

Seahawk News
March 22, 2025

Spirit: Sunderland Promotes Integrity, Responsibility, Independence & Trust
Information to Know
Yearbook sales are still on! Click on the flier below to purchase! Deadline is April 16th.
Book Fair: Our SES Book Fair starts on Monday! We have two exciting announcements! First, this book fair is a BOGO event! Second, we are awarding each student a $10 scholastic gift certificate to use during this book fair! Reading is awesome!
Some reminders: The book fair is scheduled for March 24 - March 28, 2025. Your student will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair during their library time. Please check your Related Arts schedule for the day your student will be in the library that week (Monday - A Day, Tuesday - B Day, Wednesday - C Day, Thursday - D Day, Friday - E Day). Students should plan to bring money to school on the day they attend the Book Fair. At this time, our Book Fair is limited to the school day.
Parents are welcome to set up a Book Fair eWallet (a digital payment account) where funds can be added to their student's account for a cashless shopping option. The Book Fair eWallet can be set up using the QR code in the flyer below or by visiting https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/sunderlandelementaryschool. You can create a new eWallet with your existing Scholastic account or create a new account. Select "teacher" as the recipient. Be sure to communicate with your child and his/her teacher to let them know an eWallet account is available to make purchases. This must be done prior to the time your student visits the Book Fair.
Volunteers – Thank you so much to everyone who signed up to volunteer for the Book Fair so that we are able to host this very exciting event. Anyone who may still wish to volunteer during the Book Fair can contact Ms. Patten in the front office to coordinate a time.
Career Day Presenters Needed: On Friday, April 11, 2025, Sunderland Elementary will host Career Day! This is an amazing opportunity for our students to become more aware of the world of work and see the many different career choices of parents, family, and members of our community. Here's the link to sign up to present: https://forms.office.com/r/DQjBaV6RnX.
We invite you to participate as a CAREER DAY PRESENTER! There will be multiple rotations within the same grade. Presentations should be interactive, and we ask that you share information about your daily work activities, education needed, related careers within your field, and anything else you believe may be of interest to the students. Please keep in mind that students are between the ages of 4 to 11 (you will be assigned accordingly based on the career). You are welcome to bring videos, handouts, brochures, etc. Computers and internet will be available for your use.
Please be aware that due to scheduling, you may or may not present to your own child’s class.
We would love to have a variety of careers represented (trades, agriculture, public safety, IT, business, health services, etc.) and we need your help! If you, or a family member, are interested in being a Career Day Presenter, please complete the attached form and return it to school by Wednesday, April 2, 2025 (Please indicate AM, 9:30-11:15 or PM, 2:00-3:45 preference). If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact me directly. COME AND HAVE SOME FUN! Thank you for all your support! **Please note: All presenters MUST be approved volunteers!**
5th Grade Looking ahead: 5th grade Recognition/Picnic will be June 12th in the afternoon. Since this is an event where guests will be openly engaging with all students and interacting in activities, all guests must be approved volunteers.
- ALL students: Field Day is scheduled for Friday, May 30th with the rain date on June 6th. Since this is an event where guests will be openly engaging with all students and interacting in activities, all guests must be approved volunteers. We do not have staffing to be able to manage a spectator only section so if you plan to attend, you must be an approved volunteer.
In School Events/Volunteers:
If you want to attend any IN-SCHOOL event such as VIP Day, Career Day, Field Day, field trip chaperones, etc you will need to be a registered approved volunteer. This is for safety of all students. Each of the special events that we have within our school day allows for you to engage with the students. You are not kept separated, instead, we have interactive activities and will need all adults (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc) who plan to attend to be an approved volunteer. The process takes less than 10 minutes. Please register as a VOLUNTEER. Become a Volunteer - Calvert County Public School District (calvertnet.k12.md.us)
Parent Calendar
Community Resources
Community Resource Fliers
The following link includes events, activities, and opportunities for young people offered by organizations in the community.
These events and activities are not sponsored by the Calvert County Board of Education or Calvert County Public Schools. We provide equal opportunities to outside agencies to distribute materials that offer opportunities to students and/or their parents, but that permission should not be considered a recommendation or endorsement by the school district.
