Norwood News

Our community is a community of superstars! Here are some updates as we help our students reach for the stars.

• Thursday, October 3: Professional Development Day - Schools Closed for Students
• Wednesday, October 16: PTA Information Night at Norwood in the Library 6:00 pm.
• Friday, October 18: Schools Closed
• Thursday October 31: Schools close 3 hours early. Norwood will dismiss at 12:20 pm.
• Friday November 1: Professional Development Day - Schools Closed for Students

School Hours = 8:20am arrival / 8:35am late bell / 3:20pm dismissal (no drop-off prior to 8:20am as there is no supervision outside before then)

PK Schedule: AM session (8:20am - 11:05am); PM session (12:40pm - 3:20pm)

Families who may need holiday/winter assistance please reach out to one of the following:

Diego Ramos- Bilingual Family Services Liaison: dramosquinteros@bcps.org

Marcy Hotchkiss- Community School Facilitator: mhotchkiss@bcps.org

Denise Bullock- Professional School Counselor: dbullock3@bcps.org

Elizabeth Westendorf- School Social Worker: ewestendorf@bcps.org

This year, Thursday, October 31st is not only Halloween but also a half-day of school for our students. Norwood will dismiss at 12:20 pm on all half-days throughout the school year.

Attendance on Half Days –

Over time, we have noticed many Norwood students miss school on half days, but as your Principal, I’m here to tell you student attendance on half-days is very important. At Norwood this year, we desperately want to beat our half day attendance numbers from last school year. To do so, we have been working hard to plan exciting and engaging activities throughout the year that includes author visits, book giveaways and math game activities that students will take home to play with the family! With that said, please know your child’s attendance on half days is just as important as any other school day!

Halloween –

For families whose children do not participate in Halloween, we respect your preferences. While students may dress up, please note that we will not have any Halloween-specific activities. Instead, students will engage in appropriate fall activities. If your child does not participate in Halloween and you are comfortable sharing with your child’s teacher, please send them a note.

Costume Guidelines:

• Costumes should be safe and not scary.
• No face coverings/masks, face paint, no look-alike weapons, or blood.
• Teachers will determine the appropriateness of any questionable props.
• Students should wear regular clothes under their costumes in case they wish to change during the day.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

BCPS will celebrate Bullying Prevention Week from Monday, October 21, 2024, through Friday, October 25, 2024. During that week, we are encouraging students and staff to participate and wear a designated color for each day of the week. The color represents character traits that all people can demonstrate. Please share photos on social media using #BCPSCares.

This event is FREE to participate. Students who sign in will receive a free glow stick. We invite everyone to dress in NEON or fun colors. There will be a bucket auction but participation is voluntary. Parents are welcome to participate too!

Bucket Auction Tickets- .25 each or 5 for $1.00. Teachers, staff, and other community members have donated items to be raffled off at the end of the run. All proceeds will benefit Norwood’s Phys Ed Department to update equipment.

We will be having our monthly free community produce market on Tuesday October 29th at Holabird Stem starting at 4:00pm until supplies last.

***Please bring your own bag***

Join us for our first Wellness Wednesday of the new school year on Wednesday October 9th from 9-10:30am at Norwood Elementary Cafeteria! Families will learn about emotional regulation superpowers and building resilience together! We hope to see you there!

Norwood Superstars and families, we are excited to invite you and your family to our family dinner and math game night on Tuesday October 29th from 5-7pm. Come show out your mathematician skills and reward yourselves with a delicious slice of pizza provided by Norwood Elementary!

With each monthly newsletter you will gain access to unit overviews for math instruction at each grade level. Below are the unit overviews for unit 2 of math, available in both English and Spanish. The overviews share the main learning goals of the unit, show sample problems that students might see with instructional notes for family members, and include frequently asked questions.

Here are the current Math overviews below, both in English and Spanish for each grade level.

Kindergarten | Kinder

English | Español

Grade 1 | Grado 1

English | Español

Grade 2 | Grado 2

English | Español

Grade 3 | Grado 3

English | Español

Norwood Elementary is excited to introduce our free family lending library. This lending library has many educational games for all grade levels that families can play all together!

A parent can come to the office between 8:20 and 3:45 to sign out a game for 7 days to have some family fun!

For any questions please reach out to Mr. Ramos (dramosquinteros@bcps.org) or Marcy Hotchkiss (mhotchkiss@bcps.org)

Happy Fall!

Help us to keep your student healthy at school:

As we all know, getting proper sleep is very important to help our bodies recharge in order to fight illness and be attentive during the day. Attached are some articles with good tips for parents on how to help students manage screen time and get good sleep.

If your student has any allergies or medical problems that can impact their school attendance, please let us know. Make sure we have at least one physical on file, and one dental form signed by their dentist. If you need assistance with access to medical or dental resources, please call or stop by to speak with the school nurse.

If your student needs to take medicine during the school day, it must be brought to school by a responsible adult (not the student), with the doctor's order.

As the weather gets cooler, please send a hoodie or jacket for students to keep in their lockers. It is cool in some of the classrooms also.

