February 2026

Rooted in Relationships. Driven by Learning. Focused on the Future.

At BPES, we show up for each other. Students and staff feel seen, supported, and ready to learn. We work together to create a safe, welcoming environment. Through strong relationships, open communication, and partnerships with families, we continue to build a thriving community where everyone belongs.

Dear Families,

February is a busy month in our learning community! As we continue to nurture the hearts and minds of our students, this month is filled with opportunities to celebrate love, history, identity, and community connection.

Here’s what we’re looking forward to:

Black History Month – Throughout the month, we’ll explore the stories, achievements, and culture of Black leaders, artists, and changemakers.

Unity Day – We’ll celebrate what makes each of us unique, and what brings us together, with activities focused on belonging, kindness, and acceptance.

Valentine’s Day – We’re spreading kindness and joy with friendship-themed activities.

Guest Readers – We’re excited to welcome guest readers into our building to share the love of literacy with our students.

Campus Conversations: Family Edition – We invite families to join us for a special presentation on Cyber Safety and how to keep our students safe online.

Community Wellness Fair – Join us for a special event highlighting healthy habits for body and mind. Expect resources, activities, and ways to support your whole family’s wellness. More information to come.

Career Day – Our students love imagining their futures! We welcome family members or community guests to share their passions and careers with our young learners. More information to come.

As always, our commitment to inclusive, joyful early learning means every child and family is valued. Thank you for growing with us and helping build a strong, connected community where every child shines.

This month, we're taking a meaningful pause from our usual focus on academic data to spotlight something equally important: keeping our children safe in the digital world.

As our school community becomes more technologically savvy, it's essential that we partner with families to ensure students are not only thriving online but staying safe. From social media to gaming apps, our children are navigating an increasingly digital landscape. Together, we can build the knowledge and tools needed to protect them.

We invite all parents and guardians to join us for a special Campus Conversations session focused on Cyber Safety. You'll learn practical tips and resources on:

• Recognizing online risks and setting healthy boundaries
• Monitoring and guiding screen time
• Keeping personal information private
• Encouraging responsible digital citizenship

Event Details:

This is a valuable opportunity to connect with other families, ask questions, and build confidence around how to support your child’s safe technology use at home and school.

Please use the following link to sign up in advance. https://forms.gle/gcmr6dRa9MBEs9fw7

We hope to see you there!

Testing updates:

We had many assessments schedule during the end of January right before and after the middle of the year break. We will be completing WIDA Access testing for all our students who qualify for ELD support by the middle of the month. Teachers are also completing the middle of the year DIBELS assessment to see how much our students have grown in reading. March testing will consist of MISA for our 5th graders and the MSDE Survey. We will have MCAP for 3rd-5 in May. Please remember that students perform best when they are rested and relaxed. These assessments are an opportunity to show how much they have grown this year. Please try to plan appointments around the assessments, so students are able to test with their testing group instead of with a makeup group.

WIDA Access-Ends on 2/17

DIBELS- Ends on 2/6

Kindergarten CogAT Screener - 2/23-2/27

MISA (5th grade only)- 3/9-3/13

Please make sure all students have a change of clothes in their locker. We only have a small amount of extra clothes available for students. There is always a possibility of slipping in the mud, ripping your pants, or having an accident. Please try to have extra clothes in your students' lockers.

Thank you!

Pre-K 4

Happy February, families! This month we will be finishing up our unit on Structures. Students will begin planning, designing, and building their creations. They will be able to make a toy, game or a structure of their choice. We will learn the last few letters of the unit Pp, Rr and Dd and continue with shapes and building sets to 10. With Valentine’s Day approaching, please keep an eye out for information regarding our celebration, donations, and the card exchange! We appreciate your continued support!

- Pre-K Team

Kindergarten

AVID

The AVID Program continues to be supported in kindergarten this semester! Our kindergarteners have been introduced to foundational organizational and note-taking skills that promote independence and academic success. Students are learning how to properly organize their work by writing their name, date, and colored subject on all assignments. They are able to identify subjects learned in school and organize their paper tasks based on their learning.

