Piney Point Weekly
Week of December 6-10, 2021
Upcoming Important Dates
A Week
December 6 - Running Club until 5:00pm
December 8-10 PTA Candy Grams (deliver Dec 15)
December 9 - PTA Holiday Shop 5:30-7:30pm
Spirit Week:
December 13 Holiday stockings - wear those Xmas socks or stockings
December 14 We wish you a merry Xmas - dress like a present with ribbons and bows
December 15 Deck the halls - wear holiday accessories, jewelry, necklaces, pins, garland, hats, antlers, etc
December 16 Christmas sweater/shirts - wear your tackiest or cute sweaters, shirts or sweatshirts
December 17 Dream a little dream - wear comfy and cozy clothes, pjs, robes
SMCPS Impact Aid
St. Mary's County Public Schools (SMCPS) is encouraging all parent(s)/guardian(s) to please take the time to access and complete the online Impact Aid form located in the Home Access Center (HAC). Directions to access the online form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE. The form can now be accessed in Spanish by clicking on the Globe in the top right-hand corner once the form has been started.
Our schools are heavily impacted by federally connected students. Federally connected students are those students whose parent(s)/guardian(s) work on federal property in Maryland, live on federal property in Maryland, and/or are active-duty military personnel. Because of this impact, we receive federal grant funds to operate and maintain our schools and enrich school programs. To receive these funds, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) requires us to survey each student to determine eligibility. The information must be based on the survey date, September 30, 2021.
All information that is collected is confidential and used solely for Impact Aid purposes. The Impact Aid grant application provides only demographic information on the numbers and locations of federally connected students attending our schools.
Impact Aid surveys will be digitally collected for this school year. Families who cannot complete the digital survey can either contact their child’s school for a paper copy or a blank form can be downloaded from the St. Mary’s County Public Schools website or from any SMCPS individual school website.
Families will be asked to voluntarily provide various pieces of information; for instance, information such as workplace employment will be requested. Specifically, the following two employment addresses will be requested:
- the address for the employer; and
- the address of the Federal Property where their physical work address is located.
Parent(s)/Guardian(s) that are on active duty in the Reserves or National Guard, will need to either upload a copy of their active-duty orders or provide their supervisor’s contact information. (* all information on the service member’s orders can be blackened out, except for name, rank, branch of service, and Title Number “USC Title 10” or “USC Title 32”).
Your cooperation in completing the survey no later than December 15, 2021, is greatly appreciated. The more surveys that are submitted, the greater amount of funds will be available to our students in St. Mary’s County Public Schools.
Counselor Corner
Dear Piney Point Families,
During the month of December, our students will be learning about the character trait, KINDNESS. They are learning that kindness means:
- Being nice to others
- Forgiving others
- Showing compassion
- Helping people in need
Checkout my newsletter on Kindness for additional resources. My Bitmoji page is also always a resource for you as well.
Mrs. Wells, School Counselor
Chorus, Band and Strings Update
The winter concert for band, chorus and strings has been cancelled this year. We will have a spring concert in May. More information will be shared with families as we get closer to the May date.
Math Ideas at Home
During this holiday season, the kitchen has wonderful opportunities to help children of all ages learn math concepts such as fractions, estimation and measuring quantities. Children can learn about healthy foods while they reinforce mathematical skills when they:
- learn the tools used in measuring liquids and ingredients for recipes
- kitchen tools such as teaspoons tablespoons and measuring cups
- learn relationships between different qualities such as pints and quarts.
Incorporate math into your cooking class by discussing with kids how ingredients are measured and added into recipes. How different quantities of ingredients can affect the quality and nutrition value of a recipe.
Below is a 3-ingredient recipe for holiday sugar cookies from Delish.com that can be an easy way for students to start learning how to follow a recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1 stick plus 2 tbsp. salted butter, softened
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 c. all-purpose flour
Sprinkles (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325°.
2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then stir in flour.
3. Form the cookies into 1" balls, placing them about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. If using sprinkles, flatten cookies into a disc shape and top with sprinkles.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden.
SMCPS Mental Health and Wellness Google Sites
Jingle Bell Run in Solomons, MD
Want to enjoy the fresh winter weather along with supporting our community? Come join fellow staff members and Beacon runners at the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis in Solomons, MD on December 11th. Not feeling like running? Walk! Walking not an option? Come cheer your fellow Beacons on! We love community support no matter how you choose to show it.
Sign up under the team name, "PPES Beacons". Let's work together and support one another with getting active! :) Link for Sign Up
PTA Updates
December 6- Chick-fil-a orders are due for The Grinch event https://forms.gle/34aVV3K25N6drSE5A
December 6-10 - Holiday Shop (10:30 -2:30 p.m.) Students can shop at the Holiday Shop for all those on their list during their recess time.
We are looking for volunteers to help with the holiday shop, if you are available to help, please click the link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050c4daba728a6fa7-holiday
December 9- The Grinch Event (5:30-7:30 p.m.) We are looking for volunteers to help, please click the link to sign up. : https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C4DABA728A6FA7-thegrinch
Information from past weekly newsletters
School Nurse Updates
COVID-19 Processes
St. Mary's County Public Schools COVID-19 protocols for Staff and Students are based upon MDH and MSDE Guidance.
When Will My Child Be Sent Home From School Related to COVID?
The school nurse follows the MDH and MSDE Guidance when seeing students in the health suite with COVID-19 symptoms. As outlined in the document, COVID-19 symptoms are any ONE of the following:
fever of 100.4 F or higher
sore throat
cough
difficulty breathing
diarrhea
vomiting
new onset of severe headache (especially with fever)
new loss of taste or smell
When Should I Keep My Child Home From School?
Do not send your child to school if your child is experiencing ANY signs/symptoms of illness. If your child required fever-reducing medication within the past 24 hours to maintain a normal body temperature, your child should NOT be in school.
Please contact Nurse Erica if you have any questions.
Please communicate with the school when your child is absent.
Parent Volunteers
https://www.smcps.org/safety-and-security/volunteer-information
SMCPS Student Device and Resources
https://www.smore.com/c7uap-resource-accountability
SMCPS Technology and Schoology Success Steps for the Beginning of the Year:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EEpoXgdWlw3TPTuuRW79v23KtxglHk2AiES2CGKOHf8/edit
Home Access Center (HAC)
Piney Point Elementary
44550 Tall Timbers Road
Tall Timbers, MD 20690
School phone 301-994-2205