White Marsh Elementary School

What a busy week this will be! We are excited to have the Fall Book Fair this week! The Book Fair will open on Monday, and will close on Friday at 11 am. The Book Fair will be open for parents on Thursday, from 4:30 pm - 6 pm. Thank you to those parents who have volunteered to support this event!

Also this week, we celebrate our bus drivers. It is Bus Driver Appreciation Week! Please consider sending a note to your student's driver letting them know how much they are appreciated for getting our students to and from school safely every day!

Wednesday, October 19 is Unity Day. We encourage our students to wear orange on Wednesday, and to stand against bullying. On Wednesday morning at 9:30, we will have our first Character Tea! See below for a list of those students selected for Respect and Responsibility! Also on Wednesday, the Running Club will meet after school. Students should be picked up promptly at 4:20 pm.

Thursday is the School Dance! Permission forms went home in last week's Wednesday folders; the cost of the dance is $5 and will support MTSS and staff/student incentives. Participating students will stay after school and should be picked up promptly at 4:30. Weather permitting, the dance will be held outside. Please make sure to send students to school dressed for the weather. Parents can visit the Book Fair after the dance, as the Book Fair will be open until 6 pm.

Friday is a 2 hr. Early Dismissal; White Marsh will dismiss at 1:45 pm on Friday.

Finally, please remember to to complete the following: Impact Aid Forms, Online Emergency Information, and Acceptable Use Policy.

Have a great week!

-Mrs. Steele

It's time for our first Character Tea of the school year! Congratulations to these students for being selected as those students consistently demonstrating Respectful and Responsible behaviors! We will recognize these students on Wednesday at 9:30 am in the cafeteria.

Respect

Kindergarten: Scarlett M, Stevie B

Grade 1: Kyle K, Albert A

Grade 2: Mason R, Ian S

Grade 3: Kamdyn Y, Maverick A

Grade 4: Aubree N, Michael B

Grade 5: Thomas G, Gabriel A

Responsibility

Kindergarten: John N, Samuel A

Grade 1: Emma H, Mia H

Grade 2: Harper L, Colt S

Grade 3: Bentley W, Jane C

Grade 4: Colton P, Taliah D

Grade 5: Carley R, Karleigh B

The end of the first marking period is fast approaching! Can you believe we've been in school almost one quarter of the school year? Friday, October 28 marks the end of Marking Period 1. Please check for any missing work your student may have; it is a great time to check Home Access Center and Schoology.

The month of October always presents a climate-control challenge due to the fluctuating temperatures. Unlike a home HVAC system, once we convert from cooling to heating, we cannot revert back to cooling until the Spring. Currently, our maintenance staff is cleaning the boilers at each school in preparation for the conversion to heat. Below is the Standard Operating Procedure that the Department of Maintenance follows each year. I strongly encourage students and staff to dress in layers as there are typically both hot and cold days in October.

Once the forecasted nightly temperatures are consistently below 45 degrees and daytime temperatures do not exceed 55 degrees for two to three consecutive days, we will begin the two-day process of changing the schools over from a cooling mode to a heating mode for the balance of the season. This changeover typically takes place by October 15th of each year. When the ambient conditions are conducive, the changeover will be delayed to ensure the most effective use of resources.

STUDENT FLU VACCINES - Maryland Partnership for Prevention will be onsite at White Marsh Elementary School on November 4 to provide OPTIONAL flu vaccines to students. Please refer to this communication from the St. Mary’s County Health Department for additional details and registration/consent instructions. Registration closes on October 20, 2022 at which time the registration links will be removed and no walk-ins will be accepted on the clinic day.

If you have questions, please contact the school nurse.

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

Don't forget that next Tuesday, October 25th is the PTA Boo Thru from 5 - 6:30 pm. We need donations of candy for this free, allergy friendly event! Please send in bags of candy; they can be left in the school lobby.

In honor of Enrique Camarena Salazar, an undercover drug enforcement agent who fought for drug awareness in 1985, the United States Congress has proclaimed the last full week of October as Red Ribbon Week, October 24-28, 2022. This week is dedicated to raising student awareness of the dangers and harmful effects of drugs and alcohol.

WMES will have a Spirit Week. See below for the theme days. Tuesday, October 25 is Book Character Day! Students are encouraged to dress like their favorite book character, and bring the book to walk with in our parade! There are guidelines for dressing up, which can be found below.

Our schools are heavily impacted with federally-connected students – those parents/guardians who work on federal property in Maryland, live on federal property in Maryland, and/or are active duty military personnel. Because of this impact, we receive federal grant funds to operate and maintain our schools and enrich school programs. To receive these funds, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) requires us to survey each student to determine eligibility. St. Mary’s County Public Schools’ parents are asked to complete the Federal Impact Aid Survey every school year. The school system receives federal grant funds to operate and maintain the schools for federally connected students. To receive these federal funds, the United States Department of Education (USDE) requires the school system to survey each student. The Federal Impact Aid Survey window will be open until Monday, November 14, 2022. It is important to complete the survey through the student’s Home Access Center Account.

Online Emergency Information Update- Effective communication is critical to the success of St. Mary’s County public Schools (SMCPS). This will be crucial not only for emergencies, but for our ability to communicate with families in general. Online Emergency Information Update Forms are now available through the student’s Home Access Center (HAC). Once logged in, directions to access the online form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE.It is vital that all information is updated in eSchool. The deadline for the online submission of Emergency Information Update forms is October 31, 2022.

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.

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

Oct 24 - 28 Red Ribbon Week (See the Spirit Week flier!)

Oct 25 PTA Boo Thru! 5 - 6:30 pm

Oct 26 Pumpkins Due for Mrs. Baril's Pumpkin Challenge

Oct 26 Running Club (3:45 - 4:20 pm)

Oct 28 End of Marking Period 1

Oct 28 2 hr. Early Dismissal

Nov 2 Running Club (3:45 - 4:20 pm)

Nov 2 PTA Meeting, 6:30 pm

Nov 8 Election Day, No School for Students

Nov 9 Report Cards Distributed

Nov 11 Veterans Day, No School for Students

It's A Week- Band and Strings will be held on Wednesday. There is no band on Friday this week. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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