Panda Nation News

As September comes to a close, join us in celebrating a great start to the '24-'25 school year! We are so grateful for your ongoing support and involvement! Back to School Night was a perfect example our Panda Nation family coming together! Many, many thanks to:

• Our PAWSitively Amazing PTO
• Our Community Schools & Judy Center teams
• Our Community Partners, including the Health Department & the Girl Scouts

Be sure to take a minute to check out the pictures below of the evening! We love seeing all of the smiling faces and connections being made!

September has shown us just how PAWSitively Amazing our Panda Nation scholars are! They have stepped up and made the most of each day. Throughout the month students have taken a variety of assessments to establish baseline performance. Some of the assessments were really challenging, but the students never gave up! When you come to Parent/Teacher Conferences on Monday, October 14th, you'll learn all about their performance and their goals.

Please join us in continuing to celebrate the contributions & accomplishments of our Hispanic community throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th - October 15th! Stay tuned to hear and see some of the ways our school is honoring Hispanic Americans.

Thank you for being our partners to make sure this year is the very best year Panda Nation has ever had! We are better together!

Panda Love to All!!🐼❤

Mrs. Schou, Principal

Mrs. Mashburn, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Bean, Academic Dean

Congratulations Amina Hall in Ms. Chilson’s class for representing LPES in the Superintendent’s Gallery with her piece “Cloudy Skies” which she painted when she was in first grade in Ms. Helbig’s class

Nurse Custer will be performing vision and hearing screenings for all PK, 1st graders, and all new SMCPS students following the SMCPS Health Regulations. Please reach out to Mrs. Custer if you have any questions or concerns.

Effective communication is critical to the success of every student in St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS). This will be crucial not only for emergencies but for our ability to communicate with families in general. Online Emergency Information Update Forms are now available through the student’s Home Access Center (HAC). Once logged in, directions to access the online form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE. It is vital that all information is updated in eSchool. The deadline for the online submission of Emergency Information Update forms is October 31st, 2024. Please click here for the Blank Emergency Form. If you have any questions, please contact The Department of Student Services at 301-475-5511 ext.32150.

• 10/1: Texas Roadhouse Panda Nation Night
• 10/11: Fall Pictures
• 10/14:
• 2-hr Early Dismissal
• Parent/Teacher Conferences
• 3:00: Title I Parent Advisory: Virtual and/or In Person
• 3:30: PTO Mtg.Virtual and/or In Person
• 10/17: 5:00-6:30: Family Literacy & SEL Workshop
• 10/18: 2-hr Early Dismissal
• 10/25: End of the First Marking Period
• 10/26: Halloween Bingo @ LPVRS (Reservations required!)
• 10/31:
• 9:00: Costume Parade
• 4:30: Trunk or Treat

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