May 2025

As we welcome the month of May, we enter the final stretch of what has been an incredible school year. It’s a time filled with excitement, celebration, and meaningful experiences for our students.

This month is packed with opportunities to learn, connect, and honor our school community. We’re gearing up for school trips, end-of-year celebrations, and other special events that make the final weeks memorable. We’ll also be proudly celebrating our amazing educators during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5–9). This is a perfect moment to recognize the passion and dedication they bring every day.

In addition, we’ll participate in the Maryland State Department of Education School Review on May 7 and 8. This is an important process that highlights our commitment to continuous improvement and student success.

We will also continue MCAP testing this month. We appreciate your partnership in ensuring students are present, rested, and ready to show what they’ve learned.

There’s still much to do and celebrate. Let’s finish the year strong!

Welcome to May!

Our last full month of the 24-25 school year. Thank you so much for your partnership and trust with your children. They have grown so much! Third, fourth and fifth graders are currently in the midst of MCAP testing. They are showing how much they have grown on this assessment. Students need to come prepared to do their best on the test. Give them a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast. Please encourage them to do their best on the test! Arrive at school on time.

MCAP ELA Schedule

May 1st

5th

May 2nd

5th

4th

May 5th

4th

3rd

MCAP MATH schedule

May 12

5th

May 13

4th

3rd

May 15th

3rd

May 16th

5th

4th

Tanya Montgomery, Principal

Karyn Chisholm, Assistant Principal

From the Health Room

Just a reminder - any and all medications must be dropped off by a parent in the health room with the appropriate documentation signed by both the parent and a physician. Please do not send any medication to school in your student's backpack, it will be confiscated and thrown away. For the appropriate documentation, please contact the health room.

If your student has medications in the health room this school year, they must be picked up no later than June 12th. All medications that are not picked up will be disposed of according to the Anne Arundel Department of Health policy.

Pre-K 3

Hello Parents/Guardians,

We will be beginning Theme 8, Amazing Critters- Animales increibles. Your child will learn about crawling critters, flying critters, hopping critters, and scaly and slithering critters. They will read Backyard Bugs, Critter Camouglage, Monarchs, Little Bee's Journey, Grasshopper Gus, Ant and the Grasshopper, The Lizard in the Window, and Kate the CHameleon. In math your child will learn numeration 1-5. Letters for the month are A, a, S, s, C, c, B, b, F, f, M, m , D, d, L, l, G, g, W, w. Please have your child practice writing their name and continue reading each night with them. Thank you for your continued support!

Pre-K 4

We cannot believe we are already heading into May. This year has really flown by! Our pre-k team is beyond impressed with how much our students have grown this year! We truly appreciate how supportive you are in helping them navigate their first year at school and constantly supporting us. By the end of May, we will have introduced all 26 letters. We will be reviewing and focusing on letter sounds, building words, and handwriting. In math, we will be focusing on subtracting and reviewing past math topics. We will finish up our unit on Gardens. Please be on the lookout for information about our Garden Party! We are excited for our field trip to the Maryland Zoo this month. As we close out the year, please be sure to sign up for an end of the year conference on May 23rd or 24th. Thank you!

Kindergarten

Welcome to May! It is hard to believe that kindergarten is almost over for this amazing group of kids! While we are excited for all of the end of the year fun, it is important that you continue to send your child to school ready to learn every day!

• In literacy…

We are continuing our work with tricky words. These words are super important for your child to practice and internalize. They are all over our readers and will continue to show up in future grades. We are also going to begin looking at vowel patterns and punctuation. Additionally, we will be finishing our unit called Taking Care of the Earth and moving on to talking about Presidents and American Symbols.

• In math…

We are exploring a one hundred chart to identify patterns that we see in it. We are also going to be counting by 5s and 10s to 100. Please encourage your child to practice at home! By the end of the month, we will be starting our next math unit on analyzing, comparing, and composing shapes. This unit is very fun, as we get to explore our creative side while also incorporating math into it!

