Tuesday, October 29

• Picture Re-Take (8:00 am to 10:15 am)  

Thursday, October 31

• Early Dismissal 11:55 am, No lunch served 
• Staff Development Day  

Monday, November 4

• Book Fair

Tuesday, November 5

• No School for Students (Election Day)
• Staff Development Day

Wednesday, November 6

• Book Fair  

Thursday, November 7 

• Book Fair

Friday, November 8

• Book Fair  

Tuesday, November 12

• General ISC Meeting 9:30 am (Academy Bldg)   

Tuesday, November 19

• Staff Appreciation Breakfast 7 am
• 6th Grade Choral Concert 7 pm  

Friday, November 20 

• Thanksgiving Luncheon  

Monday, November 25 

• Winter Sports Begin, CIPPE forms due 

Wednesday, November 27  

• Early Dismissal 11:55 am, No Lunch Served
• Staff Development Day 

Thursday, November 28  

• All Schools Closed (Thanksgiving)

 Friday, November 29

• All Schools Closed 

The HSA is looking for a Welsh Valley representative for the Committee for Special Education (CSE) which is a parent-led volunteer organization serving families of children with IEPs, GIEPs, and/or 504 Service Agreements in Lower Merion School District  If you are interested, please contact Nanette Taraya-Vonk at ntarayavonk@comcast.net .  We also have various school events that need volunteers.  Please go to www.SignUpGenius.Com to signup to help.

The Principal Advisory Committee is looking for a new parent volunteer to serve as a representative on behalf of parents with children from Penn Valley Elementary School. Principal Advisory Committee members will meet monthly with Mr. Hall and a group of faculty representatives from 3:15-4:15pm. If you are interested, please contact Mary Ann Fusaro at fusarom@lmsd.org by Thursday, October 24th.

Relatives and Parents who want to purchase books for a student, but can't get to the book fair at Welsh Valley November 4 - November 8, will be able to purchase books online starting October 27 - November 16.  Go to http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/welshvalley to place an order. 

Orders will be delivered to Welsh Valley one week after the completion of the online sale and then distributed to the students. Please note that orders cannot be placed before October 27. If you would like to volunteer to help out with the book fair, please contact Pam Schommer Pschommer1823@gmail.com

Here at Welsh Valley we are very fortunate. But, there are some schools in Philadelphia that are not as fortunate. The Andrew Jackson School in Philadelphia is in dire need of school supplies for their students. The students in this school are in Kindergarden to 8th grade. We would love to help this school by donating supplies.  Some of the things that they need are:

Gently used books (K-8)
Folders with pockets
Large labels for the folders
Loose leaf
Copy paper
Electric pencil sharpeners
Colored pencils
Photo paper to print pictures
Winter Gloves!!
Winter Hats!!
Scissors
Gluesticks
Bookmarks
USB sticks
copy books
pencils.
Band aids
Hand sanitizer
Neosporin

To get enough of these supplies, we'll need your help. So please Welsh Valley, let's help. Help kids in need who don't have what we have. Collection boxes are placed in every homeroom and in the main office. We need you, and they need us. Come on Welsh Valley what do you say? The collection will run from October 21st until November 8th.
Please check out the  Sign Up Genius! developed by one Mrs. Wisser's sixth grade challenge class students, and consider making a donation as a family.

The TSA Engineering team officially begins after-school meetings for ALL students in November. Preparations for Washington, DC will begin with the series of meetings that are listed below. Students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) based competitions should report according to the following schedule:
  *   Monday, October 28th - Homeroom - TV26 will begin showing information about TSA on the morning announcements
  *   Wednesday, November 6th - Period 10 Homeroom - ALL interested students - in the tech ed rooms (only for picking up permission forms)
  *   Thursday, November 7th - 3:10 to 4:30 - Returning Members ONLY - in the tech ed rooms
  *   Tuesday, November 12th - 3:10 to 4:30 - New Members ONLY - in the auditorium
Any student interested in joining the team this year should visit Mr. Weaver's eBoard for more information and to obtain a permission form. Forms must be returned before attending afterschool meetings. TSA typically meets afterschool on Tuesday and Thursday until 4:30.

Please visit the TSA website for a description of each event.
Regionals - February 8, 2014 - Quakertown, PA (Snow Makeup - February 22, 2014)
States - April 9 - 12, 2014 - Champion, PA
Nationals - June 27 - July 1, 2014 - Washington, DC

We are pleased to recognize our Dragon Pride Commendation award winners. The following students were recognized by our staff for demonstrating Random Acts of Kindness or Contributing to the Welsh Valley Community. We encourage all students to do the right thing for the sake of it being the right thing to do.  We want to recognize students for good deeds, sometimes with a smile or thank you, other times with a commendation.  But our overall goal is for our staff with the commendation program is to acknowledge students for doing the right thing in the most genuine sense.  The Character and Citizenship Committee and WVMS faculty would like to thank these students for helping make Welsh Valley a better place.

