April Newsletter
New Market Elementary
Message from Administration
"It's not the first, but the last step in the race...the last shot in the basket, the last volley in tennis, the last swing of the bat that makes the lasting difference...for that is where the game is won and that is why you must always finish strong." - Gary Ryan Blair
Dear NMES Families,
Finishing the 2023 - 2024 year strong is an important message for everyone - staff, parents and students. Finishing strong looks different for each of us:
- Parents: Finishing strong will mean keeping family schedules consistent during the next two months as kids thrive on consistency. Finishing strong will mean encouraging your children to give their best effort both in academics and behavior through the final day of school. Finishing strong will mean revisiting goal with your children and encouraging them to meet those goals before the school year ends.
- Staff: Finishing strong will mean providing rigorous instruction through the final day of school. Finishing strong will mean keeping routines consistent for our students.
- Students: Finishing strong will mean following our "Be a Wolf" expectations through the last day of school. Finishing strong will mean giving strong effort on state and local assessments to show their growth and proficiency. Finishing strong means attending school every day.
Finishing strong means all of the above and more. Take time to talk with your child about finishing strong this school year. We thank you for your support in closing out the 2023 - 2024 year on a high note!
Dr. Lockard - Principal
Mrs. McGaha - Assistant Principal
As a reminder, our NMES Vision and Mission statements are linked below for your reference.
Click HERE to read the vision statement.
Click HERE to read the mission statement.
Important April Dates
- Monday, April 8: Schools re-open
- Tuesday, April 9: Grade 3 field trip to ESSL
- Wednesday, April 10: Grade 3 field trip to ESSL
- Wednesday, April 10: Report cards issued
- Wednesday, April 10: PTA meeting from 7:00 - 8:00 in the cafeteria
- Monday, April 15: MCAP testing for grade 4
- Tuesday, April 16: MCAP testing for grade 4 and grade 5
- Wednesday, April 17: MCAP testing for grade 4 and grade 5
- Thursday, April 18: MCAP testing for grade 4
- Friday, April 19: Career Day for grades 4 and 5
- Sunday, April 21: PTA "Spring Sprucing" event at 9:00am (see details in PTA section)
- Monday, April 22: MCAP testing for grade 4 and grade 5
- Tuesday, April 23: MCAP testing for grade 4 and grade 5
- Wednesday, April 24: MCAP testing for grade 3 and grade 5
- Friday, April 26: MCAP testing for grade 3 and grade 5
- Monday, April 29: MCAP testing for grade 3
- Monday, April 29: Grade 5 panoramic picture - Smile!
- Monday, April 29: NMES PTA event "Healthy Minds" at 6:30
- Tuesday, April 30: MCAP testing for grade 3
- Tuesday, April 30: Grade 4 field trip to the Catoctin Zoo
2024 - 2025 NMES Enrollment
Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade registration is now open for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. Information regarding registration can be found here. Parents/Guardians will need to register their child online through the PowerSchool online enrollment portal.
If your child is currently enrolled at NMES and is transferring to another school for the upcoming school year or if you have any questions regarding enrollment, please reach out to Sarah Main at sarah.main@fcps.org or 240-236-1300.
MCAP ELA and Math Testing Schedule for Grades 3, 4 and 5
Grade 3 Testing Dates:
- Wednesday, April 24: MCAP Math
- Friday, April 26: MCAP Math
- Monday, April 29: MCAP ELA
- Tuesday, April 30: MCAP ELA
- Wednesday, May 1: MCAP ELA
- Friday, May 3: MCAP ELA
Grade 4 Testing Dates:
- Monday, April 15: MCAP ELA
- Tuesday, April 16: MCAP ELA
- Wednesday, April 17: MCAP ELA
- Thursday, April 18: MCAP ELA
- Monday, April 22: MCAP Math
- Tuesday, April 23: MCAP Math
Grade 5 Testing Dates:
- Tuesday, April 16: MCAP Math
- Wednesday, April 17: MCAP Math
- Monday, April 22: MCAP ELA
- Tuesday, April 23: MCAP ELA
- Wednesday, April 24: MCAP ELA
- Friday, April 26: MCAP ELA
How can you help your child on testing days? There are several things you can do to support your child:
- Keep cell phones and smart watches home as they are not permitted during testing
- Ensure your child gets a good night's sleep
- A healthy breakfast to start the day
- Be in attendance on the above dates for MCAP testing
- Avoid scheduling appointments on testing days
- A positive note in their lunch for encouragement
Character Counts Awards for Quarter 3
Our quarter 3 Character Counts assemblies were held in March. The following students were nominated by their classroom teacher because they consistently demonstrate our "Be a Wolf" expectations. Those expectations include: Be respectful; Be responsible; Be ready to learn; Be kind; and Be safe. Congratulations to all our nominees and way to be role models for excellent behavior!
