Dear Dolphin Families,

This is our final week of learning before Spring Break with Friday, April 11 being a 2-hour early dismissal! Students will return from Spring Break on Tuesday, April 22.

See the Notable Dates section below for all the excitement happening this week!

We have an important construction update that will impact the drop-off/pick-up for Satellite and Before/After Care.

With 3rd Quarter Report Cards being distributed on Tuesday, April 8, MCAP testing (for grades 3, 4, 5) is right around the corner! See the MCAP dates below.

Sincerely,

Mr. Farrell

Ms. Edwards

• Notable Dates
• MCAP Testing Schedule: (Grades 3, 4, 5 only)
• Construction update- impact to drop-off/pick-up for Satellite and Before/After Care.
• Purple Up!
• Chalk the Walk
• Mental Health Fair
• Giving Closet

Food Services Info

• Weekly School Menu
• Meal Benefit Application - more than a meal application!
• My School Bucks

Helpful Links & Info Worth Repeating

• LMDES Career Day
• STEM for 5th graders moving to 6th grade
• Parent and Family Engagement for Young Children
• School Information Night for Multilingual Families
• Spotlight on Special Education

• Spring Newsletter from Nurse Hutchinson
• Yearbooks on Sale
• NAWCAD Summer Camp
• Camp Dare 2025 Opportunity
• Action Item: Impact Aid Forms

• Attention Pre-K Families: Upcoming Opportunities
• Lost & Found Videos
• School-Based Health Centers
• Spotlight on Special Education & CASCE Rise Up Award
• LMDES Schoolwide Expectations
• Bus Safety & Expectations
  
• SMCPS Policies and Guidelines
• SMCPS Title IX Information
• LMDES Birthday Celebration Policy
• Dolphin Reader Program & Forms
• Technology Info

• Tuesday, April 8- Third Quarter Report Card Distribution- Parents/Guardians will be able to login to the Home Access Center (HAC) in order to view students' report cards. Report card comments will be emailed home.

• Wednesday, April 9- Spring Picture Day

• Thursday, April 10- Third Quarter Awards Assembly
• Intermediate (Grades 3-5)- 9:30-10:15 AM
• Primary (PK- Grade 2)- 10:15- 11:00 AM

• Friday, April 11- Two-Hour Early Dismissal

• April 12-April 21- SPRING BREAK! (No school for students or teachers)

• Tuesday, April 22- Students return from Spring Break

• Wednesday, April 23- Purple Up! - Students and Staff are encouraged to wear purple to show their support of Military Children.

Movement Mondays:

Wear athletic gear!

Fridays are School Spirit Days:

Wear Red & Gray or an LMDES Shirt!

Beginning Monday (4/7/2025), you will notice some construction underway in the Satellite drop-off/pick-up "loop." See below for the impact to Satellite and Before/After Care:

Satellite: Parents will still utilize the "main road" near the gym/playground area as usual. There will be fencing that blocks the "loop." Parents will be able to turn off slightly (1-2 cars at a time) to drop-off/pick-up students. Students will be escorted into the same doors they use, it will just be a slightly longer walk through the fenced walkway. We will have signage and staff to help coordinate this change. We appreciate your flexibility and patience as we work through this temporary change.

Before/After Care: Parents will be able to park in the LMDES parking lot in front of the school. Parents will be able to walk through the fenced walkway to drop-off/pick-up students in the same Before/After Care location. We appreciate your flexibility and patience as we work through this temporary change.

SMCPS & Healthy St. Mary’s are partnering again this year for our Annual Mental Health Fair on May 10th at the James A Forrest Career & Technology Center.

Mental Health Fair Electronic Sharing Flyer.

We are also looking for student and staff volunteers!! Sign up here: Student & Staff Volunteer Form

Applications for STEM 6 will be accepted from April 1 to April 30. Interested 5th grade students should visit the Academies page for more information and to apply

LMDES Career Day is scheduled for Friday, June 6. We are looking for community members to share their jobs and inspire our students! Career day volunteers can present inside classrooms or bring a vehicle (farm equipment, police/EMS, construction) to share in the parking lot.

Please fill out the following survey by May 23 if you would like to volunteer!

https://tinyurl.com/LMDES-Career-Day

Parent and Family Engagement for Young Children: Please join us for a 6-part series of Virtual Conscious Discipline Workshops, with 1 In-Person Session, with Lead Conscious Discipline Instructors Amy Speidel and Lety Valero. Please see the flyer: Conscious Discipline Parent and Family Workshops. Please feel free to share this information with your families.

Spotlight on Special Education: There are so many fantastic things happening in our efforts to support SMCPS students with disabilities. Please use this survey to share your praise, story, or news about successes in your school or department!

The Sherriff's Department is looking for interested campers and counselors.

If not, Online Federal Impact Aid Forms are still available through the Home Access Center (HAC). Once logged in, directions to access the online Impact Aid form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE. The form can now be accessed in Spanish by clicking on the Globe in the top right-hand corner once the form has been started.

If you already completed this important action item, thank you!

Check our Nutrislice Webpage to:

• View Helpful nutrition info
• Download our FREE mobile app!
• Print menus

Food Service Award Nomination Form: Silver Spatula

Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary is a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) School.

We encourage you to ask your child about "Dolphin Dollars" and our LMDES Schoolwide Expectations!

Please take a few moments to view the video below and review the Student Rules for Transportation with your student(s). Student safety on the bus is the shared responsibility of students, parents, bus drivers, and the school.

Regularly reviewing bus expectations with your student will help ensure a safe ride to and from school each day. Riding the bus is a privilege; it takes all of us to safely transport our students each day. Thank you for your support!

• SMCPS Student Handbook
• SMCPS Code of Conduct
• SMCPS Cell Phone Policy

Download the Box Tops for Education app, scan your receipts, and earn cash for our school!

Thank you for your support!

Join us in promoting a healthy, positive approach to technology use!

• Supporting Your Child's Online Safety & Growth
• For Families & Parental Controls

Please consider sharing these social emotional learning and digital citizenship conversation starters in the car, at the table or at another time you can have a connection to learn more about your child and guide them to the best version of themselves:

• Resource for Pre-K - 2nd grade
• Resource for 3rd - 5th grade

Mr. Joseph D. Farrell, Principal

Ms. Kimberly Edwards, Assistant Principal

We welcome your questions and inquiries. Please call 301-472-4500, refer to the SMCPS Website, or our LMDES website for additional information.

Website: https://lmdes.smcps.org/

Twitter X: @lmdes_smcps

Phone: 301-472-4500