New Market Elementary School

Dear Families,

Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place on October 28, 29 and 30. Our school goal is to have 100% parent participation in conferences. See the Important Dates section for altered school schedules on these dates.

We want to offer some potential tips and strategies for making the most of your parent-teacher conference. Prior to the conference, ask your child how they feel about school and have them elaborate about why they feel that way. Also, ask your child if there is anything they want you to discuss with the teacher. This information can help to frame the conversation during the conference. It is also helpful to prepare a list of questions to ask your child's teacher. Some sample questions might be:

• What are my child's strongest and weakest areas?
• How is my child doing behaviorally? Does my child regularly follow the Be a Wolf expectations?
• Does my child participate in class?
• Does my child seem happy in school?
• What can I do at home to support my child academically, behaviorally and socially?

Your child's teacher will appreciate the approach of partnering together to support your child. If you haven't yet scheduled your child's parent-teacher conference then we suggest for you to contact the teacher as soon as possible.

Thank you for your support and collaboration!

Steve Lockard, Principal

Trina Curtis, Assistant Principal

October 2: Walk to School Day (see information below

October 12: Mrs. White's Kindergarten class trip to the Firehouse

October 14: Mrs. Heller's Kindergarten class trip to the Firehouse

October 15:

• Mrs. Devan's Kindergarten class trip to the Firehouse
• Mrs. Woozley and Mrs. Martin's 4th grade field trip to Catoctin Mountain

October 19:

• Digital Citizenship Week / Spirit Days begins - see information from the media center below
• Mrs. Henry and Mrs. Kueberth's 4th grade field trip to Catoctin Mountain

October 26: School Closed - Teacher Work Day

October 27:

• Fall Classroom Parties
• Fall Book Fair from 8:30 - 4:00
• PTA Trunk or Treat - 6 p.m.

• Parent Conferences - Elementary and Middle Schools open 4 hours late
• Fall Book Fair from 12:30 -7:30

• Parent Conferences - Elementary and Middle Schools open 4 hours late
• Fall Book Fair from 12:30 - 7:30

• Parent Conferences - Elementary and Middle Schools dismiss 3.5 hours early
• Fall Book Fair from 8:30 - 12:30
• Mrs. Houghton's Pre-K class trip to the Firehouse

FCPS requires all students in grades 2 and 5 to take the CogAT assessment. In early October, parent letters will be sent to all students in grades 2 and 5 explaining the CogAT assessment. To support your child, please ensure their attendance on testing days. Thank you!

Grade 2 CogAT administration dates/times:

Monday, October 19 at 9:50 a.m.

Tuesday, October 20 at 9:50 a.m.

Wednesday, October 21 at 9:50 a.m.

Grade 5 CogAT administration dates/times:

Monday, October 19 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 20 at 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, October 21 at 1:30 p.m.

Students in grades 3 and 4 who are new to FCPS and do not have a prior CogAT score will also take the assessment on Friday, October 23 and Tuesday, October 27. If your child is one of the students who needs to take the CogAT assessment then you will receive a parent letter in early October.

Parents can support by sending their healthy child to school on the testing dates, pack a healthy lunch and provide encouragement to give their best effort on the assessment.

Hearing and Vision Screening will take place on November 4th and 5th for all students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, (if not screened in pre-kindergarten), 1st grade, and new enterers to the Maryland public school system over the past year. Maryland State Law mandates this screening. Parents/guardians who have an objection to this screening based on their church or religion practices must submit a request for their child to be exempt from screening. All written requests must be submitted to the health room by October 30th . Please make sure if your child wears glasses or contacts that they have them on the screening days. If you have any questions, please contact the health room at 227-203-1469.

One stop shopping for frequently used NMES links!

For all attendance related emails or transportation changes, please email nmes.attendance@fcps.org and include your child's teacher. Transportation changes must be made prior to 3:00pm.

You can support by sending your healthy child to school each day on time. Instruction promptly begins at 9:00 each morning. You can also support by planning vacations around the FCPS calendar. Thank you!

Consistent attendance is important for your child's academic and social success in school. MSDE sets the attendance goal at 96%. Below are the attendance percentages for each grade level and for the school overall as of the end of September:

Pre-Kindergarten: 94.9%

Kindergarten: 97.7%

Grade 1: 97.2%

Grade 2: 97%

Grade 3: 97.2%

Grade 4: 96.3%

Grade 5: 95.7%

Overall School Attendance Percentage: 96.6%

Please email nmes.attendance@fcps.org, along with your child's teacher, with all attendance related matters and dismissal changes.

