November 4, 2016

The Month of November

November comes and November goes
With the last red berries and the first white snows - Clyde Watson
November is a remarkable month. As the weather hovers between autumn and
winter, we start thinking about checking the furnace and whether the snow boots
and snow pants from last year will still fit. Woven within the shorter days and
cooler nights, we are amazed by the continuing stream of polls, pundit predictions
and commentaries about the candidates and the upcoming elections. For many, the
excitement of the World Series games and college and professional football rivalries
provide great entertainment, and it wouldnt be November without the warmth
and blessings celebrated with family and friends at Thanksgiving. Of course, for
some, November always includes the adventures of Black Friday and Cyber Monday! So much to appreciate and enjoy!
November is also a remarkable month on Banners campus and the excitement,
energy and beauty of the season surround us. We have only to look at the sugar
maple trees on campus resplendent in their full glory of gold and orange to know
that the cooler nights are upon us. We began this month with vivid images of the
Halloween festivities of just a few days past when firemen, zombies, Ninjas, princesses, mimes, witches, cowboys, and even Dorothy, roamed gleefully on campus.
From classroom parties and games for the Preschool and Primary School students
to the dance in Botkin Hall for the Middle Schoolers, to BSPOs after- school party,
Halloween was celebrated in booooo-ti-ful style thanks to the energy and talents of
Banners families and staff.
Our first November assembly on Wednesday was a special one for we learned
about the diwali festival celebrated in India from Banner parent Preeti Menon, and
then listened to Mike Greenberg and Nathan from the Frederick Rescue Mission
speak about the work of the Mission and the importance of the Walk Strong event .
Following the remarks, the NJHS presented Mr. Greenberg with a replica check for
$1,137.00 (photo at right) representing the funds that were raised through the generous donations from members of the Banner community. Afterwards, the entire
student body and the staff walked three laps around the circle to show their support for the Mission.
On Friday, November 11, we will celebrate Veterans Day at an all school assembly,
and we invite you to join us at 8:45 a.m. if your schedule allows. The members of
the NJHS will talk about the history of this special day and will introduce our three
guests who will speak about their time in the military and how their service im-

Calendar
November
8, Tue
9, Wed
11, Fri
12, Sat
14-17
15, Tue
17, Thu
19, Sat

22, Tue

5th Grade to Mt. Vernon

Preschool 4s to Fountain
Rock Nature Center
Veterans Day Assembly
8:45 a.m., Botkin Hall
Basket Bingo
MS Exams
Buffalo Wild Wings
Fundraiser
4th Grade Show
2:15 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
28th Annual Auction
A Night in Emerald City
Walkersville Fire Hall
Grandparents Day
Noon Dismissal

Thanksgiving Break: Nov 23 27

28, Mon

Classes Resume
Trimester II Starts

December
1, Thu
2, Fri
3, Sat

BSPO Meeting
8:30 a.m., Library
7th and 8th Grade to
National Cathedral
Breakfast with Santa
9:00 a.m., Botkin Hall

COMING SOON:
BRAIN CAMP
FOR STUDENTS
IN 4TH - 7TH GRADE
MORE INFORMATION
TO FOLLOW!

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pacted their future achievements. We will honor veterans, past and present, within the Banner community, by
adding their names to the poster begun last year. Please
complete the form attached to this newsletter if you
would like to recognize a veteran in your family. On
Tuesday, November 22, we will celebrate Grandparents
Day and we invite all grandparents and special family
guests to join us. We often refer to Grandparents Day as
the second most popular day for our students - the first
being, the last day of school! After grandparents visit
the classrooms, there will be a special program in the
auditorium showcasing the talents of all Banner students.

making skills useful in helping them navigate the challenges of school, both academic and social. Chess demands higher-order thinking skills, which is also essential
for success in school and life. Players must decide on
actions and possible consequences for each move. They
must also visualize future possibilities based on their
decisions. Chess is just such an exercise, as kids must
first master all moves and learn the ranking of pieces.
When this is accomplished they can then move into
higher-order thinking as they plan strategies, and recognize opponents intentions.

Chess also teaches organization and discipline. Players

must plan ahead and anticipate consequences and reNovember is indeed a remarkable month on Banners wards. This could transfer into improved study habits,
campus thanks to the extraordinary students and fami- better time management on long term assignments. It is
lies that comprise the School community.
not always obvious or instantaneous, but the more kids
play chess, the better they get at tasks that require the
skills learned while playing.
This week the beginners club met for the first time with
15 players. They joined former Americans like George
Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson who
were avid players!