• In science and social studies…

We are going to be looking at how us and the world has changed over time. We will be looking specifically at education and technology with this lens. We are also going to by tying in some of our knowledge from literacy and discussing Earth-friendly choices, and how we can make the world a better place.

We are so excited for everything that May is going to bring! Please remember to dress your child accordingly for school each day. While it is warm outside, our building can vary in temperatures, so it is a good idea to have your child keep a light jacket here at school in case they get cold. Also, please continue to send your child with a water-filled water bottle to school each day.

As the end of the year gets closer, your child’s teacher will reach out about our school-wide ABC Countdown, as well as Kindergarten End of the Year Conferences (May 22nd and May 23rd) where kindergarten students will not have school! Please reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns!

1st Grade

Hello First Grade Families!

Spring is in bloom and so are our First Graders! We have made so much growth and we’re ready to finish the year strong. We are currently working on our Fairy Tale Unit in Knowledge but after that we will be venturing to the past and learning about the beginnings of the United States. After that we will learn about Frontier explorers for our final unit. Our reading skills are getting better and better as we continue learning about spelling alternatives and ending with more vowel teams. In Science and Social studies, we will be learning about goods and services, needs and wants, and different resources we use every day. Our final unit will be all about inventors and inventions that have helped make life easier. We have lots of fun activities planned for the end of the year so please keep checking your child’s folder for un announcements!

Thanks!

The First Grade Team

2nd Grade

May is here and there is so much for 3rd grade readiness! Our 2nd grade journey will end soon, but we can’t wait to express how grateful we are to have experienced so much thus far.

Our Literacy Literacy/Knowledge curriculum introduced us to the “Why The Human Body: Building Blocks and Nutrition Is Important?” This unit covers many topics regarding the human body. Students are taught how collections of cells form tissue and tissues form organs, and finally how organs work within the various body systems. When then heard about the digestive and excretory systems. We also learned the fundamental parts and functions of these two body systems. Lastly, the importance of good nutrition and how to make good choices and the importance of eating a well-balanced diet. Much to learn. Stay tuned.

Our Skills curriculum continues to focus on spelling alternatives for vowel sounds. We will continue to review previously taught grammar skills, including capitalization and punctuation, identification of nouns, adjectives, the concept of verb tenses (present, past, and future), the components of a sentence, being introduced to run on sentences and as well as ways to correct these sentences. We will experience expository and report writing. This will help us focus on organizing information into paragraphs, each with a topic sentence and supporting details. The lessons have been written to build upon what students have learned about the War of 1812. Please continue to be on the lookout for literacy material we send home about our curriculum.

As always, we want the best for our soon to be 3rd graders and will continue to push them to their best potential. Again, we thank you for your love and support.

3rd Grade

READING

Reading MCAP Testing dates are scheduled for April 28th and May 5th.

The Reader for Unit 9, entitled The Age of Exploration, consists of selections that will further students’ understanding of the reasons for European exploration, what exploration was like, and who went exploring. Aspects of navigation and life on a ship are described as well as the journeys of and locations reached by specific explorers. In addition, interactions with native people and lasting contributions as a result of European exploration are described. Later chapters include information about the history of people in North America and the origin of some English words.

SPELLING

During this unit’s spelling exercises, students will review words with spelling patterns of /ue/ spelled ‘u’, ‘u_e’, and ‘ue’ and spelling patterns of /oo/ spelled ‘oo’, ‘ew’, ‘o’, and ‘o_e’. Students will also review the spellings patterns of /f/ spelled ‘f’, ‘ff’, ‘ph’, and ‘gh’. Students should be familiar with these spelling alternatives as they were taught in Grade 2. Challenge Words have been assigned each week. Content Words will continue. Each week, students will have the option of trying to spell a content-related word on the spelling assessment. In this unit, the Content Words do not follow the spelling pattern for the week.

