1 ROLAND PARK PRESS FIRST EDITION/ VOLUME 6

"From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American

Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked

together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and

sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements,

leadership, courage, strength and love of the women who built America

was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well. As

Dr. Gerda Lerner has noted, 'Women’s History is Women’s Right.' It is

an essential and indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride,

comfort, courage, and long-range vision.” –Jimmy Carter

This month, the students at Roland Park will learn about the incredible

women that have helped shape and mold our great country and have

made a lasting impact throughout the world.

Upcoming Events at Roland Park:

March 3rd

- MYP Dance 5:30-7:30pm

March 6th

- Spring Pictures

March 8th

- International Bazaar Info Mtg @2:45pm

March 13th

- 17th

- NO SCHOOL- SPRING BREAK

March 21st

- Evening of Expression @ 5:30pm

March 23rd

- Coffee, Tea and IB @ 7:45am

March 27th

- SAC Meeting @ 2:00pm

March 31st

- PYP Field Day

April 3rd

- PYP Report Cards

April 5th

- 6th

Grade Info Night @ 5:00pm

April 7th

- MYP Report Cards

April 7th

- Relay for Life @ Jefferson High School

April 13th

- Roland Park Dad’s Club Picnic @ 5:30pm

April 14th

- NO SCHOOL

April 20th

- Conference night 3:30pm-6:00pm

*All dates subject to change*

ROLAND

PARK

PRESS

MARCH 2017

A Memo from Mrs. Gillyard:

We are approaching the testing season and there may be some

anxiety for our students surrounding the state mandated tests.

What is testing anxiety? When a student excessively worries

about doing well on a test, which can cause nervousness and

memory lapses. Rest assured we are preparing students in the

classroom on a daily basis to be ready and prepared for the

upcoming assessments. So what can parents do to help alleviate

some of the stress your children may have: maintain a positive

attitude about the test; encourage them that they will do well;

get a good night’s rest before their testing days; be on time to

school so they don’t feel rushed; and eat a good breakfast- try to

stay away from sugary foods. “Your positive action combined

with positive thinking results in success.” ~ Shiv Khera

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerda_Lerner

2 ROLAND PARK PRESS FIRST EDITION/ VOLUME 6

It is with sad hearts that we have to say goodbye to Ms. Thompson. After 5

years here at Roland Park she will be leaving us to go work at another

wonderful school here in Hillsborough County. She has been such an

important part of our Roland Park family and has made a lasting impression

on our students, parents and staff. Her kind heart and gentle demeanor will

not easily be replaced. She will be sorely missed, but we wish her the best of

luck on her new adventure. Thank you for everything you have done for us

Ms. Thompson! You will always be a part of the RP family!!!

PYP News

Rundle Round Up Setting the Stage for Inquiry - Unit

Provocations

At Roland Park, we engage students in a “provocation” to launch each new unit. The idea behind a unit provocation is to

drive interest in concepts as a preview for what is to come. This serves as “an invitation” to the unit, an opportunity to spark curiosity, and a reference point for students to make

connections throughout the unit. A provocation can be simple and yet still powerful. Examples of possible provocations include activities such as a question or statement on the

board, a song played or a few images displayed, or a planned simulation or experience. Typically these activities are paired with a reflection or discussion to allow students to share their

ideas or responses to the activity. Provocations connect to concepts and standards, help in creating new student

questions, and even provide a new direction for the inquiry or action based on student interest. Effective provocations, no matter their form or level of sophistication, leave a lasting impression on students, one which they would often think

back on and connect to their learning.

von Ancken’s Voice

As the mother of three boys life can be chaotic, fast-paced,

and LOUD! The other day as my 5 year old started to have a

full melt-down in the produce section of Publix, I quickly tried

to calm him down. He explained he was mad… really mad!

But what does mad mean to him? He became more upset as

he couldn’t articulate his emotions and I realized we don’t

often discuss feelings. Learning how to identify and express

emotions helps children become successful adults. Children

have a hard time identifying how they are feeling and how to

appropriately express these feelings. Many times children will

become aggressive out of frustration or have a hard time

calming down after they have had an exciting day. This can be

very frustrating for parents, peers, and educators, but these

situations are all a learning opportunity for children in how to

identify and express their emotions.Here are some tips I have

found helpful-

Name the feeling: Help children name their feelings by giving

them labels. By naming feelings it allows them to develop an

emotional vocabulary so they can talk about their feelings.

Identify feelings in themselves and others: Talk about feelings they have and those that you might see in others. “I hear you laughing, are you happy?” Or “She fell down, how do you think she feels?”

Talk about how feelings can be expressed: Lead by example. Talk about your own feelings and how you express those feelings. What do you do when you get mad? How do people know you are happy? Talk about ways that your child can express their emotions.

Please Join Us for Coffee, Tea, and IB

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Coffee, Tea, and IB is an informal meeting for prospective and current families. These sessions allow families

to learn more about the IB Programmes offered at Roland Park K-8 Magnet School with both IB coordinators.