Attendance Notes
Counselor's Corner
Counselor’s Corner from Ms. Walzer and Ms. Williams: March 2025
Our character trait for the month of March is TEAMWORK! We will have our character trait assemblies next week to introduce the character trait of the month and recognize February’s Students of the Month. Our students of the month for February were selected by their teacher for demonstrating the character trait friendship. We will recognize those students in next week’s newsletter.
Our classroom counseling lessons in March will focus on careers. In pre-k through 1st grade, we will explore various occupations. In grades 2 through 5, we will introduce students to Xello, our online career exploration platform.
Each year, SES joins with Friendship Community Baptist Church for our HeartFELT (Filling Empty Little Tummies) program. The HeartFELT program provides qualifying students with meals and snacks each weekend. If you would like more information or would like your child to participate in the HeartFELT program, please contact your counselor to sign up.
Courtney Williams - School Counselor, Last Names A-K
williamscr@calvertnet.k12.md.us
443-550-9474
Danielle Walzer - School Counselor, Last Names L-Z
443-550-9387
Sunderland FSO- Family School Organization
SES FSO Website: FSO | Sunderland Family Student Organization (FSO | United States
Tentative Events for the Year
Calendar
Mar 24th - 28th , Book Fair (BOGO)**
Apr 1st 6-7pm, FSO Meeting**
April 2nd 5-7pm, Military Appreciation Dinner
April 9th- Art and Music Show
April 25th and 26th - Drama Club Performance
May 6th 6-7pm, FSO Meeting**
May 5th - 9th, Teacher Appreciation Week
June 3rd 6-7pm, FSO Meeting - Elections**
Board Members
Serena Hight, President
Niki Moore, Treasurer
Hannah Stanislawski, Secretary
Toni Crabb, Grade Level Representative
Sally Wolfe, Staff Liaison
REPEAT: Transportation
- Daily Car Riders must complete the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/UtcfJihh7H
- This information will be used for Tuesday's sign out. This form is to be completed for those who will be Daily Car Riders only. By listing adults to pick up, you are giving that adult permission to pick up your student. We encourage all students to ride the bus.
- Please tell your child that they will NOT have their name called. They are to dismiss when they hear Daily Car Riders are dismissed. This list will be shared with the teachers, too.
- Please have your ID at all times when entering the school to pick up your student. You will need to have your ID out to show the staff, even if we know you!
- Daily Car Riders: One adult will be expected to come into the cafeteria to sign out their Daily Car Rider student(s). We will open the exterior cafeteria door at 3:50PM (1:50PM on Early Dismissal Days) to allow for students to be signed out. Promptly at 4:05PM (2:05PM on Early Dismissal Days), Daily Car Riders will be called to the cafeteria. You and your child will exit. When you sign in, you will be given a card signifying how many students you are picking up. You will turn in your card as you leave the cafeteria. If an adult is not present by 4:05PM (2:05PM on Early Dismissal Days), the student will be sent home on their assigned bus.
- If your child is a bus rider and needs to be picked up due to an appointment, please arrive at the front office before 3:45PM (1:45PM on Early Dismissal Days).Our office staff and duty staff start preparing for Daily Car Riders and bus dismissal at 3:55PM (1:55PM on Early Dismissal Days) We have a 10 minute bus window to dismiss between 600-700 students so we will need to keep our focus on the dismissal process.
- We will permit Non-Daily Car Riders but we are still not able to accommodate Drop in, Surprise Car Riders. For Non-Daily Car Riders, you MUST send a paper note, NOT AN EMAIL, with your child, EACH day that you plan for them to be a car rider. Please let your child know that they must dismiss with the Daily Car Riders at 4:05PM when announced. We will NOT call individual students down for dismissal. Please do not send a note saying “every Tuesday” instead, send a note every Tuesday. We can not expect teachers to keep up with all students’ special request schedules. We ask that you send a paper note each day because there could be a sub in the class instead of the teacher.
