RES Family Update

Parents, please do NOT park/wait (between the posted) signs on Central Avenue near the right hand turn on to Seward Road while waiting in the car rider line. Also, avoid waiting at the end of Seward Road. This makes it difficult for cars trying to turn back on to Central Avenue at the stop sign after dropping off students. Thank you for your cooperation.

October

15 - 1st Grade Field Trip - JZ Farms 9:30 - 2:00

- PTO Smencil Sale Day

17 - Schools Closed

21- PTO Meeting - 6:00 PM

23 - County Spelling Bee - 7 PM @ Library

27 - Fall Individual Picture Day

31 - Halloween Parade - 9:30 AM

November

5 - Quarter 1 ends

- 1 PM dismissal for students

11 - Q1 Report Cards Distributed Electronically

Book Fair - November 17 - 21

14 - Parent Visitation Day - 2 Sessions/9:00 - 11:00 AM & 1:30 - 3:30 PM

17 - Parent Conference Day - No School for Students

19 - PTO Smecil Cart Day

20 - PJ Story Family Engagement Night

26 - 30 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

Healthy vision and hearing is important for your child’s success in school. State law requires school systems to have students’ hearing and vision screened when they enter the school system and again in first and eighth grades. Hearing and vision screenings are scheduled to begin on October 6th, 2025.

Students who should not be included in the screenings include:

• Those whose parents/guardians object in writing to the screenings on the grounds that it conflicts with the tenets and practice of a recognized church or religious denomination of which they are a member;

• Those with known hearing loss, including but not limited to, students with cochlear implants or hearing aids; and

• Those who present evidence of testing within the last year.

If your child falls into any of these categories or if you have any questions, please reach out to the school nurse at 410-479-3256 or via email at creasy.melissa@ccpsstaff.org

Last year, our Title I Parent/Family Engagement funds provided important resources to our students and families, including family academic nights and engaging materials for all elementary schools. Each year we base our programs on your feedback. Please help us again this year by taking the Title I survey.

Current Family Engagement Plan: English | Espanol | Kreyòl ayisyen

The 2025-26 Student Benefits Form (Household Income Data Collection) information is used to help provide school meals at no charge to all students, along with other districtwide services. It also provides individual benefits to students and families such as:

• discounts for summer and recreational programs
• internet access
• fee waivers for SAT and AP testing and college applications
• eligibility for Maryland Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

USE this link to complete the form.

25-26 Student Benefits Form-Household Income

Dismissal is a very busy time of day in the front office.

1. To ensure the safety of all students, we respectfully request that when necessary, parents that need to change the regular dismissal for their child/children to contact the main office before 12:00 PM. This will allow the office staff adequate time to coordinate the change with the classroom teacher.

2. Parents that come to the school to pick up their child/children after 3:30 PM, will be directed to the walker area/picnic table area to pick up their student(s). Students will be called from their classroom and be dismissed from the media center with the walkers.

Please remember, for all notifications, parent/guardian numbers and emails are taken directly from information provided by the family in PowerSchool.

School delays and closings are shared via:

• a phone call, text, and email through our notification system

• a message on the CCPS Mobile App the district website (carolineschools.org)

• social media: Facebook (Caroline County Public Schools and all school pages), and Instagram (carolineschoolsmd)

• some local news and radio stations

The process for making weather-related decisions is outlined on carolineschools.org.

Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Registration Link: https://cookcenter.info/ATLOct21

Option 1 – Short Form

You’re invited to join us Tuesday, October 21 at [pick time zone for your district - 8pm ET, 7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm PT] for Ask a Therapist Live. This webinar is an opportunity to ask a licensed clinical therapist questions about parenting, your child’s well-being, or anything that’s been on your mind. Participation is anonymous and free.

Visit https://cookcenter.info/ATLOct21 to register today!

Option 2 – Long Form

Got burning questions about parenting, relationships, or your child's well-being? Submit them anonymously before or during a live session with a skilled therapist who provides thoughtful, personalized answers - to as many questions as possible.