In addition, students practice organizing and caring for their school supplies, understanding the importance of maintaining essential materials needed for successful learning. Students have also begun practicing note-taking skills and have been introduced to One-Pagers, Cornell Notes, and Frayer Models to support their academic understanding.

Skills & Knowledge

In CKLA Knowledge, we continue to learn how different geographical locations influence lifestyles, and that each Native American tribe has its own distinct culture. We've learned the culture of The Lakota Sioux, Wampanoag, and Lenape tribes in the Native American domain!

Mid-February, we will transition into our Kings & Queens domain! Students will listen to read-aloud about kings and queens and royal families. Both fiction and non-fiction stories will build students' understanding of the responsibilities, lifestyle, and customs associated with royalty through history.

In CKLA Skills, students will continue to build on their phonemic awareness of initial letter-sounds and consonant-clusters in the alphabet to build, read, and write various CVC (cat, box, pet, etc.), CCVC (stop ,trip, plan, etc.), and CVCC (pest, welt, hand, etc.) words. In addition, students were introduced to their first decodable reader "Kit", which served as model to support oral listening, word tracking, and comprehension of a literacy text. During read-aloud, we've focused on new spellings, uppercase letters, punctuation, and book awareness.

Mid-February, students will be introduced to initial sounds of diagraphs (ch, sh, th, qu, ng) to build, read, and write CCVC or CVCC words. In addition, students will continue to read emergent readers, such as "Kit" to focus on consonant clusters, digraphs, and tricky words. We will continue to practice initial letter sounds, letter names, consonant clusters, diagraphs, and tricky words to encourage independent reading.

Writing

In Writing, students will continue utilizing graphic organizers and drawings to represent their ideas! We had adopted our tricky words and phonemic spelling skills learned in CKLA to be able to label pictures and write simple sentences. We will continue to encourage students to utilize illustrations, labeling, and simple sentences to express their creativity and ideas.

Mathematics

In Reveal Math, we continue to build our understanding of addition and subtraction! Students are practicing solving addition and subtraction problems using manipulatives, symbols, numbers, and drawings to represent equations and word problems.

Mid-February, we will transition into Teen Numbers! Students will identify numbers 10-20, as well as use manipulatives and one-to-one correspondence to accurately represent numbers 10-20.

Science & Social-Studies

In Science, we are developing a sense of wonder by being perceptive, inquisitive, and communicative as we explore weather-related topics, such as meteorologist and wind farms.

In Social Studies, we are focusing on history and the importance of change over time. We are learning about the past, present, and future by identifying similarities and differences.

- Kindergarten Team

1st Grade

Hello families!

Quarter 3 has started and First Grade is ready to fall in love with some new units/topics! We will be starting Domain 6 in our CKLA Knowledge, learning all about astronomy. This includes stars, planets, constellations, and our solar system. In Skills, we have started learning how to decode and read multisyllabic words and we are working on answering questions in complete sentences. Keep working on those spelling words at home! We just started Unit 7 in Math and will be learning how to solve addition and subtraction word problems using all of our strategies we have learned so far. In Science and Social Studies, we will start looking at the past and present and how things have changed. We will also explore sound and light. Make sure to check your child’s folder for our permission slip to the Maryland Science Center!

Thanks!

- 1st Grade Team

2nd Grade

Wow, Quarter 3 is here! Please be on the lookout for future trips. As we move into Quarter 3 our Math focus is strategies of; how to measure, compare and estimate length in a customary/metric unit with inches, feet, and yards and between centimeters and meters.

* Learning the value of groups of coins or bills, use analog and digital clocks to tell and write time to the nearest five minutes and determine whether the time of an event is a.m. or p.m., These concepts can also be reinforced in their home community.

*We will go back to learning to use place value patterns to mentally add 10 or 100 to a 3-digit number and add 3-digit numbers with/without regrouping.

