Dr. Ronald E. McNair ES Parent News
November 2023
Dear Families,
The month of October provided many opportunities for our home and school connections to be built. We so enjoyed welcoming everyone into the building for Back to School Night and loved seeing your competitiveness come out. November will bring more opportunities to welcome you into the building with both our Open House and parent-teacher conferences. Within this newsletter, we will be sharing our Open House information along with how to pre-register. We thank you in advance for pre-registering, as it expedites the sign-in process.
It was great to see so many families at our PTA events. The Back-to-School Picnic, though rainy and cut short, was a fun start to the year. Our K.I.S.S. breakfasts had the biggest turnout yet, it felt so great to see all of our students share some time with a special someone. Our first fun run was so much fun! We cannot begin to thank you enough for your generosity and support in exceeding the target. It is appreciated! The creativity that was displayed at Trunk-or-Treat was outstanding. Thank you for creating all these memories for our students. Finally, we ended the month of October with our Halloween Parade and parties, which was a highlight for staff and students. Your continued support of our school and PTA events personifies our motto, Soaring to Success. You are key to us becoming the optimal versions of ourselves at Dr. REMES.
November signals the beginning of the second marking period and parent-teacher conferences. As a key member in your child’s education, it is important that you are an active participant in the parent-teacher partnership. It is our hope that you have signed up and plan on attending a conference for your child. Whether this is your first, or your fifth time attending a parent-teacher conference, you may have some questions about how to prepare for the meeting. Included in this newsletter is a resource entitled Tips for Parents for Effective Parent-Teacher Conferences, which we hope will be helpful as you prepare for your conference with your child’s teacher. Please be sure to select a time for a conference. While our preference is for in-person conferences, please inform your child's teacher if you need a virtual conference.
While we have found our "groove" and have fallen into routines for arrival and dismissal, we wanted to share a few reminders.
- If you drive your child to or from school, you know the importance of following the posted signs and the traffic flow.
- To allow for the car rider line to flow smoothly, please have your child ready to exit the car on the side nearest the crosswalk.
- Students should only be exiting cars at the sidewalk, please do not allow your student to walk through cars in the parking lot.
- Please remember, parking is NOT allowed on the Steeple Road side of the school.
- If you are walking your child to school, you are a model for your child. Students should use the crosswalk with the Crossing Guard to cross Steeple Road. Please do not walk, or send your child across any street, including Steeple Road or the bus lane, unless they are in the crosswalk.
- Speaking of models, please be sure to use respectful language when speaking with staff and especially our patrols. Our staff and students should always feel comfortable when interacting with the community around following the rules.
Finally, November is also a time when we reconnect with family during Thanksgiving. We hope you take the time to reflect on how fortunate we all are to have family and friends who love us. The staff of Dr. Ronald E. McNair ES would like to say THANK YOU for all of your support and for continuing to trust us to provide a quality education to your child(ren).
As a reminder, November is also the last month that Mrs. Moses will be present at Dr. Ronald E. McNair Elementary before Mrs. Graber takes over as acting principal for her intern practicum. Mrs. Graber's Principal Intern Practicum runs from December 1st until January 26th. During that time, a visiting principal from another MCPS school will be present to support Mrs. Graber, and Mrs. Moses will be at another MCPS school supporting their principal intern. More information about our visiting principal will be shared on or about November 10th.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email both Mrs. Graber (Jessicabay_Graber@mcpsmd.org) and Mrs. Moses (Sherylin_R_Moses@mcpsmd.org)
We look forward to working with each of you throughout the school year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jessica Graber, Principal Intern
&
Mrs. Sherry Moses, Principal
CONTACT INFORMATION
Emergencies can arise at any time. It is important to your child’s safety that we have your current address and current home and work numbers on file. If you have not already done so, please remember to sign and return all important forms that were sent home on the first day of school.
Sick Student?
We understand that students will be sick and we want to help you. When your child is sick, in addition to informing the classroom teacher, please be sure to inform the main office. The best way to do so is by completing the Student Absence form. We appreciate you keeping your student at home when they are ill.
OPEN HOUSE - FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10th
On Friday, November 10, 2023 the Northwest Cluster will be opening our school doors to welcome in adult family members to engage with their students in the learning process. McNair will be hosting two sessions. Our morning session will run from 9:45-11:00 and our afternoon session will run from 2:30-3:40. If you plan to visit us at Open House, please complete the OPEN HOUSE PRE-REGISTRATION. This will expedite your sign-in during Open House. Pre-registration is not required but highly recommended.
PARENT - TEACHER CONFERENCES
The first marking period ended on October 31st. Report cards will be distributed on November 9th. They will also be accessible in Synergy ParentVue in the documents tab at that time. Our teachers are currently in the process of scheduling individual conferences with parents of all students to be held between November 9th and 21st. This initial conference is of great importance because it allows for interaction between the teacher and parent, along with a free exchange of information and questions. If you have not already scheduled a conference with your child’s teacher, please do so.
