Community Cardinal Correspondence

Second Quarter and Upcoming Events

Happy New Year to the Villa Cresta Community!

Friday marked the conclusion of the 2nd marking period, signifying the halfway point of the 2024-2025 school year. The past few weeks have been quite eventful due to weather-related closures and delays. We appreciate your understanding and communication during these changes in our schedule.

In this newsletter, you will find important details regarding upcoming weather-related closures, information from our school nurse, notable dates and events, as well as general reminders about our routines and procedures to ensure a safe and organized learning atmosphere.

As always, please stay informed by checking the Baltimore County Public Schools website and their social media channels for vital countywide updates. Be sure to follow our PTA Facebook page for news about their events. Our teachers consistently send out emails and newsletters that cover classroom activities, which can also be accessed on the Villa Cresta website. Our site is a valuable resource filled with information and communications from all grade levels, so make sure to visit for more news.

Looking ahead to February, report cards will be accessible on the parent portal starting February 6th. If you haven't set up your parent portal account yet, please do so. Instructions are provided below in this newsletter.

Thank you once again for your partnership and support of our teachers, students, and community members.

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) has issued updated Respiratory Virus Control recommendations to be followed during the current surge of respiratory illnesses which includes masking any student (and nurse or health assistant seeing the student) who is showing symptoms until deemed unnecessary after evaluating the student. If they are being sent home for their symptoms, they will be asked to wear a mask until they are picked up.

We hope everyone is staying warm during these chilly temperatures. As we move through the winter months, please remember that our school doors open at 8:30 AM. We encourage you to plan your arrival so that students spend minimal time waiting outside. For those who ride the bus, please ensure that students are bundled up properly to minimize exposed skin while they wait. Students will go outside for recess as temperature permit and if ground is suitable for students to safely play. Otherwise, classes will engage in indoor recess.

As Baltimore County Public Schools monitors the ongoing winter weather, please note that we have one remaining traditional snow/inclement weather day available before we transition to virtual instruction. Villa Cresta Elementary has made our virtual learning schedules and plans available on our website at: villacrestaes.bcps.org. If we need to switch to a virtual snow day, there will be a 2-hour delay. After this delay, students will log into Google Meet from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM, which includes a half-hour lunch break and 30 minutes online with their special area teacher. It is important for students to have their devices fully charged for these days.

For your convenience, we have attached a copy of the virtual snow day resources that are also available on our website. Teachers will communicate the daily instructional schedule to their students and families as needed.

Again, we have one traditional snow day left, and we want to ensure we are prepared for the possibility of moving to virtual snow days.

Thank you for your continued support of Villa Cresta Elementary's students and staff as we strive to maintain our instructional program, regardless of the weather conditions.

Villa Cresta Administration

This year Math toolboxes are posted around the building to support our school progress in increasing our students academic progress in math by ensuring they have the foundational skills needed to be successful with the grade level math skills taught.

All grade level teachers identified 10 math skills that are necessary for students poses at each grade level. They use the toolboxes as a way to celebrate students learning and as goal setting for learning markers. Students at each grade level are working towards specific foundational which are necessary for them to be successful in mastery skills. Each sticker represents a basic skill needed to learn that grade levels math content. Each grade level has identified the list of skills they are working towards. Additionally, these skills were selected as ones that parents can do at home to support their child's learning.

As you come through the building, look for the red toolboxes and celebrate your child's progress as they work to master these skills. Thank you for helping at home as we watch our Cardinal's soar to math success!

Below is a sample of the math toolboxes markers for grade 1.

January 24th - End of the 2nd Marking Period

January 29th - Schools Closed for Students - Systemwide Professional Development Day

February 6th - Report Cards Posted in the Parent Portal

February 17th - Schools & Offices Closed - President's Day

March 3rd - Spring Picture Day

March 31st - Schools & Offices Closed - Systemwide Professional Development Day

April 4th - End of the 3rd Marking Period - Half-Day for students - Dismissal at 12:30pm

April 12th through April 21st - Spring Break - Schools Closed

Baltimore County Public Schools Student Handbook Presentation

Each year, school administrators provide a presentation on the Baltimore County Public Schools Student Handbook to students. During this assembly, students learn about their rights and the expected behaviors within the school, on the bus, and while traveling to and from school. This year, students will also receive refresher presentations each quarter. In the upcoming weeks, your student will meet with school administration once again to review these important expectations.

If families have misplaced the original handbook sent home, please refer to the link below for access to the electronic version.

https://www.bcps.org/students/student_handbook

Device Care Reminder for Baltimore County Public Schools

All students enrolled in Baltimore County Public Schools receive devices to enhance their learning experience. It is important to remind students to take proper care of these devices to avoid any potential damage. Baltimore County has established a tiered accountability chart that details the costs families may incur for various types of damages.

