HAMMOND NEWS
HAMMOND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
8110 Aladdin Drive
Laurel, MD 20723
410-880-5890
Safe-to-School 301-725-9250

May 2, 2008

May 3 Hammond PTA Yard Sale 9-1

May 5 2nd grade field trip Baltimore Museum of Industry

May 5-9 Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7 Cultural Arts K-5 Magpie: A Musical Feast to Delight & Inspire

May 8 5th grade field trip to Philadelphia

May 9 Lovely Ladies Day  grade 1, 1-2pm

May 12 Progress Reports go home

May 12 Cultural Arts  Kay Taub: Incredible Insects  grade 2

May 15 Spring Chorus Concert 7pm

MAY 16 SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR STUDENTS  (PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY)

May 19 Grade 1 field trip  College Park Aviation Museum

May 19 Band & Orchestra Concert

May 20 General PTA Meeting 6:30pm

May 21 Middle School Orientation 6:30-7:30  Hammond Middle School Cafeteria

May 21Field Day

May 22 Enrichment Fair 6:30-8:00

May 23 1st grade Author's Tea 12:30-2pm

May 23 Steel Band Concert

MAY 26 MEMORIAL DAY  SCHOOLS AND OFFICES CLOSED

May 30 5th grade Congressional Hearing (In school)

May 30 Spring Carnival

June 5 Cultural Arts  Flumpa and Friends LIVE! K-5

June 5 Volunteer Tea (note date change)

June 9 5TH grade picnic rain date 6/10

June 9 PTA General Meeting

June 11 5th grade Farewell Ceremony

JUNE 12,13 & 16 3 HOUR EARLY DISMISSAL

June 13 2nd grade picnic

June 13 3rd grade picnic

JUNE 16 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENT ORIENTATION
Incoming 6th grade Parent Orientation will be Wednesday, May 21ST at 6:30pm in the Hammond Middle School cafeteria. All incoming parents are welcome to attend and receive information for their child's sixth grade year at Hammond Middle. Incoming students do not need to attend because they will be visiting our school and receiving all necessary info on Friday, May 2nd . Fliers were sent home with students earlier this year.

A FREE CONCERT FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!!!
Please join the Columbia Concert Band for its annual Spring Concert on Sunday, May 4th, 2008. This FREE performance will take place at 3:00 PM at River Hill High School. The Band will perform a variety of music including Satiric Dances by Norman Dello Joio, some interesting music from the Renaissance, Frank Ticheli's beautiful Sanctuary, and a great march by John Philip Sousa. No tickets are required, and free refreshments will be provided by the Band members. Please call (301) 596-9783 for more information.

Earn VIP Parking! Volunteer at the HES Garage Sale on May 3
The Hammond Elementary Garage Sale is quickly approaching and we are still in need of help. The sale is scheduled for May 3rd (rain date May 4th) and assistance is necessary for gate security. Shifts are from 6 am to 1 pm. You will get a free hot dog/soda/chips or coffee/hot chocolate/donut if you work a two hour shift, and VIP parking so you can go shopping afterwards. Please contact Cathy Barrett at barrettclan@comcast.net, or 301-604-1971, if you are available. Spaces are selling quickly, so secure your space today. Application forms are available at www.hespta.org.

SCHOOL SUPPLY KITS FOR 2008-2009 - Deadline Extended to May 14th
We have extended the deadline for Supply Kit orders to May 14th! Save time, money and gas by letting the PTA do all the legwork for you! We are passing along our savings and we'll have them on your child's desk by Open House on Aug. 22nd. Information and order forms are available at .http://www.hespta.org/school-supplies.html or in the school lobby.

