Turtle Talk 10/17/2025

A word about our WAAG - Watershed also uses a cultural calendar to ensure visibility of all holidays, holy days, and national days of recognition, across various backgrounds. Watershed continues to be a space of learning, dialogue, and safety for all people. If you have a comment or correction regarding the WAAG, please contact our Turtle Talk editor, Sage Magness-Hill.

Our Watershed Turtles are truly amazing—they bring energy, curiosity, and creativity to everything they do. One of the highlights this week was seeing them engaged in hands-on learning outdoors, from exploring ecosystems in the stream at Patapsco State Park to building simple machines with natural materials. These experiences not only deepen their understanding but also foster teamwork and joy. Watershed is a vibrant place where learning comes alive, and we’re proud of the growth we see every day!

Restorative Practices at Watershed: Restorative practices help build a stronger, more empathetic school community by focusing on relationships, accountability, and growth. One key tool we use is reflection sheets, which guide students in thinking deeply about their actions, the impact on others, and how to make things right. These sheets encourage honest dialogue and personal responsibility, helping students develop emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills. Through this process, we foster a culture of respect, understanding, and continuous learning. If your child completes one of these sheets, it means that they were able to take accountability for their actions and their impact on others. It also means that they were able to solve their problems with support from adults. If you have questions about the reflection sheets, please reach out to the teacher to discuss it.

A huge thank you to our amazing parent volunteers, teachers, and leadership team for helping make our first all-school field trip such a wonderful success! Students explored the natural world at Patapsco Valley State Park—studying macroinvertebrates, searching for sea glass along the riverbank, participating in BioBlitz activities, and enjoying time outdoors with friends and classmates.

We’re also deeply grateful to Patapsco Heritage Greenway for partnering with Watershed and securing a Chesapeake Bay Trust Youth Environmental Education grant, which helped fund this incredible experience. Their team brought science to life and made the day both fun and educational!

It's Watershed enrollment lottery season and an easy way to help spread the word about our school is to place a yard sign at your home. We have 14 yard signs that need a temporary lawn or balcony from October-December and families who do so can give themselves 1 hour of volunteer time. Please use the form below to let us know you would like to help:

https://forms.gle/pHtpJK2whFGH7PR4A

The first round of Pokémon Club is open to 2nd and 3rd grade students. The club will meet on Mondays—October 13, 20, 27, and November 3rd—from 3:15 to 4:30 PM.

Pokémon Club runs in 4-week cycles and focuses on teaching students how to play the Pokémon card game while reinforcing math, reading, and problem-solving skills.

No Pokémon cards are required to participate.

Space is limited to the first 10 students who sign up using the SignUpGenius link below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040C49AAAB2EA3FC1-46594247-4th6th

Our Cafeteria is a peanut and nut free school.

You can check the menu for the day or week by visiting the link at the top of every Turtle Talk.

*Cafeteria serves Hummus, and it contains sesame seed*

Check your child's account to see their ala carte spending/snacking.

BCPS Daily Menu: https://bcps.nutrislice.com/menu/bcps-weekly-menus

• Always park in a parking space - never the fire lane or in a non-line spot - to pick up your child.
• Slow and steady wins the race (it's how the tortoise beat the hare!) - please make sure your speed is between 5-10 mph on the lot.
• When there is the food pantry at the church, please avoid parking at the end of the parking spot lines so that the pantry line moves easily.

We are working with Baltimore County Public Schools and County Government to look at adding traffic calming measures. We hope to have an update from that collaboration soon! Your patience and support is appreciated!

Every year, Watershed participates in a challenge to recycle plastic bags. In 2024-2025, the Watershed community recycled 555 pounds of plastic! Last school year, we got even closer to our goal! A new challenge year begins September 10th and our school's goal is to recycle 1,000 pounds of plastic! There are 2 large white containers outside of the front office to deposit your plastic recycling. Here is a list of items that are accepted: produce bags, store bags, ice bags, Ziploc and other re-sealable bags, cereal box liners, bread bags, newspaper sleeves, dry cleaning bags, bubble wrap and plastic shipping mailers.

Any questions, please email Nurse Flor at ftorres@bcps.org

Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease is a common viral illness in children. We have recently seen an increase in cases throughout Baltimore County as often occurs in late summer and fall.

Here is some information about Hand, Foot & Mouth (HFM) disease:

• It is caused by a virus.
• People infected with HFM often have tiny blisters in their mouths and on the palms of the hands and bottom of feet. These blisters often last for 7-10 days. Most people with HFM have very mild symptoms, but some can develop a fever.
• It’s most common among younger children.
• It is easily spread between people. Virus can be found in feces, as well as saliva. If the blisters break, the fluid in the blisters is also infectious.
• People are most contagious at the beginning of the infection, but sometimes they can spread the infection for several weeks.

Fortunately, HFM disease is usually very mild. Children with HFM disease may attend school unless:

• They have a fever of 100ºF or greater. They may return to school when the fever is gone for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine.
• They are drooling, have “uncontrollable hand to mouth” behaviors, or have draining sores that cannot be covered with a bandage.

