Greetings Parents and Guardians,

As we enter a new month of learning, I want to take a moment to highlight the importance of attendance, determination, and engagement in your child’s success. We know that consistent attendance plays a crucial role in academic growth, and being present—both physically and mentally—helps students stay connected to the material, their peers, and their teachers. Each school day matters and builds toward long-term achievements!

It's also essential for students to bring their determination to every class. Whether it’s mastering a challenging concept or tackling a difficult assignment, we encourage our students to stay resilient and keep pushing through obstacles. Determination helps them develop a strong work ethic and a mindset that challenges are opportunities for growth.

But perhaps most important of all is engagement. When students are actively involved in their learning, they are more likely to understand, retain, and apply what they’ve learned. A student who is engaged in the lesson is more motivated to participate, ask questions, and take ownership of their progress.

As you check in with your child about their school day, here are some questions you can ask to foster this kind of engagement and reflection:

• What was the most interesting thing you learned today?
• Did you feel proud of something you worked on in class?
• Is there anything that was difficult for you today, and how did you handle it?
• What questions did your teacher ask you to think about?
• How did you stay focused during class today?
  
  

I also encourage you to take a closer look at your child’s daily schedule and connect with what they’ve been learning. Ask them to show you an assignment, project, or lesson that they’re currently working on. This is a great way to stay informed about their progress and offer support at home.

If at any point you feel you need more information or guidance about how to better support your child’s learning at home, I encourage you to reach out for a parent conference. Together, we can discuss strategies to ensure your child’s success and address any concerns you may have. Your involvement is critical, and we’re here to provide whatever support you need.

We need you to help our students continue to thrive, and we want you to know that you are always welcome here. As we move forward into the final month of 2024, let’s continue to work together to help your child finish the year strong. We are so grateful for the role you play in our school-wide success story, and we look forward to all the progress we’ll make together in the months ahead.

Thank you for your partnership and dedication to your child’s education!

Best and Success,

Ethel Hosendorf

Principal, TC Martin Elementary School

The vision of T.C. Martin ES is to create a 5-star school community where all children feel empowered to develop their character, full potential and create their own success story.

Greetings T.C. Martin Parent & Guardian Community,

We hope the following information will be helpful to you and your child while preparing for the new school year.

SCHOOL HOURS

Effective August 26th, school hours are from 9:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. for all students. School doors will open at 9:00 a.m. Please do your best to have your child(ren) here on time for school. When your child(ren) arrive late to school it disrupts their routines and could disrupt their entire day.

ARRIVAL

T.C. Martin will implement policies and procedures that are aligned with school safety for both students and staff. For that reason, we have established procedures for arrival. Please help us by following these procedures and any directives given by the staff members in charge at the arrival area.

1. The doors open for students at 9:00 a.m. There is no adult supervision outside until 9:00 a.m. So we ask that the students arrive no earlier than 9:00 a.m.
2. If you are a car-rider in the morning, please arrive by 9:05 am and use the lanes to the far right of the building. Staff will be on the lot to direct traffic. Please also ensure your car rider tag is visible. Move as far forward as possible. The road leading towards our school cannot be blocked by cars.
3. Parents/Guardians, do not get out of your vehicle. A staff member will open the door for your child, or your child may get out of the vehicle on their own. Have your child(ren) ready to exit the vehicle so we can expedite traffic congestion.
4. Car rider Parents & Guardians will not be able to enter the building at any time during arrival and dismissal. This again ensures a smooth and safe arrival process.
5. All students will enter through the front doors. Staff will direct students arriving by both bus and car into the building.

DISMISSAL

1. Students will be dismissed at 3:45 p.m.
2. Parents/Guardians of car riders should arrive to the same area as arrival by 3:50 p.m. Please ensure your car rider tag is visible in your vehicle dashboard.
3. Parents / Guardians, do not get out of your vehicles. A staff member will bring your child to the vehicle and assist them in getting in the vehicle.
4. Buses will be released 1st followed by car rider vehicles 2nd.
5. Please do not attempt to move ahead of any bus or leave the lot before a staff member gives you the clearance and permission to do so.
6. All children must be picked up no later than 4:05 pm. If you are running late, please call the office.
   
   

Parents & Guardians who are picking up their children before dismissal must arrive to the main office by 3:15 p.m. Any arrival after that time will be dismissed after dismissal procedures begin at 3:45 p.m.

Parents & Guardians who have changes to their transportation for the day must notify martines@ccboe.com by 2:30 p.m. PARENTS & GUARDIANS SHOULD NEVER park their car and pick their child up to walk across the parking lot during dismissal procedures. Please be patient and work with us as we solidify our procedures. As the weeks go by, arrival and dismissal will get smoother as we work together on all.

