Stonegate Greetings

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Monday, August 26

• First Day of School for Grades K-5, LFI. Doors open 8:40 a.m. PEP and PreK start next week.

• Spirit Week - Wear your freshest outfit

Tuesday, August 27

• Spirit Week - Wear sundress or shorts

Wednesday, August 28

• Spirit Week - Wear White

Thursday, August 29

• Instrumental Music Demo, Grades 4 & 5, 9:30 am MPR

• Spirit Week - Wear your favorite color

Friday, August 30

• Spirit Week - Wear Blue and White or Stonegate Gear

• PTA Back to School Picnic 5-8 p.m.

Our school hours are 9:00 a.m.- 3:25 p.m. Our school doors open at 8:40 a.m.

On the first day of school, Grade 1-5 students will go directly to their classrooms, and Kindergarten students will go to the Multipurpose Room (MPR). Teachers will greet them and walk them to class. Our staff will be on duty to help children locate their classrooms and answer questions.

We want to ensure that students, parents, caregivers, and all well-wishers get off to a terrific start. So please give them hugs and kisses before they get on the bus and in the car. Parents and caregivers will not be allowed to walk students to their classes.

STUDENTS SHOULD NOT ARRIVE AT SCHOOL BEFORE 8:40 a.m. unless they attend Global Children’s Center. Some fifth graders may also come before 8:40 for their assigned patrol duty.

All students enter the school through the main doors located at the front of the building. Upon entering, students may go to the multipurpose room/cafeteria if they are eating school breakfast or they should go directly to their classroom.

Cars will use the Car Loop. Only Buses may use the Bus Loop during arrival and dismissal.

Students should never be dropped off on the street and then you pull off. Please come through the car circle or park your car and let the students out.

Safety is our number one priority; therefore, we need every parent to exercise patience and respect, follow staff directions, and adhere to the traffic flow pattern and drop-off/pick-up procedures. Please make sure your child knows their dismissal plan (bus rider, car rider, walker, aftercare) and bus route number/sea animal. If the dismissal plans change, please inform your child and the main office immediately. Please remember that classroom teachers may not see your email during the school day. Please call the main office with any same-day dismissal changes.

Students at Stonegate are dismissed as Car Riders, Walkers, Bus Riders, and After Care. If you park nearby and walk up to the school to meet your children, your children are considered walkers, not Car Riders. This means that you walk up and get them. Please do not wave/flag your children to come to the street to enter the car.

At Stonegate, we have a dedicated car loop. Enter by making a RIGHT turn into the first parking lot. Please:

• Pull as far up as you can and follow staff directions.

• Plan for your children to enter & exit on the passenger side.

• Do not pass cars that are ahead of your vehicle.

• Drive slowly and carefully.

• Display your children’s full names on a paper for staff to see.

• Do not make a left turn to enter the parking lot.

• Do not block neighborhood driveways, Notley Road, or stop on Notley to allow students to exit and cross the road.

• Only use the parking lane closest to the school building. It is unsafe to drop kids off or pick students up using the other lanes.

• Remember to use the dedicated car loop, not the bus loop directly in front of the school.
  

  
  

See this link for our Bus Routes: Bus Route

Fifth graders will continue to serve as safety patrols for the bus.

We will also continue to tag student backpacks according to the student’s bus route.

Please be at the bus stop 10 minutes in advance, as bus times may vary, especially during the first weeks of school.

At the elementary level, parents are responsible for student safety at bus stops. School safety patrols assist.

Students who wish to go home with a classmate after school either by car or riding a different bus must bring a signed note to the office in the morning for verification. The bus drivers will not allow students on buses without written parent/school permission. Main office staff must sign the parent permission note before a child is to go home on a different bus.

Many families in our neighborhood walk to the school to meet their students, and some students (grade 2 and above) walk home on their own.

Here are some guidelines for walkers:

• Students may walk home using the crosswalks on either side of the school on Notley Road. Students must walk directly home.

• A crossing guard is located at the intersection of Fieldstone Road and Notley Road to ensure the safety of pedestrians during the school’s arrival and dismissal process. It is state law to obey the commands of all official county crossing guards.

