ELC KNOWS

Phone #: 240.776.5804

Fax #: 301.944.1005

Instagram: elc_laplata1

Physical Address:

8730 Mitchell Rd.

Bldg. CL

La Plata, MD 20646

Mailing Address:

5980 Radio Station Rd.

La Plata, MD 20646

Coordinator:

Candice Adam: cvallandingham-adam@ccboe.com

Students enter the building starting @ 9:30am (tardy time: 9:45am)

Students will dismiss @ 4:00pm

We are rocked through your child's first quarter of Pre-K! Time is speeding by! As we entire into the chilly weather, please make sure to check on your child's change of clothes to make sure it is weather appropriate. Also, please make sure to send them to school in clothes appropriate for going outside. Students will go outside unless it is raining, snowing, or the temperature is extreme! We like to get them out for fresh air and to give them an opportunity to get the energy out!

Thank you to all of the family and friends who came to watch our little Book Character Parade. It is short, but sweet with the smiling faces and excitement! Students did a great job parading down the middle of campus! Make sure to check out Instagram for some pictures of our Book Characters!

CAR RIDERS: The most important car protocol is not driving around other vehicles unless a staff member gives you the signal to do so. I know that sometimes we have places we need to be, but hitting a child/person would be horrible - PLEASE keep a SAFETY FIRST mindset when picking up and dropping off.

UP-COMING:

Tuesday, November 3rd - No School for Election Day!

Friday, Nov 6th - Parent / Teacher Conference Day

No school for students. Teachers have sent sign-ups. Please send your child's teacher an email if you haven't seen it!

Wednesday, Nov 11th - No School for Veteran's Day

Much thanks and appreciation to all of the Veteran's who have served and/or given their lives for all of us! We send you well wishes all of the time, but especially on this day!

Thursday, Nov 12th - Sampling of Family Traditions from 6pm - 7:30pm

This is such a wonderful event! Please join us and delve into the ELC Community! Please see info section and sign-up below!

Helpful links:

MySchoolBucks: To put $$ on your child's lunch account

Charles County Public Schools - School Nutrition And Fitness: Free & Reduced Meal Application

NEW in this Newsletter, you will find:

Apptegy Information - Stay Connected!

Calendar of Events

Sampling of Family Traditions Sign-Up

Breakfast Menu

Lunch Menu

What Is Your Child Learning?

What: National Native American Heritage Month

When: November 1- November 30

Why: Native American Heritage Month, celebrated every November, is a time to honor the rich cultures,

traditions, histories, and contributions of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and other

Indigenous peoples across the United States.

Please continue to update us about what you want to hear about as the year progresses during the Cubs Community Circle Meeting. Use this link 👉PARENTS - We Want Your Input! – Fill out form or the QR Code to give your input! How can we support your child and you as we navigate Pre-K together?

The new CCPS mobile app features push notification alerts, translated content based on the user’s preferred language (parents can choose their language) and access to log into Rooms.

To activate a parent Rooms account, the email and/or phone number used must be the one on file with CCPS. A parent/guardian will not be able to activate their Rooms account if they do not have a valid email or phone number (mobile) on file with CCPS.

Additionally, if the contact information on file with CCPS is the same email and phone number (meaning parent 1 and parent 2 share the same email and phone number), you will not be able to activate your Rooms account. Please contact your child’s school to update this information in the student information system to access Rooms.

Here is the link for help with activating an account: Rooms and Apptegy Resources | Charles County Public Schools

Attached is a quick guide overview for Rooms account activation. If you have a question about Rooms, please submit it using the support form linked below.

Apptegy Rooms Question/Support Submission Form - School Year 2026-2027 – Fill out form

Questions about the bus? Visit this website to find out bus information, fill out a Help Desk Ticket, and more! 👉 Transportation | Charles County Public Schools

Car rider tags are how we know which student to place in which car. Your child's backpack is tagged with the same number on your car tag. Any person who has your car rider tag can pick up your child without being IDed. Anyone who shows up to pick up a child without a car rider tag WILL be IDed, whether we know them or not. This is not to be difficult - it is for the safety of YOUR child and to make sure that we are always dismissing your child to who they are supposed to be dismissed. Please also relay our procedures to anyone who is picking up your child so that they are aware. We move through our car rider line in 15 minutes or less, please be patient and stay in line.

Car Rider Line Procedures

~ Pull into Parking Lot #2 using first entrance.

~ Proceed to back of parking lot and follow the long side of parking lot along the trees to join the car rider line.

~ Staff will pull cars up 5 or 6 at a time to pull in front of the building.

~ Once you are parked along the sidewalk, staff will help the student out of the vehicle and escort them to class.