DICTIONARY

Students will also continue to practice dictionary skills. As the year progresses, students should become proficient in interpreting the different pieces of information found in a dictionary entry, such as pronunciation, part of speech, and various meanings. In this unit, students will practice using sentence context to determine word meanings and then use a dictionary to see if the definition matches the usage of the word in a sentence. Students will also write sentences to match specific definitions. The dictionary worksheets have been designed to reinforce recognition of elements of a dictionary and to build proficiency of dictionary skills. If you find that there is insufficient time to complete every worksheet item, you may select fewer items for each student to complete.

GRAMMAR

In grammar, students will be introduced to and practice the linking words for example, in the same way, and in contrast. Students will also be introduced to comparative and superlative adjectives using the suffixes –er and –est as well as more and most. Students will also be introduced to irregular comparative and superlative adjectives.

MORPHOLOGY

During the morphology portion of the lessons, students will learn the prefixes pro– and anti– as well as review these prefixes and the suffixes –ish, –ness, –able, and –ible. Students will continue to apply knowledge of how prefixes and suffixes change the meaning of root words and how adding affixes can change the part of speech of words.

MATHEMATICS

This month is a big month for our Mathematicians. They will be showing what they have learned this year when they take the MCAP test. Prepare your Mathematicians by making sure that they get a good night's rest and a healthy breakfast. Attendance is so important! Please make sure your child is present each day. Students test best when they test with their classmates and not during a make-up test. Math MCAP Testing dates are scheduled for May 13th and 15th. Once students complete MCAP testing we will continue our unit on measurement and data. Students will be measuring to the nearest half and quarter inch followed by creating and analyzing line plots. Students should be fluent with the 0s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s facts. This is such an important skill. Please ensure they are practicing daily and can recall the fact within 3-5 seconds. Thank you for your support.

SOCIAL STUDIES

It's time for our Environmental Action Project! In this Environmental Action Project, students apply the 21st Century skills they have acquired throughout the year (Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity) to investigate and take action on an environmental issue. Here are a few questions we will use to guide our planning:

• How do citizens participate in their community?
• How do citizens identify and solve community problems?
• What resources and information help us to be informed?
• What environmental issues affect my community?

As we progress through this final unit, discuss these topics with your student at home and consider ways your family can cultivate a "civic-minded" mindset.

SCIENCE

This month, we'll begin a new unit on Engineering which focuses on the NASA Engineering and Design Process: ASK a question about the goal, IMAGINE a possible solution, PLAN OUT a design and draw your ideas, CREATE and construct a working model, EXPERIMENT and test, and IMPROVE and try to revise that model. We will use this process as we focus on the shape of a parachute canopy, using knowledge we've learned throughout the year as a basis for our work.

4th Grade

Reading: The Reader for this unit, Treasure Island, includes complex text and prepares students in Grade 4 for the increased vocabulary and syntax demands aligned texts will present in later grades. This is an abridged version of the original novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1883. Treasure Island chronicles the adventures of the young narrator, Jim Hawkins, who discovers a treasure map when an old pirate stays at his family’s inn. After joining forces with a doctor and a squire, Jim travels in search of treasure on a distant island. The novel vividly portrays a host of 3 Introduction Treasure Island challenges, including encounters with dangerous pirates and a mutiny on the ship. Jim uses his wits to outsmart the pirates in this tale of greed, adventure, duplicity, and bravery.

Writing: In the writing lessons, students will engage in an extended writing project, while continuing to practice the various stages of the writing process. They will begin by drafting a character sketch and then will write, publish, and share an original adventure story. While working on the adventure story, students will focus on character development, dialogue, verb choice, and revision methods.

Math: Students will work with relative sizes of units and convert units of measure within the metric system, building on previous knowledge of metric units of length, liquid volume, and mass. Students will use a similar approach to extend their understanding about the customary system of measurement. Students will solve problems using the formulas for area and perimeter of rectangles. Students will also create line plots and use the model to solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of fractions.

Social Studies: Students will begin to come to an end to our American Revolution Unit. As we approach the end of the unit, we will finally analyze the Articles of Confederation.

