2024-2025 BEGINNING OF THE YEAR IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS

OCTOBER

• 3 - Rosh Hashanah ~ Schools and Offices CLOSED 
• 18 - Schools Closed for Students (Professional Work Day)
• 30 - End of 1st Quarter
• 30 - PTA Trunk or Treat
• 31 - Schools Closed for Students (Professional Work and Development Day)

NOVEMBER

• 5 - Schools and Offices Closed - Election Day
• 8 - Q1 Report Cards Issued, 4:00 p.m. via HCPSS Connect
• 11 - PTA Duck Dash
• 15 - PTA Duck Dash Rain Date
• 25 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early - Parent/Teacher Conferences (in person)
• 26 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early - Parent/Teacher Conferences (virtual)
• 27 - Schools Closed for Students - Parent/Teacher Conferences
• 28 - Schools and Offices Closed
• 29 - Schools and Offices Closed

 

Related Arts Color Calendar Schedule

                                                

                               

MWES NEWS

 

STANDARDS BASED INSTRUCTION AND REPORTING

HCPSS prioritizes student growth. Standards based instruction and reporting (SBIR) makes each elementary student’s learning path more personal and individualized. Students' scores represent their own, unique learning journey. With SBIR, teachers gather evidence of student learning over time and are able to clearly articulate a student’s relative strengths and growth areas as compared to the grade level standards.  For more information and to learn more about how your child’s report card will change, click Here.

Congratulations Mighty Duck Musicians

Congratulations to all our Mighty Duck musicians who auditioned for the Howard County GT Orchestra and Sinfonia! We are thrilled to announce that the following students were selected out of all schools to perform in these elite groups: Isaac Fairall, Sruthika Ganti, Jiwoo Kim, Nate Kim, Jeongmin Lee, Nicole Li,  Levi Rodgers, Johann Shin, Jayden Sun, Wyatt Toral, Spencer Wei, Megan Wu and Nathan Zhang

Young Authors' Contest

The Howard County Literacy Association invites students in grades 1-5 to submit their original poems and/or short stories to the annual writing contest called The Young Authors' Contest. Please see the attached Young Authors’ Contest Guidelines for information about the rules and guidelines. All entries must have a completed YAC Cover Sheet  sent as a PDF. Submissions may be emailed to natalie_miskimins@hcpss.org by December 20, 2024. Please visit grade level Canvas pages for slides that explain the rules in further details. Contact Mrs, Miskimins with any questions.  All Young Authors’ Contest information can be found on the HCLA website. 

Howard County Literacy Association welcomes parents as members.  Visit the HCLA Welcome Page for information about joining.  

Health Room News

Each year, the Howard County Public School System partners with the Maryland Partnership for Prevention to bring flu immunizations into our schools for students. This year, they will also be offering the latest Covid vaccine if it is available at the time of the clinics. The clinic at Manor Woods Elementary school will be held on Friday, f during school hours. If you would like your child to be vaccinated against the flu and/or Covid at this clinic, please register at this link: https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/9278201675

You are not required to provide your child’s insurance information. If you have any concerns about the new Covid vaccine, you are advised to speak with your child’s pediatrician. All in-school clinics will be closed to registration one week before the clinic date to allow our health room staff time to review and prepare the consents and make sure enough vaccine is ordered. If you wish to cancel your child’s appointment after then, please contact the school nurse. If you have any questions, please contact the school nurse, Laura Ruiz at 410-313-8326.

For more information about Flu Prevention please visit: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/health/seasonal-flu

                        

Information Worth Repeating

 

UNIVERSAL SCREENER NOTIFICATION 

In accordance with Maryland’s Ready to Read Act (2019), COMAR (2021) and the direction from the Howard County Board of Education, all Howard County Public School System students in kindergarten to grade 5  will participate in the 2024 - 2025 administration of the Amplify mClass with DIBELS 8th Edition universal screener to identify potential reading difficulties during the following windows.
 

