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Dear Laurel Woods Community,

It was a great first week after Spring Break, and we’re excited to carry that positive momentum forward as we enter the fourth quarter this Thursday.

As you can see from our year-to-date attendance, we have been maintaining 93.9% attendance rate. With your support, we can reach our end-of-year goal of 95%!

As we enter the final stretch of the school year, we encourage all families to maintain strong attendance habits. April is an important time for learning, assessments, and preparing for end-of-year success. Each school day helps your child stay connected, confident, and on track.

We truly appreciate your partnership in making daily attendance a priority and supporting your child in finishing the year strong!

🌼 3 Quick Tips for Families

• 1. Stick to routines- Keep consistent bedtime and morning schedules to start the day strong

• 2. Plan ahead- Schedule appointments after school hours when possible

• 3. Stay engaged- Talk with your child about what they’re learning and why showing up matters

Warmly,

Tanisha

We are excited to celebrate and reward our students for being present and engaged through our April and May Attendance Incentive!

Each day we reach 95% schoolwide attendance, we earn a green apple as we track our progress together. So far, we’ve earned 3 green apples—great start! Our goal is to reach 15 green apples.

Once we hit our goal, we’ll open the Mystery Box, and students will earn a sweet surprise!

Thank you for helping us build strong attendance habits and supporting our students every day!

It’s time for our students to shine!! Our 3rd and 4th Grade students will begin the ELA MCAP test this week. All testing takes place in the morning, so being on time is very important.

Tips for Test Days:

• Make sure your child gets a good night’s rest and eats a healthy breakfast before testing, either at home or at school.

• Students should arrive at school on time (8:45) on testing days so they do not need to be pulled out of class instruction for make-up sessions. If your student eats breakfast at school they should arrive at 8:30. Breakfast ends at 8:45.

• Please avoid early dismissals during testing sessions to ensure their time is uninterrupted.

• Personal electronic devices (cell phones, iPads, smart watches, etc.) are not permitted in the testing areas.

All students who ride a school bus to and from school will participate in a bus evacuation drill on Wednesday when they arrive at school. The driver will instruct students on the 3 types of evacuations (rear door, side hatch/door, top hatch) and then practice exiting the bus from the rear door in a safe and orderly fashion. School staff will be present to assist the bus teams in conducting the drill.

All 5th graders will gather to take a panoramic picture of the whole grade. This picture will be used in the yearbook and is also available for purchase either by returning the order form or ordering online at mylifetouch.com and using our school ID: MJ865020T0

We hope to see all our 5th graders present on Friday so everyone can be a part of this memory as they begin to close out their time in elementary school.

Congratulations to our K through 5th grade students whose artwork is featured in the 53rd Annual HCPSS Art Exhibit at the Mall in Columbia! This exciting event highlights the creativity, dedication, and artistic growth of students from across Howard County—and we're proud to share that 47 LWES students have their work on display this year!

We invite our LWES families and community members to stop by and celebrate these young artists as well as Mr. Griffin and Ms. Forman. The exhibit will be open April 9-April 29, and our school’s display can be found on the lower level near Lolli and Pops.

The Virtual Family Resource Center is open for monthly orders. The order form is available here: Family Resource Order Link. Please return reusable bags. Thank you!

Generation Teach is returning to Laurel Woods! Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4:00pm. No cost to families. Breakfast, lunch, and materials included. Classes in engineering, law, math, and reading along with arts, sports, games, field trips, competition and prizes! June 29th - July 31st. All students currently in K - 4 are welcome! Registration open! Please let Alesia Richter, Community Schools Site Coordinator know if you have any questions. Generation Teach Enrollment

Free family workshops! Check out these flyers

OCF Family Workshops April 2026.pdf (Spanish)

OCF Family Workshops April 2026.pdf

Free family workshops! Check out these flyers

OCF Family Workshops April 2026.pdf (Spanish)

OCF Family Workshops April 2026.pdf

Roving Radish The market will be at Laurel Woods this week on Wednesday, April 15th from 5pm - 7pm.

ABOVE After School Basketball Program - has opening: $175 a month. Meets every day after school until 5:15 pm. Please contact Alesia Richter with any questions.

Mobile Library is returning to Laurel Woods on Wednesday April 22nd from 5pm - 6pm. Students and families will have the opportunity to check out free books and materials. All returns can be made to Laurel Woods.

English Classes - Tuesday, April 7th 6pm - 7:30pm. This is for returning students that registered at the start of the year. We plan to have a new class beginning in September. Registration will be in August. Look here for more information!