Do not hesitate to reach out to our school nurse with any questions or concerns regarding your child's health needs.

Amanda E. Kisser, BSN, RN

Villa Cresta Elementary School Nurse

akisser@bcps.org

(phone) 443-809-5285

(fax) 443-809-5277

School staff is on site to ensure the safety of students unloading from busses, entering the building, and making their way to class. Each year we struggle with our families maintaining the safety of our parking lots and surrounding streets. We need everyone to follow established traffic laws and posted signs. We do not have a car drop off loop. We are unable to do so due to the volume of traffic and how it will clog up our streets. This means our families must park and walk students to the building, utilize bus service if you are in a bussing zone, and follow posted traffic signs.

Below are several pictures to remind everyone of our no parking zones and the location of our crosswalks. We want to thank everyone in advance for engaging in kind, respectful, and lawful behavior during arrival and dismissal. When everyone follows the rules, we are safely able to welcome and dismiss over 650 students in 15-20 minutes. We need everyone to work together as a community.

We want to remind you of some basic logistics of our arrival and dismissal procedures. It is important to understand that Villa Cresta was not built to be a school with a car rider drop off or pick-up loop. We were originally designed to service a walking and bus riding school. Over the years, several administrators have reached out to have the school campus assessed for an addition of a car loop. This is not possible with our landlocked location, so we have created and follow specific arrival and dismissal procedures to aid our families. It should be noted that when everyone works together and demonstrates patience and kindness, we are able to successfully welcome and dismiss our entire school population within the 15 minute schedule. We thank you in advance for working as a school community to safety engage in the arrival and dismissal process for our students.

Arrival

Doors open at 8:30 am for students and doors close at 8:45 am. Students are marked tardy after 8:45 am unless they are on a late bus.

Arrival Locations:

• Prekindergarten/Kindergarteners will enter through the kindergarten doors located in the front of the building near the parking lot by the trees.

• First graders will enter through the front doors.

• Second graders will enter through the front doors or third-grade hallway door.

• Third graders will enter through the third-grade doors or the front doors

• Fourth graders will enter through the side fourth--grade hallway door.

• Fifth graders will enter through the back fifth-grade hallway door.

Any students who walk from the front of our community can enter through our front doors if that is the closest access point but please be aware entering through other access points will help alleviate crowding at any one location. Additionally, any upperclassman walking a kindergarten student to class may enter through the kindergarten doors.

Dismissal

Dismissal will be at 3:30pm with walkers dismissed out their exterior classroom doors. Students should be picked up no later than 3:45pm.

Students in preschool, prekindergarten, and kindergarten to grade 5 will be dismissed out their classroom doors. Second grade students will all dismiss from the open space doors located in the back of the building. (See map below for visual)

Bus rider families, please be mindful that the first few weeks of school arrival times at the bus stop vary as schedules are worked out in the transportation office. If a bus leaves unusually late, we will send our messenger calls to keep you informed. It is important to have an updated phone number on file.

Bus stop information is located in the parent portal. Please be sure you have set up your account to view this information.

In September parents will receive detailed information regarding expectations for bus riders. Until then, if your child is a bus rider, please review the following bus rules with them so they are prepared for the first day of school.

• Remain seated while the bus is in motion.
• Keep all body parts inside the bus.
• Use inside voices and appropriate language.
• Keep hands and feet to self.
• No eating snacks and drinking beverages while on the bus.
• No throwing objects.
• No vandalizing the exterior or interior of the bus.
• Follow all directions given by the bus driver.

Universal Breakfast

Again this year all students will be served a universal breakfast in the classroom upon entering each day. Breakfast will be free for all students. Students are not required to take breakfast, but it will always be offered. As students arrive, multiple breakfast stations will be set up for students to grab breakfast and go to their classrooms.

Lunch

All students will receive free lunch again for the 2024 - 2025 school year. Students will receive their PIN numbers the first day of school and are able to go through the lunch line daily and make their lunch selection. Encourage your students to take advantage of receiving lunch. Our cafeteria staff prepare some wonderful selections including salad boxes, fresh subs, and of course we still have pizza days!

Lunchtime for students is an important social time of the school day for our students to develop friendships, learn socialization skills, and to engage in lunch bunches with teachers, support staff, and various school staff. While we do have cafeteria rules and staff to monitor student safety, we do hope that students find this time to engage in the social aspect of lunchtime.

Due to our capacity limits, parents/guardians are NOT permitted to have lunch on site with their child. We cannot host visitors in our cafeteria or other locations in the building. At times families want to have a birthday lunch with their child, stop by as a surprise, or check in when the student had a difficult morning. Please know that to maintain the safety of all students these visits are not permitted.

