Manor Woods Elementary

MANOR WOODS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

11575 Frederick Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042

Week of September 12, 2016

CALENDAR

September 12 Schools closed for students – Professional Learning Day September 15 Individual Student Pictures September 16 Cultural Arts Assembly – Biggity Bad and the Three Little Pigs (Grades K-2) September 19 PTA Meeting – 7 p.m. September 23 PTA Spirit Day – Wear your favorite baseball team! September 26 Fall MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing window opens

SCHOOL NEWS

URGENT: HCPSS—FAMILY FILE: (Emergency Procedure Cards for 2016-17) Family File can be found by logging in to HCPSS Connect. In the Family File section parents will find all of the information historically located on the Emergency Procedure Cards such as contact information, medical considerations, and preferences. Parents log in through HCPSS Connect, there will be a link directing them to the Family File section. Once logged in, parents will be able to provide or update all of their contact information, medical considerations, and preferences in approximately 10 minutes. For existing parents, data will be populated from last year when you log in for the first time. You can find the Family File at http://www.hcpss.org/connect.

Please be sure to update or complete this information by September 30, 2016 for your child's safety. We must be able to contact you quickly in the event of an emergency involving your child. We appreciate your help.

MAP TESTING: Manor Woods, along with all other elementary schools in HCPSS, will be using MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) as a formative assessment tool three times during the school year for all students in grades 1-5. MAP is a norm-referenced test. The fall administration window is September 26-October 26. Students will complete both MAP-Reading and MAP-Math assessments within this window. Testing time takes approximately one hour per test per student (total of two hours testing per student). Our staff has access to student test results within 24 hours and grade level teams use this data to plan for differentiated instruction in reading and math. Parents will receive a written report on their child’s progress after the completion of the window. This report will include not only how your child performed, but how he or she performed relative to other HCPSS students and other same-aged peers throughout the country. More information about MAP is available at https://www.nwea.org/assessments/map/.

MESSAGE FROM MS. HEINLEIN, SCHOOL COUNSELOR: Hello, Manor Woods families! I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve as the school counselor here at Manor Woods Elementary. This is my 2nd year at Manor Woods and my 18th with HCPSS. My job is to serve the entire school community- students, staff and parents. I'll be visiting your children's homeroom classes to implement the essential elementary counseling curriculum. Monthly lessons will focus on academic, career, and social/emotional development topics for students in grades K-5. I'll also incorporate the Positive Behavioral Supports and Interventions (PBIS) behaviors into the lessons: Respectful, Responsible and Ready. I can be reached by calling the main office 410-313-7165 or through email [email protected]. I look forward to working together to support your child(ren)'s academic, social, and emotional growth.

ORCHESTRA: Questions about orchestra? Check out the information about enrollment, important dates and frequently asked questions at mwesorchestra.weebly.com. you are welcome to email Mrs. Zeitler at [email protected] with any questions. SCHOOL NEWS

CONFIDENTIALITY TRAINING FOR PARENT VOLUNTEERS: The Howard County Public School System requires Parent Volunteers to complete a brief training module and submit a certificate of completion before working as a school volunteer. HCPSS has developed a brief training module and a certificate of completion. You may access the training module at the following site: http://www.hcpss.org/parents/volunteer-information/. After you have completed the training module, please print the certificate of completion and submit it to your child’s teacher.

PREVENT LOST ITEMS: Please label ALL of your child’s belongings – backpack, lunch boxes, coats….EVERYTHING!! If your child does misplace an item, please check the Lost and Found, located just inside the front doors of the school. SCHOOL ARRIVAL PROCEDURE: The official start time for our school day is 8:45 a.m. We will only provide supervision of students before school from 8:30 – 8:45 a.m. Because of supervision and security reasons, students and parents may not enter the building before 8:30 a.m. to wait in the lobby.

LATE ARRIVALS: When a child arrives late to school – after the 8:45 a.m. bell has chimed – a parent MUST accompany the child to the front office and sign him/her in on the Late Arrival Book. The digital clock in the front office determines the time, which is set according to Coordinated Universal Time.

CHANGE IN PICK-UP: Students often have after-school plans (sports, etc) that require a change in pick-up at dismissal time. A note should be sent to your child’s teacher EVERY DAY that there is an alternate dismissal process.

ABSENCE NOTES: Any time a student is absent, he/she should return to school with a written note explaining the reason for the absence. Please help us keep accurate attendance records by complying with this policy.

PARKING: Please do not park and leave your car unattended at the red curb – THIS IS A FIRE LANE AND IS ILLEGAL. Cars parked there may be ticketed. Also, unless you have a permit, do not park in any handicap space. We do have families with permits who must park in these spots; please be considerate of their needs.

BUS ASSIGNMENTS: Students must ride their assigned bus. Any one-time bus change due to extenuating circumstances (i.e. childcare reasons) must be approved by Assistant Principal Julia Bialeski. Bus changes will be approved for emergency situations only. Permanent bus changes must be approved by the Board of Education.

PTA NEWS

1. Join the PTA! Help us provide STEM related activities, field trips and classroom supplies to our students.

 Join online @ www.mwespta.org Click the “Join Now” button to sign up

 Complete the PTA membership form (sent home & available at all back to school events) & send in with payment

* Remember to have your child color in one of the boy or girl figures for our PTA bulletin board after you join. Cut out the figure and send back to your child’s teacher with your child’s name on it. Additional copies available on the PTA website.

2. Connect with us on Facebook: Manor Woods Families. Join the conversation! Post questions & learn about events at MW and in the community

3. SPIRIT WEAR SALE going on now through September 23rd. Buy online or complete the paper order form coming home soon. There will be plenty of opportunities to wear your gear for our Spirit Days this school year.