Eagle News

We are off to a great start to the new year, and it has been wonderful to see our school community energized and engaged. Today, students enjoyed an exciting and meaningful Martin Luther King Jr. assembly that reminded us of the power of service, leadership, and community. Over the next few weeks, students will be completing mid-year Reading and Math assessments, as well as Grade 5 Science assessments, so please help ensure they are well -rested and ready to do their best. As we move through the week, be sure to stay tuned to the PGCPS website for the most up-to-date weather-related information regarding this weekend's impending snowstorm. We appreciate your continued partnership and support.

Thank you to all the families who joined us for last week’s Family Math Night, hosted by Mathnasium. It was a fun and engaging evening that brought students and families together around learning. A special thank you to Ms. Johnson and Ms. Vanegas for chairing the event, as well as to our dedicated staff members who supported the evening by running stations. We also extend our appreciation to the PTA for generously donating funds for the raffle. Your continued support helps make these enriching experiences possible for our school community.

We are excited to celebrate our students’ achievements during our Quarter 2 Virtual Honor Roll Assemblies for students in grades 2–5. The assemblies will take place from Tuesday, February 17 through Friday, February 20, from 1:00–1:30 p.m. These special celebrations recognize our students’ hard work and academic success. Families of honored students will receive invitations to the virtual programs in the coming weeks. We look forward to celebrating together!

We will publish the next Eagle Newsletter on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. However, if you would like to read back issues of the Eagle News Newsletter, you can find this year's published newsletters on our school's website under the heading 'Announcements and Newsletters.' If you have questions between now and then, please contact me at Toi.Davis@pgcps.org or 301-985-1898.

We appreciate your continued partnership in supporting our Present and Proud initiative and helping ensure students are in school each day, ready to learn. As the weather gets colder, we understand that illnesses may occur; however, if your child is well, it is important that they attend school and arrive on time each day. Consistent attendance and punctuality have a direct impact on student learning and classroom routines.

If your child must be absent, please remember to send a note to the homeroom teacher that includes the date(s) of the absence and the reason. Please submit notes no later than three days after your child returns to school. We also want to highlight the importance of arriving on time. Over the past two days, we have seen a significant increase in tardiness, with 40 students arriving late yesterday and 35 students late today. Together, we can reverse this trend and ensure a strong start to each school day. Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to student success.

The PGCPS Office of Communications and Community Engagement will continue to deliver timely communication that achieves our goals of safety, equity, and excellence.

Communication Tools

The Office of Communications and Community Engagement uses five key tools to reach audiences:

School Messenger

○ Email

○ Text/SMS

○ Robocall

Websites

○ PGCPS (www.pgcps.org)

○ PGCPS en español (www.pgcps.org/es)

Newsletters

○ Engage PGCPS (families and communities), weekly

○ Acción PGCPS (Spanish-speaking families and communities), weekly

○ Partner PGCPS (business, faith-based and nonprofit

groups), monthly

Social media

○ Facebook (@PGCPS)

○ Facebook en español (@PGCPSenespanol)

○ X (@PGCPS)

○ Instagram (@PGCPS)

○ LinkedIn

○ YouTube

PGCPS-TV

○ Verizon 38

○ Comcast 96

○ YouTube

○ Video-on-demand

Grade levels have started planning field trips for students, but we need parent volunteers. The county expects a ratio of 1:4 for students in Pre-K and K and a ratio of 1:10 for students in grades 1-5. The county also requires that half of the chaperones must be PGCPS employees.

The volunteer approval process must be completed for each academic school year. To reinstate your SafeSchools account for SY '25-26, you will need to complete an updated registration form, which can be found by clicking this LINK.

The steps for the approval process are below.

Returning Volunteers renewal applications can be completed in just four easy steps!

1. Use the email address you originally registered with and your existing volunteer identification number (VIN) to complete your application for the 2025 -2026 school year.
2. Click the green plus + sign below the Register Volunteer column to enter/edit your volunteer details that may have changed from the previous school year.
3. Read and sign the disclaimer statement.
4. Submit your application.
5. You will receive an email from SafeSchools in approximately 48 hours with the training plan for SY '25-'26.

1. Library Procedures

   If your child has an overdue library book, they can return it without penalty or fine. Students should return library books via the return bin in the library.

   
   

   To view your child’s library book out status, follow the directions below.

   
   

   Review Book Checkout Status

   1. Go to destiny.pgcps.org

   2. Under ELEMENTARY, scroll down to UNIVERSITY PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

   3. Click on UNIVERSITY PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

   4. Click on LOG IN in the top right corner

   5. Type PGCPS Student USERNAME and PGCPS Student PASSWORD

   6. Click blue LOG IN button

   7. Click on MY INFO under CATALOG

   Any items listed under ITEMS OUT and LIBRARY MATERIALS with red DUE DATES are overdue.