LUNCH/BREAKFAST

Breakfast is $1.35 and Lunches are $2.80 per student. Reduced meal price is $0. Students eat breakfast in their classrooms. Students may bring a cold lunch and buy a carton of milk ($.50) if they desire.

Important Food Services Links

This year the county has moved from My Payments Plus to My School Bucks as our lunch money management system. Follow this link to sign up and add funds to your child’s account. If you had money remaining from last year, it should have been rolled over to My School Bucks. Any questions should be directed to the Food and Nutrition Services Department at the Board of Education. MySchoolBucks

Hard copies of the Meals Benefit’s (Free and Reduced Lunch) forms will be sent home the first day of school, but paper copies usually take longer to process. We recommend filling the form out electronically following this link: Apply For School Meal Benefits

PARENT CALENDAR: Here is a direct link to the 24-25 school year calendar and school system handbook.

Parent Handbook/Calendar - Charles County Public Schools (ccboe.com). It is also available to download on the school system website, under the calendars tab located on the home page.

Parents & Guardians,

Please join us this year as we push reset on school-wide attendance. Unless there is illness or extenuating circumstances, it is our desire to see every tiger in the building every day of this school year. Below is important information regarding attendance and polies for the school district. We will also acknowledge every student with a small award at the end of each month for earning 100% attendance with no lateness.

Please kindly familiarize yourself with all. The attendance picture below also has additional details.

Facts about School Attendance

• Regular school attendance in elementary school improves the chances that a child will read on grade level.
  
• Chronic absenteeism (missing 18 or more school days per year) is a primary cause of lower academic achievement even when the absences are "excused" or understandable.
  
• Students who attend 90% or more of the school year are more likely to graduate from high school on time.

Source: www.attendanceworks.org.

Attendance Policies

All students in Maryland who are ages five through 18 are required to attend school regularly. Schools are required by law to be open for at least 180 days school days, and a minimum of 1,080 school hours during a 10-month period in each school year. Schools must be open for a minimum of three hours during each school day. CCPS must record student attendance every day school is in session.

Exceptions can be made for students who are in the Chronic Health Impaired Program (CHIP), on home and hospital teaching, or who absences exceed 20 days but are excused by a doctor’s statement.

Dear Parents & Guardians:

We hope this letter finds you well. We are inviting our distinguished grandparents and or loved ones to our annual VIP day event here at Martin. This is a wonderful time for our students to share their classrooms and learning with those they love. Please kindly note the details of the event below and rsvp on or before December 1st. The rsvp will close on this date.

VIP Event Date: Thursday, December 19th

Times: Primary Grades PreK – 2 9:30 am – 11:00 am / Intermediate Grades 3-5 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: TC Martin Classrooms

RSVP Deadline: December 1st

RSVP Here: https://forms.office.com/r/4CtPjdrUEh

Please also see flyer and details below. Any questions can also be directed to your student’s classroom teachers. Only 2 adults per child 18 & older are permitted to attend. Thank you and looking forward to having you join us soon.

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) has moved its meal prepayment system to MySchoolsBucks for the 2024-2025 school year. The system replaces MyPaymentsPlus and is accessible at any time. Parents with existing MySchoolBucks accounts can log into the system and load money by credit/debit card or e-check to their child’s meal account.

With the new platform, parents are not able to divide funds between a meal account and a general account (used to buy a la carte items). Any money left on student accounts was moved to the new platform.

Visit www.myschoolbucks.com to access or create a new account. Parents creating new accounts must know their child’s six-digit student identification number. The number is in ParentVue, on the main page for the desktop version, and under the main student menu in the mobile app (click on the three lines in the lower left-hand corner to view a student’s child’s ID which will show their ID number).

A free MySchoolBucks mobile app is available in Google and Apple stores. The app icon is blue with My School Bucks written in white text in the square.

Please also take a moment to fill out the Free and Reduced Lunch Applications. Everyone should fill out the application whether you believe you qualify or not. All applications should be filled out by October 18th.

Please follow this link: MySchoolApps - Select District to apply. Paper applications can be requested in the front office as well.

Through the continuous school improvement process, T.C. Martin ES will create a school culture focused on the shared belief that quality teaching and learning is a collaborative effort that values the voices of all stakeholders. Together, we will identify our areas of strength and growth, work collaboratively to plan, implement and monitor our efforts, celebrate our success, and leave no one (students and adults) behind.

