We hope everyone had a great first week of school -- and that you're enjoying some much needed down-time this holiday weekend! Spout out to the whole Bradley Hills community for starting the year out strong!

A huge thanks to Katherine Melgarejo, Kathleen Foster and Gigi Kalantar of our Staff Appreciation and Hospitality Committee for organizing a parent welcome coffee and donuts on the first day of school after drop off. Great to see so many parents there!

Many thanks to Ms. Jewel Sanders and the parents who attended the community meeting on Aug. 27 about the process for hiring our next principal.

Mon, Sept 2 – Labor Day (No School)

Thurs, Sept 5 – Back-to-School Night (6:30 - 8:00pm, BHES Classrooms) 

Mon, Sept 9 – PTA Volunteer Training (7:30 - 8:30pm, Virtual) 

Fri, Sept 13 – September Birthday Bash (2:30-3:00pm, BHES APR)

Sat, Sept 14 – Back-to-School Carnival (5:00-7:00pm, BHES blacktop)

Tues, Sept 17 – Bradley Hills PTA 411 (adults only) (6:30-8:00pm, see below for details)

Friday, Sept 27 – Early Release Day (school ends at 12:55pm)

TEACHER-LED CLUBS

The PTA is excited to once again offer after school and before school enrichment opportunities for students. This year, our teachers will be running clubs for 4th and 5th graders for Student Government, Dungeons and Dragons, Math Olympiad and Yearbook (5th grade only). A **new** Homework Club may also be in the works, so keep an eye out for further details soon!

Some clubs require a paper application. For clubs with registration through the PTA Membership Store (on A to Z), registration will begin September 9.  More information is available in the flyer below. Spaces are limited so sign up as soon as possible!

All before and after school enrichment programs (including clubs and the after-school enrichment classes described below) are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Montgomery County School Board, the Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, or Bradley Hills Elementary School. Email Natalie Ram at natalie.ram@gmail.com or Helene Gouarne (helene.gouarne@gmail.com) with any questions.

AFTER-SCHOOL ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

The PTA is also continuing our relationship with Baroody Camps to offer after school enrichment classes this Fall for all students in grades K-5, and we are excited to offer many classes this year that are geared towards our older students.  All classes are held onsite at Bradley Hills from 3:35 – 4:35pm. Students go directly from their classrooms to their enrichment programs. 

The Fall session will run from Oct 18 – Dec 13 with classes available Tuesdays – Fridays. (No enrichment on Mondays.) Please see the flyer below for the class schedule and pricing information. When classes are open to a range of grades, we encourage parents to review the class description and consider whether class offerings will engage their older students’ interests.  

Full details about each class and registration information can be found online at Bradley Hills PTA Enrichment Programs, powered by Baroody Camps (https://bc-mco-bradleyhills.jumbula.com/fall-2024). You will be able to register directly from this site beginning on Monday, Sept 9 at 10am. Don’t delay! Your favorite class will fill up quickly.

BRADLEY 411 (SEPT 17, 6:30-8:00PM)

Do you want to connect with the PTA board and meet other parents from our school? How about learning about volunteer opportunities? Bradley 411 is a great way to connect in a relaxed adult-only setting and get the information you need and meet like-minded parents at BHES. Even if you have been at BHES for a few years, this is a fun event to meet new parents so come join us! We look forward to seeing you! 

Date: September 17th from 6:30 - 8:00 pm

Location: 7801 Custer Road, Bethesda 20814

Hosts: Valerie Mayworm and Ben Perez

BACK-TO-SCHOOL CARNIVAL (SEPT 14, 5-7PM - PRE-ORDER PIZZA AND CALL FOR SSL VOLUNTEERS)

Come join new friends and old to celebrate the start of the 2024/25 school year. The Bradley Hills PTA is hosting a back-to-school carnival on September 14th from 5-7pm! We'll have tons of fun activities including inflatables, raffles, a dunk tank, face painting, food trucks (shaved ice, empanadas) and more! Please note that this is a cashless event.

Pizza will be available from Potomac Pizza, but you've got to order it ahead of time (by Tuesday, September 10)! You can order it here: https://bhespta.membershiptoolkit.com/store/15501

We are still looking for SSL volunteers for the carnival. If you know somebody who is interested, please have them fill out this link

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

There will be other opportunities to volunteer at the school throughout the year. Updated sign-up information for Lunch/Recess and Media Center volunteers will be available in subsequent Weekly Whales!

In addition, we are also still looking for a few more PTA volunteers (huge thanks to the dozens of parents who have already volunteered to help!). If you might be interested a role of Fundraising Chair, coordinating Green Team, or coordinating Movie Night, or if you have any questions regarding other volunteer opportunities, please reach out to Claire Heffez at bradleyhillsvolunteer@gmail.com.

SUPPORT YOUR PTA

Don't forget to join the PTA this school year! We manage activities and support for all students at BHES and rely on membership dues each year to fund this work. Our goal is to have 100% membership this year.

WELCOME BACK, BRADLEY HILLS COMMUNITY! 

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 klubey@gmail.com

Interested in volunteering? Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Claire Heffez at bradleyhillsvolunteer@gmail.com 

MCPS and BHES Volunteer Requirements: Click here.

Questions, comments, suggestions for the PTA? Contact PTA President Jen Villani 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).