Prince George's County Public Schools

 The Eagle Express

University Park Elementary

November 2, 2011

Principal’s Corner: Our Halloween parade, sing-a-long and parties were a great success!  The students had a blast, and it was a lot of fun seeing all of the different costumes!  Thank you, parents, for your help in getting the kids ready, coming out for the parade, and helping with the parties!

Report cards will be released on November 10th, and Parent Conference Day is November 11th. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, please ask his/her teacher for a conference. We want our students to succeed at the highest levels, and we are here to work with you to make that happen! On Conference Day, you do not need to sign in at the main office; proceed directly to your child’s classroom. Please let us know if you need an interpreter.

We have had a change of dates for some upcoming events.  The Honor Roll assemblies will now be taking place on November 21st in the cafeteria at these times:

8:15 – 3rd Grade

8:45 – 2nd Grade

9:15 – 4th Grade

12:45 – 5th Grade

1:15 – 6th Grade

Family Reading Night will now take place on Dec. 19th, and the 3rd grade play will take place before the Winter Break.  The exact date will be announced soon!

Our PreK, kindergarten, and first grade students enjoyed Fall Fest tremendously on October 20th!  Many thanks to Kris Moss and Katherine Motsuk for organizing all of the events!  Fall Fest would never have been so fabulous without the amazing parent volunteers – many thanks to Krista Atteberry, Christine Becraft, Johanna Birnir, Janel Brennan, Herman Brown, Dana Campbell, Karin Carlson, Maria Checheva, Reginald Cyntje, Helen Dorroh, Jennifer Dorroh, Paul Dorroh, Mary Durkin, Kristi Ekman, Maribel Hernandez, Mayra Herrera, Kristi Janzen, Sarah Johnson, Virginia Lacayo, Maria Lucero, Edna Montes-Ortiz, Alba Mota, Nancy Neher, Chris Pudzak, Brandi Pundzak, Jack Sandberg, Sonja Skeete-Ridley, Aaron Springer, Honjiu Wen, Imke Wien, Jinhua Yang, and Junchao Zhang!

Science Fair Parent Information Night will be held Thursday, November 3rd from 6:15 – 7:15 p.m. Ms. Rowland will describe exactly how to do a science fair project – this is a fantastic opportunity for first timers!

One of our previous students, Megan Leonard, has nominated our 5th grade teacher, Rob Carter, for the Gazette’s “My Favorite Teacher” award!  Please vote for Mr. Carter as many times as you can at the following link: http://ww2.gazette.net/teacher/.  We are very proud of his nomination!

Many thanks to the PTA for the delicious breakfast on Friday!  The staff enjoyed it tremendously!  Also, many thanks to Becky Widman and Kris Moss for planting flowers in front of the UPES sign; they look lovely! 

Congratulations to our PE teacher, Christy Neff!  She won the Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award from the United States Tennis Association!  Very well deserved!

The PTA is holding an Open House this Friday, Nov. 4th from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. for prospective parents.  They will have the opportunity to hear about our academic program and tour the school.  Please invite any parents you know of who are interested in hearing about UPES!

Save the date! Wednesday, Nov. 16th will be Parent Visitation Day from 8:00 – 11:00 a.m.! Please feel free to come observe your child working hard in class!

We are starting our annual Food Drive on November 14th to help support families who live in our area!  More information to come home soon!

Parents, if you are picking up your child early from school, please do so before 1:30 p.m.  It is a hectic time in the office and classrooms between 1:30 and 1:55 p.m. as we close out the day and prepare for dismissal.  If your child is going home in a different way than normal (like a bus rider walking home with a friend), a parent MUST send in a note so we know!  Also, please remember to send in an excuse note when your child is absent.  After 3 days, we cannot fix the absence in SchoolMax.  Please know that vacations are not considered to be excused absences; the teachers are not required to provide work ahead of time. 

PTA Citrus Sale: Buy juicy oranges and grapefruits from Florida Indian River Groves as part of the healthiest fundraiser ever organized by the UPES PTA to help support classroom enrichment programs. You can order on-line at: https://sites.google.com/site/ptaupes/home/citrus-sale. When ordering, select “Local Distribution” so that your fruit will be sent to UPES. You can also submit a paper order using the PTA Citrus Sale box in the school’s main office. Any Questions? Contact Annarita Mariotti at annarita.mariotti@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events:

Nov. 2nd- PTA Meeting, 7 p.m.

Nov. 3rd - Science Fair Parent Information,

        Night, 6:15 – 7:15 p.m.

Nov. 4th– PTA Open House for Prospective

         Families, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

Nov. 10th– Report Cards Go Home

Nov. 11th– Parent Conference Day – No

        School for Students

Nov. 14th – Food Drive Starts

Nov. 16th – Parent Visitation Day, 8 – 11 a.m.