Our Newsletter
Fri, 11/04/2022 - 3:21pm
A Note From Our Administrators
American Education Week
Dear Manor Woods Families!
Monday, November 14 – Friday, November 18 is American Education Week. AEW is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every child receives a quality education. All families are invited into Manor Woods to visit their child’s classroom during this week.
We ask that you follow the guidelines below:
-
You are welcome to attend any day but please try to limit yourself to one visit.
-
Arrive AFTER 9:00 a.m. as the bus loop will not be available for parking.
-
Remember, parking is limited!
-
Sign in when you come into the building and wear a visitor pass.
-
Please do not bring younger siblings with you, as this is instructional time for your child. Teaching and learning will be going on and this will ensure proper attention is given to your school-aged child(ren)
-
Teachers will be engaging with students during your visit. Please limit your conversations with staff and save your questions, concerns, and comments for our conference days.
We look forward to your visits. It’s been awhile since parents have been able to visit classrooms and there is a lot of learning going on daily. Attached, you will find our master schedule that will allow for you to pick the best time to visit.
Fondly,
Carol DeBord, Principal
Jennifer Zinn, Assistant Principal
Important Dates
November
11/2/22 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early
11/7/22 - 11/18 - MWES Food Drive
11/8/22 - School and Offices Closed
11/15 - PTA Meeting @ 6:30pm
11/16 - Picture Retakes
11/21/22 - School Close 3 Hours Early
11/23 - 11/25 - Schools Closed
RA Color Days
School News
MAP Fall Testing Reports Available
Home report PDFs for the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) fall testing are now available in HCPSS Connect. The assessment was given to students in grades 1-8 in reading and mathematics. Reports can be viewed/downloaded by Parents/guardians by taking the following steps:
-
Log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy
-
Select More Options from the left panel
-
Select Report Cards from the menu
-
Near the top of the page, select MAP_2022_FALL
Note: Students in Algebra I/II or Geometry, and English 8 G/T do not participate in MAP testing. If your child did not participate in the October administration, a report may still appear based on the previous administration.
Additional detail on MAP testing and how to interpret the report can be found online.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for November 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. Conferences with ELA teachers and 4th grade GT math teachers will take place during this window.
Parents have the option to conference either in-person or virtually. Please make note of the designated days below for in-person and virtual conferences below:
-
In-person conferences will be held on Monday, November 21st only
-
Virtual conferences will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd and/or 23rd only
The window to schedule conferences will open on Monday, November 7, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. and close Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. Parent should log into hcpss/connect using their parent account to select a conference time slot. Please view the following helpful links:
https://www.hcpss.org/connect/guides/
https://www.hcpss.org/f/connect/synergy-parent-teacher-conference-registration.pdf
Directions on how to schedule conferences can be found HERE.
MWES Food Drive is Back!
Nov. 7 - Nov. 18 Manor Woods will sponsor a food drive to support the Howard County Food Bank. Non-perishable items can be placed in the collection bin located outside of the main office. Items most needed include grains, pasta & sauce, canned vegetables & fruit, peanut butter, canned beans, tuna, baby food and hot & cold cereal. Your kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated. Thank you for making a difference for others in need!
Counselors Corner
Mrs. Heinlein and Mrs. Salapata, School Counselors, are here to support our students and families. Mrs. Heinlein works with grades K, 2, 3 and 5. Mrs. Salapata works with grades 1 and 4. Please reach out to us through email or by calling 410-313-7165 if we can be of assistance. monica_heinlein@hcpss.or
MWES Bedtime Stories - Family Reading Night
Please join The MWES Literacy Committee on Wednesday, November 30th from 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. for a cozy, fun evening of bedtime stories at Manor Woods ES. Staff members will read some of their favorite bedtime stories in selected areas throughout the school. This is a family event, so please enjoy this evening with your child/ren as they cuddle up for a good book. Children and families are invited to come dressed in their pajamas, bring stuffed animals, and blankets to listen to bedtime stories. There will be refreshments provided by the PTA at the close of the event. Please consider carpooling as our parking lot fills up quickly. We look forward to seeing you at the fun event!
Picture Absentee/Retake Day
PTA News
JOIN THE PTA!
Have you joined the PTA? All membership dues go directly back to the PTA to help us plan fun family activities, in-school assemblies, classroom supplies, and more! Join today and help us reach our membership goal! https://mwespta.com/membership/
FROM THE DESK OF THE PTA PRESIDENT
Thank you to the social committee for all your hard work in planning and hosting the Manny parade again this year! It was such a treat to see the smiles on the children’s faces! Hats off to the volunteers teachers, staff and administration and Manny that participated to make the parade a success!
Duck Dash is upon us! I know our little ones are really excited for the day this Friday! We thank you for supporting our main fundraiser for the school! In doing so, you help us to be able to continue to the school in various ways and to be able to plan activities throughout the school year for the students, teachers and staff. There is still time to make a contribution if you haven’t done so! We appreciate you for always showing up and showing out for our school and our children!
I am still looking for volunteers to help with our hospitality committee. We have some events that will be occurring soon and we will love some additional support. So if you have the time, please reach out and let us know!
