9200 Old Harford Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21234 410-887-5270
“Where being
P erformance-Driven and
G oal-Oriented
M oves us toward
S uccess!”
FEBRUARY/ MARCH EDITION 2016
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
MS. TINA NELSON
Greetings Pine Grove Middle School Community .
I hope that your 2016 has had a happy and healthy start. It is hard to believe that we are at the mid-point of the academic year!
We encourage you to use BCPS One ( bcpsone.bcps.org/
) to stay informed about your child’s performance. If you have not yet activated your account, or are having difficulty, please contact the school and we will provide assistance.
As the second quarter comes to a close, this is an excellent time to sit with your student, examine their progress thus far, and make a plan to ensure success. You can reinforce your child’s academic progress by encouraging vocabulary development, reviewing math facts, and engaging in other educational activities. BCPS Parent
University ( www.bcps.org/parentu/
) is a resource for staying active in your child’s education.
Our vision at Pine Grove remains to provide a quality education that develops the 21 st century content knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will enable all students to reach their maximum potential as responsible, life-long learners and globally competitive citizens. We continue to focus on instruction that centers on the learner and on providing meaningful feedback that drives student achievement.
Thank you for an excellent first half of the year, and I look forward to the second half as there is much to anticipate: field trips, concerts, assemblies, eighth grade activities, and the spring musical!
EXCITING NEWS!
Join the science department Wednesday, February 10 th
from 5 – 7 PM at Pine Grove
Middle for our annual Science and Engineering Showcase. The evening will be organized into three sessions. Participants will spend two sessions engaging in STEM activities with science teachers, and a third session to view student science and engineering projects. If you are interested in attending please visit our Signup Genius webpage to self-schedule your evening. We hope you join us!
Signup Genius Link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44acac29a7f85-pine

PTSA News
Hello, PGMS Families
Thank you to everyone who participated in the SaveAround Greater Baltimore Coupon Books fundraiser. We made around $2500. Unfortunately that was not enough to fully fund all of this year’s planned activities and initiatives, so we will need to have another fundraiser this spring. If you have any ideas, please contact me! We are still accepting unsold books or the $20 cost for any of the 480 unaccounted books.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the PTSA table during Conference Night on 12/9. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the Teacher’s Holiday Luncheon so special by sending in chips, drinks or desserts and to all who helped set up, serve and clean up! Thank you to Teri Chason and April Bagster-Collins for organizing the American
Education Week Spirit Wear drive. Spirit Wear can be ordered online at any time and you can design your own. See the
Spirit Wear tab in the PTSA section of the PGMS website. There will be another Spirit Wear drive this spring. If you have ideas of what you would like to see, please contact me or Teri Chason.
Constant Contact eBlasts: If you are not receiving our PGMS PTSA emails, please send an email to pgmsptsa@yahoo.com
asking to join our mailing list. Make sure to include your name and your child’s grade.
Membership: Are you one of the over 386 parents, students, and faculty/staff who have already joined our PGMS PTSA this year? Thank you! Help us reach our goal of 415 members this year . Remember that by joining PGMS PTSA, you also become a member of the Maryland PTA and the National PTA. Take advantage of the offers and information available only to PTA members by visiting www.pta.org
. Your student will receive a TRAC & a Chick-fil-A coupon for each member of the family that joins. And your student will be eligible for a PGMS PTSA Scholarship when graduating from high school!
Direct Giving Fundraiser: We are asking everyone to make a one-time tax-deductible donation . Are you wondering how much to donate? A donation of $20 for each student would raise all of the funds we need to make school more enjoyable. And don't forget to invite family and friends to participate , just as you would with a traditional fundraiser.
Thank you to everyone who has already participated, including those who said “Keep the Change!” when paying for membership – we have already raised over $2600. The banner is in the lobby next to the trophy cases.
Conference Night: Look for the PTSA table and pick up a snack on your way to conferences on Wednesday, February
24 from 3-6 PM.
Scholarships: We anticipate awarding up to four $200 scholarships to graduating high school seniors who attended
PGMS for all 3 years. Details will be available in the high school guidance offices by the beginning of March.
Looking ahead: We will need new officers to lead our PGMS PTSA next year. We are looking for a President, a Vice
President, a Recording Secretary, a Communications Secretary, and a Treasurer. If you are interested or have questions about what each position entails, please contact me or come to a meeting! If you know of someone who will be moving up from a feeder elementary school, please contact me or have that person contact me!
All are invited to our Board of Directors Meetings which are on the first Thursday of the month. We are always looking for fresh faces and fresh ideas to make our PGMS PTSA even better. Our next two meetings are on February 4 and
March 3 at 7 PM in the school library. Your presence earns your student a MEGA TRAC! Check out the PTSA tab
(under the Parents tab) on the PGMS website for more information and copies of our various forms.
Thank you for all you do for your children and the school! Erica O'Leary olearys@comcast.net

