Park Maitland Newsletter #11

Newsletter #15 2020-2021

Peace • Love • Park Maitland

#Empathy

Beginning this month, we will provide an updated COVID count at Park Maitland School this number will be updated at the beginning of each month.

December 2020; 6 cases

November 30 - December 18: Park Maitland Annual Toy Drive

December 17: K-4 Holiday Party (students only)

December 18: Toys for Tots Virtual Assembly; K-5 - 6 Holiday Party (students only); Early Dismissal

December 17: 6th Grade Virtual Theater Event

December 21- January 4: Winter Break

January 4: Student Holiday/Teacher Workday

January 5: Empathy T-Shirt Day

January 8: Re-enrollment Begins

12/11/20

I am thrilled to introduce a new and exciting periodic piece for our newsletter! Students will get to share their thoughts and experiences on the traditions and happenings at Park Maitland. We look forward to many more "Student Voices" throughout the year! Additionally, please enjoy a writing about 6th grade Greek Fest by Mari Kang.

Warmly,

Davina Spillmann

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Mount Olympus has been resurrected at PMS!

Please lend me your ear! Goddess Hera (Ms. Finwall) has spoken! Our Super Seniors honored the gods by transforming themselves to be renowned philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, artists, etc. teaching and attending the School of Athens! The Three Fates (Aimee Nocero, Tobin Baum and Mari Hirano-Kang) called upon by Goddess Hera and her right hand mortal (Jessica Ventura), were hard at work with the wonderful Muses (Greek Fest Committee Members) to resurrect Mount Olympus and the School of Athens! Goddess Hestia (Ms. Bonus) gladly offered her wisdom and power to build the Trojan Horse and many other murals along with all of the Super Senior artists!

Walking through the Hadrian’s Arch and greeted by the Trojan Horse of Troy, the Greek philosophers and their disciples answered their invitations.They entered into the ethereal hall of Mount Olympus surrounded by clouds and thunderbolts, where a Pandora’s Box lit up with our Super Seniors’ Names and the word “HOPE” welcomed them. Our own Oracle of Delphi (Aimee Nocero) greeted our philosophers into our resurrected School of Athens!

There in the School of Athens, both indoors and outside, Pythagoras, Plato, Homer, Archimedes, Aristotle, etc. shared their knowledge with their disciples (4th and 5th Graders) through recitations of magnanimous performance! OPA! Favored by the gods, our great philosophers were granted a penultimate grand Greek Feast. The day was climaxed with a Kalamantianos dancing parade of Super Seniors down the Tripodon Street (carpool driveway) led by Pythagoras (Luke Kang) and Plato (Ashwin Anand) pulling the Trojan Horse!

For one momentous day, the PMS was favored by the gods of Mount Olympus! Goddess Hera wielded her vision and we were able to make it into reality!

All the Super Senior Academicians should be proud of sharing their knowledge through their recitations! So as Pericles said, “Having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all!”

The Three Fates

STUDENT VOICES

A collection of pieces heard from our Park Maitland students directly on how they experienced our events.

Please welcome 6th grade Ashwin and Luke for Greek Fest and 2nd grade Alaina for Polar Express.

GREEK FEST

Speaking to you are the Powerful Pythagoras and Prodigious Plato, also known to you common folks as Luke and Ashwin. We are two Park Maitland Super Seniors who were able to attend the wonderful Park Maitland event known as Greek Fest.

This event took place on Wednesday, December 2nd. The inside and outside of the gymnasium was transformed into the fabulous School of Athens, where students and faculty alike could watch an entourage of Greek philosophers deliver monologues about their life. Did you know that Herodotus is considered the “Father of History”? What about the possibility that Pythagoras died at the hands (or sprouts) of a fava bean?

During their social studies class, each sixth-grade group spread out around the gym, and each student delivered his/her speech over ten times! After one hour of “Greeking out”, they finally found their place among the gods and watched as their mortal peers too achieved their destinies. After this, the young philosophers enjoyed a delicious Greek buffet and participated in the Kalamantianos dance, “conga-style”. Everyone had to stop to watch the beautiful dance, led by the one-and-only Trojan Horse!

A special thanks to all the wonderful parents and teachers who made this once-in-a-lifetime event happen! We would like to give a shout-out to Goddess Hestia (Mrs. Bonus) for all her gorgeous decorations, and our Goddess Hera (Mrs. Finwall) for her dedication to making sure every student was able to have his/her talent showcased.

Remember, as one of Plato’s quotes says, “Philosophy begins in wonder”... much like excellence. Now it is time for us to drink the hemlock and say goodbye. Have a wonderful weekend.

