Lyons Mill Elementary Explorer
September 2021
BCPS School Calendars
In the month of September Lyons Mill ES will be closed on the following dates: 9/6. 9/7, and 9/16
In the month of October the school will be closed on 10/15. Schools will be open on 10/11.
BCPS Practices Related to Quarantine, Isolation, Contact Tracing, and Continuity Instruction
Update on BCPS Practices Related to Quarantine, Isolation, Contact Tracing, and Continuity of Instruction
A new letter on the BCPS website provides information on our current practices related to quarantine, isolation, contact tracing, and continuity of instruction during periods of quarantine or isolation.
Out #1 priority is to keep all our students safe and healthy. If your child is not feeling well please keep them home.
Health and Safety Information
Screening & Testing (Safety is Our True North)
· All families should screen students for symptoms prior to leaving home.
· Please use this checklist to determine if a student should or should not go to school.
· Persons with COVID-19 symptoms in school will be required to be tested or will be placed on quarantine, in alignment with guidance from the Maryland Department of Health.
Face Covering (Safety is Our True North)
Requirements: All persons, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a face covering while inside a school. Exceptions to this requirement are:
· The person is alone in a private space.
· The person is eating or drinking.
· The person has a documented physical or developmental disability that makes wearing a mask unsafe.
· The person is under the age of two.
The person is a student athlete engaged in the sport in the field of play.
Social Distancing (Safety is Our True North)
Requirements: Physical distancing of students from each other and between students and adults will be provided to the greatest extent possible, considering school enrollment and facility constraints. Strategies include:
· Use of classroom and cafeteria configurations that provide maximal separation between students.
· Plans for arrival, dismissal and change of classes to reduce gathering of students in any area.
· Restriction of field trips to day trips only, with plans to reduce exposure to large crowds.
· Plans for supervision of restrooms, locker rooms, and school lockers to prevent congregation of students.
Hand Hygiene (Safety is Our True North)
Requirements: Employees and students have been instructed to adhere to best practices in hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.
Times for handwashing or use of hand sanitizer to include before and after meals, upon arrival to schools’ offices and home, before and after use of any shared items, after use of the restroom, after sneezing/coughing and other time hands are contaminated.
Breakfast & Lunch:
· BCPS will be providing free breakfast and lunch to all students.
· There is no need to pack a lunch for your child: however, you are always welcome to do so.
· Students will have a 30-minute lunch period in the cafeteria each day.
Supplies & Devices:
· Students should bring their charger and charged device to school each day.
· Students are also encouraged to bring headphones.
· Students having trouble with their device should go to https://www.bcps.org/tech-support and complete the Technology Support Request Form.
· Students will also need to bring basic school supplies in a small case or bag to and from school each day.
· Water Fountains have been turned off. Students are encouraged to bring a full bottle of water each day.
Visitors (Safety is Our True North)
· To visit a BCPS school, visitors must have an appointment.
· Visits will be conducted remotely or outside, whenever possible.
· If an indoor visit is required, visitors will be required to wear a face coverings and practice social distancing.
· The number of people admitted to the building will be limited.
Cleaning/Disinfecting (Safety is Our True North)
Requirements: BCPS staff will continue to provide safe and clean school environments by ensuring daily cleaning of buildings using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved germicidal agents that kill coronavirus. BCPS staff will:
· Perform frequent cleaning and disinfection of high-contact surfaces and any shared items, at least daily.
· Promote hand washing before and after touch of shared use items.
Maintain sufficient supplies of soap, paper towels, and hand sanitizer.
Updated Arrival & Dismissal Procedures
If you are walking your child to school please make sure you are crossing at the crosswalks.
Arrival –
· Arrival begins at 8:30. All students will remain on the bus or in their car until 8:30.
· Staff are not on duty to supervise students prior to 8:30 a.m.
· When dropping students off, caregivers will need to remine in their cars at all times.
· Starting at 8:30 students will be dismissed from the bus by an administrator, they will be socially distanced when dismissed from the bus and will go directly to the door outside their pod and then to their classrooms.
· Starting at 8:30, car riders will arrive via Zone A, B, or C
· Walkers will enter the building by Zone C – Car Loop
Dismissal –
· Dismissal will begin at 3:30. All students will remain seated in their classrooms until they have been called to their dismissal location.
· When picking-up students, caregivers will need to remain in their cars at all times.
Bus Riders will be called first.
· Once the bus color is called students will walk out of their classrooms to and proceed to the pod stairwells and/or doors and exit their pod doors, and then walk around to the bus loop.
· There will be a staff member at the bottom of the stairs to monitor students on their way to the bus.
Next, car and daycare van riders will be called to their dismissal locations – A. B or C.
· Students will be socially distance in the gym, the library, and in the front entrance.
· Van riders will dismiss with car riders. Daycare vans will pick students in Zone B.
Lyons Mill Road Walkers – All walkers live within a one mile radius of school and are able to walk to and from school independently or with a parent/caregiver.
