Seahawk News
October 14, 2023
Sunderland Promotes Integrity, Responsibility, Independence & Trust
New This Week
The FSO sponsored Candy Wars will end on Tuesday. Tuesday is the last day to send it in.
Candy Wars Totals as of Friday 10/13
Pre-k 1,518
K- 3,199
1st- 2,170
2nd- 3,695
3rd- 3,125
4th- 3,651
5th- 2,108
Total- 19,466 pieces of candy
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Testing Updates
The CogAT testing window has been switched to October 23-November 3rd. All students in 2nd grade will take CogAT. Students in grades 3,4, 5 who are new to our school or have not taken CogAT before will also test. All students who are going to be assessed received a letter this week. CogAT measures students’ learned reasoning abilities in the three areas most closely related to success in school: verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative.
- Check out Counselor's Corner for upcoming activities that include Unity Day and Red Ribbon Week!
- Bus evacuations for the Fall have begun. This is the safety drill we practice with all buses and students who ride. Please review the attached bus safety fliers that shares safety rules of the road for buses.
- 5th Grade Families:
- Students in 5th grade will participate in the family life and human sexuality component of the health curriculum. Typically, this takes place in February of each year. Parents will receive an opt-out letter outlining what is taught in Family Life and Human Sexuality. Teachers will email this letter through Home Access Center (HAC) or place it in the student’s weekly folder. Any parents who would like to excuse their child from family life and human sexuality topics, should return the letter to the teacher. We encourage parents to speak with the teacher to further understand what is being taught and to determine if there are specific elements in which you would want your child to participate. Students who are excused from family life learning objectives will receive appropriate alternative learning in health education outside of the health classroom. If you have any questions regarding the curriculum, please contact your child’s teacher. You can find the letter here: Fifth Grade Family Life Opt Out Letter (finalsite.net)
- Please remember to complete the Federal Impact Aid form that CCPS emailed.
- Field Trip Chaperones: We are not able to have chaperones swap places once you are signed up for a field trip. We have had several situations where mom has signed up to chaperones, then dad shows up because mom couldn't make it. In some situations, one is an approved volunteer and the other is not. We usually have more than enough volunteers for field trips so if you are a selected chaperone and are unable to make it, please contact the teacher immediately so she can choose the next person. We appreciate everyone's efforts!
- On October 14th, there will be a partial annular eclipse (about 35 - 40% coverage) visible in Calvert County. It is not safe to observe the sun directly during this time without special lenses or using a viewer. Safe viewing instructions can be found here. The partial eclipse will be visible from noon to 2:39 pm on October 14th in our area. There will be a total eclipse that we will see at 80% coverage in April. As that one will occur on a school day, there will be resources and activities for students and teachers to support safe viewing.
PBIS at SES
The photo across the header this week is of our Flock Partners- Ms. Williams' 3rd grade and Ms. Walton's kdg class. They enjoyed their special activity together!
See the calendar for the Splash Cash Cart days and Celebrations!
♥️Volunteers♥️
EVERYONE must reapply for being a volunteer. The system was cleaned out and you must reapply. Remember, if you want to be a chaperone or work events, you must be approved. If you are an employee of CCPS, you still need to complete the volunteer process for participation in events at school.
Even if you are not sure if you will be able to attend anything, please sign up early. Here’s the CCPS link of info:
Become a Volunteer - Calvert County Public School District (calvertnet.k12.md.us)
General Information about Sunderland Elementary School
· Instructional School Day - 9:25AM – 4:05PM
- Arrival window for cars and bus: 9:15AM-9:25AM
- Dismissal window for Daily Car Riders- 3:50PM-4:05PM
- Dismissal window for bus: 4:10PM-4:20PM
· School Colors - Blue and White – Friday Spirit Days- Classes are assigned a Flock color as well. More to come on that!
· School Mascot/Motto -“SPIRIT” the Seahawk -Sunderland Promotes Independence Responsibility Integrity and Trust
See the attached information regarding meals and more!