NMES is currently at a low return rate on Student Information Cards. If you haven’t already done so please complete your child’s Student Information Card. Families received this through email. See below for how the email was addressed to families. It is critical for families to confirm and/or make corrections on their child’s Student Information Card, i.e. phone number, email, address, health information and permissions for photos of your child. Thank you for taking the time to complete the Student Information Card so NMES has the most accurate information for your child.

Please contact Sarah Main at 227-203-5203 or sarah.main@fcps.org if you have any questions.

FROM: noreplyenrollment@powerschool.com
TO: Parent Email

SUBJECT: Frederick County Public Schools Student Information Form for (Student’s Name)

National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. Mrs. Blake, a School Counselor at NMES, created a bookshelf of read alouds in honor of Hispanic Heritage month. Click HERE to view and listen to the wide variety of read alouds. We encourage you to enjoy these read alouds as a family.

Join us as we celebrate National Walk to School Day on Friday, October 2nd. Students will compete for the Golden Sneaker! The NMES grade with the highest participation rate will win the prize. Plus we students can earn another foot charm for their keychain showing they walked or wheeled to school.

Meet with friends at 8:15am at any of our neighborhood routes and walk to school. Each route has a designated volunteer leader to guide our students and parents. Parents/Guardians are responsible to make sure their child(ren) arrives at school safely that morning.

• Wainscot Drive at Marley Street (Brinkley Manor & The Orchard)

• Nicholas Hall Street at Isaac Russell Street (Royal Oaks)

• New Market West Park on Talbot Drive (New Market West)

• Roy Ct. at Royal Oak Drive

• LOUYAA fields entrance on Royal Oak Drive (New Market West)

• North Alley at 1st Alley (*meets at 8:25a)

If you live on one of our Walking Routes, wait at your residence and jump in with our walking school bus as we pass by. Not sure where to meet or which route to take? Email us at nmesptainfo@gmail.com and we will match you with a parent volunteer for more information.

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We plan to walk rain or shine, so please be prepared for the weather. The event will be canceled in cases of extreme weather.

If your child(ren) will be arriving at school that day by car, please do not use neighborhood cul-de-sacs to drop off your child(ren). For the safety of the participants, all vehicles should use the schools’ designated car lines and keep vehicles to a minimum on our pedestrian routes to school.

We have many students who walk or wheel to school, which is great! Every day, neighborhoods just off school property are filled with walkers and students on bikes and scooters. We know that there is increased car traffic in these areas during arrival and dismissal and that this can create congestion and a greater safety risk for students. If you are using the nearby neighborhood streets to pick up your child by car, we would encourage you to help ease the congestion in those areas and join the designated car rider drop off pick up queue on campus. Thank you!

Digital Citizenship Week

NMES is celebrating Digital Citizenship Week, an annual celebration held the third week of October. Help us promote safe, responsible, and positive choices with technology during our Digital Citizenship Spirit Week! Students can dress up with our Spirit Days to celebrate their responsible use of technology!

Fall Book Fair

Our fall book fair will be held the last week in October during parent-teacher conferences! Mrs. Siderius is currently looking for volunteers to help with the book fair! Check out the available slots at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FABAF2AAAF58-66154340-fall#/. Don't forget the book fair volunteers save 10% off of their purchases!

Click HERE to read information and updates from our school counselors, Mrs. Carl and Mrs. Blake.

Highlights include:

• Important information about free and reduced meals
• Therapy information
• School Counselor support for the 26-27 school year

THANK YOU, NMES FAMILIES!

What a fantastic start to the school year! We are so grateful to everyone who has joined the NMES PTA, attended our events, volunteered, donated, and helped support our school community.

Membership Update: 231 Members!

We are excited to share that we are now 231 members strong!

Our goal this year is to reach 300 PTA members, and we would love your help getting there. Every membership helps support the programs, events, teacher initiatives, and activities we provide throughout the year.

Not a member yet? There’s still plenty of time to join!

Join the NMES PTA:
https://newmarketpta.givebacks.com/shop

Thank you to all 231 of our members for being part of YOUR PTA!

Back-to-School Bingo Recap

Bingo was fantastic!

We had a wonderful group of NMES families join us for an evening of Bingo, prizes, food, and fun. Thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered, purchased concessions, donated prizes, and helped make the evening such a success!

