Panda Nation News

As hard as it is to believe, February is drawing to a close and this last week of February is filled with lots to get excited about! Read on so you don't miss anything!

Please follow our Lexington Park Elementary PTO Facebook page. We have a lot of events coming up for the end of the year and would like to make sure you stay up to date with information.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093138911232&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Before we share information about this week, join us in congratulating Cassius Phillips and Adriana Liwanag for being selected to perform in the Elementary Honor Band & Orchestra! Congratulations to you both!!🐼❤

• Wednesday, February 28th @ 9:00: 2nd & 3rd grade students as they perform in the musical production, "Arf"! It's a story of love, friendship & courage! 🐕💗
• Thursday, February 29th: Leap Day Activities, House Team Meetings & Schoolwide Panda Round-up
• Friday, March 1st: No School for Students-Professional Development for Staff

There are still many things to celebrate in this final week of Black History Month! This year's theme is "African Americans and the Arts," which includes visual arts, music, dance, media art, theater, and more. Be sure to check out all of the amazing artwork pictured below. Ms. Ballard is leading our students to create. our students to create! They read “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou, and created art in the style of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Then as if that wasn't enough, they also studied and created art inspired by Kehnde Wiley.

Peace & Panda Love to all!🐼❤

Mrs. Schou, Principal

Mr. Engel-Cope, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Melissa Bean, Academic Dean

"Peace can not be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding."

-Albert Einstein

The Maryland School Report Card provides information about our school's performance for the 2022-2023 school year. You can find a link to our school's SY23 report card by visiting the Quick Links on our school's website. In addition, you can view the January 11 presentation to the Board of Education about system-wide data or visit www.smcps.org/about-us for additional information.

Don't forget to order your 2023-2024 Yearbook! Capture this year's school memories by ordering your yearbook TODAY!

Link: https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/lexingtonparkelementary
Closes: April 5th
Yearbook Cost $16.00 plus Tax and Conv. Fee

Additional Options Offered
Personalization $4.99

Love Lines $14.00

Please contact Ms. Hawkins if you have any questions at rahawkins@smcps.org. Thank you.

• Evening Counseling: SMCPS is once again offering School-Based Counseling Support in the evening for SMCPS students. Counseling support focuses on the following areas: Healthy Relationships, Social Skills, Self-Esteem, Stress Management, Worry, Sadness, and Emotional Regulation. Services will be located at Margaret Brent Middle School and Greenview Knolls Elementary School on Tuesday evenings from 4-7:30 p.m. Please complete the Parent Contact Form for Evening Counseling to request services.

We are committed to partnering with you to make sure the sky is limit for our Panda Nation scholars! Our Family Engagement Plan outlines how we will do that, and our Family Engagement Calendar lets all of us know when we will come together to make our plan come alive. Please take a few minutes to review both the plan & the calendar!

Our Home/School Compact in both English & Spanish outlines our commitment to ensuring student success. Hopefully you received and signed a copy at the August 21st Open House & September 28th Back to School Night, but if you didn't get on yet, don't worry, your child's teacher will have one for you at the Family/Teacher Conferences on October 9th.

Thank you for working together with us to make this a PAWSitively Amazing Year!

The SMCPS Equity for All Website features updated monthly celebrations, best practices resources, and a newly added Community Resource page. The purpose of the Equity for All site is to provide resources and supports for promoting excellence and equity in St. Mary's County Public Schools.

• Feb 28: Second & Third Grade "Arf" Music Program
• Mar. 4-8: Read Across America Week
• Mar. 1: Professional Day-School is closed for students
• Mar. 21: Title I Reading & Technology Night
• Mar. 22:
• Virtual Instruction Day & 2-hr early dismissal
• End of 3rd Marking Period
• Mar. 23-Apr. 1: Spring Break
• Apr. 10: Report Card Distribution
• Apr. 19: 2-hr. Early Dismissal

Please update your contact information with the office. It is critical that we have the most recent information for contacting our families.

UPDATE MY INFORMATION

Volunteers are an essential component to our Panda Nation students' success!

Please apply and remember that volunteers must apply annually for approval.

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/
Phone: (301)863-4085
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smcps.org/posts/971720426301468
Twitter: @lpes_smcps