Pre-Kindergarten: Declan Vogel, Snow Eze
Kindergarten: Carson Cook, Riley Taylor, Andrew Diaz, Madison Love, Zoey Griffiths, Zulay Orderique
Grade 1: Lucas Hinkle, Grant Linton, Colton Cooksey, Nora Cushwa, Evelynn Flete, Caleb Ruppert, Dante Ventura-Portillo, Ivy Geisler
Grade 2: Dominic Linares, Piper Fritz, Belle Allen, Daniel Easdale, Emmaleigh Flete, Ana Blazek, Elizabeth Fiallos, Jackson Cook
Grade 3: Harlow Durham, Harper Poelman, Lilah Harris, Bryson Simich, Graham Thompson, Taylor Knox, Graham Ratcliffe, Tanner Crow, Ella McGlamary
Grade 4: Brooke Bradshaw, Della Vinson, Rory Wingard, Hunter Yutzey, Joey Fahrer, Olivia Liuzzi, Eliza Brown, Nila Mohassel
Grade 5: Levi Davidson, Kennedy Hollander, Jermy Alvarado, Bethania Yisihak, Gabby Kreiger, Owen Smith, Michael Njau, Amy MacDavid
Walking and Wheeling Wolves
We are looking forward to the spring weather for our Walking & Wheeling Wolves! As the weather warms up consider adding walking or wheeling to school as part of your routine. There are some great health and cognitive benefits for students starting their day with physical activity. A walk or bike ride to school can help improve mood, foster a sense of independence, and build self esteem and social skills. It is also an easy way to sneak in a quick 10 or 15 minutes of physical activity into your student’s schedule before their day of learning.
Here are also a few great reasons for families to join in walking or biking to school:
🐾 Skip the traffic
🐾 Save money on fuel and vehicle maintenance
🐾 Help the environment by reducing vehicle emissions
🐾 Be more physically active throughout the day
🐾 Improve mental health by getting outside
🐾 Build a sense of community with your neighbors
We encourage all our families to save the date for our New Market Bike to School Day on Friday, May 3rd! Students from NMES and NMMS will bike together from neighborhood routes. NMES students will then have the opportunity to participate in a Bike Rodeo on the black top before the start of school. All students AND their grown-ups must wear a helmet to participate in our Bike Rodeo activities.
To stay up to date, be sure to follow our Facebook event page as we will be adding details leading up to the event.
If you are interested in helping to plan this event, or would like to volunteer for Bike to School Day please email nmesptainfo@gmail.com
Parent Action Item
Please check with your child(ren) about headphones. Headphones are often used in the classroom but we are finding that many are no longer working. Thanks for sending your child(ren) with a working set of headphones (no wireless earbuds, please).
FCPS Learning Journey to College and Career Readiness
Media Center Update
Book Fair Thank You
Thank you to our NMES community for supporting the spring book fair! During the week, we sold $11,300 in books and other items, proving how much our wolves love reading! The media center receives 25% of the sales as a profit. We used part of this to provide free books to students and classrooms, as well as purchase new books from the book fair for the media center. We thank everyone for supporting reading at our school!
May Author Visit
Thanks to the generosity of the Curious Iguana, NMES will receive an author visit by graphic novelist Terri Libenson in May for our 3rd-5th grades. More information, including opportunities to purchase her new book Always Anthony, will be sent home after spring break. If your child is interested in reading these books, they are available in the media center at school and at FCPL!
