Eagle News

As we wrap up the first quarter of the school year, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you for making it such a wonderful start! Your support and engagement have truly set the tone for a fantastic year ahead.

We are excited to share that PGCPS has printed report cards, which will go home with students next Tuesday. I also look forward to celebrating our students' achievements with many of you at next week's Honor Roll Assembly. We will be sending invitations to the assembly home with students soon.

Lastly, please note that Thanksgiving Break will begin after school on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. Wishing you and your families a joyous and restful holiday!

We will publish the next Eagle Newsletter on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. However, if you would like to read back issues of the Eagle News Newsletter, you can find this year's published newsletters on our school's website under the heading 'Announcements and Newsletters.' If you have questions between now and then, please contact me at Toi.Davis@pgcps.org or 301-985-1898.

This is a reminder that students are to be in their classroom when the bell rings at 7:45 a.m.. Teachers will mark students who arrive after 7:45 a.m. as tardy. It's also important that families send a note to the homeroom teacher no later than 3 days after a student's absence providing the reason for the absence. All absences without a note will receive an unexcused absence code.

As a reminder Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a process which UPES uses to instill behavior and allows for a positive school experience from all students and staff. Students are acknowledged and rewarded for displaying positive behavior. Students earn Dojo points for making good choices throughout the school day. Students who do not display appropriate school behavior might need a staff member to intervene in order to get back on track. Each month, the students who earn enough Dojo points are able to attend the monthly Club Day event. This event allows students to participate in a club of their choosing from the offered list that month.

Club Day is this Friday, November 22, 2024. Students need 20 Dojo points to attend club day. Ask your child about their points.

The PGCPS Office of Communications and Community Engagement will continue to deliver timely communication that achieves our goals of safety, equity, and excellence.

Communication Tools

The Office of Communications and Community Engagement uses five key tools to reach audiences:

School Messenger

○ Email

○ Text/SMS

○ Robocall

Websites

○ PGCPS (www.pgcps.org)

○ PGCPS en español (www.pgcps.org/es)

Newsletters

○ Engage PGCPS (families and communities), weekly

○ Acción PGCPS (Spanish-speaking families and communities), weekly

○ Partner PGCPS (business, faith-based and nonprofit

groups), monthly

Social media

○ Facebook (@PGCPS)

○ Facebook en español (@PGCPSenespanol)

○ Twitter (@PGCPS, @DrMonicaCEO)

○ Instagram (@PGCPS)

○ LinkedIn

○ YouTube

PGCPS-TV

○ Verizon 38

○ Comcast 96

○ YouTube

○ Video-on-demand

Grade levels have started planning field trips for students, but we need parent volunteers. The county expects a ratio of 1:4 for students in Pre-K and K and a ratio of 1:10 for students in grades 1-5. The county also requires that half of the chaperones must be PGCPS employees. .

The steps for the approval process are below.

You must complete the volunteer approval process for each academic school year. To reinstate your SafeSchools account for SY '24-25, you will need to complete an updated registration form which can be found by clicking this LINK.

You can complete Returning Volunteers renewal applications in just four easy steps!

1. Use the email address you originally registered with and your existing volunteer identification number (VIN) to complete your application for the 2024 -2025 school year.
2. Click the green plus + sign below the Register Volunteer column to enter/edit your volunteer details that may have changed from the previous school year.
3. Read and sign the disclaimer statement.
4. Submit your application.
5. You will receive an email from SafeSchools in approximately 48 hours with the training plan for SY '24-'25.

The first quarter Honor Roll Assembly will be Tuesday, November 26, 2024. Students in grades 2-5 will earn Principal Honor Roll, Honor Roll, and/or Eagle effort awards. Grades 2-3 will have an in person assembly at 8:00 a.m. Grades 4-5 will have an in person assembly at 8:50 a.m.

1. Parentvue

   ParentVUE is the portal that allows parents and guardians to view information about their student, including classroom assignments and scores, attendance, transcripts, graduation status and more.

   
   

   A PGCPS ParentVUE account is used to view this information. Parents/Guardians can also update their phone numbers and/or emergency contacts within ParentVUE.

   Click on the links below to review resource guides for accessing attendance, the gradebook, and quarterly grades.

