The Wellwood Globe

At Wellwood International, our mission is to help students grow into knowledgeable, kind, and confident learners. We provide a challenging and supportive education in a multicultural setting, where every child learns to respect and value differences. We want our students to feel safe, cared for, and inspired to do their best every day.

Dear Wellwood Families,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful winter break and are ready for an exciting second half of the school year. January is a time for fresh beginnings, and our Principle of the Month is Open-Mindedness. We encourage students to embrace new ideas, listen to others, and approach challenges with curiosity and flexibility. What a great principle to bring in the new year!

At Wellwood, we want our school to be a place of joy, kindness, and a love of learning where every child feels inspired, supported, and celebrated.

As we start the new year, here are a few important updates:

• Marking Period Ends: January 9, 2026
• Report Cards: Posted in Focus at 4:00 PM on January 29, 2026 If you would like a paper copy sent home, please email me for PreK, Grades 1, 3, and 5, or email Mrs. Moore at mmoore18@bcps.org for Grades K, 2, and 4.

Our academic priorities remain the same: teaching grade-level content at high levels with acceleration and supports as needed. Families can help by:

• Checking grades regularly in Schoology
• Reviewing work in student folders
• Staying in touch with teachers to ensure your child is progressing as expected

Thank you for your continued partnership. Together, we will make the rest of this school year one of growth, learning, and success for every student.

Warm Regards,

Mrs. Alonna Thompson

athompson8@bcps.org

Jan 5 (M): School Reopens

Jan 16 (F): Schools Close 3 Hours Early - 2nd Marking Period Ends

Jan 13 (T): Partners in Learning Night Follow Up Session, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Jan 19 (M): Schools & Offices Closed - MLK Day

Jan 27 (T): PTA Meeting in Learning Cottage #1, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Jan 29 (Th): Report Cards available online

The Department of Special Education in Baltimore County has a Family Support Services Division that holds regular workshops for parents and families.

Upcoming workshops:

• January 14th 11:30-12:30 Maryland ABLE Accounts: Saving money for your special needs child without jeopardizing federal, state, and local benefits such as SSI and Medicaid
• January 28th 11:30-12:30 ADHD and Executive Functioning
• February 12th 11:30-12:30: Creating a Vision Statement for Your Child's Education and Future
• 🔦February 19th 6-7PM Spotlight Series: Through their Lens Featuring Sophia Cox. Come connect with or be inspired by one mother's journey with her 18-year-old daughter from the initial autism diagnosis to now.
• February 25th Understanding Your Child's IEP: Participate in discussions and decisions more confidently by becoming familiar with each section of your child's IEP.

Visit here to register for a workshop

Please check out their YouTube Channel to see all of their recorded past workshops!

WIDA Access:

In January students receiving ELD services will take the WIDA Access assessment. WIDA Access is the collective name for WIDA's suite of summative English language proficiency assessments. WIDA Access is taken annually by multilingual learners in kindergarten through grade 12 in WIDA Consortium member states. WIDA Access provides this flexible suite of tests because we know that no single test is suitable for all students. Educators use WIDA Access results, along with other WIDA resources, to make decisions about students' English academic language and to facilitate their language development. Students' scores reflect proficiency levels ranging from Level 1 (Entering) to Level 6 (Reaching).

Wellwood students will take the assessment in small groups with Ms. Nimer and Ms. Johnson throughout the month and score reports will be provided in the spring.

STAR:

Students will take the Winter administration of the STAR Suite of assessments to monitor their achievement and growth in reading and math. The Winter testing window will begin January 26th and close on February 13th. Below are a list of the assessments given in the winter:

• STAR Math (Grades K-5): Adaptive computer assessment measuring counting and cardinality, operations and algebraic thinking, geometry, expression and equations, number and operations, functions, ratios and proportional relationships, the number system, measurement and data, statistics and probability.
• STAR Early Literacy (Grades K-2): Adaptive computer assessment measuring print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, vocabulary acquisition and use, and early Numeracy.
• STAR Reading (Grades 3-5): Adaptive computer assessment measuring vocabulary, comprehension strategies and constructing meaning, analyzing literary texts, understanding author’s craft, analyzing argument and evaluating text
• STAR CBM (Grades K-3): One on one paper assessment measuring rapid automatic naming (RAN), phoneme segmentation, letter sounds, passage oral reading, expressive nonsense words, sight and high-frequency words, encoding.

New in STAR testing: 2nd grade students who score at or above 862 on the Early Literacy Assessment will also take the STAR Reading Assessment February 16th-March 6th.

In January, all students will be coming home with an Attendance Bingo Board. The board will track their attendance throughout January and February, and students can win school prizes for completing it! Here are the rules:

1. Keep the board at home and hang it on your refrigerator.

2. Each time your child attends school on one of the dates listed on the Bingo Board, have a parent or guardian initial or sign the date.

