September Newsletter

Dear Families,

Our NMES School Improvement Plan is being developed by staff. This plan drives our work and keeps us accountable for accelerating the achievement of every student. 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.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lockard - Principal

Mrs. McGaha - Assistant Principal

FCPS 2024 - 2025 Calendar Handbook

FCPS 2025 - 2026 Calendar

• Monday, September 2: Schools closed in observance of Labor Day
• Tuesday, September 3: PK - grade 2 Back to School Night starting at 6:00pm (adult event only unless your child is participating in the paid event from PTA)
• Wednesday, September 4: Grades 3 - 5 Back to School Night starting at 6:00pm (adult event only unless your child is participating in the paid event from PTA)
• Wednesday, September 4: PTA meeting from 7:00 - 8:00 in the cafeteria
• Friday, September 6: Walking School Bus (See details below in Walking & Wheeling Wolves section of newsletter)
• Tuesday, September 10: Fall picture day - Smile! Click HERE to view the flyer
• Wednesday, September 11: Patriot Day - wear red, white and blue
• Saturday, September 14: PTA event - Tree Planting and Plum Picking from 3:00 - 6:00pm (see details below in PTA section)
• Monday, September 16: Grades 2, 3 and 4 field trips to the Great Frederick Fair (contact your child's teacher with any questions)
• Thursday, September 19: Mid-term
• Thursday, September 19: 2-hour early dismissal (dismissal starts at 1:25pm)
• Friday, September 20: 3.5 hour early dismissal for Fair Day (dismissal starts at 11:55am)
• Wednesday, September 25: PTA Chick-Fil-A night from 5:00 - 9:00 (see details below in PTA section)
• Friday, September 27: PTA Bingo Night from 5:30 - 8:00 in the cafeteria - This is not a drop-off event; children must be accompanied by their parent/guardian.

Car Riders: Thanks for helping to keep our car rider line moving efficiently each morning and afternoon. A few reminders:

• Please remain in your vehicle and staff will assist. This will help keep everyone safe and out of the roadway. Please help us by having children exit or enter your vehicle on the curb-side closest to the building.
• Please do not park in our staff parking lot during arrival and dismissal. If your child is a car rider then the only option for dropping off and picking up is to join the car rider line.
• Pre-K parents – please stay in the car rider line all the way through to the pre-K pick up area. For the safety of our students, our duty staff, and others, DO NOT go around the car rider line to get to the pick-up point.
• During dismissal, we fill both lanes of our front entrance with cars, then take turns forming a single line to proceed along the car rider pick up area. This helps limit back ups on Main Street.
• During arrival - our traffic flow is usually a little less stacked than in the afternoons, but if the line is getting long and/or beginning to back up on Main Street, please use both lanes of our front entrance, then take turns forming a single line to proceed along the car rider drop off area (just like we do for dismissal).
• Thanks for everyone’s patience and safety!

Recognizing our school phone number when receiving a call from us:

• We have received reports that our NMES phone number is showing up as “Spam Risk.” As you may know, FCPS upgraded phones throughout the system over the summer, which we began communicating late last spring. We have made the system aware of this concern. In the meantime we would suggest adding our main number to your contacts on your cell phone, so that you are fully aware if we are attempting to reach you.
• 227-203-1460 - New Market Elementary School main number. All calls that come out of New Market Elementary School, will show this number. Please add to your contacts.

The Maryland State Department of Education requires all schools to conduct practice safety drills. Practicing the drills helps to ensure safety in the event of an emergency. Schools are required to conduct the following drills within the first 45 days of school:

• 3/8 practice fire drills (September 4, 9, 24)
• Avoid, Deny, Defend and Lockdown drill (September 6) Elementary schools only practice the avoid and deny portion of this drill
• Shelter in place drill (September 9)
• Drop, cover hold and Severe weather drill (September 11)

The dates for the practice drills that take place outside are weather pending. It is important for us to share that the language used during these practice drills is developmentally appropriate and all staff work together to make sure our students are comfortable with the procedures of each drill. If you have any questions about the drills, do not hesitate to reach out to administration. Thank you for your support as we work to ensure the safety of your children, our students and our staff.

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 August:

Pre-Kindergarten: 93.2%

Kindergarten: 94.5%

Grade 1: 94.8%

Grade 2: 94.5%

Grade 3: 95.1%

Grade 4: 94.9%

Grade 5: 95%

Overall School Attendance Percentage: 94.8%

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!

Media Center Volunteers

Mrs. Siderius, our media specialists, welcomes volunteers to our media center! Volunteers in the media center shelve books, check books in and out, run copies and do more to help our students. If you are interested in volunteering, please use the link below to sign up. For questions, please email Mrs. Siderius at jennifer.siderius@fcps.org.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FABAF2AAAF58-50891918-20242025#/

Don't forget to take our FCPS Volunteer Training at https://www.fcps.org/student-services/volunteer-in-fcps if you would like to volunteer.

