Windsor Farm Elementary - AACPS
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Windsor Farm Elementary
May/June 2021
“Anchored in Achievement”
Jason Otte, Principal
Teri McCalpin Assistant Principal
Farm Families,
Hard to believe it is May in what has been an amazing year filled with both triumphs, and challenges! I could not
be prouder of the Farm community as we move toward the end of the school year! Thank you for your grit,
perseverance, and hard work to this point! A global pandemic caused some bumps in the road, but we have
continued to push forward and as a staff, we want to make sure we finish the year strong!
As you may be aware, the week of May 3rd begins our nationwide recognition of teacher appreciation week! As
you know, since last March, teachers along with all stakeholders have had to pivot, adjust and adapt to an ever-
moving target of new learning, growth, and expectations. Personally, I am amazed at the work they have done and
could not be prouder. If you have time, please join me in celebrating our great staff! I also would like to thank our
wonderful PTO, who has planned a week full of treats and “socially distant” boxed lunches to recognize them. I
am deeply grateful to the current board (Lisa Saunders, Amanda Kelly, Jennifer Brandt, and Abbie Finamore) for
funding these items and helping to plan them for the teachers and staff. I also wish to thank all our parents and
families who joined the PTO and supported them throughout the last few years for this as well. Volunteers have
done all that they can do/all they could do, and because of that hard work, the PTO was in a great place to assist
where needed! None of this would be possible without our great families and our community! You are simply
amazing! I would also like to give special mention to Mr. Conway, owner of Garry’s Grill in Severna Park who
will be donating a socially distant boxed lunch for teachers/staff during that week as well.
I would like to acknowledge Lisa Saunders, who has served as PTO president and volunteer
coordinator for 7 years. We can’t possibly thank her for all the hours of volunteering given to our school. We
have much to be thankful for during her tenure, and many great memories from the bull roast all the way to Race
for Education, and everything in between! Having the opportunity to see this service in action over the years has
been a great honor and provided many fond event memories for families to cherish. Events such as the pancake
breakfast, father/ daughter dance etc. that our PTO board puts on in normal years is a lot of
work and are incredible. Thank you, Mrs. Saunders, and thank you to all that supported these events with time and
effort! Families are grateful for these experiences!
We also want to take a moment and say goodbye to our School Counselor, Amy Harris. Mrs. Harris has been a
part of the Windsor Farm “farmily” for 9 years and intricate part of our staff, families’, and students’ lives. As
much as we will miss her, we wish her well as she heads to her home state of New York to be closer to her
family. We wish her all the best in her new venture!
In closing, we appreciate the support of all our families as we march on to the end of the year! Please don’t
hesitate to reach out should you have questions.
Sincerely,
Jason Otte, Principal
The Anne Arundel County Public School System does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age national origin, religion, disability, or
socioeconomic status in matters affecting employment or in providing access to programs. Questions regarding nondiscrimination should be
directed to Leslie N. Stanton, Specialist in Human Relations, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, 2644 Riva Road, Annapolis, MD 21401;
telephone 410-222-5318; TDD 410-222-5500.
May/June Calendar
May 3-7 – Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7 – Interims
May 11 – Picture Day (M/T hybrid students)
May 12 – Picture Day (virtual students)
May 13 – Picture Day (Th/F hybrid students) Kindergarten registration is open for
May 27/28-Kindergarten Conferences-No the 2021-22 school year. Please visit
school for Kindergarten students. this link to enroll online:
May 31 – Memorial Day – Schools Closed Kindergarten Registration
Please call the school office if you
June 17/18 – Two-Hour Early Dismissal
have any questions 410-626-8547.
June 18 – Last Day for Students
Classic Photography will be taking individual student AACPS is planning a wide range of
pictures May 11-13. Order forms will be sent home with summer programs for elementary, middle
students attending hybrid, or you can order at the link and high school students. These summer
below. Parents of virtual students will be receiving an programs are intended to help
email with directions to sign up for a time slot on May 12, students engage in unfinished
if interested. learning while focusing on mathematics,
literacy, and preparing for the next grade
May 11 – Hybrid M/T Students level. All programs are designed to
May 12 – Virtual Students support students in a fun and engaging
May 13 - Hybrid Th/F Students manner while building healthy
relationships with peers, practicing
https://classicphotographyimaging.simplephoto.com/search skills, and learning new concepts. More
/windsorfarm2021 information can be found by visiting:
(link expires at 6am on picture day) https://www.aacps.org/summer
Thank you to the 21st Century
Education Foundation. They have
awarded Windsor Farm Elementary a
$250 grant for our Bilingual Library.
