Sligo Creek Elementary School
PTA Newsletter
Volume 12, Issue 5
PTA Presidents Corner
Happy New Year -- we hope that each of you had a
wonderful and relaxing winter break. Hopefully you
stayed warm and healthy throughout the past couple
weeks of frigid weather. On behalf of the Sligo Creek
ES PTA, we would like to extend heartfelt thanks to our
dedicated families and friends for all their hard work
during 2010. It is amazing to think of the hours of
service donated, the dollars spent to support the
fundraising efforts of the PTA, and the incredible show
of support by families continually coming out in
support of our PTA events throughout the calendar
year. Our PTA is only as good as the community of
people in it. As PTA co-Presidents, we are continually
humbled by the number of good people who continue
to volunteer their time and talents just at the moment
the task seems almost impossible.
A few school and PTA events of note in the
upcoming weeks are:
Jan 27 – Literacy night (6:30 – 8 pm)
Feb 1 –Sligo Creek PTA meeting
Feb 4 – 3rd/4th grade social (volunteers needed!)
March 19 – Inaugural Sligo Creek ES 5K Run
(volunteers needed!)
March 24 - Science Night (grades K-2 focus)
April 5 - Science Night (grades 3-5 focus)
PTA Activities & Volunteer Opportunities
Russian Folk Music Assembly
On Friday, January 14, the PTA Cultural Arts
committee is sponsoring an assembly with Barynya,
the premier Russian folk ensemble performing
outside of Russia. These classically trained musicians
and vibrant dancers bring the rich traditions of Russia
alive. Dressed in colorful folk costumes, Barynya will
perform Russian, Cossack, Ukrainian, Jewish and
Russian Gypsy traditional dances and songs. Students
will learn about pre-revolutionary instruments
including the balalaika, garmoshka (Russian folk
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Friday, January 7, 2011
Please also take a moment to join the PTA if you
have not already done so – the PTA is involved in the
academic and social activities at our school, and our
members enable us to do this. Among other things, the
PTA is in charge of:
 Teacher Reimbursement Fund – to reimburse staff
for up to $150 of personal expenses for
classroom materials
 Mini-grants – a fund that provides money towards
projects that benefit a wide selection of students
 Staff Gift Fund – a fund that purchases items and
services for all staff based on staff surveys
 Advocacy – on behalf of the school and parents for
goals such as maintaining two classes for
Academy grades and adequately resourcing the
immersion program
 Socials and parties
 Student Assistance – provide assistance for field
trips and cafeteria lunches
 After-school activities (includes scholarships)
We hope 2011 is a great year for our Sligo Creek
community!
Diane Kelleher & Stuart Kern
PTA co-Presidents
button accordion), balalaika contrabass, bayan
accordion, Gypsy guitar, violin, and domra. Barynya
has performed in Carnegie Hall, at the Smithsonian,
and at the United Nations. As with all assemblies,
parents are invited: the first 45-minute performance
will be at 1:15 for grades 1, 3, and 5; the second will
begin at 2:15 for grades K, 2, and 4. Please come! It
promises to be a fun, athletic, and inspiring event.
 Staff Gift Fund
The PTA is very excited to announce that we collected $5738 for the 2010 Staff Gift Fund, a
collective monetary gift for SCES staffers. Last year, the total was $3450, so we've seen a big
increase, thanks in part to our new PayPal payment option. Letters went out to staff on December
22. This spring, Staff Gift Fund committee members will work with the staff to help them spend
their gift. Thank you to all who participated in this very successful gift drive!
Gina McNeal, Staff Gift Fund

Special Needs Corner

The next Special Needs Committee Meeting will be: Friday, February 18, 2011 at 9:45 am
Kefa Café, 963 Bonifant Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Please note that we will not meet in January; rather we will have one winter gathering to which all are welcome
for an informal time of coffee, networking and support. We will also discuss plans to hold an interactive, school -
wide assembly in March on educational differences, disabilities, bullying and acceptance.

Happy New Year!