The literacy focus will be westward expansion. This domain will introduce students to an important period in the history of the United States—the time of westward expansion during the 1800s. Students will learn why pioneers were willing and eager to endure hardships to move westward. Your class will learn about important innovations in both transportation and communication during that period, which greatly increased the movement of people westward. More specifically, students will learn about Fulton’s steamboat, the Erie Canal, the transcontinental railroad, and the Pony Express. Students will also come to understand the hardships and tragedies that Native Americans endured because of westward expansion. This domain will build the foundation for learning about the U.S. Civil War and immigration later in Grade 2, as well as for learning about other periods of American history in future grades. Don’t hesitate to send us some pictures of all the extra learning you may do. What a great way to showcase home school and community building! Remember spelling words are sent home to help reinforce what we are reading during our Skills and Knowledge instruction. Please don’t hesitate to practice as much as you can. We are here to ensure a successful journey and we can only do this with your continued support. There is so much more we will learn this quarter. We want the best for or soon to be 3rd graders and will continue to push them to their best potential. Again, we thank you for your love and support

- 2nd Grade Team

3rd Grade

Reading

The nonfiction Reader for Unit 7, What’s in Our Universe? consists of selections describing the sun, the eight planets, our moon, asteroids, comets, meteors, galaxies, stars, the Big Bang theory, and important figures in the history of space exploration, including Nicolaus Copernicus and Mae Jemison. Students will be given opportunities throughout the unit to demonstrate Read-Aloud fluency.

Spelling

During this unit’s spelling exercises, students will review words with spelling patterns /j/, /n/, /ae/, /k/, and /s/. In Lessons 1–5, students will review words with spelling patterns of /j/ spelled ‘g’, ‘j’, ‘ge’, ‘dge’, and ‘dg’. For Lessons 6–10, students will review words with spelling patterns of /n/ spelled ‘n’, ‘nn’, ‘kn’, and ‘gn’. Finally, in Lessons 11–15, students will review words with spelling patterns of /ae/, /k/, /s/, /j/, and /n/. Students will have two or three Challenge Words and one Content word added to each spelling list. They will also learn dictionary skills. As this unit progresses, students should become proficient in the application of guide words.

Grammar

In grammar, students will review the conjunctions and and because and be introduced to the conjunctions so and or. Students will continue their study of cause and effect, understanding that the conjunction because announces the cause and the conjunction so announces the effect. Students will also recognize that the conjunctions and and or are opposites, as the conjunction and includes topics, ideas, or things in sentences, whereas the conjunction or excludes topics, ideas, or things in sentences. They will be introduced to the correct punctuation needed for presenting items in a series in a sentence and will review the use of quotation marks in dialogue. Students will be introduced to singular and plural possessive nouns.

Morphology

During the morphology portion of the lessons, students will study the common suffixes –ful and –less. Students will also review the suffixes –ous, –ive, and –ly. Students will continue to practice using their knowledge of how these suffixes change the meaning and part of speech of these words. Students have done sufficient word work to be able to apply what they have learned as they encounter unfamiliar words in text and content.

Mathematics

This month our Mathematicians will be exploring fractions. Students will practice partitioning wholes into halves, thirds,and fourths. They will also use models and number lines to determine equivalent fractions. We will continue focusing on fact fluency. Students should be fluent with the 0s, 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s facts and able to recall them within 3 to 5 seconds. This is such an important skill. Please ensure they are practicing daily and completing the homework sent home weekly. Thank you for your support.

Science

As we begin the third marking period our Scientist will begin to analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. They will be asked to make a claim based on those observations and use evidence to support their claim. Can’t wait to see how they grow as Scientist this quarter.

Social Studies

This month, we will continue our unit on economics. Students will distinguish between needs and wants as we explore some of the following questions. How do I make good economic choices? How do we obtain money and use it to get the things we need and want? Encourage your child to set a goal, create a budget and work towards earning money towards that goal.

- 3rd Grade Team

4th Grade

Starting next week, students will be moving onto a new unit! This unit is called Contemporary Fiction. In this unit, students will read The House on Mango Street, a short, engaging book made up of brief stories called vignettes. The unit lasts about 2–3 weeks and includes daily lessons, time for extra support, and a final assessment. Lessons combine reading, discussion, and writing and take about 90 minutes each day.

This book helps students become thoughtful readers by encouraging them to reread and look closely at the text to discover deeper meaning. Many students connect to the main character as she learns about herself, her goals, and her community. Throughout the unit, students will respond to what they read through short written answers and longer opinion and narrative writing activities. The lessons build on each other, so we take time to be sure students understand the ideas before moving on.

