reduce the flu illness. 
The above link has more great information about the flu.  Please read and feel free to call the Deep Run health room if you have any questions (410-313-5051).

Coding Classes for Girls

Starting Soon!  <How Girls Code> – Tynker Coding Course

This course introduces elementary girls to programming using a drag-and-drop interface.  Students learn the basics of motion and animation, create scenes and change backgrounds, add sound and music, all while creating simple projects, animations, and games. 
Prerequisites: None
Audience: 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Girls (who have not taken Tynker before)
Cost: FREE for DRES Students
Dates: February 20 - March 18
Mondays & Wednesdays, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Instructor: Robin Stevens rstevens@hcpss.org
 
Beginning March 20th <How Girls Code> - Physical Computing Course 
Students will learn about programming in the physical world by programming lights and motors. They will explore circuits and conductivity and make games using the Raspberry Pi and Micro:bit. Students will learn about computer science and computational thinking through physical tools and hands-on activities. 
Audience: 4th and 5th Grade Girls
Cost: Free
Dates: March 20 - April 11 
Wednesdays & Thursdays, 4 - 5:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Lisa Wenzel lisa_wenzel@hcpss.org
Courses are FREE thanks to the generous support of our sponsors.
Open to students attending Deep Run Elementary ONLY.  
 
Click below to register:
Registration Open     

Girl Power

APL hosts Girl Power, a STEM expo for elementary and middle school students, with support from the Maryland Space Business Roundtable. The annual event features hands-on activities, cool demonstrations, and take-home material for the students to encourage an interest in STEM careers. Visitors have the opportunity to talk to professional women in STEM careers such as aerospace, computer science, electrical engineering, geology, information technology, and space mission engineering. Girl Power is free, and no registration is required. Girl Power is scheduled for March 10, 2019. There is no snow date for this event.

To learn more about APL’s Girl Power expo, view the Girl Power flyer.

PTA Movie Night--COCO--TONIGHT-February 8th

Come to movie night at Deep Run on February 8th.  Bring a blanket, beach chairs, dinner or snack and enjoy CoCo.  Doors open at 5:45 and the movie will start at 6:15. 5th grade will be selling snacks. 

Movie Night--English and Spanish

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair will open at Deep Run for a preview sale on February 8 from 5-7 pm.  It will be open from February 11 through February 15 during school hours.  Extended sale hours will be available on Thursday, February 14th from 1-7pm.

Book Fair

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP)--Winter Administraton

We will be administering MAP assessments in reading and mathematics to all DRES students in grades 1-5 starting this week.

Summer Institute--Registration Opened February 6th

The Summer Institute (grades K-9) on-site registration will now take place on Wednesday, February 6th, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Homewood Center. Online registration will open on Wednesday, February 6th at 6:00 p.m. and will remain open through Thursday, February 22nd at 6:00 p.m. Details at https://www.hcpss.org/summer-programs/.

Girls on the Run--Registration Opens February 10th

Girls on the Run Registration Opens February 10: Girls on the Run® inspires girls in grades 3-5 to be joyful, healthy, and confident by using running to teach valuable life skills. Teams of 15-20 girls meet twice weekly after school for 10 weeks. Each season concludes with the girls and their running buddies completing a 5k run. The Spring season will start the week of March 17, with the season-ending 5k scheduled for June 1, 2019, in Columbia, MD. Registration opens on Sunday, February 10 at 12:00 noon. Program registration fee is $175 and includes 5k registration, water bottle, t-shirt, and all program materials. Financial assistance is available – no girl is turned away. Visit www.gotrcentralmd.org for a list of program sites and to register. Questions? Call 443-583-7740

Change Matters Superheroes

During the week of February 11-15, our school is proudly participating in an educational fundraising campaign called -- Change Matters -- to benefit Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center -- Howard County’s only   24-hour homeless shelter and crisis center.
 
Since 2008, Change Matters has been teaching children about homelessness in Howard County, the services Grassroots provides, and reminding students that they are never too young to make a difference in the lives of people who need help. TRUE CHANGE MATTERS SUPERHEROES! 

