Lisbon Elementary
September 7, 2018
Lisbon Elementary School
Ms. LaShonne Wright, Assistant Principal
15901 Frederick Road
Woodbine, MD 21797
(410) 313-5506
(410) 313-5508 - Fax
les.hcpss.org
Important Dates to Remember
- 10 - Rosh Hashanah - schools & offices closed
- 12 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- 14 - PTA Snowball Social, 6:30 p.m.
- 19 - Yom Kippur - schools & offices closed
- 21 - Silly Sock Day
October
- 3 - Professional Work Day - schools dismiss 3 hours early (12:10 p.m.)
- 4 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- 9 - Interim progress reports issued
- 11 - Picture Day
- 12 - School-wide Sports Day
- 12 - PTA Fall Festival
- 18 - 1st Grade Visits the Howard County Conservancy, 9:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
- 18 - Math Night
- 19 - Professional Work Day - schools closed for students
- 26 - Kindergarten Visits Gaver Farm, 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
From the Desk of the Principal
We had a wonderful opening week of school! Our first week went smoothly as we welcomed just over 450 enthusiastic students back to Lisbon Elementary School. Everyone seems to be getting used to the routines that the new school year brings.
As Ms. Wright and I have walked throughout the building, we are pleased to see students engaged in learning in their new classrooms. Throughout this first week of school, Ms. Wright and I conducted Town Hall Meetings with the students from each grade level. During our time together, we discussed behavioral expectations, our school rules, and some important school policies. It is great to see such an engaged school community.
This year, all grades at Lisbon are using a program called Caring School Community to help us create an environment where each student feels safe, accepted, encouraged, and happy. Every day begins with a morning circle and a fun activity. The students will also participate in Community Chats which are discussions to help them get to know each other, solve problems, and become caring, responsible members of the classroom community.
Communication is a vital skill in this day and age. At Lisbon, we aim to communicate in a variety of ways. Please keep an eye out for our newsletter. We are going to publish the Lisbon Lines every week throughout the school year. It is very important for parents to read this newsletter as it contains a great deal of important school, school system, and community news.
I am incredibly PROUD to say that as of today 99% of our students have an updated Emergency card on file! This is the highest completion rate in the county and we feel very lucky that all our families were able to successfully complete this extremely important task by the first week of school. Updating the Family File and your child’s Emergency Card must be done every year and student placement, report cards, and progress reports are kept on this site and you have special access. I can’t thank our community enough for completing this document so quickly, as the file is crucial should there be an emergency for your chil.
Your children are wonderful and are so anxious to do what is needed to be successful in school. Please remember that toys and video games are not allowed in school as they distract students from the ability to focus on their studies. Please remember that our policy on cell phones remain the same. If children have them, they must keep them in the off mode in their backpacks during the school day. Cell phones are seen as a safety precaution as children go to and from school. Watch devices may not be used as communication devices during the school day. These items are expensive, we would think cautiously about sending any expensive items to school.
Our amazing PTA is planning their annual Back to Snowball Social on Friday, September 14th from 6:30-7:30 pm. We look forward to seeing you at the event.
Have a Wonderful Weekend,
Mrs. AnoffBack-to-School Nights at LES
It was great to see so many of you at our Back to School Nights last week. I am very proud to be the principal of Lisbon Elementary and feel LES is such a great school because of the partnership between home and school. The great turnout for Back to School Nights is evidence of that partnership. Our teachers presented a great deal of important information about our instructional program. If you were unable to attend or would just like to review the information, copies of the presentations can be found on our website: les.hcpss.org.
Walking Wednesday
Our very first Walking Wednesday of the 2018-2019 school year will be on October 10th! Our Lisbon Walking Wednesdays program is a healthy way for students to get actively involved at recess time. It is also a great volunteering opportunity for our families! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us at (410) 313-5506.
Front Office Hours
Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Please understand that students will not be able to enter the building after 4:00 p.m. to retrieve forgotten items. Our office staff will not be ringing students or parents into the building after 4:00 p.m. unless they are participating in a scheduled after-school activity. When you arrive to pick your student up from an after-school activity, please wait in the vestibule for the instructor to bring the students to you. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we tighten the security in the building. We would like to remind parents that dismissal is a very busy time of the day for the front office. Every once in a while, we realize that you may need to pick your child up early from school. We are asking parents that need to pick up their child(ren) early to do so before 2:45 p.m. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us have a safe and orderly dismissal at the end of the day.
Late Arrivals and Early Dismissals
You must accompany your child into and out of the building each time your child has a late arrival or early dismissal. You must bring a photo ID.
If your student has an early dismissal, please make certain he/she is picked up by 2:45 p.m. to make certain you are out before our buses begin to arrive.
Please provide a note each day your child has an after-school activity. This helps the teacher and your child remember the activity on a weekly basis.
