Veterans Elementary Eagle Express
March 5 , 2020 - Volume 13, Issue 24
Soar to Excellence!
School Mission
Veterans Elementary School promotes life-long learning by embracing its diversity, providing students with dynamic classroom experiences and exposing them to the cultural arts in a climate that is rigorous, safe, nurturing and respectful.
Veterans Elementary School
Amy Green, Assistant Principal
Derek Lewis, Administrator
School Start and Dismissal Times: 9:25 a.m. - 3:55 p.m.
Email: robert_bruce@hcpss.org
Website: ves.hcpss.org
Location: 4355 Montgomery Road, Ellicott City, MD, USA
Phone: 410-313-1700
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Coronavirus Update:
The Howard County Public School System and Veterans Elementary School is still adhering to recommended guidelines from the Howard County Health Department and the Center for Disease Control. This includes following usual school system protocols for flu season.
1. All teachers have been asked to share with students strategies to stop the spread of germs. It is crucial that all of us stress to our children how to sneeze and cough responsibly. We also asked teachers to review the effective washing of hands and use of hand sanitizer. We also want to discourage students from touching their eyes, nose, and mouth. The flier “CoVID19- Stop the Spread of Germs” has been shared with all staff and several are posted around the school.
2. Students are allowed to carry their own personal supply of hand sanitizer provided by their parents. Hand sanitizer is also available in the cafeteria for right after recess. Hand sanitizer is currently available. Soap and paper towels are available at all handwashing locations around the school. The CDC recommends handwashing with soap and water as the preferred method for cleaning hands. We will be reviewing our current daily schedules to ensure that students have time to wash their hands before lunch.
3. Custodial staff have been trained for effective cleaning during flu season. They have been asked to clean light switches, door handles, water fountains, fixture handles, sinks, and other routinely touched surfaces on a daily basis.
4. The Health Room is under the supervision of our Cluster Nurse. The Cluster Nurse or Health Assistant sees to it that we follow prescribed protocols when students come to the health suite. Students who run a fever are sent home. Students are not to return to school until they have been fever-free for 24hrs without the assistance of medication. Likewise, parents should monitor children’s temperature at home if they are ill, students may not return to school until fever-free for 24 hrs. The Cluster Nurse is in contact with the school system Health Offices as well as the Howard County Health Department when cases require reporting. This includes monitoring schoolwide attendance due to illness.
5. Enrollment- Office staff will continue to screen any new enrollments to ensure that all new families are aware of current recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and strongly recommend that those recommendations be followed. At the moment the CDC recommends a 14 day self-quarantine for any new families arriving from an infected country. CDC recommendations change from time to time depending on the level of alert desired, the Howard County Public School System will keep track of these changes and act accordingly. Whenever the CDC recommends something it is optional and we treat it as a recommendation unless we are directed otherwise by the Howard County School System. All incoming families will be screened regardless of their country of origin.
6. Communication- We will communicate with our families through the Eagle Express and the Superintendent continues to send emails to the community. We will continue to update our families based on the most current information available to us from the Howard County Health Department and the Center for Disease Control.
7. Confidentiality- All information pertaining to your children and their education is confidential. Please do not ask us to share anything about a family that would contradict school policy or law. We care about the confidentiality of our families as well as the safety and health of our community and will act accordingly.
Important Upcoming Dates
MARCH
- 6 - 3rd Quarter Interim Reports Issued
- 8 - Daylight Savings Begins (1 hour forward)
- 12 - PTA Meeting: Media Center, 7:00 p.m.
- 9 thru 13 - Kindergarten and In-coming New Gr.1 Registration Week: VES Lobby 10am-2pm
APRIL
- 3 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early, 12:55 p.m.: Professional Work Day
- 3 - End of 3rd Quarter
- 4 thru 13 - Schools and Offices Closed: SPRING BREAK
- 14 - School Reopens
- 23 - National Take Your Child to Work Day Observance
- 28 - Schools and Offices Closed: Primary Election Day
2019-20 HCPSS Calendar - Monthly Format
Click to download and print the HCPSS calendar in a monthly format. The calendar will no longer be distributed in first day folders. The 2019-2020 School Calendar is available to be printed online: https://www.hcpss.org/calendar/
CURRENT NEWS
VES New Kindergarten and New First Grade Student Registration
Kindergarten registration week begins Monday, March 09 through Friday, March 13 at Veterans Elementary School. Children who will be five years old as of September 1, 2020 must enroll in Kindergarten for the 2020-2021 school year.
ONLINE registration is NOW OPEN! This will FAST PASS your registration process.
You can follow steps 1-4 Online at home before coming into Veterans to finalize step 5 during Kindergarten Registration Week, March 9th - 13th. More information will be given to you at that time.
* Registration will take place daily from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the VES lobby.
No appointment is necessary.
* You will need to bring the following documents (if you did not upload during online registration):
- Birth certificate, birth registration or passport
- Current immunization record - must be from the pediatrician and signed
- Deed or lease to your home
- Current utility bill
- Photo ID of registering parent/guardian - this MUST be shown at time of registration.
Please visit the Howard County Public School System website for complete information about enrollment and registration.
The VES Staff Social/Wellness Committee invites students to join in a few activities
Wellness Wednesdays
We invite students to join their teachers in wearing athletic clothing on Wednesdays to help promote movement into our school day.
On Thursdays in February, please send your child wearing shirts with positive sayings on them. Please join us in spreading encouraging words and good vibes all around our school!