• Keep the front of the school clear! Caregivers may not congregate at the front of the school at arrival or dismissal.

If you need to pick up your child before dismissal at any time, you must come to the office to pick your students up before 3:00 p.m. We cannot accommodate parent pickups after 3:00 p.m. Please do not come to the office after 3:00 to pick up your student. Plan accordingly.

Here is the 24-25 School Calendar

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org//siteassets/district/calendar/2024/2024-calendar.pdf

Highlights for the 2024-2025 school calendar include:

• For Traditional Calendar schools: First day of school for students is Monday, August 26, 2024 and the last day of school is Friday, June 13, 2025.

• Two planned professional days include Friday, October 18, 2024 and Friday, June 6, 2025.

• There will be five scheduled early release days for Traditional Calendar schools. They include: September 27, 2024, November 25-26, 2024 (designated for student conferences), February 28, 2025, and June 13, 2025.

• Winter break begins on Saturday, December 21, 2024 and ends on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.

• Spring break begins on Saturday, April 12, 2025, and ends on Monday, April 21, 2025.

The calendar maintains 182 days of instruction, including six built in contingency days within the school year. These dates are in addition to holiday closures required by state law.

Sept 2 - No School, Labor Day Holiday

Sept 3 - PEP students start school

Sept 3 and 4 - half of Pre K students start each day. Schedule provided by Ms. Wilson, PreK Special Education teacher

Sept 3 - Virtual PTA Meeting 8-9 pm

Sept 4 - Virtual Grades 4 & 5 Parent Instrumental Music Zoom Meeting 12-1 pm

Sept 5 - In Person Grades 4 & 5 Parent Instrumental Music Meeting 6 pm Media Center

Sept 12 - Back to School Night, all students 6-8 pm

Sept 19 - Fifth Grade Parent Meeting

Sept 13 - Grade 5 Field Trip - Mount Vernon

Sept 25 - After School Creative Adventures Art begins, 6 Wednesdays

Sept 27 - Early Release Day, Students dismissal 12:55 pm

Oct 3 - No School, Non Instructional Day, Possible Make Up

Oct 7 - Grade 5 Field Trip Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Oct 8 - Student Picture Day 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Oct 11 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Green Meadows Farm 9:40 a.m. - 2:10 p.m.

Oct 17 - Heart Health Challenge School Wide Community Walk

Oct 17 - Math Night 6-7 p.m.

Oct 18 - No School, Possible Make up day

Oct 21 - SGA Food Drive Kicks Off

Oct 25 - Grade 3 Field Trip Butler’s Orchard 9:40 a.m. - 2:10 p.m.

Oct 25 - SGA Pumpkins and Plaid Dance

Oct 31 - Harvest Festival and Halloween Parade

Nov 4 - No School, Grading and Planning Day, Possible Make up

Nov 5 - No School, Election Day

Nov 5 - 19 - Square 1 Art Fundraiser

Nov 11-15 - PTA Scholastic Book Fair

Nov 14 - Good Night, Sleep Tight Reading Night

Nov 17 - Make Up/Retakes Student Picture Day 9 - 11 a.m.

Nov 24-25 - Early Release Day, Students dismissal 12:55 pm

Nov 27-29- No school, Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec 23 - Jan 1- No School, Winter Break

Jan 2 - Return to School

Back To School Night and Caregiver Fair

• Thursday, September 12th, at Stonegate Elementary, 6:00-8:00 p.m. for all grades.

• This event is for parents/caregivers only.

• During Back to School Night, families will have an opportunity to meet teachers and hear about the many experiences that they will have throughout the school year. There will be a schoolwide video from the Principal, the PTA President, etc. and then teachers will share expectations, the curriculum, and how to partner with your child’s teacher. Teachers will present one time. Recordings will be made available for any parents who miss the presentation or have multiple students. This is for all families: Grades K-5, LFI, PreK and PEP.

• We will offer two Schoolwide informative sessions for parents starting at 6:00 for families. We encourage parents to join us so you are informed about:

• Community Building and Restorative Approaches at Stonegate

• Student and Family Wellbeing for Stonegate

• After the schoolwide sessions, families will be invited to join their child’s teacher for their classroom/grade-level presentation.

