Norwood News

Our community is a community of superstars! Here are some updates as we help our students reach for the stars.

• Monday, September 2: Labor Day- Schools Closed
• Friday September 27: Fall Picture Day (more information to follow)

School Hours = 8:20am arrival / 8:35am late bell / 3:20pm dismissal (no drop-off prior to 8:20am as there is no supervision outside before then)

PK Schedule: AM session (8:20am - 11:05am); PM session (12:40pm - 3:20pm)

Kindergarten Teacher:

Sharon Joseph

First Grade Teacher:

Janelle Ramroop

Second Grade Teacher:

Kiersten Anawalt

Third Grade Teacher:

Abigail Waters

Savannah Parrish

Special Educator:

Emily Frye

English Language Development Teacher (ELD):

Shannon Karst

Social Worker:

Elizabeth Westendorf

Building Operations Supervisor:

Reno Lacy

If your child receives a school bus, transportation information should have already been relayed to you by the school. If not, please contact the your child's teacher or the main office so that we can provide you with that information. If your student rides a bus, please understand that he/she can be allowed off the bus without an adult present at the bus stop. Please be mindful of assigned bus stop times and ensure that your child is boarding the proper bus in the morning. You can always confirm with the driver that their destination is Norwood Elementary School. If you have questions regarding your child's bus or need to report any issues, do not hesitate to contact the school at 443-809-7055 to speak with Mr.Ruppenkamp

Baltimore County Public Schools has launched a new app called “BusWhere” to let students and parents know when their bus arrives in real-time.

The new app is a location-tracking device that will let bus riders and subscribers know that their bus is arriving or if there is an issue causing a significant delay.

Please be on the lookout for an e-mail from Mr.Ruppenkamp with the instructions on how to sign up

It is extremely important that we have the most up-to-date information in our system for all students. It is based on these records that we know who to release a walker/car-rider student to when someone comes to pick them up. Parents and any emergency contacts with pickup privileges must be able to present a photo ID at pick-up. This policy is for student safety. If a photo ID cannot be presented (IDs without photos cannot be accepted), we will be unable to release the student. If you need to update the students contact list, please follow these instruction here, or stop by the front office.

If a pick-up contact is a sibling/relative from another school, who does not have an ID. Please send the students teacher a picture of the contact person, to be added to their file as an ID.

Thank you for your understanding.

If a pick-up contact is a sibling/relative from another school, who does not have an ID. Please send the students teacher a picture of the contact person, to be added to their file as an ID. Or you can email it to swake@bcps.org or dramosquinteros@bcps.org

Thank you for your understanding.

All Norwood students should bring their computers to and from school every day. This ensures that our superstars are practicing their reading abilities at home.

Also, as we enter the fall/winter season, if there are unexpected delays and BCPS closes schools for consecutive days, students will be expected to join virtually. More information will follow if this is the case.

If your student has a broken or missing device or charger, please let your student's teacher know as soon as possible.

Thank you for all of your support!

Week you will receive an email from Mr. Ruppenkamp summarizing your student’s attendance. Our goal is to have every student attend school regularly and on time. The State of Maryland mandates attendance at 94%.

Norwood’s current attendance rate is at 89%. Improving this attendance rate is a school wide effort and we need your help. Regular school attendance has a huge impact on a student's academic success. Students who are absent frequently can become overwhelmed and frustrated as a result of missing important information, skills and relationships.

We realize that some absences are unavoidable due to health concerns or other circumstances. But we also know that when students miss too much school - regardless of the reason - it can cause them to fall behind academically. Absences can add up quickly. Please ensure that your child attends school every day and arrives on time. Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance:

• Make sure your child keeps a regular bedtime and morning routine.
• Lay out clothes and backpack the night before.
• Ensure that your child goes to school every day unless they are truly sick.
• Talk to your child's teacher or the school counselor if your child feels anxious about school.
• Remember to send a written note after an absence including date and reason.

Absent (21)- Your student will be coded as "21" when he/she is absent from school and a note from the doctor or parent has NOT been provided

Illness of the student (02)- Your student will be coded as "02" when he/she is absent from school and their teacher has received a note from the doctor or parent.

***Please note that even if a note is provided the student is still considered to be absent and will be coded as such. Please make all attempts to schedule your students doctors appointments on days that schools are closed, or for early dismissal days so they can go after school dismisses.***

If parents notice a discrepancy on their students attendance summary, please reach out to the teacher first.

Please find an absent note sample here!

Join us for the weekly Spirit Days this month:

Friday, September 6th – Wear your favorite hat. Head toward success by being on time and attending regularly.

Friday, September 13th – Wear your favorite sneakers. Take the necessary steps to be on time and attend regularly.

