January 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.

Happy New Year, BPES families!

We are so excited to welcome our students back as we begin the second half of the school year. January is a great time for fresh starts and new goals!!

Coming to school each day will be especially important as students take part in middle-of-the-year benchmark assessments throughout the month of January. These benchmarks provide insights on how best support student learning. In addition, WIDA testing will begin this month for our multilingual learners. This is a chance for students to show how much their English skills have grown, and we encourage them to do their very best.

Thank you for being such wonderful partners in your child’s education. We are looking forward to a positive and successful start to the new year!

Dear Families,

We’re excited to offer families an opportunity to join us for Campus Conversations this year. This will be a series of informal gatherings created to keep you informed about key aspects of our school community, including academic initiatives, student attendance trends, school culture, and overall campus progress. These sessions offer a valuable opportunity to hear directly from school leadership, ask questions, and stay closely connected to the heartbeat of our campus.

Our next Campus Conversations session will be held in person on Friday, January 9th at 7:40am. Join us for breakfast and coffee and to learn more about the progress being made at BPES.

Please use this link to RSVP in advance. We look forward to working together to make this year one of connection, clarity, and shared success!

Please note: These gatherings are focused on schoolwide updates and initiatives. While we welcome your participation, this is not a setting for discussing individual students or personal concerns. For any student-specific matters, we encourage you to schedule a meeting directly with your child’s teacher or administrator.

Pre-K 4

Happy New Year families! We hope you had a relaxing and restful break. We are excited to see your students back in our classrooms ready to learn. Pre-K has begun our new theme: “How Structures Are Built.” This unit focuses on how structures and tools work and how to make or do things. Students explore the form and function of objects through observations, simple experiments, games, and activities. We will learn the letters Ff, Gg, Nn, Pp, Rr and Dd and their sounds. In math, we will review shapes, create sets of objects to match a numeral, and subitizing.

Please remember that we go outside daily (as long as the temperature is above 32 degrees). We are working on zipping and putting coats on independently. If you could work on this at home, we would really appreciate it! Thank you for your continued support!

- Pre-K Team

Kindergarten

Happy New Year! We are so excited to welcome our students back after Winter Break as we continue to learn and grow together. This month, we will revisit classroom routines and expectations while continuing to build on academic success! January's core value is 'Responsibility'! We encourage students to be a Starr Student for Responsibility, following classroom routines and expectations, taking care of classroom materials, cleaning up after activities, listening and following directions, etc.

AVID: We've begun AVID in our Kindergarten Classroom! We have introduced an organization in the classroom, where students are expected to write their name, date, and subject color on all assignments at school. Students are also responsible to ensure their desk and school materials remain organized for every-day use!

CKLA Skills: In CKLA Skills, we've transitioned into Unit 6: Consonant Clusters/Letter-Names/Reading! By this time of year, Kindergarteners should have reached mastery in initial letter-sounds and be able to tap-out and blend simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. If students are not yet confidently able to identify initial letter-sounds and blending CVC words, these skills will continue to be strengthened with practice!

In Unit 6: Skills we introduce students to consonant clusters (cr, fr, dr, st, tw, sw, pl, etc.), and develop appropriate strategies to read and write various CCVC (consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant) Words, CVCC (consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant) Words, and simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) Words. We will continue to review our letter-sounds and letter-names of the alphabet, as well as continue practice with Tricky Words!

CKLA Knowledge: In CKLA Knowledge, we continue our domain all about Farms! Students will explore the importance of farms, the animals, and crops we depend on, and how farmers help our communities. To introduce our learning, we'll take a virtual visit to Old MacDonald's farm, where students can see farm life in action and make connections to the stories and vocabulary we are learning in lessons.

