February Tidbits #3

Attendance Matters:

Maryland's attendance rate represents the average daily attendance rate of students in grades 1-12. The state’s proficient standard for attendance rate is 94% and the advanced standard is 96%

TCES Currently: 91.51%

The chronic absenteeism measure identifies students that are absent (lawful and unlawful) 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.

Last year: 32% of students at TCES were considered chronically absent

Currently: 27% of students at TCES are considered chronically absent

2/12 - 2/16 TCES Attendance Rate: 88.7%

2/12 - 2/16 Grade Level Attendance Award: 4th Grade 92%

TCES Staff attendance: 96% percent

We're grateful to all for your efforts to be here! Everyday matters in the pursuit of knowledge.

You can check attendance records in HAC. If you notice any days that are unlawful (marked red), please send an email to smverhaagh@smcps.org, or submit the reason for the absence online through our school website.

In last week's issue of the Terrapin Tidbits, we proudly announced that Ms. Scott and her amazing team earned the Maryland accreditation certificate for the Town Creek PreK program. This week, we are excited to share that they earned a "Quality Rating 5" for their excellence. Congratulations to the TCES PreK program!! The certificate, pictured below, will be on display in the TCES lobby, along with the accreditation certificate.

The Maryland School Report Card provides information about our school's performance for the 2022-2023 school year. You can find a link to our school's SY23 report card by visiting the Quick Links on our school's website. In addition, you can view the January 11 presentation to the Board of Education about system-wide data or visit www.smcps.org/about-us for additional information.

This week, we started a new incentive to help make lunch time run smoothly. Grade levels can earn a ticket for following the school-wide cafeteria expectations. These expectations include raising your hand, not sharing food, cleaning up after yourself, using good table manners, and staying in seats. These tickets go into a bucket, and one ticket will be drawn on Fridays. The grade level whose ticket is drawn gets to have a golden fork and spoon hung outside their door. The PTO graciously purchased a Yacker Tracker to keep track of the noise level in the cafeteria. When the light turns red, it means the noise level is too high. We are keeping track of the total number of red lights each day.

This week, Fourth Grade is the winner of the Golden Spoon and Fork! Way to go, Fourth Grade.

Ask your child to tell you more about our cafeteria expectations and the new lunch time incentive!

All 5th Grade students will be taking the MISA state test for Science from March 12-March 15 from 9:30am-11:00am. We know state testing can be very stressful for students. Below, you will find helpful things you can do to help your child with testing.

• make sure your child attends every day and is at school on time so we can begin testing promptly
• students who are not in the classrooms by 9:15 will not be able to test that day and will have to complete the test on a make-up day
• make sure your child eats breakfast- every student is offered free breakfast in the classrooms
• have your child get a good night's sleep

Students will need wired headphones for the test. We have headphones for all students, but if your child prefers to use their specific pair, please make sure they are wired and can be plugged into their laptops- Bluetooth headphones are not permitted!

If you have any questions, please contact the school.

Kindergarten:

• Reading
• Identifying letters and sounds Aa-Zz,
• Writing your name,
• Writing a sentence response to a story question
• Giving the main idea and retelling a story
• Math
• Identifying and counting 0-20
• Count to 100 by ones and tens
• Identify shapes

First:

• Reading:

  • -ng and -nk glued sounds

  • who is telling the story, answer and asking questions, describe characters, setting and events using key details

  • writing: opinion text

  • grammar: adjectives, using commas

  Math:

  • 2D and 3D shapes

  • fractions

  Science/Social Studies:

  • day and night

  • the stars and moon

  • goods and service

Second:

• Reading
• Reading 15-20 minutes per night and making predictions using text clues and pictures
• Math
• Practicing measuring using a ruler, or tape measure
• Identifying equal measures such as 12 inches = 1 foot

Third:

• Reading: Students in the middle of third grade should be reading 105+ words on grade-level text in one minute to be considered fluent. Read with your child and time them for one minute to check on their reading fluency! The Texts for Close Reading (TCRs) from the reading curriculum that students take home are a great text with which to practice!
• Math: Fact fluency for multiplication and fraction concepts

Fourth:

• Reading: Reviewing opinion, narrative and informational writing, Identifying theme

• Math: Measuring angles, Finding the area and perimeter of shapes
• Social Studies: Forced Migration of Africans
• Science: Weathering and erosion

Fifth:

• Reading: Summarizing text and writing 5 paragraph informative essays
• Math: Multiply and divide whole numbers and decimals
• Science: Matter and energy in organisms and ecosystems
• Social Studies: Resconstruction era and immigration

Get ready to celebrate reading! We'll have a fun week of activites starting March 4th. Invitations for guest readers will be sent out by classroom teachers in the coming weeks.

