Hello families!

This week's newsletter shares some reminders to ensure that this school year is a success. Tomorrow, our teachers arrive to prepare for students. If you would still like to donate snacks and other goodies for our teachers, please feel free to drop them off in the main office anytime between 8:30 am and 3:00 pm this week. Thank you in advance for supporting their efforts!

Our first day of school is August 26th for grades K-5 and September 3 for PEP and PreK.

-Dr. Cavena Griffith

Principal

During open house, families should expect to visit their child's classroom, say hello to their teacher, and engage in our community party outside.

During Back to School Night, parents should expect to learn more to ensure their child has a successful school year. Topics covered during Back to School Night include a preview of student learning experiences and information on what your child needs to accomplish during the year. There will be Spanish translation at Back to School Nights.

• Kindergarten Back to School Night is Thursday, August 22 at 6:00 pm.
• Back to School Night for all other grades is Wednesday, September 11 at 6:00 pm

Back to School Night is a time to learn more about the school day, student learning, and ask teachers questions.

Join us on:

August 22 from 6:00-7:00 pm for our KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION Back to School Night!

September 11 from 6:00-7:00 for our PEP, PREK, and GRADES 1-5 Back to School Night!

We are changing book fair companies for our fall book fair. Please read the below message from our PTA to learn more about the change and to read about your shopping options if you had a Scholastic balance from last school year.

Get ready! The Tubman Tiger’s PTA will be hosting a book fair from September 23 - 27! Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them on their journey to becoming lifelong readers. AND—as always—every purchase at the Book Fair benefits our school.

Volunteers are needed to so that all classrooms have the opportunity to visit the book fair. Sign up for one or more volunteer slots by September 18th and be entered for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to use at the book fair! The following web link will take you to the on-line sign-up page, SIGN UP HERE or contact@tubmantigerspta.com to learn more.

Keep up with PTA news on our website, www.tubmantigerspta.com! Visit the website to get information about the PTA, events, and membership. Don’t forget to bookmark the page and check back regularly to find out what we’re up to and how you can get involved!

For more information, email: contact@tubmantigerspta.com

President: Mrs. Jessica Long

Vice President: Dr. Malynda Chizek Frouard

Secretary: Mrs. Carla Cadenas

Secretary: Mrs. Patricia Surin

Treasurer: Mrs. Jill Walsh

Class assignments are in the mail. Teachers will begin calling families to introduce themselves this week. At Thursday's open house, there will also be signs posted with student names and homerooms.

Our teachers have developed supply lists, by grade level. In addition to the grade level lists, you can support your child's classroom by donating the following as well:

• kleenex/facial tissue
• hand sanitizer
• clorox wipes
• gallon ziploc bags

Remind is a messaging platform that will be used to communicate among MCPS schools, teachers, students and parents. School staff, central office staff, students and parents will all have Remind accounts to enable them to send and/or receive messages using a preferred mode of communication, such as text message, email or phone call and in their preferred language.

Parents can log into their Remind account via the web or using the Remind app.

Students arrive and dismiss by bus, car, bike, or by walking. Please read below for important information regarding the safety of our students during arrival and dismissal.

All car riders will receive a car rider visor tag.

The car rider lane begins on Victory Farm Drive and loops around in our side parking lot. Parallel parking is not permitted on the side of Victory Farm Drive closest to our building, during arrival and dismissal.

There are staff and 5th grade safety patrols who will help your child in and out of the car. Please have your child enter and exit the vehicle on the right side. Drivers are to remain in the vehicle at all times. Thank you!

Students who live within a mile of our school are walkers. This includes students who live in the Saybrooke Community, and students who live off of Girard Street and Victory Farm Drive. Caregivers are asked to model safely walking for students by staying on sidewalks and crossing in crosswalks only. Students in grades PreK-3 will not walk home alone unless the school is provided written permission by the guardian.

Students may bike to school. Once arriving on our school sidewalk, students should walk their bike to the bike racks and lock their bike on the rack.

During the first few weeks of school, bus times may not be accurate as drivers are learning students and their routes.

You may also view the bus schedule online, by going to the MCPS website. Search: Transportation then click on Bus Routes and Bell times and look for our school.

Attendance is important! There is a direct connection between chronic absence and a student’s academic achievement. Please read this important information, from our partners at Attendance Works.

When your child is going to be absent, please call our school or send a message via Remind or email to your child's teacher. Students who are absent for three consecutive days need a note from their doctor to excuse absences.

We love to celebrate birthdays at Tubman! Birthdays are celebrated during lunch in the cafeteria. Adult caregivers are invited to attend.

Cupcakes/donuts: Hand held treats are welcome and must be store-bought with the ingredient label. Because of student allergies, we are not able to serve treats that do not have the store ingredient label attached.

