Huge spout outs to Mary Snyder & Angela Goldstein for organizing last night's PTA Parent Welcome night, and to our Membership Team, Laura Moulton & Lauren Breitenother Clark for all of their hard work! Thanks to all who attended! 

Hats off to Steven Long who has devoted many hours to helping the PTA set up a volunteer mailbox to coordinate our volunteer activities through the year.

Many thanks to all of our first time volunteers! Some are new to the school and others are new to volunteering at BHES, and we are truly grateful for their time. Deep appreciation for this year's room parents for sending our their initial emails to teachers and getting the year up and running. As a reminder, if you're interested in volunteering, reach out to bradleyhillsvolunteer@gmail.com.

• Friday, September 18- Early Dismissal
• Saturday, September 19 – Playdate for families & caregivers of Black students (3:30-4:30pm) & Back-to-School Carnival (4:30-7:00 pm)
• Monday, September 21 - No School
• Friday, September 25 – BHEF Fall Social (6:00-8:00 pm at the home of the Perkins family, 8728 Ewing Drive. See RSVP link below). 
• Wednesday, September 30 – Picture Day
• Friday, October 2 – October Birthday Bash

• Tuesday, October 6 – PTA General Meeting (In Person)

• Thursday, October 8 – BHEF Five Guys Night (5:00-9:00pm, Autopark location near Home Depot)

• Thursday, October 15 – Bingo Night (6:00–7:15 pm at the Whitman cafeteria, stay tuned for details on ordering bingo cards, pizza & refreshments!)

• Wednesday, October 21- Cultural Arts Assembly (more information below!)

• Friday, October 23–Thursday, October 29 – Book Fair

• Friday, October 30 – Whalemart (8:30am on the blacktop) & Halloween Parade & Class Parties (details to follow).

• Friday, November 6 - Boosterthon fun run (Grades K-2 from 9:05-10:05am and Grades 3-5 from10:15-11:15am. Parents/caregivers are welcome to join!)
  
  

Want to stay up to date on BHES communications and ensure you don't miss anything? Please remember to register for Membership Toolkit! This is how the PTA communicates school wide in addition to how room parents communicate on individual classroom events. BHES has a Green School distinction, which means that the school and the PTA post the majority of our information online or send it via email.

Going forward, we will be verifying that all new members to the BHES 2026-2027 Whatsapp group are in Membership Toolkit before approving requests to join the group. This is to help ensure our Whatsapp group consists only of members of the BHES community. It also helps to minimize spam!

Instructions for registering with Membership Toolkit:

If you are new to Bradley Hills:

• Go to the https://bhespta.membershiptoolkit.com/ and click on Register/Login.
• Click Create Account. Enter your account information.
• The website will send you a confirmation e-mail before you can continue with the registration process.
• Confirm your e-mail address and then you can enter your family information and set your Directory & Publish preferences.
• You must complete your family information AND your directory publish preferences (under My Account) in order to view the directory. After November 15, 2024 you will be able to continue receiving PTA communications but will have to be a member of the PTA in order to access the directory information. You can also download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Sign up for Fall after school enrichment classes! Registration is open now. See the full schedule of classes and registration information at https://bc-mco-bradleyhills.jumbula.com/home. Some classes are already fully booked, and others need more students to run -- so don’t delay!

Click HERE to register. Email Natalie Ram (natalie.ram@gmail.com) with general questions, or Baroody Camps (info@baroodycamps.com) with any registration questions or concerns.

After school enrichment programs are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Montgomery County School Board, the Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, or Bradley Hills Elementary School. 

Have you paid your PTA dues yet this year? Help your kids' class and grade win the PTA Membership Challenge!

The first class to reach 100% participation in the PTA by October 31 wins a pizza party! The grade with the highest PTA participation by October wins a donut party for the whole grade! 

One of the benefits of paying our annual PTA dues is access to the A to Z directory which allows us to quickly search for classmates and friends of our kids which certainly can make setting up playdates and class parties easier. Access to A to Z will become limited to PTA members following the membership drive which ends on 10/31. Anyone who is signed up in A to Z will be able to receive communication from the PTA including information about events and the weekly whale but will be unable to utilize the directory. 

Here are the membership rates by grade! 

K – 29/47 – 62%

1^st – 38/66 – 58%

2^nd – 38/68 – 56%

3^rd – 49/65 – 65%

4^th – 46/82 – 56%

5^th – 49/100 – 49%

At the start of the challenge 3^rd Grade in the lead but other grades are gaining! 

Here are the top 5 classes closest to 100% participation and a pizza party

Ms. Luther (Kindergarten) = 69%

Ms. Berger (3^rd Grade) = 67%

Ms. August (4^th Grade) = 70%

Mr. Nagao – (5^th Grade) = 65%

Mr. Newman (5^th Grade) = 69%

To pay your annual support fee and join the PTA:

1.    Visit https://bhespta.membershiptoolkit.com 

2.    Select “Membership Store” on the left. 

3.    Buy your Annual Membership and “Check out” 

Learn about the PTA on Our Website: www.BHESPTA.com 

Questions? Email: BHESPTAMembers@gmail.com. Thanks again to everyone who has already joined! We couldn't do this without you!

BHES PTSA values membership access for all BHES families. Your membership funds are not the only way to show support. Your availability to volunteer helps enormously, as well as your participation. If you are experiencing financial hardship, we want to allow membership for families who might not otherwise be able to join with their funds, therefore providing you access to our online directory, the ability to vote during general membership meetings and improve our support percentage numbers. Please reach out to our PTA President at bradleyhillsptaprez@gmail.com to let her know of your situation and we will help you acquire membership. 

