September Newsletter
New Market Elementary
Message from Administration
Dear NMES Families,
Last year we took the important time to consider a new vision and mission for NMES, something that hadn’t been done in over a decade. We spent several months soliciting feedback from all the stakeholders in our school community to ensure that our important future aspirations and our daily work is shared and understood by all. There were three large themes that emerged in all that feedback – safety (physical and emotional), teaching and learning, and community. The vision and mission statements for our school were built on these three themes. We encourage you to take a minute to read the vision and mission statements.
Click HERE to read the vision statement.
Click HERE to read the mission statement.
Our staff is committed to realizing our vision and the important work that must happen every day. Throughout the year, our students and families will hear more about the great work going on at NMES each and every day to serve and support our students – every student, by name and need!
We look forward to a fantastic 2023-2024 school year. As always, don’t hesitate to contact us throughout the year with any questions or feedback you may have.
Dr. Lockard - Principal
Mrs. McGaha - Assistant Principal
Important September Dates
- Monday, September 4: Schools closed in observance of Labor Day
- Tuesday, September 5: PK - 2 Back to School Night at 6:00
- Wednesday, September 6: Grades 3 - 5 Back to School Night at 6:00
- Wednesday, September 6: PTA meeting from 7:00 - 8:00 in the cafeteria
- Monday, September 11: Patriot Day - Wear red, white and blue
- Monday, September 18: School Picture Day - Smile! Click HERE to view the flyer
- Tuesday, September 19: Grades 2, 3 and 4 on field trips to the Great Frederick Fair (contact your child's teacher with any questions)
- Thursday, September 21: Grade 5 on a field trip to the Great Frederick Fair (contact your child's teacher with any questions)
- Friday, September 22: Mid-Term and 3.5 hour early dismissal for Fair Day (dismissal begins at 11:55)
- Monday, September 25: Schools closed in observance of Yom Kippur
Walking and Wheeling Wolves Program
Our PTA supporting the kick-off event
NMES Wolves enjoying the kick-off event
More fun at the kick-off event
Enjoying the events at the kick-off
Walking and Wheeling Safety Information
"Walking Buses" headed to NMES
The Counselors Corner
Update on Alawa
It is with a sad heart that we share the news of the passing of our adopted wolf, Alawa, in late June from natural causes. The PTA adopted Alawa at the Wolf Conservation Center last school year to encourage our students to continue to "Be a Wolf" and provide learning opportunities for our students. Alawa, who was age 12, lived a long life and was well-cared for at the Wolf Conservation Center. Since many of our students enjoyed learning about Alawa and watching her on her live wolf cam, we wanted to share this news so that you can tell your child in the manner you feel is appropriate. If your child needs help processing the news, please reach out to Mrs. Carl or Mrs. Blake, our school counselors.
Later this year, our PTA plans to adopt a wolf pup at the Wolf Conservation Center so that our students can grow up alongside the pup and enjoy learning about him throughout their elementary school careers. We thank that PTA for providing enrichment opportunities for all NMES students!
Online Volunteer Training
Media Center Update
Media Center Volunteers
Interested in volunteering at school? Mrs. Siderius, our media specialist, welcomes volunteers in the media center! Volunteers help check in books, shelve books, assist students in finding books, and other tasks. If you are interested, you can use the SignUpGenius link to sign up to volunteer. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FABAF2AAAF58-20232024 Thank you!
Library Book Exchange
Students have begun checking out books in media classes!
- Prek and K students bring home 1 book
- 1st grade students bring home 2 books
- 2nd-5th grade students may bring home up to 3 books
Students can return their books each week on their media day to exchange them for other books or if they are not finished reading them, may ask to renew them for another week. A list of each class' media day is located at https://edu.fcps.org/nmes/media-center-schedule. If your child is not sure what books they have checked out, they can check their account by following the directions in this video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1edzgdlUVnDUfPnu_z-B9I85VwQVXBj95/view?usp=sharing.
The media center is also open each morning from 8:30-9:00 a.m. for independent checkout for students who missed media day or need to turn books in early for new ones!