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE
Community News & Events
HCPSS News
Families are encouraged to visit the HCPSS website for all your needs, including:
School -Based Mental Health Services
Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is expanding its school-based mental health services. Previously available in 45 schools across the county, these services will be available at all HCPSS schools by the end of the first semester of the 2022-23 school year. The services, including therapy provided at school buildings during the instructional day, are provided by HCPSS’ school-based student services teams in collaboration with community mental health agencies.
For more information please click on the link: https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2022/10/hcpss-to-expand-school-based-mental-health-services-for-students/
Community Health Fair
Glen Mar Church is hosting a free Community mini-health fair on November 12th. Everyone is welcome and it is free to the public. Pre-registration is strongly recommended. Walk-ins accepted as time slots allow.
Date: Saturday, November 12, 2022
Time: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Location: Glen Mar Church 4701 New Cut Road Ellicott City, MD 21043
The scheduled health-related services are:
-
COVID boosters
-
COVID Pfizer (5 to 11 years)
-
COVID Bivalent Pfizer (12 and up)
-
Annual Flu shots
-
Health screening (blood pressure & BMI checks) (18 years and up)
-
Vision screening (6 years and up)
-
Hearing screening (6 years and up)
-
Health risk assessment
Additional Information:
-
Flyer for event
-
Register at https://bit.ly/3SM9yxk
-
For the latest information, please visit us at: https://glenmarumc.org/events/mini-health-fair-2022/ .
-
If you have any questions, email us at healthfair@glenmarumc.org.
News From Howard County Health Department
Dear Howard County Community,
Since August, COVID case rates, test positivity, and new hospital admissions due to COVID have continued to trend downward. The COVID Community Level is LOW. As a reminder, Community Levels are categorized as low, medium, and high based on the number of COVID-19 cases in a given community and the impact of severe disease on community-based healthcare systems. The Omicron subvariant known as BA.5 remains the most dominant, with subvariants slowly increasing in Maryland. While COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths remain lower than earlier in the year, we do expect an increase in the coming months. To prevent serious illness, continue with the strategies we have learned over the past 2½ years. These strategies include vaccination, masking, testing, isolating when sick, and use of medications when prescribed. CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get the bivalent booster when eligible.
While the COVID Level is currently LOW, our community is seeing a significant increase in other viruses that are especially impacting children. Influenza (flu) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are causing many young children to develop severe respiratory disease requiring emergency room treatment and hospitalization. Our Maryland pediatric hospitals are experiencing a surge in patients causing some children to be transported to other states for care. Schools are seeing high absenteeism due to these viruses among older children.
Read more here: Office of the Health Officer - Howard County
New and updated information will be posted on our website, www.hchealth.org.
Annual Writing Contest
The Howard County Literacy Association invites students in grades 1-5 to submit their original poems and/or short stories to the annual writing contest called The Young Authors' Contest. Please see the attached YAC Flyer Announcing Contest for information about the rules and guidelines. All entries must have a completed YAC Cover Sheet sent as a PDF. Submissions may be emailed to Mrs. Moy by December 10, 2022. Contact Mrs. Moy with any questions.
Young Authors’ Contest information can be found on the HCLA website.. Howard County Literacy Association welcomes parents as members. Visit the HCLA Welcome Page for information about joining.
Inclement Weather Asynchronous Instruction Plan
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) now allows local school systems to repurpose inclement weather days as asynchronous school days. At the superintendent's discretion, HCPSS will use up to three inclement weather asynchronous days during the 2022-2023 school year. One of two additional codes will be instituted to reflect the decision to transition to an asynchronous instruction day:
-
Code Purple Asynchronous Student Day - School buildings and Office buildings are open for staff only
-
Code Pink Asynchronous Student Day - School buildings and Office buildings closed
On these Code Purple and Code Pink days, HCPSS curriculum resources for secondary students will be delivered within the Canvas learning management system. Resources will be available for all subjects and courses two hours after the start of the regular school day. Secondary Students are expected to:
-
log into each course via Canvas
-
complete work assigned for each course
-
indicate attendance by submitting the “attendance assignment” posted in each class/course
Students will receive grades for assignments in accordance with teacher parameters for the assignments. In accordance with Policy 8020: Secondary Grading and Reporting, all asynchronous day assignments must be completed within 10 days.
For more information, please visit HCPSS Inclement Weather Asynchronous Instruction Plan.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
To learn more please visit: https://www.hcpss.org/diversity/#discipline-practices
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE
November –
Veterans Day Event – 11th 6pm-9pm
*MWES Cafeteria * Pack boxes – Perishable Goods *Write Thank You Letters * Arts/Crafts
Veterans Day Volunteer Event
The MWES DEI Parent and Staff teams are working together to create care packages for our veterans and soldiers that are still in service. This event will take place on November 11th from 6pm-8pm. Please be on the look out for a volunteer sign-up sheet and a list of non-perishable goods that can be donated. Flyers and information to go out in students folders on Tuesday.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - DEI Participation
As we continue to work on celebrating our differences through cultural events at MWES, we are looking for more parents to participate in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Parent Team. The mission of DEI is a school community where every member feels seen, heard and empowered. Please contact DD at demikajohnson@gmail.com if you would like to join or have questions.
DEI SLIDES
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1X0355X_zQBDkGpg_qevyZURV-5L4RpfbFA9JrjcgyDQ/edit?usp=sharing