Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

I'm publishing on Thursday this week, since it feels like our Friday.  Remember - the kids are off both tomorrow and Monday.  Meantime, something happened!  I blinked and we are at the end of the 3rd quarter!  I simply can't believe we are moving into the last part of our year together.  These sweet kiddos continue to wow me everyday with their joyful hearts, their open spirits, and their explosive growth.  I am looking forward to a wonderful end to our school year!  💛

Quarter 3 Report Cards:
Quarter 3 report cards will be issued on Friday, April 5th.  Your child's report card will be available for viewing by logging into your ParentVue account.  If you do not yet have access to ParentVue, or you have trouble logging on, please contact Mrs. Sciortino in our school office at 703-957-4325. 

Spring Picture Day:
Spring Picture Day is Wednesday, April 3rd.  A whole group (class) picture will be taken on that day, and your child's individual picture will be taken too. Please note these 2 very important points:

1. If you would like a class picture (this is the whole group photo), you must order and pay for it before Picture Day.  I sent an order form home in last week's Thursday folder for the class picture.  You can fill out the order form, include payment, and return the payment envelope to school, or you can order and pay online.  If you order and pay online, you must return the payment envelope to school with the online payment confirmation code written on the envelope. This means that by Wednesday, April 3rd, you should return either the payment envelope with payment inside, or the payment envelope with the online payment confirmation code written on it. If you do not order a class photo by Wednesday, April 3rd, you will NOT receive one.  There is NO option to order a class photo at a later date. This becomes an issue every year.  Please, please....if you want a class photo, you MUST order it per the instructions I've just outlined.
2. Individual pictures will also be taken April 3rd, and you will receive a picture packet at a later date.  You can indicate a "Portrait Look" for your child's individual portrait by completing and returning the "Individual Picture Day Form" attached to the order form I sent home yesterday.  If you would like to purchase individual pictures, you will purchase those AFTER you receive the picture packet.

Next Week is Spirit Week:
To celebrate Career Week, we will have a Spirit Week next week.  Themes for each day are as follows:

• Tuesday:  Be a "Career Champe":  Wear navy or silver to represent the importance of high school and celebrate Champe HS, which is the high school in our Pinebrook school cluster.
• Wednesday:  "What do you want to be when you grow up?":  Dress like your future career.
• Thursday:  "Interview Day!":  Dress to impress like you would for an interview.
• Friday:  "College Pride Day":  Wear college gear or colors to support career goals and college readiness.

Career Day:
As a culminating event to Career Week, Pinebrook will host a Career Day on the morning of Friday, April 5th.  We are in need of volunteers to share information about their occupations with students at Pinebrook.  If you can't be with us in person, you can Skype in!  Please consider volunteering by contacting our counselors, Tana Amadeo (tana.amadeo@lcps.org) and Heather Ross (heather.ross@lcps.org).

Field Trip:
Please see today's Thursday folder for information about our 1st Grade field trip to Leesburg Animal Park on April 25th.  Please return your child's permission form and payment as soon as possible and no later than Friday, April 12th.  If you are interested in chaperoning this trip, please return the chaperone interest form too.  :)

Science Night:
Pinebrook will be hosting a Science Night with The Children's Science Center Thursday, April 4th from 6:00-8:00 pm here at school.  Please watch The Puma Paw weekly email for more information! :)

Yearbooks:
Pinebrook yearbooks are on sale now! Yearbooks may only be purchased online. To purchase a yearbook, go to ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter school code 7561119.  You will be prompted through the order and payment process. The deadline to order a yearbook is April 28th.  You must pre-order a yearbook if you would like your child to receive one.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will begin our last major Reading unit of the year called "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons:  A Study of Story Elements".
• Writing:  We will finish our opinion writing as we focus on editing our writing for mechanics, punctuation, and proper sight word spelling. We will practice supporting our opinions with strong reasons. 
• Math:  We will begin our Time unit.  We will discuss units of time such as second, minute, and hour.  We will practice telling time to the hour and time to the half hour.
• Social Studies:  We will spend the week catching up on some Scholastic News Magazines we missed during the snow days.

Your feedback is always welcome.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Enjoy the long weekend!  I will be painting the boys' rooms and enjoying the sunshine!