Principals News by Jeff Mott

Chess Club
National Chess Day was celebrated on October 8. Chess
has been played for at least 1,500 years. It is a captivating game of strategy and logic. The origins of the game
are uncertain, but became very popular during the Renaissance. Chess has many benefits beyond the pleasure
of playing a game with other people who enjoy the challenge. Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to offer both a beginner and an intermediate
Chess Club here at Banner.
There are many reasons why playing chess improves
academic performance in students. Concentration and
memory are improved as children learn to play. According to a study at the University of Memphis, playing
chess significantly improves visual memory, attention
span and spatial-reasoning ability. Chess fosters logic,
critical thinking, and creativity. The game forces players
to think logically. If I move here, my opponent will have
a number of possible responses.

2016-2017 Annual Giving Campaign Goal

Announced
In their appeal to members of the Banner community,
Banner parents Mindy and Mark Andros, the 2016-2017
Annual Giving Chairs, speak to the importance of the
funds raised in the Campaign. Each and every dollar of
donations to the Campaign will be used to pay for the
operating costs of the School for this year not covered
by tuition revenue. Costs include teacher salaries, student activities, maintenance of facilities, and program
enrichment. Gifts to the Campaign are tax-deductible
and will help us reach our goal of $65,000. Information
about the Campaign and pledge envelopes are being
mailed this week. Each family that makes a donation to
the Annual Giving Campaign will receive an 8x10 photo
of their childs class theme photo.

Matching Gifts

Please check with the Human Resources Office at your

company to see if they have a matching gift policy. Many
corporations and businesses will match your donation to
a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization, such as The Banner
School. A matching gift proves additional funds to the
School and the amount of the corporate gift is added to
Skills learned in chess can be applied to many areas in your personal donation in determining Gift Club memlife. Kids develop analytical, synthetic and decision- bership. Last year, matching gifts added an additional

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A Night in Emerald City

RSVPs
It is not too late to RSVP for the Auction! Please email us
so that we can include you in our count. Please contact
the Development Office auction@bannerschool.org) if
you have any food allergies or require a special meal
(gluten-free, etc.) so that we can notify the caterer.
Emerald City Childcare
Childcare will be offered from 5:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.
on the night of the Auction in the Extended Care classroom in the Early Childhood Center. The cost is $40.00
per child and $10.00 per sibling. There will be plenty of
activities including: crafts, free play with games and toys
and a G rated movie. To register for the Emerald City
Child Care, please complete the registration form attached to this mailing and return it to the Front Office.
Sealed Bid Forms
If you are unable to attend the auction, you can still have
an opportunity to bid on the items and experiences in
the silent and live auctions by completing a Sealed Bid
Form. This form will be included in your Back Pocket
Envelope next week along with the main catalog and
first catalog addendum. Return your sealed bid form by
Thursday, November 17, and if you win any items, you
will be notified on Monday, November 21.

Before you make plans for vacations next summer, take

a look at the number of trips and experiences we have
included in this years live auction! Here is a preview:
Live Item # 4. Spend a Week in Myrtle Beach, SC
Enjoy this corner-unit oceanfront condo with a large balcony and breathtaking view. This 3BR, 2BA unit has
been fully renovated and is ready for you to enjoy
(Sunday, June 4 - Sunday, June 11, 2017).
Live Item #7. Spend a Week in Bethany Beach, DE
Welcome to family-friendly Bethany Beach, Delaware.
Spend a week of sun and fun in the summer of 2017.
This three bedroom lower level Vista unit in Sea Colony
West with one king bed, one queen and one trundle is
cozy and comfortable. Package includes four guest
passes with access to all amenities. No pets allowed.
Week to be agreed upon by donor and guest.
Live Item #12. Chesapeake Bay Charter Fishing Trip
Create priceless memories with this exciting outdoor
adventure. There will be plenty of action as you and
three others enjoy a trip aboard Big Breezy, a 24'
Parker, led by award-winning angler Captain Chris Conway. The season can be selected by the winner to match
desired catch Rockfish is always a popular choice! All
bait, tackle and ice provided.
Live Item #18. A Week at US Golf Camps
Your junior golfer can spend a week (August 6 August
11, 2017) working on their swing at this prestigious
overnight golf summer camp at the Elite Kiski School.
This private campus boasts over 350 acres and an exclusive golf course for their campers and includes instruction from Class A PGA Golf Professional, Frank Mantua.
Open to ages 9-18. Includes uniform fee, evening fee,
and tuition.