Sign Up to be a VOLUNTEER
♥️Volunteers♥️
EVERYONE must reapply for being a volunteer. The system was cleaned out and you must reapply. Remember, if you want to be a chaperone or work events, you must be approved. If you are an employee of CCPS, you still need to complete the volunteer process for participation in events at school.
Even if you are not sure if you will be able to attend anything, please sign up early. Here’s the CCPS link of info:
Become a Volunteer - Calvert County Public School District (calvertnet.k12.md.us)
General Information and Resources
General Information about Sunderland Elementary School
- Morning Arrival Window: 9:15AM -9:25AM
- Instructional School Day - 9:25AM – 4:05PM
- Afternoon Dismissal Window: 4:05PM car riders; 4:10-4:20PM Bus Riders
- School Colors - Blue and White – Friday Spirit Days- Classes are assigned a Flock color as well. More to come on that!
- School Mascot/Motto -“SPIRIT” the Seahawk -Sunderland Promotes Integrity Responsibility Independence and Trust
SES Resources
Old News
Last Week's News
A HUGE THANK YOU to Serena Hight for the effort and time she put into working with all the students for the Talent Show! We appreciate all she did! 😀
5th Grade Looking ahead: 5th grade Recognition/Picnic will be June 12th in the afternoon. Since this is an event where guests will be openly engaging with all students and interacting in activities, all guests must be approved volunteers.
- ALL students: Field Day is scheduled for Friday, May 30th with the rain date on June 6th. Since this is an event where guests will be openly engaging with all students and interacting in activities, all guests must be approved volunteers. We do not have staffing to be able to manage a spectator only section so if you plan to attend, you must be an approved volunteer.
The Math Learning Festival is March 19th! Scan the QR code to register. See the flier below.
Nondiscrimination Statement
Calvert County Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, ancestry or national origin, familial status, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth programs.
Calvert County Public Schools does not refuse enrollment of a prospective student, expel a current student, or withhold privileges from a current student, or prospective student, or the parent or guardian of a current or prospective student because of an individual’s race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, age, national original, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Calvert County Public Schools does not discipline, invoke a penalty against, or take any other retaliatory action against a student or parent or guardian of a student who files a complaint alleging that the program or school discriminated against the student, regardless of the outcome of the complaint.
The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:
Ø Director of Student Services
Ø Director of Human Resources
443-550-8000
For further information on notice of non-discrimination, visit the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Assessment System at: https://ocrcas.ed.gov or call 1-800-421-3481.
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Anti-sexual, Anti-racial and Anti-disability Harassment Statement
Discrimination can manifest itself in behaviors such as bullying, harassment, or intimidation of individuals.
Calvert County Public Schools does not tolerate any form of harassment including, but not limited to, sexual, racial, or disability. Any individual (student, employee, or community member) who believes that they have been subjected to any form of harassment is encouraged to report the allegation of harassment. Students, parents, and community members may report allegations of harassment to: Ms. Cecelia Lewis, Director of Student Services, Calvert County Public Schools, 1305 Dares Beach Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
Employees may report allegations of harassment to: Mr. Zachary Seawell, Director of Human Resources, Calvert County Public Schools, 1305 Dares Beach Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
Calvert County Public Schools is committed to conducting a prompt investigation for any allegation of harassment. If harassment has occurred, the individual will be disciplined promptly. Disciplinary actions for students found to have engaged in any form of harassment may result in suspension or expulsion. Disciplinary actions for employees found to have engaged in any form of harassment may result in suspension or termination.
Calvert County Public Schools encourages all students, parents, employees, and community members to work together to prevent any form of harassment.
For further information on notice of non-discrimination, visit the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Assessment System at: https://ocrcas.ed.gov or call 1-800-421-3481.
Calvert County Public Schools Antiracism Statement
Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) explicitly denounces racism, bullying, discrimination, white supremacy, hate, and racial inequity in any form within our school community. Furthermore, CCPS will not tolerate the values, structures, and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism.
Each member of the district, individually and collectively, is responsible for creating and nurturing a safe, antiracist learning environment where each student, staff member, and community partner is a respected and valued member of the CCPS community.