Turtle Talk 02/28/2025
Watershed's Newsletter
Take a Plant, "Leaf" a Plant
Ms. Lauren has created a plant propagation station in the Watershed front doorway. Plant cuttings are growing in the window and available for anyone to adopt a plant cutting and take it home. Families are also welcome to leave their own plant cuttings for others to take. If you are looking for a new houseplant, check out Ms. Lauren's display!
Trex Plastic Recycling Program
Watershed participates in Trex's plastic recycling program. There are 2 tall white containers in the front lobby to collect plastic bags and plastic wrap. Each week, a Watershed volunteer collects the plastic, weighs it, takes a picture of it and drops it off at a local grocery store for recycling. Watershed logs our plastic donations each week. If we reach our goal of recycling 1,000 lbs. of plastic by the end of August, Watershed would receive a composite bench for our campus made out of plastic bags like the ones that we have been recycling. Please help us reach our goal and bring your clean, dry, and food-free plastic to recycle at school. Thank you!
Hello Watershed Families!
I’m excited to share some updates from the counseling department. First, I wanted to formally introduce myself—many of your students may have mentioned both "Mrs. Hennessy" and "Ms. Rives" this year. That’s because my name has changed, but I’m still here as your school counselor, supporting our students' growth and well-being!
March PTO Meeting
Be sure to join us for the March PTO Meeting on Tuesday March 4th at 7:00 PM. We will discuss all the most recent events like Spelling Bee, Read-A-Thon, Five Guys and Sky Zone Fundraisers and more. We will also have our big budget proposal vote and begin accepting nominations for next year’s PTO officers. The agenda and budget proposal will be shared ahead of the PTO meeting.
Tuesday, March 4th at 7:00 PM! meet.google.com/uvx-zqmz-rcd
Countdown to Election Day!
Spring is just around the corner, and as we eagerly anticipate this season of growth and rebirth in the natural world around us, we plant the seeds for progress and renewal within our own Watershed community.
Looking to cultivate potential and possibilities, the elections committee is seeking dedicated, innovative members of the PTO to fill the PTO Executive Board positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer for the 2025-2026 school year!
Why volunteer to be a board member? Your time and energy is valuable, and what better way to spend it than by contributing to a community of shared experiences geared to engage and elevate our students! You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other enthusiastic volunteers to bring ideas to life, lead initiatives that enhance your child’s education, advocate for the specific needs of our school, and facilitate a strong network of support for the leaders of tomorrow. Together we can show our children that our voices can be heard and that our work does have an impact.
The committee will begin accepting nominations for next year’s officers at the March 4th PTO meeting, and the election will be held at the PTO meeting on April 1st. You must be an active member of the Watershed PTO to run for a position on the Executive Board and also to vote in the election.
Intrigued but want more information? Check out our bylaws here, or reach out to any of our current PTO officers for perspective!
Be inspired, be engaged, and be on the lookout for nomination forms coming soon!
Homework Club and Career Fair
Two new exciting initiatives are coming to Watershed and Ms. Rives has invited PTO members to come be a part of them!
The first opportunity is to volunteer to help with the Homework Club! Homework Club is being held weekly on Wednesdays from 2:15-3:15 pm at the school. Homework Club volunteers will supervise middle school students as they work with younger students to help them build their math skills, engage in the activities, and help with their work. For more details and to sign up, please visit this link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0845ABA823A7FCC52-54522206-homework#/
And the second opportunity is to be a part of a planning committee for the Career Fair that will be held during school on May 28th. Committee members will help with the planning and completion of delegated tasks. Work on this committee is scheduled to begin in mid-February. If you are interested in participating, please contact Ms. Rives at rhennessy@bcps.org.
Spelling Bee
Thank you to all the families who joined us for the 2025 Watershed PTO Spelling Bee! A special shout-out to the participants for their dedication, hard work, and for competing with both enthusiasm and sportsmanship. We’d also like to thank the volunteers who helped make the evening so special! Winners will be announced soon!
Committee Members Needed! Help Plan Staff Appreciation Week!
Staff Appreciation Week will be here before we know it, and we want to show our staff how grateful we are for them. Staff Appreciation Week wouldn't be possible without an incredible team of people coming together to help plan it! We could still use some enthusiastic folks to join us for the next Staff Appreciation Week committee meeting on Thursday, March 6h at 7pm using this google meet link:
https://meet.google.com/kyp-bjgo-nnk.
If you are not able to attend, but are interested in working on Staff Appreciation Week, please send an email to kara.falck@gmail.com.
Five Guys Fundraiser
Come support the Watershed PTO at our March Restaurant Night Fundraiser at Five Guys on Wednesday, March 12th, coinciding with the Unit Showcase! From 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Five Guys will donate 20% of Watershed Family’s purchases to the PTO. Simply show the flyer above or mention you're with the Watershed PTO when placing your order to ensure your purchase counts. Ordering online? Don’t forget to bring the raffle ticket attached to this flyer so the PTO can receive credit for your purchase. We can't wait to see everyone there!
Address: 7091 Security Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21244
Sky Zone Fundraiser
Looking for a fun way to spend time with the kids while supporting the Watershed PTO? Join us on Wednesday, March 19th, from 4:30–6:30 PM at Skyzone in Columbia! 20% off each purchase of a 90-minute jump pass and new membership purchased during this time will go to the PTO. Please note: all jumpers must wear grippy socks, which are available for purchase at Skyzone if needed.
Can’t wait to jump with everyone! Address: 7175 Oakland Mills Rd. Columbia, MD 21046
Parent/Caregiver Led Clubs
We are still looking for some awesome ideas for after-school clubs. Do you have a passion or hobby you would like to share with the students? There is still time to make your awesome idea a reality!
The PTO is currently looking for enthusiastic members of our community to lead some clubs. We’re excited to offer Parent/Caregiver Led Clubs for Watershed students, and we’d love for you to share your talents, skills, or hobbies! If you're interested in running an after-school club, please check out the details here. For any questions, feel free to
contact us at president@watershedpto.org.
LinkTree: One link for all our links!
Did you know that the Watershed PTO has a linktree? Visit https://linktr.ee/watershedpto to find an up to date list of all our links including the Fall Fest RSVP, Room Rep Contact Information, volunteer sign-ups, our Mabel’s Labels fundraiser, and more!