The students should also have a change of clothes in their locker. These can be taken home and swapped for winter clothes when the weather changes. If you have any clothes to donate, we appreciate any gently used clothing and will donate any we cannot use to charity. Please remember to check our lost and found in the Health Suite if you are missing a jacket, sweater or hoodie.

State law requires all students attending Maryland schools to be properly immunized against certain diseases. Students must receive their school-required vaccinations within 20 calendar days from the first day the child enters school. If your student needs vaccinations, they can obtain them through the local health department. Call 410-887-2705 for an appointment.

As always, let us know how we can help you to keep your child healthy at school.

-Nurse Chetelat and Ms. Ferro, Health Assistant

As we embark on another exciting year at Norwood Elementary, I wanted to share some important updates and reminders about safety, particularly regarding our arrival and dismissal procedures, to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.

• Arrival Reminders
• The doors to the school open at 8:20 a.m. and arrival takes place until 8:35 a.m. for all students. If you are dropping off your child in the morning, please pay close attention to the no parking signs on Delvale Ave., as it’s unsafe and interrupts the flow of traffic when cars are parked in the no parking area. Staff are on duty starting at 8:20 a.m. to supervision both outside and within the building. Families are encouraged to use the car loop starting at 8:20 a.m. when staff is present. Staff supervision is not provided prior to 8:20 a.m. so students should not be waiting for the doors to open without adult supervision.

• Early Child Pick-up Reminders
• If it is necessary for you to pick up your child prior to the end of the school day:
1. Communication (note, email, Talking Points) should be sent to each classroom teacher which includes the date and time of pickup. Early dismissals will occur prior to 2:50 p.m. Students will not be called to the office for dismissal after 2:50 p.m. Phone calls to request an early pickup must occur prior to 2:50 p.m. The main office must be contacted.
2. When you arrive, the office will need to see photo identification before calling your child to the office for dismissal. Students will not be waiting in the office for your arrival but will be called once you arrive.
3. Please sign the dismissal log in the office and include the reason for early dismissal.

Due to the busy preparations for our school’s afternoon dismissal, we ask that you do not request your child for early dismissal after 2:50 p.m. After 2:50 p.m., all students will be dismissed at the regular dismissal time.

• Dismissal Reminder
• Please bring your ID whenever picking up your child
• For the safety of our students and families, during dismissal, only those on your child’s designated pickup list are allowed on school property

• Dismissal Changes
• If you wish for your child to leave the school with someone other than the parent/guardian, you are required to write a note/email stating the name of the person who will be coming for your child. The note should be given to your child’s teacher, who will send it to the office. Your child should be aware of the change in routine prior to coming to school. Photo identification is needed for anyone other than the parents/guardians when picking up a student. Anyone who picks up must have a form of ID, if the person is under the age of 18 we must have a photo of that child in the student file and classroom. In addition, if your child’s dismissal is different than the usual routine plan, please send a note stating the change. It is important that your child is familiar with his/her daily dismissal routine and that the routine is as consistent as possible. Please note that students may only ride the bus if they are assigned as a bus rider to that bus. These procedures ensure the safety of our students, decrease the number of classroom interruptions, and avoid any confusion. In the case of an emergency, please contact the office at 443-809-7055.

NORWOOD ELEMENTARY CLOSING AND EARLY DISMISSAL 2024-2025 CALENDAR

Access the yearly calendar of closings and early dismissal for Norwood Elementary students by clicking here

ATTENDANCE REFERENCES

Access a quick guide to better understand your students absences and codings by clicking here.

PARENT RESOURCE HUB

Access a variety of resources available to our superstar families by clicking here.

FOOD PANTRY DISTRIBUTION LIST

Access a list of food pantry distribution sites by clicking here.

BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY MONTHLY EVENTS- OCTOBER

Access the monthly calendar of events that are happening at the local library by clicking here.

Bullying Prevention Resources

The following links are resources for bullying prevention and intervention with students, staff, and parents:

· Stop Bullying

· Stomp Out Bullying: Campaigns

· Bullying 101 - Elementary Schools

· Bullying 101 - Middle and High Schools

· How to Talk to Kids about Bullying – Tips for Parents and Caregivers

· As a reminder, Talkspace is also a resource for BCPS High School students. Students can sign up for Talkspace Go (online mental health lessons, self-guided exercises, daily reflection prompts, etc.) and/or Text/Messaging Therapy here. Students can sign up using your email and keyword BCPS. For more information regarding Talkspace, please visit the BCPS Mental Health Services Website.

Norwood Elementary School is a Title I community school within the Baltimore County Public School system. We are located in Dundalk, MD, and we strive for all of our superstars to reach their fullest potential in our ever-changing 21st century world.

If you have any questions regarding any of the information on this newsletter, please contact Diego Ramos (Norwood Bilingual Family Services Liaison) at dramosquinteros@bcps.org, or by calling his direct line at 443-809-1505.

Website: https://norwoodes.bcps.org
Location: 1700 Delvale Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21222, USA
Phone: (443)809-7055
Twitter: @NorwoodES