Optional Choice Board for April
From trees to penguins to poetry, many items are celebrated in April! Learn more with our optional choice board available at https://bit.ly/NMESApril24Board. Please email our media specialist, Mrs. Siderius, at jennifer.siderius@fcps.org with any questions.
From the Counselor Corner
Click HERE to view helpful information from our Counselors, Mrs. Carl and Mrs. Blake. Topics include:
- Puppy drive
- Career speakers needed
- Helping with test anxiety
MSDE Special Education Survey
Does your child receive special education services including speech and language services? If so then please read the following:
The MSDE Parental Involvement Survey creates opportunities for feedback and engagement. This is your chance to share feedback regarding Special Education Services for your child!
Share how we can better support your family and child with Special Education services. You can complete the short survey at www.mdparentsurvey.com.
The survey will be available through May 24, 2024.
Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences and ideas! Together, we can continue to improve Special Education Services and Programs in FCPS.
Role Model Monday Nominees
The following students were nominated by their classroom teacher as a "Role Model Monday" nominee. These students demonstrate our Be a Wolf expectations on a regular basis across the school day. These students are recognized on our morning announcements by Dr. Lockard. The students receive a certificate and small prize for being a great Wolf each and every day! Also, the parents receive a Good News Phone Call from Dr. Lockard.
- Joey Ciampa, pre-kindergarten student in Mrs. Vogel's classroom. Mrs. Vogel shared the following about Joey: " Joey knows what “being a wolf” means! He is kind, helpful, and is a fabulous role model for our Pre-K class.He doesn’t give up even when he is doing hard things. He shows good listening, and always tries his best! I can always count on Joey to lend a hand to his friends or his teachers whenever they need help! We are so lucky to have him in our wolf pack!"
- Lucie Miller, third-grade student in Mrs. Rawlett's classroom. Mrs. Rawlett shared the following about Lucie: " Lucie is a great role model and student! Lucie always treats others with respect and kindness and she gives her best effort in class every day! She has a positive attitude and she is a terrific example of an NMES Wolf!"
- Avery Thomas, fifth-grade student in Mrs. Trakas' classroom. Mrs. Trakas shared the following about Avery: " Avery is a role model for our class. She is always ready to learn and comes to school each day with a smile! I can count on Avery to help around our classroom. She is willing to help others when they are stuck or help with a problem they are solving. She’s also helpful for teachers; she is a great organizer! Lastly, Avery is a responsible student by completing all her work and always doing her best!"
NMES School Improvement
We are asking for your help in the school improvement process by reviewing the Home-School Connection document linked below and supporting your child's learning at home. Your support will help us to achieve our school improvement goals. Our school improvement plan supports our NMES Mission which is "To serve and support our students - every student...by name and need."
NMES Home-School Connection - Click HERE to view.
NMES PTA Information
NMES PTA: We are parents, teachers and staff members working together to strengthen the family-school partnership. We raise funds to provide student and family programming and supplement the NMES budget for student and teacher resources.
April PTA Meeting
Join us on Wednesday, April 10th at 7:00pm in the cafeteria for our PTA meeting. This will be one of our last meetings of the year as we wrap up the school year and look ahead to next year’s PTA goals. Everyone is welcome to join, membership not required. To stay informed of current PTA happenings check out our website and follow us on Facebook at New Market Elementary PTA.
Spring Sprucing
NMES families are invited to join us for an Earth Day Celebration in which we help to clean up the garden beds at New Market Elementary. To stay up to date with event details, follow along on our Facebook event page. We will have a sign up sheet for those bringing supplies, but sign up is not needed to participate. Bringing your own gardening gloves is recommended but not required. We are looking forward to seeing our families at this event and giving back to our schools and town!