Counselor's Corner
From Ms. Hilton and Ms. Shade: October 14, 2023
• October is Bullying Prevention Month and our classroom counseling lessons will focus on kindness, empathy, and respect! We will continue to read books from the Little Spots Series by Diane Alber in addition to activities related to our grade-level themes.
• Our Character Trait of the Month of October is KINDNESS! We will continue to teach, emphasize, and reinforce the importance of kindness within our school community throughout the month!
• Dates to remember:
o 10/18 – Unity Day; on Unity Day we wear and share ORANGE to show unity for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion and to send a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying. Visit the Pacer website for more information on how YOU can prevent bullying! - www.pacer.org
o 10/16 – 11/8 – End Hunger in Calvert County! We will collect non-perishable food items for End Hunger in Calvert County. The grade level with the most items donated will win a surprise!
o 10/23 – 10/28 - Red Ribbon Week; please see the attached flier for spirit week themes!
• Calvert County Mediation Center is offering FREE Family Transitions Triple P classes. These are classes for families that are navigating with co-parenting. Each class is 2 sessions and of 3 hours each from 5:30pm-8:30pm and held at the Prince Frederick location. The dates for sessions are - Nov 1 and 2, & Dec 6 and 7. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
• Calvert County Child and Adolescent Supportive Behavioral Health Services resource guide - https://www.calverthealth.org/_pdf/lbha/resguide.pdf. This guide was designed to help parents and caregivers navigate and find information regarding the different behavioral health treatments and services available for children and adolescents residing in Calvert County, Maryland.
• The hostile incidents taking place in Israel and the surrounding regions may have caused distress and concern, particularly among students with family ties or cultural connections to the impacted areas. Please review the following resources and guidance on how to support your children impacted by the recent conflicts.
· Resources
· Common Sense Media - How to Talk to Kids About Violence, Crime, and War
· New York Family - Talking to Kids about the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict
· UNICEF - How to talk to your children about conflict and war
· Verywell Family - Talking to Your Kids About War
Should your family need assistance with school supplies (now or during the school year), please contact your child's classroom teacher or counselor.
Michele Shade, School Counselor, Last Names A-K, shadem@calvertnet.k12.md.us 443-550-9474
Danielle Hilton, School Counselor, Last Names L-Z, hiltond@calvertnet.k12.md.us 443-550-9387
Calendar of Events
Please note that new items are added to the calendar as they are planned. It includes updated field trips and other events.
Attendance Notes
- When a student is absent, doctor notes should be sent within 3 days of the absence. If you need to email the note, please send attendance notes to sesattendance@calvertnet.k12.md.us This email will be monitored by Ms. Bozman. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Community Resources and Fliers
The following link includes events, activities, and opportunities for young people offered by organizations in the community.
These events and activities are not sponsored by the Calvert County Board of Education or Calvert County Public Schools. We provide equal opportunities to outside agencies to distribute materials that offer opportunities to students and/or their parents, but that permission should not be considered a recommendation or endorsement by the school district.
Repeated from Last Week
- Monday, October 9th is a 2 hour Delayed Opening!
- How are the Candy Wars going? We have announced the totals so far in the Candy Wars on our morning news show. Consider that we have 670 students and growing each day! Check out the totals. Let's see who takes the lead next week!
- Check out Counselor's Corner for upcoming activities that include Unity Day and Red Ribbon Week!
- If you would like to participate in any activities or field trips this year, please make sure you complete your Volunteer Process. Details are in this newsletter every week in the section: Volunteers!
- 5th Grade Families- A separate email was sent to all 5th grade families about the Fall-A-Palooza Funhouse! It has been a SES tradition for 5th grade students w their families. Check it out!
Here is the sign up genius for the Fall Festival volunteers.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4BAEA822A7FFC61-44417995-fall
- CCPS will be sending out the Federal Impact Aid information on Tuesday, October 2nd. Please complete this process to help our school achieve 100%.