NEWSLETTER #7 301-599-2442 www1.pgcps.org/mattaponi October 9, 2015
WE LOOK AHEAD
October 2015
12 Men Make A Difference Day
16 Schools Closed - MSEA Convention
19-23 Scholastic Book Fair (Family Nights will be Tuesday and Thursday from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.)
21 Orange Out Day for Bully Prevention Month – Staff and students are encouraged to wear orange today
30 2 Hour Early Dismissal – Professional Development Day
30 End of the 1st Quarter
November 2015
2 Schools Closed – Grading/Teacher Planning Day
11 Schools Closed – Parent/Teacher Conferences Day
13 1st Quarter Report Cards Released
25-27 Schools Closed – Thanksgiving Holiday
December 2015
9 2 Hour Early Dismissal (11:55 a.m.) – Professional Development Day
22 2nd Quarter Progress Reports Released
23-31 Schools Closed – Winter Break/Christmas Holiday
January 2016
1Schools Closed – Winter Break/New Year’s Holiday
4 Classes Resume
PRINCIPAL’S CORNER
Dr. Janice P. Hay, Principal
Bullying Prevention Month – Orange Out
October is Bullying Prevention Month. PGCPS willORANGE-OUTonWednesday, October 21, 2015. All staff, students, and parents are encouraged to wear orange on Bully Prevention Day.
Testing
OnTuesday, October 13th through Thursday, October 15th, students in grades 2-5 will be administered the SMI (Scholastic Math Inventory). The SMI is an adaptive online assessment that will determine on what instructional level students are ready to learn. Students will need to wear headphones/earbuds to take the assessment and we have found that the students are more comfortable wearing their own personal devices. For that reason, we are asking students to bring their own headphones/earbuds.
Uniforms
Several students are still non-compliant with the uniform policy. All students are required to wear black shoes, navy blue or tan pants, and navy blue or white tops. Girls have the added luxury of also wearing skirts,skorts, and jumpers. Sweaters should also be all navy blue and free of any logos or graphic prints. The following retailers carry uniform policy compliant items at many different price points.
Counselor’s Corner
Kids Helping Kids Food & Fund Drive
Mattaponi ES will be participating in the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Kids Helping Kids Food and Fund Drive. The food drive campaign will kick-off October 12 and end on October 30. The food collected during the drive will go directly to our community food bank, and will be distributed to soup kitchens, pantries and shelters. Donations must be unopened and nonperishable items. MSDE goal is to collect 500,000 pounds of food for hungry Marylanders. The most needed food items are peanut butter, rice, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables, tuna fish, beans, and cereal. Awards will be presented to schools with the most pounds collected. Checks for monetary donations should be made out to Capital Area Food Bank.
Parents, I look forward to working with you in this exciting effort to benefit both our school and the community. Together we can ensure that no child in Maryland goes hungry. Thank you for your support. If you have any questions please contact Ms. Underdue, Professional School Counselor at .
NURSE’S CORNER
Numerous children having been bringing cough drops, which is a non-prescription medication (over-the-counter) to school. According to school policy, no medication can be administered without the receipt of the appropriate Prescriber’s Medication Order Form completed by the parent and physician. Forms can be obtained from the PGCPS web site or the Health Room. If you have any question please call Ms. Washington, RN at 240-681-2147.
Student Attendance Policy
School achievement begins with regular attendance. Parents/guardians must ensure that all school-age children in their care are in school on time daily. Whenever absent from school, parents/guardians must provide the child with a written note upon their return to school. The following are considered lawful absences; death in the immediate family; hazardous weather conditions; illness of the student; lack of authorized transportation; quarantine; court summons or other emergency approved by the Chief Executive Officer or his designee. Once your child returns to school with an excused absence note, he/she will receive their missed classwork and assignments. Please remember, regular, punctual attendance is one of the many key factors that determines a students’ success in school!
Student school hours are 7:45 am - 1:55 pm. No students are to enter the building until 7:30 am. Please do not drop your child off until you see a staff member on duty in the kiss-n-ride. If you are picking up your child after school as a car rider, you must be here no later than 2:00 pm. Thank you for your cooperation.
How to Contact a Staff Member
Mattaponi’s school office hours are 7:15 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Teachers are available for phone calls from 7:15 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Calls will be sent directly to voicemail during instructional time and staff members are asked to return phone calls within 24 - 48 hours, if possible. All conferences must be scheduled with teachers before coming to the school to discuss your child’s academic program or any issues that may need to be resolved. Thank you for your understanding.
School Security and Student Safety
Please help us keep our students and school safe at all times by entering only through the front door, signing in at the front office with your ID and wearing a visitor’s sticker at all times while on school property. In addition, parents/students/visitors should not be in classrooms unless a teacher is present. Items needing to be dropped off should be left in the office. Please note: Neither students or parents are permitted to enter classrooms before 7:30 a.m. or after 1:55 p.m. Children are reminded to take all necessary supplies home to complete assignments. Each student is allowed ample time to gather all belongings at the end of the school day. Forgotten items will have to be retrieved the next day. This policy was implemented to ensure the safety of our students, as they must be under adult supervision at all times. We appreciate your cooperation with complying with this policy.
Dismissal Policy
Students are expected to complete a full day of school, and the instructional day ends at approximately 1:50 p.m. to ensure a prompt dismissal at 1:55 p.m. Please allow your child(ren) to remain in class for the entire day. Early dismissal to facilitate parent convenience not only disrupts the class, but also deprives the student of valuable instruction. Also, parents are encouraged to make medical appointments after school hours. When an early departure is necessary, a note indicating the time, date, and reason for departure must be presented to the teacher at the beginning of the school day. This enables the teacher to provide the student with any homework or class assignments that should be completed. To ensure a safe, orderly and efficient dismissal process, we have made several changes to our dismissal policy. Parents are not allowed to sign our their child(ren) for early dismissal after 1:40 p.m. Parents who need to pick up their child(ren) must do so before this time. We will not remove students from school buses once dismissal has begun. This is an unsafe practice and interrupts the bus schedules for our school and all subsequent schools serviced by our busses.
Lunch Accounts
The cost for lunch is $2.75 and $1.60 for breakfast. If a student does not have lunch money, the cafeteria will provide a cheese sandwich and a drink. Parents may pre-pay for school meals and monitor account balances at .
PTO Corner – Mrs. Spencer, President
Thank you to the parents and staff in attendance at the PTO meeting!We had our largest turnout to date. Kudos to Mr. Puglia for his informative Science Fair presentation.
It's never too late to join the PTO! $10.00 in an envelope, labeled with you and your child's name, will have your family signed up and a part of the exciting events happening all school year long!
Our annual Men Make A Difference Day program will be heldMonday, October 12, 2015 from 8:15-9:30 a.m.in the Mutli- Purpose Room! Please send in your RSVP's for planning purposes.
The Book Fair is coming!! Please mark your calendars forOctober 19-23rd, 2015. Family Nights will be heldTuesday, October 20th and Thursday, October 22ndfrom5:00-8:00p.m. Book Fair catalogs will come home soon!!