Dear Otter Elementary School Families,

We have an exciting week ahead with lots to look forward to! We also have a couple things to celebrate from last week! Here are some important updates:

• Read Across America Week! We're celebrating the joy of reading all week long! Be sure to check out Ms. Cummins' book board below for fantastic book recommendations and activities.
• PTA-Sponsored ReadaFun Continues! Keep up the great reading! Our ReadaFun program continues this week - encourage your child to dive into a good book and log their reading time.
• Celebrating Our 5th Grade Leaders! A huge shoutout to our 5th Grade Principal's Advisory Committee, who met last week to share their ideas and leadership to help improve our school. We appreciate their dedication and input!
• Applauding Our 3rd Grade Talent! We want to give a big round of applause to our 3rd-grade students who shared their amazing talents at last Friday's Community Gathering. Their performances were incredible, and we are so proud of them! Thank you to Cassandra Alvey, Harper Jacobs, Alison Bowles, and Annmarie Stringfellow for sharing their musical talents!
• 5th Grade MISA Testing - Our fifth graders will be taking the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA) this week and next. Please ensure your child gets a good night's sleep and arrives on time each day. Thank you to the PTA for supplying snacks each testing day for students!
• Spring Picture Day Wednesday! Don't forget Spring Picture Day is this Wednesday! Send your child to school ready to smile.
• Schedule Change for Friday - Friday is now a two-hour early dismissal instead of a student day off. Please plan accordingly for the adjusted schedule.

Thank you for your support, and have a great week!

Otterly Yours,

Mrs. Anderson

5th Grade PAC having a working lunch! They focused on student voice and leadership.

Our Otters were treated to the musical performances of our talented 3rd graders!

The office will be open Monday - Friday from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.

Please click on the links below to access public calendars.

Our school's overall attendance rate, as reported to MSDE, for the school year so far is 93.1% (-0.2%). The goal is 94%.

Here are the weekly attendance rates for the week of February 24th - February 28th

PreK: 93% (+4%)

Kindergarten: 92% (+1.0%)

1st Grade: 87% (-7.0%)

2nd Grade: 93% (+-0.0%)

3rd Grade: 92% (-4.0%)

4th Grade: 96% (-2.0%)

5th Grade: 87% (-10.0%)

I would like to celebrate the number of students attending school regularly has increased over the past three years by 10%! We are not quite back up to pre-pandemic levels, but we are definitely making huge strides in the right direction! Check out the stats!

School Year 2018-2019 - 88.3%

PANDEMIC YEARS

School Year 2021-2022 - 70.8%

School Year 2022-2023 - 76.2%

School Year 2024-2025 - 80.9%

The PTA has compiled a directory of contact information for families to use. Please click on the button below to access the directory. Only families who returned to request for information and provided consent to share their information have been included. If you wish to be included, please reach out to the PTA.

Spring Picture Day is Wednesday, March 5th. The spring picture day is for class pictures, the 5th grade panoramic, and individual pictures only for those students who bring in a picture packet (or online) with money,

Online Code is oakville25

Read Across America Week is March 3rd-7th.

It's that time of year! Orders for yearbooks are now being accepted through April 16th. Online is the preferred method of purchase and payment. Click the button below to order your yearbook online. Hardcopies of the yearbook order form are available upon request from the main office.

The St. Mary’s County Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Special Education (CACSE) Rise Up Awards: The Rise Up Award recognizes a teacher, administrator, therapist, assistant to an educator, or anyone in the Special Education system who has truly gone to extraordinary efforts to contribute, in a compassionate and caring way, to the growth, happiness, and general well-being of our children with disabilities. If you are a parent or caregiver who would like to nominate a person who has positively impacted your child’s life, please consider nominating them for the Rise Up Award. When educators go above and beyond to help our children “Rise Up” and exceed in life, it is our pleasure to recognize and thank them for the amazing jobs that they do. (The nomination deadline is March 7, 2025)

On March 12th, we will have a lockdown drill. The law requires parents be informed prior to any lockdown drill and they be provided a survey link to complete after the drill.

Information collected from surveys after a lockdown drill occurs is being using to better understand the effectiveness and impact of lockdown drills on students, parents, and school staff.

Student, parent, and school staff surveys are brief and anonymous. Information provided will only be collected to the school where the lockdown drill occurred. No identifiable information about the person completing the survey will be collected.

Only students in grade 6-12 are requested to complete the survey.

Links to the surveys can be found by clicking the buttons below.

Keep this list somewhere handy!

Monday, March 3rd

9:00 am - 3:45 pm

• PTA ReadaFun
• 5th Grade MISA Testing

Tuesday, March 4th

9:00 am - 3:45 pm

• PTA ReadaFun
• 5th Grade MISA Testing

Wednesday, March 5th

9:00 am - 3:45 pm

• Spring Picture Day
• PTA ReadaFun

Thursday, March 6th

9:00 am - 3:45 pm

• PTA ReadaFun

Friday, March 7th

9:00 am - 1:45 pm

• Two-Hour Early Dismissal
• PTA ReadaFun

St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) students use the Internet and other instructional computer resources in school. It is important that you and your student review this information each year. Within this policy is the Google Workspace for Education Additional Services Agreement. Students in grades PreK - 5th grade do not need to complete an AUP this school year. They will not be accessing additional services within Google Workspace for Education beyond the core features.

Now is a great time to find your laptop and charger. Please run all of the updates and make sure that it is working order. Chargers are to remain at home.

All SMCPS laptops come with the same responsibility of care and upkeep as any other loaned resources. Textbooks, novels, laptops and chargers can incur a debt if lost or damaged. Please refer to the student accountability newsletter that has been added to our weekly school newsletters.

Hello OES Otter Families,

I am Hannah Pratz, and I am so excited to be returning to the OES family this school year! I have been a school nurse for 25 years and have loved every minute! I love what I do and my door is always open! Don't hesitate to pop in the health suite or cut through!

All medications must be accompanied by an order before they can be given at school. We CANNOT give any medication without the medical order.

See you all soon!

FAQ:

When should I keep my child home from school?

• Fever >100.0, vomiting, diarrhea, or pink and crusty eyes
• Symptoms of COVID-19 like illness OR symptoms or an illness that do not resolve after home interventions
• Your child has been directed to quarantine by the local health department

One community committed to the learning and safety of all children.

Community is important to us. We strive to have the words "goal-oriented", "fun", "inclusive", and "thriving" used to describe our community. We believe that children learn and adults work best in an environment where they feel respected and safe. We are focused on four areas in our development of community: 1) Cultivating respectful, supportive relationships among students, teachers, and parents, 2) Emphasizing common purposes and ideals, 3) Providing opportunities for service and cooperation, and 4) Providing opportunities for independence and influence.

Email: lpanderson@smcps.org
Website: https://schools.smcps.org/oes/
Location: 26410 Three Notch Road, Mechanicsville, MD, USA
Phone: (301) 373-4365
Facebook: facebook.com/smcps.org