School Spirit Fridays
We will have school spirit days on the final Friday of the month. Please send your kids wearing red/white/blue or in any spirit wear you have purchased.
Mark your calendars for March 27th, April 24th, and May 29th.
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
Centennial HS Annual RISE Science Conference
Annual RISE Conference (Research In Science and Engineering) for students across Howard County.
Our conference is aimed at educating students and providing them with networking opportunities by bringing in experienced individuals to lead workshops from various fields such as public policy, data analytics, bioengineering, environmental science, and biomedical research. Additionally, there will be interactive booths, student presentations, and refreshments.
For more information and to register, please visit: https://chsrise.wixsite.com/rise.
Wednesday, Mar 11, 2020, 05:30 PM
Centennial High School, Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, MD, USA
RANKER SPORTS CAMP SUMMER 2020
Come out to sports camp the week of July 13th and/or August 3rd at Reservoir High School with certified Howard county teachers Phil Ranker (PE), Tom Dougherty (Math) and Hannah Closson (PE). The camp is open to current K-8th graders and features many different sports and activities every day (A.M., P.M., and Full Day Sessions available). If your child likes PE, they will love camp. Campers are split into age and ability groups to ensure that everyone has a fun and productive time. For more information, please visit http://rankerssportscamp.weebly.com or email phillip_ranker@hcpss.org for questions!
Monday, Jul 13, 2020, 09:00 AM
Reservoir High School, Scaggsville Road, Fulton, MD, USA
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION WEEK - HELP NEEDED
Kindergarten registration will be on the week of March 9th and the school staff has asked for our assistance distributing registration packets to provide parents with all of the information and forms they need to ease the process of registering for school. We are in need daily volunteers March 5th to 13th during the hours of 9:30 to 3:30 pm. We hope you’ll join in the fun and take part in the important work of preparing children for school.
Sign up here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10gSG_z5OhreC9bM4M00ae1chXFhNMRuD/view?usp=sharing
Please contact Tomi Adebo at Tomiadebo@gmail.com with any questions.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
2020-21 School Budget
The Howard County PTA encourages parents to come to the County Council budget meetings to show your support for fully funding our schools. The Superintendent has requested $60 million dollars more than last year and the County only has about $30 million additional funds to allocate across all agencies. The more parents that come out to express their support for schools, the more money schools are likely to get. If the schools are not fully funded there is talk of increasing class sizes and eliminating Gifted and Talented and Technology programs from elementary schools. Help us pack all 300 seats at the George Howard Building on March 12 at 6pm and April 22 at 6:30pm.
Learn more about the budget at:
https://www.ptachc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/HCPSS-FY21-BUDGET-OVERVIEW.pdf
Board of Education Election
Five seats on the Board of Education are up for election this year. You can meet your District 1 candidates at the following event:
March 7th @12pm at Alphabets Montessori School in Elkridge
Learn more at:
https://www.ptachc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/BOE-Election-Flyer-2020.pdf
HCPSS SCHOOL GUIDE RULES
New HCPSS Website and System for Emergency Closings:
Effective December 1, HCPSS is launching a color-coding notification system for emergency and other non-scheduled school closings, including for inclement weather. The new system standardizes the school system’s operational status to five possibilities to enhance consistency while promoting the safety of HCPSS students and staff, and adhering to negotiated agreements on staff availability.
If Howard County public schools open two hours late, there is no morning Pre-Kindergarten/RECC.
The HCPSS operating status will be identified on a new website: https://status.hcpss.org/. The HCPSS operational color code options are:
- Code Green – Normal Operations (in accordance with the HCPSS calendar)
- Code Red – Schools and Offices Closed
- Code Orange – Schools Closed; Offices Open with Liberal Leave in Effect
- Code Blue – Schools Open Two Hours Late
- Code Yellow – Schools Dismiss Early
All notifications regarding emergency closings will include both the code and operating status.
The emergency notification sources are:
- HCPSS status website
- HCPSS homepage
- Email/text alerts
- HCPSS Information Hotline (410-313-6666)
Please note: HCPSS cable TV is no longer a source for inclement weather closings.
Inclement Weather Information:
I am sure that inclement weather puts a strain on most of our families as we try to ensure that our children are cared for during needed times. Please understand that the school system determines closings based on weather forecasts and the safety of children is our number one concern. If we are closed, that is self-explanatory, we are simply not open for business. When we delay opening by an hour or even two hours, then all business is delayed by one or two hours. Therefore if the announcement is a Code Blue and we are delayed in opening for two hours then school opens at 11:15 a.m. Bus pick up is delayed by two hours as well. So if your child is picked up normally at 8:45 a.m. then a two hour delay moves this to 10:45 a.m. Refer to your bus normal pick up time and delay by the announced delay. If we are one hour late then delay it to one hour. If we are two hours late then delay it by two hours.
Early closings can occur as a two hour early closing or a three hour early closing. Count on your child arriving home two hours earlier or three hours earlier than the usual time. When school closes early, there is no after care program because their use of the building would also be unsafe. When school closes early everyone must leave the premises and after school activities are canceled. Any delay in picking up your children delays my ability to send all staff home. It is crucial we get students home before the conditions of the roads get worse.
Volunteer Information
This is an annual requirement and only takes 5 minutes per training.
Food Services
https://hcpss.nutrislice.com/menu/veterans?mode=browse
Please keep your child’s lunch/breakfast accounts up to date:
https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/login/getmain?requestAction=home
For information related to setting up your child’s lunch account and how to apply for Free or Reduced Priced Meals, please go to:
https://www.hcpss.org/food-services/