WERE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD and we need your

help: Friday, 11/18 and Saturday, 11/19
We would appreciate your help on Friday morning (8:45
a.m.) as we load the truck with the auction props and
items. We will head to Walkersville Fire Hall where we
will unload the items and begin setting up the silent auction tables and decorations. We will be back at the Fire
Hall at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to continue transforming the hall into the Land of OZ before the doors Live Item #20. Explore Colonial Williamsburg
open at 5:30 for our guests. If you can spare an hour or Spend a week next summer, from Saturday, July 22 to
two or three, please let us know.
Saturday, July 29, 2017 (THIS DATE IS FIRM!) at the
Marriott's Manor Club at Fords Colony. Nestled in the
Banners Own Items
Bid on priceless experiences with Banners faculty and woodlands of Virginia, the colonial villa has two bedrooms with king beds, two baths and a queen sleeper
staff. Here are a few:
sofa to accommodate a total of six people.
Winter Blues Activity Party with Ms. Pankratz &
Live Item #37A. A Second Chance at Williamsburg
Mrs. Luzier
Silver & Gold Ornament Making Party with Ms. Enjoy a week at Kings Creek Plantation, from Sunday,
June 18, to Sunday, June 25, 2017 (THIS DATE IS FIRM!).
McNamara!
This unit features three bedrooms and three bathrooms
Garden Party with Mrs. Loy and Mme. Aillery!
and includes two king size beds, two single beds, one
Hike the Appalachian Trail with Mr. Blair!
full size sleeper sofa, and one queen size sleeper sofa.
Canoe Down the River with Mrs. McDaniels!
Accommodates eight people comfortably and a maxi See a Show with Ms. McIntosh
mum of ten.
A Day at the RIO with Mrs. Ballenger

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Book Fair Thanks by Roz de la Cruz

NJHS Update

Many thanks to all who patronized this falls Book Fair.

We had a fabulous turn out and, with your help, the
BSPO was able to raise over $950.00 which will come
back to our students in future programs. A special thank
you to our wonderful volunteers who helped make the
Book Fair a success including; Jennifer Freeland-Wieder,
Amy Bethea, Thoba Petrovic, Kim del Carmen, Preeti
Menon, Janie Choe, Bob Iser, Michelle Iser, Maria Tryfiates-Dalton, Julia Hatch, Lisa Port, Michael
Lewandowski, Katie Groth, Samantha Neier, JoLynne
Raymond, Amy Cheung, Arminta Gunkel, Shawn Stout,
Eve Chandler, Mindy Andros, and Karen Worthy.

by Marina Karapanos, 8th grade

Honoring Our Veterans

The NJHS would like to invite you, as well as any Veterans in your family, to a special Veterans Day assembly
on Friday, November 11, at 8:45 am. We are continuing
the poster from last year to honor Veterans of the Banner Community. If you would like to recognize a Veteran
in your family, please send the name, dates of service
and branch to the front desk, or to Mrs. Carver
(bcarver@bannerschool.org). It is not necessary to resubmit names that were included on the poster last
year. Students are encouraged to wear red, white or
blue dress code and patriotic accessories to the assembly. We look forward to a special day to honor our Veterans.

This year the NJHS will be organizing many different

fundraisers and events that will benefit various organizations and The Banner School. So far in the months of
September and October, we have successfully completed a recycling presentation and Pink Out
Day. During both occasions the members of NJHS were
able to teach and interact with the students in a kid
friendly way. The NJHS presented a powerpoint during
assembly explaining the different recyclable items, and
what to do with them. In mid-October, we celebrated
Pink Out Day, where students paid $2 to be allowed to
wear pink. The money was donated to the Hurwitz
Breast Cancer Foundation. A total of about $300 dollars
was donated.

