The Elkster

Hello EES Families and Community,

It was a busy and exciting week for our Elkster community, filled with opportunities for students to learn, perform, and shine.

📊 Supporting Math Learning
We began with a focused Title I Math Night for some of our 2nd grade families, where parents and students worked alongside teachers to explore strategies that strengthen math understanding and confidence with grade-level skills.

🎭 Celebrating Student Talent
On Friday evening, our 3–5 students took the stage for our annual Talent Show, a favorite tradition made possible by our wonderful music department and supporting staff. Students wowed the audience with singing, dancing, and creative performances. The intermission videos featuring our primary students were a special highlight and gave us a glimpse of the talent still to come.

Thank you to our PTA for organizing snacks and refreshments, with proceeds supporting 5th grade end-of-year activities.

🏆 MESA Regional Champions

The excitement continued on Saturday at the MESA Regional Competition, where both of our teams earned 1st place in their categories! 🎉Congratulations to Harper, Teagan, Noelle, Natalie, Axton, Rayan, Austin, and Nico, whose Wearable Technology and Storybook Theme Park projects impressed judges with their creativity and engineering thinking. A special congratulations to their coaches, Ms. Lindsey Alvarez (Kindergarten) and Ms. Sarah Ports (5th Grade). In their first year leading MESA, they guided students through months of collaboration and problem-solving to achieve this incredible result.

These experiences reflect the goals of our School Improvement Plan—strong instruction, meaningful family partnerships, and a positive school community where students feel confident sharing their talents and ideas. Thank you for helping make our Elkster community a place where learning and belonging go hand in hand.

Sincerely,

Danielle Shanks, Principal

Jonathan Swann, Assistant Principal

Lashonne Wright, Assistant Principal

Join our Student Services team for Wired & Well, a workshop focused on your child's mental wellness in a digital world. Attend to gain practical tools, challenge mental health stigma, and join a supportive community dedicated to building healthier mindsets. Use link or QRCode to sign up!

Our school mantra this year is Elksters! All In! As we approach our upcoming testing season, we are asking our entire community to be "All In" to help our students feel calm, prepared, and ready to succeed. To give our Elksters the best environment possible, we need your partnership in ensuring a smooth, "All In" start to each morning:

Timing is Everything

All testing sessions begin promptly at 9:30 AM. To ensure your student is settled and ready:

• The "All In" Arrival: Please allow extra time for the car line. Arriving early allows students to eat a healthy breakfast, greet their friends, and start the day with a focused mind.
• The "Closed Door" Policy: Once a testing session begins, late students cannot be admitted to the classroom. To protect the focus of the group, late arrivals will wait in the office and must make up their test at a later date at the discretion of the Testing Coordinator. Students always perform their best when they are with their own teacher and classmates!

Scheduling for Success

Every minute of instruction is valuable. We ask that you remain mindful of testing times when scheduling appointments:

• The Ideal Window: Please schedule medical or personal appointments before 9:00 AM or after 3:55 PM.
• Stay the Day: Early dismissals impact your student's rhythm and the flow of the classroom. Being "All In" means staying for the full school day whenever possible.

Elkridge Elementary is looking for Lunch and Recess Monitors, a long-term substitute teacher for 1st grade, and a daily building substitute teacher! If you are interested, please contact Jonathan Swann at jonathan_swann@hcpss.org, or call 410-313-5006.

Lunch and Recess Monitor

• Daily: Monday - Friday (when school is in session)

• 10:40 AM - 1:40 PM

• Friendly, Dependable, and enjoy engaging with children, we want you!

Daily Building Substitute

• Daily: Monday - Friday (when school is in session)

• To begin in ASAP

• Friendly, Dependable, and flexible, we want you!

Long-Term Reading Specialist Substitute

• Daily: Monday - Friday (when school is in session)

• To begin in April

• Experienced in teaching Reading is strongly preferred

• Friendly, Dependable, works well with small children, we want you!

Do you have a little one getting ready to start school? It is already time to begin the Road to Kindergarten! While registration for the upcoming school year officially begins on March 2, 2026, there are several steps you can take now during the winter months to prepare.

Key Eligibility & Details:

• Age Requirement: Children must be five years old on or before September 1, 2026, to enroll in kindergarten for the upcoming fall.

• Full-Day Program: Please remember that HCPSS kindergarten is a comprehensive, full-day program.

• Mandatory Enrollment: Every eligible child must be enrolled in a kindergarten program this fall or have an approved waiver form.

Steps You Can Take Now:

• Locate Your School: Use the HCPSS School Locator to confirm the school that serves your neighborhood.

• Attend an Info Session: We highly encourage you to attend a Road to Kindergarten parent information session to learn about readiness, the program, and registration.

• Gather Documents: Start collecting the required registration documents now to ensure a smooth process in March.

• Support Readiness: Visit your local Howard County Library System branch for book recommendations and classes, or work through the Early Learning Adventures booklet to help your child prepare.

