Kenmore Elementary 2475 Singerly Road Elkton, Maryland 21921 Phone (410)996-5060 Fax (410)996-5467

Rose Clark, Principal
George Whisner, Local Support Teacher

Kenmore Cubhouse News

December 2007

A Message from Ms. Clark…

“May your holidays be filled with celebration and tradition that warm your hearts and strengthen your bonds with family and friends.”

December can bring a busy time of year that is overwhelming to many children and adults. During the Thanksgiving holiday I began thinking about how quiet yet joyful my home was. Everyone in my family had chosen to slow down and enjoy what mattered most to them: quiet visits with loved ones in many settings as we have a rather large family, wonderful telephone conversations to those loved ones too far away to visit, pleasure in watching the Macy’s parade on television, thoughts of loved ones no longer with us and friends enjoying what mattered most in their lives, a walk along the Susquehanna River, an early morning visit to one store because the item was 50% off, raking and mulching those beautiful colored leaves that were finally falling to the ground, and putting the vegetable garden to sleep for the winter. I could go on with a list that is never-ending because there is always something to do. What I realized was how relaxing it was to just sit back and enjoy quiet time at home. In my home I could have conversation with those that matter most in my life and I could take pleasure in simply knowing that they were happy and settled in their activity.

My message to you this holiday season is for you to find a sense of peace in your life and in the lives of your loved ones. Take the time to slow down, count your blessings, and pace your activity so you can enjoy more by doing less. Help your children develop and understand the satisfaction of family traditions. You will truly find a fulfillment that makes life worth living.

“It is the real sweet, simple things in life
which are the real ones after all."
--Laura Ingalls Wilder

Two Items of Importance

1. Thank you to all of our guests who visited classrooms during American Education Week. We welcomed 80 visitors with the majority of them visiting our primary classrooms. The atmosphere was relaxed. Conversations were pleasant. Students were busy and content in their activities. No one seemed to be in a hurry to move on to the next part of the day. It is wonderful when a community of people can come together to simply enjoy being with their children (grandchildren), become acquainted with the members of our school family and begin a new Kenmore tradition.

2. Our annual Joe Corbi Pizza Sale will run from January 2nd through January 16th. The kits will be available for pick-up after school on Tuesday, January 29th. Information and orders will be sent home with students on January 2nd. The money collected will be used for resources to support classroom instruction. 

A Word from Mr. Whisner...

At Kenmore ES, we recently began a school-wide initiative that is called The Umbrella of Character.  This program highlights the positive choices that students make on a daily basis.  Our teachers have been busy CHAMPing student behavior and expectations.  Additionally, teachers have been “Catching Students Being Good”.  Finally, students and teachers have been giving each other Kenmore Cub Grams in order to recognize acts of Cooperation, Caring, Respect, and Responsibility.  We have even had many parents sending in Kenmore Cub Grams from home when students make good choices away from school (I have included another copy of the Cub Gram for your use, simply fill it out and send it in with your student(s).  To date, over 800 “Caught You Being Good” slips and Kenmore Cub Grams have been given.  That’s over 800 acts of character and good choices that have been made and recognized in the last month alone.  WOW!  I have never been in a school with such great things happening.  Research shows that when programs like the Umbrella of Character are implemented, behavioral problems are reduced and academic achievement increases.  I think that we are well underway to success.   Thank you for your continued support, together we can make great things happen.

(Click here for your own copy of the Kenmore Cub Gram)


CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO EARNED AN AWARD FOR THE FIRST MARKING PERIOD! KEEP UP THE HARD WORK! Click here for a list of award recipients.

Counselor's Corner

This month’s character Trait is Caring

You may show how you care by doing the following…
-  giving to others
-  thinking of another person's feelings
-  helping others in need
-  being kind, even when others are not
-  including others in activities

Kenmore Elementary School will be showing how we care for others by displaying a tree in the lobby for mittens, gloves, and hats. We are asking for each family to at least donate one item to place on our tree. Thank you for your support and have a safe and happy holiday season.

Congratulations to those students who were nominated as students of the month for October. These students showed how they were responsible by completing their class work and homework in a timely manner and following the rules. 

Character Kids for the month of October – Responsibility

Mandi Gillich                 Cameron James
Calvin Bloomquist         Kelsey Beno
Dalton Shanahan         Sawyer Pietuszka
Tommy Stover              Jenna Bower
Delaney Shertz            Tyler Jones
Cortni Potts                  Jacob Arculus
Matthew Nguyen          Jessica Swinko
Dylan Scarberry            Megan Sizemore
Ryan Cunningham       Brooke Bower
Jeb Williams                 Kaziah Saunders
Jared McKeown           Eva Syva
John Westerinen          Emily Consiglio
Brad Gillich                   Taylor Gilbert
Ethan Lacher               Vanessa Quijano

News from the Third Grade

We have completed Theme 2 in Language Arts and have begun Theme 3, Incredible Stories.  The creative juices will be flowing in this theme because the writing piece is writing a story.  We want to congratulate these students for earning 80% or better in the Theme 2 Assessment:  Jenna Bower, Rachael Favazza, Olivia Forney, Natalie Jones, Delaney Shertz, Jessy Toller, Jenny Martin, Delaney Carter, and Ethan Zack.  We celebrated with a sundae party!