Science: Students will work in engineering teams to design, build, test, and revise a structure that can withstand the damaging effects of tsunami waves. Students will learn about the damage caused by tsunamis and some of the design solutions engineers have proposed. Students will then work in groups to design a blueprint for a tsunami proof house. They will optimize their design and then build a prototype. Students will test their prototype in a simulated tsunami wave in the classroom and then revise their design based on the test results.

Testing:

We will begin on Friday. Please make sure your students get plenty of rest as well as eat a healthy breakfast. Students should be at school on time for preparation for testing.

Reading MCAP will be on: 4/25,4/28, 5/2, and 5/5

Math MCAP will be on: 5/8 and 5/13

Field Trips:

Terp- 4/30 (Select 10 students)

Baltimore Zoo- 5/1

Baltimore Art Museum- 5/22

B and O Railroad-6/5

5th Grade

Hi families!

The month of May holds a lot of excitement for 5th grade! We will be taking our MCAP tests for ELA and Math. ELA will be on April 24, 29, May 1 and 2. Math testing will be May 12 and 16. Please make sure that your child is at school on time, well rested and eats a good breakfast on these days!

ELA: we will finish our unit about Native Americans, then moving to our (final) unit about chemical matter.

Math: we will study quadrilaterals in our geometry unit as well as starting Algebra.

Science: we will engage in engineering design.

Social Studies: investigating our rights as citizens and the importance of knowing where those rights came from.

We are excited to close out the year strong with our students! 5th grade graduation will be on Wednesday June 11th at 10:00. Details will be coming soon!

PTA

The PTA hopes everyone has enjoyed the various PTA events this school year. As the school year winds down, we would like to thank everyone for their support throughout the year. This month we will be celebrating the wonderful teachers and staff during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5th - May 9th. Below you can find the links if you are interested in donating and how you can celebrate your child's teacher.

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week donations

Staff Wishes

Upcoming Events:

May 5th - 9th: Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week-

please have all donations sent in by 5/2- ATTN: PTA

June 2nd: Chick Fil A Spirit Night

Chorus and Band

Hello Music Families!

The count down to our Spring Concert begins NOW! In about 6 weeks we will be hosting our annual Spring Concert at the Chesapeake Arts Center. Please mark your calendars for Monday, June 2, 2025 @6:00p.m. Spring Concerts are mandatory for all Strings, Band, and Chorus students. We can't wait to show you all that we've accomplished the last 2 quarters of the school year! If you have any questions regarding the Spring Concert, please reach out to Mrs. Israel or Mr. Henning.

Media

📚Please double check that your child has their library book in their backpack on their library day. Overdue slips were recently sent home with pictures of the book's cover to help you locate missing books. We want students to read and check out books weekly. Read, read, read!📚

BOOK FAIR COMING SOON! April 28th-May 2nd

SAVE THE DATE-Family Night at the Book Fair-Friday, May 2nd

New books have arrived!

Encourage your child to share their library book(s) with you.

Please remind your child to read their book(s), keep them in their backpack, and return them to the Library-Media Center when they are finished or on their Library Day! Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten are learning how library check out works and will start checking out books in the near future.

Mondays:

3-Reed

1-Czorapinkski

Tuesdays:

4-Richmond

2-Mason

3-Dacus

Wednesdays:

4-Alvarado

2-Mathiesen

3-Bonaparte

5-Hudson

1-Dehaney

Thursdays:

2-Byer

5-Williamson

1-Harrison

Fridays:

4-Willet

2-Nappier

3-Mason

5-Frank

1-Taylor

ELD

Hello Families,

We are proud of the progress students have made this school year! Our students are being challenged by a rigorous curriculum and we have seen many students make excellent growth.

Please keep a lookout for WIDA ACCESS scores. Later in May students will be sent home with their assessment scores in the form of a letter. These scores are a snapshot in time of student performance in English from January. Students are tested on their English ability in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Keep doing your best work! We have one more quarter left!

CSI

Our school has been designated as a Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) School by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), based on schoolwide performance and other criteria. In partnership with MSDE, Anne Arundel County Public Schools has provided a dedicated team to address the unique needs of CSI schools. This team works to support students and teachers through targeted interventions, data-driven individualized plans, professional development for teachers, and family and community engagement initiatives.