Our next Coffee, Tea, and IB meeting will take place on March 23rd, 2017 from 7:45- 8:45. At this meeting we

will discuss the upcoming Re-Authorization process for both our PYP and MYP programs. Parent involvement

and feedback is a large part of the re-authorization process so if you are interested in being a part of our parent

panel please come join us at Coffee, Tea and IB to learn more about how you can participate.

http://http/feedingmyeddiction.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/when-inquiry-is-real-force.htmlhttp://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiDgpPgxe_RAhWBeSYKHT6uCqgQjRwIBw&url=http://en.unesco.org/gced&bvm=bv.146073913,bs.2,d.cGw&psig=AFQjCNFTjIuYVRIxJCa599gbbTZVDcZaFA&ust=1486060721892499

3 ROLAND PARK PRESS FIRST EDITION/ VOLUME 6

Fourth Grade- “How We Express

Ourselves” Unit Provocation

Fourth grade recently launched their unit, How We Express

Ourselves. In this unit they will focus on the following:

Central Idea: Society can be shaped through expression and

the discovery of the natural world.

Lines of Inquiry: Types of Expression (Form), Cycles in

Nature (Function), and Impact of Events (Perspective)

To begin this unit, teachers worked to create a provocation

that would generate excitement for the material they will

cover while making connections to IB Essential Elements.

While students were out of the classroom teachers placed

inflated balloons all over the classroom. Inside these

balloons they included various messages and words

connected to their new unit. As students entered the

classroom and saw the balloons their reactions were

recorded. As a class, students viewed these recordings to

tally, discuss, and reflect on the various ways people

express themselves. They also began to explore how the

words and phrases in the balloons could connect to their

new central idea and lines of inquiry. Fourth grade did a

great job creating a provocation that generated interest,

sparked a lot of questions, and allowed students to begin to

make connections to new material. This will serve as a

reference point throughout the unit as students continue to

make connections to this experience and amongst content

areas.

Exhibition Mentors Needed!

As a culmination of their experiences at Roland Park and

as students in the International Baccalaureate Primary

Years Program, every 5th grade student will be involved

in extended inquiry project.

Students have been asked to choose an area of interest

and to pose questions to guide their inquiry into this

chosen topic. Students will be using these guiding

questions to explore their chosen topic while determining

what action would lend itself to making a difference in the

community. Throughout this process students will work

in small groups to plan their research, create a display for

a presentation based on this research, and find a way to

take action showcasing their learning. There will be an

Exhibition showcase in May during school hours. The

Exhibition will be open to all members of the school

community and beyond.

To assist us in this extensive task, we are requesting

volunteers to provide the students with mentoring

throughout the process. For the mentor this will involve

meeting with a group of students for approximately 60

minutes, once a week during a six week period from April

3- May 12. The times of these meeting will be set upon

agreement between the mentor, students, and teachers

involved with consideration for classroom learning and

mentor schedules.

We would greatly appreciate your help. If you are

interested in becoming a mentor or would like further

information, please do not hesitate to contact us by

completing the slip provided and returning it to a fifth

grade teacher. We will be hosting a prospective mentor

meeting March 10, 2017 in room 158 from 1:30-2:30 pm.

At this meeting we will discuss the Exhibition and the role

of a mentor in detail. We hope you will join us!

**Parents with children in any grade level are invited to mentor groups.

Upcoming PYP Testing Dates

March 27-28: 3rd Grade ELA FSA, 1st/2nd Grade SAT

Reading

April 6: 3rd Grade SAT Reading

April 10-11: 3rd/4th Grade FSA Math

April 18-19: 4th/5th Grade ELA FSA

April 25-26: 5th Grade FSA Math

May 1-2: 5th Grade FCAT Science

May 11-17: Related Arts Testing

4 ROLAND PARK PRESS FIRST EDITION/ VOLUME 6

MYP News The Costanzo Column

It’s hard to believe that March is upon us. Spring time is our busiest time of the year, our 8th

graders are finishing their middle school years and most already have their sights set on HS.

March marks the last month before true testing season begins. I hope that students are present

and fully engaged as they prepare for both ELA and Math FSA. We are as always, expecting

great things from our MYP students.

March also brings the last sports season as Volleyball and Football are set to begin following

Spring Break. Coach Gavin and Coach Young are already preparing for the season and look

forward to another great season. Thank you for your continued support of our MYP here at

Roland Park, I wish everyone a relaxing and enjoyable Spring Break.

A Minute with Mangueira

I am so excited to be able to share that we had over 45 students accepted into Hillsborough County High

School IB programs this year! This is an incredible accomplishment and it is fantastic that we will have so

many Roland Park students continuing their IB education into High School!