Happy May! The weather has been amazing, and we have been amazed
watching the children bloom this year. We will have Parent-Teacher
conferences to discuss your child’s successes at the end of the month. Please
keep a lookout for more information.
In Literacy, we will be using details from a story to retell events from a story (beginning,
middle and end). We will also focus on how illustrations help us describe characters, settings
and events in a story. When reading a text, we will identify reasons an author gives to
support his/her point.
In Writing, we are continuing with opinion writing. We are focusing on stating our opinion
and sharing our reasoning behind our opinion. We continue to stretch words and use known
words. Please encourage your child to put spaces between their words and an end mark at the
end of each sentence. We are working on writing more than one sentence and adding detail
to expand our writing.
In Math, we will focus on problem solving and decomposing, using whole-part-part and
number bonds. We will work with 2-D shapes and begin to analyze their attributes.
In Science and Social Studies, we will continue our study of weather. After weather, we will
learn about using our power to change our environment. We will revisit reduce, reuse,
recycle and discuss other ways we can help our environment.
We are looking forward to seeing you at conferences. We are grateful for your support.
The Kindergarten Team
Can you believe we are in May?!? We still have so much to learn and fun to have! As we teach students in person and virtually, we thank each of you for your support and continued patience. Please continue to monitor your child's Google Classroom assignments and help ensure that all assignments are turned in within the timeframe your child's teacher has communicated. It is also important for cameras to stay on and students to remain at their computer until breaks are given. This will avoid missing directions and important instruction. Thank you for helping us with all the above! In May, students will apply knowledge of decomposing and composing numbers as we learn strategies for adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number. Students will need their connecting cubes in sets of 10 every day. In reading, we will continue to read and comprehend a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts. Many of these texts are read aloud to help develop strong listening skills. Whether attending school in person or virtually, all students should be reading each night. Contact your child's teachers if you would like book recommendations. FUNdations and Foundational Literacy Skills lessons will continue. Students are learning to tap sounds and blend sounds together to read whole words. In FLS students are learning about long vowel spelling patterns. Ask your child to share strategies they are learning in class. Now that we have learned about the elements included in realistic fiction series, students will begin writing their own series. These stories will allow for students to be creative, but it is important to remember that all story elements must be realistic. Students had a blast learning about bubbles, and we are now in our economics unit for Social Studies. We will explore how goods are produced and begin learning about different inventions towards the end of the month. May is going to be packed full of lots of new learning! As the weather becomes warmer, we remind students in school to review the dress code policy. It is important to wear appropriate shoes so your child can safely enjoy outside time at recess. We encourage our virtual students to get outside during the mid-day break but remember to log back into class on time each day by 1:15. As a reminder, virtual instruction on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday begins at 8:50 a.m. On Wednesday, instruction begins at 9:20 a.m. for ALL students. Virtual students should be completing i-Ready while logged into their class meet each morning. Every class has developed a great routine and hybrid learning continues to improve daily! With such a short time left in the year we would love for everyone to stay present and continue to participate each day. If you have any questions or concerns always reach out to your child's teacher to ensure your child can work to their fullest potential each day! Ms. Cowden, Ms. Doffermyre, Mrs. Moreland and Mrs. Roskam
We’ve come a long way! The progress the students have made this year is impressive! We are very happy with the overall grade level performance. We still have work to do and things to look forward to. We’ve finished our “Time Travelers” unit, and we are now in the Theme 4, Unit 1: “We are Researchers.” Throughout this unit, students will be researching and participating in activities to discover ways to be healthy. They’ll be learning how to analyze data and communicate as researchers. In our final unit of study, “We Are Change Makers,” students will explore empathy, leadership, and teamwork to problem solve and learn how to make a positive difference in the world. In writing, students are learning how to become poets. We are learning all about different types of poems and how they describe objects and feelings. We look forward to some exciting poetry coming from our young learners. In math, students will continue to explore the concept of measurement and will be solving problems using addition and subtraction strategies. We will begin to close out the year by learning about partitioning shapes into equal parts and use math vocabulary to name and label the equal parts of the different shapes. Please continue to encourage your child to complete their 30 minutes in reading and 30 minutes of their math i-Ready My Path each week. We have truly enjoyed being a part of your child’s academic success this year. Thank you for your support in making this a successful year! The Second Grade Team
WOW! We can’t believe we are writing our last newsletter entry for the school year already! In so
many ways it seems like the time has flown by! The students have made a lot of growth and progress
this year, that’s for sure!
