UMPS News & Updates

Primary School Hours: 8:35 AM to 2:45 PM

Students should be in the classroom and ready to work at 8:35 AM

Email Attendance & Dismissal Changes to psattendance@umtsd.org

Nurse Emails to psnurse@umtsd.org

October 28: UMPS R.O.A.R. Spirit Week (info below)

October 31: Halloween Parade & Activities (info below)

November 1: UMPS First Friday (Hat Day)

November 5: No School (Election Day)

November 6: Parenting on Your Feet - Mock Teen Bedroom @ UMMS, 6:30 PM

November 18: American Education Week

November 19: UMPS Book Fair (ends 12/6)

November 22: HSA Grade 1 VIP Event (more information coming soon)

November 25-27: Early Dismissal @ 11:45 AM (Fall Conferences)

November 26: UMPS Picture Retake Day

November 27: First Trimester Ends

November 28-29: District Closed (Thanksgiving Holiday)

Our October PBIS Home-School Connection is focused on the "5 Things You Can Control." This helps students understand how their choices impact all of our R.O.A.R. virtues. Check out this Rocket Kids Video with your child to discuss ways to make good choices!

Our staff and students have been working hard during the first 30 days of school to learn our R.O.A.R. expectations! This week, we have our first R.O.A.R. assembly to focus on Respect. Next week, we will have a R.O.A.R. Spirit Week and kickoff our pawprint program on Friday, 11/1!

• Monday, 10/28 - We are Golden Bears! Wear purple, gold, or UM gear to show your school pride!
• Tuesday, 10/29 - Our Behavior Shines! Wear something bright, neon, or sparkly!
• Wednesday, 10/30 - Golden Bears Unite! Be an upstander! Wear orange to show that we are united in R.O.A.R. behavior and kindness!
• Thursday, 10/31 - Our Behavior is "Spook"tacular! Bring your costume to school for our Halloween parade!
• Friday, 11/1 - Hats Off to Great Behavior! Wear your favorite hat to school and bring in $1 for our First Friday!

Coloring is a popular indoor recess activity for our students! If you have any new or gently used coloring books to donate, please send them to the Primary School main office. Thank you for your donations!

K-5 STEM is collecting the following items for future projects:

• empty tissue boxes,
• paper towel & toilet paper rolls,
• egg cartons

Students can bring items to school to be placed in the crates outside of the STEM lab. Thank you!

We look forward to our annual Halloween Parade on Thursday, October 31! Students should bring their costume in a bag labeled with their name. Costumes should not be worn to school. We suggest leaving costume accessories at home so they are not forgotten at school. Violent themes and costume weapons are not permitted.

Students will parade around the elementary center campus at 9:30 AM (see map below). The driveway leading into the elementary center complex will close at 9:25 AM. Parking is limited. Please coordinate car-pooling or walking if possible. Families are welcome to line the parade route to see the PS students and staff. Adults who choose to come in costume should not have their head covered. The parade will be live streamed for anyone unable to attend.

In the event of inclement weather, the parade will take place in doors. Due to capacity restrictions and safety, spectators will not be permitted inside the building, but will be able to view the livestream on our website.

On Friday, November 1st, we will wear our favorite hats and raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation. This charity works to help people who have Epilepsy, which is a disease that affects people's brains. Our dollars will help doctors and nurses learn more about how our brains work!

Mark your calendars for our HSA First Grade Event! Join us for fall themed festivities and fun on Friday, November 22, 2024 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM. Cost is $15 for HSA members or $20 for non-members and includes 1 first grade student and 1 adult VIP guest. Tickets can be purchased through Membership Toolkit.

Questions? Email umelementaryhsa@gmail.com.

As we plan for upcoming school calendars, we wanted to gather feedback from different partners throughout our school community on the start and end dates of the school year and the length of Spring Break.

School Board Policy 803 provides guidelines that the Board uses to determine the first day of school each year.

We hope you will take the time to complete this survey which will provide us with valuable feedback as we plan for upcoming school calendars.

Best Regards,
Dr. Lawrence Cannon
Assistant Superintendent of Schools

The Upper Moreland Chapter of Art Goes to School is an all volunteer, non-profit organization that brings art enrichment activities to the Primary and Intermediate students of the Upper Moreland Township School District in Montgomery County.

