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Kathy Forrest - Principal -
Karen Cox-
Assistant Principal -
Lauren Boerstler -
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Amy Moats -
Attendance Secretary-
Attendance
Attendance at school is critical to a child’s academic success. All WCPS schools carefully monitor student attendance. The WCPS Attendance Policy is not designed nor intended to punish sick children or to encourage ill children to be in school. The procedures are designed to promote the importance of regular, daily school attendance. The law is quite clear – students are to be in school every day school is in session, unless they are ill or absent for another lawful reason.
All school absences are recorded. Absences are coded as excused or unexcused:
Only excused absences are considered lawful according to Maryland law. Excused absences include: 1. Illness of student (three or more days may require medical verification); 2. Death in the immediate family, 3. Court summons, 4. Suspension, and 5. Other special circumstances.
Unexcused absences: If a student is absent for any portion of the day, for any reason other than those identified as excused. The absence will be considered unexcused. (This includes absence from school without the knowledge of the parent/guardian, shopping, babysitting, providing care for other adults, running errands, etc.) Unexcused absences may be defined as truancy.
All absences (other than those related to school discipline) require a parent note upon the student’s return to school. Failure to provide a parent note within 30 days may result in the absence being coded as unexcused
Please be reminded of the WCPS attendance standards as stated in the WCPS Student Handbook:
“The Washington County Board of Education has established minimum standards for attendance and absences for students. When absences, excused or unexcused, accumulate to six days, parents/students will be notified by mail. By WCPS policy, absences beyond twelve days in a school year are unacceptable. Cases involving excessive absence will be referred to the student support team (SST).
Please refer to pages 21-22 of the WCPS Student Handbook on the county website at wcpsmd.com for full information on School Attendance or call the school office for additional clarification.
Celebrate the LOVE for READING at home just as we do every day at school!
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? - While your family is eating together, discuss what your favorite characters would have for dinner – Strega Nona loves pasta while Geronimo Stilton craves some cheese, and the Ninja Turtles have a thing for pizza! Incorporating characters of favorite stories into your eating routine is a delicious way to promote deep thinking about character traits and motivation.
Book Nooks - Create “book nooks” with your child. Book nooks are comfy places to sit and read. They should have good lighting and containers filled with sticky notes, colorful pens, pencils, and a small dictionary. Book nooks will motivate your children not only to read, but to select favorite parts with sticky notes, or look up words they don’t know. Visit the Washington County Free Library, get a library card and let your child choose some great books for you book nook!
Marking the Spot - Making bookmarks together is a great, simple family reading activity. Just cut bookmark-sized cardboard from cereal or shoe boxes, then get crafty! Use brightly-colored markers to write titles, authors, and favorite quotes. Younger readers can draw or cut and paste pictures from old magazines.
Who Am I? - Choose one of your child’s favorite book characters, then describe his or her personality traits, problems, and physical descriptions until she guesses the character’s identity. This game is a fun way to pass time when you’re stuck in traffic or at a bus stop.
