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Dear Laurel Woods Community,

We’re excited to introduce a school-wide theme for the upcoming school year! A shared theme is a fun way to build school spirit, create a sense of connection, and bring our entire community together around a common message. You’ll see it woven throughout the year in activities, events, and celebrations.

Last week, our staff narrowed down a variety of ideas to our top five choices. We’re thrilled to share these finalists for the 2026–2027 school-wide theme!

Now we’d love your input—our staff, students, and school community are all invited to participate in the voting process. Students will vote with their class during the week.

Please take a moment to vote for your favorite. This theme will represent all of us throughout the year, so every voice matters.

Voting will end on Friday, May 1st.

Thank you in advance for your time and support!

Warmly,

Tanisha

In our continuous effort to build and maintain a strong LWES community, we would like your feedback on our initiatives this school year. Our partnership with you is vital to our students' success, and your insights help us refine our programs to better serve each family.

Please take a few minutes to complete our 2026 Family School Partnership Survey. Your responses are confidential and will be used to guide our future planning.

We’re excited to celebrate math in a fun and engaging way all month long! During Spirit Week, students will have the chance to show their school spirit while building excitement around math.

We encourage all of our families to join in the fun by helping your child participate and get excited about the activities. We can’t wait to see our students showing their spirit and love for learning! ➕➗

It might feel early, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about school supplies for next year! 🎒✏️

Keep an eye out for end-of-year and summer sales—it’s a great time to grab deals on essentials and spread out the shopping. Whether it’s picking out a favorite notebook, fun folders, or the perfect set of pencils, getting a head start can make back-to-school season a little easier (and more fun!).

Check out the link below for our school supplies for SY26-27 😊

On Friday, we had two teams compete in Battle of the Books at Merriweather Post Pavilion. We are so proud of their hard work, dedication to reading, and outstanding sportsmanship. We are also incredibly grateful to our families who generously volunteered their time as coaches and our staff who helped support these efforts!

This week we celebrated Administrative Professionals Day. We want to recognize our LWES secretaries who work so hard to support all of our families, students, and staff with a smile each and every day. Please be sure to show your gratitude when you see them next.

• Ms. Julie Metakes, Principal Secretary
• Mrs. Nicole Cestola, Teachers' Secretary
• Ms. Leila Scott, Teachers' Secretary

On Friday, Quarter 3 report cards were sent home in your child’s bookbag. You can also access your child’s report card through Synergy.

To access your child's report card, you may view/download report cards by taking the following steps:

• Log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy using parent/guardian credentials
• Select More Options from the left panel
• Select Report Cards from the middle
• Select the report card you wish to access

We are so proud of all of our students and how hard they are working! Please take this time to reflect and celebrate your child's accomplishments. This is also a great time to set goals and discuss areas for growth. If you have questions, please reach out to your child's teacher.

The Standards Based Instruction and Reporting Family and Community Resources Canvas course provides important information about SBIR. This includes documents to assist in Understanding Your Child's Report Card.

Academic Performance Codes represent what has been learned - where the student is in relation to the expectation of the grade level standard. It is intended to reflect the progress toward meeting the Maryland College and Career Readiness Standards for their current grade level.

For students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), detailed progress toward IEP goals is provided in the Annual Goal(s) Progress Report that is sent at the same time as the HCPSS report card. A student’s IEP goals address the identified skills that support their progress toward meeting grade level standards. See this Guide for Families of Students with IEPs, Understanding Report Cards.

Families, as the weather becomes more spring-like, we ask your assistance in helping ensure our students are following the HCPSS Dress Code guidelines. Here is a reminder of what Policy 9210 outlines that students must wear to school daily…

• Shirt
• Bottom (e.g. pants, sweatpants, shorts, skirt, dress, and leggings)
• Shoes (curricular-specific and activity-specific shoe requirements are permitted)
• Students are permitted to wear:
  • Hats, hoods, and headwear (so long as the student’s face is visible and wearable technology is visible to ensure it is not interfering with instruction and student safety)
  • Ripped jeans, as long as undergarments are not exposed
  • Tank tops, including spaghetti straps, halter tops, and strapless tops
  • Athletic attire
  • Clothing with commercial or athletic logos provided they do not violate Section IV.G.3.
• Certain body parts must be covered for all students. Clothes must be worn in a way such that the chest, midriff, pelvic/groin area and buttocks are covered with opaque material.
• Students are not permitted to wear attire, including wearable technology that is disruptive to the school environment, that promotes illegal or harmful activities, or that could endanger the health or safety of that student or others during school hours and school-related activities.

