White Marsh Elementary School

We have another busy week ahead! This week we recognize Red Ribbon Week! See the information below. All students are encouraged to participate in the Spirit Week activities. Please note that Tuesday is Book Character Day. Students may dress up as their favorite book character, and be sure to bring a copy of the book!

Guidelines for Book Character Day:

• Costumes cannot have a mask
• Wear safe and comfortable shoes
• No weapons (real or toy) as part of the costume
• Costume will be worn all day; there will be no time provided to change
• Clothing/costume should be school appropriate (adhere to the dress code)
• Bring a copy of the book!

This is the only opportunity for students to dress in costume; students should plan to wear regular clothes to school on Monday, October 31.

Tuesday evening is the PTA sponsored Boo Thru! Feel free to bring your families to school anytime between 5 and 6:30 pm.

If your student plans to participate in Mrs. Baril's Pumpkin Challenge, those are due on Wednesday. Pumpkins will be sent home on October 31.

Friday, October 28 is a 2 hr. Early Dismissal. This marks the end of the first Marking Period.

Have a great week!

-Mrs. Steele

In honor of Enrique Camarena Salazar, an undercover drug enforcement agent who fought for drug awareness in 1985, the United States Congress has proclaimed the last full week of October as Red Ribbon Week, October 24-28, 2022. This week is dedicated to raising student awareness of the dangers and harmful effects of drugs and alcohol.

WMES will have a Spirit Week. See below for the theme days. Tuesday, October 25 is Book Character Day! Students are encouraged to dress like their favorite book character, and bring the book to walk with in our parade! There are guidelines for dressing up, which can be found below.

The end of the first marking period is fast approaching! Can you believe we've been in school almost one quarter of the school year? Friday, October 28 marks the end of Marking Period 1. Please check for any missing work your student may have; it is a great time to check Home Access Center and Schoology.

The month of October always presents a climate-control challenge due to the fluctuating temperatures. Unlike a home HVAC system, once we convert from cooling to heating, we cannot revert back to cooling until the Spring. Currently, our maintenance staff is cleaning the boilers at each school in preparation for the conversion to heat. Below is the Standard Operating Procedure that the Department of Maintenance follows each year. I strongly encourage students and staff to dress in layers as there are typically both hot and cold days in October.

Once the forecasted nightly temperatures are consistently below 45 degrees and daytime temperatures do not exceed 55 degrees for two to three consecutive days, we will begin the two-day process of changing the schools over from a cooling mode to a heating mode for the balance of the season. This changeover typically takes place by October 15th of each year. When the ambient conditions are conducive, the changeover will be delayed to ensure the most effective use of resources.

Please consider joining the PTA; the membership form is here.

Our schools are heavily impacted with federally-connected students – those parents/guardians who 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. St. Mary’s County Public Schools’ parents are asked to complete the Federal Impact Aid Survey every school year. The school system receives federal grant funds to operate and maintain the schools for federally connected students. To receive these federal funds, the United States Department of Education (USDE) requires the school system to survey each student. The Federal Impact Aid Survey window will be open until Monday, November 14, 2022. It is important to complete the survey through the student’s Home Access Center Account.

Online Emergency Information Update- Effective communication is critical to the success of St. Mary’s County public Schools (SMCPS). This will be crucial not only for emergencies, but for our ability to communicate with families in general. Online Emergency Information Update Forms are now available through the student’s Home Access Center (HAC). Once logged in, directions to access the online form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE.It is vital that all information is updated in eSchool. The deadline for the online submission of Emergency Information Update forms is October 31, 2022.

A reminder that all Volunteers (including Field Trip Chaperones) must be approved through SMCPS. Beginning this year, this will be an annual requirement. At WMES, those volunteers being asked to support students and teachers in the building will be required to complete a site based training session.

Any volunteer with an interest in supporting classroom activities, Field Day, Book Fair, copying/laminating for teachers must attend the WMES Volunteer Training Session prior to working with students. Please note- participation in the Training Session does not ensure that you will be needed to support an individual classroom. Teachers will reach out to you if school based volunteers are needed.

Future training dates are less than 30 minutes long, and have been added to the WMES event calendar.

ALL students in SMCPS must have a completed Acceptable Use Agreement on file for School Year 2022-2023.

Elementary (PreK-5th) Link: https://bit.ly/22022-2023_Elementary_AUPForm

Nov 2 Running Club (3:45 - 4:20 pm)

Nov 2 PTA Meeting, 6:30 pm

Nov 8 Election Day, No School for Students

Nov 9 Report Cards Distributed

Nov 9 Running Club (3:45-4:20 pm)

Nov 10 Elementary Honor Chorus Concert, LHS 7 pm

Nov 11 Veterans Day, No School for Students

Nov 16 Running Club (3:45-4:20 pm) Last Day of Running Club!

Nov 17 Picture Retake Day

Nov 23-25 Thanksgiving Break

It's B Week- Band and Strings will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

From the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)-

Chronic Absenteeism: Students are chronically absent when absent 10% or more of the school days while enrolled at that school. For example, a student who is registered to attend a school for 30 days and who is absent 3 of those 30 days is considered chronically absent.

WMES will follow up with chronically absent students through the Pupil Services Team, Pupil Personnel Worker, and the Department of Student Services. In order to reduce the number of our students with Chronic Absenteeism, incentives to encourage good attendance include participation in the Bear Crawl, Running Club, and School Dance.

Schoology New Parent/Guardian Provisioning: New Schoology parent/guardian accounts will be created in the coming weeks. We hope to have accounts created and parents/guardians connected to their students in Schoology by Friday, September 2nd. Parents that have difficulty accessing their pre-existing accounts should contact schoology@smcps.org and include the student name and ID number for troubleshooting.

Student Resource Accountability: Students are responsible for the care and upkeep of all of their SMCPS assigned resources: print and technology. The student accountability document is also linked in this SMORE.

SMCPS Text Alerts are a great way to get information quickly. They are not sent often, and usually only in the event of an unexpected school delay or closure. On occasion, WMES will send a text alert about a late bus, substitute bus, or school event. Click the link for information about registering for text alerts.

Email: jwsteele@smcps.org
Website: schools.smcps.org/wmes
Location: 29090 Thompson Corner Road, Mechanicsville, MD, USA
Phone: (301)472-4600
Twitter: @wmes_smpcs