Grassroots depends upon the generosity of the community to support its free services to people with a personal, mental health, family, or shelter crisis. Counselors staff Grassroots’ 24-7 crisis hotline; see walk-in clients; provide suicide prevention and outreach programs; operate the Mobile Crisis Team and Day Resource Center; and manage the emergency overnight shelter and cold weather shelters.
 
Last year there were 585 homeless children attending 75 schools in Howard County. Our support of Grassroots means that people in need get a second chance to re-establish their lives and the lives of their family members…so we are happy to join other leading Howard County elementary, middle, and high schools by supporting Grassroots.

To kick off our campaign week, Kim Steffens, an authorized representative of Grassroots, will present the campaign to Kindergarten –grade 5 students during lunch periods on Monday, February 11, 2019.

Your child will be asked to share information with you about Change Matters and ask your permission to donate change. There will be a Change Matters collection jar for each grade during our campaign week and your donation will go directly to Grassroots services.

If you are able to donate, please send the change in your child’s lunch bag or backpack during this campaign week through Friday, February 15.

For more information about Grassroots, please visit their website: www.grassrootscrisis.org.

DRES PTA Restaurant Night at Eggspectations February 27

Join family and friends at the next PTA Restaurant Night at Eggspectations on February 27th from 7:00-9:00 pm.  The Deep Run PTA will receive 15% of the sales when you present one of the below flyers.

Eggspectations Flyer in English

Eggspectations Flyer in Spanish

 
 

Worth Repeating

February Conferences on February 14th and 15th

Parent teacher conferences will be held on February 14th and 15th.  Preschool, PreK and Kindergarten will be holding traditional conferences with teachers and parents. Students in Grades 1-5 will be having student led conferences with their homeroom teacher.   We are very excited to have students in Grades 1-5 share their reading and math learning with their parents, with the support of their teachers.

The student-led conference process empowers your child to direct and report on his/her progress at school. It is a research-based practice used nationwide in many exemplary schools. During the conference process students will show their classroom space, articulate goals, share work samples, and report on assessment data.

There are many learning experiences and benefits for your child that accompany this format including the following: active participation in the learning process, increased self-confidence, development of leadership skills, organization, responsibility for their learning, communication and critical thinking skills.

The student-led conference process is much different from the traditional parent teacher conference in which the teacher does most of the talking and the parent does the listening. Often in such conferences, the student is not even present. The role of the teacher in a student-led conference is one of coach, mentor, and advocate.  During your child’s conference, the homeroom teacher will be available to you and your child for 15 minutes.  There will be time beyond the 15 minutes for you and your child to continue reviewing goals, student work and displays in the classroom.  If there is a private topic you want to discuss with the teacher, the teacher will be happy to talk to you on the phone or arrange another time for the conversation.  Please contact your child's related arts teachers and GT teachers directly if you would like to meet with them.

Click on the links below to view two videos about student-led conferences.

Student Led Conferences

Student Led Conferences--Edutopia

Go to Family Connect to sign up for your conference with your child's homeroom teacherClick here for directions for registering for a conference.

Preschool Learning Together Program at Deep Run--Registration Opens Feb 15

Registration opens on Feb 15 for the Preschool Learning Together Program at Deep Run ES for children who will be 3 or 4 by September 1.

Cozy Night of Reading--February 20th

Cozy Night of Reading:  I'm Dreaming of a Good Book

February 20th, 6-8 pm

Many community resources will be available starting at 6:00 (energy assistance, food, housing, education, and employment)

Teachers and other staff members will begin reading at 6:30.

Cozy Night of Reading

Dolly Parton Imagination Library

Deep Run has been selected to participate in Read with Me, a partnership between HCPSS, Bright Minds, the HC Early Childhood Advisory Council, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

This program is for ANY baby or young child age 4 or under who lives in the Deep Run Elementary area. This includes your relatives and neighbors who live in the Deep Run area. Books will be mailed directly to your child.  If you would like to sign up, complete the form below--one form per child.  Contact Glenna Deekle at Deep Run with questions at 410-313-5000 or glenna_deekle@hcpss.org.   

PTA is Collecting Box Tops Again

It's time for another Box Tops contest.  Bring in all the Box Tops you can between now and February 22nd.  The grade that brings in the most will win their choice of a free sit at lunch, extra recess, or a short movie.  Click here for more information.