Piney Point Weekly
Week of June 5-9, 2023
Important Dates
Thursday, June 8 - Last day for PreK & 5th Grade Luau
Friday, June 9 - Last day for students and early dismissal day (students dismiss at 1:45pm)
Have a wonderful summer!
Fifth Grade Luau
Hi 5th Grade Parents! We need your help in making the 5th grade luau the best end of year celebration for our children. The Luau will be held on Thursday June 8th from 1:00-3:00 in the Gym. We will need help in 3 different areas: Set-up: This will take place on Wednesday, June 7th beginning at 4:30 PM in the Gym. During the event: We will have various stations where we need help including, but not limited to Lei Making, Food, Kona Ice, Games, Door Prizes, and Photo Booth. If a certain area interests you, please note that in the comments section and we will do our best to accomodate you. You must be a registered volunteer to help during the event. Clean-up: This will take place immediately after the luau concludes. Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!
5th grade parents, please see the link below to sign-up to help set up, assist during the luau, and clean up!
Music Department
Music News-If you borrowed black pants, shoes or white shirt for the concert, please don't forget to return it to school.
If you have those items and would like to donate them to our music program, it is greatly appreciated and used by many of the students!!
Staff Updates
Krissy Wells, school counselor, will be working at Margaret Brent Middle School as a school counselor.
Summer Wood, 5th grade science/social studies teacher, will be teaching 6th grade science at Margaret Brent Middle School.
Joseph Burroughs, 2nd grade teacher, is retiring at the end of the school year.
Kelly Courtney, Principal, is retiring at the end June.
Irving Lawrence, Building Service Evening Manager, will be retiring in August.
Internal changes:
Michaela Davis-Rigney, 3rd grade teacher, will be teaching 4th grade math.
Kellie Schroyer, 1st grade teacher, will be teaching 2nd grade.
We welcome Kathryn Shepherd as a special education teacher!
We welcome Jack Getty as a 2nd grade teacher!
Link for the School Supply List
Student absence reporting link
MTSS Parent Survey Results
PPES MTSS Survey Results: Parent/Guardian and Student
Thank you to those that completed the parent survey.
Wellness Information
Summer is right around the corner. Soon school will be out and everyone will be enjoying summer. Here are a few summer safety poison tips for your review from the Maryland Poison Center.
Summer is also a time when we tend to grill outside more often. Check out Get Ready to Grill Safely from the CDC. The CDC also has some suggestions for Keeping Your Kids Safe this summer. This includes water safety and what to do outdoors in the sun. Check out this article for even more tips!
We have had a blast with your kiddos this school year and hope that you and your family will have a fun and relaxing summer! We can't wait to hear all about the adventures you go on when we return in the fall. Stay safe and have a wonderful summer!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Student Debt
Parents and guardians should be mindful of all debt that their students accrue throughout the 2022-2023 School Year. Student debt could take any one of the following forms:
Lost/Damaged Computer Devices
Lost/Damaged Textbooks
Lunch Debt
Parents/Guardians play a key role in monitoring not only their student's actions but also their fiscal responsibilities regarding lost/damaged issued devices (such as computers and textbooks) and/or food purchases made by your child in our school cafeteria. Payment can be made in the form of cash or check and should include your child's five-digit Student ID# (e.g., #12345). For further convenience, families may also pay by credit card online at http://www.myschoolbucks.com/. All questions and concerns should be directed to the school bank or the principal's secretary.
Student Laptops
School Laptops
Students are held accountable for laptops all year, including summer.
Here are the guidelines care.
- Keep you laptop in a secure place. The laptop should not leave home or be taken on vacations.
- Please review the procedures in our Accountability Document for "Care of Laptops Offsite"
- If you need help with your device please submit a helpdesk ticket using these directions.
- All students are issued a school laptop.
- It is your responsibility for the care and upkeep of your device.
- Depending on the make/model, a school laptop costs 380.00 - 520.00. Laptop charger replacements cost 40.00.
If you break a laptop, there is a repair cost. Please take care of your device.
Parent Drop Off Reminders
Parent drop off begins at 9:00am and ends at about 9:10am. If there are no staff members outside and the front doors are closed, you must park and walk your student(s) into the front entrance of the school. Students are considered late after 9:15am and must be signed in through the main office.
Health Room
Medication Administration
Medications occasionally need to be administered to students by our nurse during the school day. Students can not transport medication of any kind to school including over the counter medications. All medication must be brought to school by a parent, guardian, or other authorized adult. Please call the school nurse if you have any questions.
My School Bucks
All students in SMCPS have been issued classroom and technology resources.* These resources may include:
Textbooks
Novels
Library Books
Laptops
Chargers
Consumables
Content/Class specific resources not mentioned above
When an SMCPS resource is lost, the student is charged the replacement cost specific to that item. When a laptop is damaged (either partially or completely), the repair or replacement cost is as shown in the SMCPS Student Device and Resource Accountability document. If a student is charged for any reason, payments can now be made through MySchoolBucks. As soon as a fee is assessed in Destiny, a REAL TIME FEE will show in the parent/guardian My School Bucks account. If your family does not already have an account with MySchoolBucks, it is not difficult to create one. Simply go to the MySchoolBucks Help page and click on the “How do I get started” option. Answers to many of your other questions can also be found there. *Please note, you can also still pay with cash or check at your school.
Ready to sign up? Visit this link.
*If you would like to see what your student currently has checked out or any fines that have been assessed, the student can login to their Destiny account.
School Meals
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture waivers that permitted distribution of free meals in school and via take-home meals have not been extended into School Year 2022-2023.
While meals are not free for all students, we are still offering the free and reduced meal program based on the status determined from the meal benefit application. Students who qualify based on income or direct certification will still receive free or reduced meals this school year. A new application must be submitted for this school year to qualify.
Elementary School Prices:
$1.45 breakfast
$2.75 lunch
- If you completed a meal benefit form last year and qualified for free or reduced meals, your child will continue to receive a free or reduced meal until October 6th. You must complete a new meal benefit form to receive a free or reduced meal for the remainder of the school year.
- For those families that did not complete a meal benefit last year, your child will need to purchase their meals. You can put money on the meal account by visiting myschoolbucks.com.
Schoology App
Bus Stop Locator/Here Comes the Bus app
Students are assigned a bus based on their physical address. If your child is coming to school or going home to another address (like a daycare), it is the parent's responsibility to communicate that information with the office. Please contact Jayne Worch at jdworch@smcps.org. If your child is a returning PPES student, you only need to communicate with the office if the transportation to or from school has changed from last school year.