• The following tables will be available for families to visit and receive information:

• Support with Free Lunch Applications

• Support with activating your ParentVUE account

• Talk to our School Nurse and Health Room Tech

• Learn more about Cafeteria Services

• Special Education at Stonegate

• Stonegate Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

• Global Childcare Before/After School

• Other community groups

Instrumental Music: Parent Information Meetings

Parents and Guardians of current 4th and 5th-grade students may attend any of the two scheduled meeting dates regardless of the school their child attends, as these same topics will be discussed at each meeting: Instrument suitability, rental cost, scheduling, performances, expectations, and parent questions.

Meeting Dates:

Wednesday, September 4 at 12:00 p.m. on Zoom (link below)

Thursday, September 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Stonegate Elementary School (Media Center)

Zoom information:

Join Zoom Meeting (student log-in not required)

https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/81211035907?pwd=ZXXw2CCcBQGV3EDR2QodJBzOwnvN6I.1

Meeting ID: 812 1103 5907

Passcode: 778481

Your attendance is not mandatory for your child to participate in the program. I look forward to meeting you and to a successful school year. For more information about the program or to register, please visit the website: https://sites.google.com/a/mcpsmd.net/krohn-music/home

The exact schedule will be posted at school and to the website on September 25.

Lessons begin the week of September 30.

(Menu picture corrected at 9 pm)

Menus are sent home monthly and can be found on the MCPS’s website: Elementary Menu

Hot lunches are served daily with alternate choices. Lunch is $2.55 including milk. Milk may be purchased separately for 60 cents. Parents are highly encouraged to start a Myschoolbucks account for their child. This will eliminate lost or forgotten lunch money. The price of lunch or breakfast will be subtracted from the account. Checks should be made payable to Stonegate School Cafeteria.

Your child may be eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals. Apply online at MySchoolApps.com or complete a Household Application for Free and Reduced-price Meals, available from your child's school. Those approved for free/reduced lunch during the prior school year must reapply every year.

MySchoolBucks.com is an optional service for parents/guardians to make prepayments to a student's cafeteria account for breakfast, lunch, and à-la-carte meals online with a credit or debit card. This service is offered as a convenience for interested families.

By creating a secure online account, parents can monitor and manage their child's account.

There is a $2.49 (new) convenience fee for each payment transaction.

There is no cost to set up an account, check your child's spending history, and receive low-balance notifications.

Payments to student cafeteria accounts can be made either through My School Bucks (optional, not a requirement), or cash or checks payable to Stonegate Cafeteria and submitted to the cafeteria manager.

Every year, students must apply and be approved to receive FREE breakfast and/or lunch.

The Division of Food and Nutrition Services (DFNS) is excited to provide regular meal services during the 2024-2025 school year. Students in Maryland who qualify for reduced-price meals will not be charged for meals! Breakfast: Regular Price: $1.30; Reduced Price: No Cost, Lunch: Regular Price: $2.55, Reduced Price: No Cost

Apply before school starts. One application covers the entire HOUSEHOLD. Translations in other languages are available through the online application.

Apply now at www.MySchoolApps.com

Here is a video about how to apply:

English Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJUapGLarBo

Video en Español: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsdCrtCIFJc&t=4s

Stonegate communicates using the “Remind” app. Schoolwide messages and messages from individual teachers will come through Remind. Caregivers will receive messages as texts. Some parents also choose to download Remind as an app on their device.

Adjust your account settings for Remind at www.remind.com.

Choose “Sign up” and enter your phone number. Your account as an MCPS parent will come up and will allow you to edit your communication settings.

Add a phone number for a caregiver:

Do you need an older sibling, a grandparent or other caregiver to receive text messages from the school? Add an additional phone to receive school wide Remind text messages by using that phone to text @436ch8 to the number 81010.

Our Caregiver Handbook has all the important information that families need to know!

Click here to view it! Here

The following Back to School Information can also be found on the Stonegate Elementary School website:

• Bus lists for Arrival

• School Supply Lists

• Free Lunch Application (you must apply this year)

…and more can be found on our school website

The Stonegate Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is excited to welcome new families and reconnect with returning families in our school community! Our PTA creates connections, supports your child, and amplifies your voice. We need members like you to reach the PTA goals for this school year.

