Beacon Bulletin
April 22nd- April 26th "A Week"
Important PPES Information:
Piney Point families,
- Attention 5th grade parents!- On April 24th, we will be having a Parent Committee meeting for anyone wanting to coordinate the Luau this year. Meeting will be held at PPES at 10:00 am
- Kindergarten Registration will open May 6th- You may stop by the school to pick up a packet or make an appointment if you need assistance.
- Applications for STEM 6 will open on April 2 and close on April 30, 2024. No late applications will be accepted. The online application will be found on the Academies page of the SMCPS website.
- Parents or guardians of children receiving special education and related services were mailed the Maryland Special Education Parent Involvement Survey from the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services during the week of February 12, 2024. Parents are asked to complete the survey and return it in the postage-paid envelope by May 24, 2024. The Survey may also be completed online. Your feedback will help guide efforts to improve special education and related services in your local school system. Your voice can make a real difference for your child and many other children across the state of Maryland. To learn more, please visit https://www.mdparentsurvey.com.
- While attendance at school everyday is so important, we really need all intermediate students at school for our MISA (science grade 5) and MCAP (ELA and Math grades 3, 4, 5) state testing in March, April, and May. Parents and guardians, please write down these dates now to ensure students are here at school for these important days:
- Grade 4 &5 Math- May 1, 2, 6, 8
- 3rd Grade MATH MCAP is May 9, 13, 15, and 16th
Be sure to review this entire newsletter each week as it will provide you with valuable resources and information.
~Mrs. Zeier
Teacher Appreciation Week Donations Needed!
PINEY POINT CLEAN UP DAY!- April 21st
Now Accepting Pre-K Applications!
LEONARDTOWN, MD – St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) will begin to accept Pre-
Kindergarten 4 Applications on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future
allows for families with children who are 4 years old on or before September 1, 2024, to apply
for full-day Pre-Kindergarten. All families are welcome to apply; however, income is the
primary qualifier for eligibility. Families with an annual income at or below 300% of the Federal
Poverty Level (FPL) or families that are experiencing homelessness are deemed income eligible
and will be accepted first. All applications will be screened and identified on a System of Tiers.
2024-2025 Blueprint Tier I Tier II Tier III
Federal Poverty Level (FPL) < 300% 301 – 600% > 601%
Income eligible Over income/Waitlisted
New for 2024-2025 only: Children who are identified as a multilingual learner, where English is
not the home language, and/or children with a current Individualized Education Plan (IEP)/
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), and the annual family income is between 301-600% of
the Federal Poverty Level may be admitted.
Families with an annual income that exceeds 301% FPL, are placed on the over income/waitlist.
Families are advised to seek alternate options to meet their childcare needs should seat
capacity be filled. After October 1, 2024, depending on available seats and school location,
waitlisted families may be contacted in rank order and offered a seat where available.
Families must submit the required documents with the application. Required documents are:
- Proof of Birth (Birth Certificate, Valid and un-expired Passport/Visa, Physician’s
Certificate, Baptismal/Church Certificate, or Birth Registration)
- Proof of Residency (Deed, Mortgage, Rental Agreement/Lease,
- Current Property Tax Bill, or Current Utility Bill) (PO Box is not acceptable)
Income Verification (2023 W-2, or three (3) recent consecutive pay stubs. Additional
income sources include Child Support, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), Social Security Benefits (SSA), Social Security
Insurance (SSI) or Medicaid)
The SMCPS website, www.smcps.org, has information and guidance for completing the 2024-
2025 Pre-Kindergarten Application. You may also contact us using the helpdesk form, call 301-
475-5511 ext. 32285, or email Mrs. Charlottis Woodley, Director of Parent & Family
Engagement, at cmwoodley@smcps.org. Spanish language assistance is available.
There are also resources available to facilitate connections to high-quality childcare: The
Promise Resource Center at 240-258-2288, the MSDE Childcare Finder, and the SMCPS’ Judy
Center Early Learning Hubs at 301-863-4068.
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you to the following businesses who sponsored our Beacon Bolt (Boosterthon) shirts this year. With their generous donations we were able purchase shirts for our entire school!:
- Russell's Corner Store
- Bin There Dump That
- Stormwater Management Systems
- ProPlumb
- Capt'n Pat's
- Herring Lawn and Land
- Larry Hill and Son's Excavating
- Winter's Heating and Air
- Dyson Building Center
- Weis Markets
- Dr. Schneider orthodontist
YEARBOOK DEADLINE APPROACHING!- Due April 24th
Calendar Updates:
April 21st- PPES Clean Up day 1-4pm ( more info to come)
Boosterthon Beacon Bolt Fun Run Dates:
Kickoff: Monday, April 22
Huddles: April 23-29
Boosterthon Event Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
- April 23rd- 2nd grade to PAX River NAB
- April 24th- Luau 5th grade Parent Committee Meeting 10 am
The SMCPS Board of Education approved an amendment to the 2023-2024 SMCPS Operational Calendar. The revised calendar posted to www.smcps.org/calendar.
As a result of the fact that SMCPS did not use any of its inclement weather days built into the calendar, the final day for the 2023-2024 school year has been adjusted.
The final day for students will be Friday, June 7, 2024.
May Paint Night
School Information:
Summer Sports Academies
SMCPS and SMC R&P have partnered to offer the new Summer Sports Academies. Campers will be instructed by area high school coaches. Camps are held Monday -Thursday. Click below for more information. Registration begins March 1st. Don't miss this opportunity.
Cooling Changeover
On Friday, April 12th, the Department of Maintenance will begin the process of changing schools from heating mode to cooling mode for the balance of the season. Once the changeover is complete it will take a couple of weeks to fine-tune each building for optimal performance. With overnight low temperatures dipping into the 50s the next few weeks, buildings will be chilly in the morning as boilers will no longer be running overnight. Undoubtedly there will also be a few cool days in the next few weeks. Please monitor the forecast and dress accordingly.
The Maryland School Report Card provides information about our school's performance for the 2022-2023 school year. You can find a link to our school's SY23 report card by visiting the Quick Links on our school's website. In addition, you can view the January 11 presentation to the Board of Education about system-wide data or visit www.smcps.org/about-us for additional information
April Character Trait- Self Control
MTSS
Each quarter, we set a school-wide goal of how many Piney Points we want to earn. For the third quarter, our goal was to earn 10,000 Piney Points. We are excited to share that our students have earned 10,057 Piney Points this quarter!!! In order to celebrate our students' achievement, all students will get to participate in a fun activity in the coming weeks. Some example activities include extra recess, technology time, movie, dance party, ect. We are so proud of our Beacons!
Math Information for Parents
Happy Math Education Month! In April, we join educators all over the world in celebrating how much math enriches our lives and our communities. The importance of math education stretches far beyond academic success and the earlier we teach students essential math skills, the more they’ll be prepared to thrive in every aspect of their lives.
Here are six games that can easily be played while traveling around in your car:
Numbers to 100: Just like the Alphabet Game, try to find numbers in order from 1 to 100 on road signs, license plates, maps, etc. This game can be played at any level. Adjust the number down to 20 for young children or up to 200 for older children.
Don’t Say My Number: In this game, someone chooses a number that no one is allowed to say. Go around the car and count by ones — but skip any number that contains the number selected earlier. For example, let's say the number not to say is 4. That means you can't say 4, 14, 24, 34, or any number in the 40s. It would sound like this: "1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, etc." If anyone messes up you have to start again. See how high you can count but don’t say my number!
Shape Search: Choose different two- and three-dimensional shapes and find them all around as you are driving. You can start with a triangle and work your way up to different sided shapes, like an octagon. Kids love searching for shapes in the real world.
What’s My Number? Think of a number and give clues to help your child figure out the number.
Collect My Data: Pick a category of items to collect data on, like animals, colors, signs, etc. Once your child has picked his category, he can create a tally chart of the items and mark off every time he sees one. When you return from your trip, he can graph his data to show which item was seen the most or least. It’s a great keepsake of your family trip!
Map It Out! Before you leave on a trip, have your child map out the route you are traveling. They can calculate the number of miles, total amount of time, and different paths you will take. Your child can monitor your traveling progress along the way and will have a better understanding of when you will be arriving at your destination.
Reading Information:
“One of the most important roles that parents can play in their child’s education is supporting and nurturing their child’s reading abilities and love of reading. As the poet and children’s author Emilie Buchwald has said, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”
Here are a few tips to help readers:
READ EVERY DAY - Find a time to read with your child every day. Even a brief daily commitment can convey that reading is an important priority for you.
MAKE A SPACE FOR READING: Create a comfortable, consistent place in your home where you can read together, enjoy books and chat about them. You might even make it a place where food and drink are welcome — these signal that reading can be a social activity.
MAKE READING SILLY - Don’t be afraid to get silly. Reading should be fun. Meet your child where he or she is, and don’t insist on “serious” or “classic” books. Silly books, comics, animé or other art-driven books are a good way to get many children interested in reading. If possible, act out or sing the words of stories or find other ways to enjoy books.”
Review this article for more tips - 10 Ways Parents Can Support Reading At Home
1. Practice Reading with Games - Concentration
To make
Select five to ten words from a book (or books) the child is reading. Print each word clearly and boldly on separate 3x5 inch index cards, making pairs of each word. (The child may be able to help you by copying the words you write.)
To play
Shuffle the cards and place them face down in neat rows. Take turns turning up two cards at a time and reading the words aloud. If the two cards match, the player keeps them and takes a second turn. If they do not match, the cards are replaced face down and the next player takes a turn. Play until all the cards are matched. The player with the most pairs wins. If the child has trouble recognizing a word, say the word — do not ask the child to “sound out” the word. The purpose of this game is to build automatic recognition of whole words.
You can control the difficulty of the game by the choice and number of words used: for very beginning readers, choose meaningful words that are visually distinctive: “ghost”, “dark”, “sister”, and keep the number of words low. For a more challenging game, include some words that are less distinctive: “when”, “what”, “this”, “that”, but be careful not to overwhelm the child.
Variation 1
Instead of matching pairs, you can use rhyming pairs: look, book; dark, park.
Variation 2
This game can also be used to build letter recognition and letter/sound association. Paste or draw simple pictures on one set of cards; and on the other set, print initial consonants to go with the pictures. For example, paste the picture of a dog on one card, and write the letter “D” on a matching card.
Note: This game can be adapted to use with older children, or more advanced readers: variations can include vocabulary practice such as using homonyms, (words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings: cent/scent; dear/deer, etc.) or contractions, (can’t; cannot, etc.).
SMCPS Reading Language Arts Information and Resources
Explore the site and the Benchmark Advanced curriculum. Choose your child’s grade level on the right-hand side of the site for grade specific resources and information including articles, websites, and online books.
Media Mentions:
April is School Library Month
- Check out this School Library Month newsletter. It has great resources on ways to incorporate reading every day!
- Please remember to return library books on time. At the end of each month, Mrs. Anderson will send out notices reminding students of books that are overdue or of fines that need to be paid.
To see what your student currently has checked out to them or any fines that have been assessed, the student can login to Destiny through Clever or via Direct Login. Here are the steps for the direct login.
Go to elibrary.smcps.org.
Click on the appropriate school.
Select the “Login” option from the top right of the page.
Enter the correct login credentials. Your login information is the same as your regular login credentials.
Username: 3 initials and last 4 digits of student ID number (Example: abc1234).
Password: regular network password
After logging in, click the “My Info” tab at the top and the student’s current checkout and fines (if applicable) will be displayed.
SMCPS provides some wonderful databases and ebook options for our students. Use the link provided to access the SMCPS Database and Ebook S’More.