Every year we are faced with the question, “How can we adequately prepare our students for the state assessment?” In Baltimore County and at Pine Grove Middle, we have a balanced literacy program which already addresses many of the demands of the Common Core State Standards. “A language-rich classroom, where students engage in regular guided and independent reading, is the ideal context for developing the skills needed to perform well on standardized tests.”
What are three surefire strategies for reading comprehension that especially come in handy at test time?
1. Encourage Purposeful Reading; 2. Cover All Kinds of Questions; 3. Teach Text Structure.
We encourage our students to read purposefully.
Our students realize that there is always a purpose for reading, and they must tailor their reading strategies accordingly. They realize that we are teaching them that they must know as much as possible about the types of questions they will be facing on the PARCC assessment in the narrative and informational reading passages.
In terms of covering all kinds of questions, we teach our students the kinds of items they will be seeing on the test. We expose them to many different types of questions on a daily basis—literal, inferential, textual, and so on. It is vital that students respond to the prompt and stay focused on the questions being asked when writing a response.
Finally, we teach reading strategies and reading skills such as text structure, story organization, compare and contrast, and cause and effect, and claim/evidences to help our students know where to find the answers in the passages they are reading.
Other strategies we have used to ensure student efficiency with the test is:
 Utilized “Test” vocabulary (the words encountered in testing questions)

Reviewed the correct and incorrect answers to practice tests
 Utilized ‘common’ test-taking strategies (process of elimination, pacing, marking the test booklet, highlighting, and “proper” guessing)

Had student create their own organizers before their writing activities

Utilized close reading strategies for vocabulary and main idea

Utilized the PARCC rubric to ensure understanding of scoring of assessment
If you’d like more information or to review the practice tests your child uses during class, log onto http://parcconline.org/ and explore.

High School Registration Information for 8 th Grade Parents!
All feeder high schools, Loch Raven, Parkville and Perry Hall have visited Pine Grove Middle to register your
8 th
grader for their zoned high school. Even if your child is planning on attending a magnet program or private school, he/she will need to register for their home feeder high school until their acceptance to another school can be officially verified and recorded in our system .
If you have any question about the high school registration process, please contact Mrs. Casale at acasale@bcps.org
or 410-887-5270.
From The PBIS Committee
The PBIS Committee continues to deliver quality lessons during our weekly character education program. Our most recent topic was “appropriate communication.” Students were able to engage in discussions about the tone of voice and strategies that they can use to better communicate with adults. You might consider continuing this discussion at home in order to find out how your child feels about this issue. Our next topic will be goal setting.
As always, the school store is open for business! Please encourage your child to use his/her TRACS at the school store or to enter for our quarterly prizes and biweekly “special box.”
Parenting Tweens
Help your middle schooler navigate the “tween” years
Not quite a teen, no longer a child; your middle schooler is a “tween.” To help him/her navigate these tricky years:
Know his/her friends. Aside from parents, friends are the biggest influence. Nudge him/her toward respectable friends and meet their parents.
Give him/her real responsibilities. In addition to schoolwork, give him/her chores. Responsibility is a big part of maturity.
Set limits. Although kids rebel against rules, they also take comfort in them. Let him/her know what’s expected of him/her. Two important limits to set are:
Attendance Master manipulators, tweens can come up with a million reasons to avoid school and schoolwork.
Set firm rules about school attendance. When in doubt let the school nurse decide if he/she is too sick to attend.
Sleep. Tweens need sleep to function. While bedtime may seem like a thing of the past, it is just as important as ever.
Communicate. Talking to a tween is tough, but do it anyway. Be available to chat. Listen when he/she talks.
Supervise him/her.
He/she wants independence, but you’re in charge. Check where he/she is and with whom.
Know when he/she’ll be home. If an activity is unsupervised, offer to be a chaperone. Keep tweens active in supervised activities such as sports, clubs and community service.
Stick with it. Parenting preteens is hard, and no one strategy always works. Your child still needs you. Hang in there.
Recommended reading for middle school parents:
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber *
Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey http://www.drjimfogarty.com/ Author of Overindulged Children: A Parent’s Guide to Mentoring