We are looking for new members to join our Upper Moreland Chapter of Art Goes to School. We meet in the evening at Upper Moreland Intermediate School about once per month from 7 PM - 9 PM (usually on a Monday). A big part of our monthly meetings is spent learning about the artworks in our portfolio and how to best present them to our Primary and Intermediate students. Then each spring in April or May, we present the artworks to the PS and IS students during one of their regularly scheduled Art classes.

For questions or more information about our next meeting, please email us at agtsatum@gmail.com.

Educational needs and funding change frequently. To keep up with these changes and expenses, our school partners with Weis Markets in their annual Weis 4 School program. Register your Weis Rewards card online at weis4school.com or by scanning the QR code on this flyer.

On the homepage of weis4school.com, enter Upper Moreland Elementary in the Search for Schools box. Then select the LINK YOUR WEIS REWARDS CARD. Enter all required information and select SUBMIT. Once you register, you're in the program for this year. The sooner you register and shop the sooner you're helping us earn money for our school. Please be sure to register ASAP. The last day to register is October 31, 2024.

By participating in this program, we can earn money for our school simply by shopping. We received a check for $200 from shopping during the 2023-2024 school year. Please share this information with your friends and family. The more interest and enthusiasm we generate, the greater the benefits to our school.

We're kicking off our 7th year of UMMS's #ProjectLIT Book Club! This is a book club for students, families, and staff to come together. Click here to learn more!

All you have to do to attend is read the book. If you haven't attended before or you're new to the middle school, this is the perfect time to start! All families are welcome!

A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner

*Where? UMMS (specific room TBD)

*When? Tuesday, October 29 from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM-ish

*What? Powerful group discussions, fun activities, & exciting trivia!

If you are interested in attending, click this link to complete the Sign Up Genius.

How do I get the book?

• Check with your literacy teacher or the UMMS Library
• Check the UM Public Library
• Purchase a copy

What are the challenges you are facing as parents, guardians, and educators? Our presenters will address the potency of today's cannabis, other substances, impaired driving, and more, with a special focus on teens and emerging adults.

We'll also provide a tour of our Mock Teen Bedroom,* which helps adults to identify signs of substance use, and trends that put kids at risk, such as cannabis, vaping, and alcohol.

Together, we'll develop the tools we need to support young people!

*Attendees must be 21 years old to tour the "Mock Teen Bedroom"

• For information regarding Free & Reduced Meal Plans, please click here.
• If you have any questions regarding your account or Free & Reduced Meal plans, please contact our Food Services Coordinator, Tiarra Thomas at tthomas@umtsd.org.

• Free / Reduced Meals information and application is available on our website.

• Along with school lunch, our cafeteria also has a variety of snacks and ice cream that are available for purchase. Did you know?

  • You can load money onto your student's account through School Cafe.
  • You can set restrictions for when and how much they are allowed to purchase snacks/ice cream.

We're excited to announce that we have transitioned to a new platform for processing applications and renewals.

If you have already been approved and are in our system, no action is required. The change only applies to new applicants and those renewing their applications.

For assistance with the online volunteer registration, please refer to the Volunteer Guide for an overview, or contact Human Resources Specialist, Matthew Mastrogiovanni, at mmastrogiovanni@umtsd.org for support.

• Attendance: Student absences, late arrivals, and early/change of dismissals should be reported in writing to the Upper Moreland Primary School attendance email at: psattendance@umtsd.org. It is recommended to also CC your student's homeroom teacher. Please make sure to include the student's first and last name as well as the homeroom teacher name. *We strongly encourage parents to send notifications and notes to this email prior to or on the day of a student’s absence.

• Student ID Badge Replacement: log in or create an account on the online fee payment center, (Payment center is available through the district website main page), select ID Replacement, follow directions to submit the $5 fee.

• Moving? If your family is planning to move out of the district or within the district, we need to hear from you in advance. Likewise, if your child will attend a private school, please also let us know in advance. Please use this link to learn what is needed for a smooth transition.

If you would no longer like to receive weekly email updates from Upper Moreland School District and wish to opt out from further communications, please email mmarass@umtsd.org.