We will continue to work hard through May and into June, so don’t let the weather or summer’s
approaching fool you. There is still a lot of material to cover. Continue to try to keep a routine/schedule
going!
In reading, we are finishing the theme of Creativity. In this theme we have been using literary and
informational text to engage students in exploration.
In writing, we will revisit narrative writing from the first marking period.
However, this time our focus will be on Fairy Tales! The students will get to
channel their creative side and write a Fractured Fairy Tale.
In math, we will multiply larger numbers like 20 x 3 and 40 x 5. We will be looking at different
strategies to help tackle those problems. It will make a big difference as your child prepares to use these
skills for life. Many students need extra practice in this area. We’ve also been reviewing solving
multiple step word problems as they apply to the real world. We will revisit area as well as addition and
subtraction strategies to prepare the students for 4th grade material.
Social Studies and Science will be working together to complete an Environmental Action Project.
Students will be researching different environmental issues in our area and ways they can help. Students
will be collecting data, analyzing data, and developing a solution. If you have any old t-shirts keep them
handy for our final activity for the Environmental Action Project.
In closing, thank you for the time and dedication you have given to your child and the
school this year. We know that you are your child’s first and best teachers, and we have
been lucky to have had an opportunity to work with all of you.
The Third Grade Team
It is hard to believe it is May already! There is still a lot of learning left to do as we near the end of the
school year.
In literacy, we continue to work on fiction and non-fiction text. We continue to work on comprehension
skills: problem and solution, cause and effect, fact and opinion, drawing conclusions, main idea and
details, summarizing, making inferences, and author's perspective. All students will continue
to participate in advanced learning strategies such as Socratic seminar and higher level questioning. The
focus in writing will be literary analysis essays.
In Math, we are working on Geometry-shapes and symmetry (4G.1; G.2 and G.3),
Hands on Equations (Algebra program), and Multi-step word problems (4.NBT.4;
4.NBT.5 and 4.NBT.6). It is important for students to continue to practice their basic
facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) to improve their fluency and
help to complete math problems.
In Science, we will explore the topics of engineering and fueling the environment. Students will discuss
sources of energy and creating plans to solve problem in the environment.
In Social Studies, students will continue their study of Maryland. We are wrapping up our discussion of
Economics and will discuss New America (changes to America during World conflicts).
We are getting ready to conduct the last set of i-Ready Diagnostic Testing in mid-May. This assessment
will serve to determine progress on skills since the beginning of the year. Please continue to encourage
your child to meet their required i-Ready Reading and Math minute goals for the week. The school
requirement is a minimum of 30 minutes per week in each subject. Incentives will be given for students,
as well as class rewards.
Thank you for your continued support!
The Fourth Grade Team
May is here and we look forward to the remainder of the school year with our 5th graders. Writing – This month, we are focusing on our growth as writers by writing a short memoir. Memoirs blend narrative writing with opinion essay. We will be focusing on identifying a seed idea, like an event, and developing a “watermelon” concept around it. A watermelon concept is the big overarching idea or theme behind the writing. We will be digging deep, and planting seeds that will continue to grow through middle school and beyond. Reading- Our garden of great reads keeps on growing this quarter! We will be using a variety of short stories, nonfiction articles and novel excerpts to continue working skills such as theme, main idea and making inferences. We will also continue to grow our comprehension and writing skills with write to source tasks. This quarter, students will be expected to read a prompt, organize a response and write an essay in one class period. In ALPS single subject, students will continue their novel studies and small group discussions. Mathematics - Big Ideas: Finalizing Multiplication and Division. In this unit, students finalize their understanding of multiplying multi-digit whole numbers using a variety of strategies involving place value (area model and partial products) and connect their understanding to solve problems using the standard algorithm for multiplication. Students also solve division problems with up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors and relate their understanding of arrays to the area model and partial quotients method. Students solve a variety of multi-step word problems which involve interpreting remainders and using a variety of strategies to solve. Big Ideas: Exploring the Coordinate Plane. In this unit, students will build on their knowledge of numerical patterns to discover that when two rules are used to create two numerical patterns, a relationship exists between corresponding terms. At the beginning of the unit, students will gain familiarity with the rules of the coordinate plane, how to plot, and identify ordered pairs. Students will then use this knowledge to represent relationships on the coordinate plane. These concepts will be addressed more fully in middle school. Social Studies – We will wrap up the year by learning about the Constitution Convention and how the U.S. Constitution helped to establish the government we have today. We will be looking at each of the three branches of government and the Bill of Rights. Science – We will finish the year with our last unit that will analyze the relationship between human activities and the earth’s resources. As we work through this process students will be focusing on these exploration questions: 1. How has human water consumption impacted Earth? 2. How do humans get clean drinking water? 3. How can we design a water filter? 4. How can we desalinate water? We just want to say how proud we are of all the 5th graders this year. We know that it has not been the way that 5th graders wanted to end their time at Windsor Farm. However, the students have persevered, and we are proud of how far they have come since the beginning of the year. We also want to thank all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and anyone else who has helped the students through this year. We will miss the students but know that they will make us proud next year in middle school. The Fifth Grade Team
Dear Windsor Farm Parents and Guardians,
For the past 7 years, our school has participated in the “Pennies for Patients” campaign to raise money
for the Maryland chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. You may recall your children
bringing yellow boxes home to collect spare change in! Each year, students participate in lessons
regarding our character traits, “Caring” and “Service,” to explore how small acts like collecting spare
change can yield big results, like helping researchers find cures to childhood cancer.
