LAUREL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GETS A NEW PLAYGROUND THANKS TO 221 COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

From: Eileen Collins, LES PTA Treasurer and Playground Project Chairperson

First, I want to thank all of you for making our playground build an exciting, wonderful, community build event. I believe that the final volunteer count was at 221. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to all of those who participated in planning the children's events, to the beautification team, to the build captains and construction volunteers, to the component teams to the post/deck teams to the outdoor classroom teams, to the food and safety teams, to the volunteer recruitment and management teams, to the concrete and borders teams, to the planning teams, to the City of Laurel (Mayor and City Council, Public Works and Parks and Rec) and Southern Management (Spruce Up Our Schools team), Lanham Construction, Legends Builders, Mike Collins, Modell's, Laurel VFD, Executive Electrolysis, PNC, Laurel School of Music, Patrons for Peace, Freedom Landscaping and Construction, Exec-U Lawn, Daycon, Lowe's, American Legion Post 60 and the Ladies' Auxiliary, Laurel Board of Trade, DF Foundation, Jim Rosapepe, Tom Dernoga, to the volunteers with no ties at all to Laurel Elementary School or even Laurel itself, and most especially to KaBOOM! and Stonyfield Farms for giving Laurel Elementary School the opportunity to complete this massive overhaul of our playgrounds. We were blessed with beautiful sunny skies to complete our tasks. The final group of about 6 volunteers left around 7 or 7:30. The playground is up except for the tetherball and one trash can (but only because we ran out of concrete for the second time). Some nuts and bolts have to be tightened and the mulching and borders need to be completed, the concrete has to dry as well as our inspection by the certified playground specialist. But it is DONE!

6,800 Women Honored By PGCPS:

By: Michael A. Robinson, Coordinating Supervisor, Parental Engagement

May 11, 2009 will go down in the history of Prince George's County Public Schools, as 6,807 women were honored by staff, teachers and school system administrators for their commitment to impacting the lives of children as part of the first annual PGCPS Women’s Day.

Over 130 schools invited mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, nieces and other significant female role models in the lives of Prince George's County Public Schools students to celebrations in their honor. The women were treated to an assortment of celebrations, gifts and surprises. Celebrations included songs and poems performed by students, mother children Tea Parties, guest speakers from community and government organizations and at several of the schools professional photographers were on hand to take photos of the women. As gifts, some women received gifts card to local stores, certificates of appreciation from staff, teachers and students, free professional photos and CDs of their day in the school.

Carmody Hills Elementary School provided a full-course breakfast to over 70 women, which was followed by an opportunity to observe classrooms. Not to be out done, Clinton Grove Elementary School held a Mother-Daughter Tea program; and professional pictures were taken for more than 70 mothers and grandmothers. At Eugene Burroughs Middle School the women in attendance were treated to breakfast followed by a discussion on specific issues impacting student success at the middle school level. Yorktown Elementary had over 108 women participate in their celebration. Women dropping off their children, who were unable to attend, were provided a breakfast to-go packaged in a pink lunch bag with orange juice, a multi-grain breakfast bar and a banana. Bowie High School celebrated the women of Bowie with a dazzling array of events. Women were greeted in the morning with coffee and provided an opportunity to observe classrooms. The day concluded with an evening program, entitled “Phenomenal Women." The program honored women volunteers, who have worked with the students and staff of Bowie High School for over 10 years.

Women's Day provided a forum for these significant role models to share stories; ideas and strategies. Participants were also able to develop supportive networks to address challenges and successes of having such an important role in the lives of Prince George’s County students. It can never be said enough, how important a role women play in the success of students in Prince George's Public Schools.

Prince George's County Public Schools acknowledges the role and significance these women have and as such we wanted to show our appreciation as a school system.

Perhaps the late rapper Tupac Shakur said it best, “there's no way I can pay you back But my plan is to show you that I understand. You are appreciated”

PARENT SPOTLIGHT: KAREN THOMAS

Name: Karen Thomas
Age: 33
Home: Capitol Heights, MD
Spouse: Martinus Thomas
Kids: Martia, 8, Kiya 3

What school does your child attend?
William W. Hall Elementary

What is your child’s greatest academic success?
Reading

Best Parental Engagement Tip?
Try to attend as many programs and assemblies as possible, this makes your child happy that you are aware of their accomplishments and achievements. They will tend to do great things for your attention.

A piece of advice on helping you child succeed academically?
Make sure you help them with homework when needed and challenge them with other work or fun activities. Reading to them is important as well.

Best family organizing tip?
Try to prepare in advance to eliminate rushing!

How do you ensure your child is prepared to succeed in school?
You can ensure your child's preparation of succeeding in school by testing them with their spelling words or going over their papers they bring home to see if they understood, talk to them and see what they need help with, keep communication open with your kids, and teachers.

How does your family stay healthy/relax?
My family stays healthy/relax by exercising eating the right foods, keep a happy environment, and keep religion in our lives.

PGCPS Mourns the Loss of Ms. Suzi Johnson

The Department of Family and Community Outreach would like to extend condolences to the Robert Goddard Montessori School for the loss of their principal Suzi Johnson. Ms. Johnson passed away on the morning of Wednesday, May 27th after a long illness. Ms. Johnson knew each student by name and loved her students and her work. Professional School Counselors will be available, along with other school district staff, to support students and families during this time. If your child needs any additional support or help dealing with grief or loss, please contact us for additional assistance.

Raising Him Alone (Up coming Activities)

The Raising Him Alone Campaign will be hosting several FREE opportunities for families to get connected to valuable community based resources. Please mark your calendar for upcoming events.

Summer Resource Fair For Parents

NEWARK, N.J.
DATE: Saturday May 30, 2009
TIME: 12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Boylan Recreation Center, 955 South Orange Ave, Newark, NJ

BALTIMORE, MD
DATE: Saturday, June 6, 2009
TIME:12:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Sojourner Douglass College, 200 N. Central Ave, Baltimore, MD
PARENTS: Parents can register children and youth for valuable summer programs.
Special Baltimore Guest: Harrine Freeman author of Get Out of Debt (First 50 parents will receive FREE signed copies of Ms. Freeman's book)

For more information please contact 410.467.1605

Organizations interested in setting up exhibitor tables please contact us at 877.339.4300.

Men Missing From The Pk 12 Classroom

Men Missing From The Pk 12 Classroom—A Discussion Of

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Parent Engagement

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Parent Engagement

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Borders’ Summer Reading Program

Kids Reading Challenge
Here's how it works:

Kids 12 and under read any 8 books.

1. List the books you've read on the Reading Challenge Worksheet.


2. Have a parent/guardian sign the completed worksheet.


3. Bring your completed worksheet to any Borders or Waldenbooks store between May 26 and August 31 to save 50% or more on selected items.

Women's Day: A Wonderful Day

Wonderful images from Women's Day!

Clinton Grove ES:
http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/detailfs?userid={401C8467-3300-47E1-BB6C-E83127E9B41D}&ndx=0&AlbumId={0A5A220C-4A5A-4536-B7F5-1B0B226EB888}&GroupId=&screenheight=800&autostart=1

The Department of Family and Community Outreach is seeking articles from parents and community partners

The Department of Family and Community Outreach is seeking articles/postings from parents and community partners on any subject related to parental engagement, wellness, community events and or activities.

There are a few criteria for submitting your article/posting:

• All content must be created by you. No exceptions


• If your content has been published elsewhere, make sure you still own the copyright to it


• Content needs to be at least 300 words in length


• Poetry is excluded from word limits


• Content must contain correct grammar, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation