Panda Nation News

Hooray!! April is here! Sunshine & warmer weather have arrived, the trees and flowers are starting to bloom, and with all of this lovely weather comes lots of exciting activities in our classrooms and the beginning of spring MCAP testing.

Beginning next week grades 3-5 will take MCAP and students will participate in a total of 8 testing sessions spread out over 2 weeks. Stay tuned for a DoJo message from your child's teacher with specific dates & helpful hints.

Our 3rd, 4th & 5th grade students have been working really hard to get ready and all of our Pre-K, K, 1st & 2nd grade students are busy planning ways to support them! We know that taking the MCAP assessment will be challenging, but we also know that our PAWSitively Amazing students will give 100% and never give up! Panda Nation Rocks!!

Peace & Panda Love to all!🐼❤

Mrs. Schou, Principal

Mr. Engel-Cope, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Melissa Bean, Academic Dean

"April is a promise of what's to come."-Gladys Taber

• 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.

• The annual Academy Open House will be held virtually on Wednesday, April 10th starting at 5:30 pm. More information is available via the Academy Open House Google Site.

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 began March 1st. Don't miss this opportunity.

• https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/recreate/camps

• https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/docs/thescoop.pdf

Don't forget to order your 2023-2024 Yearbook! Capture this year's school memories by ordering your yearbook TODAY!

Link: https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/lexingtonparkelementary
Ordering Closes: April 5th
Yearbook Cost $16.00 plus Tax and Conv. Fee

Additional Options Offered
Personalization $4.99

Love Lines $14.00

Please contact Ms. Hawkins if you have any questions at rahawkins@smcps.org. Thank you.

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.

We are committed to partnering with you to make sure the sky is limit for our Panda Nation scholars! Our Family Engagement Plan outlines how we will do that, and our Family Engagement Calendar lets all of us know when we will come together to make our plan come alive. Please take a few minutes to review both the plan & the calendar!

Our Home/School Compact in both English & Spanish outlines our commitment to ensuring student success. Hopefully you received and signed a copy at the August 21st Open House & September 28th Back to School Night, but if you didn't get on yet, don't worry, your child's teacher will have one for you at the Family/Teacher Conferences on October 9th.

Thank you for working together with us to make this a PAWSitively Amazing Year!

The SMCPS Equity for All Website features updated monthly celebrations, best practices resources, and a newly added Community Resource page. The purpose of the Equity for All site is to provide resources and supports for promoting excellence and equity in St. Mary's County Public Schools.

• April 2: School resumes
• Apr. 4: Goldbach to ELMS
• Apr. 4: PTO Mtg @ 6:00
• Apr. 5: Heath & Sather to ELMS
• Apr. 8: Pre-K Long & Mettlin Field Trip to Calvert Marine Museum
• Apr. 9: Colasacco Field Trip to Calvert Marine Museum
• Apr. 9: 2nd Gr. Field Trip Science Center
• Apr. 10: Report Card Distribution
• Apr. 15th Quarterly Recognition Assembly
• 9:00: K-2 Recognition Assembly
• 2:00: 3-5 Recognition Assembly
• Apr. 16: Spring Pictures
• Apr. 18: Title I Family Fun & Fitness Night
• Apr. 19: 2-hr. Early Dismissal
• Apr. 26: PTO Spring Carnival

Please update your contact information with the office. It is critical that we have the most recent information for contacting our families.

UPDATE MY INFORMATION

Volunteers are an essential component to our Panda Nation students' success!

Please apply and remember that volunteers must apply annually for approval.

To help you navigate all the new elements of the school year and keep you informed about upcoming programs & events, we will communicate information frequently and in several ways. They are listed below for your reference.

• Weekly Phone/Email & Schoology Message: At 6:00 on Sunday you will receive a phone message & email from us sharing information about the upcoming week.
• Class DoJo: Very soon your child’s teacher will invite you to join Class DoJo. We use this platform because it is secure/members only and allows us to share a wide variety of information with you. Please join our DoJo family!
• Our LPES Website and Twitter feed: The LPES website has a wide variety of information for you and is updated regularly. We love to share all the wonderful things our students & teachers are doing, so we tweet just about every day. Follow us on Twitter @lpes_smcps
• Technology Needs: if you are new to the school or need a device from SMCPS please complete the survey here.

Email: raschou@smcps.org
Website: https://schools.smcps.org/lpes/
Phone: (301)863-4085
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smcps.org/posts/971720426301468
Twitter: @lpes_smcps