Seahawk News

• According to the Veterans Authority, “Veterans Day is important and has great historical significance as well as patriotic value for many people in our country, and by marking the day annually, we reaffirm our Veterans Day is important and has great historical significance as well as patriotic value for many people in our country, and by marking the day annually, we reaffirm our national values of duty, honor, selflessness, civic responsibility, and passion for our country." Thank you to all the families and staff who have served. We honor you!
• There will not be a newsletter next week.
• Thank you to the wonderful military families who joined us for dinner on Wednesday! It's great to get to know each of you better! A special shout out of THANKS to Ms. Crum, Ms. Simmons, Ms. Wolfe and Ms. Walzer for setting up and serving our families. Your time and efforts are appreciated!
• Congratulations to Dominic and Vincent Raffa to being recognized by the Aaron Judge ALL RISE Summer 2024 Book Club! I have received a special package for each of them!

• National Native American Heritage Month is celebrated in November to honor the history, culture, and achievements of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island communities. It's also a time to recognize the contributions of Indigenous people to the United States.

  Click below for additional information:

  https://www.si.edu/events/native-american-heritage-month

• NEW PARTNERSHIP ALERT!

  The Office of Gifted and Advanced Learning has partnered with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division to provide expanded STEM opportunities for CCPS students, supporting efforts to strengthen the district’s STEM pipeline. On October 21, a group of 50 students from Huntingtown High School (HHS) and Northern High School (NHS) had the unique opportunity to visit the Carderock Division. This visit allowed students to engage directly with cutting-edge STEM applications, fostering their interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through real-world, hands-on experiences. We look forward to what opportunities will come to the elementary levels.

  K - 5 Virtual "STEM to STARS" Night on 11/21

In partnership with Science Explorers, we are excited to invite your student to participate in our "STEM to STARS" virtual enrichment session on November 21, 2024 (5:30 PM - 6:30 PM). "STEM to STARS" promises an engaging and hands-on exploration of science for all students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The topic is "Slime Time". We'll cross-link our way through non-Newtonian fluids as we make fluffy and chalkboard slime.

A calendar invite to the session will be sent directly to each student by the Supervisor of Gifted, Advanced Learning, and STEM. In addition, parents will receive a confirmation email.

Additional Event Details:
Due to limited virtual seats, registration is required to ensure your participation. The first 50 registered students for each session will receive a confirmation email with additional details on how to pick up their Family Science Kit on November 19th or 20th.
Platform: Virtual (A Microsoft Teams link will be emailed to each participating student.)

https://forms.office.com/r/X1gZ52HcMA

• Science, Technology, Engineering,and Math Opportunities: DoD STEM has opportunities for students of all ages, educators, and professionals. Check out these STEM programs, internships, scholarships, and more! https://dodstem.us/participate/smart/

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REPEAT:

• VIP Day- November 26th: 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)

• Make Up Picture/Retake Day is coming on November 14th. More info to come.
• End Hunger Campaign: Each year we collect food for End Hunger in Calvert County. This year we will collect canned goods and nonperishable food items October 28th through November 15th. Each grade level will have a food collection box, and the grade level to collect the most items will win extra recess!
• Want your student to receive a letter from Santa? Order between now and November 23rd and receive your letter from Santa postmarked from the NORTH POLE! Thanks to the USPS, we are able to bulk ship letters for our students to Anchorage, Alaska, to be sent from the North Pole in time for Christmas! Don't celebrate Christmas? That's okay, we have a Holiday Letter template from the school to celebrate your student! This one will be mailed from Huntingtown, MD mid-to-late November. Place your order here! https://forms.gle/9zAm236y6ntUsH1w7

• We are pleased to share that the FSO has a new Spirit wear shop! Check it out to order your Sunderland SPIRIT wear! https://1stplacespiritwear.com/schools/MD/Sunderland/Sunderland+Elementary+School

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.

https://www.calvertnet.k12.md.us/district-information/community-partnerships-and-engagement/community-events

Our character trait for the month of November is ACCEPTANCE! This week we will have our Character trait assemblies to introduce the character trait of the month and recognize October’s Students of the Month. In Classroom Counseling lessons this month I will focus on acceptance and diversity.

