White Marsh Elementary School

Welcome, October! This will be a busy month for the Bears! There is lots going on in October, including our first Bear Crawl! Later this month, Running Club will start, the Character Tea is October 19, and our School Dance is scheduled for October 20. Bus Driver Appreciation Week is the week of October 17, as well as the WMES Fall Book Fair. The PTA Boo Thru is scheduled for October 25! Stay tuned to the Smore- we will keep you posted with all that is happening!

This week, we recognize our wonderful Building Service Workers! Ms. Diane and Mr. Clark are a vital part of our team, and we value all that they do to keep our building safe, clean and comfortable for our students and staff. Thank you both!

There will be a WMES Volunteer School Based Training on Monday at 9:30. A reminder that any SMCPS volunteer spending time in our building will need to attend this annual training. We will be needing volunteers for Running Club and Book Fair. Also on Monday is the first Bear Crawl of the school year! All students who have been present "Bell to Bell" every day for the months of August and September are eligible to crawl and ROAR down our hallways!

Tuesday is Fall Picture Day. See the information for Picture Day below. Also on Tuesday, the PTA will meet in the Media Center at 6:30 pm. All are invited.

Every student must have a completed Acceptable Use Agreement on file. Parents can complete this online (see the info below). This form gives permission for our students to access the internet for instructional purposes. Emails were sent last week to families whose students do not have a completed agreement on file. Please complete this as soon as possible if you have not done so already.

Have a great week!

-Mrs. Steele

It is almost that time of year when parents are asked to complete both the Emergency Form and Impact Aid Form for SMCPS. The window will open on Monday, October 3, 2022. In order to complete these required forms, parents will need a Home Access Center (HAC) Login and Password. If you do not have this, please contact the Main Office at (301)472-4600.

Monday, October 10 will be a 2 hr. Early Dismissal. It is designated for parent conferences. Your child's teacher may be reaching out to you to set up a conference on this date, or a different date in the near future. Please make every attempt to conference with your child's teacher. It is a great way to meet the teacher in person, stay current on your child's learning, and share strategies that may help your child be an even more successful learner.

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.

These are due by September 15th.

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

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

Oct 10 2 hr. Early Dismissal, Parent Conference Day

Oct 12 Running Club Begins! Pick up at 4:20

Oct 14 Kindergarten Field Trip

Oct 14 WMES Volunteer School Based Training, 3 pm

Oct 17 - 21 WMES Book Fair

Oct 19 Character Tea

Oct 19 Running Club, ends at 4:20

Oct 20 School Dance

Oct 20 Book Fair Evening Hours 4:30 - 6 pm

Oct 21 2 hr. Early Dismissal

It's A Week- Band and Strings will be held on Wednesday and Friday. Don't forget to bring your instruments!

Students in Grades 3 - 5 are asked to have earbuds to use at school. This was an item listed on the School Supply List. Please send them in if your student does not have any to use at school.

We are fortunate to have a dedicated team in our cafeteria support our students with healthy and nutritious meals for breakfast and lunch. Please consider nominating Mrs. Hackney or Mrs. Yarbrough for the SMCPS Golden Spatula Award!

Click here to nominate!

Please be aware that lunch choices may change frequently, due to supply issues with certain items. We will do our best to notify you of any changes through Dojo.

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.

This year, we look forward to the return of the Bear Crawl! This event will be conducted monthly. All students with perfect attendance for the previous month may participate. They must have been present "Bell to Bell", with no late arrivals or early sign-outs. The Bears love roaring down our hallways to start their day!

We also hope to bring back the Running Club, and School Dance! Both activities are after school, and will require parent pick up. Limited spaces are available for each, so it will be important to be on the lookout for future information and return permission slips quickly. Student participation is related to good behavior and attendance.

Our school's student attendance suffered greatly last year. Approximately 50% of our students had 10 or more absences, and this does not include Covid related absences. As you can imagine, missing school is not conducive to academic achievement. Our students need to be in the building all day, every day, so that they can receive the instruction our teachers provide. Please familiarize yourself with the SMCPS Attendance information, specifically lawful and unlawful absences. As necessary, WMES will follow up with excessive absences and chronically absent students with the Pupil Services Team, Pupil Personnel Worker, and the Department of Student Services.

Attendance Information: SMCPS Student Handbook

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.

Click here for the electronic copy! Please review the handbook carefully. It contains much important school information, including Student Attendance, Transportation, and changes to the Personal Electronic Devices (cell phones) practices.

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.

Has your phone number changed? Has your daycare changed? Have you had a change to those people you have listed as emergency contacts? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, please call the Main Office (301.472.4600) to have those changes made in our system.

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