5 Stars Awarded to "Hooray for Hammondwood!"
Our Talent Show in Tinsletown has come and gone, and I'd like to give a huge HOORAY to the parents whose roles in the show helped our kids shine for their special night: Colleen & Brian Bloom, Carolyn Breck, Judy Danaher, Chrissy Kleinhen, Renee Law, Kris Saville, Denise Hess and Tim Weith. Thank you all for your extra efforts! And an "award goes to" Mrs. Armstrong for the extra hours she put in to help with sound, and even more for her enthusiastic support of the show each year. Thank you all for a very fun Talent Show! Hammondwood is amazing! Beth Weith

THE PTA NEEDS YOU!!
We are rapidly approaching Election Day for next year's PTA officers! Now is the time to come to the aid of Hammond Elementary School! We are searching for enthusiastic parents who are interested in becoming next year's PTA officers! This is a great opportunity to get involved with other parents and teachers wanting to enrich our children's elementary school experience. The following positions are still open: President, 1st Vice President, MembershipRecording Secretary, Corresponding SecretaryTreasurer, 2 County PTA Delegates. If you are interested, please contact:
Adina Sommerkamp at (301) 490-9608 or asommerkamp@aol.com by MAY 10, 2008!!!

THANKS FOR THE STUFFED ANIMALS and HAPPY MEAL TOYS!
Thanks to your generous contributions, we have collected more than 700 stuffed animals and more than 300 Happy Meal toys/teeny beanies for this year's Carnival. As of today, May 2nd , we can not accept any more donations. But, it's never too early to start saving up your animals for next year's Carnival! Thank you so much for your support. Hammond parents are Awesome! Pat Johnson.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES COLLECTION FOR STUDENTS The Howard County PTA Council has once again joined in a partnership with the Prepare for Success program. This program is a community-sponsored venture of many groups in Howard County to provide students in need with the basic school supplies. Hammond Elementary, along with many other schools in the county, will be participating in this program. If you would like to make a donation of the following school supplies, please send them in anytime from May 19-28th . A collection box will be in the front hallway. Please label all donations "Prepare for Success."

SUPPLIES NEEDED: 3-ring Binders, 24 pack Crayons, 8-pack Large Crayons, Highlighters, Zipper Supply Pouches, 12" Rulers, Pencil Boxes, 3-hole Lined Paper, Folders (2 pocket), Marble Composition Books, Pink Erasers, Glue Sticks, Blunt Scissors, Dividers(5-tab).

HES PTA CARNIVAL FOOD DRIVE CONTEST
We have collected over 800 food items so far for LARS (Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services) as part of the Carnival Food Drive Contest. HES students and parents are making a tremendous impact for needy families right here in Laurel! The grade that donates the most non-perishable food items by May 23rd will win a Popsicle Party with Mr. Vanisko! So far, the 4th grade is in the lead with 339 items collected in the contest's first 2 weeks. Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades are neck and neck in the race for 2nd place at this time with 121, 102 and 99 items collected. There are still 3 weeks to go—keep those donations coming in! What to donate: canned foods (with pop-tops if possible), microwavable kids meals, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, cereal, rice, paper products, diapers, baby formula, baby food.

SPRING CARNIVAL BOOTH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Spring Carnival Planning Committee is initiating recruitment of carnival booth volunteers. We need parent volunteers to staff the carnival between 3:30pm-9:00pm which includes set-up and clean-up. We are requesting each parent/family to donate at least 1 hour of volunteer work for each student at HES. If every family contributes, we will have adequate staffing to stage a spectacular event. The carnival is on Friday evening, May 30th. Please mark your calendars and help us out. Volunteer sign-up forms will be coming home next week. For more information, please contact Andrea Francesconi Billings at (301) 498-9841 or afjb4@yahoo.com. Thank you for your support.

A REMINDER FROM THE PTA
Teacher appreciation week at Hammond Elementary begins this Monday May 5th through May 9th
This is the time of the year that the families of Hammond formally show our children's teachers how much we appreciate all that they do. There are many different ways to do this. The PTA is sponsoring many activities, however we need you and your family to help on the two below. Of course, if you want to do something extra that is always welcome!

Flowers - Monday, May 5th, have your child bring in a flower or more for each of their favorite teachers. Please remember that the Related Arts' Teachers (PE, art, music, technology, media) and other staff members will have vases as well.

Tribute to the Staff  Tuesday, May 6th, please have your child bring in a handmade picture, or poem, or thank you note, that expresses what they like about a teacher/staff member or what they think makes that person so fantastic. Again, please remember all the staff that plays a role in your child's school day.

NEXT NEWSLETTER  MAY 16TH

Emergency School Closing Information: https://www.eschoolnewsletter.com/emergency.asp