Mid-January we will transition into our new domain of Native Americans! Students will be introduced to the broad concept that indigenous people lived on the continents of North and South America long before European explorers visited and settled in this area. Students will learn that there were many different tribes of Native Americans, and that each tribe had its own way of eating, dressing, and living, depending on where it lived. We will explore the tribe of the Lakota Sioux (Great Plains), the Wampanoag, and the Lenape.

Writing: In Writing, students will focus on using details to describe key concepts in informational texts about farms. Students will use drawings to identify important characteristics of farm animals, illustrate the farming jobs associated with different seasons, and sequence events in the process of getting food from farm to market. Also, students will use drawing to retell the main events of a folktale story and to review the farm jobs associated with each season.

With the transition into Native Americans, students will be introduced to a Graphic Organizer to organize their ideas and prepare them to write simple sentences about the various Native American tribes. Students will use the Graphic Organizer to compare and contrast the food, clothing, shelter, and environment of the Lakota Sioux, Wampanoag, and Lenape. We will also use drawings to identify important characteristics of the tribes, illustrate items used in Native Americans life, and describe the events in a story.

Mathematics: In Reveal Math, we meet Marisol, a Paramedic! We will be learning how to solve addition word problems using representations and equations. Students will learn how to represent putting together to find the total. Introducing basic addition to 10, students will explore addition using everyday language such as "and" and "is" to explain how two parts come together to make a total amount. From there, we will transition into using Math symbols such as plus signs (+) and equal signs (=) to write simple addition equations.

To support understanding, students will work with hands-on manipulatives (counters) to build, count, and write addition word problems/equations. Also, students will be introduced to Math Journals this semester, which will allow us to draw, write, and explain our mathematical thinking as we solve addition problems!

Science & Social Studies: In Science, students are investigating forces and motion, learning how things move and how we can make objects move. We have explored pushes and pulls and continue to participate in hands-on investigations to examine how moving objects can change seed and direction.

In Social-Studies, we've discussed making choices that will reflect our feelings and actions. We will continue to focus on the concept of choices and introduce the consequences of our choices. We will learn to analyze decision-making by identifying consequences of choices (positive vs. negative) made in the past, present, and future.

- Kindergarten team

1st Grade

Happy New Year First Grade families! We are ready to start fresh with new units in Math Literacy, and Science/Social Studies. We will be diving into Early American Civilizations in our CKLA Knowledge block. We will be learning about the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas. In Skills, we are starting to learn about r-controlled vowels and multisyllabic words. Be on the lookout for practice pages for reading and tricky words. Math is taking us into the world of 2D and 3D shapes. We will talk about defining and non-defining attributes about shapes and how to use shapes to create new shapes. Be on the lookout in your home and community, try and identify different shapes with your student. In Science and Social Studies, we will be looking at culture and how we are all connected. Have a great break and see you in 2026!!

- 1st Grade Team

2nd Grade

Happy New Year to our 2nd Grade Families! We are still in Quarter 2 and still on the learning path! Let us “Reveal” something to you! We are moving forward in math. We will start Unit 6 where students learn to use the counting on, counting back, make a 10, while using addition to subtract within 20. Students learn to represent/solve 2-digit subtraction equations and solve one- and two-step word problems involving subtraction. There will be “A LOT” of subtraction involved, so please continue to practice at home using Reveal and iReady for great reinforcement! We encourage our children to also practice reading and writing with our weekly optional homework. Our writing has increased as we get into our CKLA curriculum. We are still learning about The War of 1812 and will be assessing that soon. We will move to “Cycles in Nature” which will be great to explore. It’s important that everyone gets involved to help them be successful. We want the best for our children and will continue to push them to their very best potential. Thank you for your love and support.

- 2nd Grade Team

3rd Grade

Reading: Winter is officially here, which is the perfect time to snuggle up with a good book! Your child visits the media center each week and has the opportunity to select books of their choice to read for enjoyment and practice the reading skills they are learning during their CKLA lessons.

