White Marsh Elementary School

The last week is here!

No matter where you plan to spend your summer, the WMES team wishes you a happy, healthy, fun filled summer! The Bears have had a great year, and worked hard!

On Monday, we will recognize the Kindergarten, First, Second, Third and Fourth Grade Bears at the Awards Assemblies. Doors will open 10 minutes before each assembly; please walk around to the gym entrance. The K, 1 and 2 Awards Assembly will begin at 9:30, the assembly for Grades 3 and 4 will begin at 2:15 pm.

Tuesday is the Fifth Grade Fun Day; after a fun morning with classmates the 5th grade parents are invited to their awards assembly at 2:00. Doors will open at 1:50 pm (Please walk around to the gym entrance.)

Wednesday is the last full day of school.

Thursday and Friday are both early dismissal days; WMES will dismiss at 1:45 on Thursday and Friday.

Best wishes to our amazing 5th grade Bears as they head off to middle school!

Have a wonderful summer vacation!

Principal Steele

This week, we will have the Bear Crawl for those students with Perfect Attendance (Bell to Bell) in May! Students will get to crawl like bears and ROAR down our hallways! Please be sure to check your students' attendance on HAC. If they have an absence that you feel should be excused to allow them participation in this event, email Principal Steele with the date(s) and the reason for the absence by 9 am on Monday, June 3, 2024.

As a reminder, students will keep their devices (and charger) over the summer. Students will continue to have access to Clever which includes multiple resources that will be accessible. Please assist your student with keeping their laptop and charger in a safe place. This device is checked out to your student, and families may be responsible for replacing the device if damaged or lost.

For more information including replacement fees, see the SMCPS Student Device and Resource Accountability document.

Please mark your calendars...the first day of school will be Wednesday, August 21. Open House is tentatively scheduled for Monday, August 19.

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

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

The SMCPS Food & Nutrition Services Department will be providing a 5-day pickup for summer meals.

These meal bags will include five breakfasts, five lunches, a half-gallon of white milk, and two cartons of chocolate milk for each child.

Meal pickups will be on Mondays and we are offering two pickup times for your convenience. 11 am - 1pm or 4pm - 6pm. The schools offering pickup are:

• Chopticon HS
• Leonardtown HS
• Oakville ES
• Spring Ridge MS

Parents/Caregivers must either have signed up ahead of time using this form with their children's information or have the children in-person for meal pickup.

Summer Meals/Parent Signup

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

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