On Monday, Sept. 28, from 1:30-3:00 p.m., BHES will conduct its annual Parent-Child Reunification (PCR) Drill, and we are seeking parent volunteers to help make the exercise as realistic as possible. Please note that volunteer spots are limited to 22 participants.

This important training helps BHES staff practice procedures for safely reuniting students with their caregivers during an emergency. Volunteers will role-play a variety of student pickup scenarios, allowing staff to rehearse both standard and non-standard situations. Participants will have the opportunity to see their child(ren) during a portion of the drill.

For questions, please contact Mr. Legarreta at Benjamin_Legarreta@mcpsmd.org.

Volunteer Schedule

• 1:30-2:00 p.m.: Volunteer briefing and instructions 
• 2:00-2:45 p.m.: PCR Drill
• 2:45-3:00 p.m.: Debrief

Thank you for helping us keep our school community prepared and safe.

VOLUNTEER SIGN UP SHEET:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16eduGPkzVPM1lccrYDBpCeBTIxiRQaSOwtiENYnDuzw/edit?usp=sharing

It's time to order your student's Class Shirt for the 2026-2027 school year!  Class Shirts are worn on grade-level field trips occuring after the delivery date and for BHES's highly anticipated Field Day in June.  Shirts were made available for order beginning Wednesday, September 16 and will be available through 11:59 PM on Friday, October 2.  They will then be delivered to a member of the Spiritwear Committee roughly two weeks later and delivered directly to students via their classroom by the Spiritwear Committee. *Class Shirts will be available for field trips scheduled after the delivery date of roughly October 23, 2026.  Class Shirts will not be available for field trips scheduled prior to roughly October 23. 

Each grade level has its own shirt color - please make sure to order the correct color for your child's current grade level!  It happens so much more often than you'd think that we adults are moving too quickly and order the wrong color for our kiddo.  Help the Spiritwear Committee help you and make sure your shirt color is correct, and please make sure to write your child's name, teacher and grade level where the ordering page says "Please share why you’re supporting this campaign".  We know why you're supporting this campaign - you're supporting our wonderful school! But we really do need to know your child's name, teacher and grade level to help your child get their shirt, so please make those notes in the box asking for why you're supporting the campaign. These notes are so helpful in making sure all shirts reach the student for whom they were intended.  Additionally, please do not select "Make my name anonymous" - it will make it difficult to connect your order to your child. Order your child's shirt HERE!

Grade Level Colors

Kindergarten - PURPLE
First grade - RED
Second grade - ORANGE
Third grade - GREEN
Fourth grade - YELLOW
Fifth grade - NON-APPLICABLE (Fifth graders will order class shirts separately, as their shirts are more of a fifth-grade keepsake to honor their final year as elementary school students. Separate communications will be sent for fifth grade students.) 
All proceeds from Class Shirts will go directly to BHES's PTA, which works so tirelessly to enrich our students' lives and empower our school community! 

BHES uses the same shirts every year - and there are many of them in rotation.  If you have a shirt color your family no longer needs, please feel free to place it in the Spiritwear Committee's Class Shirt Dropbox in the school's lobby.  If you're in need of a shirt and would prefer not to purchase one, you may stop by the Class Shirt Dropbox and take the size and color you need, if it is available.  This is a sharing economy system - the Spiritwear Committee does not maintain any sort of inventory on what is in the Class Shirt Dropbox.  If what you need is there, it's your lucky day!  If it isn't, you're welcome to check back or order directly from Custom Ink via the link shared above.  

We will have a Class Shirt Dropbox available to collect Class Shirts that are no longer needed at the school festival this Saturday.  If you'd like to bring an old (clean!) shirt, please do!  

• Join BHES' NAACP Parents’ Council Representatives for a playdate and meet-and-greet on Saturday, September 19 from 3:30-4:30pm before the Back-to-School Carnival. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet other Bradley Hills families, build community, and learn about NAACP efforts to support the academic success and well-being of Black students in MCPS. Enjoy refreshments, new connections, and community building!
• We still need a few more cakes for the back to school carnival cakewalk this Saturday! Please sign up to bring a cake here.
• The BHEF Fall Social is is on Friday, September 25th! Please RSVP here to let us know if you can make it! 

We are excited to welcome award-winning children’s author Ada Ari to our school for her interactive African Storytelling Reimagined program!

Through storytelling, music, dance, and authentic African artifacts, Ada brings traditional African folktales to life while giving students an engaging introduction to African culture and traditions.

Order a Personalized, Autographed Book

Families have the opportunity to purchase Ada Ari’s books in advance of her visit. Each book will be personally autographed and can include a special dedication to your child.

To order, visit Ada Ari’s African Folktales book shop and enter the code BHES at checkout for free shipping to the school.

All orders must be placed by October 14.

When checking out, please use the “Add a Note” section to include:

1. Your child’s name
2. Your child’s teacher
3. The name you would like Ada to use in the personalized dedication

Books will be signed and personalized by Ada Ari as part of her visit.

Order books here:
https://www.ada-ari.com/african-folktales

Teacher wish lists: Support our teachers by helping to purchase item they need for their classrooms at https://www.bhespta.com/teacher-wishlists 

Bradley Hills Elementary School Websitehttps://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/bradleyhillses/

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

Bradley Hills Education Foundation Websitehttps://www.bradleyhillseducationfoundation.org/

BHES Membership Toolkit (for school directory & to join or donate to PTA) https://bhespta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Principal's Weekly Newsletter
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E0O98E7ojszlPNmNv78tCorTfm_RmSc3ww4Yv2AtxeQ/edit?tab=t.0

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

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

Visit our website at www.bhespta.com

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