The Bulldog Bulletin
A Newsletter for the Families and Students of
Bond Mill Elementary School
November 20, 2009
Visit Us at www.pcps.org/~bondmill
Hi Families,
Greetings once again! Allow me to be the first to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. As vacation is fast approaching, I wish for everyone to have the safest, happiest, most enjoyable break possible. If you are staying at home or traveling far, make sure the smile never leaves your face. One great way to kick off the holiday season is to come to the Bond Mill Craft Fair. Tomorrow (Saturday, November 21st) will be the annual Bond Mill Craft Fair. Crafters from all over the mid-Atlantic will be selling their wares for all of our eager shoppers. In addition to the crafts, 5th grade will be supplying delicious food and drinks available for purchase. All funds raised will go directly to the 5th grade end-of-year activities. The next Bulldog will be coming home on Friday, December 4th. If there is anything that you need between now and then, do not hesitate to contact me. Again, have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Justin FitzGerald
Principal
Important Dates to Remember in November/December:
November 21st Bond Mill Craft Fair, 9am-3pm
November 25th-27th School Closed. Thanksgiving Vacation
November 30th Book Binding Night #1, 6:30pm-8:30pm
December 1st Book Binding Night #2, 6:30pm-8:30pm
December 8th Bond Mill Candid Pictures for Yearbook
December 9th Bond Mill Chik-Fil-A Night, 5:00–9:00pm
December 15th Hospitality Committee Visits Staff
December 16th Winter Concert
December 18th 2nd Quarter Progress Reports Released
December 24th-Jan. 3rd School Closed for Students and Teachers. Winter Vacation
Write-A-Book Book Binding Nights: The clock is ticking on completing your Write-A-Books. If you need assistance with the Book Binding process, the Write-A-Book Committee has generously organized two nights to help put the finishing touches on your masterpieces. Come to Bond Mill on November 30th or December 1st from 6:30-8:30pm and experts will be on hand to help you learn the binding process for your child’s Write-A-Book.
PTO Membership: The memberships have been rolling in! Congratulations to Mrs. Vernor’s class. They have reached 100% participation in the PTO. They are the first class to be able to pick from the pool of prizes. It is not too late to help your class achieve one of the rewards. All you have to do is join the PTO. It only costs $10 per family. I can’t wait to find out whose class will be next.
Chuck-E-Cheese Night: Thank you to the hundreds of people who came out and celebrated Bond Mill PTO Chuck-E-Cheese Night. It was a rip-roarin’ success! Food, fun, and friends…what better way to spend a night? On top of that, 15% of the total bill came back to the PTO. Although I was there early and didn’t get to show off my ski-ball skills, I think another event in the spring might just be in order. Many thanks to Mary Jean Sokolowsky for organizing it.
Chik-Fil-A Night: Put it on your calendar! Bond Mill Chick-Fil-A Night will be on Wednesday, Dec 9, 5-9pm. Mary Jean Sokolowsky has arranged for another FUNdraiser for our PTO! Look for more information soon.
Lunch Reminder: Just a friendly reminder that if you are coming to eat lunch with your child, they are allowed to bring ONE friend over to join you at the table. In cases where 2, 3, or even 4 additional students are brought over, it sometimes makes managing the carpeted area more difficult than the actual cafeteria. Thanks so much for your understanding and cooperation.
Thank You Hospitality Committee: Thank you so much to the Hospitality Committtee for creating an early Thanksgiving feast for the staff. It was incredible!!! Is it wrong that I thought about making a doggie-bag and serving it at my own Thanksgiving table? ... just kidding. If I did, those eating would know I'm not capable of creating something so delicious. Thanks again!
Winter Concert Date Moved: A variety of circumstances and challenges with our schedule have impacted our Winter Concert rehearsals. Therefore, we are going to move the concert back two weeks to help give our performers more time to prepare. The new date for the concert will be Wednesday, December 16.
Pictures Needed for the Yearbook: I have noticed many people taking pictures at our many events (parade, field trips, honor roll assemblies, classroom parties, etc…). If you would be so kind and please share those pictures with our wonderful yearbook crew, we would be grateful. If you simply e-mail any photos you have to bondmillyearbook@live.com, that would be ab-so-smurfly fantastic. Thank you.
Thank You Fourth Graders! Our fourth grade classes filled 100 shoeboxes with gifts to send overseas with the Operation Christmas Child Project. They filled the boxes with toys, candy, soap, tooth brushes, tooth paste and other fun items. The boxes will be distributed to needy children in 100 countries around the world, such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Guatemala, Haiti and Nigeria.
