January Tidbits #2

It took us a few extra days thanks to the snow storm, but it was great to see everyone back in the building on Thursday!

As we close in the on the end of the second marking period on Friday, January 17th, we have a few other milestones to celebrate, too:

Weather permitting, Wednesday, January 22nd, will be the 90th Day of School!

Cue the music: "Woahhh We're Halfway There!" Dress in your 90's outfits to celebrate this milestone!

Weather permitting, Thursday, February 6th, will be the 100th Day of School! Watch this space and your teachers' newsletters for information on this event.

Fifth Grade had PERFECT attendance this week!

GREAT JOB, FIFTH GRADE!!

Overall, our attendance rate for this short week was 95%. Nice work, Terrapins!

We're grateful to all for your efforts to be here! Every day matters in the pursuit of knowledge. Consult this resource for tips on how to keep your child healthy and in school.

You can check attendance records in HAC. If you notice any days that are unlawful (marked red), please send an email to smverhaagh@smcps.org, or submit the reason for the absence online through our school website.

Do you know a Town Creek staff member that is going above and beyond to support our students or families?

Please consider nominating them for the Treasured Terrapin Award! Let us know what a great job they are doing, how they positively help other staff, families, or our TCES students! Fill out this form to show your gratitude!

Do you have pictures from TCES events that you would like to share for the yearbook? Please send pictures from THIS SCHOOL YEAR ONLY to tcesterrapinyearbook@gmail.com.

Terrapins in action!

Do you have a child (or two or three) that participates in after school activities?

Please feel free to share extracurricluar schedules! Please fill out this form if you would like your child's extracurricular activity schedule to be added to our in-house TCES calendar.

We respect the many different ways that families like to recognize their child’s birthday. In addition to class recognitions of birthdays, we recognize birthdays with our birthday bulletin board and daily announcements of all who are celebrating their birthday that day. If you are planning on providing something for the class on your child’s birthday, we ask that you follow these guidelines. Thank you in advance for respecting them!

Sign outs from the office will end at 3:30 to allow staff to prepare for dismissal. Any sign outs after 3:30 will take place at 3:45 from the Media center with our regularly scheduled parent up. This ensures that all of our students are dismissed safely at the end of the day.

Please take a moment to register as volunteer. Volunteers must be clear EACH AND EVERY YEAR before they can participate in field trips or other school activities. Submit your form today so that you can join us for the fun: https://www.smcps.org/offices/safety-security/volunteer-sign-up

Kids forget things! It happens all the time, as they are developing their executive functioning skills, but when it happens at dismissal, it can be a safety issue. Over the past two weeks there has been an increase of students coming back into the building after departing for the buses.

It is understandable for students to come back in for items like lunch boxes (no one wants to smell day-old food) and coats (especially if a child does not have one on). Other items, though, can wait till the next day (i.e. water bottles, stuffed toys, musical instruments, etc). Please assure your child that if they forget something, the item will remain where it is until the next day. You are welcome to come to the school until 4:15 p.m. to claim anything left behind, and the office staff will be happy to help you.

A limited supply of our SY23 and SY24 Town Creek t-shirts, hats, and other spirit wear are still available! You can purchase them through MySchoolBucks while supplies last. The products will be delivered to your student's teacher and placed in your student's backpack.

TCES Lunch/Snack Boxes are available now! These plastic boxes include two compartments for food, a compartment for a fork and knife (included), and our Terrapin logo. They are immediately available and will be placed in your student's backpack immediately upon receipt of MSB order.

Watch this space for the TCES 2025 Spirit Wear Collection! Coming soon!!

We hope everyone is well and ready for school! Sometimes, though, students are too sick to attend, and that's fine. Your health is the priority. Please follow these guidelines to know when you should keep your student home.

Children need healthy meals to learn. Your children may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. Please use this link to apply: https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our general meeting Wednesday, December 11.

Join us for our next meeting on January 15th at 6:15 p.m. in the TCES Media Center!

Our annual Winter Dance has been moved to Friday, January 24th. The dance will begin at 6:00 p.m. and conclude at 8:00 p.m. Please join us for a fun, festive evening!

Entry is free and there will be $2 pizza, $1 cupcakes, and other snacks along with drinks for sale.

Students will be allowed in groups of 5 to dance on the stage for the duration of one song.

We NEED a few more volunteers. 3-4 more would be extremely helpful. Sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944A4AA2CA6FCCE9-53279993-winter

NEW TO TOWN CREEK THIS YEAR: The PTO Fun Run will be held Saturday, March 15. Sign up to help make this new event a success here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944A4AA2CA6FCCE9-51671993-tces

• January 17 - End of 2nd Marking Period & "Candids Day" with Classic Photography
• January 20 - Holiday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - All Schools and Office Closed
• January 22 - 90th Day of School
• January 28 - Report Card Distribution - See HAC and your email for grades and narratives
• January 31 - Professional Day - No School for Students - Professional Responsibilities
• February 6 - 100th Day of School
• February 14 - Two-Hour Early Dismissal - Professional Responsiblities
• February 17 - Holiday: Presidents' Day - All Schools and Offices Closed (Possibly Make-Up Day)