Panda Nation News

Many thanks to all of you who were able to visit during American Education Week! It was wonderful to see the smiles on the students' faces when family members joined their class for learning & fun!

Be sure to take a few minutes to review the November/December Important Dates listed below and stay tuned for more information about each event!

Don't forget that our Wellness theme for November is Gratitude! During this month we have been engaging in activities to foster a spirit of Gratitude throughout our school & community.

Why Gratitude? Because Gratitude helps us. . .

• Experience more positive emotions,
• Relish good experiences,
• Improve our health,
• Deal with adversity, and . . .
• Build stronger relationships!

In other words, Gratitude is the super power we ALL need! Let US start this month of Gratitude by saying just how grateful we are for you and your PAWSitively Amazing children! THANK YOU!

Panda Love to all!🐼❤

Mrs. Schou, Principal

Mr. Engel-Cope, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Melissa Bean, Academic Dean

SMCPS receives federal grant funds to operate and maintain our 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.

Online Federal Impact Aid Forms are now available through your 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. The deadline for the online submission of Federal Impact Aid Survey forms is November 14, 2023, but paper copies can still be submitted.

We are committed to partnering with you to make sure the sky is limit for our Panda Nation scholars! Our Family Engagement Plan outlines how we will do that, and our Family Engagement Calendar lets all of us know when we will come together to make our plan come alive. Please take a few minutes to review both the plan & the calendar!

Our Home/School Compact in both English & Spanish outlines our commitment to ensuring student success. Hopefully you received and signed a copy at the August 21st Open House & September 28th Back to School Night, but if you didn't get on yet, don't worry, your child's teacher will have one for you at the Family/Teacher Conferences on October 9th.

Thank you for working together with us to make this a PAWSitively Amazing Year!

The SMCPS Equity for All Website features updated monthly celebrations, best practices resources, and a newly added Community Resource page. The purpose of the Equity for All site is to provide resources and supports for promoting excellence and equity in St. Mary's County Public Schools.

• Nov. 22-26: Thanksgiving Break
• Dec. 1: Fall Picture Retakes
• Dec.8: 2-hr. Early Dismissal
• Dec. 8: 4:30-6:30: PTO's Santa's Workshop
• Dec. 18 - Jan. 1: Holiday/Winter Break-All schools & offices are closed
• Jan. 2: School resumes
• Jan. 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day-All Schools are closed

Please update your contact information with the office. It is critical that we have the most recent information for contacting our families.

UPDATE MY INFORMATION

Volunteers are an essential component to our Panda Nation students' success!

Please apply and remember that volunteers must apply annually for approval.

To help you navigate all the new elements of the school year and keep you informed about upcoming programs & events, we will communicate information frequently and in several ways. They are listed below for your reference.

• Weekly Phone/Email & Schoology Message: At 6:00 on Sunday you will receive a phone message & email from us sharing information about the upcoming week.
• Class DoJo: Very soon your child’s teacher will invite you to join Class DoJo. We use this platform because it is secure/members only and allows us to share a wide variety of information with you. Please join our DoJo family!
• Our LPES Website and Twitter feed: The LPES website has a wide variety of information for you and is updated regularly. We love to share all the wonderful things our students & teachers are doing, so we tweet just about every day. Follow us on Twitter @lpes_smcps
• Technology Needs: if you are new to the school or need a device from SMCPS please complete the survey here.

Email: raschou@smcps.org
Website: https://schools.smcps.org/lpes/
Phone: (301)863-4085
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smcps.org/posts/971720426301468
Twitter: @lpes_smcps