We truly value input from our families and community partners as we strive to grow and improve. Your feedback helps us better serve our students—so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with our LWES administrative team. Your response can remain anonymous, or you can provide your name for a follow-up phone call.

💙 Hello Laurel Woods Families! 💙

We hope everyone had a wonderful Spring Break! Welcome back for the final stretch of the school year! We have some upcoming events and recaps to share with you, but first, take a moment to read about the differences between being a PTO Member and serving on the PTO Board. The PTO is in need of individuals to serve on the PTO executive board for the 2026-27 school year - in fact, without these volunteers the PTO will move to an “inactive” status which will mean PTO sponsored events and initiatives will not happen for the 26/27 school year. If you are interested in serving on the PTO Executive board, please email Kelly at ptolwes@gmail.com and be sure to join us on Thursday, May 21st to vote on the future of the LWES PTO.

📅 Upcoming PTO Events

Mark your calendars! Here are some of the awesome events and initiatives we’ve got coming up:

• ☀️ Sunshine Families - Monday April 6th

• 🪴Garden Club - Saturday April 18th - 10-11AM

• 📕 Yearbook sales are open online through May 1st! Use code: 15436926. Yearbooks are $30. Don’t delay, order your yearbook today!
• 🏆Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week - May 4-8, more information coming soon!
• 📅 PTO General Meeting – May 21st

Mark your calendars! Our May PTO General Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 12. This will be an important meeting as we determine the future of the PTO - We’d love to see you over Zoom!

• 🎉Save The Date - End of Year Block Party - Thursday, June 4th

Thank you for participating in our events!

✨ PTO Event Recaps ✨

Raise Craze wrapped up in March and we raised $796.77 for our school and PTO and completed 67 acts of kindness! Great job, Panthers!

Chuck E. Cheese Fundraiser Success!
Our Chuck E. Cheese fundraiser raised $162.62! Thank you to everyone who showed up to support the LWES PTO.

Thank you for joining us for our March General Membership Meeting! If you missed it, you can find the meeting slides here. Please reach out with any questions!

📸 Do you have photos to share with us from any of our PTO events? Would you love to see them in the yearbook? Please email photos to ptolwesmedia@gmail.com, making sure that any students who are pictured have photo release consent on file within their HCPSS Family File.

🌟Get Involved!

Our last meeting this year will take place from 7-8pm on May 21st. All meetings will be on Zoom. At our next meeting, we will share a recap of the year, end of year events and vote on board positions for the 2026-2027 school year!

Looking for even more ways to lend a hand? Read on!

• Sunshine Families: Help show love to our teachers with appreciation events in April, and May.

• Media Center Volunteers: contact Sarai_Gray@hcpss.org for details.

• Would your restaurant like to host a LWES PTO fundraiser? Let us know!

• PTO Board Positions for the 2026-2027 school year

Have a great idea for an event or project? Let us know—we’d love to hear from you!

Reach out to ptolwes@gmail.com to sign up for any of the opportunities above or recommend your own!

📱 Stay Connected

Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on events, reminders, and ways to be involved.

Warmly,

💙 The LWES PTO

April

• 04.14: End of Third Quarter; 2nd Gr-Fire Safety House Presentation
• NEW - 04.15: Schools Close 3 Hours Early (No half-day pre-K/RECC) - Professional Learning/Work Day - NEW
• 04.17: 5th Gr Panoramic Picture
• 04.18: 10:00am-11:00am PTO Garden Club Spring Freshen Up
• 04.19-04.25: National School Library Week - Theme: “Find Your Joy”
• 04.20: 9:00-10:30 Kindergarten In-House Library Visit
• 04.22: 5:00-6:00 Mobile Library; Earth Day; Report Cards Issued
• 04.23: Take Your Child to Work Day
• 04.24: 7:00pm Battle of the Books; 1st Grade Zoo Field Trip; Report Cards Issued and sent home
  
• 04.27-05.01: Math Month Spirit Week
• 04.27: Vision Van
• 04.28: Vision Van
• 04.29: 7:00pm Spring Band/Strings Concert @ RHS

May

• 05.01: Last day to purchase Yearbook online
• 05.02: 8:30am Best Buddies Walk at University of Maryland College Park
• 05.04-05.08: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week
• 05.07: 7:00pm Spring Musical - Wizard of Oz
• 05.08: 7:00pm Spring Musical - Wizard of Oz
• 05.13: 4th Grade Field Trip to Maryland Zoo
• 05.15: 6:30pm Culture Night
• 05.19: 5:15pm Middle School Transition Night
• 05.21: 7:00pm PTO Meeting
• 05.22: Field Day
• 05.25: Memorial Day- School Closed
• 05.29: 8:45am Coffee and Conversation w/Admin

For a complete list of dates and events visit https://lwes.hcpss.org/events

Individual student pictures will be taken on Friday, April 10th. All students will have their picture taken, however there is no scheduled retake if they are absent. If you'd like to order a picture package, order forms will be coming home today, 4/6. Orders may be placed online at mylifetouch.com using our school code: EVTQQ9VKC or by returning the order form with payment in the attached envelope on picture day with your student. Click here to view the flyer.

