Aviator Updates

Greetings Aviator Families.

As you many of you know, April is designated as the Month of the Military Child (MoMC)! In 1986, then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, established MoMC to recognize the more than 1.8 million U.S. military children who have one or both parents serving in the armed forces. Nearly 25% of our students come from Active Duty families, and we look forward to recognizing and celebrating their service to our country throughout the month of April.

Katie Kortokrax, Principal

Zach Adams, Assistant Principal

• April 2: Applications for STEM 6 open (and close on April 30)
• April 5-12: Spring Book Fair
• April 9: Military Parent Chat @ Duke: Love Languages of Children (see flier)
• April 15-19: Month of the Military Child Spirit Week (see flier)
• April 19: Purple Up Day
• April 19: Dukes-Got-Talent Show (see flier)

3rd Grade

MCAP ELA: April 15, 17, 22, 24

MCAP Math: April 29, May 1, 6, 8

4th Grade

MCAP ELA: April 16, 18, 23, 25

MCAP Math: April 30, May 2, 7, 9

5th Grade

MCAP ELA: April 16, 18, 23, 25

MCAP Math: April 30, May 2, 7, 9

Please join us in warmly welcoming our new safety assistant, Mr. Miles.

Here's a little background information:

• He and his wife of 37 years have lived in St. Mary's County for 17 years.
• He's been retired from the DC police force for almost 10 years (2014). He left retirement to give back to the community and make connections. He feels he has more to give.
• He was born and raised in the DC area.
• He has 2 children and 4 grandchildren ranging in age from 2 yrs to 18 yrs old.
• March 21st was his 1st day working with SMCPS and we are thrilled to have him SOAR with us at Duke Elementary!

• 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.

We want you to share your talents! The show is April 19th, 2024.

• All acts must be approved and can be NO MORE than 2 minutes long.
• We will have auditions after school followed by a MANDATORY parent meeting at 5:00pm on Thursday, April 4th.
• We will have 2 after school rehearsals: Thursday, April 11th and Thursday, April 18th.

Click here for the Menu. Due to supply chain issues, menu changes occur. We recognize that the decision to bring lunch from home or purchase lunch from school is often dependent on the menu.

I will add the picture-menu as soon as it becomes available. Stay tuned!

• Monday, March 18
• Tuesday, March 19
• Wednesday, March 20
• Thursday, March 21

The St. Mary’s County Health Department announced the recipients of the Gold Star Achievement Awards given annually to food service facilities that achieve superior food safety standards.

The requirements to earn the Gold Star are:

● No critical violations

● No temperature violations were cited during a monitoring inspection

● A 30-day follow-up inspection must correct all violations noted by an inspector

● No confirmed unsafe food handling complaints

● At least one food service worker completed a recognized and approved “Food Service

Sanitarian and Safety Class” within the last two years

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

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

We welcome your questions and inquiries. Please call 240-309-4658, refer to the SMCPS Back to School website, or our CWFDES website for additional information.

Katie Kortokrax, Principal

Zach Adams, Assistant Principal

Email: klkortokrax@smcps.org
Website: https://cwfdes.smcps.org/
Location: 23595 Hayden Farm Lane, Leonardtown, MD 20650
Phone: (240) 309-4658
Twitter: @CWFDES_SMCPS