Each year, we consistently raise almost $1000! That is huge! This year, we will once again be
participating in this important campaign. Like many other things this year, the campaign will be
completely virtual. The program developers have come up with some creative ways to make fundraising
for students all virtual, keep track of progress towards our school’s goal, and make it as easy as possible!
The campaign will run through the month of May. Our character trait for May is “Teamwork.”
Through teamwork, I would love for us to reach a goal of breaking that $1000 barrier! The top three
fundraisers for the school will get to choose a color of a permanent hair extension I will wear for the last
month of school!
Participation in this fundraiser is completely optional! Students will be given a short Google Form to
complete from their teachers to indicate their interest and will be added to a Google Classroom. There
you will find all the information needed to run a successful Pennies for Patients campaign.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You may contact me at:
aeharris@aacps.org.
Thank you!
Amy Harris
School CounselorMay/June 2021
STEM in Society
DEAR WINDSOR FARM FAMILY STEM THROUGH THE SUMMER
Hard to believe we are in the 4th quarter and getting
ready to end the school year. We had so much fun
learning in STEM this year and we want to thank
you for all the help during virtual learning.
Let summertime be fun time. Take
advantage of the outdoors. Discover
ways to keep our environment clean
For the last few modules, we need and safe for us and future generations.
recyclables and crafting materials. Enjoy the green spaces in Anne Arundel
Keep collecting them for the STEM County. Observe the animals and plant
Bins at home. life in your neighborhood. What can
you contribute?
As we say good-bye to the 2020-2021 and look
We wanted to thank our partners at Arlington Echo.
hopefully into the 2021-2022 school year, we want
We had so much fun learning about environmental
to wish you the best summer. We have had so
science and how we play a part in maintaining a
many trials, but we also have had so may triumphs.
healthy Chesapeake Bay.
We are resilient, we can do hard things. We look
forward to seeing your children next year.
The 4th grade became stewards of the bay and
even created superheroes and wrote comic strips.
3rd through 5th grade learned about sustainable
green cities and learned about civil engineering
and city planning. Hopefully, the end product will
be a 3D model or a version of their city using
Minecraft Education.
1st and 2nd grade are learning about birds and their
role in nature. We hope to create a birdhouse,
feeder, birdbath, or nesting material to help the
birds in our habitat.