Howard County Public School's Title I Office receives Title I funds to provide additional support and resources to Title I Schools. The Title I Office supports family engagement through the implementation of its Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Plan and by providing schools with funds to support family engagement.

Following the Board of Education’s recent adjustments to the school year calendar, HCPSS met the 180 days and 1,170 hours required by the State for high schools to be open for students. Unfortunately, a two-hour delay on March 3 resulted in a one-hour deficit, and a three-hour early dismissal on March 16 added three additional hours to that deficit.

To account for the four-hour total deficit in high school, the following adjustments are being made to the 2025-2026 school year calendar:

• Monday, June 8: Previously scheduled as a three-hour early dismissal and now will be a full day for all students.
• Beginning Monday, May 4, the high school student day will begin at 7:48 a.m., two minutes earlier than the current 7:50 start time. This will add a total of 1 hour and 4 minutes to the school year for high schools. The bus pickup schedule will remain unimpacted, and middle and elementary schools will not have an extended student day.

HC Drug Free is offering parenting classes for Free! Classes are virtual (on Zoom) and open to parents, guardians and grandparents residing in HoCo or with school-age children/grandchildren residing in HoCo. The classes are evidence-based, interactive prevention programs that provides families with the skills and knowledge to reduce the risk that their children will engage in other dangerous behaviors. Classes are appropriate for K-12 families.

Class dates: April 14, 15, 21, 22 (and April 28 will be optional) from Noon to 1:30 p.m. on Zoom.

Visit HC DrugFree’s website for more information and to register at https://tinyurl.com/GGCSpring2026

A drive-thru medication disposal will take place on Saturday, April 25 in the Wilde Lake Village Center Parking Lot near the CA Swim Center from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Safely dispose of prescription and over-the-counter medication, vitamins, pet meds, vape devices, inhalers, and more. Unlike previous events, we will not collect sharps (needles, syringes and EpiPens). HC Drug Free is in need of student, adult, and medically-trained adult volunteers. Earn Community Service Hours! Giving away 100 medication lockboxes. For more information and to volunteer, visit HC DrugFree's website: https://hcdrugfree.org/drug-take-back-day-1/.

The Mental Health Community Advisory Council (MHCAC) is a group of Howard County mental health professionals and community members who seek to remove barriers and build awareness of mental health support for our children and families.

Please view their MHCAC Spring 2026 Newsletter filled with mental health resources, upcoming events, Spring Break Tips, coping skills, and kindness resources, in your school newsletter.

Parenting Classes: Free! On Zoom and open to parents, guardians and grandparents residing in HoCo or with school-age children/grandchildren residing in HoCo. Evidence-based, interactive prevention program that provides families with the skills and knowledge to reduce the risk that their children will engage in other dangerous behaviors. Appropriate for K-12 families.

Class dates: April 14, 15, 21, 22 (and April 28 will be optional) from Noon to 1:30 p.m. on Zoom.

Visit HC DrugFree’s website for more information and register at https://tinyurl.com/GGCSpring2026

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Drive-Thru Medication Disposal: Saturday, April 25 in the Wilde Lake Village Center Parking Lot near the CA Swim Center from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Safely dispose of prescription and over-the-counter medication, vitamins, pet meds, vape devices, inhalers, and more. Unlike previous events, we will not collect sharps (needles, syringes and EpiPens). Need student, adult, and medically-trained adult
volunteers. Earn Community Service Hours! Giving away 100 medication lockboxes.

For more information and to volunteer, visit HC DrugFree's website: https://hcdrugfree.org/drug-take-back-day-1/

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Teen Advisory Council: Open to Howard County students in grades 8-12. Earn Community Service Hours and make meaningful contributions to the community. Next meeting: Monday, May 4 from 5:30-7:00pm on Zoom. Earn Community Service Hours at meetings/events.

Register to receive the meeting link:

https://forms.gle/fmVDQizeWv3pTJdr5

For more information, visit HC DrugFree's website: https://hcdrugfree.org/teen-advisory-council/