The Falcon Flier

Dr. Holden, Principal

Dr. Anderson, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Grenzer, Assistant Principal

Website: ples.hcpss.org

• October 21 - SPIRIT DAY - Celebrate Unity Day by wearing ORANGE
• October 21 - Dental Clinic
• October 22 - Dental Clinic
• October 22 - ELD Parent Information Night from 6 PM - 7 PM
• October 23 - Dental Clinic
• October 23 - Fall Picture Day
• October 24 - PLES Beautification Day from 9 AM - 11 AM
• October 27 - End of 1st marking period
• October 28 - Schools closed for students - Staff Professional Day
• October 29 - School-Based Wellness Center - Flu Shot Clinic
• October 29 - Trunk or Treat from 6 PM - 8PM
• October 30 - 3rd Grade Ellicott Children's Museum visit
• October 30 - 5th Grade Field Trip to National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation

• November - Native American Heritage Month
• November 1 - Daylight Savings Time Ends
• November 2-6 - National School Psychologists Week
• November 3 - Schools and offices closed - Election Day
• November 5 - Ms. Harback and Ms. Hamrick's classes Library Field Trip
• November 10 - Virtual PTA Meeting
• November 11 - Veterans Day
• November 11 - 2nd Grade Math & Munchkins from 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
• November 12 - Ms. Baker, Ms. Barfield and Ms. vom Saal's classes Library Field Trip
• November 12 - 3rd Grade Field Trip to Fort McHenry
• November 12 - Family Science/Engineering Night from 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
• November 13 - World Kindness Day
• November 13 - Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day

• For your planning needs, please see the link below which details dates/holidays for HCPSS this coming year, including Winter break, Spring break, and professional learning days. Click here: https://www.hcpss.org/calendar/#print

• HCPSS Related Arts Calendar

Congratulations to these students for earning Falcon of the Week the week of 10/5 - 10/9! Way to go!!!

Parents/Guardians & Families,

Bullying prevention starts at home, too. Families can make a difference by keeping the lines of communication open and regularly talking with children about friendships, school experiences, group chats, social media, and how they and their peers treat one another.

Encourage your child to identify trusted adults they can turn to when something doesn't feel right. Talk about what they can safely do if they witness someone being mistreated—such as getting an adult, refusing to join in or laugh, checking on the student afterward, or reporting what they saw.

Being an upstander applies online, too. Remind children that liking, sharing, forwarding, commenting on, or reposting hurtful content can increase its impact. Instead, encourage them to avoid participating, save evidence when appropriate, support the person being targeted, and tell a trusted adult.

Children also learn from what they see. Modeling kindness, empathy, inclusion, and respect for others helps reinforce the behaviors we want to see in our schools and communities.

Talk. Notice. Include. Speak Up. Together, we can help create communities where every student feels safe, supported, and valued.

More bullying prevention information and resources can be found on the HCPSS Stop Bullying website.

October is National Principals Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the important role Dr. Holden, Dr. Anderson and Mrs. Grenzer play in supporting students, staff, families, and our school community.

At Phelps Luck, our administrative team is committed to creating a welcoming, supportive, and engaging learning environment. School leadership is a partnership, and our leaders are grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our students, staff, families, and community each day.

Families and students who would like to recognize our administrative team can do so in many simple ways. Consider writing a note or card of appreciation, having your child create a picture or message, sharing a positive experience or memory, sending a quick email of thanks, or simply offering a kind word when you see them.

Thank you for celebrating our administrative team for their leadership, dedication, and commitment to students, staff, families, and school communities.

The goal of Unity Day is to promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to help prevent bullying. Let’s come together to send a powerful message that bullying is not acceptable and that every student deserves to feel safe at school, online, and in our community.

Let’s unite and wear ORANGE to show our support for bullying prevention on 10/21!

We are excited to announce our inaugural PLES Beautification Day on Saturday, October 24, from 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

We invite our students, families, and staff to join us as we come together to spruce up our school grounds, build community, and show our PLES pride!

Please take a moment to fill out our Family Interest Form to let us know if you can join us, what tasks you'd love to help with, or if you have tools/supplies you can share.

The School Based Wellness Center Flu Shot Clinic will take place on

Thursday, October 29th, during the school day, see flyer below for details.

Many HCPSS families may be eligible to receive benefits through the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FARMs) program.

Qualifying families can take advantage of a wide range of additional resources and discounts, including free college applications, free or reduced JumpStart dual enrollment tuition, discounted internet through the Comcast Internet Essentials program, and more.

Families must submit a new application every school year. Any student whose family has not filled out an application by the 30th school day will have their status changed to full pay until a new application is received.

Parents/guardians are highly encouraged to fill out the applications as soon as possible. It is very important that applications are filled out accurately and completely.

• Apply online
• Apply by mail: Paper applications will be available at all school front offices. Applications can be returned to the school or mailed to HCPSS Food & Nutrition Services, 10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042

Additionally, I want you to know that there are school staff available to support you and your child. We have numerous supports in place, and I encourage you and your child to take advantage of them whenever they are needed.

Here are a number of administrators and support staff available at our school who can provide supports along with your child’s teachers:

Dr. Holden, Dr. Anderson, Mrs. Grenzer, Ms. Garcia-Hedges, and Ms. Stremmel.

Answers to frequently asked questions on HCPSS meals and additional meals/nutrition assistance programs can be found on the HCPSS Help site. If you have questions regarding the program, please visit www.hcpss.org/FARMs or contact Food and Nutrition Services at 410-313-6743 or foodsvc@hcpss.org.

The Howard County Literacy Association invites writers in Grades 1-5 to submit an original short story or poem, see flyer below for details.

Our school Read-A-Thon begins on Monday, October 19th, 2026 and is sure to be a fun and exciting event.

We understand that your time is valuable. We also know that providing the best education for your child is important. That's why we are encouraging everyone to activate their student's Read-A-Thon account as soon as possible. The instructions are straightforward, making it quick and hassle-free, and it should take less than 5 minutes of your time.

This account will serve as a hub for recording and monitoring your child's progress as a Reader in the event, and for you to share their Read-A-Thon message with friends and family. Use the link below to activate your student's Reader account:

https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/AwBcPL/1?utm=email

Thank you so much for your participation and support. Together, we can make this Read-A-Thon an amazing experience for our young readers!

Thank you,

Phelps Luck Elementary PTA

Your favorite and extremely HUNGRY PLES candy monster is ready to accept your donations of bags of individually wrapped candy, snacks, and small toys! Make trunk or treat a blast and make a donation! Plus, who doesn't want to feed a big, furry monster?

Please complete this form to let us know what you’d like information about.

Thank you for considering helping!

(Please note: by completing this form you are not committing to volunteering, you are requesting information about opportunities to help.)