~ For DISMISSAL: staff will escort the student to the car, but the parent/guardian must buckle the child in (staff are not permitted to do this).

* We are required to unload/load buses before cars. Staff will intermingle cars and buses to keep arrival/dismissal moving. Please make sure to follow staff guidance.

November Events

3rd: No School - Election Day

6th: No School for Students - Parent/Teacher Conference Day

9th: Report Cards Post (K-12th)

11th: Veterans Day - Schools Closed

12th: Sampling of Family Traditions (6pm - 7:30pm)

13th: World Kindness Day

19th: 2 Hour Early Dismissal (Dismiss @ 2pm)

20th:Cubs Community Virtual Parent Meeting @ 3pm

25th - 27th: School Closed / Thanksgiving Holiday

December Events

2nd: National Special Education Day!

3rd: 2 Hour Early Dismissal (Dismiss @ 2pm)

7th: Interims Post (K-12th)

10th: Academic Night (6:00 - 7:30pm)

21st - Jan. 1st: No School - Winter Break

January Events

4th: Welcome Students Back from Winter Break

18th: No School - MLK, Jr.'s B-Day

22nd: No School for Students / Cubs Community Virtual Parent Meeting @ 3pm

28th: 2 Hour Early Dismissal (Dismiss @ 2pm)

29th: Winter Wonderland Rotations - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

The ELC wants to celebrate your family's culture and traditions! On Thursday, November 12th, from 6pm - 7:30pm we will come together for a potluck style meal. To participate, just prepare a favorite/traditional dish that your family enjoys and bring it to share with other families. Come out with just your dish and a willingness to try foods that are a tradition in other families! This event has been a favorite of our families!

Here's the sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4EABA62DABFD0-45878766-sampling

Unit 2: Our Environment

Project: Creating a Coral Reef

~ students will work together to create a class mural and/or coral-reef display.

~ students will be able to display their knowledge they have learned during this unit.

~ students will help write invitations to come to the scavenger hunt or coral reef party.

~ coral reef display will show art creations, information, and representations of their understandings.

~ students will help guide their guests to show what they have learned about coral reefs.

Week 3:

Reading Focus: Letters Ee & Ll

I can tell details from the text Why Should I Recycle? with help from my teacher.

I can use the illustrations in I Drive a Garbage Truck to help me understand the story.

I can answer questions about the story Abiyoyo Returns with help from my teacher.

I can tell details from the text 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World with help from my teacher.

I can answer questions about information I learned in the book Reusing and Recycling.

I can look at photographs to help me understand the book.

I can hear rhyming words.

I can name some letters of the alphabet.

I can listen to a word and say the sound it starts with.

I can identify the numbers one and two.

I can tell how many things I see without counting.

I can identify the number four and count four objects.

I can identify the number five and count five objects.

I can identify the number three and count three objects.

I can count each thing one at a time and say the numbers in order.

I can represent a number with objects.

I can count and tell which group has more, less, or the same.

I can tell how recycling helps the environment.

Reading Focus: Review Previous Letters

Math & Science Focus:

I can tell how recycling helps the environment.

I can listen for the number of sounds I hear.

I can count each thing one at a time and say the numbers in order.

I can identify the number six and count six objects.

I can tell how many things I see without counting.

I can count each thing one at a time and say I can count things one by one and say the numbers in order.

I can identify the numbers one through six.

I can investigate ways to use less water.

I can say which number comes before or after a number.

Theme 3: Safe & Healthy Me

Week 1: Safe Me

Social/Emotional Focus:

I can talk to my teachers and friends.

I can make friends.

I can help my friends.

I can take three deep breaths to calm down when I am upset.

I can name the emotion I am feeling.

Early Literacy/Language & Literacy Focus:

I can point to words and know they say something.

I can read a sentence from left to right with teacher modeling.

I can find and name the letters R, r, U, u.

I can blend two-word parts together to make a compound word.

I can learn new words.

I can listen to stories.

I can listen to stories and know what they are about.

Math, Early Cognition & STEAM Focus:

I can match and sort items by color.

I can use different tools to explore.

Week 2: Healthy Me

Social/Emotional Focus:

I can talk to my teachers and friends.

I can make friends.

I can help my friends.

I can take three deep breaths to calm down when I am upset.

Early Literacy/Language & Literacy Focus:

I can point to words and know they say something.

I can read a sentence from left to right with teacher modeling.

I can find and name the letters L, l, S, s.

I can blend two-word parts together to make a compound word.

I can learn new words.

I can listen to stories.

I can listen to stories and know what they are about.

Early Cognition & STEAM Focus:

I can match and sort items by shape.

I can use different tools to explore.