   Attendance

   Gradebook

   Grades (Quarterly Progress reports and Report cards)

   ParentVUE User Guide

   ParentVUE User Guide (French)

   ParentVUE User Guide (Spanish)

   
   

   
   

   Media Center News

   Students have reviewed EBOOKs during media. An ebook is an electronic book, a printed book made available in digital form via a device with internet access. Many of you access ebooks via a tablet, IPAD, computer, kindle, smartphone etc.. Several of the databases on destiny.pgcps.org provide access to ebooks for Prince George’s County Public School (PGCPS) students free of charge. Some are in multiple languages and some of the databases will read the text to the student.

   
   

   A variety of topics are covered in fiction and nonfiction. This is an excellent resource for students and allows them to explore literature in another format that may be more engaging to them than the printed text.

As always, if you have concerns or questions, please contact Mr. Clark at aclark@pgcps.org.

Things To Remember

1. The Dentist is coming next month on December 18th and the 19th

2. Hazel Health is available to all right here at our school. Please sign consent forms so that your child can receive a visit if needed and can stay in school if treatment permits.

3 If there are ever any concerns or questions, I am available by email, phone, and in person.
My office hours for in-person visits are between 7AM-7:45 AM AM and 2 PM-2:45 PM.

Nurse Jackson

2024-2025 PTA Executive Board

President: Kara Mundy

Co-Vice Presidents: Julia Rupert and Bernadette Jerome

Treasurer: Megan Brisch

Secretary: Merlyn Torres

Visit our website (https://www.upespta.com) to learn more about the PTA, how you can get involved, and to join the UPES PTA Listserv.

Have a question, suggestion, want to join a committee, or looking to reach out to the PTA team? Contact us: UPESPTABoard@gmail.com

Committee Updates

Feather Our Nest Fall Fundraiser

Last call! Don’t miss your last chance to support the UPES PTA’s second inaugural “Feather Our Nest” Fall Fundraiser. Donate by Nov. 22 to help the UPES PTA fund programming and initiatives that make our school thrive. Visit https://tinyurl.com/upesfon24 to make your donation and consider sending your children to school with coins to support the classroom coin collection competition. It’s never been easier for parents, family, friends and neighbors to support the UPES community.

Helping Hands Committee

Helping Hands is planning another warm coat drive. Stay tuned for the list of needs-it will be a SignUpGenius sent to the PTA listserve. Due to a generous donation of coats early in the school year, we anticipate this years list of needs to be shorter. Thank you!

Did you know that tutoring support is available to our students 24/7? Pear Deck Tutor connects students with highly qualified tutors for 1:1 support, whenever and wherever they need it the most. This resource is available and can be accessed via Clever for ALL PGCPS students.

To find additional information (including a tutorial) about Pear Deck Tutor, click here. It is beneficial to both you, your students and their families to take advantage of this opportunity to receive additional support not only in mathematics, but in any subject area.

• Thursday, November 21-Amplify English Virtual Parent Session-11:00 a.m.,4:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.

• Tuesday, November 26-Honor Roll Assemblies (in person), grades 2-3, 8:00 a.m., grades 4-5, 8:50 a.m.
• Wednesday, November 27-Friday, November 29-Thanksgiving Holiday-Schools and offices closed

• Tuesday, December 3-Virtual K-2 Parent Literacy Night, 6:00 p.m.

• Friday, December 20-Early Release Day for students-Dismissal at 10:40 a.m.

1. School finder...know what school your child belongs to… Buscador de escuelas... sepa a qué escuela pertenece su hijo... http://gis.pgcps.org/schoolfinder/

Registration requirements...know exactly what you need to register your child... / Requisitos de inscripción... sepa exactamente qué necesita para inscribir a su hijo...

https://www1.pgcps.org/registration/

2. Lunch...apply for free/reduced meals... / Almuerzo... solicitar comidas gratuitas/reducidas... https://www.myschoolapps.com/ |

Email: upark@pgcps.org
Website: https://www1.pgcps.org/universitypark/
Location: 4315 Underwood Street, University Park, MD, USA
Phone: 301-985-1898
Facebook: facebook.com/UniversityParkElementary-PGCPS
Twitter: @UPSoaringEagles