Chipmunk Chatter
For The Week of January 18 through January 22
Administrators' Message
Dear Sandymount Families,
First, we want to thank our PTA and families for their continued support and flexibility. We greatly appreciate your kind words and encouragement throughout these unprecedented times.
Sandymount staff are very happy to see our Chipmunks. The children appear to be super excited to be in school again! We had between 120-150 students attend school in-person on each cohort day, while all other students attended virtually.
Filling staff vacancies continues to be a daily challenge. We are using creative strategies to minimize disruption to the classroom and/or instructional program. Central Office has provided support to us this week by sending CCPS employees who can serve as a classroom monitor, while the teacher teaches virtually.
We are in dire need of building substitutes and close adult assistants. Please call the school if you or know anyone who is interested.
We welcome our new staff member(s):
- Grace Heflin - SPED Resource
- Kathryn Gordon - Speech Therapist
- Cameron Ledford - Permanent substitute until 1/15/21- her assignment will then change to long-term sub for Emily Schindler who is going on maternity leave
- Jim Bradenburg - Custodian
Best wishes to:
- Ashley Rill - Permanent building substitute
Enjoy the extended weekend!
Calendar Information
January 18th - Schools/Offices Closed
January 29th - Second Marking Period Ends
February 1st - Schools Closed for Students
February 2nd - Third Marking Begins
February 15th - Schools/Offices Closed
Attendance Information
As we prepare to have students return to schools in a hybrid model, we wanted to inform you of a few things about how attendance will work moving forward.
Students Choosing Virtual:
If you elect to have your child continue with enhanced virtual instruction, your child will continue accounting for their daily attendance by submitting the daily attendance question in Google Classroom as they have been doing since the start of the school year.
Students Choosing Hybrid:
If you elect to have your child attend hybrid instruction their attendance will be accounted for at the school on days that they attend (e.g. Cohort A will be accounted for by teachers in the school on Monday and Tuesday).
On days where your child is not attending in person (e.g. Cohort A students will be participating in enhanced virtual instruction on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday), your child will continue accounting for their daily attendance by submitting the daily attendance question in Google Classroom as they have been doing since the start of the school year.
Wednesday - All of CCPS:
All students will be participating in enhanced virtual instruction. Your child will continue accounting for their daily attendance by submitting the daily attendance question in Google Classroom as they have been doing since the start of the school year.
What if my child’s class or school is closed due to a COVID related matter?
Students impacted by the closure of their classroom or school will be participating in enhanced virtual instruction. Your child will continue accounting for their daily attendance by submitting the daily attendance question in Google Classroom as they have been doing since the start of the school year.
What if my child is sick, in isolation or quarantine?
Students always have the option to participate in enhanced virtual instruction and would account for their daily attendance by submitting the daily attendance question in Google Classroom as they have been doing since the start of the school year. If your child is unable to engage in the enhanced virtual instruction, please notify your school so that they can account for the absence.
Calling All Picture Takers
The PTA is still putting together a yearbook for the 2020/21 school year! We NEED your help!
We now have a way for parents and teachers to upload pictures for the yearbook. If you already have a Shutterfly account you can log into it or you can create a new one. Go to SESYearbook.Shutterfly.com. Once you get logged on, click “Ask to become a member” in the top right. Be sure to include your students teachers name in the message. Once it has been approved, you will be able to upload pictures from your computer or you can use the app on your phone.
If anyone has pictures of Sandymount students having fun together outside of school or during breaks please add them to the album “After School Fun”.
We are also looking for headshots to include on the class pages. If you do not see an album for your students teacher, you can create one, for example “K-Hopwood”. Be sure to edit the description to include how you would like their name to appear in the yearbook.
If you have any questions or you would just like to email the pictures, please use SESYearbook@gmail.com.
NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Board of Education of Carroll County does not engage in discrimination that is unlawful or contrary to Maryland State Department of Education guidance on the basis of age, color, genetic information, marital status, mental or physical disability, ancestry or national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
The Board of Education of Carroll County is firmly committed to creating equal employment and educational opportunities for all persons by providing an environment that supports optimal academic achievement and productive work and is free from any form of unlawful discrimination, including access to school facilities, educational programs, and extra-curricular activities.
The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of Human Resources, 125 North Court Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157, (410) 751-3070.
ADA ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT
Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) does not discriminate on the basis of disability in employment or the provision of services, programs or activities. Persons needing auxiliary aids and services for communication should contact the Communications Office at 410-751-3020 or publicinfo@carrollk12.org, or write to Carroll County Public Schools, 125 North Court Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157. Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, may use Relay or 7-1-1. Please contact the school system at least one (1) week in advance of the date the special accommodation is needed.
Sandymount Elementary
2222 Old Westminster Pike
Finksburg, MD 21048
Phone: 410-751-3215 Fax: 410-751-3925
Office Hours 8:00-4:00
Internet Address: www.carrollk12.org/SES
Absence email only: SESattendance@carrollk12.org