With this in mind, please kindly review the attached presentation on our ongoing school improvement plan (sip) that will walk you through our problem of practice, three smart goals and steps toward creating a school environment that values the forward progress of every student.

Thank you for partnering with us to create your child's success story.

Our math common assessment data is in. Take a look at how our students are scoring in terms of mastery of varying math concepts. We are proud that 50% or more of our students are demonstrating a general understanding of what teachers are teaching and what they should be learning. Please pat your child(ren) on the back and encourage them to continue learning forward.

For students in grades 4-5, your child should have received their Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) score report in their Tuesday folder. This is an Individual Score Report printed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) for English/Language Arts (Grades 3-5), and Mathematics (Grades 3-5). This score report is for your child's results from their grade level last school year.

For more information about the reports and the data, visit https://support.mdassessments.com/reporting/, choose the Parent Resources.

Please also reach out to Gemma Phillips (Testing Coordinator) at gphillips@ccboe.com with any questions.

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is hosting a virtual Zoom meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 8, for parents to learn about i-Ready assessments and reports. CCPS administered i-Ready diagnostic assessments in both reading and mathematics to students this month.

Students who took i-Ready assessments include the following.

• Students in Grades 1-8 participated in both a reading and math assessment.
• High school students with math Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) goals completed the math assessment.
• High school students with reading IEP goals completed the reading assessment.

All participants must have an active Zoom account to participate. The meeting link and password are below.

Meeting: https://ccboe.zoom.us/j/89015854167?pwd=7p4lbeqn8VfJzabmAfep3SkgZQPmRw.1

Passcode: 235535

If you have additional questions about your child's report, please contact Karen Peters: kpeters@ccboe.com

Parents & Guardians, our Maryland report card school year 2022-2023 is in. Please click on the picture to see where we are as a school and look forward to learning more about how we will make strides towards our growth forward.

Parents & Guardians,

The 2024-2025 PTO Board includes the following:

President: Alicia de la Cruz

Vice President: Jennifer Largen
Secretary: Ginger Howard
Treasurer: Tricia Herschfeld

Upcoming Meetings/Events

12.4.24 - PTO Meeting - 6pm - In Person and online

If you would like to volunteer or become a member of pto, please contact the team at tcmartinpto@gmail.com.

Parents & Guardians,

If you have any questions regarding the health of your children while at school, please do not hesitate to reach out to our sub nurse Nurse Ward while Nurse Cooper is on maternity leave. Nurse Ward is happy to walk you through best practice and point you in the appropriate direction for care. Please see the nurse's contact information below:

Nurse Danielle Ward
Email: daward@ccboe.com

On behalf of the Department of Community Engagement and Equity (DCEE), we wanted to let you know about the launch of the NEW Community Volunteer program. Please click the picture link to access more information. Please also share this information with families and your community.

This Month

Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

Upcoming

12.4 - PTO Meeting - 6 pm - In Person & Virtual

12.11- Principal Meet Up- RSVP below to attend

12.16-12.19 - Holiday Shop / Night - Spirit week leading to holidays / Stay Tuned for Schedule

12.19 - VIP Day - See flyer and rsvp link above - Deadline to RSVP is on Sunday, December 1st.

12.23- 1.1 - Holiday Break 🎄

• The school doors open at 9:00 am
• The late bell rings at 9:15 am
• No outside food or deliveries allowed.
• Please click on the picture to the right to access the school website.
• Parents and Guardians are welcome to join your child(ren) during their lunch period for a lunch bunch. Please connect with your teachers for designated lunch times. If you are planning to have lunch for birthdays or special events, please contact your child's teacher regarding snack distribution and head count. Due to allergies all items must be pre-wrapped, and store bought/labeled. Please also know lunches are 30 minutes. Parents and Guardians must comply with designated lunch times and teacher prompts for dismissal. Lunch bunches are not permitted on early dismissal or late arrival days.
• All visitors must sign in with a valid id.
  
• All changes to daily transportation must be made via email to martines@ccboe.com by 2:30 p.m.
• Principal Newsletters are published on the last Monday of each month.

Thank you for continuing to help our team to serve!

Parents & Guardians, Principal Meet ups are back. Please join me on December 11th from 9:30 - 10:30 am. This will be a great time to ask questions, you may personally have. It is also a time to answer any questions I may have about providing support to aide in academic/other programming for your child(ren) forward. RSVP is required. Form will close on Wednesday, December 4th. Coffee and Light refreshments will be provided. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Please RSVP Here

Parents & Guardians,

We want to hear from you. Please complete the following survey and sign ups below. We look forward to increasing our partnership with you as we build our five-star school community and school together.

Please complete the academic survey here