Do you know a Town Creek staff member that is going above and beyond to support our students or families? Please consider nominating them for the Treasured Terrapin Award! Let us know what a great job they are doing, how they positively help other staff, families, or our TCES students! Fill out this form to nominate a TCES staff member today!

Thank you for your support!

Mr. Kent and the TCES family

1. Have a change of phone number, email, or address? Contact the office right away. We need to be able to reach you if your child is ill or has an emergency.

2. Let the office know IN WRITING if you are designating someone other than a guardian to pick up your child at any day and time.

3. Opt-In to the School Messenger Text Messaging Service. For more information, click on this flyer. There is also an FAQ with additional information.

4. Got a birthday to celebrate? Please familiarize yourself with the TCES procedures for Birthday Celebrations.

Ready to rock some new Town Creek threads? A wide variety of spirit wear is available, from hoodies to sweatpants! And now, we are offering a Town Creek baseball cap! This cap is available in the virtual school store on MySchoolBucks for $15. The cap is available in two sizes, Child and Adult. Samples are on display in the lobby case. (Our model, a second-grader, is shown here sporting a Child sized cap.)

Select this link to see pictures and detailed descriptions of the items currently available in both youth and adult sizes. You can check out the samples in the case in Town Creek's lobby, too!

To order, you can print this form and send cash or check, or you can order everything online in the My School Bucks School Store. For directions on how to order through the MSB School Store, please select this link.

The items will be delivered to your student at school as soon as they arrive at TCES. Hats are immediately available!

**NOTE: Do not put money into the lunch money account for this purchase! That is a separate account from the School Store and can NOT be transferred.

Save the Date: The TCES PTO will be hosting a spirit night at Panda Express on Wednesday, February 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The PTO will receive 20 percent of the event sales. Follow these instructions to participate. You can use the app or show the flyer at the restaurant to earn the donation.

Thank you to everyone who attended our general meeting on Tuesday, February 6th. Here is the link to the meeting minutes.

The next general meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 15th in the media center. The meeting begins at 5:45 p.m.

Save the Dates:

• Panda Express Spirit Night on Wednesday, February 28.
• Book Bingo on Friday, March 15 (following general PTO meeting)

Want to get more involved? Be sure to fill out the membership application and join the PTO!

Questions? Contact PTO president Lydia Rivera at towncreekesptopresident@gmail.com.

School-based health centers are open and ready to provide high-quality care for your student and family! School-based health centers are exactly what the name implies: a health center in the schools where they are based. At the health centers, students and their families can rely on our doctors, nurse practitioners, and other support staff to provide well-child care and emergency care if your child is sick or injured, as well as a full range of age-appropriate health care services, including:

Primary medical care

Health education and promotion

Case management

Students can be treated for acute illnesses, such as flu, and chronic conditions, including asthma and diabetes. They can also be screened for dental, vision, and hearing problems. With an emphasis on prevention, early intervention, and risk reduction, school-based health centers counsel students on healthy habits and how to prevent injury, violence, and other threats.

Starting this past Friday, February 16 and running through March 22, fish filets will be offered as an option on Fridays.

• February 19th - Presidents' Day - All School and Offices Closed
• February 28th - PTO Panda Express Spirit Night
• March 1st - Professional Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
• March 4th-8th - Read Across America Week Spirit Days
• March 12th-15th - MISA Testing for 5th Grade
  
• March 15th - PTO Book Bingo (following general PTO meeting)
• March 22nd - Virtual Instruction Day and Two-Hour Early Dismissal (End of 3rd Quarter)
• March 25th-28th - Spring Break - No school for students and 10-11 month staff
• March 29th - Holiday - All Schools and Offices closed