Kindly note the changing temperatures and encourage your child to bring a water bottle to school. The decision to go outside or stay inside for recess, physical education, or any other outdoor activity is the decision of the administrator at individual schools. Generally, it is assumed that students will be outside for recess, outdoor eating, physical education, or any other outdoor activity when the temperature combined with the wind chill is not less than 20 degrees Fahrenheit or the heat index reading is less than 95. Please be sure children are dressed appropriately for the weather. See more details at this link.

Save the date!

MSDE will host virtual Math Policy Family Information Sessions in June 2026 to support family understanding of upcoming mathematics initiatives and updates for the 2026–2027 school year. Schools are asked to share this opportunity with families through their usual communication channels; participants must register in advance to receive session links. Click here for details and dates/times.

Our students have been working incredibly hard during MCAP testing, and it shows! We’ve been impressed with their focus, perseverance, and positive attitudes as they tackle each day.

Third and fourth grade students have now completed the ELA MCAP—way to go! Any students who missed a session will have opportunities to make it up this week. Fifth grade will continue with ELA MCAP on Tuesday and Wednesday as they complete the remaining sessions.

As a reminder, all testing takes place in the morning, so arriving on time is key. Thank you for helping set our students up for success each day!

Tips for Test Days:

• Make sure your child gets a good night’s rest and eats a healthy breakfast before testing, either at home or at school.

• Students should arrive at school on time (8:45) on testing days so they do not need to be pulled out of class instruction for make-up sessions. If your student eats breakfast at school they should arrive at 8:30. Breakfast ends at 8:45.

• Please avoid early dismissals during testing sessions to ensure their time is uninterrupted.

• Personal electronic devices (cell phones, iPads, smart watches, etc.) are not permitted in the testing areas.

Our school is committed to creating a safe, welcoming, and respectful environment for every student. As part of that commitment, we want to share information about how we prevent, respond to, and investigate incidents involving hate and bias.

Incidents related to hate or bias can have a serious impact on students’ emotional well-being, sense of belonging, and ability to fully engage in school. Harmful language, slurs, symbols, jokes, threats, exclusion, or online behavior targeting someone’s identity can affect not only the person directly involved, but also others in the school community who may feel unsafe or unseen.

We believe that addressing these incidents requires a strong partnership between school staff, students, and families.

What We Mean by Hate/Bias

A hate- or bias-related incident is behavior that targets or demeans a person or group based on actual or perceived identity. This may include race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or other aspects of identity. Some incidents may involve student discipline or policy violations, while others may still require school follow-up, support, and education because of their impact.

How Families Can Help

• Talk with your child. Encourage honest conversations about identity, belonging, respect, and how to respond when harm occurs. Ask your child what they are seeing or hearing at school and online.

• Reinforce that words and symbols matter. Help children understand that comments framed as jokes or trends can still be harmful and may create fear, humiliation, or exclusion for others.

• Encourage reporting. If your child experiences or witnesses a hate/bias concern, encourage them to tell a trusted adult at school as soon as possible. Reporting helps us respond, support students, and address harm. Reports can be made at https://stopbullying.hcpss.org/report/bullying.

• Stay engaged in online activity. Digital communication can spread harm quickly. Monitoring online interactions and talking openly about respectful digital behavior can help prevent escalation.

• Partner with the school. When concerns arise, your communication and support are important. Working together helps us respond thoughtfully and consistently.

When a report is made, school administrators will review the concern, gather information, and determine appropriate next steps in alignment with school and district procedures. Responses may include student support, family communication, restorative measures, disciplinary action, safety planning, and broader school or classroom follow-up as needed.

If your child reports a hate/bias concern, or if you become aware of one, please contact a school administrator and use the established reporting process. Even if you are unsure whether an incident meets a specific definition, we encourage you to share the concern so it can be reviewed.

Thank you for your partnership in helping us foster a school community where every student feels safe, affirmed, and respected.

The Virtual Family Resource Center is open for monthly orders. The order form is available here: Family Resource Order Link. Please return reusable bags. Thank you!

We are profoundly grateful for the dedication and support of all our partners, whose efforts are essential to the success of our school. We truly could not do this work without you. This week, our Partner Spotlight shines on Grace Community Church.

We truly value input from our families and community partners as we strive to grow and improve. Your feedback helps us better serve our students—so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with our LWES administrative team. Your response can remain anonymous, or you can provide your name for a follow-up phone call.

💙 Hello Laurel Woods Families! 💙

We hope everyone had a wonderful Spring Break! Welcome back for the final stretch of the school year! We have some upcoming events and recaps to share with you, but first, take a moment to read about the differences between being a PTO Member and serving on the PTO Board. The PTO is in need of individuals to serve on the PTO executive board for the 2026-27 school year - in fact, without these volunteers the PTO will move to an “inactive” status which will mean PTO sponsored events and initiatives will not happen for the 26/27 school year. If you are interested in serving on the PTO Executive board, please email Kelly at ptolwes@gmail.com and be sure to join us on Thursday, May 21st to vote on the future of the LWES PTO.