The NJHS has many new ideas to add to the events that
they will be sponsoring this year. We will be celebrating
Veterans Day next week, and will have a special assembly to honor the veterans that have been of service for
our country. In December we will support Toys for Tots
by setting up boxes that we hope to fill with different
new toys for kids who cannot celebrate Christmas. We
will also be sponsoring a Winter Coat Drive in January
for the Food Bank. February will be a very busy month
because we will be celebrating Black History Month, and
Valentines Day. Dr. Seusss birthday and International
Day will be celebrated in March, and we will have NJHS
Grandparents Day - Tuesday, Nov. 22 Induction and Earth Week in April. Finally, we will be
sponsoring Sneakers for Scholars and Relay for Life in
Banner Grandparents will be visiting our campus on
May.
Tuesday, November 22, before we close for Thanksgiving
Break. They will enjoy a morning reception before visit- Most of these activities/fundraisers we have been sponing their grandchild(ren)s classrooms. We will end the soring for many years now. However, we have decided
day with a festive program in the Auditorium in Botkin to add or reinstate a couple of new ideas and activities
Hall with performances by each grade. If you know of this year. Each month we will have a separate Spirit Day
any grandparents who are planning to attend that morn- (ex. Pajama day, green and gold day etc.), instead of
ing,
please
RSVP
to
Julie
K e i t h having it all in one week. We have also reinstated the
(jkeith@bannerschool.org,) by Tuesday, November 15, buddy system, and we will be pairing up the classes and
to ensure that we have adequate seating.
doing different activities with them, depending on the
month. In November, we will be writing letters to veterThe Banner School Library gives grandparents the opporans with our buddies.
tunity to purchase books for the library in the honor of
their grandchild(ren) during Grandparent's Day. In each We hope to make this year interesting and fun, and we
book purchased, a special book plate is labeled in the look forward to participating and organizing the events.
inside front cover with the name of the grandparents
and grandchild(ren)s name(s).
2016-17 NJHS

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D ance ,
D ance,
Transversal
Students in Mr. Blair's 8th
grade math class are studying introductory concepts
of geometry. On Monday,
they were demonstrating
their knowledge of angle
relationships by dancing! In
an activity very similar to the arcade game, Dance,
Dance, Revolution, students were participating in an
activity called Dance, Dance, Transversal. A transversal
is a line that intersects two or more lines (in our case
parallel lines). Students made their own dancing station
with masking tape on the floor of the library. They
made a set of parallel lines and a transversal crossing
through. Demonstrating their knowledge of different
angle relationships, students had to place their feet in
the correct positions as the angles scrolled across the
board. Students "danced" to songs by Michael Jackson,
Bruno Mars and even Aretha Franklin!

BizTown Entrepreneurs
Hard at Work
Each team chose a product and
created a prototype to share
with the class. Then, with a limited amount of resources, they
had 10 minutes to produce as
many of their item as they could.
Next week, well discuss how they
organized their production and
how scarcity effects what takes
place in a free enterprise system.
The fourth-graders completed their sewing projects!

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8th Grade Capstone

Hello Banner Families!
My name is Kiera Breisch and I am a current 8th grader. As many of you know 8th grade students must complete a Capstone project. This is a year long project that gives students insight into a topic that interests them. I am
publishing a healthy cookbook this year and I would love for everyone to help! The cookbook I will be publishing will
have healthy recipes that are alternatives to junk food. (Healthy meaning: low fat, low calories, and/ or natural, organic ingredients.) All you need to do is pick a healthy recipe and email it to me.
The email should include the recipe, background information about the food (where the recipe came from
or an interesting story about the recipe), your familys name, child(ren)s name, and grade of your child(ren). Below
is an example that should help eliminate confusion:

To: Kiera Breisch

From: Timothy Johnson
Hi Kiera!
Thanks so much for including The Banner School in your Capstone project! I am the father of Peter Johnson, a
current 3rd grader attending The Banner School.
My recipe is my grandmas healthy banana bread. It is delicious! The recipe has been passed down in my family
for generations. My family and I enjoy eating it for brunches and breakfasts on holidays and birthdays. Here is
the recipe for my families healthy banana bread:
(The recipe should be pasted here.)
Thanks so much!
Mr. Johnson

Please send your recipes to facetime.kiera@gmail.com. If you have any questions please feel free to email me. If
your recipes are hard copies they can be copied on paper and sent to school, or typed up and emailed. Please have
the recipes submitted by November 28, 2016!
(Please note that any recipes you submit will be open to the public through the cookbook. If you have secret family recipes that you would not like shared, please do not submit them.)
Thanks in advance!
Kiera Bresich

Our Littlest Bobcats

Chef Nick cooked
up healthy treats
for the preschool
classes and
shared what a
chef does as part
of the
community
helper unit.

Ms. Pankratzs class learned how to

make homemade applesauce!

Happy Halloween!