Dear Manor Woods Families,

Our February parent-teacher conferences are quickly approaching. They are scheduled for Thursday, February 9th and Friday, February 10th. For our winter conference format, some individual classrooms will pilot student-led conferences. A student-led conference is when a student facilitates the conference between themselves, their teacher, and their parents for the purpose of 1) reviewing educational progress, 2) setting goals, and 3) securing parent help with those goals. Students have the opportunity to talk about their educational progress as they also listen to their teachers talk about strengths and share positive information about their progress and growth.

During the conference, students will explain the educational goals they have set and/or share a variety of work samples. Together, the student, teacher, and parents determine what each will do to help the student move closer to achieving the identified educational goals or areas of need. Student-led conferencing engages parents and allows students to be involved in the decision making for their very own educational journey. In the week leading up to the conferences, children will prepare a reflection on how they feel they are progressing towards the goals they've set and will be ready to share that information with you during the 15-minute conference block. 

Our February conferences will be in-person on Thursday afternoon from 12:45-3:30 and virtual on Thursday from 3:30pm-6:30pm. Conferences scheduled on Friday will be virtual. If you have an in-person conference scheduled, your child should attend the conference with you. If you are having a virtual conference with your child's teacher, your child should sit with you during the virtual meeting.

Please save the conference dates and be sure to schedule a conference time with your child's MATH teacher. (GT will meet with 5th grade parents/students) Conference sign-ups begin on January 27 at 8am and the window will close for parents on February 3 at 4pm.

Thank you for welcoming this opportunity to participate in our pilot plan for student-led conferences. Your child’s math teacher will be in touch soon to let you know if they will be piloting student-led conferencing this February.  Your student is going to shine!

 

Fondly,

Carol DeBord
Principal 

Jennifer Zinn
Assistant Principal

 

            

 

Happy New Year

 

Important Dates

January

1/16/23 - Schools and Offices Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/18/23 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early (Professional Work and Wellness Day)
1/23/23 - Schools Closed for Students (Professional Work Day)
1/25/23 - Student Group Picture Day for Band/Orchestra/Chorus

 

RA Color Days

                                                                                                  

 

 

 

School News

 

Winter Map Dates

 

 

Young Authors Club Congrats

Road To Kindergarten

Please join us for an information session about Kindergarten.  

• Jan. 19, 2023 at Centennial High School 

• Jan. 24, 2023 at Wilde Lake High School

• Jan. 26, 2023 at Oakland Mills High School

~Click here to view flier 

Attention Rising 6 Graders

Save the date: Burleigh Manor's New Student/Parent Orientation Night will be January 26 from 6 to 7PM. 

GT meeting the same night right after the New Student/Parent Orientation at 7PM

Students Attendance Procedures

MWES would like to remind families about our attendance procedures. If your child is going to be absent from school, or if you need to provide a note to excuse your child’s absence from a previous day, please use our school absence inbox by emailing MWESABSENCE@hcpss.org, put the student name on the subject line.  You may also send in a note the day your child returns to school. 

Your message must include your: 

• Child’s First And Last Name

• Grade/Teacher

•  The Date Of Absence

• The Reason For Absence

 Please see the policy for attendance here:  HCPSS Policy 9010: Attendance. 

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.org; christina_salapata@hcpss.org 

 

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. Outdoor Recess Guidelines Generally, students will be outside for recess when the temperature combined with the wind chill is not less than 20 degrees Fahrenheit or the heat index reading is less than 95. Children with certain health conditions may need special accommodations during extremely hot or cold weather. Parents of those children should provide medical documentation and may be consulted to determine if other arrangements are necessary. Manor Woods Elementary School is super excited to be celebrating Maryland Reading Month  We will be having special days throughout January: Friday, Jan. 13th - MWES School Wide Sing-Along & Curl-Up and Read Day- Wear pajamas and/or comfy clothes, bring a favorite book, and stuffy!  Friday, Jan. 20th - Wear a Readable Shirt day (shirt with words)  Friday, Jan. 27th - Wear Maryland Colors (red, black, yellow, and white) Tuesday, Jan. 31st - Dress Up as Your Favorite Book or Character   PTA News PTA DATES TO REMEMBER January 11 - DEI Meeting January 24 - PTA Meeting January 25 - Restaurant Night - Zen Garden February 4 - Snowflake Fun Run   PTA MEETING - TUESDAY, JANUARY 24th Our first PTA Meeting of the year will be held Tuesday, January 24th at 6:30PM! This is a great opportunity to learn more about the PTA and what we have coming up, hear from our administration and find out about what’s going on at school. A zoom link will be sent for those who would like to join virtually. Hope to see you there! STAFF GRATITUDE GIFTS - THANK YOU! Gratitude Holiday Gifts - Thank you so much for all the generous donations to our teachers and staff. We have gotten so many thank you notes back from them and wanted to share with you how appreciated the Manor Woods families are! STAFF TREAT DONATIONS - RESCHEDULED Thank you all so much for the donations for our Merry-Mix Trail-Mix bar. We will being setting up this fun treat for the teachers prior to MLK weekend. RESTAURANT NIGHT - JAN. 25 Our next restaurant night has been confirmed for Zen Garden on January 25th - stay tuned for more details! And save the date, March 13th for Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar! SNOWFLAKE FUN RUN - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Save the date! The 2nd annual Snowflake Fun Run sponsored by the MWES PTA is scheduled for Saturday, February 4 at Marriotts Ridge High School. More information will be coming soon!

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion To learn more please visit:  https://www.hcpss.org/diversity/#discipline-practices Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - DEI Participation Happy New Year and I hope everyone had an awesome and relaxing holiday. As we prepare for the second half of the school year celebrating DEI, we are in need of volunteers for committees. There will be three events this semester and we would love the help. Committees Needed • Black History Month  • Book Club  • Multicultural Night 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 or Jasmine Brenan at jbrennan1217@gmail.com if you would like to join or have questions.  Next DEI Meeting  January 11th at 6:30pm via Zoom

Community News & Event

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:

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: 

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.

HCPSS News

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

• HCPSS website

• HCPSS News

• HCPPS Community News and Programs

• HCPSS Help 

• HCPSS 2022-2023 School Year

• 2022-2023 Health & Safety

• A-Z Guide to Back to School

School-Based Mental Health Services 

Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is expanding its school-based mental health services. Previously available in forty-five 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 following link: https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2022/10/hcpss-to-expand-school-based-mental-health-services-forstudents/

HCPSS School Messages

 All parents/guardians are in our system to receive HCPSS and school emails. Please do not attempt to create a new account with your child’s 2022-2023 school. Additionally, unsubscribing from any HCPSS or school messages will block you from receiving all messages from the district and your child’s school. Please do not unsubscribe. To opt in to receive text messages from HCPSS you must text “YES” to 67587. 

HCPSS Student & Parent Handbook

Click HERE for the county's 2022-23 handbook