The PTA is a parent-run, volunteer organization with the mission to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. We aim to partner with the school administration to advocate for our students and support our teachers and staff through programming and events that bring our community together, celebrate our diversity, and empower students to be the best that they can be.

Membership is a key step in supporting the PTA. Your membership will help the PTA offer a variety of community engagement activities and various educational enrichment resources for our students. The Back-To-School picnic, Spring Carnival, cultural assemblies, Stonegate Snack Pantry, Teacher Appreciation, and Spring Literary Festival are just a few examples of the activities that PTA sponsors.

Kick-off the school year by joining the PTA today! There are several membership categories available, and you can donate a teacher/staff membership and individual membership to pay it forward for someone else to be a part of the PTA.

Please join us Friday, August 30 from 5 - 8 pm for the annual Back To School Picnic and will be held in the school parking lot. There will be games, inflatables, and lots of fun for our students and families. Food trucks will be onsite and whole pizzas will be available for sale as well. This will be a great opportunity to connect with families, and build relationships to support our students throughout the year. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and be ready for lots of Shark fun!

Mark your calendar for the first PTA Meeting on Tuesday, September 3. More details will be provided soon.

Please contact the stonegateptapres@gmail.com if you have questions or ideas! We are excited and look forward to helping each student reach their full potential.

--Kimberly Smith, 2024 - 2025 Stonegate PTA President

Start the new school year with new gear! Order your new t-shirts and hoodies today on the Stonegate Spirit Wear Store. The flash sale ends on September 4 and all orders will ship directly to the school in 3 - 4 weeks once they are processed. We will provide an update as we get closer to the shipping date. If you have questions, please contact stonegateptapres@gmail.com or the Spirit Hero Team at 1-800-239-9948. Thank you for supporting the Stonegate PTA and showing your Shark spirit.

To make it easier for you to pay for your child's school items and fees, our online payment system, SchoolCash Online, will be sending some Primary Guardians an email. This feature also delivers increased convenience for parents/guardians and greater control for the primary guardian to manage access to accounts.​
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If you are a Primary Guardian in the school's Student Information System and you don't yet have a SchoolCash Online account with that email address, you will receive an automated invitation from SchoolCash Online to create one​. This email will come from the KEV Group - noreply@schoolcashonline.com and an example of this email is pictured here.

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If you are a Primary Guardian in the school's Student Information System, and if you already have a SchoolCash Online account with that email address but you haven't yet linked your student(s) to your account, you will receive an automated email from SchoolCash Online for each unlinked child. This email will ask you to confirm that you want the system to automatically connect your child to your account.​

If you are a Primary Guardian, once you have logged into SchoolCash Online, you will be able to share the child's access to other guardians.​

Once your account is created you can bookmark this link to log in: https://mcpsmd.schoolcashonline.com

Clothing to Cash® is a program that collects New and Used Clothing, Shoes, Sheets, and Towels, (all Textiles) and pays the school 10 cents for every pound collected. The program is operated entirely OUTSIDE and will be located in the school parking lot, where students, parents, staff, and the community can drop off items throughout the year. They have state-of-the-art photo quantity sensors installed in each bin that report 3 times daily to prevent overflow and allow the company to schedule service as needed (no other companies use this technology). They empty the collection bin, weigh the contents to determine our school earnings, and pay our school monthly. The average school (500 - 1000 students) will earn $1000- $2000 yearly if each student would donate just one 13-gallon kitchen-size trash bag! Add in parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, and staff, and Stonegate’s earnings could really increase.

Main Office: 240- 740-7430

Stonegate Elementary School

14811 Notley Road

Silver Spring, MD 20905

Arrival 8:40-9:00 a.m.

Dismissal 3:25 p.m.

Caregiver Handbook

Principal: Linda_M_Jones@mcpsmd.org

On X: @StonegatePrin

Assistant Principal: Franny_S_Wooler@mcpsmd.org

Visit us on the web at: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/stonegatees/