Panda Nation News

Wow!! Last week's Superhero Read Across America Week, was nothing short of spectacular! As you can see from the pictures below, lots of local superheroes came and shared their love of reading with Panda Nation students, AND so many students & staff participated in the spirit week. Be sure to support your child in participating in our weekly Reading Challenge! Winners will be announced at the March 21st Reading & Technology Night🐼❤

This week promises to be another busy & exciting week! Check out the info below!

• March 13th: 5:30:Judy Center March Madness Competition
• March 14th: 9:00: 4th & 5th Gr. Pirates II Musical Performance

Don't forget to check out the March Important Dates below for information on all the fun & fabulousness that is still come!

Please be sure to 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

March's Wellness theme is MOVEMENT. The longer days & warmer temperatures make it possible for us to move more and spend more time outside! Hooray!!

Peace & Panda Love to all!🐼❤

Mrs. Schou, Principal

Mr. Engel-Cope, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Melissa Bean, Academic Dean

“Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.”
― Lewis Grizzard

Dr. Smith, Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Perz, Officer Chase, Ms. Dvorak, Ms. Butler, Dr. Adams, Ms. Woodley, Ms. Bean (firefighter), Commissioner Colvin, Mr. Hancock, and Ms. Laino shared their love of reading with our Pre-K through 5 students. Thank you so much!

Summer Sports Academies: SMCPS and SMC R&P have partnered to offer the new Summer Sports Academies. Campers will be instructed by area high school coaches. Camps are held Monday - Thursday. Click below for more information. Registration began March 1st. Don't miss this opportunity.

• https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/recreate/camps

• https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/docs/thescoop.pdf

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.

Parents or guardians of children receiving special education and related services were mailed the Maryland Special Education Parent Involvement Survey from the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services during the week of February 12, 2024. Parents are asked to complete the survey and return it in the postage-paid envelope by May 24, 2024. The Survey may also be completed online. Your feedback will help guide efforts to improve special education and related services in your local school system. Your voice can make a real difference for your child and many other children across the state of Maryland. To learn more, please visit https://www.mdparentsurvey.com.

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.

• Mar. 13: 5:30-Judy Center March Madness Game Day
• Mar. 14: 9:00-4th & 5th Grade Pirates 2 Musical Performance
• 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