Math - Students will focus on recognizing and generating equivalent fractions as well as comparing fractions. Students will use benchmark fractions to compare as well as understand equivalent fractions.

Science - Students will be able to identify the source of energy and explain how energy is transferred. Students will explore through experiments how energy like light, heat, and sound.

Social Studies - Students are going to explore the American Revolution and then learn about the Declaration of Independence to determine if it united or divided the country.

Field Trip reminders-

Navy Yard is Feb. 6.

- 4th Grade Team

5th Grade

We are still continuing to learn about the renaissance! As a reminder in this unit, students will learn about the Renaissance, a major cultural movement that began in Italy and spread across Europe. The unit lasts about 3–4 weeks and includes daily lessons, time for extra support, a unit assessment, and dedicated writing instruction. Lessons take about 90 minutes each day.

ELD

Hello Families,

We are more than halfway through testing, and we are so proud of the growth that our students have made. I have seen students use what they have been practicing this school year to demonstrate their knowledge on the test. As we finish testing, we ask that you continue to send your child to school every day on time and well rested. Thank you for all you do!

The ELD Team

Ms. Brynita Lacey

Mrs. Laura Dembeck

Ms. Vanessa Gonzalez

Ms. Karyli Cedillos

Title I

"Please be sure if you have not done so already to fill out our lunch forms for the 25-26 school year! Even if your child does not buy lunch, or you do not plan on having your child buy lunch, this is extremely important and helpful for our school. When the lunch forms are filled out, we are able to keep our Title 1 funding and get amazing resources and host events for our school such as Math and Literacy night, extra staff members to support students learning, and materials to help students learn hands on. Please reach out with any questions to Laura Roussey, our Title 1 Math Resource Teacher! Please use this link to fill out your form today: https://www.aacps.org/page/apply-for-free-or-reduced-price-meals"

CSI

Our school has been designated as a Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) School by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), based on schoolwide performance and other criteria. In partnership with MSDE, Anne Arundel County Public Schools has provided a dedicated team to address the unique needs of CSI schools. This team works to support students and teachers through targeted interventions, data-driven individualized plans, professional development for teachers, and family and community engagement initiatives.

These efforts aim to create a supportive and effective learning environment that accelerates student achievement and enhances overall school performance. If you have questions about the resources and supports available at our school, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can ensure the success of every student.

Counselor

What does a School Counselor DO?

I work alongside teachers and parents to help students develop

socially and emotionally, and to help remove any barriers to learning!

I Provide:

•Classroom lessons teaching social skills, how to take care of strong feelings, study skills, etc.

•Small group counseling

•Short-term individual counseling

•Consultation with parents and teachers

•Parent workshops

•Community resource referrals (including longer term therapy services)

•Schoolwide programming (Kindness Week, Harvest for the Hungry etc.)

Hello Music Families!

Band/Strings/Chorus are off to great 2026! Please continue to check your email, thrillshare, and lesson schedules to ensure students are attending and meeting all of their music requirements.

Musically,

Mrs. Israel and Mr. Henning

AACPS is celebrating Youth Art Month by exhibiting student artwork at our local libraries.

Artwork by Brooklyn Park Elementary students will be on display at the Brooklyn Park Library, from Saturday, February 21, to March 21, 2026.

In other exciting art news,

The Art Department was selected as a recipient of a grant from the Christ Child Society of Annapolis, a non-profit that supports literacy in schools across the county.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to grow and celebrate our talented young artists!

BRRRRRR

It’s too cold to go outside! Here are some S.T.E.M. related educational online games your child can play inside while staying warm.

Coding game

Build a marble run

Build a robot

Road repair

💙 From the PTA 💙

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. Your support helps us provide meaningful experiences and opportunities for our students. We appreciate all you do to make our school community strong! If you ever have any questions or would like to get involved, please reach out to the PTA—we’d love to hear from you!

We are excited to share what is happening with our PTA this February!

💌 Friendship-Grams Are on Sale!

Spread kindness and cheer with a Friendship-Gram for friends, teachers, or family members!

• Cost: $1.00 each
• On Sale: Now through February 9
• Delivery Date: February 13

All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit 5th grade end-of-year activities.