Technology
Need a laptop charger?
Need to purchase a laptop charger?
You can do one of two things:
1. Email your child's teacher or the Library Media Specialist Mrs. Anderson (lwanderson@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).
School Information:
School Meals:
PTA Ponderings!
Rent-A-Rock
Our spirit rock is open for rentals! The cost to rent is $25 per day and you get to paint the rock. The rock can be rented to celebrate birthdays, teachers, sports, accomplishments, or to spread any positive message. Click here to learn more: https://m.signupgenius.com/... Email the PTA for questions: piney.point.pta@gmail.com.
Join the PTA
It's time to renew your PTA membership dues!
2023-2024 Membership/Dues Cost: $20
Dues payment link:
https://pineypoint.memberhub.com/
Why join the PTA?
- Your membership dues help us achieve our goals of helping students, teachers, and staff.
-You will receive school updates. Signing up will keep you in the loop with what’s going on at PPES.
-Signing up to join the PTA is not a commitment. We won't force you to volunteer- but we do appreciate all the help we can get! If you join there are also no meetings to attend.
Thank you for your support!
Birthday Treats
Evening Counseling: SMCPS is once again offering School-Based Counseling Support in the evening for SMCPS students. Counseling support focuses on the following areas: Healthy Relationships, Social Skills, Self-Esteem, Stress Management, Worry, Sadness, and Emotional Regulation. Services will be located at Margaret Brent Middle School and Greenview Knolls Elementary School on Tuesday evenings from 4-7:30 p.m. Please complete the Parent Contact Form for Evening Counseling to request services.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. The best way to reach me is to email me at klpelton@smcps.org.
Looking forward to a great year!
Ms. Pelton
Notes From the Nurse UPDATED
Hello Families!
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.
What Do You Do If Your Student Is Ill?
While school attendance is vital to your student’s education, a sick child belongs at home. Please review the Sick Day Guidelines below to assist you in making that decision
KEEP ME HOME IF...
- I have a temperature higher than 100°F.
- I'm throwing up or have diarrhea.
- My eyes are pink and crusty.
SEND ME BACK TO SCHOOL WHEN...
My symptoms have significantly improved or resolved.
I haven't had a fever or fever-reducing medication for 24 hours.
I haven't thrown up, had diarrhea or had medications to control these symptoms for 24 hours.
If antibiotics have been prescribed, I have been taking them for at least 24 hours.
CALL THE DOCTOR IF...
I’ve had a temperature higher than 100°F for more than 2 days.
I've been throwing up or having diarrhea for more than 2 days.
I've had cold symptoms for more than a week and they aren't getting any better.
I still have asthma symptoms after using my asthma medicine (and call 911 if I'm having trouble breathing after using an inhaler).
KEEPING YOUR STUDENT WELL
Hand washing is the number one way to stop the spread of disease. Twenty seconds of soap and water scrubbing before meals and after bathroom breaks is a great way to start this healthy habit. Encourage this practice at home.
Ensure adequate exercise and rest periods.
Provide proper nutrition, including a good breakfast.
Encourage good daily hygiene, including brushing teeth.
Review the rules of safe play.
Transportation Information:
Please click the link below for information regarding your child's bus number, bus stop location, and pick-up and drop-off times. If you have specific questions regarding bus transportation, please call the Department of Transportation at (301)-475-4256.
For all parents of PreKindergarten and Kindergarten students: An adult must be present at the bus stop when students are being picked up or dropped off. If an adult associated with a PreKindergarten or Kindergarten student is not present at the bus stop at the end of the school day, the bus driver will return the student to the school and the parents will be contacted to come to the school to pick up the student.
Volunteer Application
School Messenger Text Messaging
Schoology
Connect with Mrs. Zeier
Email: tbzeier@smcps.org
Website: https://ppes.smcps.org/
Location: 44550 Tall Timbers Road, Tall Timbers, Maryland 20690, USA
Phone: 301-994-2205