We have had a marvelous start to our school year and students are adjusting well to daily routines. Mayo Mallards are respectful, responsible and ready to learn on a daily basis. I am so proud of the exemplary Mallard behavior I see throughout our school building!

As fall approaches, the weather is becoming cooler. Please be sure to dress your student(s) appropriately for school. Sneakers are always a safe option for footwear and raincoats with hoods are easier to navigate than an umbrella. Recess is more enjoyable when students have a hat and gloves in the cold weather. Please be sure to label everything with your child's name so we can return it to them if items are misplaced.

AACPS will continue to use the Parent Portal as a means for keeping parents informed of their child's grades and progress in school. If you need assistance with a Parent Portal account, contact Ms. DuFour in the office ldufour@aacps.org.

There is much news to share from our school community, so please take a moment to review the information below. Happy Fall!

Sincerely,

Lenora Fox

Principal, Mayo Elementary

The Mayo Elementary Halloween parade will be on Monday, October 31st at 12:30pm. We welcome families to gather along the blacktop in the bus loop to view our students as they parade in their costumes. The parade will be weather permitting. If the weather does not cooperate, students will enjoy a smaller celebration indoors that day.

On Monday, October 31st, students may wear their costumes to school, given the following guidelines:

• Students should be able to navigate the school day with ease. For example, if glass slippers are part of the costume, please send your child to school in tennis shoes instead.
• Costume masks may not be worn to and from school or in the classroom. If the costume mask is part of the costume, your student may wear it for the parade.
• All costume props must be safe and align with the Code of Student Conduct. No swords/guns/knives, etc. should come to school, even if they are a costume prop.
• Teachers will not be able to dress students.

Once the parade has concluded, students will participate in a party in their classroom; additional information will follow from the classroom teacher/room parent. If your child will not participate in the Halloween festivities, please notify the child's teacher.

Fall Picture Day is scheduled for Thursday, October 14th. Order forms will be sent home with your children the first week of October. Please be sure to send your completed forms back to school with your student on picture day or order online at mylifetouch.com use ID: EVTK9XN3V

October 20 is a two-hour early dismissal for Parent/Teacher conferences. Teachers will be contacting families, but this two-hour time frame will not allow teachers to schedule all families during this first round of conferences.

If you are not scheduled for an October conference, there are additional conference days in the AACPS calendar for November 21 & 22 and March 2 & 3. Families will have the option to conference in-person, via Google Meet, or phone.

October 3-31, our school will be participating in Harvest for the Hungry. By partnering with the Anne Arundel County Foodbank, AACPS works to donate funds that support the Backpack Buddies program. This program helps to put food into the hands of students and families who need it most. We are collecting both non-perishable food items as well as monetary donations. This link will take you to the site to make a monetary donation in the name of Mayo Elementary. Food items can be brought into school and placed in the food boxes by the front door!

On Friday, November 11th, Mayo Elementary will celebrate Veterans Day honoring all our Veterans, but especially our families here at Mayo. All Mayo students will be participating in the program during our school-wide assembly, beginning at 8:30am.

During our program we would like to honor any Veteran or Military member from our Mayo families. We would like to recognize them in a slide show during our program. If you already sent your family Veterans pictures and information, there is no need to send it again. However, if you are NEW to Mayo and if you or a family member are interested, please email Mrs. Brewer their name, a picture in uniform, and job title. Also, please include a sentence or two explaining previous employments, deployments, assignments, or anything regarding their service that seems pertinent.

We look forward to celebrating our heroes on Veterans Day. Please send your information to arbrewer@aacps.org by Tuesday, November 1st so we have plenty of time to put our program together. Any Veterans or active military who would like to attend the program, please complete this form for PRE-REGISTRATION by Friday, November 4th. We are excited to honor our Veterans on November 11th!

At Mayo we like to celebrate and learn about different heritages and traditions. September 15-October 15 we are highlighting Hispanic Heritage Month. The National Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration of culture and origin of Latinos and Hispanic Americans in the United States. The celebration coincides with national independence days of several Latin American countries including Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile and Belize. Hispanic Heritage Month is unique as it doesn't start and end within the same month. Instead, it starts on September 15 to honor the independence days of several Latin American countries and ends on October 15.

Children thrive on routine. Keeping dismissal procedures the same throughout the week is important, but we understand this is not always possible. If your child’s dismissal plan will be different from his/her normal procedure (such as a car rider instead of taking the bus), a written note to the teacher and office is required. If you have a last-minute change in dismissal, it is best to call the school office prior to 2PM. We may not be able to accommodate changes in dismissal plans after 2PM.

If your child is absent or has a change in dismissal, please email your child's teacher and copy the office staff, Donna Hardesty dmhardesty@aacps.org and Lise DuFour ldufour@aacps.org.

October 3: Harvest for the Hungry campaign begins

October 5: Schools Closed for Yom Kippur

October 11: Neo Pizza Day

October 17-21: Mayo Book Fair

October 18: PTO General Membership Meeting

October 19: 2-hour early dismissal for Teacher PD. Project Unity Day, wear orange

October 20: 2-hour early dismissal. Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 31: Halloween Parade

November 3,4: 2-hour early dismissal - End of 1st MP

November 8: Schools Closed for Election Day

November 11: Veterans Day

November 17: PTO Paint Night with Mrs. Denney - Save the Date!

November 21,22: Schools Closed for students. Parent/Teacher Conferences

November 23-25: Schools Closed - Thanksgiving holiday

STUDENT SPIRIT DAYS ~

October 6: National Mad Hatter Day - Wear a silly hat

October 19: Unity Day - Wear Orange

October 31: Show off your costume

November 4: Mayo Spirit Wear

November 11: Veterans Day - Wear Red, White & Blue

November 14: World Diabetes Day - Wear Blue

November 18: Fall Fun Friday - Wear your BEST FALL colors and gear

There are some exciting events planned at the Edgewater Public Library. For those programs that require registration, signups are open 2 weeks before the program begins:

Saturday, October 1, 10:30-11:30am: Music and Movement Story Time (Registration Required)

Bring your preschoolers to a special movin' and groovin' story time!

Wednesday, October 5, 2-4pm: Coco Family Watch Party

Go un poco loco! Bring the whole family and join us to watch Disney Pixar's Coco. Crafts and snacks will be provided.

Thursday, October 20, 5:30-6:30pm: Family STEM Night (Registration required)

Elementary aged kids and their families are invited to do some hands-on activities all about food science!

Saturday, October 22, 10am-12pm: Paws to Read (Registration required)

An opportunity for your child to spend 15 minutes reading one-on-one with a doggy friend who loves to listen! Call the library at 410-222-1538 for available time slots.

Tuesday, October 25, 6:30-7pm: Family Trivia Night (VIRTUAL)

The whole family is invited to play virtual trivia using Kahoot! Register to receive Zoom link.

Don't forget to visit the Mayo PTO website for all of the PTO news!