To view the fliers:

In English: It's Time to Register for Kindergarten Flier

In Spanish: It's Time to Register for Kindergarten Flier

In Chinese: It's Time to Register for Kindergarten Flier

In Korean: It's Time to Register for Kindergarten Flier

Link to Flyers: CLICK HERE

We frequently receive inquiries from families asking how they can show their appreciation and gratitude to our dedicated teachers and staff members throughout the year. We are fortunate to have such a supportive community!

To help guide your thoughtful gestures, we have compiled a "Staff Favorite Things" list. This Google Form contains specific preferences submitted by our EES staff, which you can use for ideas if you choose to show your thanks! EES Staff Favorite Things List

Please note: Staff members are continuing to submit their information, so check back occasionally for updates!

Take a look below at the upcomming events!

👉The PTA is all about connection—parents, teachers, and staff coming together to make our school a place where every child thrives. Even 30 minutes or an hour of your time can make a big difference!

👉 Join the PTA: Becoming a member helps strengthen our community and gives you a voice. Link to Join the PTA: https://elkridgepta.givebacks.com/shop/items/1205656

👉 Get involved in events: Want to help with planning or volunteering? Send us a quick email at info@eespta.com, and we’ll add you to our event planning list.

There are a lot of fun upcoming events for EES families. Click on the images to link to the folder of PTA flyers.

Looking for fun ways for your child to stay active and engaged this spring? Howard County Recreation & Parks is offering a variety of after-school programs right here at Elkridge Elementary!

Click the link below to view the full schedule of spring offerings and register your student today:

[More Info HERE]

Belonging Night is a schoolwide event where we celebrate the many different countries and cultures represented in our school. We share food, performances, learn from each other, and have a fashion show!

We are looking for information about any community groups that you belong to or work with who can perform music or dances, or have someone come to share information about your culture or community. If you know of any local organizations who can contribute to this event, please contact Ms. Loughry at carrie_loughry@hcpss.org to share information.

Thank you and we're looking forward to a great night!

We are excited to announce that the EES School Store will officially open on March 3, 2026, as part of our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) program to celebrate students who demonstrate our schoolwide expectations. Students will use the Elkster Bucks they have earned for showing responsibility, respect, safety, and kindness to redeem small, school-appropriate prizes during scheduled class shopping times — no cash is needed, and this is not a fundraiser.

Our goal is to reinforce positive behavior, strengthen belonging, and ensure all students have opportunities to participate and experience success. We are seeking approved parent volunteers to help set up in the grade-level pod areas, assist students while they shop, and pack up materials; volunteers are asked to arrive between 8:40–8:50 a.m. for the first few sessions, with shifts lasting about an hour.

If you are interested in supporting this exciting PBIS initiative and helping us continue building a positive, connected EES community, please sign up using the Sign Up Genius link. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0445ACAD23A7FF2-62446604-eesschool

Families can now join us for our daily school morning announcements—anchored and produced by our amazing 5th graders! Each broadcast features birthdays, classroom shout-outs, daily highlights, and much more. Announcements run from 9:20–9:25 a.m. on Google Meet using the code eesnews. It’s a fun way to start the day with school spirit and celebrate our community together—don’t miss it!

• Canvas Check: Now is the perfect time to log in and check Canvas for your child's current grades and any missing assignments. If you have questions about specific grades or assignments, please reach out directly to the teacher.

• Standards & Learning Resources: To better understand what your child is learning and how to support them at home, we encourage you to explore the grade-specific Family and Community Resources on Canvas. These links provide overviews, how-to videos, learning goals, worksheets, games and resources for all academic areas:

• Pre-Khttps://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/34453
• Kindergartenhttps://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/34447
• Grade 1https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/32029
• Grade 2https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/34428
• Grade 3https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/34429
• Grade 4https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/34430
• Grade 5https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/34431

• Homework & Grading: Homework (assigned to all grades except PK/K) reinforces classroom skills. If you notice your child struggling to complete homework in a reasonable time, please contact their teacher. For an in-depth look at how we assess learning, visit our resource on Standards-Based Grading: https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/208494.

Open, effective communication is vital for student success. You can find all staff email addresses on our website. To ensure our teachers can provide thoughtful and thorough responses while focusing primarily on instruction during the school day, please keep this guideline in mind: Teachers have 24–48 hours to reply to emails during business hours.

We appreciate your understanding. This dedicated time allows our staff to focus fully on teaching during school hours and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Thank you for your continued partnership!

See flier below

• See this flyer for details.

• March 20: Schools Closed for Students - Eid ul-Fitr / Professional Work & Development Day
• March 30-April 2: Schools Closed - Spring Break
• April 3: Schools & Offices Closed - Spring Break
• April 6: Full Day for Students (NEW)
• April 14: End of Third Quarter
• April 15: Schools Close 3 Hours Early (No half-day pre-K/RECC) - Professional Learning/Work Day (NEW)