Each year we collect food for End Hunger in Calvert County. This year we will collect canned goods and nonperishable food items October 28th through November 15th. Each grade level has a food collection box, and the grade level to collect the most items will win extra recess!

I will be on leave beginning December 2nd through January 2nd.

SES has joined 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 me to sign up.

Danielle Walzer

School Counselor

walzerd@calvertnet.k12.md.us

443-550--9387

Calendar

Nov 26th VIP Day at SES- Schedule to be sent

Dec 2nd 6-7pm, FSO Meeting

Dec 7th 10am-12pm, Winter Wonderland

Jan 6th 6-7pm, FSO Meeting

Jan 15th 815-915am, Breakfast with a Buddy (A-L)

Jan 16th 815-915am, Breakfast with a Buddy (M-Z)

Feb 3rd 6-7pm, FSO Meeting

Feb 7th 6-730pm, Heart Rock Dance

Mar 3rd 6-7pm, FSO Meeting

Mar 14th Talent Show in school

Mar 17th - 21st, Book Fair

Apr 7th 6-7pm, FSO Meeting

April 9th 5-7pm, Military Appreciation Dinner

May 5th 6-7pm, FSO Meeting

May 5th - 9th, Teacher Appreciation Week

June 2nd 6-7pm, FSO Meeting - Elections

Board Members

Samantha Manley, President

Nobert Akas, 1st Vice President

Serena Hight, 2nd Vice President

Niki Moore, Treasurer

Hannah Stanislawski, Secretary

Toni Crabb, Grade Level Representative

Sally Wolfe, Staff Liaison

Family Engagement Matters!!

As parents, we want our children to do well in school and when parents take a more active role in their children’s schooling, children achieve more! Not only do they learn more, they earn high grades and have better school attendance. By partnering with Sunderland and the FSO, you can make sure that their most significant experiences and relationships that happen at home and school are working together to prepare your child for future success.

Grade Level Representatives are a link between the FSO and Sunderland Elementary. Representatives bridge the gap in communication between teachers and parents, as well as encourage parent involvement in upcoming events. The major responsibilities are to bring members into closer contact with the school, to work with both the school staff and parents to promote the work of the FSO and to assist with membership promotion.

Reps will collaborate with teachers to identify how parents can assist with classroom activities while recruiting parent volunteers and delegating volunteer assignments for the grade level. Reps will also get together with the teachers to talk about the various ways and options available for parents to assist with classroom activities, field trips and celebrations for the upcoming year. By developing a list together of volunteer opportunities, parents will be able to communicate in advance which opportunities they can participate in.

Representatives will function as a committee, with the FSO Grade Level Representative Board Member representing them as the chair. Grade level representatives are encouraged to attend the monthly FSO meeting. Funds for their work will be provided in the FSO budget.

A brief bulleted overview of responsibilities are:

● Reps will assist with membership drives for their grade level

● Secure a list of names, phone numbers and email addresses of the parents whose children are in the grade level

● Leave contact information of reps for each family, encouraging them to use the FSO as a resource for assistance and information

● Share information with parents as directed and on a timely basis.

● Invite parents to each FSO meeting and keep parents informed about the FSO

● Recruit parents to assist with school activities as specified by the teacher, principal or executive board.

• 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.
  

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)

• 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

• Military Family Dinner- November 6th from 5PM- 7PM: Please complete this form is you are able to join us so we can plan for the amount of food to have available. https://forms.office.com/r/8GuqKxY6H1
• Please remember that schools are closed on Nov 5th for Election Day. The parent calendar is in a section below.

• REPEAT IMPORTANT: 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)