· Students will exit from the second grade pod doors and walk to the sidewalk and down to the intersection at Lyons Mill Road.
· A staff member will walk the Lyons Mill Road walkers to the crosswalk.
- The crossing guard will be there to make sure students can safely cross Lyons Mill Road.
Ballard Green Walkers – All walkers live within a one mile radius of school and are able to walk to and from school independently or with a parent/caregiver.
· Once the Ballard Green Walkers are called, they will walk to the exit near the music rooms
· A staff member will walk the Ballard Green walkers to the crosswalk at the circle.
Car Rider Drop-off and Pick-up Zones (A, B, or C)
As we prepare for all students to return to school, we will need to know how your child will arrive to and depart from school each day. Your child's teacher will confirm that you have selected one of the following:
· My child will ride a BCPS school bus to and from school each day.
· My child will be a walker. (Students must live within the “walking zone” to be considered a walker.) Please do not park your car in the community and walk up to the school to pick up your child.
· My child will be a car rider. To ensure social distancing we will have three different locations for parents to drop off and pick up. Please contact your child's teacher if you are interested in switching your child to a car rider or if you are interested in switching car rider zones.
All car riders have been assigned a zone and a car rider number. You should have received an email with your Pick-up Zone A, B, or C and your child will receive a backpack tag with their zone & number. You should have also received a a rearview mirror hang tag, so you are able to display the same number in your car. If you forget your hang tag or if you are driving a different car you can simply write the Zone letter followed by your child's number on a large piece of paper and display it in your car window.
When picking up your child from school please remain in your car at all times. Please do not park in the neighborhood and walk up to school.
- Zone A - The main entrance. Enter the main parking lot from Lyons Mill Road, travel around the parking lot loop and turn right to exit on Lyons Mill Road.
- Zone B – Ballard Green Drive. Travel west on Ballard Green Drive. The pickup zone is located on Ballard Green Drive. Students will dismiss from the back of the gym and they will meet you in the car lane on Ballard Green Drive.
- Zone C - Wilson Shannon Drive. From Lyons Mill Road turn on to Wilson Shannon Drive and proceed to the student pick up loop on the left. You will exit back on to Wilson Shannon Drive where you can turn left on to Lyons Mill Road.
Any changes to the transportation will need to be confirmed by the main office by 2:00 each day.
Attention ALL 5th Grade Students - Are you interested in playing an instrument?
Instrument lesson registration time is finally here! All Fifth Grade students are eligible to sign up to play an instrument for band- flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, percussion (drums/bells); or strings- ¾ size violin, 14” viola, student size cello, half size double bass. The link to the registration form with pictures of the instruments and a qr code for instrument rentals with Music and Arts Company is below.
How do I access my child's information?
Focus Access for Parents
This was published last week in the BCPS tech highlights but wanted to make sure all parents are aware of this information. Starting on August 23, 2021, parents should have been able to log in to focus (BCPS’s Student Information System) and Schoology (BCPS’s Learning Management System). These systems have not been accessible for parents since the malware attack and are important as they are two crucial tools that allow parents to monitor their children’s academic progress.
To sign up, parents will need to create a parent account with the same email address that they have provided to their school and as long as the parent in marked in FOCUS as having educational access, they will be given access to their student’s information (the system takes up to 30 minutes to process these accounts). Then, within 48 hours, their parent connection to Schoology will be established. There is a link within FOCUS that will take parents directly to Schoology. If a parent clicks the Schoology link before the connection is established, the parent will receive an error message. Parents can their students' teacher to resolve any issues with this process.
Student Schedules & Teachers
To view your child's schedule please sign in using the following link:
COVID Testing Program
School Year 2021-2022 Meal Distribution for In-Person Learning
The Office of Food and Nutrition Services will offer free school meals, including breakfast and lunch for the school year 2021-2022, effective August 30, 2021, through June 30, 2022, to all students enrolled and attending Baltimore County Public Schools in-person.
The United States Department of Agriculture extended Child Nutrition Program waivers that allow schools the flexibility to continue access to free meals for the entire 2021-2022 school year.
Breakfast meals will be offered upon student entry to the school and consumed in classrooms. Students will go through the cafeteria line for lunch meal service and choose an entrée, fruit and vegetable side options, and milk. Menus are posted on the Office of Food and Nutrition Services Web site, Food and Nutrition Services - Division of Business Services (bcps.org).
Ever wonder what your child's writing should look like at each grade level? Here is an example from Grade 2
Click the link below to find writing samples for each grade level:
Email Mr. Menikheim, School Counselor to Sign Up to Volunteer bmenikheim@bcps.org
Fall Reading and Math Testing
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Lyons Mill Elementary School
Website: https://lyonsmilles.bcps.org/
Location: 9435 Lyons Mill Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117, USA
Phone: 443-809-1719
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lyons.millES
Twitter: @twitter_LyonsMill