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Dear Laurel Woods Community,

We are excited to officially reveal our school theme for the 2026–2027 school year:

🧱 Together, Let's Build a Bright Future! 🧱

This theme was selected through a school-wide voting process that included input from students, staff, and families. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped us choose a theme that reflects our shared commitment to learning, growth, collaboration, and success.

As we look ahead to next school year, we are reminded that every student, staff member, family, and community partner plays an important role in our school community. Together, we will build friendships, confidence, leadership, kindness, creativity, and a bright future for all.

We invite you to watch our theme reveal video and celebrate with us as we kick off the excitement for the year ahead!

🎥 View the Theme Reveal Video Here

We can't wait to continue building something amazing together.

Warmly,

Tanisha

We continue our end-of-year countdown, and it's unbelievable that only 18 days remain in the school year!

This week, join us for Jammie Day on Tuesday. Wear your favorite pajamas to school and get ready for a cozy day of learning and fun.

We would also like to give a huge shout-out to Community Schools for helping make our countdown activities so special. Their support ensured that every student had bubbles to enjoy on B Bubble Day, filling the playground with fun and excitement. They also provided flashlights for every student during F Flashlight Reading, helping us light up our books and create a memorable reading experience.

Thank you, Community Schools, for your continued support of our students and for helping make our upcoming spirit days and end-of-year celebrations possible! We can't wait for all the fun still to come.

Our Attendance Team hosted a Mystery Box Attendance Challenge throughout April and May. On Thursday, students successfully unlocked the Mystery Box by achieving 15 days of school-wide attendance at 95% or higher.

As part of the reward, the names of three students from each grade level were randomly selected to silly string our administrators! It was a fun surprise and a well-deserved celebration of our students' commitment to being at school each day.

To ensure everyone could join in the excitement, the event was streamed via Google Meet, allowing all students and staff to watch and celebrate together. The challenge was a great success and brought lots of laughter and school spirit to our community!

We are looking forward to meeting with you for our final Coffee and Conversation of the school year on May 29th. During our time together, we will share highlights of our work this year in the areas of reading, math, attendance, and behavior. We will also provide time and space to hear your feedback and ideas as we continue strengthening our partnership with families to support our students and help us reach our goals in these areas.

As we reflect on our school year, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our PTO President, Mrs. Golatt, for her outstanding leadership, dedication, and unwavering commitment to our school community.

Her passion for serving others, collaborative spirit, and tireless efforts have helped strengthen our school community and enrich the experiences of both students and staff. We are incredibly grateful for the many hours she has devoted to making our school a better place.

Thank you, Mrs. Golatt! 💐

Due to inclement weather, Field Day has been postponed to Friday, June 5th. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding. Please stay tuned for additional details and updates as the new date approaches. ☔🏃‍♂️🎉

As part of the A+ Partnership with HCLS, HCPSS is invited to share information and resources about summer reading with all our students and families. Please see the information below from HCLS staff.

Summer Reading 2026 Flyer Teen Summer Reading Flyer

2026 Summer Reading Adventures: Into the Wild

Sponsored by Friends & Foundation of HCLS

June 15 through August 15 read, listen, learn, connect and celebrate all summer by participating in one of our summer reading programs. For book lists, classes, events, and summer fun, visit us in person or online at hclibrary.org/summer

How to participate:

Visit one of our branches to select your Summer Reading program. Return completed gameboards by August 15 for a prize or a chance to win a prize, while supplies last.

We have a unique summer reading program for every age!

Ages birth – 4

Color in one butterfly on the gameboard for every 10 minutes you enjoy a book OR for each library class you attend. There are 10 butterflies to finish.

Ages 5-10

Color in one print on the gameboard for every 15 minutes you read or listen to a book OR for each library class you attend. There are 15 fish to finish.

Teens 11-18

Earn raffle tickets all summer long when you read, attend classes, borrow library items, or complete fun challenges. Use your tickets for chances to win awesome gift cards, with multiple winners selected at branches each month all summer long.

And there’s more—once you earn 10 tickets, you’ll automatically qualify for a chance to win a special Grand Prize! Stop by your local branch to check out what grand prizes are up for grabs.

Beyond Words

Beyond Words is designed to spark joy and ignite the imagination of young people and adults with developmental, intellectual, and cognitive disabilities. Complete ten or more activities and receive a prize! (While supplies last).

Adults 18+

Complete 3 or more reading challenges or read 3 or more books by August 15. Complete a finisher’s card to enter into end-of-summer prize drawings. All finishers receive a limited edition prize while supplies last!

