210 Riverton Road Baltimore, Maryland 21220 410-887-0158
MartinBoulevard Elementary School
210 Riverton Road Baltimore, Maryland 21220 410-887-0158
Parent Bulletin #3 THE BANNER September 26, 2013
Janet Mahoney, Principal Jill Bender, Assistant Principal
Mission Statement: Martin Boulevard’s mission is to provide a quality education that develops the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will enable students to be college and career ready in the 21st century.
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, October 1………………………..…….Lifetouch Picture Day
Monday, October 7……………………………….Volunteer Training 5:15 – 5:45
Monday, October 7.………………………………PTA Meeting 6:00 – 8:00
Wednesday, October 9……………….………..PTA Spirit Day – Twin Day
Thursday, October 10 ………………………..PTA Food Night at Dairy Queen 5:00 – 8:00
Message from Mrs. Mahoney
Thank you to those parents that attended the meeting regarding Parent Involvement that was held on the evening of September 16th. Your ideas and feedback are important to us. As a result of the input given, we will be including a form in every issue of the Banner on which you can write your feedback. If you have input or feedback on how we can better support and improve parent involvement please complete the form and return it to your child’s teacher and it will be directed to me. You can also call the school office any time and speak with me or Amorita McClam, our Parent Service Coordinator.
Mrs. Janet Mahoney, Principal
Serious About Security – Reminder
I will include this reminder in the Banner for the next couple of issues. It is an important topic and is worth repeating.
The safety of all students and staff in Baltimore County Schools (BCPS) is of utmost importance to all of us. Our school, as well as all Baltimore County Schools, is utilizing a visitor check-in system. The system is called V-soft by Raptor otherwise known as Raptor. The information collected will not be shared outside of school and is stored on a secure server.
When you visit our school for the first time, you will be asked to present government issued photo identification (ID) or a driver’s license to a staff member in our main office. The ID will be scanned and your photo, name and date of birth will be extracted. This information will be utilized to log you in and compare your information against sexual offender databases throughout the country. Once your ID is scanned and you are cleared, a visitor pass will be printed for you. You will only need to show your ID on future visits. You will be asked to log out with the office staff upon completion of your business so that we know you are no longer in the building.
If you refuse to have your ID scanned, you will be denied access to the school. The only alternative to this process is to allow staff to see your ID to verify your name and date of birth so this information can be entered manually into the system. This method does not store information. Therefore, you must go through this process each time you visit school.
If you are matched to any of the sexual offender databases, you will be denied access to the school. Only the principal can override this decision and identify conditions under which you may visit.
Your assistance in keeping our students and staff safe is appreciated.
Mrs. Janet Mahoney, Principal
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures – Safety First Please Reminder
The doors open at 8:45. We have no one on duty outside before that time. Please monitor when your child leaves for school. They should leave home in time to be able to arrive at approximately 8:45 and no sooner.
Please consider the safety of all our students whendropping off your child. Please follow these rules for drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon.
Cars – The objective is to drop off or pick up and keep moving.
- Enter the car drop off/ pick up loop and stay in a single line on the school building side of the loop.
- Do not leave your vehicle. If you want to wait until your child enters school or want to walk them to the door, do not enter the car loop. Please park your car on the road and walk your child to the entrance or walk to the entrance to pick up your child.
- Do not drop off your child or pick up your child in the parking lot which requires them to cross the line of vehicles in the loop. This puts your child at risk.
Pedestrians
- Please stay on the sidewalk. Do not stand or walk in the car loop.
- Please cross the car loop at the entrance of the school. We have someone on duty to ensure that the cars stop and you can get across safely.
Your cooperation is appreciated in keeping you and our students safe.
Mrs. Janet Mahoney, Principal
Attendance Information Reminder
The Maryland State Department of Education defines “full-day” and “half-day” present as follows: “A full-time student must be present for at least four hours to be marked present for a full day; a full-time student must be present at least two hours to be marked present for a half day; a full-time student present for less than two hours must be marked as absent.”
Mrs. Janet Mahoney, Principal
The ABC Program
The ABC Program is a free Baltimore County Public Schools program which is an excellent classroom introduction opportunity for caregivers and their young children. See attached flyer for more information. We are very excited to announce that this program will be offered at Martin Boulevard Elementary beginning on Monday, October 7th. It will run every Monday morning 9:00 to 10:30 in our gym. Please contact Erin Redline at 410-274-1049 if you are interested in registering.
Mrs. Janet Mahoney, Principal
Lifetouch Picture Day
Lifetouch photographers will be at Martin Boulevard Elementary to take class and individual pictures. Be on the lookout for the picture information to be coming home soon.
Mrs. Janet Mahoney, Principal
Magnet Program Events
Parkville Middle School and Center of Technology is opening its doors on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. That’s right! They will be showcasing its magnet programs in two sessions, one at 6 p.m. and one at 7 p.m.. If you are interested in applying to this magnet program, please plan on attending their Magnet Showcase Event.
The following schools also have upcoming Magnet Showcase Events:
Lansdowne Middle School – Wednesday, October 2, 2013 - program starts at 6:30
Southwest Academy Magnet School for Science & Engineering - Thursday, October 10, 2013 – program starts at 6 p.m.
