White Marsh Elementary School

This week, our 5th grade students will continue with the MCAP assessments. Please make sure students are well rested, and come to school with a charged laptop.

Tuesday is the Character Tea. We will recognize those Bears that have been selected for good sportsmanship and loyalty.

Running Club K-2 will meet on Wednesday. Students should be picked up promptly at 4:20 pm with a photo ID. There is also a PTA Spirit Night on Wednesday! See the flyer below- come join us at Rita's in Charlotte Hall, from 6-8 pm!

Friday is a 2 hr. Early Dismissal. Students will come to school and dismiss at 1:45 pm. Friday is also Purple Up! Day. We encourage our bears to wear the color purple to show support for our military families.

The SMCPS calendar has been amended. The last day of school will be June 7. More information is below. As a reminder, the yearbook sale continues, and will end Friday, May 3, 2024. See the link below.

Have a great week!

Principal Steele

The Board of Education approved an amendment to the 2023-2024 SMCPS Operational Calendar. The revised calendar is posted to www.smcps.org/calendar.

As a result of the fact that SMCPS did not use any of its inclement weather days built into the calendar, the final day for the 2023-2024 school year has been adjusted.

• Both June 6 and June 7 will be 2 hr. Early Dismissal Days.

• The final day for students will be Friday, June 7, 2024.

The Department of Maintenance will begin the process of changing schools from heating mode to cooling mode for the balance of the season. Once the changeover is complete it will take a couple of weeks to fine-tune each building for optimal performance. Students are encouraged to dress in layers. In addition, as the weather gets warmer, please make sure your students have access to and use deodorant. Warmer weather brings the need!🙂

Please note- when signing out a student from school you will be asked to present your photo ID every time.

Congratulations to the following students for being selected for Sportsmanship and Loyalty!

Sportsmanship:

Kindergarten- Jack M, Kingston S

Grade 1- Stevie B, Brantley D

Grade 2- Kaniyah R, Kevin J

Grade 3- Adalynn H, Mack D

Grade 4- Cheyenne G, Kamdyn Y

Grade 5- Jackson W, Gage W

Loyalty:

Kindergarten- Dayveon S, Delaney H

Grade 1- Rocco M, Bella M

Grade 2- Grady M, Avery S

Grade 3- Ezra D, Harmony G

Grade 4- Aaliyah B, Skylar P

Grade 5- Henry D, Jack H

• Applications for STEM 6 will open on April 2 and close on April 30, 2024. No late applications will be accepted. The online application will be found on the Academies page of the SMCPS website.

• The annual Academy Open House will be held virtually on Wednesday, April 10th starting at 5:30 pm. More information is available via the Academy Open House Google Site.

• St. Mary’s County Public Schools, in collaboration with Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership, is hosting a Surf the Mental Health & Wellness Wave: A Resource & Education Fair on May 18, 2024, from 10 AM-3 PM, at the James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center. Come interact with and gather information from over 35 Mental Health & Wellness vendors. There will be numerous guest speakers and presentations on several different mental health and wellness topics. Use the QR code in the health fair flyer to view the schedule of events. In addition, there will be food trucks, door prizes, and lots of fun! Please join us!!

SMCPS and SMC R&P have partnered to offer the new Summer Sports Academies. Campers will be instructed by area high school coaches. Camps are held Monday - Thursday. Click below for more information. Registration begins March 1st. Don't miss this opportunity.

• https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/recreate/camps

• https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/docs/thescoop.pdf

Field Hockey Camp

Basketball Camp

Apr 24 Running Club (K-2)

Apr 25 Fifth Grade Field Trip

Apr 25 Elementary All County Honors Jazz Concert, LHS

Apr 30 Second Grade Field Trip

May 1 PTA Meeting, 6:30 pm

May 6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week

May 8-22 School Kidz Online Sale

May 9 Kindergarten Field Trip

May 10 2 hr. Early Dismissal

May 14 Election Day; No School for Students

May 15 PTA Family Fun Night, 5-6:30

May 16 School Dance

May 23 Spring Concert (Band, Chorus, Strings) 10 am

May 28-30 WMES Book Fair

May 31 Field Day!

The Maryland Special Education Parent Involvement Survey for SY24 is now available for parents to complete. If your child has an IEP, please complete the survey.

Band and Strings students are asked to bring their instruments to school every Wednesday! Sincerely, Mr. Guy

SMCPS is once again offering School-Based Counseling Support in the evening for SMCPS students. Counseling support focuses on the following areas: Healthy Relationships, Social Skills, Self-Esteem, Stress Management, Worry, Sadness, and Emotional Regulation. Services will be located at Margaret Brent Middle School and Greenview Knolls Elementary School on Tuesday evenings from 4-7:30 p.m. Please complete the Parent Contact Form for Evening Counseling to request services.

SMCPS has put together a list of commonly used resources so that families have a better understanding of what they are and how they are used in our schools. Take a look at the SMCPS Instructional Terms and Resources.

In order to volunteer and/or chaperone at WMES you must do the following annually:

1) register to be a SMCPS volunteer

2) attend a WMES Site Based Volunteer Training.

The SMCPS Volunteer information can be found on the WMES Family Links document, and the next WMES Site Based Volunteer Training can be found on the WMES website by accessing the calendar.

St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) is requesting your permission for your student to use the Internet and other computer resources in school. It is important that you and your student review this information. Click here to access The Acceptable Use Agreement.

Please remember that our school day begins at 9 am and ends at 3:45 pm. Early sign-outs and late arrivals contribute to missed instruction. In addition, students need to be present all day, every day, in order to participate in the Bear Crawl each month. Please support the importance of the academic day by only having your student miss school when absolutely necessary.

Be looking for a paper version of the WMES Family Handbook to come home the first week of school. In addition, we have created this electronic version of the WMES Family Handbook for you to view. It has important information about school policies and practices, including Volunteer Information, Breakfast and Lunches, School Celebrations, and more!

We have created a document for families with links to important system and school information. Check out this link and be sure to bookmark it! We will update it periodically so that you can have quick access to needed information.

• Student Laptops and Chargers

• Accountability Newsletter

• Print and Resource Accountability for SMCPS Students

From the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)-

Chronic Absenteeism: Students are chronically absent when absent 10% or more of the school days while enrolled at that school. For example, a student who is registered to attend a school for 30 days and who is absent 3 of those 30 days is considered chronically absent.

WMES will follow up with chronically absent students through the Pupil Services Team, Pupil Personnel Worker, and the Department of Student Services. In order to reduce the number of our students with Chronic Absenteeism, incentives to encourage good attendance include participation in the Bear Crawl, Running Club, and School Dance.

SMCPS Text Alerts are a great way to get information quickly. They are not sent often, and usually only in the event of an unexpected school delay or closure. On occasion, WMES will send a text alert about a late bus, substitute bus, or school event. Click the link for information about registering for text alerts.

Julia Steele, Principal

Email: jwsteele@smcps.org
Website: wmes.smcps.org
Location: 29090 Thompson Corner Road, Mechanicsville, MD, USA
Phone: (301)472-4600