Research Databases
The media center offers many research databases to help students with projects and independent learning! All of them may be accessed on the media center website at https://edu.fcps.org/nmes/media. A list of all the usernames and passwords is located on the media website and at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AbTN9FtNmdfoNr3yfeKzNZRGmTm75I8r_n_XoijU1jE/edit?usp=sharing. Please log into the passwords document with an FCPS username and password.
Optional Holiday Choice Board for September
Be sure to check out the September holiday choice board created by Mrs. Siderius. Click HERE to view the choice board. The board contains links to PebbleGo and PebbleGoNext to learn about different holidays and special days throughout the month.
Schoology Tips
Mrs. Imboden is our Schoology Ambassador for the 2023 - 2024 school year. If you have any questions about Schoology, don't hesitate to reach out to her. She will be happy to support. Below is helpful information from Mrs. Imboden:
Click HERE for information on creating your Schoology parent account and tips for resolving Schoology issues.
Thank you from our Staff
Teacher Appreciation
Thank you, Calvary Church, in Walkersville for the donuts!
Breakfast for Staff
Thank you, NMES PTA, for providing breakfast for staff on the day they returned!
Appreciation for our Teachers
Thank you, Ballenger Creek Church, for sending donuts for our staff!
New Faces at NMES
"Hi! My name is Kim Ragan and I am the Resident Substitute at New Market Elementary School. I am so excited to be a part of this amazing school every day. For the past ten years, I have been a substitute for FCPS and my days were mainly spent at NMES. I graduated from the University of Maryland and was a Preschool Teacher for many years.
My family lives in New Market and all four of my sons attended NMES, NMMS and two are now at LHS. My boys are now 20,18,16 and 14 and NMES definitely played a huge role in shaping them into the people they are today. My oldest son is a junior at Towson, my 18 year old son is in the Army, my 16 year old son is studying media broadcasting at the CTC and my 14 year old is in the LHS Marching Band. My husband and I have a busy life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
We began our journey at NMES in 2008. I went from being a parent, on the board of the PTA, a Substitute Teacher and now Resident Substitute. Working and living in the same community is a blessing. Seeing so many children’s faces at work, in my neighborhood and town is pretty cool. I genuinely love being a part of the New Market community."
Mr. Lindsey Bannister (Special Education Teacher):
"I am very excited to join the New Market Elementary team. I graduated from the University of Mount St. Mary’s in December, and was hired at Twin Ridge Elementary last school year. Over the summer, there was a need at New Market and I happily took the job. I look forward to meeting all of the students and helping them be the best version of themselves. I don’t have much free time but my main hobby is hanging out with my wife and son, who turns 7 in October. Here’s to a wonderful new school year!"
Mrs. Ginny Johnson (Special Education Instructional Assistant):
"I am very excited to begin my 8th year with FCPS at New Market Elementary. My husband and I have three sons and four grandchildren. In my free time, I enjoy camping. I also love animals. We have two dogs and one cat at home. I am looking forward to getting to know the students and families in the New Market school community."
Supporting our Young Wolves
To support our Young Wolves still at home, we are sharing an idea to support their development.
Challenge your child to find as many things as they can that are blue. Get creative by limiting the game to a specific time/place. Have them count how many they find. Switch it up by looking for letters or objects instead.
What's the brain science behind this activity? Your child is practicing focusing in this game. They also use their memory to remember the color and the number of times they have seen it. Playing this game with different rules helps your child learn to think flexibly and make new connections.
NMES Attendance Information
For all attendance related emails or transportation changes, please email nmes.attendance@fcps.org and include your child's teacher. Transportation changes must be made prior to 3:00pm.
Consistent attendance is important for your child's academic and social success in school. MSDE sets the attendance goal at 96%. Below are the attendance percentages for each grade level and for the school overall as of the end of August:
Pre-Kindergarten: 100%
Kindergarten: 98.2%
Grade 1: 96.9%
Grade 2: 96.5%
Grade 3: 97.7%
Grade 4: 95.7%
Grade 5: 97.5%
Overall School Attendance Percentage: 97.2%
You can support by sending your healthy child to school each day on time. Instruction promptly begins at 9:00 each morning. You can also support by planning vacations around the FCPS calendar. Thank you!