April 2019

 

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Family Math Night – Grades 2 & 3

Mark your calendars for the last of the Family Math Nights! This is the rescheduled grades 2&3 Math Night that was cancelled on a snow day in February. The 4&5 and K&1 Math Nights have been popular.

Family Math Nights are a great way for parents and students of all ability levels to experience the fun of math together. We’ll have games, puzzles, brainteasers, and lots of hands-on activities. Challenge your student to a logic game, build a symmetrical pattern, or investigate the volume of 3-D shapes. It’s your choice at Family Math Night!

Plan to attend the Family Math Night with your Grade 2nd or 3rd grade student in the Bowman Cafeteria.

April 3rd 6:30-8pm Grades 2 & 3 (No signup needed)

Look for more grade level specific details on the Bowman PTO website, listserv, and through your room parents in the new year. Questions? Contact [email protected]

 

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Class Basket Raffle Is Here!

Class baskets have arrived and we have a fantastic collection of baskets to raffle off!

They will be on display outside the cafeteria through Friday, April 5. That night, they will be auctioned off in the gym during Disco Bingo (you do not need to be present to win).

Tickets are $1 each, and you can still buy them in the following ways (deadline to order tickets through the classroom flyer has passed):

• In rolling carpool line – We will be outside both before and after school the week of April 1-5 with tickets in hand, so have your cash and/or checks ready and we’ll come right to your window to give you your tickets. Checks can be made out to Bowman PTO.
• At the start of Disco Bingo Night You can purchase as many tickets as you wish.

Please don’t forget to write your name on each ticket. Then drop the tickets into the bin next to the basket you would like to win! You can drop your raffle tickets into the bins before and after school and during the start of Bingo Night. All proceeds from ticket sales benefit the PTA.

If you have any questions please email: [email protected] . Thank you to all the room parents who put together baskets, and to all the ticket-buyers for your support of this fun event!

 

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Disco Bingo Night

Disco Bingo will be held in the Bowman Gym on Friday, April 5, from 6-8pm. Put on your best disco duds and come join us for a night of bingo, dancing and prizes. The class basket raffle winners will be chosen during the event. Remember to bring 10 pennies per player and your best moves. Best moves and best outfit prizes will be awarded. Come one come all!

 

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Bowman Writes

Calling Bowman writers, poets, and artists! It’s time to get your pencils sharpened for your submission for Bowman Writes, a magazine that features articles, poems, stories, editorials, book reviews, comic strips and drawings by students at Bowman School. Any student from any grade may submit an original written piece for the magazine. The deadline to turn in your work is Friday, April 12, 2019.

Rules for the submission include:

1. Only one entry per student.
2. Cover design can be submitted as the only entry or as an additional entry. Drawings for cover design can be in color, and should be drawn on an 8 ½ x 11 piece of unlined paper
3. All drawings other than cover design should be in black and white, drawn on 8 ½ x 11 piece of unlined paper.
4. For editing purposes, electronic submissions are preferred
5. Essays, short stories, articles, book reviews and other written material have a word limit of 1,000 words. Shorter pieces are more than welcome!

Electronic submissions can be sent to [email protected]. Paper submissions can be submitted to class teacher. All submissions should include the following pertinent information to help with compilation, and possible follow up.

• Student name and age
• Grade
• Teacher
• Type of written material (poem, short story, editorial, book review, etc)
• Parent email address and phone number

Please reach out to [email protected] for any further clarifications or questions.

 

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Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, April 22, the PTA Green Team invites your family to participate in Reduce/Reuse/Recycle activities, one for each day of the week, starting April 22. It’s a chance for the Bowman community to think about all the ways our actions and decisions to dispose of or create waste can impact our planet. We hope you can find multiple ways to participate!

• Marker Monday: Recycle old markers by bringing them to your class, to be collected by Mr. Curhan’s students. (The second graders collect the markers from classrooms and follow it with a math exercise; they are excited about it!) Recycle old pens, mechanical pencils, and empty plastic tape dispensers by dropping them off at three possible locations: 1) in the bin in the Bowman lobby, 2) at the side door in the morning, if you’re a walker/bus rider (a volunteer will collect your recyclables); 3) at morning rolling car drop-off (as usual, no need to park or get out of your car; drop off your kids and your recyclables at the same time! We’ll have volunteers on hand to help collect your recyclables.) We’ll send your recyclables to Terracycle.
• Textile Tuesday: Repurpose old clothing, linens, shoes, even stuffed animals! Drop off textiles in the Bay State Textiles bin in the front parking lot. (Accepted items must be bagged.) Bowman gets $ for every ton donated! We’ll also have volunteers on hand at morning rolling car drop-off to help collect your recyclables. As usual, no need to park or get out of your car; drop off your kids and your recyclables at the same time!
• Walking Wednesday: Reduce your fuel usage by walking or biking to school (and get some exercise and fresh air!).
• Throwback Thursday: Recycle plastic bags and plastic film, including bread bags, dry cleaning bags, and more! Drop off your clean and dry bags at three possible locations: 1) in the bin in the Bowman lobby, 2) at the side door in the morning, if you’re a walker/bus rider (a volunteer will collect your recyclables); 3) at morning rolling car drop-off (as usual, no need to park or get out of your car; drop off your kids and your recyclables at the same time! We’ll have volunteers on hand to help collect your recyclables.)
• Food Container Friday: Reuse — Bring your snack, lunch, and/or drink in reusable containers. Challenge yourself to avoid plastic bags or packaging.

Questions? Email [email protected]

 

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Teacher Appreciation Week

May 6 – 10

Thanks to all of our wonderful teachers and supporting staff at Bowman! We have a very exciting Teacher Appreciation week planned: Potluck Breakfast (Monday), Tea Time packs (Tuesday), Snack Station (Wednesday), Potluck Lunch (Thursday), and Goody Bags (Friday). We invite parents to show their appreciation by helping assemble goodie bags or providing potluck items. We need your help to support our Bowman team!