Book Exchange

Students have begun checking out books in media classes!

• Prek and K students bring home 1 book
• 1st grade students bring home 2 books
• 2nd-5th grade students may bring home up to 3 books

Students can return their books each week on their media day to exchange them for other books or if they are not finished reading them, may ask to renew them for another week. A list of each class' media day is located at https://edu.fcps.org/nmes/media-center-schedule. If your child is not sure what books they have checked out, they can check their account by following the directions in this video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1edzgdlUVnDUfPnu_z-B9I85VwQVXBj95/view?usp=sharing.

The media center is also open each morning from 8:30-9:00 a.m. for independent checkout for students who missed media day or need to turn books in early for new ones!

Beanstack

We are so proud of the many students who participated in the summer reading challenge at FCPL! Did you know that NMES also has the Beanstack program for logging reading and participating in reading challenges? Beanstack has been called the "Fitbit of reading" and is a great way to encourage your readers! You can access the website and instructions on the media center website at https://edu.fcps.org/nmes/media. A flier with more information is coming home with all students.

SORA

Students at NMES have access to ebooks on any digital device with our SORA ebook system! Students can log into the SORA app on a device or use the media website to access SORA. After logging in with their FCPS username and password, they have access to virtually checkout ebooks and audiobooks. If you need any assistance, please contact Mrs. Siderius, our media specialist, at jennifer.siderius@fcps.org.

Our NMES wolves love to learn, so here's an optional holiday choice board (https://bit.ly/nmessept24board) to keep them exploring all month long! In September, they can learn about koalas, Misty Copeland, Labor Day and more! All links will take you directly to articles in PebbleGo. If you need assistance, please reach out to our media specialist, Mrs. Siderius, at jennifer.siderius@fcps.org.

Welcome back NMES families! We are excited for another school year and all that your PTA has planned. The best way to stay in the know with all things PTA is to check our website and follow along on social media:

PTA Website: newmarketpta.givebacks.com

Facebook: @New Market Elementary PTA

Instagram: @nmes_pta

Our membership is now available via our PTA website store. Your purchase of a membership continues to support the PTA’s mission of building a strong connection between our school, families, and community. Membership fees support our budget of providing resources - like classroom grants, bookflix subscription, Field Day activities, and more! - to our students, teachers, and staff.

Save the date, Wednesday September 4th at 7:00pm, for our first PTA meeting of the year! PTA members are not required to attend meetings, but it is a great way to hear updates from staff about our school, and upcoming PTA programs and budget items. At our first meeting we will pass our proposed PTA budget for the year and your feedback is important!

Lastly, if you have any questions about the PTA or our programs send us an email anytime at nmesptainfo@gmail.com

Grade Shirts Now on Sale!

Our new 2024-25 NMES Grade Color t-shirts are now available for order! As a reminder, each grade is assigned a color to wear for field trips and field day for safety purposes and to build school/grade spirit. Ordering a shirt is optional, as students may wear any t-shirt of their grade’s color on these days.

2024-25 NMES Grade Colors

Pre-K: Light Blue 1st: Orange 3rd: Red 5th: Dark Blue

K: Purple 2nd: Yellow 4th: Green

In an effort to keep costs to a minimum, the PTA will be coordinating a bulk order for our grade color t-shirts. The cost of a grade color t-shirt is $10. Please keep in mind, since this is a bulk order, this will be the only opportunity to purchase a grade color t-shirt this school year. There are two ways to order:

• Use the paper order form found in your student’s red folder or click HERE to print the form. The deadline for submitting a paper order form to the NMES front office is Friday, September 6th by 4:00pm.

• Order online through our Givebacks store. Please note, online orders incur a transaction fee. The deadline for ordering a t-shirt online is Sunday, September 8th at 11:59pm.

Lastly, due to the limited time between school starting and the first field trips of the year, the PTA cannot guarantee that the grade color t-shirts orders will be fulfilled in time for field trips to the Frederick Fair. Both the PTA and our vendor will do our best, but there is a strong possibility shirts will arrive after the Fair field trips.

Mindful Kids at Back to School

During back to school nights, students can participate in Mindful Kids with Fit2Shine Studio in the NMES gym! The 1 hour session will introduce mindfulness skills, self-calming techniques, and stress relief all while having fun! Students will also complete a craft that fits the mindfulness theme for theme for the evening.

Cost: $20 first child; $10 additional child and for ALL additional sessions.

Age: Elementary Students

50% Discount for PTA members!! Check your email for your coupon code!!