Reminder - Another important date to remember is November 26, 2013. All applications must be completed and postmarked by November 26, 2013 in order for your application to be considered. Remember to mark November 26 as an important dare on your calendar!
Ms. Elisa Dale, School Counselor
Cavities are the Pits: Seal Them Out
ATTENTION:
2ND AND 3RD GRADEPARENTs
CAVITIES ARE THE PITS:SEAL THEM OUT
Baltimore County Department of Health, Dentistry will be coming to our school to offer the Dental Sealant Program to your child. Dental sealants help prevent tooth decay on the chewing surfaces of molar teeth, where most cavities form. Dental sealants protect these areas by sealing out plaque and food that causes tooth decay. This service will be offered to your child free of charge. Parental consent forms will be coming home with your child several weeks before the Dental Sealant Program is to start. Students will not be able to participate without a signed parental consent form. If you have any questions, call the Baltimore County Department of Health at 410-887-2780 for more information.
Mrs. Lorraine Gordan, School Nurse
Free Flu Shots
Flu shots are available free of charge for anyone 6 months or older through Baltimore County department of Health.
Saturday, October 5, 2013 10am to 2pm at Middle River Middle School
Mrs. Lorraine Gordan, School Nurse
A Message from our Parent Service Coordinator
Thank you to everyone who came out to our last volunteer training on Sept. 16th. I also would like to thank those parents that came for the Parent Involvement Meeting held the same day. Your input is greatly appreciated by us. We are thankful for your ideas and we are also pursuing how we can serve the parents better. If you have any suggestions or comments from the District Level Parent Involvement Plan, MBE’s Parent Involvement Plan, or the Home School Compact, please return the forms to the office.
The next volunteer training will be held in the library at 5:15 pm on October 7, 2013. Please remember you must complete training to chaperone field trips. You may go to Baltimore County Public School’s website to complete and print the volunteer application. Just log on at and select the Community link from the top. A drop down menu will appear. Select volunteer opportunities. To the rightis a box that lists the volunteer handbook and application. Select application. It is a PDF document that you can print.
The next time you are in the school please check out the parent resource board in the school lobby across from the office. There is information for upcoming Job Fairs, Free Job Trade Training, Free Groceries, Free clothing, Free Hot Meals, Free Immunizations, and Medical Transportation.
There will be a food distribution event for those in need of assistance on Saturday October 26, 2013 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm at Perry Hall United Methodist Church. Appointments are not necessary. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Baltimore Book Festival
Baltimore Book Festival is a free event for families held this weekend September 27 – 29, 2013 on Friday & Saturday from noon – 8:00 pm and Sunday from noon -7:00 pm. It will take place at Mount Vernon Place (600 Block of North Charles Street). There will be cooking demos, live music, children’s activities, over 200 celebrity and local authors, and food. For more information call 1-877-BALTIMORE, or
Free Books Available
Baltimore Reads located at 501 N. Calvert Street (the back of the Baltimore Sun building) offers reading books, grade level practice books, and books on CD. These are all available FREE of charge to anyone who wants them. There hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm and Saturday mornings from 9:00 am – noon. They will be closed this Saturday, September 28th due to the Baltimore Book Festival.
Ms. Amorita McClam, Parent Service Coordinator
Purple Pride Thank you!
Thank you for the great response to our Purple Pride T-shirt fundraiser. The last day we accepted orders was Sept 20th. The T-shirts will arrive on Friday, September 27th. We are looking forward to the “sea of purple” on Fridays.
PBIS Committee
Do you Tweet?
Martin Boulevard has a new Twitter account. We have begun to “tweet”. Follow our Twitter handle @MartinBlvdES. We are also working on improving our website to provide support for our parents. More to come at
Identikid
Identikid will be coming to Martin Boulevard Elementary on October 11th. Information will be sent home next week.
Home & School Connection
Attached is the October edition of Home & School Connection. Please take the time to read through it. There are great and easy suggestions of activities for you and your child.
PTA News
We would like to thank everyone who came out for our fundraiser at By the Scoop. Our next fundraiser is October 10 at Dairy Queen. Our next spirit day is October 9 and is twin day. Have your child find a buddy and dress as twins. Save the date for our next family night. It is October 17 for Family Movie Night. If you would like to volunteer to assist at this event please contact Renee at or 443-617-9201.
Starting on October 4 we will be collecting Box Tops. Every 10 your child brings in they will receive a prize.
We would like to thank everyone who has signed up for the PTA. You still have time to get you membership in and help your child’s class. We have a total of 50 members. So far the staff is in the lead with 46% membership, then we have 4th grade with 16%, 3rd grade with15%, Kindergarten with 11%, Pre-K, 1 and 2nd with 10%, 5th grade with 9%and the FALS class with 8%.
Be sure to “Like” Martin Boulevard Elementary PTA on Facebook.
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Parent Involvement Feedback Form
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Parent Involvement Feedback Form
We want to hear from you. How can we improve the parent involvement here at Martin Boulevard Elementary? Do have any thoughts or ideas? Please write them below and return the form to your child’s teacher.
Thank you.
Mrs. Mahoney
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Name of Parent:______
Name of Student:______