The Panther Post
Pride and Possibility: Writing Our Stories Together
Week of December 8th
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Dear Laurel Woods Community,
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our 3rd-5th Intermediate Night. It as a great night to come learn about some reading strategies you could do at home as well as enjoy some warm 'Smores. Stay tuned for more family nights coming in January!
With Pride,
Dr. Burks, Ms. Braxton, & Ms. Lee
Coffee & Conversations, RSVP Now!
Please join us for our LWES Coffee and Conversation. Families will have an opportunity to build relationships with school staff and to provide feedback. All families are welcome and encouraged to join. Please join us on Friday, December 12th at 8:45am.
3rd Grade Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
This year, the Howard County Public School System will be administering the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to students in grade 3. The CogAT is a group-administered abilities test that measures students’ reasoning abilities, which they develop through in-school and out-of-school experiences. It is not designed to test a student’s academic achievement, but their potential.
The test is made of three batteries – Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal. Each battery takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The CogAT helps educators understand a student’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses and assists with adapting instruction to meet the needs and abilities of each student.
The CogAT will be administered on December 9, 10, and 11 from 9:00-10:00. No special preparation is required. Just send your child to school ready to learn as you do daily.
The Gifted and Talented Education Program will use the data from the CogAT as one criterion for placement into fourth grade Gifted/Talented mathematics classes and middle school Gifted/Talented content classes. Students’ individual scores will be reported to parents in late February/early March.
December Attendance Challenge
Partner with us this month—help get students here every day and join the fun in our Attendance Challenge!
🤝 🌟Partnership Spotlight🤝 🌟
🐾 Community Corner! 🐾
Stay in the loop with all the exciting events hosted and organized by our Family Resource Center — you won’t want to miss what’s coming up! 👀📅
Click on the link below! 👇
LWES Open Feedback Form
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.
Related Arts Color Days for this Week
PTO Panther Tracks
Upcoming Dates and Events
December
- 12/09: Minty Mix-up: Dress like a mint: red/white, blue/white, green/white
- 12/09-12/11: 3rd Grade CoGAT testing
- 12/12: 8:45am☕ Coffee and Conversation w/Admin
- 12/15: 6:30pm Winter Concert 🎶 @ RHS
- 12/16: Comfy Cozy Day: Wear PJs; PTO December dine out @ Wendy's in Laurel (Gorman Rd)
- 12/23: Festive Sweater Day: Rock a sweater that brings you joy; Last Day of School Before Winter Break
- 12/24-01/02: Winter Break
For a complete list of dates and events visit https://lwes.hcpss.org/events
In case you missed it...
Partner with us to keep our attendance strong!
We know the next two days are half days, but please don’t let your child miss out—there are fun activities planned, and we want every student to be part of the experience!
Thank you for helping us finish the week strong!
Happenings around Town
Registration for BSAP Saturday Math Academy
The HCPSS Black Student Achievement Program Saturday Math Academy Spring Session is approaching! The BSAP Saturday Math Academy will offer an in-person enrichment program for Howard County Public School System students in all levels of math for grades 3-12, based on course availability. Registration will take place online on Saturday, January 10, 2026, from 9:00 am until capacity is reached. Class space is limited. Families can register by accessing the HCPSS Connect Website on the registration date. For more information, please visit HCPSS News
Flyers for distribution:
BSAP SMA Spring 2026 Flyer (English)
BSAP SMA Spring 2026 Flyer (Spanish)
CAREapp Howard County
Howard County is full of wonderful resources for families. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start looking. There’s a helpful website that brings all these resources together in one place. You can search by topic and zip code. You can visit the website using the link below or download the CAREapp Howard County on your phone for easy access. We hope this tool makes it easier to find services for food, health, housing, transportation, education, employment assistance, and more https://findhcresources.org/
Mental Health Advisory Council (MHCAC)
The Mental Health Advisory Council (MHCAC) is a group of community members who seek to remove barriers and build awareness for behavioral health support in Howard County for our children and families. Check out this flyer for more information.