Mustang Message - 12/13/2020

A Message from the Principal

Dear Bren Mar Park families,

Many thanks to our fabulous Student Council Association (SCA) student leadership who have planned for this week's Spirit Week!  Students worked alongside our school counselor to brainstorm, decide and plan for each theme day.  We will be ending the week with a virtual competition between classrooms for the most "Festive Classroom," with each student encouraged to showcase and highlight their family's cultural traditions in a way that can be captured on camera in an online "class picture."

During the winter break, we will be pausing our weekly school newsletter.  It will resume again on Sunday, January 3.  We look forward to seeing your child online again on Monday, January 4, 2021!

We hope that you have a wonderful winter break! 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Williams

Principal

 

FCPS & BMP Job Opportunities

FCPS schools, including Bren Mar Park ES, continue to seek qualified staff for hourly positions to provide additional supports for in-person return to school.  These positions include:

Classroom Monitor - Provides materials preparation, cleaning and supervision; Tuesdays through Fridays;  training is provided; apply at the link

Substitute Teacher- Provides in-person or virtual instruction when a classroom teacher or instructional assistant is absent; flexible schedule; training is provided; apply at the link

Dining room Hostess - Provides supervision and help during lunch and/or recess; Tuesdays through Fridays, approximately 3 hours per day; at Bren Mar Park; apply by emailing your resume/work experience to Elizabeth Williams

 

BMP Front Office Closed during Winter Break

For the health and wellness of our staff, the Bren Mar Park front office will be closed to in-person appointments during Winter Break.  Front office staff will be available to answer questions/concerns via email on December 21 - 23 and on December 28 - 30.  

 

Cultural Stories Family Event - Cancelled

The Cultural Stories Family Event has been cancelled.  Sadly, we weren't able to get enough volunteers to share stories for the event.  We will look for an opportunity to have this event after the new year.

 

The Many Faces of BMP

Mary Colleen Howell

 

Mary-Colleen Howell (yes she goes by the full name) is from Damascus, Maryland.  She is a graduate of James Madison University, where she received both her undergrad and masters.  She is coming from Freedom Hill Elementary where she taught 2nd grade for 6 years and 1st for 4 years.   In her free time she likes to hang out with her husband and one year old daughter.  She also loves to hike, take pictures and bake. 

 

 

Need Technology Help?

We remind families that there are a variety of resources available for you to use to support you in fixing technology issues that do not require you to make an appointment to come into the school.  First, we have the technology support for families website available through FCPS which has video tutorials to help fix problems such as mics or cameras not working.  Second, our School Based Technology Specialist, Mrs. Jess Russell, has put together a technology assistance flowchart that walks you through step-by-step guides.  As you move through the flowchart, you will also communicate everything that you have already done so that our technology team can better support you should you need to make an appointment.

 

Congratulations!

We are so thrilled to congratulate the following employees on their nominations for

Bren Mar Park Outstanding Employee!

Katie Ambrosio

Emily Baer

Ellen Cosier

Karen Duncan

Erin Lear

Sarah Maro

Jen McGough

Houria Rayasse

Josh Ruccio

Dawn Shaw

Carly Voeller

 

SCA Spirit Week - December 14 – 18

Monday:            Game Day:  Play a game during Morning Meeting.

Tuesday:           Holiday Hat/Sweater Day:  Dress in your festive clothes.

Wednesday:      Positive Day:  Compliment 3 people today.

Thursday:          Pajama Day:  Wear your PJs to virtual school.

Friday:               Tradition Day: Share your favorite cultural tradition.

 

Specialist Spotlight

Spotlight on P.E.

We have continued to have fun and get the students up and moving during PE. Our goal is to maximize activity time and have the kids dancing/exercising 25 minutes each class. We have continued to do Zumba style dances and Tabata workouts. During breaks from activities we are discussing the importance of daily physical activity and the cardiorespiratory system. On our google classroom, we have posted all the activities. Students are encouraged to do the dances/workouts 3 to 4 times a week. The variety of activities we offer have been positive for students as they get to try a lot of fun new ways to be active! During our clubs on Mondays we are doing yoga stories with the younger grades and kick boxing workouts with the upper grades. We are looking forward to keeping the kids active in a safe and fun way during virtual learning!

 

From the BMP PTA Board

The BMP PTA will be holding a food and coat drive, and we need your help!  You can help by:

Donating items.  Here is a list of needed food items.

cooking oil

bags of rice/beans

flour

sugar

pancake mix

mac n cheese

cans of soup

jelly or peanut butter

pasta

pasta sauce

fruit cups/cans of fruit

canned veggies

cookie/brownie prepackaged mix

 

We are also collection coats size 7/8 and 8/10 YOUTH for our BMP community.  You can bring them to the bin at the BMP front office or to any of the other addresses shared in the recent PTA messages. If your child is in need of a winter coat, contact BMP Parent Liaison, Sandra Chetelat.

Volunteer. You can volunteer to distribute food at the school the week before Winter Break.  To sign up, please click volunteersignup.org/RP7MM.

 

Help get the word out to our community!  Families can pick up items Wednesday, December 16th – Friday, December 18th from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the school.  To make sure everyone stays safe, we are reminding everyone to only touch what they plan to take!  

It's been a challenging year but we can continue to get through it together, as a strong community!

Thank you in advance for all of your support!

Food Drive Info

Food Drive Items Needed

Important Upcoming Dates/Events

December 14                             Virtual Winter-Sing-A-Long, 9:45 a.m.

December 14 - 18                      SCA Spirit Week

December 17 (Cancelled)         Celebrating Cultural Stories Family Event 

December 21 - January 1          Holiday:  Winter Break

January 4                                   Return to Instruction

January 18                                 Holiday:  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 25                                 Student Holiday:  Teacher Workday