📅 Upcoming PTO Events

Mark your calendars! Here are some of the awesome events and initiatives we’ve got coming up:

• 📕 Yearbook sales are open online through May 1st! Use code: 15436926. Yearbooks are $30. Don’t delay, order your yearbook today!
• 🏆Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week - May 4-8, more information coming soon!
• 📅 PTO General Meeting – May 21st

Mark your calendars! Our May PTO General Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 12. This will be an important meeting as we determine the future of the PTO - We’d love to see you over Zoom!

• 🎉Save The Date - End of Year Block Party - Thursday, June 4th

Thank you for participating in our events!

✨ PTO Event Recaps ✨

Raise Craze wrapped up in March and we raised $796.77 for our school and PTO and completed 67 acts of kindness! Great job, Panthers!

Chuck E. Cheese Fundraiser Success!
Our Chuck E. Cheese fundraiser raised $162.62! Thank you to everyone who showed up to support the LWES PTO.

Thank you for joining us for our March General Membership Meeting! If you missed it, you can find the meeting slides here. Please reach out with any questions!

📸 Do you have photos to share with us from any of our PTO events? Would you love to see them in the yearbook? Please email photos to ptolwesmedia@gmail.com, making sure that any students who are pictured have photo release consent on file within their HCPSS Family File.

🌟Get Involved!

Our last meeting this year will take place from 7-8pm on May 21st. All meetings will be on Zoom. At our next meeting, we will share a recap of the year, end of year events and vote on board positions for the 2026-2027 school year!

Looking for even more ways to lend a hand? Read on!

• Sunshine Families: Help show love to our teachers with appreciation events in April, and May.

• Media Center Volunteers: contact Sarai_Gray@hcpss.org for details.

• Would your restaurant like to host a LWES PTO fundraiser? Let us know!

• PTO Board Positions for the 2026-2027 school year

Have a great idea for an event or project? Let us know—we’d love to hear from you!

Reach out to ptolwes@gmail.com to sign up for any of the opportunities above or recommend your own!

📱 Stay Connected

Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on events, reminders, and ways to be involved.

Warmly,

💙 The LWES PTO

April

• 04.27-05.01: Math Month Spirit Week
• 04.27: Vision Van
• 04.28: Vision Van
• 04.30: 7:00pm Spring Band/Strings Concert @ RHS

May

• 05.01: Last day to purchase Yearbook online
• 05.02: 8:30am Best Buddies Walk at University of Maryland College Park
• 05.04-05.08: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week
• 05.06: National School Nurse Day
• 05.07: 7:00pm Spring Musical - Wizard of Oz
• 05.08: 7:00pm Spring Musical - Wizard of Oz
• 05.13: 4th Grade Field Trip to Maryland Zoo
• NEW - May 14: Full Day for Students - NEW
• 05.15: 6:30pm Culture Night
• 05.18: National Speech Pathologist Day
• 05.19: 5:15pm Middle School Transition Night
• 05.21: 7:00pm PTO Meeting
• 05.22: Field Day
• 05.25: Memorial Day- School Closed
• 05.29: 8:45am Coffee and Conversation w/Admin

For a complete list of dates and events visit https://lwes.hcpss.org/events

Last week, our students participated in a bus evacuation drill to practice important safety procedures. Upon arrival, students who ride the bus received a refresher on the different types of bus evacuations and then practiced a rear door evacuation with support from staff and drivers.

We recognize that not all students ride the bus daily, however, many may use school buses for field trips or special events. To ensure all students are prepared, we also participate in National Bus Safety Week each October. During that time, teachers provide classroom lessons and discussions focused on safe boarding and exiting, appropriate behavior while riding, and emergency procedures.

Our goal is for every student, whether they are bus riders, walkers, or car riders, to understand and be prepared to follow bus safety expectations.

This summer program is open to all HCPSS students who will be in grades 6-12 for the 2026-27 school year.

• The purpose of the Legacy Leadership Institute is to: cultivate collaboration among students across middle and high schools throughout HCPSS, establish common practices, themes, and plans for GSAs/SAGA clubs for the 2026-27 school year, and for students to participate in student growth and leadership activities.
• If you know of a student who would be a candidate for this program, please share the application form The application form will close on Friday, May 15th and students selected to participate will be notified by Friday, May 29th.

The Mental Health Community Advisory Council (MHCAC) is a group of Howard County mental health professionals and community members who seek to remove barriers and build awareness of mental health support for our children and families.

Please view their MHCAC Spring 2026 Newsletter filled with mental health resources, upcoming events, Spring Break Tips, coping skills, and kindness resources, in your school newsletter.