The CKLA Reader of Unit 6 is Gods, Giants, and Dwarves. The content of this Reader focuses on Norse mythology. These Norse myths, which have been passed down through many generations, complement the Quest for this unit, which presents factual information about the Vikings. Norse gods, goddesses, dwarves, and giants occupied nine worlds. The genealogy of these creatures is rather complex, and this instruction only skims the surface of this vast body of literature.

Spelling: During this unit’s spelling exercises, students will review words with spelling patterns of /k/ spelled ‘c’, ‘k’, ‘ck’, ‘ch’, and ‘cc’ and spelling patterns of /s/ spelled ‘s’, ‘c’, ‘ss’, ‘ce’, ‘se’, ‘st’, and ‘sc’. Students should be familiar with most of these spelling alternatives, as they were taught in Grade 2. Two Challenge Words have been assigned each week. Content Words will continue. Each week, students will have the option of trying to spell a content-related word on the weekly spelling assessment. In this unit, the Content Word will follow the spelling pattern for the week.

Grammar: In grammar, students will continue their study of conjunctions as a part of speech. Students will review the correct usage of the conjunction because, which is used to mean “for this reason” and signals the answer to a “why” question. It signals the cause of something. Students will practice identifying and creating sentences using this conjunction.

Morphology: During the morphology portion of the lessons, students will work with the suffixes –ive and –ly. Students will continue to learn how suffixes change the meaning of root words and how suffixes added to a word can change the part of speech of that word. Students will have opportunities to apply their new knowledge of the changed meanings and parts of speech during workbook practice.

Math: This month our Mathematicians will be exploring area and fractions. Students will explore using the length and width of a shape to determine area. Students will practice partitioning wholes into halves, thirds, and fourths. They will also model fractions on a number line. We will continue focusing on fact fluency. Students should be fluent with the 0s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s facts. They can use First in Math to help them practice multiplication fact fluency. Thank you for your support.

Social Studies: This month, we'll conclude our unit on economics with an end of the unit project. Students will determine how to utilize all that they have learned about economics to create a successful business. Can’t wait to see what our little entrepreneurs create!

Science: This month third grade scientists will conclude their exploration of magnetism and how magnets repel and attract by taking the Quarter 2 District assessment. They will begin to explore ecosystems and how being part of a group helps animals survive. Encourage your child to read about a variety of organisms and compare their life cycles looking for similarities and differences.

- 3rd Grade Team

4th Grade

Math: Students will find whole number quotients and remainders with multi-digit dividends and 1-digit divisors. Students will extend learned strategies, such as estimation, area models, partial quotients, and dividing by multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000, from multiplication to division. Students will solve single- and multi-step problems involving division with multi-digit numbers and interpret remainders in context.

Science: Students will learn how weathering and erosion change and shape Earth. Weathering is the process of rock being broken down into smaller pieces through the growth of roots, the movements of animals, wind, gravity, and the freezing and thawing of water. Erosion is the loosening and transporting of earth materials. The processes work together to change the shape of the earth’s surface. Assessment for this performance expectation will be limited to one form of weathering or erosion.

Social Studies: Students are exploring the resistance, colonization, and European Expansion during the 1500's to the 1750's. Students are exploring what causes people to deny freedoms to others and how slavery shaped Maryland as a colony.

CKLA Unit 5: Geology

In our upcoming CKLA Unit 5, Geology, students will explore the exciting science of Earth’s structure and materials. Fourth graders will learn about different types of rocks and minerals, how rocks are formed through the rock cycle, and the forces—such as weathering, erosion, earthquakes, and volcanoes—that shape Earth’s surface over time.

Students will read rich informational texts, build science vocabulary, and practice summarizing, discussing, and writing about what they learn. This unit encourages curiosity about the natural world and helps students understand how Earth is constantly changing. You can support learning at home by talking about rocks you see outdoors, visiting local parks or museums, or asking your child to share what they’ve learned about our planet!