Plato and Pythagoras

(Ashwin and Luke)

POLAR EXPRESS

SUPERSTAR TEACHER OF THE WEEK

Debbie Johnson, 2nd Grade Language Arts Teacher

This is my 11th year at PMS. I began subbing in the pool when my own kids were in 1st and 3rd here! After that, I was ready to get back in the classroom, however not the swimming pool, so I started teaching grade 3/4 Writing Lab. I absolutely loved the collaboration of ideas and projects, such as the State Travel Fair, with the 4th grade team. Most recently, I've been teaching reading/ESW in second grade and adore the team and students as well! I strongly believe that you can't teach reading without writing or writing without reading, so to teach both at Park Maitland is icing on the cake. Park Maitland is a very special place with fond memories and many more to come.

When I am not at school, I enjoy time with friends and family. There is usually a stack of books by my bedside table, a mug for morning coffee on the porch, and two dogs keeping me company on weekends.

"She is very nice and sweet to me." -Morgan

"She is exciting and walks in our room with a funny voice and says hello to everyone."

-Aidan

"She loves to dance and is really enthusiastic!" -Meta

"She uses a British accent to talk to us and she is really smart and a good teacher." -Lars

"She helps me with my reading." -Suri

Don't Forget! We are still looking for 1000 toys next week to meet our goal. Please help make it a worthwhile holiday for many families who may have been affected by COVID. Students look forward to this magical Park Maitland tradition. Now through December 18th, bring in new, unwrapped, unopened toys for Orlando Area Children. Look for the collection bins during morning carpool. To learn more, click here.

The Park Maitland Singing Eagles Glee Club will be starting back up in the second semester!

This is an elite auditioned event open to 4th-6th graders who love singing and performing as part of a group.

Tryouts will be held Wednesday, December 16th and Thursday, December 17th from 3:45 to 4:30.

Interested students should sign up here for Wednesday's tryout and Thursday's tryout for only one of the two days of auditions. Meet for auditions in D2/M2(the upstairs music and drama rooms.) Students will learn the song we’ll be singing as part of the audition, so there’s no need to prepare.

Mask and social distancing guidelines will be followed throughout the audition.

Glee club practices every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30, and commitment is key to our success. However, we will try to accommodate other after school activities as much as possible.

For several years "pebbles" was the area parents would be sent to pick up their child. This year for Election Day, we decided to vote for a new name as there are no pebbles on site. Students in each homeroom class chose a name and added to the ballot. On Election Day, Park Maitland had a school wide voting day. The winner was Mr. Driscoll's 6th grade homeroom class with our new street called Lazy Lane.

Carpool Safety

Please do not park on or near campus and walk your child in; this slows down carpool and violate our safety protocols.

Do not turn right on red at the Magnolia intersection

Do not turn left into campus from Magnolia without the proper tag

If you arrive early for pickup please do not stop the car, continue to make the turn on green.

Please do not park cars in local business lots

MATH NIGHT

FOR PARENTS IN GRADES 4th - 6th

This week's feature from our wonderful School Counselor, Mrs. "J" Jaworski, helps us find a way to reflect by writing in a journal.

Click here to read more.

YOUNG MASTERS REMINDER: It’s not too late to order!

We have had great success with this program! Thank you to all of you who have ordered already! A few parents have mentioned that they haven’t gotten a chance to order yet. These special keepsakes make GREAT gifts... and can be enjoyed for years to come!

You may simply order by going to www.youngmastersart.com and entering your child’s personalized ID # which can be found at the top of your child’s YOUNG MASTERS form that went home. If you have any further questions. You may contact Miss Maggie Flavhan at mflavhan@parkmaitland.org or our YOUNG MASTERS representative, Ms. Ashley Eidson at 800-336-4550 X 141 or Ashley.eidson@youngmastersart.com

Click HERE to access the Read to Lead page. For your convenience, you can also access the Read to Lead page through the Grade Level Pages on our website.

Celebrate your Super Senior by purchasing a yearbook dedication! Ads can be purchased and designed directly through Balfour's yearbook ad maker.

We are partnering with Balfour to offer an exclusive 5% discount on Full Page ads for all grades! This special deal is available now until December 31st!

Please call 1-800-BALFOUR if anyone is needing any help with their ads or having any ordering issues.

Super Seniors can order their full-page ads HERE!

Retakes will be on Thursday, January 21st, to learn more, click here.

If you have not received your photos and ordered online, photos will be shipped to the school for distribution. Lifetouch just confirmed that the packages are being processed at the lab and apologizes for the delay.

Let's stay connected! We are eager to have every Park Maitland Family follow us on social media. Sign up through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube for your class to win.

The class with the most connected through social media will receive a dress down day on Thursday, December 17th.

SUPER SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Each week Park Maitland School will be featuring two Super Seniors. We hope everyone enjoys this opportunity to get to know our awe-inspiring 6th grade students!