Important PPES Information:
Piney Point families,
Thanksgiving Break is right around the corner! We only have 2 days this week but they are jam packed with activities. Monday is our final Paint Night until after Winter Break. I look forward to seeing you all there. If you have not had a chance to attend one, I highly recommend you take some time and come and visit. We will be starting them back up in January.
Piney Point Community- we are looking to help families in need. Please take a moment to look at the information from our counselor, Ms. Pelton, on how we can support our families.
Our PPES Ornaments have arrived. We will have some available for purchase at the winter Paint Night as well Cookies with Santa and using the order form below. The goal is to have a new design every year and make them a collectable.
Be sure to review this entire newsletter each week as it will provide you with valuable resources and information. This information current up until Thanksgiving break!
~Mrs. Zeier
Piney Point Holiday Assistance
Dear PPES Families:
As the holiday season quickly approaches, we would like to offer assistance to those families in need. This year, we will be providing families with Wal-Mart and Target gift cards. We are requesting that each gift card be between $10-$25. Please use this form to either donate to a family in need, or indicate if your family is in need of assistance this holiday season. All names will be kept confidential. We will accept gift card donations beginning Monday, November 13th through Friday, December 8th. Families can pick up the gift cards Tuesday, December 14th from 9:00-3:45. Any questions or concerns, please contact Ms. Pelton. If you are interested or in need, please fill out this form by Friday, December 8th.
Happy Holidays from PPES!
St. Mary's County Public Schools (SMCPS) is encouraging all parent(s)/guardian(s) to please take the time to access and complete the online Impact Aid form located in the Home Access Center (HAC). Directions to access the online form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE. The form can now be accessed in Spanish by clicking on the Globe in the top right-hand corner once the form has been started.
Our schools are heavily impacted by federally connected students. Federally connected students are those students whose parent(s)/guardian(s) work on federal property in Maryland, live on federal property in Maryland, and/or are active-duty military personnel. Because of this impact, we receive federal grant funds to operate and maintain our schools and enrich school programs. To receive these funds, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) requires us to survey each student to determine eligibility. The information must be based on the survey date, September 30, 2023.
All information that is collected is confidential and used solely for Impact Aid purposes. The Impact Aid grant application provides only demographic information on the numbers and locations of federally connected students attending our schools.
Impact Aid surveys will be digitally collected for this school year. Families who cannot complete the digital survey can either contact their child’s school for a paper copy.
Families will be asked to voluntarily provide various pieces of information. For instance, information such as workplace employment will be requested. Specifically, the following two employment addresses will be requested:
the address for the employer; and
the address of the Federal Property where their physical work address is located.
Parent(s)/Guardian(s) that are on active duty in the Reserves or National Guard, will need to either upload a copy of their active-duty orders or provide their supervisor’s contact information. (* all information on the service member’s orders can be blackened out, except for name, rank, branch of service, and Title Number “USC Title 10” or “USC Title 32”).
Your cooperation in completing the survey no later than Monday, November 14, 2023, is greatly appreciated. The more surveys that are submitted, the greater amount of funds will be available to our students in St. Mary’s County Public Schools. If you have any questions pleas contact Mrs. Worch at jdworch@smcps.org.
Parent Cheat Sheets for Math
Math Night
Thank you to all who were able to attend our Math Night sponsored by Mathnasium - The Math Learning Center. Here are a few games that you can try at home.
Sum Up
Items needed: a deck of cards and a 1 minute timer.
Using a shuffled card deck, start a 1 minute timer and have students add values of cards in a continuous sum. For example, if you turn over a 2, your student would say 2. If the next card is 8, the student would then say 10. Have them try and create the greatest sum they can in 1-minute using mental math.
Addition Heads-Up (for 3 players)
All you need is a deck of cards. Without looking at the value of the cards, two players draw a card from the deck and hold it number side out on their forehead. Each player then looks at the card on the other player's head. The third player, or facilitator, announces the sum of the two cards. The first player to figure out the value of the card on their own head wins. Play five rounds to determine a winner.
Blink!
Looking for a great stocking stuffer for your student. Check out Blink! This was a very popular game at our Mathnasium event. This lightning fast game involves 2 players trying to match the shape, count, or color on their cards to either one of two discard piles. These cards are available through Amazon or Walmart.
Free Math App for parents with visual models you can you click here!
Research has shown us the important role families play in helping children learn to read and write. The most important thing you can do is to read with your child every day.
Below are some additional tips to help support reading at home, as well as grade level newsletters for our reading curriculum programs.
Phonics Practice making connections between sounds and letters.
Point out words that begin with the same letter as your child's name (for example, John and jump). Talk about how the beginning sounds of the words are alike.
Vocabulary & Comprehension
Sort and Group Objects. By putting objects in groups, children can learn new words that label the category. You also can discuss the ways in which items in the groups are similar or different. Toys are great for sorting and grouping.
Fluency
Read a variety of books on one topic. This will help your child become more familiar with vocabulary related to a topic of interest and provide multiple opportunities to re-read familiar, high-interest vocabulary and ideas.