Sign-up for free here! - https://cookcenter.info/ATLOct21

Why should you be excited? Because it's YOUR chance to:

1. Gain expert advice: Everyone can use help navigating the complexities of parenthood

2. Ask questions anonymously: Feel free to ask anything without fear, as all questions are submitted anonymously. Your privacy is our priority!

3. Be part of a supportive community: Connect with fellow parents facing similar challenges, and let's foster a network of understanding and empathy.

Mark your calendars for the session on Tuesday, October 21 at [pick time zone for your district - 8pm ET, 7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm PT] and get ready to embark on a journey to improve self-discovery and family well-being!

Welcome back! We’re so glad to have your children with us for the 2025–2026 school year!

To keep you informed and involved, we’re continuing to use Rooms, our two-way communication tool that helps you stay connected with your child’s teachers and school staff.

And this year, Rooms has improved some of their features:

• SMS Text Notifications
  You’ll now receive text message notifications whenever a new message or announcement is sent in Rooms. Each text includes a direct link to view the content in your mobile browser or in the app.
  
  → Click here to learn how to set your notification preferences.

• One Messaging Inbox
  Our school app has been updated to give you one, single place to see all of your messages across all children. From this inbox, you can read, reply, or start new messages. This feature is available through the CCPS App, available in the App Store and Google Play.
  
  

• Upgraded Messaging Features
  Our messaging experience now lets you react to messages with emojis, respond in threads, send photos and videos, mute group messages, and more!

Check out this overview of the new experience, or watch this short video (video in Spanish or click on Haitian Creole) to learn more about what’s new for this year.

We’re here to help make communication simpler, more consistent, and easier to manage this year! Please let us know if you have any questions.

Need to provide or update your student's information? Parent/Guardians should use the Year Round Form, also in the parent portal in PowerSchool.

Visit carolinecps.powerschool.com and log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal. (You must log in via a browser, not the app.)

From the Parent Portal:

1. Select the student you wish to update along the top.

2. Select the Student Information Update form icon on the left side for the applicable school year.

3. Verify the student's date of birth.

4. Select ‘Begin Form’.

If you are unable to access either form, please contact the school to update your child's information. This information is also available on the district website.

Pre-K 3

Email to Family

Family Letter (Feeling Me)

Pre-K 4

Dear Families,

As we continue our theme of “My School and Me”, next week, your child will learn how to identify emotions and discover ways to handle his or her feelings.

This week’s Family Connections activities can be found at https://lilypad2.frogstreet.com/public/resouce-detail/29e51190-07ff-4be5-9f5f-2db36c1774d4

This week’s storybook, “Feelings Are Real” can be found at https://lilypad2.frogstreet.com/public/resouce-detail/d8eb23de-1b0d-43e1-9fae-0edff92e1f09

Looking forward to an exciting week!

Pre-K 4 T-Shirt Order Form DUE October 15, 2025

Pre-K 4 Field Trip Permission Slip DUE Oct 24, 2025

Kindergarten

ELA

How can your senses help you learn?

• Identify main topic

• Recognize nonfiction text

Books: Senses at the Seashore, A Feast of the Senses

New letter: Nn

Irregular Word: is Other words: it, if

Math

• Make groups that have more, fewer or the same.

Science/Social Studies

• Wants and Needs

• Goods and Services

Specials

Dress for your PE day!

Dennis: Tuesday

Pearson: Thursday

Valliant: Friday

Reminder: Return the field trip permission slip.

Fire House field trip on Oct 21, 2025.

1st Grade

ELA

• Describe character, settings and events. Identify topic and key details.

• Short vowel review

Math

• Add and Subract within 20 word problems

Science/Social Studies

• Types of homes/natural disasters

Specials

Dress for your PE day!

