Thanks to Mx. Durgin for getting BHES students ready for this year's Winter Sing-Along! A big shout out to the PTA Membership Team -- Lauren Clark, Lisa Gans, Ivy Lin, and Laura Moulton -- for getting our directories ready for distribution and achieving a nearly 100 percent rate of PTA membership!

The Weekly Whale will be off over Winter Break. In the meantime, we wish everyone in the BHES community a relaxing, restorative break. See you in the new year!

December 15-January 5 – BHES Read-a-thon

December 22 – Winter Sing-Along (K-2: 9:15-9:45am, 3-5: 10:00-10:30am)

December 25-January 2 – School Closed (Winter Break)

January 8 – Whale Mart (8:30-9:00am, BHES Blacktop)

January 15 – Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (No School)

January 19 – January Birthday Bash (2:30-3:00pm, BHES APR)

January 24 – Potomac Pizza Night 4:00-8:00pm 

January 25 – Jewish-Black Cultural Exchange Event (7:30pm, BHES APR) 

January 29 – End of Marking Period 2 (No School)

WINTER SPIRIT WEEK (MON, DEC 18-FRI, DEC 22)

THE READ-A-THON BEGINS!

The 2023 BHES Readathon is now on and will run through January 5th! 

**How to register your reader**

Go to https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/3537363231 and follow the simple instructions! Alternatively, you can also use the QR code (one unique QR code/classroom) in the flyer that was sent home on Friday. 

Please contact BHESReadathon@gmail.com with questions!

LAST CALL FOR AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT! 

Before you head out for winter break, don't forget to register for after school enrichment classes! Registration is earlier than usual this year, and it will close this Wednesday, December 20 at 11:59pm. Classes offered include music, chess, movement, baking, STEM and much more! The full schedule of classes is attached and more details can be found at https://bc-mco-bradleyhills.jumbula.com/winter-2024.

Click HERE to register. Email Baroody Camps at info@baroodycamps.com with any registration questions or concerns.

Don’t delay! Registration is closing soon!

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS RETURNING SOON!

A winter session of D&D is in the works. This teacher-led club for 4th and 5th grade students will meet on Tuesdays, 3:30-4:45pm. Stay tuned for more details!

JEWISH-BLACK CULTURAL EXCHANGE (THURS, JAN 25TH, 7:30-8:30PM, BHES APR)

The BHES PTA is committed to promoting an enriching and supportive climate where ALL members of the BHES community feel safe, seen, and respected. To help advance this sense of belonging for ALL our families -- particularly given recent and ongoing world events and pervasive issues of racism, transphobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination and bias here in the United States -- we are launching the first of what we hope will be a series of “Cultural Exchanges.” This first Cultural Exchange session will feature speakers who will share personal reflections about Black and Jewish heritage. John and Karen Franklin will present on Black heritage. Connie Jacobson Liss will present on the Holocaust and Jewish heritage. 

This inaugural event on Thursday January 25th @ 7:30pm is recommended for older students at BHES — 4th and 5th graders. We encourage 4th and 5th graders to attend with their parents/guardians. BHES parents who have younger students are also encouraged to attend without their younger students. We hope all attending families will leave this event with: (1) a greater understanding of Black and Jewish heritage; (2) an appreciation of ways in which the historical experiences of Black and Jewish people in the United States have been similar and ways in which they have been different; and (3) a stronger sense of allyship with these communities. We hope this first Cultural Exchange will be the first of many opportunities to explore the range of identities reflected in our BHES community. 

Please RSVP by completing this Google Form. Registration for this event will close once we reach maximum capacity for the BHES APR Room.  For any further questions about this event, please contact Michelle Feld (mffeld@gmail.com) or Anne Reid (annemorrisreid@gmail.com).

BHES CLASSROOM SPELLING BEES - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED (JAN, 2024)

The classroom Spelling Bees for 4th and 5th graders are coming up in January. Parents, we need your help!  Exact dates are TBD. Please note that you cannot volunteer for your own child's classroom bee. However, parents from any grade are welcome to volunteer (not just 4th and 5th grade parents).

If you are interested in helping to run the classroom bees, please contact Colleen Fahey at cefahey@yahoo.com 

BRING US YOUR PLASTIC BAGS AND FILM FOR THE TREX RECYCLING CHALLENGE!

Please send in your plastic bags and plastic film for the TREX recycling challenge! Schools collect plastic film (bags and other plastic film), weigh them, and report the weight monthly on the program website.

The challenge runs from September through April and any participating school that collects at least 1,000 pounds of plastic film during a 12-month period qualifies to receive a composite bench. We are off to a good start at 100 pounds as of the end of October so keep the plastic film coming in!

THE PTA IS HERE FOR YOU!

The BHES PTA is committed to promoting an enriching and supportive climate where all members of the BHES community feel safe, seen, and respected. The PTA -- primarily through its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee -- works to advance this goal through the following means: dissemination of educational resources for parents/guardians; organization and facilitation of Heritage Night as well as other events and small-group community conversations to help parents/guardians explore their family identities and issues of bias; financial support of assemblies and other in-school programming to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging goals; and collaboration with school administration, teachers, and staff on development of materials to supplement teacher lessons on anti-bias and commemorative months. The PTA's DEI Committee welcomes input from all members of our community about how we collectively work to prevent and respond to hate-bias incidents within our community. If you are interested in sharing feedback, or joining the DEI Committee, please contact DEI Committee Co-Chairs Britt Hogue and Kathleen Foster at dei.bhes@gmail.com.

Principal's Monthly Newsletter
Click here to read Mrs. Caroscio's December newsletter. 

Media Center: Email Tracy Sislen, tracysislen@gmail.com, to be put on the schedule. Media Center volunteer details.

Lunch/Recess: Sign-up for RECESS slots here. Sign up for LUNCH slots here.

Volunteer for PTA Events, Committees, Board Roles: Click here.

MCPS and BHES Volunteer Requirements: Click here.

Questions, comments, suggestions for the PTA? Contact PTA President Jenni Weinstein at bradleyhillsptaprez@gmail.com

Have PTA news to share or Community Event Information? Contact Communications Chair Lesley Freiman at bhescommunications@gmail.com

Want to volunteer? Please sign up here. 

Visit our website at www.bhespta.com

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/bradleywhalespta/

Bradley Hills Elementary School Websitehttps://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/bradleyhillses/?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atoz-app

Bradley Hills PTA Websitehttp://www.bhespta.com

Bradley Hills Education Foundation Websitehttps://www.bradleyhillseducationfoundation.org/?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atoz-app

A to Z Connect (for school directory & to join or donate to PTA)  https://bhespta.membershiptoolkit.com/home

MCPS COVID 19 Info: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/coronavirus/

CDC Travel Guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html

Join or Donate to the PTA: Fill out the PTA membership and donation form found HERE or login A to Z Directory (https://bhespta.membershiptoolkit.com), select “Membership” on the left side menu then "Join" and/or "donate" .

Scan Receipts for Box Tops and Register Your Grocery Store Cards: Download the box tops app and scan grocery store receipts to redeem box tops earnings for BHES. Register your grocery store cards at www.escrip.com (school ID: 6477724) and www.giantfood.com/aplus (school ID: 00665).