Councilman Dernoga’s Thanksgiving Feast: On the same day of our Craft Fair on Saturday, Councilman Tom Dernoga will be sponsoring a great community event. From 2pm-5pm at the West Lanham Hills Volunteer Fire Department, refreshments, entertainment, and child-friendly activities will be taking place for all to enjoy. Come join the many organizations and individuals whose efforts have made Prince George’s County a better community. The fire department is located at 8501 Good Luck Road in Lanham, MD. Contributions of non-perishable items or clothing donations are greatly appreciated. RSVP to Ola Ojewumi at 301-395-8549 or TDernogaRSVP@aol.com
Montpelier Mansion Art Exhibit: The What Is It Exhibit, at Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, is a fun FREE activity you don’t want to miss. It’s a cross between a guessing game and a scavenger hunt. While enjoying the exhibit you also get to view the Snowden House. The exhibit is open every day through November 30th (except Thanksgiving). The hours are 11am to 4pm, but don’t wait until 4 to arrive.
Inclement Weather: It’s that time of year, when we can’t quite trust the weather. Here are some reminders if we have weather-related delays or closings. If the weather is predicted to be bad, watch the news on the television, listen to the radio, call the PGCPS information line (301-952-6000, then press 1), or check the school system website (www.pgcps.org). Please, DO NOT CALL THE SCHOOL. The volume of phone calls ties up our lines. All of this information is in your Parent Handbook. Also, please be sure you and your child have a plan if school is dismissed early. If that plan is different from the one you submitted to the teacher at the beginning of the year, please send a note to the teacher. Thanks for being prepared!
In case you missed it, here's the last newsletter:
The Bulldog Bulletin
A Newsletter for the Families and Students of
Bond Mill Elementary School
November 6, 2009
Visit Us at www.pcps.org/~bondmill
Dear Families,
Happy November! It won't be long now before we are enjoying some turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and fighting for parking spaces at the mall. Although two vacations are fast approaching, we still have plenty to accomplish between now and then. Our first quarter honor roll assemblies will be held on November 10th. 1st and 2nd grade will take place at 8:15, 3rd, 4th, and 5th will take place at approximately 9:15. Please make note of the change to 3rd grade. They are now going to be on the second assembly, not the first. November 11th is Parent Conference Day. If you haven't done so already, please look into securing a time with your child's teacher. November 12th is our cookie dough delivery for Sally Foster. If your child isn't able to carry the order home, it will be available for pick-up until 7pm that night. All this is going on while Write-A-Book continues to take place. I cannot wait to see the finished products. We have earned a reputation throughout the County over the last several decades of submitting sensational entries to the competition. I am sure that this year will be no different. The next Bulldog will be coming home on November 20th. If there is anything you need between now and then, do not hesitate to ask me. Just a reminder, my e-mail address is just.fitzgerald@pgcps.org. Have a great weekend!
Justin FitzGerald
Principal
Important Dates to Remember in November/December:
November 10th 1st Quarter Honor Roll Assemblies: 1st and 2nd at 8:15, 3rd-5th at approximately 9:15
November 10th Bond Mill Chuck E. Cheese Night from 4pm-9pm
November 11th No School for Students. Parent-Teacher Conference Day
November 12th Cultural Arts Performance at 8:15 and FREE PERFORMANCE FOR FAMILIES AT 6:30
November 15th Deadline for Norton Cyberspace Competition Registration
November 17th Hospitality Committee Visits the Staff
November 17th Visitation Day During American Education Week
November 19th PTO Meeting, 6pm-8pm. All Are Welcome to Attend
November 20th Spirit Wear Orders Due
November 20th LifeTouch Picture Retakes
November 21st Bond Mill Craft Fair 9am-3pm
November 25th-27th School Closed. Thanksgiving Vacation
December 3rd Bond Mill Winter Concert 8:15am and 7pm
December 3rd Write-A-Books Due
Student Council Officers: Congratulations to all students who ran for a Student Council office. All wrote and delivered outstanding speeches, and we are so proud of you! Congratulations to our new Student Council President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Write-A-Book: By now your upper grade child has hopefully been hard at work with his or her Write-A-Book. Write-A-Book Chairperson Jen Hinkle is available for any questions you may have as you complete the "works of literary art." You can reach her at jen.hinkle@techtotems.com. Please keep in mind that although it is mandatory for upper grade students, students are more than welcome to submit a Write-A-Book in the primary grades. We routinely receive outstanding submissions from both lower and upper grade students. There will be at least one Book Binding Night coming up (date will be announced soon) to assist you in the binding process.
