Dear Manor Woods Families,               

As we move into the month of February, we wanted to share that the children will be celebrating Valentine's Day with their classmates.  Classroom activities will occur on Monday, February 14th, with crafts, games, and specified food items.  You should be receiving communication from teachers and room parents soon regarding the specifics of your child’s classroom celebration.  During the celebration, the children will have the opportunity to exchange Valentine’s Cards.  If your child chooses to bring cards, please make sure they are prepared to give a card to each of their classmates.  This celebration is a nice opportunity for students to show kindness to one another, the “K” in our DUCK expectations.

We also want to extend congratulations to all of our Spelling Bee participants!  Our fourth and fifth-grade students did a fabulous job during our bee on Monday which lasted 27 rounds!  We’d like to congratulate our spelling bee winner Luke Noblezada, Grade 5 (Mrs. Hornicek).  Luke will represent Manor Woods at the upcoming Howard County Spelling Bee. Our alternate winner is 5th grader, Aaiza Adil (Mr. Packan), who is our alternate representative.

Our Manor Woods students and staff engaged in various activities throughout the month of January to celebrate Maryland Reading Month.  On Tuesday, students and staff engaged in a schoolwide “Stop, Drop, and Read”, a final activity to celebrate Maryland Reading Month.  When announced, our entire community (including teachers) stopped, grabbed a preferred book, and read together.

Next week, we are excited to hold parent teacher conferences for math.  Many of our students will participate in Student-Led Conferences.  Our students have been reflecting on their progress and setting goals in preparation for the conference discussion.  We are excited for the opportunity to incorporate student autonomy and accountability in the conference process, allowing students to be involved in the decision-making for their very own educational journey.  Conference scheduling closes for parents tomorrow, February 3 at 4:00pm. 

Kindly,

Carol DeBord, Principal

Jennifer Zinn, Assistant Principal

 

Important Dates

February

2/1 - 2/18 - MWES Kindness Matters Challenge
2/9/23 - 3 Hours Early Dismissal (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
2/10/23 - 3 Hours Early Dismissal (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
2/20/23 - Schools and Offices Closed

RA Color Days

 

School News

 

Math Night 

Do you want to support your child's math thinking, but don't want to just give them more work to do?  Are you looking for fun ways to engage with your child?  Does your child like playing games?  If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, please join us Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. for our Family Math Night!

Math Night will have specific grade-level games as well as cultural math activities for your children to play in the gym or the cafeteria. While your children play the math games, parents may attend a math presentation in the media center with the HCPSS Coordinator of Mathematics, John SanGiovanni.  His presentation will focus on how parents can help their children with math at home.

We hope you will join us for our MWES Family Math Night on Thursday, March 9th from 6:00-7:00 p.m.

In order to help us prepare for this night, please RSVP with the form below by 2/23/23. If possible, please have your child bring a deck of cards with their name on it for the evening games. Thank you!

Register at: https://forms.gle/FqkQRXtDesV3aHR19

Free Choral Concert! 

The Howard County Children's Chorus will be performing their Winter Chorus Concert on Sunday, February 5 at 3p.m. at Mt. Hebron High School.  Fifth Grader, Addison Holt, will be representing Manor Woods in the concert!  Best Wishes to Addison!

MWES Kindness Matters Challenge 2023

In recognition of The Great Kindness Challenge and Random Acts of Kindness Day, Manor Woods will combine these initiatives to celebrate The Manor Woods Kindness Matters Challenge January 24 - February 18. Students and staff will use this 28 Day Kindness Challenge Calendar  to spread daily acts of kindness at school, home and in the community. We encourage families to participate in this fun and meaningful initiative. "Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person's life."

FROM THE HEALTH ROOM

Important Health & Safety Message

All HCPSS students and staff must stay home if they are experiencing symptom(s) associated with any communicable disease. Families, students, and staff should perform daily health checks and stay home if they have symptoms of a communicable disease, including the seasonal flu, COVID-19 and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Families are encouraged to consider taking advantage of flu and COVID vaccines and boosters.

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.

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 

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: Tuesday, Jan. 31st - Dress Up as Your Favorite Book or Character PTA News SNOWFLAKE FUN RUN - POSTPONED Unfortunately due to very low temperatures forecasted for this weekend, and to comply with school weather policy, we have decided to postpone the Snowflake Run. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope to get a rescheduled date out to everyone shortly. SCHOOL SUPPLY SURVEY In the past, Manor Woods PTA has partnered with an outside company to sell school supply kits for the upcoming school year. The sale provides parents with a convenient and easy way to purchase prepackaged school supplies customized to your teachers list while the PTA receives a small percentage for every kit sold. Please fill out this quick survey to help us gauge interest in this program to determine if we should provide this service again in the future. PLEASE COMPLETE SURVEY AT THE LINK BELOW https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScojjYR0m2R6L3LN55B6W2_bBiVB3mgKo651VK5VnwA-_yOaQ/viewform YEARBOOK COVER CONTEST - DUE FEBRUARY 17 All students are invited to enter the Yearbook Cover Contest. Teachers and staff will vote for their favorites, based on creativity and representation of the yearbook theme. First and Second Place will be displayed on the front or back cover of the yearbook. All other entries will be displayed throughout the yearbook. Yearbook Cover Contest  Submission requirements: • All entries MUST use an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of white paper with a vertical orientation AND include: 1.     Our current yearbook theme: “Ducks Fly Together” 2.     “Manor Woods Elementary School 2022-2023” 3. First and last name of the student artist and classroom teacher on the BACK of the picture. Entries with names on the front will be disqualified. • Only one entry per student • Submission Due Date: February 17, 2023 Envelopes will be available in all classrooms for students to submit their entries. Tips for a good entry: -Use a lot of colors including the background  -Use up the entire sheet of paper and leave minimal white space - The bigger the better - Markers and dark colors are preferred, but you may also use other art medium (crayons, paint, colored pencils)