Specials Schedule:

Monday - P.E. - wear tennis shoes

Tuesday - Music

Wednesday - Art

Thursday - Art

Friday - Library

Mrs. Moore

* changes from copy provided in parent folder

Staff have tagged your child's backpack with a tag for what their daily dismissal will be - please do NOT remove the tag. If the tag comes off, please communicate with your child's teacher so that we can replace it. It helps us to ensure that we are getting our students home safely and in the manner you have communicated!

Each and every time that you come to the ELC, bring your photo ID. In order to enter the building and/or pick-up your child, you MUST have an ID. Pictures of an ID on your phone DO NOT COUNT! Please also let others who you may be counting on to pick up your child that this will be required. While this may on occasion be inconvenient - it is for the safety of the staff and students - including yours!

If your child's dismissal needs to be changed from its daily routine, please email your child's teacher and the school secretary, Ms. Brindle, at nbrindle@ccboe.com. We cannot accept changes in dismissal over the phone - it MUST be in writing! This helps to ensure that your child gets home safely in the midst of a change!

🍁 Little Learners Need to Be Here! 🍁

For our 3-year-old and 4-year-old students, every day at school is a day filled with learning! Young children are building important skills through play, classroom routines, stories, hands-on activities, and time with their teachers and friends.

Regular attendance helps children feel comfortable with school routines and gives them more opportunities to practice the skills they need for kindergarten and beyond.

We understand that young children get sick, and keeping them home when they are ill is important. When your child is healthy, please help them come to school every day and arrive on time.

🌟 Little steps today build big success tomorrow!

Thank you for helping your child build strong attendance habits from the very beginning.

When your child is absent/tardy/leaves early, please send an email/note to the school secretary, Ms. Brindle, at nbrindle@ccboe.com. This note will have the absence documented with the appropriate absence code.

Hello! I have been working for Charles County Public Schools since 2007.I have worked at Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School and PISOTA. I like to drink sweet tea and my favorite treat is cinnamon rolls. I enjoy talking with students and seeing what is on their mind, and I believe that kids are just special. I spend my spare time with my two sons and three grandsons.

Hello, I have been working for Charles County Public Schools since December 2018. While working for CCPS I have worked at various schools in the county such as Gale-Bailey, North Point, St. Charles, Wade, Malcolm, Neal, Mt. Hope, Gwynn Center, Brown, and Davis before eventually settling here at the ELC. In the rarity that I have free time, I am an avid reader of fiction, a writer, and poet.

Hi! I will be supporting the staff and students at the ELC. I have been teaching in Charles County for 18 years. I most recently was a Kindergarten teacher at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary. I am excited to watch your children grow and learn this year! I have a loving husband and two amazing middle school daughters. I love the beach, reading, and chocolate.

HI! I have been a Nurse for 16 years. I have one son in elementary school. I enjoy nature, relaxing on the porch, and I run on coffee!

Greetings! I came on board with CCPS in March 2025 as a Computer Analyst. I have been in the IT field in various capacities for over 30 years, working with the Department of Defense, Department of Treasury, and commercial banking industries. I am a retired veteran having served in the U.S. Air Force in many worldwide locations. My wife, April, and I have two children, Andre (son) and Adrienne (daughter), and one granddaughter, Maridienne (age 5). I enjoy history, reading, relaxing travel and an interest in board gaming (an old interest being renewed)!

I started as a volunteer for Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) sometime around 2004 when my three children were enrolled in the school system. Since January 2006, I have worked in the Food Services department of CCPS in various capacities to include a Food Service Worker, Assistant Food & Nutrition Manager, and more recently, served as the Food & Nutrition Manager at a Charles County elementary school. I look forward to serving as the Food & Nutrition Manager at the Early Learning Center. I have three adult children and three grandchildren.

Hi! I’m Alexis Mocco (think “taco” with an M 🌮). I’m Southern Maryland born and raised and am excited to join Charles County Public Schools as an IEP Facilitator! I have 15 years of experience in special education and love helping students, families, and school teams work together. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, bargain hunting, and probably buying more snacks than any one person needs. I love to laugh, don’t take myself too seriously, and am always happy to help—especially if you need a snack! 😊

Hello, I've been working with Charles County Public Schools since January 2002. During that time, I have taught in classrooms with grades Pre-K through 5th grade. This time has included teaching science, being an instructional coach and an assistant principal. I have 2 children, Jacob (23) and Jackson (15). I enjoy hiking, fishing, and spending time with my family.

Hello! I have been working for Charles County Public Schools since January 2009. I have taught in classrooms from 1st through 6th grade in CCPS. I also taught 6th grade Math and Science in the state of California straight out of college. My husband, Nick, and I have 3 kiddos, 1 boy (Jamison) and 2 girls (Dawsynne & Ellyette). I enjoy reading, hiking, and love coffee and chocolate!