Communication
At Lisbon Elementary, we are committed to the Core Value of Communication as we believe that good communication helps us to solve problems successfully and maintain good interpersonal relationships. With that in mind, we want to share a highlight of tools that are used to support the communication process between home and school:
- Phone and E-mail Contact - If you have a question that does not require an urgent response, you may call the school to leave a message for your child's teacher, send a note to the teacher, or e-mail the teacher (all e-mail addresses are posted on our school web site) - staff will respond within 48 hours of receipt of your message. If you have an urgent matter, such as change in dismissal procedure or a family crisis situation, please call the school directly rather than sending an e-mail as this will assure that the information is passed to appropriate staff in a timely manner.
- Conferences - Progress conferences are scheduled during November and February windows as indicated on the HCPSS calendar; however, if you have any concerns about your child's academic progress, you are encouraged to contact the teacher prior to those windows to discuss.
- LES Website - The LES website provides information for school events, highlights of activities, volunteer training information, and staff contact information. It is updated on a regular basis.
- Family File - This is the place where all contact information is housed electronically for your family. It also provided access to the DO NOT PHOTO information as well as federal aid information. Annually, families have to review their family file. Even if no changes are made, it is necessary to confirm the information, so please visit and sign-off that your information has been changed or remains the same.
- CANVAS - This is the place where you can find specific information from your child's teacher. Please visit frequently for announcements, dates, and links to curricular resources.
TE Position Available
Hello LES community. Lisbon is in search of a TE (temporary employee) for our students this year. This position is designed to have an adult work with a few students throughout their day. It is a truly rewarding position to aid in our students learning. The position pays $10.50 an hour and the TE will be scheduled to work 6 hours a day with a 30-minute duty free lunch. Please contact LaShonne Wright, Assistant Principal to set up an interview for this position. We look forward to hearing from anyone who is interested soon.
Lead Testing
PBIS at LES
You may hear teachers or students discuss PBIS this year. PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. The teachers and staff are using the PBIS framework to help set expectations for student behavior at school and reward students when they meet or exceed these expectations.
Throughout the school, students are expected to exhibit R.O.A.R. behaviors in school. R.O.A.R. stands for Respectful, Organized, Always Safe, and Responsible. Teachers and administrators are spending time ensuring that students know and understand these expectations. Students have the opportunity to earn ROAR Coupons on a daily basis. These coupons can be traded for prizes in our ROAR store. Prizes are connected to different amounts of coupons. Possible choices include but are not limited to the following:
- Porcupine Buddy
- Just Dance Wii
- Administration Helper
- Storybook Reader
- Arts and Crafts/Game Time with Staff Members
- Free Computer Time
Parent Volunteers
Parents who wish to volunteer in any capacity at the school, must complete parent volunteer training on confidentiality and child abuse. These are short powerpoints which you can access at the LES website under the “Get Involved” tab. Once completed, print out the certificate to provide to the classroom teacher. This includes volunteering in the classroom as a helper, chaperoning a field trip, helping academically, and any other reason to be around our students. Parents not completing this training may not volunteer in the school.
Free or Reduced Price Meals
If students received a free or reduced priced meal last year, all students must fill out a new form for this year no later than October 1st. As of October 1st, if a new form is not on file, free and reduced priced meals will end for anyone approved last year. This means that parents will have to send lunch money after October 1st until the new form is processed. Please fill out the form now in preparation for October 1st. When completed online, it takes 3 days to process, when completed in paper version and sent to school, it takes 3 weeks to process.
GIFTED & TALENTED CORNER
Welcome from the Gifted and Talented Education Program
It was nice to see so many of you at our Back-to-School Night G/T Parent Orientation. If you were unable to attend, the Power Point presentation is available on the Lisbon Elementary School website.
For more information about the Gifted and Talented Education Program, please visit http://www.hcpss.org/academics/gifted-and-talented/. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. O’Connor at Jodi_OConnor@hcpss.org or Mr. Nath at Anjan_Nath@hcpss.org or call 410-313-5506.
G/T Nomination - Fourth and Fifth Grade Students NEW to Howard County
Howard County Public Schools are currently in the process of accepting nominations for fourth or fifth grade students NEW to Howard County Public Schools for possible inclusion in the G/T Mathematics Program.
Attention Families of 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th Graders
Over the next two weeks, students will have the opportunity to hear about this year’s Instructional Seminar selections for their grade level. Instructional Seminars are small interest-based groups that meet with a G/T Resource Teacher approximately once a week during recess. The duration of the Instructional Seminar varies based on the topic. Students may participate in more than one Instructional Seminar during the year.
As discussed with the students, they can obtain an application from the folder in their pod area. Students need to complete the application at home by obtaining a parental signature and then return it to the collection envelope in their team area by the indicated due date. Instructional Seminar titles are listed below and additional seminars may be added throughout the year as others are completed.