Please visit our Signup Genius to sign up to help or bring items: https://bit.ly/2GbqlIi. For questions, contact [email protected].

 

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Bowman PTO By The Numbers

The Bowman PTO spends approximately $100 per year per student. Here is a breakdown of our fundraising and spending. (Data from the 2017-18 school year)

 

 

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PTO Open Positions

Consider volunteering for one of the open PTA positions for next school year. Please contact [email protected].

VP Events, Fundraising

Support existing fundraising initiatives such as our Spring Auction, Spirit Wear, Shopping Days, and Class Raffles, while seeking new fundraising opportunities in conjunction with PTA Board. This is a great position for returning or new Bowman parents who are interested in getting involved and who can attend monthly PTA meetings.

 

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Box Tops for Education Update

Final numbers are in for the Feb 2019 Box Tops classroom collection competition, and the winner is…… Mr. Bruff’s class with 164 box tops! Congratulations – the Box Top BOT, the Bowman Box Top mascot, will now spend the month of Mar in Mr Bruff’s classroom. Mrs. Durling’s class came in second with 85 and Ms. Kupfer’s class came in third with 55 Box Tops.

 

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Lost & Found

Parents and Guardians please swing by the overflowing Bowman Lost and Found. There are many jackets, sweatshirts, hats, gloves and etc that are missing their owners. These items would like to be “found”. Thanks!

 

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10th Time’s a Charm

It’s hard to believe that March 7 was our 10th Annual Bowman 5th Grade Spaghetti Dinner. Our 5th graders shined in their class t-shirts and chef hats, as they turned the Bowman Cafeteria into a lively spaghetti eatery for our community. It was a true team effort to gather, seat, entertain and feed 600 of us! Thank you to our 5th graders and the 5th grade faculty for bringing us together. A big shout out to Josh Post and Tish Apstein for all of their hard work on the 5th grade memorabilia tee shirts. Also thank you to our 5th grade parents and family members that volunteered their time and desserts that night. Of course it couldn’t have happened without the expert help of Bowman’s custodians, kitchen staff, and crossing guards! Ms. Corduck, thank you for your serving skills and Ms. Glick, thank your for helping it all run smoothly!

Finally, the PTA would like to especially thank the PTA 5th Grade Activities Chairs and the Spaghetti Dinner co-chairs, Sandy Schwartz, Cindy Arens and Siamak Baharloo, for all the time and effort you put into organizing and running this event.

 

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Tons of Talent!

Our Annual Variety Show was brought back to the Bowman stage this year. It was an evening of music, dance, gymnastics, magic, and a bit of acting! We know our students have talent, but it also takes a measure of courage to display it on stage. Great job to all of the students that participated! Many thanks to Mr. Taranto (Custodian), Mr. Kane, and Mrs. Rogers for all your help. Thank you to parent volunteers Farheen Owais, Sara Larsen and Asli Cakim who helped things run smoothly on show night. And, a HUGE thank you to Allison Watts and Lora Mulone-Quinlan for organizing and putting on a wonderful show!

 

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AmazonSmile Donations Received

Thank you to all the Bowman Amazon Smile shoppers out there! The AmazonSmile Foundation sent the Bowman PTO $148.45 as a result of AmazonSmile program activity between October 1 and December 31, 2018. Please continue doing your shopping with AmazonSmile so we can earn even more next quarter! The money from this program is put into the School Discretionary PTA account and is allocated by Bowman School to cover the costs for programs and supplies outside the normal school operating budget. If you are not a Bowman AmazonSmile shopper, click here to learn more about the program and sign up.

 

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Math Team News

3rd grade: There were 307 teams from around the United States, 30 of them from New England. The median score for the country for the second test was 27/36. The Bowman 3rd grade team had 33/36 points for the second test, and 67/72 for the 2 tests combined, among the top 47 (15%) of the teams in the country and among 2 top teams in New England.

4th grade: There were 143 teams from around the United States competing, 8 of them from New England. The median score for the country for the fourth test was 31/36. The Bowman 4th grade team had 36/36 points for the fourth test, and 144/144 points for the 4 tests combined, among top 3 teams in the country and #1 in New England.

5th grade: There were 155 teams from around the United States competing, 8 of them from New England. The median score for the country for the fourth test was 25/36. The Bowman 5th grade team had 33/36 points for the fourth test, and 133/144 points for the 4 tests combined, among the top 9 teams in the country and #1 in New England.

Congratulations to everybody on the excellent performance. Every member of each team worked hard, and can take pride in the accomplishment. The fifth competition for the 4th and 5th grade teams and the third competition for the 3rd grade team are in March.

 

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Behind The Scenes – Our Bowman Volunteers

Valerie Machinist – Bowman PTO Co-Treasurer

I volunteer with the Bowman PTO because it’s a way I can give back to the Bowman community. I’ve been the co-treasurer for the past three years, and have learned so much about how the PTA supports the school and so many enrichment programs for the students. I have a fourth grader and will have a kindergartner next year, and being involved with the PTA has been a great way to be engaged with the school and staff. I hope to continue my involvement until both kids have moved on!

Sarah Carter – Room Parent, Math Night Coordinator, VP School Support

I help by volunteering in the Library, as a Room Parent, Math Night Coordinator, and one of the VPs of the PTA. My kids are in 6th grade, 2nd grade, and kindergarten. I volunteer with the Bowman PTO because it helps to create a stronger school. A community that works together to help educate children is what we all hope for. I want to do my part to help create this in Lexington and at Bowman.