The staff at Villa Cresta Elementary School are excited to welcome you to a new school year filled with opportunities to learn and engage! This year we are continuing to focus on ensuring that our students have the support they need to be successful in school, including strong attendance. A child is identified as chronically absent if they are absent 10.0% or more of the school year. The state expectation for attendance is 94%. Based on the research regarding chronic absenteeism, BCPS and MSDE consider any day missed as an absence counting towards the identification of your child as chronically absent. Please send in a note when your child returns from an absence so that your child’s absences can be accurately recorded.

Getting into the habit of daily attendance is important. It helps to:

• reduces stress
• makes it easier to connect with friends and teachers

• supports learning

Our staff is also committed in helping our families if they are experiencing difficulties with attendance. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us so we can meet with you to brainstorm supports and provide potential resources to assist your family.

In elementary school years and even into middle school, birthdays are exciting and very special days for children. This is why we announce birthdays each morning on announcements. Many of our teachers also recognize the special day with a sticker, birthday crown, special helper of the day, and more. This is just a small way to recognize your child's special day. School however is not the appropriate place to celebrate birthdays with parties and large celebrations. This distracts from the learning environment and is not inclusive to all of our students. Balloons, flowers, cupcakes, pizza, etc. will not be permitted in the classroom or cafeteria for birthdays or other celebrations. We must be mindful of student allergies and families who elect not to celebrate these events.

While food is not permitted, many families have elected to donate a book to the classroom library or a game, ball, hula hoop, etc to the recess bin in the classroom in your child's honor. If you wish to send in a small token to each student to honor the day, items such as pencils, erasers, stickers, and notepads are exciting non-food rewards.

In the event you wish to recognize your child's special day with a token for the whole class, please check ahead of time with the teacher to ensure the item is acceptable and to provide advanced notice for scheduling purposes. Families will not be permitted to arrive with items without scheduling with the teacher in advance.

Below is a listing of BCPS approved non-food celebration and reward ideas to celebrate your child's special day!

Villa Cresta Elementary School follows Superintendent's Policy and Rule 5470, Wellness which states: The Office of Food and Nutrition Services will establish procedures for healthy party ideas for parents and teachers, including non-food celebration and rewards ideas. Additionally, foods and beverages should not be consumed for educational purposes, except as defined in the general curriculum, or when indicated on a child's IEP or 504 Plan. Unless a classroom snack is requested of you from the classroom teacher, please do not send any type of shared snack or food to your child's classroom. We have many students with specific health and dietary needs as well as allergies that sending and consuming outside food items could result in life threatening allergic reactions. Thank you for your understanding and collaboration.

*Please note that this does not apply to the snack/lunch you pack for your student to eat at lunch or assigned snack time in our early childhood classrooms.

Please do not send deliveries to the school for students, as deliveries are disruptive to the educational program. Balloons, flowers, and similar items delivered to school will not be delivered to your child's classroom to avoid disruption to the instructional day. At the end of the day, the student will be allowed to pick-up their item privately in the office. If your student in a bus rider, this may result in a call for you to pick up your child and their item as we will not send balloons or items too large for a student to safely manage on the bus.

Students and teachers cannot hand out individual invitations to out-of-school birthday parties or get-togethers before, during, or after the instructional day. The delivery of these items by school staff many times result in peer conflict and hurt feelings of those not invited. Student directory information is not able to be shared with families such as mailing addresses or phone numbers.

If generic invitations are provided for all students, teachers will do their best to place one in each students take home folder.

If you haven't already done so, parents should create a parent portal in FOCUS. This is where families can access teacher assignments, bus assignments, and other important information. Directions for creating this account and visuals of navigating the account are posted on the Villa Cresta ES website and also linked below.

Creating a Parent Portal

https://cdn5-ss3.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_160239/File/Technology%20Info/Creating%20a%20Parent%20Account%20in%20B2C.pdf

FOCUS Screenshots to Navigate this Account

https://cdn5-ss3.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_160239/File/School%20Communications/Focus%20Screen%20shots.pdf

Finding Important Information All Year

Visit our school website at villacrestaes.bcps.org for all you need to know for back to school including class supply lists, teacher directory including emails, administrative correspondence, PTA information, and more.

Informational emails sent are posted to the school website for you to access at any time. Please make use of this resource to assist you in learning more about our processes and staying on top of important information. It is vital to ensure you have an updated email registered with our front office. Emergent emails for early closings, late busses, etc. are not posted to the website but strictly go through phone and email.

https://villacrestaes.bcps.org/

Website: https://villacrestaes.bcps.org/
Location: 2600 Rader Avenue, Parkville, MD, USA
Phone: 443-809-5275
Facebook: facebook.com/VillaCrestaPTAparkville