Help Your Child Save Lives and be a Heart Hero! SAVE THE DATE!
HOW: Support your child in the American Heart Association’s Hoops for Heart program
WHEN: February 17 th Wednesday from 3:00 – 5:30 PM
WHERE: Pine Grove Middle School Gym
WHAT: A life-saving and educational community service program (3 v 3 Basketball Tournament)
Faculty Basketball Game and the Pine Grove Step Team performance
WHY: Your child will help kids with special hearts, learn about how to be heart healthy and feel good!
Prizes and give-aways will take place throughout the event. Trophies will be awarded to the top collector, top on-line collector, and top three in the 3 v 3 tournament. Medals and gift cards also will be awarded at the event. Please come out and support the athletes as they participate in this worthwhile cause. For spectators, tickets will be sold the week before during lunch shifts in order to attend plus special VIP seating tickets.
Dear Parent/Guardian,
We are thrilled to share that our school is supporting the American Heart Association’s Hoops for Heart program!
When your child participates in Hoops for Heart he/she:

Learns about the importance of the heart – how it works, and how to take care of it: Through classroom exercises and educational information provided by the American Heart Association.

Helps kids with special hearts: Our safe online tool makes it easy for your child to set up a Web page and send emails to invite friends and family to support their fundraising efforts and to share life-saving information.
 Feels good for making a difference in people’s lives!
Funds raised support American Heart
Association research and education initiatives that save lives in our community . Congenital heart defects are the most common cause of infant death from birth defects. Many children are alive today because of treatments not available even 10 years ago. Funded research and advancements have changed and saved their lives!
We hope you are as excited as we are to support our students in this important experience! If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please let Ms. Six know. We are also looking for former students who would like to come back to Pine Grove to assist in the refereeing of the 3 v 3 games. Earn service learning hours through a fun worthwhile activity and support the American Heart Association. Contact Ms. Six if you are interested. dsix@bcps.org
Visit www.heart.org/hoops to get started today!
Special Notes:
*Please make checks payable to American Heart Association.

*For the safety of our children, we ask that your child not go door-to-door or ask strangers for donations.
*Our school also has the opportunity to earn free physical education equipment.
News from the Visual Arts Team
Mr. Gibison, Ms. Knauer, and Mr. Fains
Gifted and Talented Art Nominations
The nomination process for the gifted and talented art program has begun. Students may approach the process themselves by asking their art teacher for the appropriate forms, or they may be nominated by their current or previous art teachers. A portfolio of student artwork and three nominations are required of all students. Art teachers are available to provide counseling to students in the preparation of work.
A review process will be conducted in April to review portfolios and make recommendations of eligibility for the G/T art program. Students whose portfolios do not meet the eligibility criteria may reapply the following year after further counseling and acting upon recommendations.
Completed nominations and portfolios are due to the art teachers at Pine Grove Middle School on or before
April 7, 2016.
Portfolio requirements are listed on the Edline page for your child’s art class. Coach class is available on
Wednesday afternoons from 2:45 to 3:45 for assistance in preparing the portfolio. Please contact your child’s art teacher for more information.
Box Tops for Education
Don’t forget to save the Box Tops coupons that are printed on various grocery items. Each Box Top is worth 10 cents towards supplies for our art program. They can be found on cereal, tissues, snack bars, and other assorted items.
Make sure that your child’s name is on the back of the Box Top so that it can be entered into a drawing for a cash prize. Students should bring them to their art teacher. Thanks so much for your support!
Also, please visit www.boxtops4education.com
to receive coupons, sign up for contests, and find out about how you can get bonus and eBox Tops for shopping online.
ARTISTS of the MONTH
The Art Department at Pine Grove Middle School would like to send out a big “Cougar Congratulations” to the artists of the month for January. Congratulations to Tyler B. from eighth grade for his Bamboo Brush Painting,
Megan F.
from seventh grade for her drawing of a three-dimensional sphere and Lydia W.
from sixth grade for her winter landscape painting. Each artist earned themselves a Mega TRAC by showing tremendous skill and creativity. Great job Pine Grove artist!