3. Turn in the completed board on Friday, February 27th or Monday, March 2nd.

4. Prizes will be awarded based on the number of boxes initialed:

• If all squares are initialed: Students earn a multicolored pen with 10 ink options and be entered into a drawing to “pie” the principal and assistant principal.
• If three complete BINGO rows have signatures: Choose from the 2nd Place Prize options. Rows may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

5. Prizes will be distributed to students in March.

This month, Wellwood International School was excited to welcome the beloved character Arthur for a special visit with our Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade students! This event was a huge success and made possible through our partnership with Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. Students enjoyed the experience and received a bookmark and a book for their classroom to help continue a love of reading.

As we head into the winter season, we are grateful to have distributed 50 coats to students in need, and we still have many coats available. If your family could benefit from a coat, or if you are in need of any resources or supports, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Be sure to check out this month’s bulletin board, which celebrates holidays from around the world and wishes everyone a happy holiday and a happy New Year!

Please feel free to connect with me anytime via email at mfriedberg@bcps.org or through TalkingPoints.

All the best,

Community School Facilitator

Being able to quickly and easily add, subtract, multiply and divide is very important to math

success. To encourage all 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders to memorize the facts, all students will take a weekly fact quiz.

When a student scores 94% (47 out of 50) or better on a quiz two weeks in a row, they will become a fact star for that set of facts. They will then move on to the next set of facts.

At the end of the year we will have a special fact star celebration to acknowledge students’ hard work and accomplishments!

Here is the day each grade is planning on giving their fact quiz:

1st: Tuesday

2nd: Wednesday

3rd: Tuesday

4th: Friday

5th: Wednesday

Look for fact quizzes to come home every Thursday so you can see how your child is doing! We want every student to grow from where they started, so our expectation is that students’ scores will get better every week.

Our Fact Star program is off to a great start with over 100 students already becoming Level 1 fact stars! Keep studying those basic facts!

Program Information available in English, Uzbek and Spanish

Hi Wellwood Families!

Welcome to the Counseling Corner, where we will showcase helpful tips and information about Social Emotional Learning.

Theme of the Month

As part of our School Counseling Program, your child’s class will have the opportunity to engage in a counseling core curriculum lesson each month based on a different theme. It is our hope that the core curriculum counseling lessons will help to promote the social emotional, academic, and career development of our students. We hope that you can help your child reflect on these lessons by discussing their content together.

The topic for January classroom counseling lessons is character. These lessons build upon prior knowledge and focus on a variety of important skills, including listening, growth mindset, communication, advocacy, navigating peer conflict, and digital safety. Below is the list of books/resources used in each lesson.

• Kindergarten: Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen by Howard Binkow
• 1st grade: Quiet Please, Owen McPhee by Trudy Ludwig
• 2nd grade: My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook
• 3rd grade: Cliques Just Don't Make Cents by Julia Cook
• 4th grade: Growth Mindset (activity)
• 5th grade: Digital Safety and Citizenship (activity)

Parent University Events

* Lunch & Learn: The Power of Play

January 9th- 12:30 PM

Virtual- Presented by Shatisha Tates, the Center for Family Success

*Lunch & Learn – Recovering from the Holidays: A New Year With no Debt

January 13th - 12:30 PM

Virtual- Presented by Brian Peller, CUBDP, CCUFC, Freedom Federal Credit Union

*Lunch & Learn – Response to Problem Behavior

January 21st - 12:30 PM

Virtual- Presented by Allison Stotmeister, MA, BCBA, LBA, Achieving True Self

* Red Flags of Advertising and Scams – Protecting Seniors and Caregivers in Today’s Marketplace

January 22nd- 12:30 PM

Presented by the Better Business Bureau in partnership with Baltimore County Dept. of Aging, BCPS’s Parent University and BCPL

*Lunch & Learn: Here For It! Supporting Strong Attendance

January 28th – 12:30 PM

Virtual- Presented by Emily Caster, Coordinator, BCPS Department of Student Support Services

Click here to register for any of the events

Resources

• BCPS Virtual Calming Room

• Baltimore County Crisis Response: 410-931-2214

• Crisis text line: Text the word "TALK" to 741741 for free 24-hour support

• Maryland Food Bank: 410-737-8282

• 211 Maryland: dial 211 or https://211md.org/

• Maryland Suicide and Crisis Hotline: dial 988

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK

• Trevor Lifeline: Text “START” to 678-678 or call 1-866-488-7386

• Baltimore County Department of Social Services: 410-853-3000

• Sheppard Pratt's Urgent Walk-In Clinic is available through virtual appointments. https://www.sheppardpratt.org/care-finder/virtual-crisis-walk-in-clinic/

Mind Over Matters is an ongoing movement to raise awareness about mental health and promote wellness for students, staff, and families.

Theme for January and February: Social Awareness

Definition: The ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts

Social Awareness could look like:

• Taking others’ perspectives
• Recognizing strengths in others
• Demonstrating empathy and compassion
• Showing concern for the feelings of others
• Understanding and expressing gratitude

Lindsey Delis

ldelis@bcps.org

443-809-1167

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

A warm welcome back to school. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday break.