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - DEI Participation

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. 

Black History Month

      

 

Greetings for Black History Month! It’s time to learn from history how steadfast resolve and resiliency may bring success! Black history month celebrates African Americans’ hardships, accomplishments, and experiences. By observing this month, we are reminded of the achievements and sacrifices made by Black men and women.

BHM DEI WALL/PADLET

https://padlet.com/MWESDEIPTA/black-pride-ygtzkjhgf973euzv

Volunteers Needed

• Black History Program - "Taste of Soul" February 24th from 6pm - 8pm at MWES

• Book Club - April

• Multicultural Night  - May 11th from 6pm - 8pm at Marriotts Ridge HS

Please contact DD at demikajohnson@gmail.com or Jasmine Brenan at jbrennan1217@gmail.com if you would like to join or have questions.

Community News & Events

HCPSS News

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

• HCPSS website

• HCPSS News

• HCPSS Help 

• HCPSS 2022-2023 School Year

• 2022-2023 Health & Safety

• A-Z Guide to Back to School

HCPSS Launches “Inside HCPSS” Podcast Series

Did you hear? HCPSS has a new podcast! “Inside HCPSS” features school system Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano engaging in conversations with students and staff on varying topics of interest. The first two episodes are available now on the HCPSS website and several podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Important Health & Safety Message

All HCPSS students and staff must stay home if they are experiencing symptom(s) associated with any communicable disease. Families, students, and staff should perform daily health checks and stay home if they have symptoms of a communicable disease, including the seasonal flu, COVID-19 and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Families are encouraged to consider taking advantage of flu and COVID vaccines and boosters.

Recess Update

The Office of School Safety and Security and Risk Management, in collaboration with School Management and Instructional Leadership, reviewed county wide practices regarding school visits and it has been determined that parents are no longer able to attend recess. Parents can continue to eat lunch with their child(ren) if they complete the following:

1. Go to the HCPSS Web site to review information about the school system volunteer process.

2. Review the “Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Procedures Online Training” PowerPoint.

3. Sign the Certificate of Completion for the “Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Procedures Online Training” form and provide it to the school when signing in.

4. Review the "Confidentiality Training for Volunteers" PowerPoint

5. Sign the Confidentiality Agreement and provide it to the school when signing in.

6. Sign in at the front office using the Lobby Guard sign-in system (a valid photo I.D. must be provided).

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Kindergarten Ready Summit 

Please see the following event for an upcoming Kindergarten Ready Summit which will be held at Harriet Tubman on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 10:30 AM. The theme is Kindergarten Ready: Connecting the Community.

There is no cost, but we ask that anyone planning to attend use the following link to register : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-call-to-action-summit-tickets-480246178247?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Nature Summer Camp 

Registration opens on 1/18/2023 at 12 noon to the public

Summer Camp Brochure 

Essential Resources Day

Columbia Community Care is hosting an Essential Resources Day on Saturday February 4th from 10AM-2PM at HCC. and ALL students & families are invited. It is an opportunity to expunge criminal records as well as learn more about both financial freedom and generational wealth. There will also be a free grocery giveaway. Free food, transportation, and child care will be provided.    Please have your families/students fill out this short survey if they are interested! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CLBHLJQ  Please click in message for additional information.

Affordable Internet

 Affordable Connectivity Program to assist with reducing the cost of high-speed internet.

• Eligibility

• How to apply

• Participating Vendors

Comcast               Free Internet with the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) | Xfinity

Verizon             https://www.verizon.com/home/free-verizon-internet/

MRHS Music Foundation Second Annual Bingo Night!!

The Marriotts Ridge High School Music Foundation is holding its second ANNUAL BINGO FUNDRAISER on Saturday, February 25th at FOP Lodge 69 in Catonsville. Amazing prizes --  Kate Spade & Coach bags, Gift Card Extravaganza, Car Detailing, Solo Bonfire Smokeless Fire Pit, Tailgate Party and many more!  

Tickets are $30 now/$35 at the door and include 20 regular games & door prizes! 

Order here: https://tinyurl.com/MRHSMusicBINGO

And here is a QR code that could be used; there is a bingo flyer below that:

MRHSMF Bingo!  2/25/23

            Order Tickets Now!

https://tinyurl.com/MRHSMusicBINGO

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. 

Please click here for further information https://www.hcpss.org/hcpss-news/.

HCPSS Student & Parent Handbook

Click HERE for the county's 2022-23 handbook