The Dolphin Whistle
#SeathePossibilities
October 9, 2022
Mrs. M. Deneise Hammond, Principal
Mrs. L. Orinda Nelson, Assistant Principal
School Office Hours: 8:30am-4:30pm
Water's Landing Elementary School Calendar of Events
October
10-11 Book Fair
13 Interims available in Parentvue
10-15
Mental Health Awareness Week
Lunch and Recess Volunteers Begin
14 WLES Student Government Association (SGA) Election
19 International Pronouns Day
21 Virtual Chat & Chew with Principal Hammond
24 School Closed - Professional Day
25 Red Ribbon Day, Picture Day
26 Red Ribbon Day, Trunk or Treat
27 Red Ribbon Day
28
Grade 5 Strathmore Field Trip, 11:20am-2:00pm
Fall Festival
31 Red Ribbon Day
November
1 PTA Meeting
4 Last day of the first Marking Period
7 No School for Students - Professional Day, Grading and Reporting
8 School Closed - Election Day
11 Veteran's Day
14 Report Cards available in Parentvue
15 Report cards sent home (Please sign report card folder and return it.)
16 Grade 2 Strathmore Field Trip, 11:20am-2:00pm
18 Glow Run Kick-off
21 Early Release at 1:20pm
22 Early Release at 1:20pm
23, 24 & 25 School Closed for Thanksgiving
December
2 Glow Run
What a great week it has been at the WLES Book Fair! Thank you to Mrs. Hernandez, our PTA Book Fair Chair, her committee and all of the volunteers. There are still two more days to visit the Book Fair with your child or to send money to school with them for purchases. A portion of the proceeds return to our school to benefit our students.
Thank you to everyone who attended our October PTA meeting. We offered both an in-person and a virtual option for the meeting. Here is the ongoing PTA slide deck, which includes slides from all PTA meetings to date. Here is the October Principal Update slide deck. We'd love to have you join the PTA and/or attend the next PTA meeting on November 1, 2022 at 7:00pm, virtually or in person. Our goal is 100% PTA participation. WLES strives to be a part of the community and your voice and participation will make this a reality.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. Students will engage in a Mindful Moment with Superintendent McKnight on Monday morning. They will learn through various activities, including Circle Time, the importance of taking care of your mental health. Mr. Zhou and Ms. Desbrow already do an excellent job of reinforcing the importance of physical health through our Physical Education curriculum.
Our focus as a school community is on being respectful, responsible and safe. WLES staff are spending a large amount of time focusing on reminding students of these core values. Cursing, saying mean statements about others, hitting, kicking, not following directions, taking items that belong to others, fighting-these are just a few of the issues school staff deal with on a large scale each day. The time spent handling these behaviors impacts instructional time. Our kids need to be learning. I need your help. Please talk to your students about the importance of making good choices at school, specifically avoiding these negative behaviors. When a school staff member calls you about an incident at school, please follow up with a discussion with your child and, if warranted, a negative consequence at home. There will be consequences at school for consistent negative behaviors, including activities such as completion of Think Sheets to process incidents, restorative circles to provide an opportunity for students to realize the impact their behavior has on the school community, verbal and written apologies, loss of lunch/recess privileges (eating in the office or another designated area) and/or community service in school.
We also have many students who make good choices regularly. Please express to them how proud you are and from time to time offer them a positive consequence. Please also make sure you are providing an opportunity for your child(ren) to listen to the message I send to them each week. They are reminders of the behavior expectations at WLES and my way of "talking" to students each week.
Finally, we need your presence. Please find time to come volunteer at lunch or recess, and to engage in any volunteer opportunities offered by the PTA and your children''s teachers. We are the Dolphins and we swim together, making a difference with every little thing we do ;-)
Thank you,
Principal Hammond
Chat & Chew with Principal Hammond, Friday October 21, 2022
Join Zoom Meeting
https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/4546893834?pwd=REsyZVY0aHBNQlhoYzdTT1NYZmF2Zz09
Meeting ID: 454 689 3834
Passcode: wles
Annual Notice for Directory Information and Student Privacy
Directory Information includes the following items: student’s and/or parent’s name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number; student’s date of birth; major field of study; grade level; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; degrees and awards received (including honor roll); most recent school attended; dates of attendance; photograph, or other likeness; the weight and height of members of athletic teams; and other similar information.
If you do not want us to release your directory information, complete the Annual Notice for Directory Information and Student Privacy form and send it to school by Friday, October 14, 2022. Please disregard the due date of September 12, 2022 on the MCPS website form. We will honor your requests made by October 14 , 2022. Here is the link to the form. If you would like a hard copy of the form sent home in English or Spanish, please contact your child's teacher.
Please Sign Up to Volunteer
Please view what you need to do here so that you are ready to volunteer at WLES!
Book Fair Volunteers Needed
We need volunteers for our Book Fair. Volunteer 4 hours and receive $5 towards Book Fair purchases. VOlunteer 5 hours or more and receive $10 towards Book Fair purchases. One per person, oer Book Far, for adults only. Only two days left! Please click here to sign up to volunteer at the Book Fair.
Lunch and Recess Volunteers Welcome, starting 10/10/22
We will open our doors to Lunch and Recess volunteers the second week of October on October 10, 2022. Please sign up to volunteer during lunch and recess here.
When you volunteer during lunch, we ask that you follow the lead of the staff. Assist with opening items for students and remind students to be respectful, responsible and safe.
When volunteering at recess, follow the lead of the staff. Feel free to lead games for students.
Any disciplinary measures during lunch and recess for students other than your own must be handled by staff. We look forward to having you volunteer during lunch and recess.
Stay tuned...more volunteer opportunities will be forthcoming!
PTA Membership form (You can join for as little as $! Remember, our goal is 100% participation.)
myschoolbucksonline (Add money to your child's lunch account)