(psst, become a member here! Givebacks)

Tree Planting & Plum Picking at NMES

Date & Time: September 14th, 3:00-6:00pm

The community is invited to join us as we plant trees on the grounds of New Market Elementary. These trees will give future shade to the playground and ball field. And participants are invited to pick plums from the orchard just behind the NMES ball field.

Participants wanting to plant a tree must attend at 3:00pm for a brief Tree Planting 101 demonstration and instructions on how and where to plant the trees. Drop-ins welcome for plum picking at any time. Supplies are provided.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is also planning a second plum picking event on Sunday, September 15th. For more information, click HERE.

NMES & NMMS Spirit Nights at Mount Airy Chipotle

Save the date for our first restaurant spirit night of the school year! Once again we are partnering with New Market Middle School to give our families flexibility. All proceeds will be split evenly between the NMES PTA and the NMMS PTSA. For all in store purchases, bring a copy of the flier. If ordering online or on the app, be sure to use the code specific for the night of the fundraiser and 20% goes back to our schools!

Wednesday Sept. 25th 5:00-9:00pm

NMES Flyer → Click HERE

NMMS, Tuesday, Sept. 24th 5:00-9:00pm

NMMS Flyer → click HERE

For more detailed instructions for ordering online or via the app, click HERE.

Spanish version of instructions available HERE

BINGO Night

BINGO at NMES! Join us for Back-to-School BINGO on Friday, September 27th from

5:30pm - 8:00pm. PTA members receive a free set of bingo cards (psst, become a member here! Givebacks). Additional cards will be available for purchase. More details to follow!!

We are in need of parent volunteers for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten lunch to assist students with opening items. The timeframe is 11:00 - 11:40 each day. Click HERE to share your availability. Note: You must complete the FCPS Volunteer Training prior to helping in the school.

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. Mrs. Blake, a School Counselor at NMES, created a bookshelf of read alouds in honor of Hispanic Heritage month. Click HERE to view and listen to the wide variety of read alouds. We encourage you to enjoy these read alouds as a family.

Click HERE to view the flyer for helpful information from our school counselors, Mrs. Keeley Carl and Mrs. Katherine Blake. Topics in the flyer include:

• Back to School night information
• Information about therapy
• Information for how to contact our counselors

Welcome back Walking & Wheeling Wolves! We are excited for another year of walking and wheeling to and from school. This year we have discontinued our bingo game and are introducing a Walking School Bus on the first Friday of every month! Make a plan to meet your friends at our neighborhood routes to walk or wheel to school and earn a prize! The PTA has designated route leaders from Brinkley Manor, New Market West park, and the North end of Royal Oak Drive. All routes will gather at approximately 8:15am for the Walking School Bus. Parents/Guardians are responsible for ensuring their student(s) arrive safely to school.

For more information about our walking or wheeling to school, the walking school bus, or routes to school please email nmesptainfo@gmail.com

In addition to our Walking School Bus, we will still hold our two special events - Walk to School Day and Bike to School Day! Those dates are listed below as well. More information about these special events will be sent through upcoming Find Out First emails, the New Market Elementary PTA Facebook page, and in students’ red folders.

Save the Dates:

• Friday, September 6th

• *Friday, October 4th - NMES Walk to School Day

• Friday, November 1st

• Friday, December 6th

• Friday, January 3rd

• Friday, February 7th

• Friday, March 7th

• Friday, April 4th

• *Friday, May 2nd - NMES Bike to School Day

If you plan to volunteer in the school, serve as a chaperone, help with a class event and more then you must complete the FCPS Volunteer Training. We highly recommend that you complete the training now. FCPS has updated the required Volunteer Training. The volunteer training process has been enhanced to prioritize the safety and security of our students, staff and community. Updates include:

• Adding 2 new training modules to the onboarding process to be completed via Unified Talent after creating an account on that platform.
• Increasing the processing approval time to 48-72 business hours to allow for thorough completion of the training and registration processes.
• Reclassifying of volunteer functions to customize training requirements. Family/ Community Volunteers will only include functions that are supervised and controlled by FCPS staff.

To access the training please visit the FCPS Volunteer Webpage and follow the new onboarding process (please note, training must be completed before registering to become a volunteer). Please note, this is an annual process and must be completed every school year. If you have any technical issues with completing the required volunteer trainings, please email unifiedtalent@fcps.org

The FCPS Code of Conduct can be found on the system website. Click HERE to view the Code of Conduct and accompanying resources.

When school is in session, you can reach the front office from 8:30 - 4:00 at 227-203-1460.

FCPS has a link for families to know when a bus is running late: https://apps.fcps.org/transportation/status

The FCPS Transportation Department appreciates everyone's patience during the beginning of the school year until bus routes are firmly established. Expect delays in these beginning weeks.