Wolf Pack Book Rack Update
The Wolf Pack Book Rack has been a huge hit this year with students! Unfortunately, we are running very low on books. We are currently accepting donations of gently used books to help fill our cart. Please keep the Book Rack in mind as you do your Spring cleaning and clear out your bookshelves. We are looking for gently used fiction and non-fiction books that would appeal to students in K-5. Some of the most requested books include, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dog Man, Weird But True, any popular realistic fiction series and non-fiction books about animals. There will be a drop box located outside of Mrs. Tortolani’s room for all book donations. Thank you so much for all of your support in keeping the Book Rack stocked with great books until the end of the year!
Cindy Alvarado Race Series
Registration for the Community Races, 5K & 1K, is FREE! All NMES students, families and community members are invited to participate. Registration is open now on our PTA website, https://newmarketpta.memberhub.com/w/cindyalvarado, and will remain open until the morning of the event. Day of registration in person will be accepted at the event.
Everyone is invited to purchase a Cindy Alvarado Race Series official t-shirt at $12. T-shirt orders must be submitted online by April 14th or by paper order form April 12th. To order a t- shirt online, please visit our race website. Or you may print a t-shirt order form and send the completed form and payment to the NMES front office in an envelope marked “Cindy Alvarado”.
Lastly, the NMES PTA is seeking community partners to sponsor our Cindy Alvarado Race Series. If you know of, or are part of, a business that would be interested in becoming a Cindy Alvarado Race Series Sponsor, please see the attached Sponsorship Form for more information.
Thank you in advance for supporting our school! If you have any questions, please email nmesptainfo@gmail.com.
NMES Attendance
For all attendance related emails or transportation changes, please email nmes.attendance@fcps.org and include your child's teacher. Transportation changes must be made prior to 3:00pm.
Consistent attendance is important for your child's academic and social success in school. MSDE sets the attendance goal at 96%. Below are the attendance percentages for each grade level and for the school overall as of the end of March:
Pre-Kindergarten: 92.4%
Kindergarten: 92.1%
Grade 1: 94.6%
Grade 2: 94.2%
Grade 3: 95.1%
Grade 4: 95.1%
Grade 5: 95.1%
Overall School Attendance Percentage: 94.7%
You can support by sending your healthy child to school each day on time. Instruction promptly begins at 9:00 each morning. You can also support by planning vacations around the FCPS calendar. Thank you!
Click HERE to view the FCPS calendar for 2023 - 2024.
Click HERE to view the FCPS calendar for 2024 - 2025.
NMES Ambassador Wolf
Schoology Tips
Mrs. Imboden is our Schoology Ambassador for the 2023 - 2024 school year. If you have any questions about Schoology, don't hesitate to reach out to her. She will be happy to support.
Social Studies Fair at NMES
A big thank you to all the young historians who took part in the NMES 2024 Social Studies Fair. Their topics ranged from famous historical figures to American culture, geographical wonders, military conflicts, and beyond. Students had the opportunity during their Media time to review and evaluate the social studies projects. Mrs. Siderius was also pleased to see an increase of non-fiction books books being checked out after the fair. We look forward to welcoming even more entries next year!
Check out this video showcasing the Social Studies Fair projects. Click HERE to view the video.
Supporting our Young Wolves
To support our Young Wolves still at home, we are sharing an idea to support their development.
Give your child a chance to explore textures when you are putting away laundry. Before you fold, pass pieces to them and ask them how each feels. Is it soft, rough, thin, heavy?
This helps your child "think like a scientist" because they are using their senses to understand the world.
NMES Lost and Found
The NMES Lost and Found has many student belongings, including jackets, shirts and sweatshirts. Encourage your child to visit the Lost and Found if an item is missing. Any items remaining will be donated to a local organization.
Bus Rules and Bus Safety
If your child rides an FCPS bus to and/or from school, please take some time to review our expectations for bus behavior. Click HERE to view information to review with your child. Our FCPS bus drivers work hard every day to keep all students safe. When all students consistently follow the behavior expectations on the bus then safe and enjoyable rides to and from school can occur. Thank you for your support!
Personal Electronic Device Guidelines
Students may only use their electronic devices (including cell phones and smart watches) before or after school in a non-disruptive manner. They must be silenced and stored (out of sight) for the entire school day, except for approved instructional or medical use.