LPES Back-to-School Bulletin

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We are thrilled that you & your PAWSitively Amazing children are a part of our Panda Nation family!🐼❤ In just a few weeks, our hallways and classrooms will be filled with joy, laugher, and students ready to meet their new teachers, get reaquainted with their classmates, learn and show their Panda Pride.

To help you get ready to start the new year, please take a few minutes to review topics & resources listed below.

• School Supplies: Visit the SMCPS Back to School Information site to help you and your family get ready, including our School Supplies list. Don't forget that from August 13th-19th you pay no tax on school related items. Check out the flyer below!

• Your Child's Teacher: During the week of August 12th, be on the look out for a post card from your child's teacher/s welcoming them to their class. If you don't receive your post card by Friday, August 16th, please give us a call so we can help you out.

• Open House: We can’t wait to see you at our Open House on Monday, August 19th from 2-4pm! You will meet the teachers; visit your classroom; catch up with old friends; receive your copy of our Title I Family Engagement Plan & Home/School Compact, pick up some cool school supplies, and see all the beautiful things that have been done in Panda Nation over the summer!

• Meal Benefits: For this upcoming school year, St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) has once again identified three elementary schools as a “community-eligible” school: George Washington Carver Elementary School (GWCES), Lexington Park Elementary School (LPES), and Park Hall Elementary School (PHES). MSDE has approved these three schools under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). This means that all students at LPES will receive both breakfast & lunch free of charge!

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer! We can't wait to see you at Open House on August 20th so we can start another PAWSitively Amazing year with each of you!!!

Panda Love to All!!🐼❤

Mrs. Schou, Principal

Mrs. Mashburn, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Bean, Academic Dean

As we get ready for the 24-25 school year, make sure you find your laptop and charger. Please run all of the updates and make sure that it is working order.

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

Select this link for SMCPS Technology Support information.

Please see this document for information about the care and liability of your SMCPS devices and other school resources.

Students new to Panda Nation will receive devices during the first few weeks of school.

August 15th: 5:30-7:00: St. Mary's Caring Soup Kitchen Back to School Blast (See flyer for more information)

August 16th:4:00-7:00 NAACP School Supplies Giveaway @ Chuch of the Ascension (See flyer for more information)

August 16th: HAC (Home Access Center) Opens for Families

August 19th: 2:00-4:00pm Open House for all K-5 students!

August 21st: First Day of School for K-5 Students

August 21st: 9:30: Pre-K Orientation-more details to follow soon!

August 22nd: First Day of School for Pre-K

Bus Stop Locator & Here Comes the Bus App

Bus Routes are now available through the SMCPS online look-up feature. These routes and stops will be constantly updated between now and the start of school.

Select this link to learn how to view the real-time location of your child's bus. We highly recommend signing up for this helpful app!

BUS SAFETY REMINDERS

• Stay seated in your assigned seats and NEVER leave your seat while the bus is
• moving
• Always face forward
• Use indoor voices
• Use appropriate language
• Listen to your driver
• Raise your hand if you need the driver’s attention

Please use this link to learn all you need to know about successfully dropping off and picking up your child if you plan for them to be a car rider! Thank you!

Join our team! Select this link for more information.

• SMCPS has multiple positions available to support our students and staff, including full-time and part-time positions in various areas. Employment opportunities can be found on the SMCPS website: https://www.smcps.org/hr/employment-opportunities

• The Abacus Corporation provides part-time/temporary positions to support SMCPS as well. Various positions are also available through the Abacus Corporation and can be found on their website: https://www.abacuscorporation.com/find-jobs

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

UPDATE MY INFORMATION

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/
Location: 46763 South Shangri La Drive, Lexington Park, Maryland 20653
Phone: (301) 863-4085
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smcps.org/posts/971720426301468
Twitter: @lpes_smcps