Weekly Newsletter

Fri, 11/11/2022 - 3:07pm

 

A Note From Our Administrators

 

Dear Manor Woods Families!

Happy Veteran’s Day to our MWES Families!!

Please be sure to stop by the school and see the names of our Veterans on the front doors of the school. We are also honoring our Veterans through a Padlet and our bulletin board in the front lobby. Thank you for your service!!! We honor and appreciate you.

                             

 

Fondly,

 

Carol DeBord
Principal 

Jennifer Zinn
Assistant Principal

 

            

 

 

                                           Important Dates

November

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

Picture Absentee/Retake Day

Picture Retake Flyer 
 

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.

This Veterans Day

We would like to honor our current Veterans and their families. We thank them for their commitment, service, sacrifice and dedication for our country. Please enjoy this padlet highlighting our veterans and their families here at Manor Woods.

https://padlet.com/unjung_shin/tntqaz9apoq31uve 

From MWES DEI & DEI PTA team                        

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.orgchristina_salapata@hcpss.org 

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!

A NOTE FROM THE HEALTH ROOM:

As a friendly reminder, cold and flu seasons are approaching quickly.  Please remember if your child is sick, we ask that you keep them home.  If your child has a fever of 100.1 degrees or higher, they will need to remain home until they are fever-free for 24 hours with no fever reducing medication.  Frequent hand washing is the best practice to prevent illnesses.

IN SEARCH OF A PIANO ACCOMPANIST

We are in need of a piano accompanist for our Winter Chorus Concerts on December 13.  If you are available to accompany, we would be delighted to have you!  The time commitment is minimal - one rehearsal, a day concert and an evening concert.  Please contact Ms. Rinaldi at MWES if you have any questions or are available to accompany. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Ms. Rinaldi & Mr. Dobson 

 

PTA News

 

PTA DATES TO REMEMBER

November 15 - PTA Meeting

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/

PTA MEETING - TUESDAY NOVEMBER 15TH

Our November PTA Meeting will be held next TUESDAY, November 15th at 6:30PM! This is a great opportunity to learn more about the PTA, hear from our administration and find out about what’s going on at school. A zoom link will be sent next week for those who would like to join virtually. Hope to see you there!

Community News & Events

HCPSS News

Families are encouraged to visit the HCPSS website for all your needs, including:

Sensory Friendly Story Time

OEIS is partnering with the HCPSS Family Support and Resource Center and Howard County Public Library to bring a sensory friendly story time to families! Children with an IEP or IFSP and caregivers are welcome at this supportive, judgment-free class that includes stories, music, and movement in a small group. After the story time, a brief tour of the library and services will be offered for those who are interested. This event is for children birth-five with a developmental delay or disability; siblings are welcome. Classes will be offered once a month from December-May and will rotate through library branches across Howard County, registration is required as space is limited. Please share this flier with your families, and stay tuned for announcements for this fun monthly event!

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:

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. 

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/

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.

MRHS Music Foundation Mattress Sale

The Marriotts Ridge Music Mattress Fundraiser is coming soon. On Saturday, November 19th there will be 25+ different styles of beds on display for customers to try. The beds are new, brand name, made to order, available in all sizes, and cost up to 50% less than suggested retail. In addition to beds, there will also be premium pillows, luxury sheets, and even adjustable power bases. Please share this information with family and friends!   Flyer

10% discount for HCPSS staff and community heroes!

Price Matching!  Financing!  

Check out this video to see how it works. https://vimeo.com/637621858

And for more information you can visit the Facebook event page: https://fb.me/e/3MQGtALKC

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

To learn more please visit:  https://www.hcpss.org/diversity/#discipline-practices

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE

November – Native American Heritage Month

DEI Parent Meeting – 9th @ 6:30pm - Zoom

DEI Wall – Native American Heritage Month, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, World Kindness Day, 

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 Demika Johnson at demikajohnson@gmail.com if you would like to join or have questions.