Seahawk News

We look forward to seeing you next week! The BOE has approved a new cell phone policy for the system. Please see the info below:

CCPS Phone-Free School Day: New Expectations for 2026–2027

Beginning this school year, CCPS students may not use personal electronic communications devices during the school day—from the time they enter the building until dismissal. This includes cell phones, smartwatches, tablets, earbuds, SMART Glasses, and similar devices during arrival, classes, transitions, lunch, recess, assemblies, and dismissal.

For elementary and middle school students, these expectations are largely consistent with current practice. The most significant change is at the high school level: students may no longer use cell phones during lunch.

The districtwide expectations, outlined in CCPS Policy 3175: Cell Phones in Schools, are designed to reduce distractions, support learning, strengthen face-to-face connections, and provide consistent expectations across CCPS.

If you need to reach your child during the school day, please contact your school’s main office. Thank you for partnering with us to help students stay focused, engaged, and connected.

Where does the time go? The summer break is coming to an end, but the excitement of a new school year is quickly approaching! We can't wait to welcome our Seahawks and you back to school! Each Saturday at 6:00PM, you will receive the Seahawk News. This is your pulse on what is happening in the school and important information to know. The newsletter is structured with the NEED TO KNOW information at the top. All other information is to help keep those who want to be more informed, informed. Classroom teachers will send information regarding their specific classrooms. It will repeat some information, but it will be labeled as REPEAT. Based on previous survey information, this time was chosen to help increase the likelihood of it being read. It is sent via text and email.

Ms. Patten has been working with all our new families to get registered and ready to join our SES family. As part of your registration process, Ms. Patten emailed each of you a link for a special edition of the Seahawk News that reviewed our communication system and more. Here's the link for all families to review the details. https://app.smore.com/n/ktar5

Dates to keep in mind:

Pre K and Kindergarten Staggered Start: You will receive an email from your child's teacher to schedule a conference where your child gets to meet the classroom staff and more. Conferences will be held on August 25th and 26th. Half the class, last names A-L, will attend school on August 27th while students with names M-Z do not attend. On August 28th, the M-Z students will attend while the A-L do not. On August 31st, all students attend. This allows our new students to meet others and learn some routines. Your classroom teacher will discuss which staggered start date your child will attend. Please visit this link for more info: Staggered Start Schedule: Head Start, Pre K, Kindergarten

New Families and Incoming Students Orientation: We look forward to meeting all new students and their families on Monday, August 24th at 1:00PM.

Peek at Your Seat: We will see all returning students on Monday, August 24th at 1:45 to Peek at the Seat! Feel free to drop in any time between 1:45-2:45. This is a great time to bring any class donations such as tissues or wipes that might be bulkier for students to carry.

The Supply Lists are listed on our website, and I have attached the link for your convenience. More information will be sent in the Saturday newsletter next week. We still have many families registering and will repeat information.

We have several new Seahawk staff joining us and had a few moves due to enrollment numbers. We will share all changes in the next newsletter. We are still in the process of hiring a few positions.

Our school mascot, SPIRIT, is excited to have our students and families back to school and so are we! See you soon! ~Pam Myrick, Proud SES Principal

• How do I know my child's teacher? Teachers will send an email to all students to welcome you and identify themselves as your child's teacher for the year. This will occur on Wednesday, August 19th by 5:00PM.
• Open House is scheduled for September 23rd from 5:30PM-7:00PM. It will be a blended event with food trucks and social time with other families in your child's class. More details to come.
• CCPS Parent Information- There is a great deal of information on the Parent website: Parent/Guardian Information - Calvert County Public School District (calvertnet.k12.md.us)
• Online payments for the Seat Sack and the agenda book can be found at our school website: Home - Sunderland Elementary (calvertnet.k12.md.us) Students in Kdg and new to the school are encouraged to purchase a Seat Sack. It will be used throughout elementary school and is a tool used to help with organizational skills. Only 5th grade students use an agenda book as a tool to help establish good habits that will support them in middle school and beyond.
• Laptops: All 3rd -5th graders will receive a laptop for school use. Students will be using the device at school. Laptops will not be sent home for use. Homework assignments will not require computer use.
• SES Parent Handbook: Please review the attached SES Parent Handbook. It contains a great deal of information to help you better understand our school's procedures and routines that support a safe, organized school for all. It will be in the Resource section of every weekly newsletter.
• Please register as a VOLUNTEER. If you want to attend any IN-SCHOOL event such as VIP Day, Career Day, Field Day, etc you are encouraged to be a registered approved volunteer to avoid delays. You are required to be an approved volunteer for chaperoning trips and working with students in any capacity. This is for safety of all students. Each of the special events that we have within our school day allows for you to engage with the students. You are not kept separated, instead, we have interactive activities and will need all adults (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc) who plan to attend to be an approved volunteer. The process takes less than 10 minutes. Become a Volunteer - Calvert County Public School District (calvertnet.k12.md.us)

