Beacon Bulletin

We have had an exciting first full week of school! We are ready to charge into September by continuing to practice our 3Rs- Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn.

If you have not sent back the Field Trip T-shirt order form that was sent in Tuesday folders last week please return it to school ASAP. Again, these shirts are paid by our Boosterthon funds from last year. There will be no charge to students. Let's have a great week at PPES!

Be sure to review this entire newsletter each week as it will provide you with valuable resources and information.

Mrs. Zeier

We are so excited to announce that this year PPES is a Class Dojo school. Please be sure to join your child's class to receive important classroom and school updates. Also, we are unable to process any changes in transportation requests through Dojo. Please continue to email those to Ms. Worsch in the front office. Let's see if we can get 100% of our families on Class Dojo!

This year we will be purchasing field trip t-shirts for all of the students in the school. Please be on the lookout for the size order form coming home in the blue Tuesday Parent Communication folder. Please return the form to school before September 13th. These are for PPES students only! If we don't receive a form from you we will do our best to guess your child's size. It is an expectation that students wear their shirt on all field trips unless otherwise noted. They can also wear them on school spirit day Fridays.

On Tuesday, August 27th, you child will be brining home a blue Beacon Communication folder. Please collect the information in the folder and return it to school the next day. We will be sending home the folders weekly filled with important school and classroom information.

Ready to sign up for Band or Orchestra? Enrollment will open this week through September 8th for grades 3, 4, and 5.Scheduling for band & orchestra will be a little different at Piney Point this year. Third graders will still have two alternating orchestra pull-out lessons each week, but Fourth & Fifth graders will choose their music Specials class this year: Band, Orchestra, or General Music (Chorus is still a pull-out lesson).

• September 2- No school- Labor Day
• September 6th- PTA Meeting 8 am
• September 11th- Red, White and Blue- Spirit Day
• September 13th- PTA Ice Cream Social 6-7pm
• September 19th- 2 hour early dismissal
• September 19th- Farmer Day Spirit Day
• September 20th- No School for students- Fair Day In-services
• September 27th- Paint Night 6-7:30 pm
• October 3- Fall Picture Day

1. Be sure to look up your child's bus number, bus stop, and approximate times. The HERE COMES THE BUS app will allow you to track the bus. Please remember these are approximate times.
2. The first few days, buses will take longer to arrive on their return routes as we need time to check and double-check that all 500 students are on the correct bus. Thank you in advance for your patience!
3. PreK & Kindergarten Students -To ensure safety, a responsible person (at least 13 years old) must be on time to meet the bus at the bus door at the assigned stop for Pre-Kindergarten and/or kindergarten students. This includes morning and midday loading along with midday, afternoon, and evening unloading. Please see the letter below for additional information.

Dear Families of PPES PreK and K Students:

Welcome to a new school year! We are excited to have your young Beacon at PPES. The safety of your student is of the utmost importance. This includes the bus ride to and from school. In order to support our dedicated bus drivers in achieving this goal, please review the St. Mary’s County Public Schools procedures on dropping off Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students at bus stops in the afternoon:

To ensure safety, a responsible person (at least 13 years old) must be on time to meet the bus at the bus door at the assigned stop for Pre-Kindergarten and/or kindergarten students. This includes morning and midday loading along with midday, afternoon, and evening unloading.

When a responsible person is not available to receive a Pre-Kindergarten and/or Kindergarten student on a return trip home, the driver will return the student to the school. Parent(s)/legal guardian(s) will be notified by the principal to come and pick up their child from the school. The school administrator will discuss this concern with the parent(s)/legal guardian(s).

If a second incident occurs, the child will be returned to the school and the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) will be notified to pick up their child at school. The regulation will again be reviewed with the parent(s)/legal guardian(s). The school administrator will mail a follow-up letter to the family indicating that a third incident may result in the loss of transportation privileges.

If a third incident occurs, the child will be returned to school. Parent(s)/legal guardian(s) will be notified to pick up their child at school. Transportation privileges will be revoked at that time. A written notice will be mailed to the family by the principal.

Please review this information in the SMCPS Student Handbook. Feel free to contact the Transportation Department or Ms. Smith, PPES assistant principal, overseeing buses, at -alsmith@smcps.org with questions on these procedures.

If you have not already done so, please complete the meal benefit application if you think that your family may qualify. If you do not qualify or choose not to fill out a form, your student has the option to purchase breakfast and/or lunch each day. Payment may be in the form of cash or check payable to PPES, or by creating a My School Bucks account. Pease see link below for the application and My School Bucks link.

Click here to check your child's breakfast/lunch balance and add money to their account

If you are planning on volunteering regularly for your classroom teacher, you will need to complete the SMCPS Volunteer application. However, if you are volunteering as a chaperone on a field trip, you do not need to complete the application. You will need to sign in and out at the Main Office using your state issued ID. If you do not have your ID you will not be permitted to enter the school or chaperone on a trip. We have a 100% ID CHECK, NO EXCEPTIONS! There is no application fee for school volunteers. Parental involvement is a key component to student success. Thank you for your support.

Hello! My name is Sarah Weinberg and I’m thrilled to be the new counselor at Piney Point Elementary School for grades K-5. It was wonderful meeting so many of you at the Open Houses on Wednesday! As a former Frederick County resident, I am loving the late summer breeze of St. Mary’s County and cannot thank you all enough for making me feel so welcomed! I cannot wait to help your precious students with any problem that they may encounter, including anxiety, social skills issues, depression, grief, future planning, and more.