This is a perfect time for students and families to set simple health resolutions. For example:

• Drink more water
• Read before bed
• Get enough sleep

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children 6 to 12 years old get 9-12 hours. Children who don’t get enough sleep are far more likely to get sick, stay sick for longer, and suffer from more severe cold/flu symptoms.

We encourage you to remind children to dress warmly in long sleeve shirts, sweaters, coat, hat, gloves, and scarf. The best way to stay warm and dry is to dress in layers. Layers not only allow flexibility for changing weather conditions, but they create an air space that can help maintain body temperature.

BCPS policy states that a student with a fever of 100.0 F or higher, vomiting, or diarrhea must stay home until symptoms have been gone for 24 hours. Students must be fever -free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school.

Check out our new recycling bins in the lobby! If you have sneakers or used ink cartridges at home, Wellwood would love to recycle them for you!

Sneaker Recycling: Do you have any old sneakers or tennis shoes and don't know what to do with them? Drop them off in our lobby in our collection bin to be recycled!

Ink Cartridge Recycling: We take LaserJet and inkjet cartridges. Drop them off in our bins in the lobby to support Green School activities at Wellwood!

Wellwood is proud to be one of the first schools in Baltimore County to participate in school-wide cafeteria composting!

Looking for ways to support your student in math and reading at home? Students can access all the same apps that they do in school from their personal devices. Check out the How To guide below!

Second graders have been learning about how to use our online, Destiny Library Catalog to search for books in our library. Students also learned how to identify the Call number of the book which tells them where they would find the book in our library.

All students can access our Destiny Library Catalog from home also by going to the Digital Content page in their BCPS apps. There are many wonderful e-books that students can read at home from this site as well.

Happy reading! 😁 Mrs. Garde

Students in PreK appreciate the first snowfall of the season. As they learn about high and low sounds, we follow the snowflakes and match our voices with their path as they fall from up high to the ground below.

This month, our young artists are diving into the fascinating world of animals through creative expression!

2nd and 3rd Grade: Students are working on abstract animal drawings inspired by Canadian artist Sandra Silberzweig, known for her vibrant colors and whimsical patterns. Their artwork bursts with energy and imagination, showcasing how color and design can transform ordinary animals into extraordinary creations.

5th Grade: Our fifth graders are beginning a journey into realistic animal drawing, using photography as their reference. This project challenges them to observe details closely and capture the beauty of animals with accuracy and care.

We’re excited to share these works in progress—each piece reflects the unique perspective and growing skills of our talented students. Stay tuned for the final masterpieces!

The warm smells of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg made Inquiry classes so fun in December! We worked together to follow a gingerbread dough recipe to practice fine motor skills to cut and decorate cookies.

Dear Parents,

Our students have been having a blast diving into floor hockey this month in physical education class! They've been building key skills like stick handling, passing, shooting, and teamwork, all while staying active and safe in the gym.

Floor hockey is a fantastic way for kids to develop coordination, strategy, and sportsmanship, and it's been exciting to see their enthusiasm and progress.

As we head into winter break, I wish you and your families a joyful, restful, and wonderful holiday season filled with warmth, laughter, and plenty of active fun!

Best,

Aaron Burrows

PE Teacher

We are beginning our Woodwind Family Unit! We will learn all about the flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon. We will also learn to play the clarinet. This gives students exposure to an entire instrument family so that they can make an informed decision about the instrument they decide to play in 5th grade!

Pre K 3 is ready for Winter Break! We can't wait to see you all in January!

Ms. Waesches class has practiced cutting skills since October and are so excited to celebrate filling the jar finally!

Our kindergarten students started learning about research writing. They researched animals by reading books, looking online, and talking to an expert - a National Park Ranger!

First graders have been exploring biomimicry. Students learned how engineers use ideas from nature to solve real-world problems, observed how birds collect and carry things, then used this knowledge to design and build tools that would solve the problem of cleaning up litter in our community.

To get ready for winter break, students worked cooperatively to design a trap to keep the gingerbread man safe in the oven for a tasty treat!

Students have also been working cooperatively throughout December to create yard tape strips for our measurement unit.

Students in 3rd grade practiced resisting negative peer pressure by writing and performing their own skits.

December has been a busy but productive month for our fifth graders. We had a highly successful trip to BizTown, including hiring a town mayor beforehand. Students ran businesses, such as Bank of America, Merritt Properties, and UMBC. They served as CEOs, CFOs, professors, and other jobs. During our trip, student paychecks were issued and spent, using their debit cards. Much thanks to our parent volunteers.

Our fifth-grade curriculum includes a program called Number Corner. This is a daily component that emphasizes a number of math skills each month. December's skills included geometry with quadrilaterals as well as creating line plots of students' height and foot size. This give our students a variety a math skills, in addition to our Bridges math curriculum.

Happy New Year!

2901 Smith Avenue

Baltimore MD 21208

Phone: 443-809-1212 | Fax: 443-809-1213