• On the first day of school, our staff will be tagging the student’s backpack to be a bus rider or daily car rider. If your child is only being a car rider due to late registration, please let us know. We will tag them as a daily car rider until a bus is assigned for them. We would then change the tag to a bus tag.
• For Pre K and K families: Please rest assured that we have all hands on deck to make sure students are able to learn their path to their class. Teachers and assistants will be meeting students in the hall to assist them and give them clues to helping to find their class each day. The students do an amazing job within the first week!
• If you register after 8/14/26, you may not have an assigned bus immediately. They will work on route assignments, and you should hear from transportation by the end of next week.
• Daily Car Riders must complete the following link: SES 2026-2027 Daily Car Rider – Fill out form
• This information will be used for Tuesday's sign out. This form is to be completed for those who will be Daily Car Riders only. By listing adults to pick up, you are giving that adult permission to pick up your student. We encourage all students to ride the bus.
• Please tell your child that they will NOT have their name called. They are to dismiss when they hear Daily Car Riders are dismissed. This list will be shared with the teachers, too who will help the students initially.
• Please have your state issued ID at all times when entering the school to pick up your student. You will need to have your ID out to show the staff, even if we know you!
• One adult will be expected to come into the cafeteria to sign out their Daily Car Rider student(s). We will open the exterior cafeteria door at 3:50PM (1:50PM on Early Dismissal Days) to allow for students to be signed out. Promptly at 4:05PM (2:05PM on Early Dismissal Days), Daily Car Riders will be called to the cafeteria. You and your child will exit. When you sign in, you will be given a card signifying how many students you are picking up. You will turn in your card as you leave the cafeteria. If an adult is not present by 4:05PM (2:05PM on Early Dismissal Days), the student will be sent home on their assigned bus.
• If your child is a bus rider and needs to be picked up due to an appointment, please arrive at the front office before 3:45PM (1:45PM on Early Dismissal Days).Our office staff and duty staff start preparing for Daily Car Riders and bus dismissal at 3:50PM (1:50PM on Early Dismissal Days) We have a 10 minute bus window to dismiss between 600-700 students, with limited staff, so we will need to keep our focus on the dismissal process.
• Please complete the survey questions below by Monday, August 24th by 5:00PM so that we can be prepared for dismissal the first day of school. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Myrick at myrickp@calvertnet.k12.md.us or at 443-550-9390.
• Non-Daily Car Riders :
• We will permit Non-Daily Car Riders but we are not able to accommodate Drop in, Surprise Car Riders. For Non-Daily Car Riders, you MUST send a paper note, NOT AN EMAIL, with your child, EACH day that you plan for them to be a car rider. Please prepare your child and let them know that they must dismiss with the Daily Car Riders at 4:05PM when announced. We will NOT call individual students down for dismissal. Please do not send a note saying “every Tuesday” instead, send a note every Tuesday. We can not expect teachers to keep up with all students’ special request schedules. We ask that you send a paper note each day because there could be a sub in the class instead of the teacher.

EVERYONE must reapply for being a volunteer. The system was cleaned out and you must reapply. Remember, if you want to be a chaperone or work events, you must be approved. If you are an employee of CCPS, you still need to complete the volunteer process for participation in events at school.

Even if you are not sure if you will be able to attend anything, please sign up early. Here’s the CCPS link of info:

Become a Volunteer - Calvert County Public School District (calvertnet.k12.md.us)

• Morning Arrival Window: 9:15AM -9:25AM
• Instructional School Day - 9:25AM – 4:05PM
• Afternoon Dismissal Window: 4:05PM car riders; 4:10-4:20PM Bus Riders
• School Colors - Blue and White – Friday Spirit Days- Classes are assigned a Flock color as well. Your teacher will let you know your flock assignment.
• School Mascot/Motto -“SPIRIT” the Seahawk -Sunderland Promotes Independence Responsibility Integrity and Trust