Beginning of the year (BOY)	September 16, 2024- September 30, 2024
Middle of the year (MOY)	January 13, 2025 - January 31, 2025
End of the year (EOY)	May 19, 2025 - June 2, 2025

Amplify mClass DIBELS 8th Edition has identified students for whom mClass is not an appropriate assessment. Students for whom this is true include those with limited verbal language skills, with fluency-based speech disorders or oral apraxia, and/or who are blind and/or deaf.

Please see below for screening areas measured in each grade.  Students will complete the screener in four to twelve minutes and will be screened three times this year during the windows indicated above in the chart.  

How will the results be used? 

Performance is an indicator of overall reading status and is not intended to be an in-depth or comprehensive measure of reading. Just like using a thermometer to take a temperature, which provides a  quick indicator of general health, these quick assessments provide information about reading health on particular early reading skills. 

A student’s scores on the screener give school staff information about whether or not a student is on track for grade-level reading success. School staff can quickly identify students who may require extra help. Parents and guardians will receive a home report with their child’s scores. 

Some information on this parent notification is taken directly from the Ready to Read Act and COMAR, while other content was summarized to reflect HCPSS procedures.

https://dibels.amplify.com/

COMAR 13A.03.08 Students at Risk for Reading Difficulties June 2021.pdf 

Ready to Read Act.pdf 

 

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Assessment Dates

The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment is designed to measure a student’s academic achievement and growth over time in reading and mathematics. Together with other classroom-based information, MAP results can help teachers make instructional decisions that match the needs of each child.

MAP is a computer adaptive assessment. In a computer adaptive assessment, as a student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down the difficulty of the questions presented to the student. This creates a personalized assessment for every student.

Currently, MAP is being used in all elementary and middle schools in HCPSS. In order to monitor growth across the school year, students in grades 1 through 8 take MAP two or three times a year: in the beginning (fall), in the middle (winter), and at the end of the school year (spring), with students in grades 3 through 8 only participating in fall and winter.

Date	Math MAP	Reading MAP
First Grade	September 16th	September 19th
Second Grade	September 30th	September 23rd
Third Grade	September 23rd	September 30th
Fourth Grade	September 25th	October 2nd
Fifth Grade	September 25th	October 2nd

 

HCPSS News 

​​​​​​​

Families of children birth-5 with an IFSP or IEP:

OEIS will be hosting a free Parent Café for parents of children birth-5 with an IFSP or IEP on October 9th from 6:00-8:00 PM. Dinner & childcare will be provided; registration is required. During a Parent Café parents and caregivers of children birth-5 engage in open and honest conversations about the success and struggles of parenting.  Conversations focus on building capacity, empowering parents, & strengthening families. Please see this Parent Cafe flier.pdf for additional information. Any questions about the event can be directed to EISFamily@hcpss.org Thank you!

HCPSS Student Code of Conduct

The Howard County Public School System is committed to providing a safe, engaging and supportive learning environment where all policies are enforced fairly and consistently. HCPSS policies and regulations emphasize instruction and rehabilitation rather than punishment and are designed to foster and reward appropriate behavior and keep students connected to school so they can graduate college and career ready. Please read and review the HCPSS student code of conduct with your child(ren) before the school year begins:  HCPSS Student Code Of Conduct 

HCPSS Student & Parent Handbook

The Student & Parent Handbook can be found online and outlines districtwide practices and policies related to parents and students, including the Student Code of Conduct, school procedures, student responsibilities and more.

Elementary Student Cell-Phone Usage Policy

Families are reminded that students must abide by Board of Education Policy 8080 Responsible Use of Technology, Digital Tools, and Social Media, and specifically Standard E. Student Use-Technology, which states that “HCPSS permits students to bring personal technology devices to school, according to the following rules:

• Elementary Schools – Students will keep personal technology devices in backpacks during the school day, unless otherwise authorized by school administrators or instructional staff.

HCPSS NEWS

Click here for the latest updated hcpss news.