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a "DRAGON PRIDE" commendation for the week of October 14th: 

 

8th GRADE

Zev Cotler commended by Mr. Wyatt

Liza Cohen commended by Mr. Gari  

 

7th GRADE

Reilly Short commended by Mrs. Lawley

Jackson Eisner commended by Ms. Rendler

Makayla Freeman commended by Mrs. Lawley

Joanna Fisch commended by Mrs. Lawley

Jono Levit commended by the 7B Teachers

Tula Childs commended by Mrs. Cooke

 

6th GRADE

Talia Trentacoste commended by Mrs. Vaughan

Jack Cohn commended by Mr. Wyatt

Thomas Kim commended by Mr. Gari

Scott Blender commended by Mrs. Wisser

Katie Lynch commended by Mrs. Wisser

Jordan Kreindler commended by Mrs. Wisser

Ian Lissack commended by Mrs. Wisser

Julia Green commended by Mrs. Stout

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick commended by Mr. Gari

Billy Roache commended by Mrs. Wisser

Jen Armon commended by Ms. DuFrense 

 

Please review the Transportation Policy for home and away games and practices. Please contact Megan Kiczek, athletic director, if you have further questions.  

 

DigitalSports.com Guide   

 

Athletic Director:  Megan Kiczek   KiczekM@lmsd.org  

 

Link to WV Athletics

 

Lower Merion School District will mark the recent certification of Harriton and Lower Merion high schools as LEED Gold facilities at a ceremony on Thursday, October 24 at 1 PM in the Harriton High School courtyard. The program will include remarks from administrators and architects, a presentation by Harriton environmental education students, the unveiling of official LEED Gold plaques for both high schools and tours of Harriton's green features. Read more.

Harriton National Honor Society is hosting a food drive this Friday night during the home football game vs. Strath Haven. Any student, family member, or friend who attends should bring a can or nonperishable item (vegetables, yams, turkey gravy, etc.) to donate to local families.  In addition there will be games, raffles, and prizes throughout the night. This is a great opportunity to experience high school, support our community and help families in need.  We hope to see you there! See flyer here. 

Disorders in Vermont and author of The Worried Child and Dancing with Fear.  See flyer for more information.

C-MITES is once again offering Weekend Workshops at Lower Merion High School this Fall. Classes include Marine Biology, Funky Science, Rockets - Action and Reaction, Chemistry Chaos, LEGO Pneumatics, Science of Harry Potter and Stellar Geometric Stellations.

These challenging, hands-on classes are designed for academically-talented students in grades K-8. Classes meet from 9am-noon or 1-4pm on Saturday, November 9th. Parent sessions will also be offered - The ABC's of Gifted Education and Social and Emotional Experiences of Gifted Students. For more information or to register online, visit  http://www.cmu.edu/cmites/weekend_workshops.html. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and financial aid is available.

C-MITES (Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary Students), based at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, has offered challenging and fun classes for gifted students for more than 20 years.  Link to Informational Post Card

This program provides youth, educators, and parents the skills, opportunity, and support to "speak up" on the critical issues of today. The program also enables youth to make positive life choices as they navigate the journey to become happy, confident adults. Please join us for an event to be held at Harriton High School on November 13. Registration begins at 6:30 and the program starts at 7 pm. The "Breakout Topics" that will be discussed are:   Pressure, "How Do You Party?" Drugs & Alcohol, Creating and Maintaining Healthy Relationships, Understanding Depression, and Self Acceptance

Youth, educators and parents are invited to participate. Read more. 

View the flyer here.

The Cynwyd 100 Year Committee is looking for Alum of Cynwyd Elementary. Did you attend Cynwyd Elementary School or know someone who did? We're looking for alumni to help celebrate Cynwyd's 100-year anniversary with a series of events that start in early 2014. We want to hear your stories, record your memories and bring generations of Cynwyd alumni together with today's school families. The Centennial Committee is also seeking Cynwyd Elementary memorabilia to borrow for a history exhibit.

The Lower Merion Youth Wrestling Club is open to children in grades K through 6th.  See flyer for more information.

Online registration is now available for the upcoming season. For more details, click here.

Not sure what to do with all those already-read books spilling from your shelves and closets? The Ardmore Library Used Bookshop welcomes your book donations of clean, undamaged, and current fiction and non-fiction; hardcover and softcover; adult, young adult and children's books. Please, no textbooks, encyclopedias, magazines or VHS tapes. All proceeds from the sale of used books benefit library acquisitions and programs for the community. Please bring donations to the front desk at the Ardmore Library, 108 Ardmore Avenue during regular business hours (M, T, Th 10am-8pm, Wed. 1pm-8pm, and Fri., Sat. 10am-5pm). Thank you!

Come enjoy great food, drinks and dancing and auction with great prizes. Tickets can be purchased at the Library for $30 ($35 at the door) or through the following link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/8414507017.   If you have any questions, or wish to donate any food or auction items, please contact  danjamie@hotmail.com. The event will take place at the Belmont Hills Fire Company, 4. S. Washington Avenue, Bala Cynwyd. Must be 21 or older to attend. 

Dragonbites is published every Thursday during the school year.  New submissions should be emailed by noon on Tuesday to  WVDragobites@gmail.com  in order to be included in Thursday's email edition.  Dragonbites is intended to publish news and announcements related to Welsh Valley Middle School and the Lower Merion School District.

An Archive of past Dragonbites is available by using the link in the Resource section of this issue or go to the WV page of the LMSD website under Parents/HSA.

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