As the Beacons reacclimate to their school routines, we are working schoolwide to promote positive behavior expectations and a school climate of acceptance and warmth. I will be in each classroom at least once per month to deliver character education. In September, we will begin or continue to build upon our Steps to Respect Curriculum, which teaches skills that will allow students to make friends, and to identify and report bullying incidents when they occur in the school and even in the community.

New students will be invited to participate in a special activity occurring the second week of school, where students will become better acquainted with all that is PPES and we will help to calm our nerves about being the new kids on campus. I am hoping that as a new employee I will be able to model adapting to new situations and a growth mindset, and that we can form connections as newcomers to a vibrant school community!

Later in the fall, there will be an opportunity for some children to participate in a social skills/friendship based small group that would happen weekly at lunch time. Permission slips will be sent home and parents/guardians notified at that time. Stay tuned for more details.

Feel free to contact me at any time:

Sarah Weinberg

School Counselor

Piney Point Elementary School

Email: sjweinberg@smcps.org

301-994-2205

Click on the link below to visit her classroom

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HcrlfP4B9up3NXuq8pwFCQofd1wopaY8X43Wg1x0ZE4/edit?usp=sharing

Medications occasionally need to be administered to students by our nurse during the school day. Please see the attached guidelines. Students can not transport medication of any kind to school including over the counter medications. All medication must be brought to school by a parent, guardian, or other authorized adult. Please call the school nurse if you have any questions.

School Based Health Clinics

The school based health clinics has updated their website with a new link to register students. The link can be found at https://smchd.org/sbhc/ and then you would click the blue button that says "Click Here to Enroll now for Faster Service". The school based health centers are a great way to see a provider without the long wait times at urgent care! See their website for more information.

Free Back-to-School Vaccine Clinics

The St. Mary’s County Health Department (SMCHD) is hosting free back-to-school vaccination clinics for children ages birth to 18 years living in St. Mary’s County. Appointments are recommended. The following vaccines will be available:

• Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough)
• Meningococcal (meningitis)
• MenB (Serogroup B Meningococcal)
• HPV (human papillomavirus)
• Varicella (chicken pox)

Please select this link for more information.

As we embark on a new school year, we want to highlight a key area of focus this year at Piney Point Elementary School: attendance. This year, we will be placing greater emphasis on ensuring that every student attends school regularly and on time.

Good attendance is crucial to your child’s success. Consistent presence in the classroom not only helps students stay engaged with their lessons but also builds habits of responsibility and discipline. It enables them to fully participate in educational activities, benefit from continuous instruction, and achieve their academic goals.

We understand that there may be circumstances that affect your child’s ability to attend school, and we are here to support you in any way we can. However, we encourage you to prioritize school attendance and to work with us to address any barriers that might arise.

Together, we can help our students thrive and reach their full potential. Thank you for your support and cooperation in this important matter.

Please review the following documents in regard to student accident insurance.

Informative Letter to Parents

Fact Sheet

Enrollment Information

Spanish versions available:

Informative Letter to Parents - Span.

Fact Sheet - Span.

Enrollment Information -- Span.

School Messenger Text Messaging FAQ's

Schoology is a very helpful tool and resource for teachers, students, and families. Please ensure that you are able to access Schoology for updates and information from the school and your child's teacher. If you need support in obtaining your Schoology log in information please email schoology@smcps.org for support. Please click Parent Notifications for directions to ensure your notifications are set to receive important information about your student.

Do you have the Schoology App?

Log Into the Schoology Mobile App

If you already have a Schoology account, download the Schoology app from Apple App Store, Google Play or the Amazon App Store. Tap the app icon to open it on your device.

You can use an email address or username to log into the application, depending on how your account was set up:

Log in through your School

1. Use the keyboard to enter SMCPS. As you type, matching choices populate in the list. The name, ID number, city, state, and zip code for the school should appear below.

2. Tap the name of your school or organization when it displays.

3. Use the email address or username to log in to the application, that was sent to you via email from Schoology with an app password. If you are an SMCPS student or teacher this is NOT your SMCPS password.

4. Tap LOG IN to complete.

If you are able to sign in with Google, and you are an SMCPS student or staff, please use that login process and follow the provided instructions in the prompts.

Want to enable notifications? Please check this document

Need to purchase a laptop charger?

You can do one of two things:

1. Email your child's teacher or the Library Media Specialist Miss Hazuda (sjhazuda@smcps.org) that you wish to pay for the missing laptop charger. A fine then can be assessed so that you can pay using My School Bucks, sending in cash, or a check (made out to SMCPS).

OR

2. Go directly to the DELL store. You can purchase directly from their website and have it shipped to your home.

Ensure one of these links is being used:

www.dell.com/mpp/smcps (click Shop Recommended Solutions to get to the discounted power cords)

www.dell.com/mpp/smcps-chargers (leads directly to the purchasing portal)

If you purchase from Dell, please make sure that you label the charger with the student's first and last name before sending it to school. If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher or the Library Media Specialist Mrs. Anderson (lwanderson@smcps.org).

Birthday treats present the potential for allergic reactions for many of our students. They also interrupt instruction. However, we understand that some students enjoy celebrating their birthday with their friends at school. Because of all of these factors, birthday treats may NOT be edible. Gift bags with stickers, pencils, crayons, erasers, and/or other small toys are acceptable. They can also be shared at recess or the end of the day which doesn’t compromise instructional time. Parents who wish to provide birthday treats to a class are asked to notify the homeroom teacher in advance and to drop them off in the front office as early as possible.

Don't forget to join the PTA or to renew your membership for 2024-2025. The cost is $20 per family. The grade with the most PTA memberships will get a free pizza party! PTA members get VIP access to events and news via our PTA newsletter. By becoming a member, there is no obligation to volunteer or attend monthly meetings. Join here: https://tinyurl.com/PineyPointES