Thank You to Laurel Volunteer Fire Department: Just over a week ago, our kindergarten students were treated to a sensational fire safety discussion and demonstration from the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department. Thank you to Bond Mill parents (and firefighters) Debbie and John Fairall, as well as the entire Laurel Volunteer Fire Department for helping teach our students the importance of fire safety awareness.
Important PTO Meeting: At the November 15th PTO Meeting there will be a special 30 minute Q & A session about the playground. Please come to find out the progress of the playground renovation. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please bring them to the meeting. It will be in the media center from 6:00-8:00pm. All are welcome to attend.
Bond Mill Chuck E. Cheese Night: Come one, come all to Bond Mill PTO Chuck E. Cheese Night on Tuesday, November 10th from 4pm-9pm at the Laurel store location. The Bond Mill PTO will receive 15% of every family's "bill." In addition, each child will get 10 free tokens. I'm not one to brag, but I will say, anyone who thinks they can beat me in ski-ball better think again! Bring it on . . . you too, parents! Hope to see you on the 10th!
Bond Mill Craft Fair: One of the first Bond Mill events that welcomes in the holiday season is our annual Craft Fair. Please come on out to our multipurpose room on Saturday, November 21st from 9am-3pm and do some great shopping. Local crafters will have many wonderful items to choose from and there will be delicious food and drinks for sale. Money raised goes toward our end-of-the-year 5th grade activities. If you are interested in having a table at the Craft Fair, we still have space available. Contact Sandee Leibson at 301-497-3600 to reserve your spot.
Fall Festival Parade: Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate our annual Fall Festival parade. The costumes were excellent, the food was delicious, and there was not one face missing a smile. Many thanks for all the contributions made by families to ensure our bellies were full. Looking into the near future, I see that the next gathering will be our Holiday Party on December 22nd. Hope to see you there.
Watch Out for Vee Rinker!!! Thank you sooo much to Vee Rinker, Bond Mill parent of two and newly deputized Traffic Coordinator, for volunteering to help manage the cars in and out of Bond Mill. If you see Mrs. Rinker (she's hard to miss in her fluorescent green safety jacket), she is assisting us in helping keep our children safe. Please follow her directions as she helps you navigate through the school grounds in a timely and safe manner.
Norton Cyberspace Competition and Bond Mill: Have you seen the flyer about the Internet Safety contest? Have you signed up for your FREE subscription yet? The software is a parental control product to help protect your children. You can monitor how long they are on the computer and even what websites they visit. Our school can win $20,000 to use any way we want! Interested? Please visit http://bondmillpto.org/joomla/news/1-announcements/209-help-the-bond-mill-bulldogs-with-norton. This link will walk you through the installation. It only takes 5 minutes! Currently, the highest school has 77 people enrolled. Let's get EVERY home with a computer enrolled . . .and encourage your family members and friends to enroll too! Also, we are looking for volunteers to call 20 Bond Mill PTO members next week to walk them through the installation process. Can you help us? Please email Andrea Evans at aevans1128@verizon.net or Dawn Bell-Coronado at coronadobell@verizon.net by Monday (11/9) if you can volunteer. Thanks for helping us win $20,000 through the Norton Cyber Safe Challenge by installing this FREE software by NOV. 15th!
Spirit Wear! It's that time of the year again! Spirit wear order forms have been sent home with the students. Orders are due by November 20. Questions? Call Kim Jones 301-497-1579. Make checks payable to Bond Mill PTO.
School Store Help Need: School Store is looking for parent volunteers to assist the students with sales. The students do the work, the parent volunteer monitors the sales, making of change, etc. Sign up for every Wednesday, once a month, or whenever you can do to help. The sign up sheet is on the office counter. The store will be open during lunch periods each Wednesday from 10:00 to 12:15 as soon as parent volunteers are in place. What a great and easy way you can support our children! Thank you for any help you can give us.
Breakfast With Santa: The Woman¡¦s Club of Laurel invites children of all ages to their annual Breakfast with Santa on December 5, 2009. There are four seatings - 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 and 11:00, and the cost is $3.00 for children and $6.00 for adults. There will be pancakes, sausage, drinks, prizes, raffles, and a special visitor! Call 301-490-8053 for reservations (required). Call soon as seatings fill up fast!
Private Violin or Piano Lessons: Mary Jean Sokolowsky, a Bond Mill parent, teaches private violin and piano lessons and is looking for a few more students. She's had seven years' experience teaching private lessons and many more years of involvement in various musical activities. Affordable rates for 20-30 minute lessons after school and less than a mile from BMES. Ages 5 and up for piano and will teach violin to children in school string program. Call 301-490-3942 or email mjisrn@yahoo.com for details and rates.
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