To reduce the spread, parents, students and staff should:

• Wash their hands often and thoroughly with soap and water, including after going to the bathroom, changing diapers, arriving home and before eating or feeding a child.
• Wash objects that are contaminated with saliva with soapy water.
• Cover all coughs and sneezes.

If you or your child exhibits symptoms listed above, such as a fever (100 ºF or higher) or has unexplained blisters on the skin, please consult your health care provider.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza virus. It can cause mild to severe illness and at times can lead to death. It is spread by droplets made when people cough/sneeze or talk. Less often a person might get influenza by touching a surface or object.

Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly, you may feel some or all of these signs and symptoms:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills

• Cough

• Sore throat

• Runny or stuffy nose

• Muscle or body aches

• Headaches

• Fatigue or tiredness

• Some may have vomiting and diarrhea (though this is more common in children than adults)

Preventing Seasonal Flu:

• Flu vaccine is the best way to prevent the Flu. The vaccine does not cause the Flu. Timing is important, the vaccine takes 2 weeks to be effective in protecting you against the Flu virus, be proactive in scheduling you Flu shots as early as possible.

• Stay home if you are sick

• Cover cough and sneezes

• Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol-based sanitizer.

• Consider wearing a mask when going out in public places
  
  

Treatment:

• Reach out to your HCP, Flu antiviral medications may be a treatment option. It can make the illness milder and shorten the time you are sick. It may prevent flu complications like Pneumonia.

• Flu antiviral medication works best when started early, ideally within 2 days of your flu symptoms.

• Stay home and rest

• Drink plenty of water/fluids

• Take fever reducing medications as recommended by your HCP

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth

• Clean frequently touched surfaces

• 24 hrs. fever-free without the use of any medication
• 24 hrs. diarrhea-free
• 24 hrs. vomit-free

Clothes: Please make sure you have extra clothes (including underwear and socks) in your child's book bag. If Nurse Flor loaned your student clothes, please return the clothes to Nurse Flor once washed/cleaned, please and thank you! The nurse's suite currently doesn't have any more pants to lend for any age.

Our 5th graders are using the Engineering Design Process to create marble runs in Innovation class. To make this project a success, we need lots of cardboard rolls—paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, wrapping paper rolls, etc.

If you have any at home, whether it's just one or a whole bunch, please consider donating them! You can drop them off with Mr. Mendel any morning during drop-off at the chicken coop.

Thank you for your support!

Garden Class is looking for donations! We've been busy these first few weeks of school - clearing out weed foes from our raised beds and working to get a compost system up and running. Now that it's fall, we've got some leafy greens and garlic planted by Watershed students and growing in the garden. The following supplies will help us keep pests off our greens and keep them protected and nourished: neem oil, fish emulsion fertilizer, and white ag fabric (such as those pictured above). I can't wait to see what these students create in the garden! - Ms. Bolling

Do you love history and diversity? We need a diverse group of students to participate in the Black Excellence program October - February! Interest forms will be out soon.

As we settle into the school year, there’s so much to celebrate and look forward to on our campus. From exciting progress on the Upper School Modulars to the launch of our 2026–2027 enrollment season, our community is continuing to grow and thrive. Thank you for your patience, flexibility, and partnership—you play an essential role in making all of this possible.

We wanted to share an important update on the timeline for the new Upper School Modulars. The project continues to move forward, and while the schedule has shifted slightly as Baltimore County completes final reviews and permits, we remain on track for completion this winter.

Current projected milestones:

• Building permit approval — by October 31
• Site work begins — around November 24
• Delivery of modular units — December 17
• Certificate of Occupancy — early February 2026

The County has approved the Forest Buffer Variance and provided final review comments, and our project team has submitted the full permit package for approval. We’re working closely with County officials and our construction partners to keep things moving efficiently.

Our Move Planning Committee continues to meet regularly to prepare for the transition and ensure the move is as smooth as possible for students, families, and staff. We know how much excitement and anticipation there is for this new space, and we’re so grateful for everyone’s patience, flexibility, and support as we move closer to opening the doors to our new Upper School home.

The enrollment window for the 2026–2027 school year is now open through January 15, 2026! Applications and details are available on our website. Please help spread the word—our families are always our best ambassadors!

Watershed will host four open houses this fall for prospective families. Sign-up information is available online with the application: https://forms.gle/9wnDUTjRwVzFGsG59

The next Watershed Board of Directors meeting will be held Tuesday, October 28 at 6:00 p.m. at the school. Families, staff, and community members are encouraged to attend.
If you’d like to speak during Public Comment, please email board@watershedpcs.org by 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

Ideas/Questions/Concerns Contact us at PTO@watershedpto.org

Save the date for our Upcycle Boutique! The Hospitality committee will be hosting a clothing swap for our Turtle families on October 24th. Collection for gear will begin on October 22nd and end on October 23rd. Clean coats, rain gear, boots, hats, gloves, and outdoor clothing are some of the items the committee will be looking to collect and offer. Members interested in helping should reach out to Hospitality Committee chair Mia Hunter-Pappas at miahprealtor@gmail.com.

Watershed PTO will be collecting nonperishables, canned goods, and toiletries to donate to St. Gabriel’s Church during the week of November 17th - November 21st. If you are interested in volunteering please sign up using this link: Food Drive Volunteers or reach out to pto@watershedpto.org with any questions.