It is hard to believe that November is here and that the second marking period of the school year is beginning! It seems like just yesterday that we opened the doors for a brand new school year! Don’t forget to turn back your clock(s) one hour on Sunday, November 5.

This year, the WCPS Calendar does not have designated days set for Parent/Teacher Conferences. As a result, please note the following with regard to parent-teacher conferences at Ruth Ann Monroe Primary School:

1. Parents may request a parent conference any time of the year, coordinating through the teacher

2. Teachers should communicate on an ongoing and regular basis to share student's academic and behavioral progress in school. This communication may be in the form of a phone call, email, DoJo message, and/or written document. The teacher may also request a parent-teacher conference at any time.

3. Please make sure you are signed up for ParentVue, so you can view daily progress of your child

4. Report cards will be available to view (using ParentVue) at the end of all marking periods

5. All teachers have established a means of communication; Private FB page, Class Dojo, or email list to communicate with all parents individually and privately.

One of the most important indicators of a student success in school is home - school communication. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher anytime you have questions, suggestions, or important information to share about your child/ren. The teachers will extend that same courtesy to you to share their academic and/or behavioral progress.

Lastly, please be reminded that school will be closed for students for the Thanksgiving Holiday from Wednesday, November 22 - Sunday, November 26. On behalf of our entire staff, we wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Please enjoy this time with family and friends and be sure to stop and share a thankful moment!

Eastern Elementary and Ruth Ann Monroe families in need of emergency food may visit The School Food Pantry located at Eastern Elementary. All visitors MUST enter through the main office at Eastern Elementary and receive a pass to the pantry.

Each family may visit only once per month.

When: THURSDAYS, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm

Where: EASTERN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Compliments of the Maryland Food Bank

Coordinated by Title I Parent Involvement

Beginning November 6, our school-wide theme is emotions management. In our morning announcements and school assembly we will be prompting students to notice their own feelings by paying attention to clues in their bodies, and we’ll be reminding them to use their Second Step skills to calm down:

· Stop—Use your signal

· Name your feeling

· Calm down: Breathe, count, use positive self-talk

These skills help students calm down strong emotions when faced with learning and social challenges, which helps them succeed academically and get along well with others.

Second Step lessons specifically teach about calming down strong emotions such as anger, disappointment, frustration, and anxiety. You’ll be receiving Home Links that describe why managing strong emotions is important and include fun activities to do with your child to help him or her identify strong feelings and calm down. We hope the Home Links will give you tools to use together when your child is upset.

Please tell your child’s teacher if you have questions about how you can help your child learn to calm down at home. Be on the lookout for information sheets from the teacher with activities for home

As a Title I school, we strive to involve parents, families, and community members to collaborate in the school’s decision making processes so that together we are advocating for our students and their achievement and success both at school and at home.

During the first week of school and at our back to school events, you were provided a Title I folder that contained information from the district and the school about Title I policies and procedures. In this folder, you were given two important documents (two copies of each). The first document being the Title I School-Parent Partnership Compact and second being the Title1 School Parent and Family Engagement Policy/Plan. One copy of each of these forms were to be signed and returned to school. If you have not already done so, please sign and return these papers to school with your child.

The end of the marking period is a great time to review these documents to remind ourselves of our ‘agreements’ with each other (staff, parent and student) to ensure strong academic achievement; and, also to review how families and the school can continue to engage with one another. If you would like another copy of either document, they are available at any time by contacting Cindy Hinkle, our School Family Liaison, at 301-766- 8677.

We welcome you to provide any feedback at any time on how we may continue to support the success of all learners and/or their families!

Improving student achievement for every child is a common goal that we as a community share. In order to improve student achievement, children must be present and on time for school daily. We cannot stress to you enough how important it is for us to work together to establish strong attendance patterns in these primary school years. As a school staff, we have placed a heavy emphasis on discussing with the students the importance of coming to school on time daily. Although we do understand that children fall ill, we are asking you to join us in this effort to send your child to school daily and to be punctual (no later than 9:15a.m.).