   
   

   OVERDUE LIBRARY BOOKS

   Remember your options for returning overdue books.

   1. Locate the overdue or lost book and return it.

   2. Purchase the same book (hardback cover only, no paperback or softcover) from any retailer. If you select this option, please hand the book directly to me (Mr. Clark) so the book can be cleared in the checkout system. I am scheduled at University Park ES every Monday and Wednesday.

   3. Pay for the book based on the price on the overdue notice or in the email. Again, If you select this option, please hand the money directly to me (Mr. Clark) so the money can be credited, accounted for, and the book can be cleared in the checkout system. I am scheduled at University Park ES every Monday and Wednesday.

   
   

   If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact Mr. Clark at aclark@pgcps.org.

DESTINY (destiny.pgcps.org)

Don’t forget to check out DESTINY. It is an online website with a great collection of library resources.

Students can perform many of the tasks below.

• Access our school’s online catalogue to see what books are available

• Conduct research using several online databases (Worldbook Online, Brittannica, Culturegrams, etc.)

• View a number of non fiction databases such as National Geographic, TrueFlix, Watch and Learn, etc.

• Read ebooks from a number of sources such as Tumblebook Library, SORA, Tumblebook Math, etc

ParentVUE

Parents don’t forget to check ParentVUE. In ParentVUE, you can:

• View quarterly progress report and report card grades

• Check the gradebook for current student status.

• Review Daily Attendance (Tardies and Absences)

For ParentVUE resources, click this link.

This year, four Write-A-Book projects will be submitted to PGCPS for judging. We wish them all well in the county wide competition. I want to thank all of our participants, parents, and many others for their support and hard work.

Dear PTA family and friends,

We hope to see you online tonight at 6pm for our virtual PTA meeting! There will be lots of great news to share. In case you missed it, here is the link to the Zoom meeting.

https://pgcps-org.zoom.us/j/83835087074?pwd=AJanQz0PokXarBCxbqzbQCuZ3MjkHZ.1

We also have some fun events coming up this Spring and we hope you will consider volunteering to help make them a huge success!

🗓️ Our next PTA meeting

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

6pm in the Media Center at UPES

You can view all our upcoming meetings and see the presentations and notes from past meetings on the PTA website here: https://www.upespta.com/meetings

🪩Glow Dance

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Get ready to shine at the Glow Dance on Saturday, March 14!

More details coming soon! Interested in helping out? You can sign up to volunteer on our website: https://www.upespta.com/volunteer

🌸Azalea Classic

Saturday, May 2, 2026

It’s not too early to mark your calendar for our annual Azalea Classic, the PTA’s spring 1K/1-mile/5K fundraiser. This year, the race will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2026. We need volunteers year-round to make the event a success—email upesazaleaclassic5K@gmail.com if you want to learn how you can help!

With gratitude,

The PTA Board:

- Amy Chester, PTA President

- Rheanne Wirkkala, PTA Vice President

- Elise Christopher, PTA Treasurer

- Nicole Hand, PTA Secretary

The University Park Elementary School PTA is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to come together, engage in meaningful discussions about how to support the teachers and staff, and contribute to enhancing our school community.

Visit our website (https://www.upespta.com) to learn more about the PTA, how you can get involved, and join the UPES PTA Listserv.

Monday, January 26-Early Dismissal, 10:45 a.m.

Monday, February 16-Presidents' Day, Schools and offices closed

Tuesday, February 17-Friday, February 20-Virtual Honor Roll Assemblies (Grs. 2-5)

Thursday, February 26-Blacks in Wax Museum, 6:00 p.m.

1. School finder...know what school your child belongs to… Buscador de escuelas... sepa a qué escuela pertenece su hijo... http://gis.pgcps.org/schoolfinder/

Registration requirements...know exactly what you need to register your child... / Requisitos de inscripción... sepa exactamente qué necesita para inscribir a su hijo...

https://www1.pgcps.org/registration/

2. Lunch...apply for free/reduced meals... / Almuerzo... solicitar comidas gratuitas/reducidas... https://www.myschoolapps.com/ |

Email: upark@pgcps.org
Website: https://www1.pgcps.org/universitypark/
Location: 4315 Underwood Street, University Park, MD, USA
Phone: 301-985-1898
Facebook: facebook.com/UniversityParkElementary-PGCPS
Twitter: @UPSoaringEagles