Balloons: balloons are not permitted.

Gift bags: gift bags are not recommended but if offered, will be placed in student backpacks at the end of the day to go home.

Students may possess personal mobile devices at school but may not turn them on until the end of the school day. Students are responsible for ensuring their devices are turned off and out of sight.

MCPS does not assume responsibility or liability for loss, damage, or theft to a device or for the unauthorized use of any personal device.

Read the policy HERE

Read here for information about when to keep your child home from school.

Please click the link below if your child is entering PreK or Kindergarten.

MCPS' policy is that students identified with a lice infestation can stay in school until the end of the school day, and return to school after their first treatment.

If there are several cases of lice in a classroom, parents will receive a letter as a reminder to check their children’s heads for any sign of lice.

Below are resources to educate and support families with lice.

Each student will be assigned a chromebook to use and keep at school. At the beginning of the school year, parents must sign a chromebook agreement, acknowledging that they will be financially responsible for intentional damage to their child's chromebook.

Tubaman ES partners with Global Childcare for before and after care from 6:30 am- 6:30 pm.

Breakfast and lunch are provided for free for every student at Tubman ES! Students are welcome to bring a lunch to school as well. There are not microwaves available for students at school.

Currently, the lunch menu is available in English. When it becomes available in Spanish, we will update it on this newsletter.

This year, MCPS is adopting Amplify's CKLA curriculum. Built on the Science of Reading, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts® (CKLA) sequences deep content knowledge with research-based foundational skills.

The given excerpts originate from psychologytoday.com and the cdc.gov.

The start of a new school year can mean going back to school after a long break, or attending school for the first time. A new start often means lots of changes, new routines, and meeting new people.

Young children are often wary of strangers and want to stay close to their parents and other familiar and trusted caregivers. Until they are old enough to talk clearly about their feelings, it’s hard to explain to them that a new caregiver is going to protect them, which means it takes time for children to get used to new people.

School-aged children who are sensitive or easily worried, or those who have developmental delays, may need extra time to adjust.

Parents also often worry about their child making the transition, and it’s easier for parents to keep calm and be reassuring if they know their child’s teacher and feel comfortable with them. Parents can help their children with the school year transition through considering the following points:

1. Anticipate. Communication about the start of the school year should begin before the event itself. Beginning in early - to mid -August, parents should begin the conversation about the beginning of school and its possible stresses by asking their children about what they anticipate in the coming year…academically, emotionally, and socially. In their own words, parents might ask their children what they hope for and is there anything that they fear? What are they looking forward to and what do they worry about?

2. Communicate. The most important tool for easing the back-to-school transition and helping children manage their stress is communication. Keeping an open channel of parent-child communication from the beginning right up until the end of the school year is key. Children should feel free to talk about their hopes and their disappointments, their successes and failures, their joys and their anxieties, all with the confidence that their parents can handle whatever they hear and will respond without undue anxiety or reproach. Accept whatever your children are feeling and then move on to helping them learn how to cope.

3. Normalize, when appropriate. The beginnings of new experiences are often hard, at school, at work, in relationships, and in community activities. It is normal for children to have fears and it is normal for transitions to be rough. Letting our children know that this is so and that we have faith in their ability to cope is a good foundation for subsequent action.

4. Building your child’s Coping Tool Box. One way to talk with your child about how he or she can cope is to conceptualize this as a coping toolbox. Here are a few recommended coping tools that may aid your child in coping:

Asking for help if and when needed; taking a deep breath; thinking positive thoughts; removing self and getting a sip or water when stressed/overwhelmed reaching out to and sharing feelings with teachers, administrators, the school counselor, or trusted adult in the building.

Parents can:

• Make sure their child has a daily, predictable routine, with regular times for healthy meals, naps, and night sleep at home. Having a rested body and knowing what to expect at home helps children cope.

• Connect with other parents who have children in the same school and can provide information and make them more comfortable with the school.

• Talk with teachers about the best way to separate from their child at the start of the day—brief goodbyes are often best.

• Try to stay calm and reassuring during transition—using a calm voice, with a relaxed face and body to let their child know that they wouldn’t leave them if the child were not safe and protected.

• Talk with their child about what to expect and help them with strategies to manage stress and cope with worries.

• Make sure their child is caught up on well-visits with their healthcare provider and is up to date with recommended vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, to ensure that the child is healthy and well protected.

• Monitor their child’s developmental milestones and learn what to do if there are concerns.

If you would like more information regarding tips and strategies to help your child adjust to the school, please feel free to contact our school counselors at 240-740-6770.

We have new designs in our spiritwear store!!! Make sure you have your Tubman Tigers spiritwear for the school year!