Benchmark Advance Home Connection Newsletters - Unit 2
Grades K-3 use Fundations for phonics instruction and word study instead of the Benchmark Advance materials. For phonics and word study, please use the Fundations newsletter linked below instead of the phonics information in the Benchmark Advanced newsletters.
Grade K Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3
Fundations Home Support Newsletters
Kindergarten Unit 1 1st Grade Unit 3 2nd Grade Unit 4
SMCPS Reading Language Arts Information and Resources
Explore the site and the Benchmark Advanced curriculum. Choose your child’s grade level on the right-hand side of the site for grade specific resources and information including articles, websites, and online books.
Please remember to return library books on time. At the end of each month, Mrs. Anderson will send out notices reminding students of books that are overdue or of fines that need to be paid.
To see what your student currently has checked out to them or any fines that have been assessed, the student can login to Destiny through Clever or via Direct Login. Here are the steps for the direct login.
Go to elibrary.smcps.org.
Click on the appropriate school.
Select the “Login” option from the top right of the page.
Enter the correct login credentials. Your login information is the same as your regular login credentials.
Username: 3 initials and last 4 digits of student ID number (Example: abc1234).
Password: regular network password
After logging in, click the “My Info” tab at the top and the student’s current checkout and fines (if applicable) will be displayed.
SMCPS provides some wonderful databases and ebook options for our students. Use the link provided to access the SMCPS Database and Ebook S’More.
Need a laptop charger?
Need to purchase a laptop charger?
You can do one of two things:
1. Email your child's teacher or the Library Media Specialist Mrs. Anderson (lwanderson@smcps.org) that you wish to pay for the missing laptop charger. A fine then can be assessed so that you can pay using My School Bucks, sending in cash, or a check (made out to SMCPS).
OR
2. Go directly to the DELL store. You can purchase directly from their website and have it shipped to your home.
Ensure one of these links is being used:
www.dell.com/mpp/smcps (click Shop Recommended Solutions to get to the discounted power cords)
www.dell.com/mpp/smcps-chargers (leads directly to the purchasing portal)
If you purchase from Dell, please make sure that you label the charger with the student's first and last name before sending it to school. If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher or the Library Media Specialist Mrs. Anderson(lwanderson@smcps.org).
Vacations and other out of town travel are not considered excused absences.
If your family does take a vacation or travel out of town for more than 3 days, while school is in session, we will be able to excuse the absences if your student(s) completes one or more of the activities listed below. The completed activity should be turned in to the office upon the student’s return to school to update the absences to lawful.
- Student journal/log
- Collection of site brochures with student notes of “I learned…”, “I wonder…”
- Student created poster project – showing the learning that occurred on the tri
- Student created trifold “advertisement” of visited location
Please note, St. Mary’s County Public Schools encourage parents not to remove students from school for long periods during the school year. Every day of school-based instruction is considered essential for the academic wellbeing of your child.
Join the PTA
It's time to renew your PTA membership dues!
2023-2024 Membership/Dues Cost: $20
Dues payment link:
https://pineypoint.memberhub.com/
Why join the PTA?
- Your membership dues help us achieve our goals of helping students, teachers, and staff.
-You will receive school updates. Signing up will keep you in the loop with what’s going on at PPES.
-Signing up to join the PTA is not a commitment. We won't force you to volunteer- but we do appreciate all the help we can get! If you join there are also no meetings to attend.
Thank you for your support!
-The grade with the most membership sign ups gets a FREE PIZZA PARTY!
As we plan our return to school for the 2023-2024 school year now is a great time to find your laptop and charger. Please run all of the updates and make sure that it is working order. Chargers are to remain at home.
Birthday Treats
Please click the link below for information regarding your child's bus number, bus stop location, and pick-up and drop-off times. If you have specific questions regarding bus transportation, please call the Department of Transportation at (301)-475-4256.
For all parents of PreKindergarten and Kindergarten students: An adult must be present at the bus stop when students are being picked up or dropped off. If an adult associated with a PreKindergarten or Kindergarten student is not present at the bus stop at the end of the school day, the bus driver will return the student to the school and the parents will be contacted to come to the school to pick up the student.
Spanish versions available:
SMCPS Calendar Updates
The Board of Education and MSDE have approved the amended 2023-2024 SMCPS Calendar. The new calendar is posted online at www.smcps.org/calendar
The Amended calendar included two virtual instruction days:
Friday, March 22: Synchronous day: End of 3rd Marking period/ early dismissal
In addition, due to the change in the Primary Election Day, May 14 is a required school holiday. There will be no school for students on May 14. May 14 will remain a staff duty day. Telework options may be offered as a result of school site use as polling locations.
As a result of the required school holiday, the last day of school will be moved and June 13 will be the last day of school for students. Students will have a two-hour early dismissal on June 12 and 13.
Click here to check your child's breakfast/lunch balance and add money to their account
Volunteer Application
Schoology
Connect with Mrs. Zeier
Email: tbzeier@smcps.org
Website: https://ppes.smcps.org/
Location: 44550 Tall Timbers Road, Tall Timbers, Maryland 20690, USA
Phone: 301-994-2205