All 8 th grade art students will be participating in the Empty Bowls Fundraiser for food insecure families.
We will be designing and donating soup bowls to the fundraiser in to help provide assistance for those in need.
Empty Bowls is St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore’s signature event that raises funds, friends and awareness of our work to serve those who are hungry and homeless in our community.
With your ticket, you will be able to come and enjoy the following:
 Taste a variety of delicious soups from some of Baltimore’s top restaurants

Select from hundreds of hand-crafted, hand-designed ceramic bowls

Bid on an array of silent auction items including: jewelry, pottery, sports and theatre tickets, getaways, and more!

Participate in raffles with prizes and surprises! (tickets starting at $5)
 Participate in our “Wine and Dine” – pick a restaurant certificate valued at $20 or more and a bottle of wine (tickets starting at $50)

Enjoy entertainment and activities for the entire family (crafts, face painting, soup competitions, and more)

Take a family picture to share with your social network
Empty Bowls takes place Saturday, March 19, 2016 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, 4-H
Building. There are 2 seatings: Lunch from 12:00-2:30 p.m. and Dinner from 5:00-7:30 p.m.
More information may be found on their website.

PTSA Reflections 2016
The arts—and the PTA Reflections program—support student success and serve as a valuable tool for building strong partnerships in your school community.
National PTA Reflections welcomes all grades and abilities to explore and be involved in the arts. Annually, thousands of students will reflect on a common theme and create original works of art in the categories of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts.
The theme for the 2015-2016 school year is Let Your Imagination Fly.
This year PGMS will be represented by Ruby L. with her beautifully drawn composition of her hand from observation.
Visually looking ahead…. Baltimore Museum of Art field trip for portfolio prep and advanced art class students, 2106 State’s Attorney’s Office Anti-Drug poster contest, Law Day poster contest, exhibits at the
Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art and the Sheppard Pratt Center for Eating Disorders
Love Your tree exhibit and awards ceremony.
The SADD club and PGMS are celebrating Random Acts of Kindness.
For the remainder of the school year, a bulletin board designated to inspire our students and anyone in the building to demonstrate kindness will be installed and maintained. The hope is for students to read and act on the messages.
This year we will be remembering the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School with the Pine Gove Middle
Random Acts of Kindness Challenge. (RAK Challenge)
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 children and adult staff members lost their lives to gun violence.
The RAK Challenge, called the 26 Random Acts of Kindness, was formed in response to the tragedy. SADD would like to encourage every student at Pine Grove Middle School to practice Random Acts of Kindness
(RAK) throughout the month of February.
SADD has developed the RAK Challenge for students to complete and turn in by Feb. 29. There will be a box in the cafeteria to collect the charts. Several Prize drawings will be held the week of March 1 st
as an incentive

to complete the challenge. Extra RAK challenges will be in the back of the cafeteria on the SADD table and across from staff mailboxes.
KINDNESS IS CONTAGIOUS - Pay it FORWARD!
PRACTICE RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS
Why practice kindness?
KINDNESS INCLUDES EVERYONE . Kindness crosses all those distinctions that we sometimes place among ourselves — distinctions of race, religion, culture, gender, age. Students learn that kindness is a language that everyone understands.
Through kindness, we celebrate diversity.
KINDNESS IMPROVES STUDENTS’ SELF-ESTEEM AND THE SCHOOL CLIMATE
. Whether academically proficient or not, students are given a way to excel through kindness, and excel they do. One teacher said that a few students who appeared to be headed down destructive paths were turned around due to the increased self-esteem and positive involvement that the school’s kindness program offered them. Other teachers have said that students are more willing to participate in class when they know that ridicule of their answers will not be tolerated. Thus, the learning environment is enhanced.
KINDNESS IS EMPOWERING.
Kindness is one of the most powerful interpersonal tools that we, as human beings, use to connect with one another. When we sense someone’s need, we either choose to help in some way… or we choose not to. If we act from empathy, we will offer kindness, and in that moment a surprising, gracious, humanitarian connection is made. This is the positive power that each of us possesses.
During difficult times, kindness propels students into action and gives them power when they feel powerless.
They can do something to improve the world.
KINDNESS HELPS STUDENTS CONNECT ACTIONS WITH CONSEQUENCES.
Students are almost always positively reinforced when they are kind to others. They see the gratitude of the recipient; they hear the
“thank you.” They know that they made a difference.
KINDNESS IS A VITAL, LIFELONG, INTERPERSONAL SKILL.
Students will use kindness daily in their relationships at home and in the community.
Kindness is awareness that each of us develops with practice and over time . Through the kindness we give and receive, we begin to understand that we are intrinsically connected to those around us. We realize that we are part of a human community, in which giving and receiving kindness are vital to our health, harmony, and hope.
Our children deserve to learn and experience this life skill of kindness… and so do we all.
LET KINDNESS FLOW!