I know many of you made a New Year’s Resolution to slim down, firm up, and get into shape. The Salamander 5K
Run/Walk committee has got your goals in mind! We plan to see you out on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the
Inaugural Salamander 5K Run/Walk with other SCES families and friends. Registration will open January 15, 2011
at www.salamander5k.com. All registrations completed by March 11, 2011 are guaranteed a race t-shirt.

Cost: $25.00/adult from 1/15/11 - 2/28/11

$30.00/adult from 3/1/11 - 3/11/11
$15.00/Non-SCES child 18 years or younger
*SCES students: A minimum of $10.00 pledge on pledging form
*SCES students will be given a pledge packet at the end of January with more details
regarding the pledging process.

Pacers, a local running store chain will be coordinating the event for SCES, but we are still
in need of sponsors. If you work at or can help us contact any of these local
businesses/corporations or are interested in volunteering in seeking sponsorships from
other local restaurants or businesses, please contact Jennifer Lage at jennylage@gmail.com.

Banks/Corporations Hotels Shopping

Adams Bank Eagle Bank Hampton Inn Giant

Bank of America Sandy Spring Hilton Safeway

BB&T Bank PNC Bank Marriott Westfield Shoppingtown

Citibank United Therapeutics Downtown Silver Spring
Discovery Channel Wachovia

Current and Past Issues of the SCES PTA newsletter are available online at the PTA Website
WWW.SCESPTA.ORG

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 In Our School
Save the Date: January 27, 2011 for Reading/Literacy Night at SCES
Evening Plans Have Changed. Please Note New Format!!!!!!!
The Reading/Literacy Night will be taking place on January 27, 2011, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the gym, at the
same time, for all grade levels. Tables will be set up where teachers will have activities planned for parents and
students to do. These activities will be ones that parents can use to help their children with reading/language arts
skills such as decoding, vocabulary and comprehension. Contrary to an earlier article in the PTA newsletter, there
will be only one session, 6:30 to 8:00 P.M. for all students and parents K-5. We look forward to seeing you there.

French Immersion News

French Immersion Open Houses
French Immersion Open Houses are for parents interested in enrolling their children in the French Immersion
program at Sligo Creek E.S. for the 2011-2012 school year. The dates are January 26, 2011, February 24, 2011 and
March 29, 2011. Sessions begin at 9:30 a.m. with visits to the classrooms. At 10:15 there will be a question and
answer period with the principal and the French immersion coordinator. We encourage everyone who is even
considering the possibility of enrolling in French Immersion to attend an Open House and become familiar with the
program and its philosophy.

Application Process for the Immersion Program

The immersion lottery process application dates will be February 1 to April 8, 2011. Parents may participate in the
lottery process using the Elementary immersion Interest Form, which will be available February 1, 2011, with
directions and information on the MCPS website at
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/admissions/immersion

Even if you already have a child in the program, you must follow the immersion lottery process.

Please call Mme Gouin or email if you have any questions: 301-562-2722 Donna_M_Gouin@mcpsmd.org

PTA and School Calendar 2010-2011

Monday, January 17 MLK Birthday No School
Monday, January 24 Professional Day No School
Tuesday, January 26 Immersion Open House 9:30 am
Wednesday, January 27 Literacy Night 6:30 – 8:00 pm in the Gym
Tuesday, February 1 PTA Meeting 7 pm
rd th
Friday, February 4 3 /4 Grade Social
Saturday, March 19 5k Run/Walk

SLIGO CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA Diane Kelleher,co- President

Sligo Creek Elementary School Stuart Kern, co-President
500 Schuyler Rd
Silver Spring MD 20910 Andrew Schulman, Treasurer
Suzanne Chartol, Secretary
PTA Web site: http://www.scespta.org/ Jennifer Calvert, Vice President for Events & Fundraising
Andrea Savoye, Vice President for Communication & Operations
Alice Vorosmarti, Newsletter Editor Laura Foradori, co-Vice President for Academic Support
vorosmarti@verizon.net Alice Vorosmarti, co-Vice President for Academic Support

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