FALL HAS ARRIVED
Fall is here. Overnight we welcomed the very chilly weather. Please remember to dress your child for the changing temperatures. Layering clothing works best, as the mornings will be very cool with warmer afternoons. Our classrooms can also be very warm due to the conversion to heat.
As your child takes off these layers, they may lose items. Please encourage them to check the lost and found or feel free to stop by the main office to request access to the lost and found. It would also be a good idea to put your child's name on all of their belongings.
EARLY RELEASE DAYS
We have two early release days during the month of November.
Monday, November 20 and
Tuesday, November 21
All students will be dismissed at 1:20 p.m. on the early release days.
Volunteer Information - 2023-2024 School Year Update:
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) appreciates the support of the parent and community volunteers who support the essential needs of the schools. Volunteers and partnership agencies are required to complete certain compliance measures in order to volunteer within our school district.
Volunteers who will be attending field trips or supporting the school as regular volunteers must complete the online child abuse and neglect training.
MCPS has created a step-by-step User-Guide (with pictures) on how volunteers can create and access their myMCPS Classroom/Canvas account to complete the Online Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect Training module AND upload the Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination from the state Department of Health.
The online course grade sheet will show a total of 183.3% for completion of both compliance modules. You can show the grade sheet as evidence of successful completion to schools and your name will appear on the MCPS volunteer roster after completion of the course.
Support guides with complete step-by-step instructions can be accessed below:
Online Training Support Guide (All Users)
Español | 中文 | français | tiếng Việt | 한국어 | አማርኛ | Português
FREE AND REDUCED MEALS
We encourage you to complete the Free or Reduced Meals application. We are 39 families away from 40%. This an increase over previous years and would greatly help our school with staffing and funding for this and next school year!
Apply online NOW at MySchoolApps.com (Translations available) Click here for English video tutorial. Click here for Spanish video tutorial.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS:
We know your student's birthday is an important day for your family. As a school, we will celebrate your student's birthday by announcing their name on the Dr. McNair Morning Show and asking them to come to the office to pick up a birthday pencil.
- Parents are not allowed to send in party decorations, cupcakes, cake, candy, trinkets, or treat bags to celebrate their student's birthday. Please do not ask your child’s teacher to bend these rules.
- Birthday party invitations may be distributed at the end of the school day under the supervision of the homeroom teacher.
- School staff members are not allowed to give out student addresses or contact information.
PROCEDURE FOR A CHANGE IN THE WAY A STUDENT GOES HOME:
If a student’s plans require a change from their normal dismissal (e.g. play date, child care changes), the change must be made in writing to the homeroom teacher and front office. Please state your child’s name, the name of the individual they should be dismissed with, the date the change is occurring and your signature.
In the event of last minute changes to a student’s dismissal plans, please call the main office prior to 3:00 p.m. All students will be dismissed via their normal plan unless we have been notified of a change. Please arrange your child’s transportation home so that it is consistent. It is difficult for a child to remember where they are to go on a particular day if the routine changes daily. Students are not to call home from the school to make after school plans.
Any adults who come to school to pick up a child early will be asked to show documentation to verify identification and ensure student safety.
The front office will have quiet hours between 3:30 and 3:50 where students will not be called down for early dismissal.
PTA SPIRIT NIGHT AT CHIPOTLE - NOV 7
Tuesday, November 7th is Taco Tuesday at Chipotle! Please head on down to Chipotle from 5:00pm - 9:00pm! Chipotle is located on 19881 Century Blvd and 33% of all proceeds will go to our school! You can bring a copy of the flyer attached, order online using the CODE YV6CFDQ or show it on your smartphone. We would love to see you there.
Thank you for your support!
RMES PTA
Schaeffer's Piano Sale Program
Schaeffer's Piano Company, Inc., has a public sale of instruments twice a year; the first sale is scheduled for November 11-19, 2023. Please use the information below if you're interested in this sale.
Meet our Front Office Staff - Favorite Thanksgiving Dessert
Thanksgiving is a great time of year. The Front Office Staff wants to share with you about our favorite Thanksgiving dessert.
Mrs. Moses, Principal:
My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is coconut tart. It is coconut baked goodness! While I LOVE chocolate, my mom knows that I need a coconut tart all for myself. It is my favorite because it brings back memories of growing up in the islands and is a piece of home away from home.
Mrs. Graber, Principal Intern:
My favorite thanksgiving dessert is a hard question, as I'm usually too full from all the yummy carb loaded sides I love to eat at Thanksgiving. I'm not really a pie person but tend to go for anything that has a whipped cream topping, or scoop of vanilla ice cream. My father-in-law makes a melt in your mouth almond macaroon cookie that is usually my go to for something sweet after dinner.
Ms. Lee Thompson, Administrative Secretary:
My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is peach cobbler. I appreciate the time that is put into the preparation of this dessert.
Mrs. Mosquera, Attendance Secretary:
My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is pumpkin pie. Growing up my mom would bake the pie either the night before or early Thanksgiving morning. It made the house smell so wonderful. I always had pumpkin pie for breakfast Thanksgiving morning, YUM!