For those of you with 6th

and 7th

grade students, it’s important to remember that acceptance into High

School Magnet Programs are solely merit based. Grades and test scores from 6th

and 7th

grade will be

looked at and used as factors in the admission process. If your child is thinking about applying for IB or

any other magnet program, encourage them to focus extra hard as we move into testing season. We want to

see all of our students get accepted into their magnet program of choice and this year’s FSA scores will play

a large role in that process. If you have any questions about the magnet application process or magnet high

schools feel free to reach out to me! And good luck to all of our dragons during this year’s testing!

Congratulations to our MYP Brain Bowl Team

for winning the

Hillsborough County Black History Brain Bowl!!!!

Our students will be representing Roland Park at the

State Competition on March 16th and 17

th.

Good luck Dragons!

*Doreen Thybulle *Chris Tompkins

*Jordan Washington

*Robby Blalock *Tekeiyah Dupree

*Zionna Wilson *Janiya Sipp

*Mrs. Washington *Mrs. Endsley

MYP Spring

Dance

Friday

March 3rd

5:30pm-

7:30pm

Tickets are $4

5 ROLAND PARK PRESS FIRST EDITION/ VOLUME 6

7th

Grade Action Project

Did you know…

As of today, 62 million girls around the world

are not in school…

So What Will Happen If We Let Girls Learn?

She can lift her country out of poverty. If India enrolled 1% more girls

in secondary school, their GDP would rise by $5.5 billion.

She can feed her family and her country. Investing in girls' education

could boost agricultural output in Sub-Saharan Africa by 25%.

She can increase her income. For every year a girl stays in school, her

income can increase by 15 to 25%.

She will invest in future generations. Educated women invest 90% of

their income into their family.

She will send her children to school. Continuing the cycle of

education. Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send

their children to school.

Our 7th graders will be participating in a fundraiser/action

project during the month of March. They will be focusing on

raising awareness about gender inequality when it comes to

access to education. Students will be selling bracelets that say

“Let Girls Learn” and half of the proceeds will go towards

the 7th grade fundraiser and half with go directly to the Let

Girls Learn foundation. They will also be on the morning

show discussing statistics and other important facts about

how we can change the culture of education for girls around

the world and will show the students of Roland Park why it

so opportunity to offer education to everyone!

To learn more about Let Girls Learn, visit these websites:

http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a24223/michelle-obama-

young-womens-honors/

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/cnn-films-we-will-rise-

michelle-obama

http://www.glamour.com/story/meet-the-girls-of-we-will-rise

INTERNATIONAL BAZAAR

Roland Park’s 6th Annual

International Bazaar will be on May

5th 2017 from 5:00pm-7:00pm.

If you are interested in hosting a

booth/country at this year’s bazaar,

please attend the informational

meeting on March 8th @ 2:30pm in

the Media Center. If you have any questions please contact

Ms. Rundle or Ms. M

EVENING OF

EXPRESSION

This year’s Evening of

Expression will take place on

Tuesday March 21st

from

5:30pm-7:00pm.

This will be an evening

where our teachers and

students can showcase the incredible arts and language programs that we have here

at Roland Park.

http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a24223/michelle-obama-young-womens-honors/http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a24223/michelle-obama-young-womens-honors/http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/cnn-films-we-will-rise-michelle-obamahttp://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/cnn-films-we-will-rise-michelle-obamahttp://www.glamour.com/story/meet-the-girls-of-we-will-rise

6

ROLAND PARK PRESS FIRST EDITION/ VOLUME 6

Roland Park K-8 School

Testing Calendar 2017

March MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

01 FSA Writing 4-8 4-7th Paper Based 8th Grade CBT

02 FSA Writing 4-8 Make ups

03

06 07 08

09

10

13

14

15

16 17

20

21

22

23

24

27 FSA Grade 3 ELA PBT Session 1 SAT Grades 1 & 2 Reading Comp

28 FSA Grade 3 ELA PBT Session 2 SAT Grades 1 & 2 Math Skills

29 FSA Grade 3 ELA PBT Make-Ups SAT Grades 1 & 2 Make-Ups

30

31

April MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

03 04 05

06 SAT Grade 3 Reading Comp

07 SAT Grade 3 Reading Comp Make-Up

10 FSA Grades 3 & 4 Math CBT Session 1

11 FSA Grades 3 & 4 Math CBT Session 2

12

13

14 Good Friday No School

17

18

FSA Grades 4,5,6 ELA CBT Session 1

19

FSA Grades 4,5,6 ELA CBT Session 2

20

FSA Grades 7 & 8 ELA CBT Session 1

21

FSA Grades 7 & 8 ELA CBT Session 2

24 25 FSA Grades 5 & 6 MATH CBT Session 1

26 FSA Grades 5 & 6 MATH CBT Session 2 (Grade 5) Session 2&3 (Grade 6)

27 FSA Grades 7 & 8 MATH CBT Session 1

28 FSA Grades 7 & 8 MATH CBT Session 2 & 3

7

ROLAND PARK PRESS FIRST EDITION/ VOLUME 6