Originally delivered on 1/26/2025 6:10 pm

SUBJECT: Weekly Whale 1/26

SPOUT OUTS!

A blue whale-sized thanks to the parent volunteers and teachers, who helped keep the classroom Spelling Bees on track and remained available, despite the snow days and two-hour delays! The Spelling Bee would not be possible without you!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Weds, Jan 29 – End of Term (No School)

Fri, Feb 7 – February Birthday Bash (2:30-3:00pm, APR)

Tues, Feb 11 – BHES Spelling Bee (Correction! 9:15am, APR)

Fri, Feb 14 – Valentine's Day Class Parties (2:30-3:00pm)

Mon, Feb 17 – Presidents Day (No School)

Mon, Feb 24 – Showing of the Screenagers movie, elementary school edition (7pm, Whitman HS Auditorium)

Thurs, Feb 27 – BHES Heritage Night (7:00-8:30pm)

Fri, Feb 28 – Early Release (12:55pm)

Sat, March 26 – BHES Variety Show 

WHALE WATCH

SPELLING BEE UPDATES!

Congratulations to the 4th and 5th graders who participated in the Classroom Spelling Bees! The students were all incredibly impressive and should be very proud of themselves. Not only were they fantastic spellers, often reaching words two grade levels above their grade, they were also kind to their fellow classmates. They cheered in their success and comforted them when they misspelled a word. They demonstrated great sportsmanship, and we thank them for that! 

We are very proud to announce the following classroom winners and runner-ups:



First PlaceSecond Place
4th GradeMs. August's ClassJack LessenberryEthan Chernyakov

Ms. Hicks' ClassKeegan CoakleyJack Harrington

Ms. Chamandy's ClassOwen DavageLeah Przychodzen

Ms. Taylor's ClassJacob KimJuliet Heltzer




5th GradeMr. Sichler's ClassJack FavrettoNicolas Crilchuk

Ms. Swinehart's ClassAlex LuhDylan Jessel

Ms. Dyer's ClassLeo SunDylan Samantaray

We encourage our winners and runner-ups to compete in the School Spelling Bee that is scheduled for February 11, 2025 at 9:15am in the APR. The third, fourth, and fifth grade classes will also attend and root for their classmates and friends. We also welcome the parents of the classroom winners and runner-ups to attend, if they can (please remember to check in at the front office).

In preparation for the School Spelling Bee, we will send the classroom winners and runner-ups a new study list, so keep an eye out for that. 

PENNY WARS!

See flyer, below, for details.

PENNY WARS @ BHES | What: fundraiser for Hope for Henry | When: Jan 21st - 31st Where: jugs will be in the main hallway by the front office | Who: all students at BHES | How: You should donate and put money into jugs that are not your grade. The jug with the least amount of money wins. Coins and Bills are accepted. | Penny Wars run by the SGA. **Please no foreign currency** | January 21st-31st | Questions? Contact Ms. Howell Caitlyn_L_Howell@mcpsmd.org

SIGN UP TO HOST A TABLE AT HERITAGE NIGHT (FEB 27)

Sign up to host a table at this year's Heritage Night and showcase your heritage! Share your culture and traditions with students and families as they "tour the world" right here at BHES. Last year over 40 countries, regions, states, religions and traditions were represented. Join in the fun and help celebrate our community's cultural diversity at Heritage Night on Thursday, February 27nd. Sign up here! 

Additionally, the Heritage Night Committee requests big, strong volunteers to help move and set up many tables prior to the event. If you are available for this, please email cynthiaplatou01@gmail.com to volunteer. 

FAQ ON THE MCPS BOUNDARY STUDY

Do you want to know more about the MCPS 2024/2025 Boundary Study? You can find information in the BHES FAQ, here: https://www.bhespta.com/boundary-study-1

SUPPORT THE PTA, BUY A DISCOUNT CARD, ENJOY DEALS AT LOCAL BUSINESSES

Click HERE to purchase your BHES Discount Card now! For $35 (all proceeds go to BHES PTA), you'll get a card that lets you enjoy exclusive deals and discounts at local Bethesda businesses such as Bradley Food & Beverage, Gregorio's, Matchbox, and Tropical Smoothie Cafe, (see card for participating businesses). Just present your discount card at the local merchant and enjoy your great deal (discounts vary by merchant). We thank all participating businesses for their support! 

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE BHES VARIETY SHOW! (MARCH 29)

Mark your calendars! The annual Bradley Hills Variety Show will be Saturday, March 29th at Walt Whitman High School. It will be an evening of music, dance, acrobatics and many other talents performed by our wonderful students. More details are coming soon and submissions will open on February 6th!

VISIT THE BHES LOST AND FOUND

Is your child missing something? The Lost & Found is full of coats, hats, gloves, water bottles, etc. Please encourage your child to check there for any misplaced belongings. Parents & caregivers are also welcome to take a look any time you are at school. 

The Lost & Found is located in the All-Purpose Room but this Friday, January 31st, it will be relocated for the day to the front vestibule (by the main office). Thank you!

REMINDER FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT SCHOOL 

Don't forget about the volunteer opportunities available to BHES families all year! See below and sign up to come in, see your kids and help out!

Media Center Volunteers

Help our wonderful new Media Specialist in Mr. Ryan White and Media Center Assistant Ms. Mo! Volunteers may come help while their child's class is at the Media Center or any other time that is convenient, see the schedule here (please note A and B weeks) and a list of volunteer tasks here. Volunteers may also help during the Open Checkout session scheduled every Wednesday from 9:10-10:00am.  

If you are interested in helping, please email Tracy Sislen at tracysislen@gmail.com, so we may put you on the schedule. To review and complete BHES volunteer guidelines CLICK HERE.

Lunch/Recess Volunteers - BHES needs volunteers to help keep lunch and recess fun and safe! If you'd like to come in and help while your kids are in school, please see the schedule, guidelines and sign-up for Recess Volunteers, and Lunch Volunteers.

Point of Contact: Feng Luo, fluocn@gmail.com

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 klubey@gmail.com

PRINCIPAL'S CORNER

Principal's Weekly Newsletter
Click here to find Ms. Kemp's latest newsletter. 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

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

Media Center Volunteers email Tracy Sislen to get on the schedule.

Recess Volunteers sign up and review guidelines HERE.

Lunch Volunteers sign up and review guidelines HERE.

MCPS and BHES Volunteer Requirements: Click here.

CONTACT US

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

Visit our website at www.bhespta.com

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

RESOURCES
PLEASE SUPPORT THE PTA

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).

BHES staff and PTA volunteers can post informational emails via AtoZ by sending the email to: BHESAtoZConnect@gmail.com. Please include PLEASE POST in the subject line.  Ads or announcements for non-school sponsored events can be sent to the community announcements moderator at BHEScommunityannouncements@gmail.com.

If you do NOT want to receive these informational emails in the future, you may click "unsubscribe" at the bottom of any AtoZConnect email.  Warning - by unsubscribing you will no longer receive updates about any PTA events.  

To access your AtoZConnect account anytime to update your directory/contact info and/or to pay your annual BHES PTA family membership dues of $40, go to https://bhespta.membershiptoolkit.com/home If you forgot your password, go to the link and click "Forgot password."  

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