College Gardens Elementary School

Fall Box Tops Promotion Update

WOW.... All I have to say is WOW.  Everyone is doing such a great job.  We have almost raised $600.00 just by clipping Box Tops.  Keep up the good work.

There is a change in the leader board this week.

• First Place: Ms. Talyor's 4th grade class with a whopping 190 Box Tops
• Second Place: Ms. Floyd's 5th grade with 140 Box Tops
• Third Place: Ms. Birrer's 4th grade class  with 130 Box Tops.

Would you like to see your child's class on the leader board? If so.... send in those Box Tops.  Our goal this year is to raise $2000.00 for the school.  Also, don't forget...the class that submits the most Box Tops by October 15th wins a POPSICLE PARTY!!! Also there are individual prizes too!!!

If you need more Box Top Collection sheets, please go to http://www.boxtops4education.com/Image.aspx?id=6663 to print them out. Remember, each completed collection sheet earns a prize too. Please DO NOT SUBMIT EXPIRED Box Tops.

If you have any questions regarding the Box Top Program, please email I-Hsin Lee McConnell at BoxTops_CGES@yahoo.com 

PTA-sponsored Cultural Arts Assembly, Wed., 10/3

Please join us on Wednesday, October 3 at the first PTA-sponsored Cultural Arts assembly of the school year.  Former Harlem Globetrotter Spencer "Spinny" Johnson will be performing his show "On the Ball, Spinny".  Spinny describes his show as an "upbeat, dynamic program features fun and amazing basketball skills while teaching the importance of education, respect, goal setting, determination and perseverance."

The assembly times are as follows:

• 9:45am - 10:30am    Headstart, Kindergarten and 1st grade
• 10:45am - 11:30am   Grades 2 & 3
• 11:45am - 12:40pm   Grades 4 & 5

All assemblies will be held in the GYM.  Parents, guardians and siblings are welcome to attend.

If you would be able to help at the assembly with light set up and seating students, please contact Natalie Vankos at nvankos@juno.com.

Basketball by i9 Sports - Starts this Thursday 9/27

Basketball will be offered by i9 Sports on Thursdays from 3:45- 4:45 p.m. from September 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18, and 25. The cost is $99 for six sessions. Anyone already registered for an i9 Sports Fall program or has a sibling playing gets a $20 discount. For more information and to register, please visit: www.i9sports.com or email: jsiegel@i9sports.com.

Dance Club - Starts Tuesday 10/2

Dance Instructor Angie Caulfield is offering a combination dance class that exposes the children to tap, ballet and jazz technique. The fall session is 10 week sessions and costs $100. Class times for kindergarten through 2nd grade run from 3:50 to 4:50 with the instructor on site to supervise children with snack and changing. The 3rd grade through 5th grade class runs from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. from Tuesday, October 2nd through Tuesday, December 18th. There will be no class on November 6th as school is closed for election day and no class on November 13th due to the half day for parent/teacher conferences.  For more information contact Angie Caulfield at RockvilleDancing@gmail.com 

Big Learning Foreign Language: FLES - Classes begin the week of 10/8/12

FLES offers quality, immersion-based foreign language classes in Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and French for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Children have fun and enjoy learning new languages from native speakers as they explore foreign lands through exciting stories, high energy games, and imaginative interactive activities. Classes will be held after school and begin the week of October 8, 2012. For more information and to register, see registration form or visit: www.mccpta-epi.org/fles/.  FLES has extended their registration deadline to Monday, Oct. 1st. The CGES parent volunteer coordinators are Monique Ashton at moniquemla@yahoo.com and Veronica Rodriguez at veerodriguez@hotmail.com 

Mad Science - "Zip Zap Boom" - Starts Wed. 10/17

Race around the sciences in this exciting series of classes. Children will experiment with animal calls and take a trip to the bottom of the sea to see how marine life adapts to harsh conditions. Pop, jump and flip into kinetic energy during Energy Burst, and build your own robotic arm. Everyone will get to Mix It Up during our crazy chemistry class. Each hour-long program in this series is sure to be a blast! Classes meet on Wednesdays 3:35- 4:35 p.m. October 17- December 12. Registration deadline is: October 3. To register, visit: www.madscience.org/dc. The CGES parent volunteer coordinator is Monique Ashton (moniquemla@yahoo.com).

Our Children (This week's feature article)

"Five Key Skills to Academic Success" by GreatSchools Staff

It takes a combination of skills — organization, time management, prioritization, concentration and motivation — to achieve academic success. Here are some tips to help get your child on the right track.

To find out which of these skills your child has and which he can develop further, start a simple conversation that focuses on his goals. Ask him about his favorite subjects, classes he dreads and whether he's satisfied with his latest progress report.

Listen for clues.

Incorporate your own observations with your child's self-assessment. Is your child overwhelmed by assignments? She may have trouble organizing time. Does your child have difficulty completing her work? She may get distracted too easily. Is your child simply not interested in school? She may need help getting motivated.

Identify problem areas.

Start here to help your child identify which of the five skill areas are trouble spots.

• Read Full Article 

PTA Reminders

Buy a Rockville Rewards Card and Support Our School

Enjoy a year of discounts at nearly 100 local businesses when you purchase a Rockville Rewards Card from the PTA @ $25 each (100% of purchase price goes directly to the PTA!).  Use the card as many times as you want, valid until August 31, 2013.

