Weekly Message
September 8, 2019
Leonardtown Elementary School
Mr. Greg LaCount, Assistant Principal
Website: https://schools2.smcps.org/les/
Location: 22885 Duke Street, Leonardtown, MD, USA
Phone: 301-475-0250
Twitter: @lessmcps
Important Upcoming Dates and Events
September
-13 Spirit Day- Wear school colors
-18 Back to School Bash 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m.
-19 Fall Picture Day
-20 No School for Students; School Professional Development Day
-24 Destination Imagination Information Sharing Night; Grades 1-2, 5:30 p.m. AND Grades 3-5, 6:00 p.m.
-25 Back to School Bash (Rain Date)
-26 Robotics Information Sharing Night; Grades 1-3, 5:30 p.m. AND Grades 4-5, 6:00 p.m.
-27 Grandparents Day Lunch
-27 Spirit Day-Wear School Colors
October
3- PTA General Membership Meeting @ 6 p.m. in the Media Center
8- LES Bike Rodeo 3:50 p.m. -5:00 p.m.
From Dr. Quick-McQueen
As Mr. LaCount and I have walked throughout the building, we are pleased to see students engaged in learning in their new classrooms. We are excited to see such an engaged school community. This week, Mr. LaCount and I will be meeting with students from each grade level. We will discuss behavioral expectations, our school rules, and some important school policies.
Communication is a vital skill in this day and age. At Leonardtown Elementary, we aim to communicate in a variety of ways. Please keep an eye out for our weekly message. The weekly message will be post each Sunday evening throughout the school year. The weekly message is also posted on our website. It is very important for parents to read this weekly message as it contains a great deal of important school, school system, and community news.
As times have changed and communication has evolved, we are keeping pace with the times. Twitter helps us keep you informed in real-time. We encourage you to keep informed by following LES on Twitter. Follw us @les_smcps.
We will tweet reminders about upcoming activities as well as highlights that are taking place around the building. It will also be a great way to get a "Behind the scenes" look at Leonardtown Elementary.
We hope the first week of school went well for you and your family. We all look forward to an incredible school year!
Contina Quick-McQueen, Principal
LES Pre-K Students Excited About the School Year
Back to School Bash
Back to School Bash will replace Back to School Night and will still give families and staff time to connect to share information about the year ahead.
A more detailed schedule for visiting with staff during the evening will be shared soon.
MTSS at LES
Throughout the school, students are expected to exhibit S.O.A.R.R. behaviors in school. S.O.A.R.R. stands for Safe, On Task, Accountable, Responsible, and Respectful. Teachers and administrators are spending time ensuring that students know and understand these expectations.
Teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding student for following them is a much more proactive and positive approach than waiting for misbehavior to occur before responding. The purpose of school-wide MTSS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.
Picking Up A Student At LES
Additionally, we require a picture ID when you pick-up your child from school.
Volunteering at LES
All approved volunteers should view and verify the CASH Training located on the SMCPS website. If you are already a volunteer, there is no need to reapply.
Birthdays at LES
At LES, we strongly support and encourage the recognition of a child’s birthday during the school day. It is an annual milestone in every child’s life that should be celebrated not just at home, but in school as well, where children spend one-third of their day with teachers, classmates, and peers.
In our school community, we have students with food allergies and other medical needs that require healthy options. The nurse can become inundated with checking ingredients and verifying student allergies that come in on a daily basis.
For the upcoming year, we will transition to healthier options. We will implement the following at LES this year.
- Students will be recognized during our PA announcements
- Students will receive a birthday pencil and sticker from Administration
- Students will be recognized in the classroom by the teacher and their peers
- A parent/guardian can volunteer as a "Guest Reader" to come in to the classroom and read a book
- A book in the students' name can be donated to the library by the students' family
Early Release Students
Students may not be released from the office after 3:15 p.m.
Once dismissal starts, your child will depart as scheduled by either taking their assigned bus home or exiting the building as a car rider or walker.
In order for your child to be released to anyone other than the parent/guardian, that person MUST be listed on the emergency contact list and present photo identification.
Please provide a Green Note to the office if there is any change to your child's daily transportation plan.
Everyone's cooperation in this regard is important to ensure our students get home safely each day.
Visiting During Lunch Times
While we do allow siblings to accompany parents during Lunch, we do not recommend that younger children should be closely monitored by the parent at all times. Siblings are not permitted at Recess.
LES Lunch Times
- 11:30-12:00 Kindergarten
- 11:00-11:30 First Grade
- 12:40-1:10 Second Grade
- 11:40-12:10 Third Grade
- 12:10-12:40 Fourth Grade
- 1:10-1:40: Fifth Grade
Medication Administration at School
- Obtains written, signed medication orders from an authorized prescriber.
- Assures that all portions of the Health Services Medication Form are complete.
- Delivers the written order with parent signature and the medication labeled as required to the school health room.
- Acknowledges receipt of medication at school and signs SMCPS paperwork.
- Provides medication in the proper form and in the ordered dosage, such as half tablets.
- Replenishes medication supply as needed.
- Submits to the school a new order from the physician/prescriber for any change in medication, dosage, or frequency of administration.
- Gives the first dose of any medication at home and observes for adverse reactions.
- Retrieves all medication from the school premises one week after the expiration date, upon appropriate notification of medication being discontinued, or at the end of the school year (by the end of staff hours on the last day of school).
2019 MCAP/PARCC Reports Grades 3-5
2019 MCAP (Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program)
PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers) REPORTS
Paper copies of reports for current fourth and fifth grade students will go home this week to give families an overview of their child's score for English/Language Arts and Math PARCC test scores from this past spring.
If you have any questions about scores, please do not hesitate to contact school administration.
Overall, Leonardtown Elementary School's students continue to show growth each year the test is administered.
· In ELA, the number of student who scored a 4 (met expectations) or 5 (exceeded expectations) made growth from 62% to 63% compared to 2018.
· In math, students made similar improvements. Students who scored a 4 or 5 increased from 60% to 63%.
We are very proud of all our students for their hard work. The data and information from this year's administration of MCAP/PARCC will help teachers and administrators plan for the upcoming school year.
September is Attendance Awareness Month
Please click here for Tips for Improving School Attendance.
Please click here for the SMCPS Attendance Brochure.
Don't Delay, Join Your PTA
Hi LES families,
Thank you for stopping by our table at the Open House! If you were not able to stop by, and would like to volunteer please use this link to be added to our email list. Volunteering opportunities include helping out at our free events, teacher appreciation, book fair and school picture day. Thank you in advance for your help! https://forms.gle/pNBDMH7qwMTmdr1c8
You will be receiving a PTA membership form that will go home with your student. PTA membership gives you a voice as a member, and also supports the free events we offer during the school year including Donuts with Dad, Muffins with Mom, Family Dance, Big Idea Fair and Back to School Bash! Membership this year is $10 for all LES staff members, $12 for a parent/guardian and $20 for two parents/guardian. Our membership goal is 60%, and we are off to a great start! The classroom with the highest percentage will win a popsicle or ice cream party of their choice.
We look forward to seeing you at the Back to School Bash on Wednesday September 18th.
Smiles,
your 2019-2020 LES PTA