We also announced the winners of our PTA Raffle Fundraiser! Congratulations to all of our winners:

Ride to School in a Fire Truck
Mateo & Eliana Morales

Family Fun Gift Basket

Hannah Blue

Principal for Half a Day

Lux Belskey
AJ Butterfield

Book Bedazzling

Rylee Swing

Librarian Helper for a Day

Brianna Stanford

PE Teacher Helpers

Aspen Vidt
Brady and Trent Whitesell

Music Helpers

Lennon Wildasin
Henry Speegle

Cupcake Picnic

Eloise Murphy

VIP Seats at the Staff Basketball Game
Carter and Asher Pickering
Owen Kelbaugh

A huge thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets and supported this fundraiser. Your participation directly helps the PTA continue providing programs and experiences for our students and staff throughout the school year!

Upcoming Events:

Chipotle Fundraiser

Saturday, October 17 | 4:00–8:00 PM

Take the night off from cooking and support the NMES PTA at the same time!

Join us at the Chipotle across from Weis on October 17 from 4–8 PM. More details and ordering information will be shared as we get closer to the event.

Mark your calendar and come hungry!

Trunk or Treat

Tuesday, October 27 | 6:00–7:30 PM

One of our favorite fall traditions is coming up!

Join us for NMES Trunk or Treat on Tuesday, October 27 from 6–7:30 PM.

We need the help of our school community to make the evening a success! We are currently looking for volunteers and donations, including families who would like to decorate a trunk and help create a fun evening for our students.

Volunteer or donate here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084EAEA72BA5F49-65783117-trunk

More Trunk or Treat details will be coming soon!

Conference Week Hospitality

Conference week means long days for our amazing NMES teachers and staff, and we’d love to help make their week a little easier!

The PTA will be providing staff hospitality during conference week, and we’re asking our NMES families to help us make it extra special. Whether you’re able to donate food, drinks, supplies, or another requested item, every contribution helps us take care of the people who take such great care of our students every day.

Check out the SignUpGenius and choose an item to contribute:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084EAEA72BA5F49-65872542-staff#/

Thank you for helping us show our teachers and staff how much they are appreciated!

Teacher Support Initiatives

Stock the Workroom!

Our teachers and staff spend their days taking care of our students, and we want to make sure they feel taken care of, too!

As part of our ongoing teacher support efforts, the NMES PTA is working to Stock the Workroom with snacks, drinks, kitchen essentials, and a few handy “forgot my lunch” necessities for our amazing teachers and staff.

Want to help? Keep an eye out for a SignUpGenius coming soon! We’ll be sharing a list of items our teachers and staff could use, and families will be able to sign up to donate whatever works best for them.

Every contribution helps us keep the workroom stocked and show our teachers and staff just how much our NMES community appreciates them!

Thank you for continuing to show up for our students, teachers, staff, and one another. We have a lot of exciting things ahead, and we are so glad to have you along for the year!

New Market Elementary PTA
🌐 https://newmarketpta.givebacks.com/

FCPS is dedicated to ensuring the ability for students to have a safe route to walk, roll, or ride to school. This means providing resources to ensure safety by delivering bike education to students and their families. Please watch the video above for safety information or for videos geared toward ages 10-18 and Spanish Here. Learn more on our website here. Check out our safety tips flyer by clicking the button below.

Biking and Walking Safety Tips

2026-2027 Free and Reduced-price Meal Benefits

Apply Online at LINQConnect.com

• IMPORTANT: Families must be approved each new school year. Even if your student has been approved every previous school year, please contact the FNS office to verify current meal benefit status. Last year’s benefits only carry over for the first 30 school days. Without a 2025-2026 meal benefits approval, your student(s) will have to pay for meals starting Monday, October 6.

• If you received a 2026-2027 NOTICE TO HOUSEHOLDS OF MEAL BENEFIT APPROVAL or NOTICE OF DIRECT CERTIFICATION Email or Letter, do NOT complete an application. IMPORTANT: Contact the FNS Office to verify 2026-2027 Meal Benefits status of any children in your household NOT listed on letter.
  
• If any children in your household receive SNAP or TCA BENEFITS, do NOT complete an application. IMPORTANT: Contact the FNS office by phone or email to verify 2026-2027 meal benefit status.
• Click HERE for additional and helpful information from FCPS regarding school meals.

Standby Guardianship offers a parent or guardian the ability to nominate another person, called a standby guardian, to take care of their children in the event of mental incapacitation, physical debilitation, or an adverse immigration action. Completing the Parental Designation and Consent to the Beginning of Standby Guardianship is a first step for parents in taking actions to protect their children. Information on Immigration can be found on the MSDE website at https://marylandpublicschools.org/about/pages/dsfss/immigration.aspx. However, Standby Guardianship is an important, protective option for all parents to consider. For more information about Standby Guardianship, please see the link here.

When school is in session, you can reach the front office from 8:30 - 4:00 at 227-203-1460.