We have completed the SRI for this marking period and these students have beat their best score: Jacob Arrow, Olivia Forney, Gavin Hall, Natalie Jones, Jewlyn Kamrud, Karen Lilly, Andrew Noel, Sara Rutherford, Gabe Sceals, Breanna Smith, Emily Stewart, Carl Thomas, Kaci Amos, Kamryn Babylon, John Butler, Delaney Carter, Jared Edmundson, Kayla Frazer, Madalyn Granger, Amauri Johnson, Jennifer Martin, Destinie Moll, Dylan Montgomery, Gabrielle Stringer, Jessy Toller, Denaisha Truitt, Jake Waters, Sarah Brown, and Ethan Zack.  We are so proud of you!  You will be treated to a pizza party for your efforts!

In Math we have completed Unit 3 and are now on Unit 4, Multiplication & Division.  If you haven't yet started, now is the time to practice, practice, practice multiplication flash cards.  We will soon be starting timed tests, and students who can correctly get 100 basic facts completed in 5 minutes, will have their picture displayed for being a member of the "100s Club".  This competition will go on through May. 

We are happy to report that these students earned 80% or better on the Unit 3 Math Assessment: Jacob Arrow, Natalie Jones, Jenna Bower, Rachael Favazza, Andrew Noel, Zachary Williams, Travis Bernal, Delaney Shertz, Jewlyn Kamrud, Danielle Lee, Breanna Smith, Gabe Sceals, Carl Thomas, Kamryn Babylon, Chris Brinton, Sarah Brown, John Butler, Delaney Carter, Jared Edmundson, Kayla Frazer, Madalyn Granger, Chase Kincaid, Jenny Martin, Destinie Moll, Jayson Ramsey, Aaliyah Silot, Gabrielle Stringer, Jessy Toller, Jake Waters, and Ethan Zack.  The Brownie Lunch was held last week in honor of their efforts!

It has been a time of celebration in third grade and there is plenty of room for more students to join in!

News from the Fourth Grade

We find it hard to believe our first term is over, and the Holidays will soon be upon us.  Following Thanksgiving break, the 4th graders are starting new units and themes.  During December our reading theme That's Amazing.  Stories include a fantasy, a folk tale, and a tall tale.  Many activities will be focused on this theme.  Plus, students will be writing their own stories during writing workshop.  Our new math unit focuses on decimals.  We gave our 4th grade students a pre-test today so we can identify which students need the extra help of small group instruction.  Next week, our new Science kits arrive.  Through February, we will be studying magnetism and electricity.  The focus in Social Studies is the regions of the United States.

We have a field trip coming up on December 6.  We'll be going to the Cecil Cultural Center to view the Nutcracker.  Because of the performance time, students are asked to bring or buy a bagged lunch.  We'll eat some of our lunch very early before leaving and then snack after returning.  Also, we are planning a trip to Franklin Institute in January which ties in beautifully to our science focus.
In case we don't see each other before the Holidays, we wish you and your family the best.

--Mrs. Dona, Ms. Standiford, and Mrs. Gregg

News from Music

It's hard to believe that it is December ALREADY!  And with the arrival of December comes the annual Kenmore Elementary Winter Holiday Concert Spectacular.  This year's Holiday Concert will take place on Monday, December 10th @ 7:00 p.m. in the KES Cafeteria.  The concert will feature the KES Band under the direction of Miss Rachel Butera and the Cubs Chorus under the direction of Mr. William Moon.

Students are asked to wear nice, colorful, festive attire!  Chorus students may wear Santa/Elf hats as well if they'd like to do so.  Chorus students should arrive at 6:40 p.m. and report to the back of the cafeteria/gymnasium.  Band students should arrive at 6:30 p.m. with their instruments and report to the media center.

Come support the music program at Kenmore Elementary School and the INCREDIBLE amount of work they have been doing so far this year by coming out  to our annual Kenmore Elementary Winter Hoilday Concert Spectacular on Monday, December 10th @ 7:00 p.m.  And on behalf of the music department, have a happy and safe holiday season and prosperous new year!

--Mr. Moon & Ms. Butera

P.E. and Integrated Arts

TURKEY TROT UPDATE
A big thank you to all who generously donated canned and boxed goods to our annual Turkey Trot!  We collected over 700 items for the Wayfarers House.
It is so nice to see such a caring spirit around the holidays.  Great job everyone!

--Mrs. Roy

SAFETY ALERT

We would like to thank those individuals that have accepted the adjustments we have made in our arrival and dismissal procedures. Also, we would like to thank our School Resource Officer for observing our procedures and offering suggestions. These are the items that we have addressed to be sure that our procedure is safe for everyone:

We have lengthened the no parking area along our exit bus loop area. Please do not park in the area that is painted yellow. This will allow for safe exiting of our buses as well as safe entering of our parents dropping off in the car loop.

Remember that the handicapped parking area is for handicapped parking only; it is not an area for pulling in, parking, getting out and walking a child into the building.

Entering the bus loop prior to the arrival and departure of all buses continues to be an area of concern. We do have one bus that arrives shortly after all of the other buses have departed. If you see adults or students still standing outside the front door in the morning or in the afternoon, we are waiting for one more bus to arrive. Please do not enter the bus loop, even for a brief minute. Please take the time to pull into the car loop or into a parking area and take care of business.

If you are picking up a student using the car loop procedure you may need to put your car in park and assist your child to get into your car, particularly on days when the weather is unpleasant. The adults monitoring arrival and dismissal are busy with the children inside and can not come out to assist everyone.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES – Please mark your calendar.

“Our Mission: to provide an excellent Pre-Kindergarten through graduation learning experience that enables ALL students to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for lifelong learning and productive citizenship in an ever-changing, global society.”