Summer Reading Adventures: Into the Wild

For everyone.

Go wild at one of Howard County Library System's Summer Reading Celebration events! Activities may include crafts, games, live animals, and more. Sponsored in part by Friends and Foundation of HCLS.

To find more adventures, classes and events all summer long go to bit.ly/SummerReading26.

Questions? Contact

Cari Gast | Head of Children's Curriculum

410.313.7755 office | 410.313.7675 fax

cari.gast@hclibrary.org

The HCPSS Pre-K Program is now accepting applications for the 2026-27 school year! The Pre-K Program is offered at no cost to families who qualify and is made available to eligible children in all attendance areas. Children must be four years old on or before September 1, 2026, to be considered for fall 2026 enrollment and must also meet the eligibility criteria. Please visit the HCPSS Pre-K Program website for information about the program, eligibility criteria, and how to apply. If you have additional questions about the program, please contact the Office of Early Childhood Programs at 410-313-6836.

Families of rising middle school students enrolled in mathematics courses for the SY26–27 are encouraged to review the information linked below. This information is especially important for students who will be advancing to a math course and may not have completed all of the content from a prerequisite course due to course acceleration or placement. The resources provided can help students strengthen their understanding of key concepts and prepare for success in their upcoming math class.

• Incoming 6th Grade Students - English
• Incoming 6th Grade Students - Chinese
• Incoming 6th Grade Students - Korean
• Incoming 6th Grade Students - Spanish

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.

May

• 05.25: Memorial Day- School Closed
• 05.27: Eid ul-Adha-School Closed
• 05.29: 8:45am Coffee and Conversation w/Admin

June

• 06.02: 5th Grade Simulated Congressional Hearings (SCH)
• 06.03: 9:00am FSP Steering Committee Meeting
• 06.04: 5:30-7:00pm- PTO Block Party
• 06.05: LWES Field Day Rain Date
• 06.08: HCPL Summer Reading Presentation; NEW - June 8: Full Day for Students - NEW
• 06.16-06.18: Early Dismissal, 12:15 pm
• 06.16: 8:30am 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony
• 06.17: 5th Grade Picnic
• 06.18: Last day for students

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

On Wednesday, we welcomed our Jr. Panthers to Laurel Woods for a special kindergarten visit. Our rising kindergarteners had the opportunity to visit classrooms and begin learning what kindergarten will feel like, while parents and guardians received information and resources on how to best prepare and support their children for next year. It was wonderful to see the excitement and enthusiasm from our Jr. Panthers, and we cannot wait to officially welcome them to the Laurel Woods family next school year!

On Friday, we celebrated the diversity that makes our community so special during Culture Night. From the delicious foods to the incredible performances and dances, the evening was a beautiful reflection of the many cultures, traditions, and experiences represented within our school community. It was truly an opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness that brings us together and makes Laurel Woods such a special place.

On Saturday, our students participating in Get on the Bus, the county soccer league, wrapped up their final games of the season. Throughout the season, our student-athletes demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship, teamwork, perseverance, and grit. We are so proud of their hard work and dedication both on and off the field!

We know the weather is getting beautiful and summer is calling! However, May is an important “bridge” month, where students connect everything they’ve learned this year to the expectations and skills they will need for next year.

Our Tip: Help your child keep their “school brain” active by maintaining a consistent bedtime and arriving at school on time each day. Missing these final weeks can make the transition to the next grade much more challenging. Let’s work together to finish the year strong!

Join us for our Middle School Transition Night as we help students and families prepare for an exciting next step at Murray Hill Middle School!

📅 Tuesday, May 19
🕔 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
📍 Laurel Woods Elementary School
🍽️ Grab-and-go dinner provided
✨ Sponsored by Title I

Participants will have the opportunity to:

• Meet administrators and student support staff from Murray Hill Middle School

• Learn about important middle school topics and expectations

• Participate in interactive Q&A sessions with middle school staff and students

• Connect with other incoming middle school families

We hope you will join us for an informative and welcoming evening as we support a smooth transition to middle school!

If you would like to volunteer at field day this year, please read through all the information in the link below and complete if you would like to volunteer. You only need to complete one of the forms if you would like to volunteer.

Students who participated in the “Read and Hit a Home Run” reading program received their Bowie Baysox tickets last Friday! We are excited for students and families to enjoy the game on Friday, May 22nd.

Thank you to everyone who stepped up to the plate and made reading part of the fun! We are so proud of our readers and look forward to even more students joining in on the reading fun next year. Batter up!

For questions, please contact Mrs. Ozuzu.