Friday, September 20th – Wear your favorite bright or neon colors. Good attendance leads to success and bright futures.

Friday, September 27th – Wear your favorite team colors, shirt, or jersey. Be a team player by showing up on time every day.

Students will bring home a Here For It Attendance Pledge (that includes a raffle ticket) this week. We want students to maintain the 94% or higher attendance for the year to build on their academic success and personal growth.

Students who return the signed pledge and raffle ticket will be entered into raffles throughout the school year. The first raffle will occur on October 4th. Students MUST be present in school to win a prize on raffle days.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.

Here are some activities that you can do at home with your children to celebrate!

We will be having our monthly free community produce market on Wednesday September 25th at Holabird Stem starting at 4:00pm until supplies last.

***Please bring your own bag***

Join us for our first Wellness Wednesday of the new school year on September 11th from 9-10:30am at Norwood Elementary Cafeteria! Families will learn about BCPS policies regarding attendance, establishing routines at home, and be able to learn about other parents/caregivers routines that may work for you! We hope to see you there!

Norwood has partnered with Irvin Simon, a new photograph company for our future picture day events. This year, our fall picture day will be on Friday, September 27. Order forms will be sent home with children as soon as they arrive. We look forward to seeing their best smiles! For any questions regarding packages or prints please reach out to their customer service line directly.

With each monthly newsletter you will gain access to unit overviews for math instruction at each grade level. Below are the unit overviews for unit 1 of math, available in both English and Spanish. The overviews share the main learning goals of the unit, show sample problems that students might see with instructional notes for family members, and include frequently asked questions.

Here are the current Math overviews below, both in English and Spanish for each grade level.

Kindergarten | Kinder

English | Español

Grade 1 | Grado 1

English | Español

Grade 2 | Grado 2

English | Español

Grade 3 | Grado 3

English | Español

Norwood Elementary is excited to introduce our free family lending library. This lending library has many educational games for all grade levels that families can play all together!

A parent can come to the office between 8:20 and 3:45 to sign out a game for 7 days to have some family fun!

For any questions please reach out to Mr. Ramos (dramosquinteros@bcps.org) or Marcy Hotchkiss (mhotchkiss@bcps.org)

Welcome to a new school year! If your student has any allergies or medical problems, please reach out to me so that we can take better care of them at school. If your student needs to take medicine during the school day, it must be brought to school by a responsible adult (not the student), with the doctor's order.

As the weather gets cooler, please also send in a hoodie or jacket they can keep in their locker for recess. It also gets cool in the classroom with the air conditioning, which stays on until they convert to heat sometime later in the fall.

The students should also have a change of clothes in their locker. These can be taken home and swapped for winter clothes when the weather changes. If you have any clothes to donate, we appreciate any gently used clothing and will donate any we cannot use to charity. Please remember to check our lost and found in the Health Suite if you are missing a jacket, sweater or hoodie.

Students must receive their school-required vaccinations by September 16. Students who enrolled on or before 8/26 will not be able to attend school after September 13th if they are not up to date on their vaccinations.

Health Department clinics are open on September 9-13 from 8:30 to 4:30 and also at Eastern Family Resource Center on Saturday September 14th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

It is best to call 410-887-2705 to make an appointment, but you can walk in on those dates.

If your child enrolled after August 26, call the school nurse for details on vaccination deadlines at 443-809-6029.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Happy and healthy start to a new school year!

Please call the nurse with any questions.

Norwood Elementary is pleased to welcome Ms. Westendorf as our new counselor! Please find an informational brochure regarding the services that our social workers can provide for our superstars!

NORWOOD ELEMENTARY CLOSING AND EARLY DISMISSAL 2024-2025 CALENDAR

Access the yearly calendar of closings and early dismissal for Norwood Elementary students by clicking here

ATTENDANCE REFERENCES

Access a quick guide to better understand your students absences and codings by clicking here.

PARENT RESOURCE HUB

Access a variety of resources available to our superstar families by clicking here.

FOOD PANTRY DISTRIBUTION LIST

Access a list of food pantry distribution sites by clicking here.

BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY MONTHLY EVENTS- SEPTEMBER

Access the monthly calendar of events that are happening at the local library by clicking here.

Norwood Elementary School is a Title I STEM School within the Baltimore County Public School system. We are located in Dundalk, MD, and we strive for all of our superstars to reach their fullest potential in our ever-changing 21st century world.

If you have any questions regarding any of the information on this newsletter, please contact Diego Ramos (Norwood Bilingual Family Services Liaison) at dramosquinteros@bcps.org, or by calling his direct line at 443-809-1505.

Website: https://norwoodes.bcps.org
Location: 1700 Delvale Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21222, USA
Phone: (443)809-7055
Twitter: @NorwoodES