Beacon Bulletin | Smore Newsletters

Loading...

page background

Message from Mrs. Zeier

Piney Point families,

It was so great to welcome all of our Beacons back to school. We have had a FANTASTIC first 3 days at Piney Point! Our students have settled back in and have been practicing the PPES 3R's - Respect, Responsible, and Ready. Thank you for supporting our new initiatives such as the bus and car rider tags. We appreciate your continued help in keeping our Beacons safe.

Please click and complete the Acceptable Use Agreement. An Acceptable Use Agreement MUST be completed for EACH student in SMCPS. Thank you!!!

Be sure to review this entire newsletter each week as it will provide you with valuable resources and information.

~Mrs. Zeier

This year, we are offering Field Trip t-shirts for our Beacons to wear when they are out of the building on a trip. The order form is attached below. Our goal is for ALL of of students to have a shirt so that they are easily identified. We will have a table set up at Open House to pre-order your shirt. The last day to order is September 19th. You may pay with cash or check made out to Piney Point Elementary. Parents may also order a shirt if they are going to be volunteering as a chaperone. Please take advantage of the opportunity to protect that safety of our students when they are out of the building.

Join the PTA

It's time to renew your PTA membership dues!

2023-2024 Membership/Dues Cost: $20

Dues payment link:

https://pineypoint.memberhub.com/

Why join the PTA?

- Your membership dues help us achieve our goals of helping students, teachers, and staff.

-You will receive school updates. Signing up will keep you in the loop with what’s going on at PPES.

-Signing up to join the PTA is not a commitment. We won't force you to volunteer- but we do appreciate all the help we can get! If you join there are also no meetings to attend.

Thank you for your support!

-The grade with the most membership sign ups gets a FREE PIZZA PARTY!

PTA Shoe Fundraiser

Don't throw away those old sneakers!

Your old shoes can help raise money for PPES!

WHAT: Recycle and reuse those pre-loved sneakers. This sneaker drive fundraiser keeps sneakers out of landfills and reduces toxic chemicals from being released in our air and soil. All reusable sneakers from our sneaker drive fundraiser program are recirculated to secondhand markets so people can access quality, pre-owned footwear at affordable prices. All heavily used and damaged footwear is recycled to reuse materials or to convert waste into new energy.

WHEN: Aug. 28 - Sept. 22nd

WHERE: Piney Point Elementary. We will have collection boxes set up at the school.

NOTE: We can ONLY ACCEPT SNEAKERS. NO dress shoes, NO flip flops, NO sandals, NO clogs, NO slip-ons, NO boots. Also, please be sure each sneaker has a pair (we cannot accept single shoes).

As we plan our return to school for the 2023-2024 school year now is a great time to find your laptop and charger. Please run all of the updates and make sure that it is working order. Chargers are to remain at home.

All SMCPS laptops come with the same responsibility of care and upkeep as any other loaned resources. Textbooks, novels, laptops and chargers can incur a debt if lost or damaged. Please refer to the student accountability newsletter that has been added to our weekly school newsletters.

** 2nd grade students will be receiving a new laptop the week of September 11th.

ALERT: BEWARE OF PHISHING ATTEMPTS ON SMCPS STUDENT ACCOUNTS:

In recent weeks, phishing attempts have been targeted at SMCPS student accounts using methods outside of SMCPS managed services.

Phishing is a method where malicious individuals attempt to trick you into providing them with information about you and your online account information. These methods can take many forms, so staying vigilant for anything that seems out of the ordinary when online is important.

Additionally, please note that SMCPS IT support will never contact you on Discord, Steam, or any other application that is not managed by SMCPS and will never ask you for your account password. If you are contacted on any outside application stating to be SMCPS IT, please DO NOT respond, block/report the individual and inform your site administration so that it can be escalated. Contact your building-level tech or the Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) at your first leisure for more information.

