White Marsh Elementary School

Greetings, White Marsh Families!

The Bears have another busy week of school this week! On Tuesday, another WMES Volunteer School Based Training will be offered at 9:30. Any parent that is an approved SMCPS volunteer wishing to volunteer or chaperone at WMES should complete this training. The training lasts about 25 minutes and will be held in the school cafeteria. Please bring your photo ID.

Thank you, PTA, for supporting our staff with the 12 Days of Christmas! We enjoy the daily surprises and treats! On Wednesday, there will be a PTA meeting at 6:30 in the cafeteria. All parents are invited to attend.

Thursday is the Character Tea! Congratulations to those students who will be recognized for Caring and Thankful. We are proud of these Bears!

Finally, there will be a 2 hr. Early Dismissal on Friday, December 9. White Marsh will dismiss at 1:45 pm on Friday.

Upcoming events include the Winter Concert next week on Thursday! Remember that the concert will be at 10 am in the gym; doors will open at 9:40 for our guests. Come join students in grades 3, 4, and 5 for some beautiful music!

Have a great week!

It's time for our Character Tea! Congratulations to these students for being selected as those students consistently demonstrating Thankful and Caring behaviors! We will recognize these students on Thursday at 9:30 am in the cafeteria.

Thankful

Kindergarten: Brantley D, Lyon C

Grade 1: Bradley J, Hunter R

Grade 2: Ashlin A, Brayden H

Grade 3: Sadie W, Ryan S

Grade 4: Blake F, Hailey R

Grade 5: Liam S, Alanna P

Caring

Kindergarten: Jade K, Delilah B

Grade 1: Claire F, Caralee G

Grade 2: Colton R, Lee F

Grade 3: Braelynn S, Aubree C

Grade 4: Kensley L, Gage W

Grade 5: Kerstin Y, Jace S

One of the goals in the SY 22-23 WMES School Improvement Plan is attendance. Parents can view student attendance at any time by accessing the Home Access Center. You will need your logon and password to access HAC. Please contact the Main Office if you need this information.

Absences can be reported with a note sent in to the Main Office, or by clicking the link on our website. Please refer to the SMCPS Student Handbook for more information about Attendance.

In an effort to communicate with parents and keep you informed about student absences, we send home letters every marking period to those students with 5 or more absences. We understand that a variety of illnesses continue to surround us, and appreciate your communication with Nurse Parrish, teachers, and the Main Office about your children's health.

Looking for the perfect gifts for the holiday? The 6th grade team is excited to announce that they will be hosting the 2022 Holiday Bazaar on Saturday December 10, 2022! Doors will open at 9:00am and the event will run until 2:00pm.

Vendors interested in the event should contact Mrs. Kamp with any questions. Attached you will find the Vendor Registration Form. We are accepting cash and check payments. Checks should be made payable to Margaret Brent Middle School. A receipt will be provided for you the day of the event.

Hello White Marsh families! As the weather has gotten colder and we are dealing with all sorts of illnesses, I wanted to share a few reminders with you.

1. Chapstick is ok to bring to school and use. We have had quite a few Bears who have been uncomfortable this week as the dry air has set in. Our students may keep their chapstick in their bookbags, coat pockets or pencil boxes so that they can use it as they need. Please be sure it is labeled with their name, or in a labeled bag.

2. Don't forget hats and gloves and warm coats. We make every attempt to get our Bears outside daily for recess, even when the temperatures are colder, and we want them to be dressed appropriately.

3. Cough drops are not permitted. Cough drops are considered medication and students are not permitted to be in possession of medicines. If your child requires cough medicine, we ask that the medicine be given prior to school. Encourage your child to blow their nose and stay hydrated. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

4. If your student is unwell please keep them home. If you would like to discuss your student's symptoms with the nurse please call the school or send an email (alparrish@smcps.org). You may also refer to the SMCPS website: https://www.smcps.org/ss/health-and-safety

The weather is getting colder! Please be sure that students come to school dressed appropriately especially with a coat for outside. Recess is 30 minutes, and we want our students to be dressed for the weather.

The WMES Winter Concert is scheduled for Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 10:00 am.

Our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students will all be performing! This concert will be held in the gym at 10:00. Doors will open at 9:40 am, and guests will enter through the rear gym door. There will be no evening performance.

WMES students will be invited to view the performance at a separate time, and will not be permitted to leave class to attend with family members.

We are looking forward to having an opportunity for our Bears to perform for you!

Please consider joining the PTA; the membership form is here.

Dec 15 Winter Concert, Grades 3,4,5 10 am

Dec 19 - Jan 2 Winter Break

Jan 3 Schools re-open

Jan 4 PTA Meeting, 6:30 pm

Band and Strings Rehearsal Schedule:

A Week: Wednesday and Friday

B Week: Wednesday and Thursday

A reminder that all Volunteers (including Field Trip Chaperones) must be approved through SMCPS. Beginning this year, this will be an annual requirement. At WMES, those volunteers being asked to support students and teachers in the building will be required to complete a site based training session.

Any volunteer with an interest in supporting classroom activities, Field Day, Book Fair, copying/laminating for teachers must attend the WMES Volunteer Training Session prior to working with students. Please note- participation in the Training Session does not ensure that you will be needed to support an individual classroom. Teachers will reach out to you if school based volunteers are needed.

Future training dates are less than 30 minutes long, and have been added to the WMES event calendar.

ALL students in SMCPS must have a completed Acceptable Use Agreement on file for School Year 2022-2023.

Elementary (PreK-5th) Link: https://bit.ly/22022-2023_Elementary_AUPForm

From the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)-

Chronic Absenteeism: Students are chronically absent when absent 10% or more of the school days while enrolled at that school. For example, a student who is registered to attend a school for 30 days and who is absent 3 of those 30 days is considered chronically absent.

WMES will follow up with chronically absent students through the Pupil Services Team, Pupil Personnel Worker, and the Department of Student Services. In order to reduce the number of our students with Chronic Absenteeism, incentives to encourage good attendance include participation in the Bear Crawl, Running Club, and School Dance.

Schoology New Parent/Guardian Provisioning: New Schoology parent/guardian accounts will be created in the coming weeks. We hope to have accounts created and parents/guardians connected to their students in Schoology by Friday, September 2nd. Parents that have difficulty accessing their pre-existing accounts should contact schoology@smcps.org and include the student name and ID number for troubleshooting.

Student Resource Accountability: Students are responsible for the care and upkeep of all of their SMCPS assigned resources: print and technology. The student accountability document is also linked in this SMORE.

SMCPS Text Alerts are a great way to get information quickly. They are not sent often, and usually only in the event of an unexpected school delay or closure. On occasion, WMES will send a text alert about a late bus, substitute bus, or school event. Click the link for information about registering for text alerts.

Email: jwsteele@smcps.org
Website: schools.smcps.org/wmes
Location: 29090 Thompson Corner Road, Mechanicsville, MD, USA
Phone: (301)472-4600
Twitter: @wmes_smpcs