Piney Point Weekly
Week of November 7 - 11, 2022
Important Dates
Monday, November 7 - Mathnasium Math Night 5:30-7pm
Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day, No school for students
Wednesday, November 9 - Report card distribution. Report cards can be viewed on the Home Access Center. Report card comment sheets will be emailed.
Thursday, November 10 - PTA Olde Town Pub Spirit Night 4:00-9:00pm
Friday, November 11 - Holiday – Veteran’s Day, No School for Students
Report Cards - First Quarter
What to do if your student is ill
While school attendance is vital to your student’s education, a sick child belongs at home. Please review the Sick Day Guidelines below to assist you in making that decision.
Keep me home if...
- I have a temperature higher than 100°F.
- I'm throwing up or have diarrhea.
- My eyes are pink and crusty.
Send me back to school when...
- My symptoms have significantly improved or resolved.
- I haven't had a fever for 24 hours and have not had any fever-reducing medication.
- I haven't thrown up or had diarrhea.
- If antibiotics have been prescribed, I have been taking them for at least 24hr.
Call the doctor if...
- I’ve had a temperature higher than 100°F for more than 2 days.
- I've been throwing up or having diarrhea for more than 2 days.
- I've had the sniffles for more than a week and they aren't getting any better.
- I still have asthma symptoms after using my asthma medicine (and call 911 if I'm having trouble breathing after using an inhaler).
Math Night - November 7
Mark your calendar for this fun filled learning night. We hope to see you there!
Wellness Information
As the days get shorter and weather cools you may start to see problems with your skin. November is National Healthy Skin month. Our skin is the body’s largest organ. It’s very important to keep your skin healthy. Check out this video to see seven ways dermatologists recommend to keep skin healthy. As always if you have any questions or concerns about your skin, please see a board certified dermatologist.
If you are interested in knowing more about your skin and how to keep it healthy, check out the following website which has articles and advice related to your skin.
With the cold weather approaching we all will be stuck indoors. Here are some great tips on how to keep your kids active indoors.
Parent Drop Off Reminders
Parent drop off begins at 9:00am and ends at about 9:10am. If there are no staff members outside and the front doors are closed, you must park and walk your student(s) into the front entrance of the school. Students are considered late after 9:15am and must be signed in through the main office.
Fruit/Vegetable Day
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Nurse Erica.
The PTA is helping with this event on November 16th. We are looking for volunteers to help distribute fruits and vegetables to the students. Below is the sign-up sheet along with the class grade schedule.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C4DABA728A6FA7-nutrition
Counselor's Corner
Hello Piney Point Families,
What are you thankful for? During the month of November, our students will be learning about the character trait, GRATITUDE. They are learning that gratitude means being grateful or thankful. Listed below is a newsletter which contains some books, web resources, and activities for home on our character trait that you may want to explore with your child.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at kcwells@smcps.org or 301-994-2205 (ext. 24120).
Evening Counseling
Evening Counseling will begin in November!! Sessions will take place at Greenview Knolls Elementary School. If parents are interested, please have them fill out the interest form on the flyer. Evening Counseling Flyer
PTA Updates
November 10th : Olde Town Pub Fundraiser : Grab your family and friends and come on out to the Olde Town Pub for some delicious food. Proceeds from all pub sales on this date will benefit the Piney Point Elementary School PTA.
Need Spirit Wear?! We have extras! Email the PTA at Piney.Point.PTA@gmail.com to place you order.
Payments can be made my Cash, Check, Venmo (@Piney-PointPTA) or Cash App ($pineypointp)
Youth Short Sleeve-$15.00 each
Adult short sleeve - $17.00 each, XXL (29) $18.00 each
Youth long sleeve -$18.00 each
Adult long sleeve - $20.00 each
Youth Hoodies- $23.00 each
Adult Hoodies - $27.00 each
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
School Volunteers
School Nurse Updates
The health and safety of our students and staff remain a top priority of St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS). We continue to work collaboratively with the St. Mary’s County Health Department (SMCHD) and we follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect our school community.
Preventing the Spread of Infection
Health Room
Medication Administration
Medications occasionally need to be administered to students by our nurse during the school day. Students can not transport medication of any kind to school including over the counter medications. All medication must be brought to school by a parent, guardian, or other authorized adult. Please call the school nurse if you have any questions.
My School Bucks
All students in SMCPS have been issued classroom and technology resources.* These resources may include:
Textbooks
Novels
Library Books
Laptops
Chargers
Consumables
Content/Class specific resources not mentioned above
When an SMCPS resource is lost, the student is charged the replacement cost specific to that item. When a laptop is damaged (either partially or completely), the repair or replacement cost is as shown in the SMCPS Student Device and Resource Accountability document. If a student is charged for any reason, payments can now be made through MySchoolBucks. As soon as a fee is assessed in Destiny, a REAL TIME FEE will show in the parent/guardian My School Bucks account. If your family does not already have an account with MySchoolBucks, it is not difficult to create one. Simply go to the MySchoolBucks Help page and click on the “How do I get started” option. Answers to many of your other questions can also be found there. *Please note, you can also still pay with cash or check at your school.
Ready to sign up? Visit this link.
*If you would like to see what your student currently has checked out or any fines that have been assessed, the student can login to their Destiny account.
Nominations for Cafeteria Workers
SMCPS is seeking nominations to recognize our school cafeteria workers from our parents and staff.
There is no deadline to submit a nomination. Nominations will be pulled each month to pass along our Golden Spatula Award to our cafeteria staff.
School Meals
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture waivers that permitted distribution of free meals in school and via take-home meals have not been extended into School Year 2022-2023.
While meals are not free for all students, we are still offering the free and reduced meal program based on the status determined from the meal benefit application. Students who qualify based on income or direct certification will still receive free or reduced meals this school year. A new application must be submitted for this school year to qualify.
Elementary School Prices:
$1.45 breakfast
$2.75 lunch
- If you completed a meal benefit form last year and qualified for free or reduced meals, your child will continue to receive a free or reduced meal until October 6th. You must complete a new meal benefit form to receive a free or reduced meal for the remainder of the school year.
- For those families that did not complete a meal benefit last year, your child will need to purchase their meals. You can put money on the meal account by visiting myschoolbucks.com.
Schoology App
Bus Stop Locator/Here Comes the Bus app
Students are assigned a bus based on their physical address. If your child is coming to school or going home to another address (like a daycare), it is the parent's responsibility to communicate that information with the office. Please contact Jayne Worch at jdworch@smcps.org. If your child is a returning PPES student, you only need to communicate with the office if the transportation to or from school has changed from last school year.