These efforts aim to create a supportive and effective learning environment that accelerates student achievement and enhances overall school performance. If you have questions about the resources and supports available at our school, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can ensure the success of every student.

Counselor

What does a School Counselor DO?

I work alongside teachers and parents to help students develop

socially and emotionally, and to help remove any barriers to learning!

I Provide:

•Classroom lessons teaching social skills, how to take care of strong feelings, study skills, etc.

•Small group counseling

•Short-term individual counseling

•Consultation with parents and teachers

•Parent workshops

•Community resource referrals (including longer term therapy services)

•Schoolwide programming (Kindness Week, Harvest for the Hungry etc.)

Last year we introduced our Appreciation Station Snack Cart to our staff! The cart will be filled every Wednesday full of sweet and salty snacks and drinks to show our BPES staff just how much we appreciate them. This school year we are looking for families to sponsor a week by either purchasing snacks or making a $40 donation so the snacks can be purchased. We ask that donations are dropped off to the school by Monday of the sponsored week. Please consider signing up below! Thank you for helping our staff know how much we appreciate them!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D4BABAA2CA0FB6-appreciation

Five Star Parent

1. Builds a positive relationship with all staff members.

2. Dedicated to the BPES community.

3. Builds a partnership with their child's teacher. This partnership is based on trust, communication, and student growth.

4. Dedicated to preventing chronic absenteeism and chronic tardiness.

5. Respects and honors our community of diverse learners.

Emergency card verification emails have been sent. Please make sure you check and update your emergency contact information. The links are only active for 10 days. If you need assistance, please contact the main office at 410 222 6590.

Doors open at 7:40.

Students are dismissed at 2:25.

Late arrival/Early Dismissal

If your child arrives at school after 8:00, they are considered late. Please make sure they are at school prior to this time. Students need to be in their classrooms by 8:00 in order to be marked on time. If your child is late to school, or is getting picked up early, an adult MUST come into the building to sign them in or out.

Early dismissals must take place before 2:00 pm. The office is busy after 2:00, preparing for dismissal procedures, and will not be able to call any kids for dismissal after that time.

Below is the link for Before/After Care for families who need childcare.

https://www.aacounty.org/services-and-programs/child-care-programs

School start times:

The doors will open at 7:40am for breakfast and community building. Instruction will begin at 8:00am. It is EXTREMELY important that all kids arrive on time ready to learn!

Walkers

Walkers will be dismissed at 2:25

Bus-Riders

To access BPES bus schedules, please click HERE

Car-Riders

We will dismiss car riders car by car. Please have your child's name on the hang tag so we can quickly call them to your car. Please do not park on 13th Ave during dismissal or arrival. It can make it challenging for people to enter and leave the lot.

Arrival

When students arrive they will pick up their breakfast and report to their homeroom. Teachers will greet students as they arrive.

Dismissal

At dismissal, walkers will be released. Following the release of walkers, car riders will be escorted to the cafeteria. Bus riders will be called as buses arrive.

Visitors

We will be planning several events this year where we will be inviting parents into the building. Unfortunately, we will not be able to allow parents to have lunch with their children in the cafeteria.

Student Birthday Celebrations

• Each student will receive a Birthday pencil and be acknowledged by the whole school on the morning announcements.
• We will celebrate all students' birthdays each month.
• It is very important to understand that food cannot be shared to celebrate. Please do not bring food to share with the class for your child's birthday. We have students with allergies and food sensitive health conditions.

Families can pay for their student’s meals online by going to www.mypaymentsplus.com.

At schools this year, breakfast will be free, and lunches will cost $2.75 for full price students.

Students will need to log in with their student ID in order to get their lunch. Please work with your student at home to help them memorize their ID.

Apply for Free or Reduced-Price Meals: Online Meal Benefit Application (MBA) (English and Spanish) - Link to online MBA – www.aacps.org/mealapplication. Applications must be filled out each school year, even if you qualified the previous year.