• 2 easy ways to buy a Rockville Rewards Card:

  1. Fill out and return the order form 

  2. Purchase online securely with Paypal

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CGES Fall Fundraisers

The school itself is holding two separate fundraisers currently:

• CGES is selling Mixed Bag Designs products - colorful, eco-friendly, reusable bags and accessories. CGES makes 50% profit on catalog orders and 40% profit on online orders from your friends and family.  The CGES online order ID# is 78974 (this code is valid all year for future online orders as well).  Orders and full payment for this fundraiser drive are due no later than Sept. 27th. Please make checks payable to "College Gardens Elementary School." Orders will be ready for pick-up in approximately 5 weeks, you will be notified.

   

• CGES is also holding a Claire's Gourmet Fundraiser. The CGES online Organization # is 4899 for friends and relatives.  Orders and payment are due today, Monday, September 24th. Please make checks payable to "College Gardens Elementary School." All orders will be ready for pickup on Tuesday, Oct. 9th.

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2 minutes or less is all it takes...

2 minutes or less - that's how long it will take you to help earn money for College Gardens, with absolutely no cost to you.  There's a program called eScrip, and it's run through your Safeway Club Card. They donate a percentage of your grocery sales to College Gardens Elementary School - all you have to do is sign up!

Already signed up for a different school? No Problem. eScrip lets you support up to 3 groups.  You can also have friends and family sign up to support our school.

In order to do register, you will need to have your Safeway Club Card handy, then follow the steps below:

1. Log in to www.escrip.com 
2. Click on 1 - "Sign up - It's Free!" 
3. Choose group ID and enter 6490000 
4. Click on the underlined College Gardens 
5. Click on Next on the following screen
6. Provide your name and address
7. Enter card number
8. Next it will ask you if you want to register any of your credit cards to earn more for the school. You can skip this step if you'd like
9. Confirm the information and you're all done.

Thanks in advance to all the wonderful CGES families for supporting our school!

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Tired of getting so much paper? Go green, by opting into "Red"

The PTA Communications Team is pleased to offer again this year, an easy and convenient way to receive the Wednesday Packets in electronic format.  This is the “RED” group, for those who would like to conserve paper and instead receive all the Wednesday backpack notices/flyers via email. To choose to be a RED, simply send an email to: info@cgespta.org - in the subject line type: Red and in the body on the email please write your child(ren)'s name(s) and teacher's name(s). (If your children are in the CI program, please write the teacher who has them in the morning!) Be aware that “RED” group members won't receive paper notices/flyers on Wednesdays, but instead receive an email from CGES-PTA on Wednesday afternoons with links to the same notices/flyers in digital format. Then you can simply click on the links that interest you. And if your child is out on Wednesday; no worries... you will still get the email and not have to wait until your child returns to school.

If you choose to be in the Red group, please send your email no later than September 28, 2012. Families who were in the Red group in previous years will need to send an email again this year, so that we can update which classroom(s) your child(ren) are in.

With over 850 students at CGES, the RED group greatly helps to conserve paper and cut down on the work the Communications Team does every Wednesday morning in collating packets. Thank you for your consideration, Eric Van Ryzin, PTA VP of Communications, and Rachel Navarro, Wednesday Packets Coordinator.

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Get Free Homework Help with Homework Hotline Live!

Homework Hotline Live! (HHL) kicked off a new season last Wednesday, to help students in kindergarten through 12th grade by offering free homework help. Students can contact HHL teachers from 4–6 p.m. on the phone or 4–9 p.m. online on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Students have several ways to reach HHL. They can ask questions by:

• Making a phone call to 301-279-3234
• Visting the HHL website 
• Sending a text message to 724-427-5445
• Sending an email 
• Posting a message to Facebook
• Posting a “tweet” to Twitter

HHL will answer text, email and Facebook homework questions from 4–9 p.m. Questions from 4–6 p.m. will be answered live on TV. Questions submitted from 6–9 p.m. will receive a text or email response.

Students and staff can watch Homework Hotline Live! on MCPS-TV (Comcast 34, Verizon 36, RCN 89).

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Earn eBoxTops for our school by simply signing up online

You can even start collecting Box Tops electronically by signing up online to support our school. Register at www.btfe.com/hero. Every new member that signs up before September 15, 2012 will automatically receive 5 eBox Tops for our school…if everyone signed up, that could mean over $400 for our school!!  Plus eBox Tops are automatically deposited in our school’s account, so there is there no cutting necessary.  Just make sure you designate College Gardens Elementary School as the school you would like to support. Once you are registered, there are additional ways you can earn Box Tops and receive coupons for products that support the Box Tops for Education program.

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MCPS Parent Academy Fall Workshops

The MCPS Parent Academy offers parents and community members the opportunity to attend free workshops that provide information, resources, tools and tips to support their children's success in school. The fall season of workshops will begin on August 30. Among this year's topics: learning about Curriculum 2.0, motivating kids to read, keeping children safe on the Internet, and preventing illness.

A full list of courses will be available on the Parent Academy website.

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Office Depot Promotion

Office Depot will donate 5% of your purchase to our school if you give them our school code.  The school code for College Gardens is 70047229. 

The PTA NewsFlash is edited by Eric Van Ryzin Please send article submissions to Eric_J_Van_Ryzin@mcpsmd.org. Deadline is COB Fridays