🍔 Dine & Donate Night

February 16 – Bubba’s 33 (All Day Event)

Enjoy a meal while supporting our school! A portion of the proceeds will be donated back to our PTA. Please tell your server you are with BPES!

📅 PTA Meeting – Join Us!

Tuesday, February 24 | 6:00 PM Virtual - Link will be shared that afternoon

Your voice matters, and we hope you can attend. We will be discussing our upcoming Carnival/Dance, Teacher Appreciation Week and more!

🎉🍿 POP! POP! It’s Fundraiser Time! 🍿🎉

Support a great cause and treat yourself to some delicious popcorn!

We're raising funds for our BPES Students and staff, and every bag of popcorn you buy helps us get one step closer to our goal. 🎯

🔥 Tons of mouthwatering flavors

📦 Easy online ordering & direct shipping

📅 Available: February 26, 2026 - March 2, 2026 @ 5:00pm

👉How to Participate:

Before the fundraiser begins:

1. Download the Double Good app (The app is available for free on iOS and Android).

2. Enter our event code MNBSGU in the app.

3. Create your Pop-Up Store.

4. Share with family and friends!

📣 Information will be sent home with students later this month!

Thank You!

Hello Parents and Friends,

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve as your Community Schools Program Manager. The Community Schools strategy for the 2025-2026 school year has been to build on and expand the existing programs at BPES. According to your survey responses from last year, many of you wanted BPES to sponsor more family events. An important directive of the Community Schools grant is to be responsive to the needs of our parents. Therefore, Community Schools has played a role in funding: Grand friends Day, Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, Campus Conversations, Title I Math Night, Landscaping Day and several other events. In the month of December, Community Schools will continue to support school sponsored events including Literacy Night and the Winter Concert.

Beginning in the month of January, Community Schools would like to begin a series on Financial Literacy. This series would be 3-4 weeks covering topics such as a Vision Board for Goals, Budgeting, and Savings. There will also be an opportunity to connect with Career Counselors from Anne Arundel Workforce Development. Community Schools is planning a Wellness Fair during the month of February as well as several other family activities for the spring. We are looking forward to your contributions and participation.

Finally, as we’re always trying to improve and update the Community Schools Program, please feel free to reach out with your suggestions. I can be contacted at:

krandolph@aacps.org

Thank you,

Kevin Randolph

Here is a website for anyone in need of some community resources: www.aacps.org/community

Change of Clothes!

We kindly ask that all students in PreK through 5th grade keep an extra change of clothes at school. Spills, playground accidents, and unexpected mishaps can happen at any age, and having a clean set of clothing on hand helps your child feel comfortable and ready to continue learning without interruption. Please include a shirt, pants, underwear, and socks in a labeled bag, and be sure to update the clothing as the seasons change and your child grows. Thank you for your support in helping us keep students comfortable throughout the school day!

Leading by Feeding

We are excited to announce that this month’s Leading by Feeding Food Giveaway will take place on Thursday, October 9th, beginning at 4:00 PM in the back parking lot. Families are invited to come and receive free food items to help support their household needs. This monthly event is part of our commitment to serving and caring for our community, and we welcome everyone to join us. Supplies are limited, so we encourage you to arrive early.

Background Checks for Volunteers at Brooklyn Park Elementary School

Anne Arundel County Public Schools is committed to providing safe and secure learning environments for all students and employees. Successful completion of a background check is required before any person has access to students, either on or off school property. The Office of Investigations has continued to work closely with the Office of School Security to review AACPS protocols for conducting background checks.

Background investigations are divided into two categories: fingerprint-supported background checks and commercial background checks. Once a fingerprint-supported background check is performed, applicants no longer need to submit an electronic background check. Anyone applying to be a chaperone or volunteer must be at least 18 years of age.

Fingerprint-supported background checks must be scheduled through the Fingerprinting Office at 410-222-5045. The Fingerprinting Office is located at the AACPS Central Office on Riva Road and is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, during the school year. The cost of fingerprinting is $63.00 and it includes the commercial background check. Fingerprint-supported background checks for chaperones should be completed at least 3 weeks prior to the scheduled field trip.

