College Gardens Elementary School

• Playground Shade - Update & Vote
• End of Year Picnic on June 7th
• Field Day on June 8th

MCPL Summer Reading Program

Summer Reading Program to be Held at Montgomery County Public Libraries June 12-August 11 with Online Registration; Fun Programs Scheduled

Children of all ages are invited to participate in this year’s Summer Reading Program at Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) which will run from June 12 to August 11.  This year's themes are "Dream Big-Read" for children and "Own the Night" for teens Registration is online through the Library’s website (www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library) beginning June 12.  Participants can sign up for the program and keep track of the books they read, or have read to them, using any computer in the library, at home or anywhere.

This year’s Summer Reading Program is offered on three levels:

• Read to Me! is for children from birth to 5 years old.  Parents or caregivers can sign up their children. After reading at least five books, an online certificate can be printed out from the computer.

• Kids Read! is for children from ages 6 to 12.  Kids can sign up and read at least five books to earn a certificate, which can be printed out from the computer.

• Teens Read! is for teens in middle and high school.  Teens who read four books or more earn a certificate, which can be printed out from the computer. 

Studies have shown that public library summer reading programs enhance student achievement and help children to retain their reading skills.  Recommended reading lists by grade will be available on the Library’s website.

Magicians, musicians, storytellers, jugglers, puppets and more will entertain children at all branches of Montgomery County Public Libraries this summer.  Schedules of programs are on the library’s calendar of events, and flyers will be available at the branches. All programs are funded by the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, Inc. (FOLMC) and by local Friends of the Library chapters.

Summer Reading t-shirts are on sale now through the FOLMC.  For more information on t-shirts, please call 240-777-0020.

To request ADA program accommodations, call the library hosting the program at least five work days in advance.

For more information, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library.

Media Contact:  Bonnie Ayers, 240-777-6507

Library Contact:  Carol Legarreta, 240-777-0030

The Julius West PTSA needs a Treasurer for next year

The JW PTSA is looking for someone to be the Treasurer next year.  Treasurer is an essential, but really manageable position for someone who can use Excel and read and reconcile a bank statement.

• Our budget is relatively small: ~$20,000/year.
• The number of checks to be written and distributed is only 30 per year.
• Deposits come in small bunches: membership deposits in September and October; bookfair and fundraising are concentrated in a few days around those events.
• We use Bank of America as our bank, which has convenient locations throughout the Rockville area.
• Treasurer reports need to be prepared only once a month for the membership meetings, ~6-8 times.
• We have had an excellent treasurer the last two years and so there are excellent records and no outstanding issues to fix. She will be available next year to help answer questions.
• Training and support material are available through the county, state and national PTA.
• We have a president who will cosign checks and work with you to create the budget.   

Please consider stepping up to help JW PTSA continue the support the PTSA provides to all students, staff and parents through the cultural arts, directory publication, and staff appreciation.  We do not want to stop the work traditionally provided at JW but cannot continue without you!

Contact Belinda Tilley (btilleylaw@yahoo.com, 301-424-3040), Nancy Downing (wudowning@gmail.com, 301-762-9414) or Lori Merrill (lori @merrill-samuelson.com, 301-770-1530) to volunteer or ask more questions.

Soccer Coordinators Needed

Brit-Am Soccer is looking for 2 parents coordinators for CGES 2012-2013 fall session. If you are interested, please contact present coordinators Xi Zhou & Treasa Fitzgerald.  The contact informations are Xi at arieszhouwang1@hotmail.com or at 301-251-0769, Treasa at tfitzgerald@alt-enter.net Or at 301-654-6632.

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A HUGE Thank You

Thank you to the Kindergarten teachers and staff for welcoming incoming Kindergarteners to CGES last Thursday and Friday during Kindergarten Orientation. I also wanted to thank our numerous volunteers that helped make all of the behind of the scenes work go off without any issues and for all of those volunteers who "manned" the Welcome Table for two days: Eileen Benavides, Jane Colilla , Jill Murray, Jeanette Dexter, Jennifer Halper, Christina Avery, Aisha Dukes, Crista Oehler, Eric Van Ryzin, Johntai Reid, Karen Hagan, Christine Hutchison, Rachel Navarro, and the invaluable Mr. Wright!

Thanks again for all of your help!

Jen Green, PTA President

 

 

Our Children (This week's feature article)

 

"Solving the Problem of Summer Reading Loss" by James s. Kim and Thomas G. White

After they start school, low-income children lose ground to middle-income kids in reading. Some hypothesize that this growing gap in reading achievement is due, in large part, to different rates of learning during the summer months. Even small differences in summer learning accumulate over the years, making the achievement gap substantially larger at the end of elementary school than at the beginning. One longitudinal study showed that more than half of the gap in 9th-grade reading comprehension scores between low-income students and their middle-income counterparts was explained by differences in summer learning that accumulated from 1st to 5th grade (Alexander, Entwisle, and Olson 2007). The phenomenon of summer reading loss is well-known to educators, but the most commonly proposed solutions are either ineffective or too costly. However, research is pointing to an alternative approach that does work and is cost-effective. (read full article)

 

PTA Reminders

From the Media Center:

All Books were Due Back to the Media Center Friday May 18^th.  We will be sending notices home regarding books that are overdue. If you receive a notice please help your child find the book and remind them to bring it back to school. If the book is lost, the cost to replace the book will be on the form. Thank you for your cooperation.

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Field Day, Friday, June 8th - Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed to run a Field Day Station where students play a game or perform a task for 7-10 minutes before moving to the next station.

Over 25 different Field Day Stations  From 9:45am until 12:00pm on Friday, June 8th

If you have a sport you loved as a kid, a special talent you’d like to share or simply enjoy being outdoors, please consider this terrific opportunity to help your College Gardens Elementary School! 

Please contact: Mrs. Moore, PE Teacher (301) 279-8470 email: Jennell_Moore@mcpsmd.org

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PTA Fundraising Drive

The PTA is doing a Fundraising Drive and needs your support!  Any donation amount you can contribute is greatly appreciated.

For donations of $25 or more, donors select one of the following "Thank You" gifts:

• PTA T-Shirt (yellow color) 

or 

• $10 Gift Certificate 

Choose one (1) certificate from below:

• Branded '72 Barbque
• Buffalo Wild Wings
• California Tortilla
• Fontina Grille
• Mama Wok
• Red Hot & Blue

You can make your tax deductible donation via Paypal.  Or, write a check payable to CGES PTA and mail it to CGES PTA, 1700 Yale Place, Rockville, MD  20850.  For more information, please email the PTA VP of Fundraising, Linda Sankanung 

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MCCPTA Leadership Skills Seminar - Wed., June 6

MCCPTA SPRING 2012 LEADERSHIP SKILLS TRAINING

 

Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 6:30 PM - 9 PM, Walter Johnson High School Cafeteria, 6400 Rock Spring Drive Bethesda, MD 20814

 

MCCPTA provides quality training as part of your dues payments.  All PTA members in Montgomery County are encouraged to attend. There are valuable sessions for all. Anyone interested in helping the PTA support families is encouraged to sign up. Special tools for new and returning officers and committee chairs. (see flyer)

 

Sign up today at: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/60B054FA5A82E5-mccpta1 

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Please email news items for the News Flash to info@cgespta.org, and please copy Eric_J_Van_Ryzin@mcpsmd.org, by COB Friday for publication the following Monday morning.