Aviator Update #1

Hello Aviator Families,

We’re thrilled to welcome you back as we gear up for an exciting new school year!

Our teachers and staff are eagerly preparing for a fantastic year ahead and can't wait to see all of you at Monday’s Open House (details below). Open House is a wonderful opportunity to get a sneak peek at your child’s classroom, meet their teacher, and drop off any school supplies. We’ll have paper copies of our Open House handout ready for you as you enter. Please be sure to stop by the cafeteria where several informational stations will be set up to assist as needed. Nurse Dana's office will also be open for those of you who need to drop off medications.

Menus for School Meals are visible through Nutrislice. Check it out! If you want to view your child's meal purchases and add funds, use the My School Bucks link. Please monitor school lunch debts that may have been carried over from last year. When you apply new funds it will go towards the current debt.

Parents/Guardians using the student drop-off/pick-up line, please see the guidelines listed below. There are a lot of moving parts to arrival and dismissal and we truly appreciate your assistance to ensure safety for all. We encourage you to complete the form attached below ASAP, so we may get an early start on assigning car placards.

Keep reading for more important details to help ensure a smooth and joyful start to our school year together.

See you soon,

Katie Kortokrax, Principal

Zach Adams, Assistant Principal

We can't wait to welcome all of our students and families back into the building tomorrow (Monday, 8/19). During your visit, you'll be able to meet your student's teachers, visit classrooms, visit the PTA table, and enjoy the excitement of a new school year.

Avoid the crowds and lines! Teachers and staff will be available to meet students and families throughout the entire 120 minutes of Open House. A later arrival may mean less time in line! Feel free to bring in school supplies the day of Open House to leave in the classrooms.

The following tables will be available in the cafeteria:

• Transportation:
• Car Rider Placards
• Walker/Biker Permission Forms
• Buses
• Before/After Care
• Meal Benefit Applications
• PTA: Get Your SY25 Picture Taken!
• Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts
• MFLC (Military Family Life Counselor)
• Student Insurance

COMPASS Open House: 9:00 am - 10:00 am

K-5 Open House: 1:00-3:00 pm

Pre-K Open House will start promptly at 9 on Wednesday, August 21st.

*Please note: There will be no classroom changes on the day of Open House.*

All PreK 4 students have "orientation" on Wednesday, August 21st from 9:00-10:00 am. Orientation is for parents and PK4 students only. Students will get to meet their teacher, see their classroom, and check out a school bus! Your child will go home with you on this day. Pre-K4's first day of school is Thursday, August 22nd.

• Make sure you have filled out the paperwork & picked up your car placard from Ms. Magill in the main office.
• Each family gets 3 placards. Please display on your review mirror for drop-off and pickup.
• Please pull ALL THE WAY DOWN the circular drive. This will allow us to unload more cars while allowing students to walk safely on the sidewalks. Please look for Duke staff members and orange cones.
• Duke staff will assist all students in and out of the cars. Please do NOT exit your vehicle.
• Please ensure your student exits the vehicle on the sidewalk side for safety purposes.
• For the 1st 3 days of school, Kindergarten students will meet their teachers in the gymnasium. Students should wear their lanyard they received at open house. Staff will provide assistance.
• 2nd and 5th grade students should enter through the MAIN ENTRANCE.
• 1st, 3rd and 4th grade students should enter through the side entrance.
• Any student getting breakfast, should enter through the MAIN ENTRANCE and will be permitted to enter the building at 8:15.
• We will release car riders from the loop starting at 8:25AM.
• Dismissal: Car riders will be called to the cafeteria at 3:05. Students will be escorted to the car-rider loop in the order of the vehicles in line. Please have your car placard hanging.

• Students arriving after 8:35 will need to be signed-in through the main office.
• Please park and escort your child to the main office.

• Make sure you have signed your daily walker/biker agreement and physically signed the printed contract.
• If your child is going to be a car rider on any given day, please call the school BEFORE 2:00PM so that we can ensure your child is dismissed appropriately.
• WALKERS who arrive early will wait near the bike rack in the morning. Students should not arrive before 8:15am They will enter the building through the main entrance. Staff will open the doors at 8:25 when bus riders are released.
• Students eating breakfast will be permitted in the building at 8:15.
• BIKERS will secure their bicycles at the bike rack and will enter through the main entrance beginning at 8:25 (unless the student is eating breakfast).
• DISMISSAL - Walkers/bikers will be called down at 3:05 (with car riders). They will proceed to the main doors to "sign-out" with a staff member.
• PRE-K and KINDERGARTEN - Parents/guardians MUST sign-out their Pre-K/K students DAILY. Please meet Ms. Wills at the main doors at 3:05 PM, and bring your ID to ensure student safety.

• Be familiar with your bus route.
• Be at your stop 5-10 minutes EARLY the first week as drivers familiarize themselves with routes.
• Expect that bus drivers will assign seats.
• Pre-K and Kindergarten students will NOT be dropped off at a bus stop unless a parent/guardian is present. They will be returned to school. Be at the bus stop 5-10 minutes early each day.
• Students are expected to SOAR on the bus. Please show service, ownership, accountability and respect on the bus at all times.
• Parents/guardians, please review the importance of remaining seated, keeping hands to self and following directions with your child(ren).
• The first week of school, pre-k and kindergarten students will get off the buses first and will meet their teachers in the gym. Staff will provide assistance.
• Students in grades 1-5 will be dismissed by grade level.
• Students getting breakfast will be dismissed from the bus at 8:15. They should enter the building through the main entrance.
• 2nd and 5th grade students should enter through the MAIN ENTRANCE.
• 1st, 3rd and 4th grade students should enter through the side entrance.

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!

If you haven't signed up for My School Bucks, we highly recommend doing that.

Please view Dr. Smith's video and the Cell Phone Policy presentation from the most recent SMCPS Board of Education meeting.

"Bell to Bell Ban" for Elementary Students: Cell phones are discouraged and shall not be used anytime during the instructional day.

Response to Inappropriate Mobile Phone Use

• In classrooms, staff contacts the administrator who goes to the classroom, the student is directed to the hallway, the student turns the phone off, phone is confiscated by the administrator and stored in a secure location in the administrative office.

• In hallways, mobile phones should be off and away. Staff will remind students to put phones away. Administrators will confiscate phones and store them in a secure location in the administrative office.

Returning Mobile Phones - Only a parent or guardian can pick up an elementary student's phone. The phone will not be returned to students.

Please review the list of medical forms: https://www.smcps.org/health-safety/immunizations-medical-forms.

If your student takes medication at school, requires an Emergency Action Plan, or has any other unique medical needs, please take the pertinent form(s) to your student's medical provider to complete them before the start of the school year.

Check out the links and resources on this SMCPS Back to School Page and get ready for another excellent school year.

You may also check out the Students & Families Resources Page for even more resources.

Recognizing that accidents do occur and understanding that each family's insurance situation may be different, St. Mary's County Public Schools has arranged with Bob McCloskey Insurance to offer student accident insurance.

Please read the information in this Student Accident Insurance Folder for more details and enrollment instructions.

Within the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is the Google Workspace for Education Additional Services Agreement. In order for students to have access to "additional services," the form granting your student access must be completed.

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary

Ms. Katie Kortokrax, Principal

Mr. Zach Adams, Assistant Principal

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

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