Kindergarten had a chance to meet a guest
speaker from Arlington Echo. We learned so much
about trees and the students became certified tree
experts. A tree was planted at Arlington Echo in
honor of our Kindergarten class.STRINGS Parents, it’s hard to believe but here we are close to the end of the “mostly virtual” school year! Primarily I would like to thank all of you that have continued to support your children who have stayed the course in strings class. My plan for this month is to have all levels participate in a mini recital inside of their Google Classroom during their scheduled class meeting time. In March, most of my 4th & 5th grade students were able to rally and perform for each other and I was able to send videos to parents so you could see and hear their progress. In May, I will attempt to include my beginning 3rd grade students to do the same. I have already posted videos in the classrooms that will help coach them through the chosen songs. These “recitals” will be held the week of May 17-21 and will be a large part of their Q-4 grade. Once I have recorded all students you will receive via email a copy of the recording so you can watch it at your leisure. We will continue classes into June, but students who have borrowed school instruments will be required to return instruments starting on May 24th. I want to make sure all school-owned instruments are collected before the end of the school year. Over the summer I will examine instruments, take inventory, and send out those instruments that need repair to make sure they are in good condition for the following school year. Please contact me with whatever questions you may have, I am here to help and really have had many happy moments throughout this year getting to know new students and keeping up with my 2nd & 3rd year players. I will miss my 5th grade crew and wish them all the best in the coming transition to middle school. Sincerely, Ms. McCusker
Congratulations to our i-Ready Rockstars! Our Windsor Farm students have been working really hard to achieve their goals for i-Ready minutes! They might just be motivated by the fact that certain staff members will get a pie in the face, but either way, they are doing a great job at crushing their goals! Here are some i-Ready Rockstars that have gone above and beyond this past month! Kindergarten, Mrs. Herr’s class: Ryder, Caitlin, Elizabeth, Ayden. Also, shout out to her entire class for meeting their i-Ready goals for the 3rd week in a row! Kindergarten, Mrs. Moriarty’s class: Shout out to the whole class for meeting their i-Ready goals! Also to Nolan, Nina, and Natalie for going above and beyond. Kindergarten, Mrs. Sayres’ class: Maddox, Caitlyn Kindergarten, Mrs. Machin’s class: Shout out to the whole class for meeting their i-Ready goals! Also to Seraphina for going above and beyond. Kindergarten, Ms. Adamecz’s class: Brady, Abubakr, Estelle, Shekinah, Catlin, Ava First Grade, Mrs. Roskan’s Class: Olivia, Gabby, Sullivan, Joey, Lenox, Naiya, Clara, Caine, Amia, Izzy, Fatima, Dash, Viggo, Dierick, Lane, Naomi First Grade, Mrs. Moreland’s Class: Gabriel, Maddie, Andrew, Devlyn First Grade, Ms. Doffermyre’s Class: King, Odin, Elaina First Grade, Ms. Cowden’s Class: Charlie, Allison, Olivia, Nicholas Second Grade, Mrs. Bowling’s class: Shout out to the entire class for everyone meeting their minutes! James for most minutes this month! Also, Garret, Joshua, Lily, Adagio, Reid, Mason, Charlie, Jackson, Damian, Eleanor, James, Maxim, Luca, and James for going above and beyond. Second Grade, Mrs. Fretwell’s class: Nathan, Jackson, Natalia, Maizy, Queen Second Grade, Mrs. Turner’s class: Anthony, Logan, Veneta, Hazel Second Grade, Mrs. Hughes’ Class: Maddox, Edward, Natalia, Emma, Scarlett, Brendon Third Grade, Mrs. Kennedy’s Class: Shout out to the entire class for improving! Also Connor for going above and beyond! Third Grade, Mrs. Lewis’ Class: Emma, Colin, Alex, Morgan, Emily, Alexis, Stephanie, Emery, Arial, Elizabeth, Carmen Third Grade, Mrs. Dring/Mrs. Phillips’ class: Scout, Adelynn, James, Brogan, James, Keegan, Vincent
Congratulations to our i-Ready Rockstars! Cont. Third Grade, Mrs. Baillieul’s Class: Ethan, Hanna, Stella, Morgan, Sydney, Zachary, Trent, Paloma, Davey Fourth Grade, Mrs. Melton’s class: Shout out to the entire class for all trying hard to earn Friday’s incentive! Also to Noah, Nicolette Charlotte for going above and beyond. Fourth Grade, Mrs. Duke’s Class: Natasha, Izzy, Bianca, Anson, Molly, Grace, Tina Fourth Grade, Mrs. Hawkins’ class: Shout out to the entire class for i-Ready Reading and Math goals for three weeks in a row! Shout out to the following for going above and beyond: Nayeli, Bradley, Owen, Charlotte, Alexander, and Bradley. Fourth Grade, Mrs. Rohrbaugh’s Class: Kelly, Allie, Kyla, Nolan, Lizzie, Jacob, Jack, Matthew, Tess, Virginia, Ellie, Chase, Benson, Chandler, Emely, Kate, Madi Fifth Grade, Mrs. Willison’s class: Travis, Aylinr, Aiden, Julianna, Brayden, Anthony, Paige, Abigail, Colton, Aubrianna Fifth Grade, Mr. Mawhinney’s Class: Madi, Piper, Charlies, Gavin, Finn Fifth Grade, Mrs. Coopersmith’s Class: Shout out to the entire class for meeting their i-Ready goals! Also to Nimi, Adam, Cierra, Calvin for going above and beyond.
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