For the month of February, SADD Club is also hosting “Stop Bullying Month.” Parents can help. First, encourage your student not to be part of the problem. Most students do not directly bully; however, students will stand with a student who is bullying and they may even laugh. This adds to the problem. Remind students to say no to the bully, or at least, walk away. Tell them not to be a bystander or be part of the bully’s audience.
Second, think before you speak. When most parents were growing up, we heard, “Boys will be boys,” or
“That’s just the way girls are” or worse, “The survival of the fittest.” As parents, we need to change with the times; we are not living in the sixties or seventies. Students are emotionally and physically hurt by bullying, so think before you speak. Words do hurt.
Third, encourage empathy, by asking, “Would you want that to happen to you?” and ask students to use the
“Golden Rule.”
Remember, we cannot control what other people do, but we can control what we do and say.
st
About Student Service Learning Hours for 8 th Graders:
Students need 75 hours before they graduate high school. However, 8 th
graders with more that 75 hours could earn a recogition certificate and pin from the Office of Student Learning. On April 1 st
, 2016, the names of our top five 8 th
graders who have exceeded 75 outside service learning hourswill be submitted. In order for a name to be submitted, all forms/hours need to be entered into our system by March 24 th . Hours cannot be accepted toward the recognition after this date.
All projects need be preapproved by Ms. Casale. A copy of the preapproval form is located on our website or students can pick them up in the school counseling office. In addition, included is a link for the BCPS directory for approved organizations: http://www.bcps.org/offices/service_learning/pdf/Resource-Directory.pdf
Please contact Anne Casale with additional questions at acasale@bcps.org
.

School Activities Corner
Welcome back! We hope everyone had an enjoyable and restful break.
On Monday, January 4 th
, the 8 th
graders received a permission slip to attend the 8 th
grade Palooza on Friday,
February 12, 2016 from 7-10:30 pm. Students will be able to enjoy a DJ and dance, basketball, talent show, and much more. The cost of the Palooza is $20.00.
This price includes all of the activities plus pizza and drinks.
In order for your child to attend, he or she must return the bottom portion of the permission slip to his or her homeroom teacher along with his or her payment. Checks should be made payable to Pine Grove Middle
School. There will be one more collection date – Wednesday, February 3rd. Parent chaperones are needed. If you are able to assist in this fun-filled evening, please complete the chaperone section of the permission slip.
Remember, chaperones must have completed volunteer training and be on our approved chaperone list. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Ms. Cummings at ecummings@bpcs.org
, Ms. Kemp at akemp@bcps.org
, or Mr. Sigmon at rsigmon@bcps.org
. You may also call the school at 410-887-5270.
Please help by bringing in the following items on Wednesday, February 10th. Items can be taken to Ms. Kemp
(room 69) or Ms. Cummings (room 68).
Homerooms 27, 29, 40, and 42
Homerooms 28, 31, 37, 38, and 39
Homerooms 24, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36
Homerooms 22, 23, 25, 26, and 30
Chips/Pretzels
Cookies (store bought)
2-liter bottles of soda or water
Paper Products (cups and paper plates - we always run low on cups)
Information regarding this year’s bowl-a-thon will be coming home towards the end of February. This is a wonderful opportunity to have a great time with friends and help children battling cancer.
Also, our 7 th
grade will be heading to the Medieval Times Theatre at Arundel Mills Mall on March 18 th
. It will be an enjoyable experience for all those who attend.
.

Pine Grove Middle School
9200 Old Harford Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21234
410-887-5270 phone
410-668-5237 fax
Email - pgms0957@bcps.org
Website - https://pinegrovems.bcps.org
Tina Nelson, Principal tnelson@bcps.org
John Bowman, Assistant Principal jbowman3@bcps.org
Judy Monk, Assistant Principal jmonk@bcps.org
Nathan Davis, Assistant Principal ndavis3@bcps.org