Combs: Tuesday

Fox: Wednesday

Brown: Thursday

Shirkey: Friday

Field Trip Wednesday

No School Friday

2nd Grade

ELA

• Find the main topic of an informational text.

Math

• Use strategies to solve story problems.

Science/Social Studies

• Compare animals in different habitats.

Dress for your PE day!

Clarke: Friday

Dickinson: Tuesday

Walls: Thursday

Cava: Wednesday

3rd Grade

ELA

• Reading Argumentative Text identifying text features.

• Practice homophones.

• Use suffixes correctly.

Math

• Area representing with square units with and without a grid

• Social Studies- TImelines and MArylands first people

Dress for your PE Day

Armiger: Thursday

Brian: Friday

Frantum: Tuesday

4th Grade

ELA

• Wonders: How our actions affect others; Character Conflict and Resolution

Math

• Unit 2 Equal groups of fractions

Science/Social Studies

• Different Native American groups and how their surroundings affect them

Specials

Dress for your PE Day

Bledsoe: Thursday

Hart: Tuesday

Mitchell: Friday

Parks: Wednesday

5th Grade

ELA

• Elements of an argument

• Greek and Latin roots

**Support our 4 finalists in the County Spelling Bee:

Oct 23rd 7pm @ the Denton Library

Math

• Area and Fractional Side Lengths

• HW due Thursday (No School Friday)

Science/Social Studies

• Properties of Matter (Assessment this week!)

Specials

Dress for your PE day!

Baughman: Tuesday

Gieraltowski: Friday

McMahon: Wednesday

Manship: Thursday

Caroline County Public Schools prohibits discrimination in its educational programs, and in employment, on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or disability.

Parents Right to Know:

The Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) contains several provisions that promote a parent/school partnership through communication. One such provision gives parents the right to ask for and receive information about the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers. A parent may request the following information:

• Any college or university degree, major or certification held by the teacher
• Whether the teacher is certified by the State of Maryland to teach a particular grade level or subject area
• Whether the teacher holds a conditional teaching certificate
• The qualifications of the paraprofessionals serving the student
  

If you would like to request the professional qualifications of your child’s classroom teachers or paraprofessionals, please submit a written request to the principal. The principal will provide the information to you within 30 business days of the date of your request.

Parents may also request information on the level of achievement and academic growth of their child, if applicable and available, on each of the State academic assessments.

Parents will receive timely notice if the student has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

Parents May Request Teacher Information:

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 provides parents of students attending Title 1 schools the opportunity to request information about the professional qualifications of their child's teachers. Parents of elementary students may request in writing to the school principal information about their child's teacher including college/university degrees of certification held, subject area of the teacher's degree or certification, and Maryland certification status. Additionally, if your child is served by paraprofessionals, parents may request their professional qualifications.

Parent Information Resource Center:

Parents are encouraged to visit our Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC) located in the lobby outside of the front office. The PIRC has a variety of parenting resources and informational brochures and flyers. These materials are all free. Parents can find the School Improvement Plan, RES School Family Engagement Compact, booklets from The Parent Institute on topics such as “Seven Habits of Highly Responsible Students; Help Your Child Balance School and Extracurricular Activities; and Helping Children Learn to Resolve Conflicts.” Parents can also find information regarding Caroline County Recreation and Parks, Caroline County Library, Imagination Library and Maryland Department of Health . Please be sure to check out our Parent Information Resource Center next time you come to the school.

OFFICE HOURS:

The RES front is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 4:15 PM.

Use this link to view the CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT:

https://www.carolineschools.org/documents/code-of-student-conduct/17009381

Use the link below to view the school calendar:

carolineschools.org/page/school-calendar

RES is a progressive community of learners collaboratively supporting each other through intentional planning in a risk-taking and trusting environment, leading to rigor, student autonomy, and mastery of content standards in all learning settings.

Email: sutton.lee@ccpsstaff.org
Website: ridgelyes.org
Location: 118 North Central Avenue, Ridgely, MD 21660
Phone: 410 479 3243