Grade 2
Paper Airplane Engineering – Mr. Nath (presented 9/7 – slips due by 9/21)
Grade 3
Think it Through – Mr. Nath (not yet presented)
Outlandish Origami – Mrs. O’Connor (not yet presented)
Grade 4
Novel Study: The Castle in the Attic – Mr. Nath (not yet presented)
Reverse Engineering – Mrs. O’Connor (not yet presented)
Grade 5
Green Ambassadors – Mr. Nath (not yet presented)
Rube Goldberg Mini Seminar – Mr. Nath (not yet presented)
Creative Entrepreneurs – Mrs. O’Connor (not yet presented)
Battle of the Books – Mrs. O’Connor and Mrs. Hastings, Media Specialist
(To be advertised during media classes in the next two weeks.)
Grade 4/5: Geography Bee (Sept – Nov) *
Spelling Bee (Nov – Jan) *
(*These seminars are offered to students who qualify to participate
based on a preliminary round held in the classroom.)
Note that students who participate in band or strings may still participate in an Instructional Seminar. Should there be an occasional conflict, students are asked to attend band or strings rather than the Instructional Seminar that day.
Please ask your child to share more information with you about each Instructional Seminar. We appreciate parents encouraging their children to apply to participate, but please keep in mind that the students who are most successful are those who truly have an interest in the topic. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact Jodi O’Connor, G/T Resource Teacher, at Jodi_O’Connor@hcpss.org or AJ Nath, G/T Resource Teacher, at Anjan_Nath@hcpss.org. Thank you.
Paper Airplane Engineering
Recently your child expressed an interest in participating in an Instructional Seminar, which is part of the Gifted and Talented Program at Lisbon Elementary School. The purpose of these seminars is to develop a broad range of advanced level skills while preparing students for other academic opportunities. Students are invited to participate based on their interest in the given topic. The Instructional Seminar that he/she would like to participate in is titled “Paper Airplane Engineering”. This group is for Second Grade students who are interested in learning and using scientific process skills to improve paper airplane designs in order to meet specified objectives.
This seminar will meet once each week from 11:00-11:30, which is your child’s recess time. The seminar will last for approximately 5 weeks. If you have any questions concerning the Instructional Seminar Paper Airplane Engineering, please feel free to contact me at 410.313.5506 or anjan_nath@hcpss.org. Please CUT and RETURN the Bottom Portion of this permission slip with necessary information by FRIDAY, September 21, 2018, to express your child’s interest in participating in this class.
Box Tops 4 Lisbon Lions!!
Last school year, we earned almost $1,200 from Box Tops for PTA events, activities and sponsored teacher requests.
This year's Fall mailing submission must be postmarked by November 1st!
Flyers will be sent home for your family to find your Box Tops, cut, and paste. Box Tops can also be submitted in sandwich bags or envelopes with the number included labeled on the front with your child's name and grade. Labeled submissions get included in our Fall PTA BoxTops Hero contest for most contributions!
For more information on Box Tops, including a list of participating products, go to BTFE.com.
Thanks for your help!
From the PTA
A ROARsome PTA Welcome!
Welcome back, Lisbon Lions! We are so excited to welcome our new community members, kindergarten families, and all returning Lions! We hope you have a ROARsome year!
9/14 – Snowball Social
Please join us on Friday, September 14th from 6:30-7:30 pm for a family fun snowball social! Some of your favorite teachers and staff will be serving your favorite delicious flavors. We hope to see you there!
Membership
FRONT ROW PARKING could be yours! Submit your PTA membership form and payment by September 18th and you’ll be entered into a drawing for front row parking at the PTA event of your choice. The more members we get, the more spots we’ll give away! Forms went home in take-home folders earlier this week; if you need another copy, visit www.lisbonpta.org and click on the Forms & Documents tab.
9/12 – Meet & Greet
Stop by the Media Center between 6 and 7 pm on Wednesday, September 12th to meet PTA members, committee chairs, board members and school administrators! We’ll be ready to chat about questions, concerns, or ways to get involved. Light snacks will be served, and we’d love to have you stay for the first PTA meeting of the year, starting at 7 pm.
9/12 – PTA Meeting
Join us at 7 pm on Wednesday the 12th for our first general membership meeting of the school year – immediately following the meet & greet. Reminder – this is a date change due to the open house for Glenwood MS.
Where to Find Us
Please follow us on Facebook! Visit www.facebook.com/LisbonESPTA or search for “Lisbon Elementary School PTA.” And if you haven’t checked out the Lisbon ES PTA website, please do! At www.lisbonpta.org you’ll find a calendar of events, parent resources, forms, open volunteer positions and more! We would love to have your feedback on programming for the year, too. You’ll find a survey link on the home page.
Mark Your Calendars!
Mark your calendars for the following upcoming PTA events:
9/14 – Snowball Social
10/4 – PTA Meeting
10/12 – Fall Festival
School Lunch Menus
Community News and Programs
The link below will take you to community notices are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Howard County Public School System.
http://www.hcpss.org/community-news-and-programs/