- 4th Grade Team

5th Grade

Math: Students continue to use equations, rectangular arrays, and area models to extend their knowledge of division to include up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors. Students apply their understanding of dividing multi-digit whole numbers to solve problems in real world contexts. Students discover that place value and division strategies work the same way with multi-digit whole number divisors as they do with division by one-digit divisors.

Science: Students are exploring the 4 spheres of Earth. These spheres include biosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. Students will learn the roles of each of the spheres as well as how they interact with each other.

Social Studies: Students will continue to explore the change and conflict of the Constitution for Maryland and the U.S. Constitution. In this unit, students will discover how conflicts over slavery lead to the Civil War.

Our fifth graders are nearing the end of CKLA Unit 4: The Adventures of Don Quixote. Throughout this unit, students explored themes of imagination, reality, and heroism while strengthening their skills in close reading, vocabulary development, and character analysis.

Next, we will begin CKLA Unit 5: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. In this unit, students will be introduced to Shakespearean language and explore a playful comedy filled with magic, misunderstandings, and humor. As we read, students will analyze characters, identify themes such as love and transformation, and examine how plot and dialogue drive the story forward. The unit also focuses on understanding figurative language, expanding academic vocabulary, and comparing different perspectives within the text.

We are excited to dive into this imaginative and engaging unit and look forward to seeing students grow as confident, thoughtful readers!

- 5th Grade Team

ELD

Hello Families,

This month students will be taking the WIDA ACCESS. Students will be tested on their listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English. This will occur over four days. Students in grade 1-5 will be taking a computer test. Students in Kindergarten will be tested individually by the teacher. To ensure best performance on the test, please make sure students are well rested and arrive to school on time every day. Thank you for all the support you have been providing your students this school year! We know our students will do great.

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.)

Dear Music Families!

Thank you for coming out to support our students musicians at the BPES Winter Concert! We hope you enjoyed the performance. See you in the Spring!

-Mrs. Israel and Mr. Henning

Students are finishing up their quarter 2 projects this month. Here are some questions you can ask your child to see what they learned…

Pre-K: What animals did you make a model of?

Kindergarten: How did you design your maze? How do magnets work?

1st: What unit of measurement did you use to make your arms, legs, torso?

2nd: What are the parts of a circuit? How do the snap circuits work?

3rd: How can you build, a lever, pulley, incline?

4th: What is balanced force? How did you design you top to make it spin fast?

5th: How does energy move through a series circuit? How do snap circuits work?

Happy New Year!

Upcoming Events:

• January 16th – No School for Students

  Chuck E. Cheese Spirit Day- All Day Event

• January 26th – Chick-Fil-A Night - Glen Burnie Location 4:00pm -8:00pm

Flyers and additional information will be shared on the BPES PTA Facebook page, the app, and sent home with students. Be on the lookout for our Family Carnival/Dance date and a PTA meeting. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at bpes_pta@yahoo.com.

Happy New Year!

We are so excited to welcome the new year and kick off 2026 with a strong start and some great STAR² behavior. We’re looking forward to a positive, productive, and successful year ahead as we continue to learn, grow, and shine together.

We would also like to congratulate our November Value Winners for showing Acceptance. These students were recognized at our most recent assembly, and we are proud of the way they model this important value in our school community.

Sabrina B. Gracelynn B. Lyriq V. Kai B. Santiago A.S. Gwendolyn W. Nelson C.R.

Valery C. Grayson T.H. Kameron H. Jackson H. Jaida M. Jenkins H.

Dylan H.V. Andrea G.C Ali A. Perla M.N. Mariana F.P. Mateo S.N.

Helen S.H. Sam F. Ellie Z. Brayden P.C.

We will recognize our December Value Winners for showing Respect at our January assembly. During the month of January, we will be looking for students who demonstrate Responsibility in their daily actions.

Thank you for your continued support, and here’s to an amazing 2026 full of fun PBIS activities!

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.