Birthday Treats

Birthday treats present the potential for allergic reactions for many of our students. They also interrupt instruction. However, we understand that some students enjoy celebrating their birthday with their friends at school. Because of all of these factors, birthday treats may NOT be edible. Gift bags with stickers, pencils, crayons, erasers, and/or other small toys are acceptable. They can also be shared at recess or the end of the day which doesn’t compromise instructional time. Parents who wish to provide birthday treats to a class are asked to notify the homeroom teacher in advance and to drop them off in the front office as early as possible.

Welcome Back for a new school year at Piney Point Elementary School!

My name is Ms. Pelton and I am your new school counselor this year. While this is my first year at Piney Point, this will be my fourth year as a school counselor. I am so excited to get to know you and your students!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. The best way to reach me is to email me at klpelton@smcps.org.

Looking forward to a great year!

Ms. Pelton

Medication Administration

Medications occasionally need to be administered to students by our nurse during the school day. Please see the attached guidelines. Students can not transport medication of any kind to school including over the counter medications. All medication must be brought to school by a parent, guardian, or other authorized adult. Please call the school nurse if you have any questions.

What to Do if Your Student is Ill

While school attendance is vital to your student’s education, a sick child belongs at home. Please review the Sick Day Guidelines below to assist you in making that decision.

SEND ME BACK TO SCHOOL WHEN...

My symptoms have significantly improved or resolved.
I haven't had a fever for 24 hours and have not had any fever-reducing medication.
I haven't thrown up or had diarrhea.
If antibiotics have been prescribed, I have been taking them for at least 24hr.

CALL THE DOCTOR IF...

I’ve had a temperature higher than 100°F for more than 2 days.
I've been throwing up or having diarrhea for more than 2 days.
I've had the sniffles for more than a week and they aren't getting any better.
I still have asthma symptoms after using my asthma medicine (and call 911 if I'm having trouble breathing after using an inhaler).

Please click the link below for information regarding your child's bus number, bus stop location, and pick-up and drop-off times. If you have specific questions regarding bus transportation, please call the Department of Transportation at (301)-475-4256.

For all parents of PreKindergarten and Kindergarten students: An adult must be present at the bus stop when students are being picked up or dropped off. If an adult associated with a PreKindergarten or Kindergarten student is not present at the bus stop at the end of the school day, the bus driver will return the student to the school and the parents will be contacted to come to the school to pick up the student.

SMCPS Calendar Updates

The Board of Education and MSDE have approved the amended 2023-2024 SMCPS Calendar. The new calendar is posted online at www.smcps.org/calendar

The Amended calendar included two virtual instruction days:

Monday, October 9: Asynchronous day: parent conferences/ early dismissal
Friday, March 22: Synchronous day: End of 3rd Marking period/ early dismissal

In addition, due to the change in the Primary Election Day, May 14 is a required school holiday. There will be no school for students on May 14. May 14 will remain a staff duty day. Telework options may be offered as a result of school site use as polling locations.

As a result of the required school holiday, the last day of school will be moved and June 13 will be the last day of school for students. Students will have a two-hour early dismissal on June 12 and 13.

Schoology

Schoology is a very helpful tool and resource for teachers, students, and families. Please ensure that you are able to access Schoology for updates and information from the school and your child's teacher. If you need support in obtaining your Schoology log in information please email schoology@smcps.org for support. Please click Parent Notifications for directions to ensure your notifications are set to receive important information about your student.

Log Into the Schoology Mobile App

If you already have a Schoology account, download the Schoology app from Apple App Store, Google Play or the Amazon App Store. Tap the app icon to open it on your device.

You can use an email address or username to log into the application, depending on how your account was set up:

Log in through your School

Use the keyboard to enter SMCPS. As you type, matching choices populate in the list. The name, ID number, city, state, and zip code for the school should appear below.
Tap the name of your school or organization when it displays.
Use the email address or username to log in to the application, that was sent to you via email from Schoology with an app password. If you are an SMCPS student or teacher this is NOT your SMCPS password.
Tap LOG IN to complete.

If you are able to sign in with Google, and you are an SMCPS student or staff, please use that login process and follow the provided instructions in the prompts.

Want to enable notifications? Please check this document

Loading indicator