Each applicant requiring a fingerprint-supported background check is provided with a pink Fingerprint Verification Card. This card should be kept with the applicant while on school grounds and should be displayed to an administrator upon request. Each school should keep a running list of chaperones and volunteers that have been fingerprinted.

All questions regarding this process, or to confirm the results of a fingerprint-supported background check should be directed to the Office of Investigations at 410-222-5287.

Commercial Background Check

All chaperones and volunteers without one-on-one unsupervised or unrestricted access to students must complete the online request for a commercial background check. This group is inclusive of PTA and PTO officers, CAC officers, Booster Club officers, and chaperones or volunteers who work with children in the presence of an approved AACPS representative (e.g. daytime field trip to the zoo). These background checks are at no cost to the applicant and are valid for 2 years. All applications should be submitted electronically at least 3 weeks prior to the intended school event.

*Persons without personal computer access may access this process on a school computer or use computers in a public library.

https://onboard.screenid.net/gen/inquiries/

Last year we introduced our Appreciation Station Snack Cart to our staff! The cart will be filled every Wednesday full of sweet and salty snacks and drinks to show our BPES staff just how much we appreciate them. This school year we are looking for families to sponsor a week by either purchasing snacks or making a $40 donation so the snacks can be purchased. We ask that donations are dropped off to the school by Monday of the sponsored week. Please consider signing up below! Thank you for helping our staff know how much we appreciate them!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D4BABAA2CA0FB6-appreciation

Five Star Parent

1. Builds a positive relationship with all staff members.

2. Dedicated to the BPES community.

3. Builds a partnership with their child's teacher. This partnership is based on trust, communication, and student growth.

4. Dedicated to preventing chronic absenteeism and chronic tardiness.

5. Respects and honors our community of diverse learners.

Emergency card verification emails have been sent. Please make sure you check and update your emergency contact information. The links are only active for 10 days. If you need assistance, please contact the main office at 410 222 6590.

Doors open at 7:40.

Students are dismissed at 2:25.

Late arrival/Early Dismissal

If your child arrives at school after 8:00, they are considered late. Please make sure they are at school prior to this time. Students need to be in their classrooms by 8:00 in order to be marked on time. If your child is late to school, or is getting picked up early, an adult MUST come into the building to sign them in or out.

Early dismissals must take place before 2:00 pm. The office is busy after 2:00, preparing for dismissal procedures, and will not be able to call any kids for dismissal after that time.

Below is the link for Before/After Care for families who need childcare.

School start times:

The doors will open at 7:40am for breakfast and community building. Instruction will begin at 8:00am. It is EXTREMELY important that all kids arrive on time ready to learn!

Walkers

Walkers will be dismissed at 2:25

Bus-Riders

To access BPES bus schedules, please click HERE

Car-Riders

We will dismiss car riders car by car. Please have your child's name on the hang tag so we can quickly call them to your car. Please do not park on 13th Ave during dismissal or arrival. It can make it challenging for people to enter and leave the lot.

Arrival

When students arrive they will pick up their breakfast and report to their homeroom. Teachers will greet students as they arrive.

Dismissal

At dismissal, walkers will be released. Following the release of walkers, car riders will be escorted to the cafeteria. Bus riders will be called as buses arrive.

Visitors

We will be planning several events this year where we will be inviting parents into the building. Unfortunately, we will not be able to allow parents to have lunch with their children in the cafeteria.

Student Birthday Celebrations

• Each student will receive a Birthday pencil and be acknowledged by the whole school on the morning announcements.
• We will celebrate all students' birthdays each month.
• It is very important to understand that food cannot be shared to celebrate. Please do not bring food to share with the class for your child's birthday. We have students with allergies and food sensitive health conditions.

Families can pay for their student’s meals online by going to www.mypaymentsplus.com.

At schools this year, breakfast will be free, and lunches will cost $2.75 for full price students.

Students will need to log in with their student ID in order to get their lunch. Please work with your student at home to help them memorize their ID.

Apply for Free or Reduced-Price Meals: Online Meal Benefit Application (MBA) (English and Spanish) - Link to online MBA – www.aacps.org/mealapplication. Applications must be filled out each school year, even if you qualified the previous year.