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Greetings LWES Community!

What a wonderful week at Laurel Woods! Thank you to our families for joining us, sharing your feedback, and partnering with us to support our students. During our Annual Title I Meeting, families who attended the whole-group session learned more about how our Title I and Community Schools funding supports our school. Families also provided valuable feedback to help shape our Title I plan for this school year. Our team is reviewing your input, and we hope to share our updated plan during Parent/Teacher Conferences in November, if not sooner.

Following our Title I meeting, our PTO hosted its annual Ice Cream Social. It was a beautiful evening with a wonderful turnout! We hope you enjoyed connecting with other families, learning more about our PTO, and considering ways to get involved.

We also want to give a huge shout-out to our families for partnering with us on our first half day of the school year on Wednesday, September 30th! Students entered Laurel Woods to the smell of popcorn, and school-wide attendance reached 92.5%- up from 86.1% on the half day last September! A special thank-you goes to our Family Resource Center for making sure every student enjoyed buttery popcorn and to our teachers for supporting the celebration with a fun movie.

Thank you for helping your children be here and ready to learn. Together, we are reinforcing the importance of attending school every day while making Laurel Woods a place where students feel connected, excited to learn, and eager to return. Keep an eye out for more fun attendance initiatives coming your way!

~Dr. Burks, Ms. Geiser, & Dr. Andrade

A huge shout-out to Mr. Curry Jr., Mr. Asante, Mr. Carter, and Ms. Streeter for all they do to keep Laurel Woods clean, welcoming, and ready for our students each day!

From greeting students with a smile to helping set up and clean up for our many school events, our custodial team plays an important role in making these opportunities possible for our school community. The next time you see them, please take a moment to say thank you and let them know how much we appreciate their hard work!

Our children have a lot to learn each year and our curriculum offices have provided a great resource for families to help you understand the material and provide suggestions on how you can support learning at home.

Take a moment to look at each of the different grade level Family Community Canvas pages. Make sure you click on the yellow bar in the right corner, to find specific information on each curriculum area.

Grade PreK

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Learning Behaviors are learned actions that enable students to access learning and interact with others productively in the community. These behaviors are developed in and outside of school. They complement the curriculum content taught in the elementary grades and are a natural part of learning about oneself while interacting with others. Learning Behaviors are reported on during each quarterly report card. Please read more HERE.

It’s that time of year again! Our biggest event of the year, TRUNK-OR-TREAT, is just a few weeks away!

Want to join in the fun? You can:

• Sign up to decorate a trunk and hand out treats!

• Donate candy to help fill our trunks!

• Donate non-candy treats, goodies, or fidgets for students to enjoy!

Sign-up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050A45A5AA22A0F58-66355905-tunk

Let’s make this year’s Trunk-or-Treat a fun and memorable event for our LWES community! We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Upcoming PTO Events October

*10/13/26- Meadowfarms Fundraiser Begins

*10/15/26- Trunk or Treat 5-8pm

*10/18/26- PTO Garden Club 9:30-11am

*10/22/26-Noodles and Co Dine Out- 🍜 (Location:Towne Centre at Laurel 14700 Baltimore Ave, Laurel, MD 20707)

*11/19/26- PTO Meeting via Zoom

Join Us & Get Involved!

We believe our school community is stronger when families come together! 💙 We encourage all families to participate in school events, activities, and celebrations throughout the year. Whether you can volunteer your time, attend an event, share your talents, or simply show your support, every contribution makes a difference.

We also invite you to become a PTO member! PTO membership is a wonderful way to stay connected, support our students and teachers, and help make meaningful experiences possible for our school community.

Your voice. Your involvement. Our students. Our community.We hope you’ll join us at upcoming events and consider becoming a PTO member. Together, we can make this a wonderful school year for every child! 🌟

October

• 10/08: 4:30-6:15pm Kindergarten & 1st Grades Family Night
• 10/12- 10/16: National School Lunch Week
• 10/13: PTO Meadowfarms Fundraiser Begins
• 10/15: 5:00-8:00pm PTO Trunk or Treat
• 10/16: School closed for students- Staff Workday
• 10/18: 9:30-11:00am PTO Garden Club
• 10/22: PTO Noodles and Co Dine Out- 🍜 (Location:Towne Centre at Laurel 14700 Baltimore Ave, Laurel, MD 20707)
• 10/27: 4:30-6:15pm 2nd & 3rd Grades Family Night; End of 1st Quarter
• 10/28: School closed for students- Staff Professional Learning/Workday

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

As we move into the second half of the first quarter, please take a moment to check your child’s grades and celebrate the progress they’ve made so far!

If your child is in PreK–2nd grade and has an L (Limited/No Progress Toward Meeting Expectations of the Curriculum Standards) or 3 (Limited/No Progress Towards Expectations) in any subject, please consider reaching out to their teacher. If your child is in 3rd–5th grade and has a D (D = Making insufficient progress toward expectations (69% – 40%) or E (E = Limited / No progress toward expectations (39% or below), we encourage you to do the same. Connecting now gives us a chance to talk about what your child is learning and how we can work together to support them.

How can you check your child’s grades? Download the Canvas Parent app to view them anytime, anywhere. Follow the directions below to get started.

Arriving at school on time on testing days is very important. If your child is absent, however, makeup opportunities will be provided within the testing window.

There is no need for students to study or prepare for the MAP assessment. As always, we encourage students to get a good night’s sleep and eat their normal breakfast before coming to school.

MAP results help our teachers and school teams understand each student’s current academic performance and measure their growth over time. The assessment does not impact students’ grades and is adaptive, meaning the difficulty of the questions adjusts based on how each student responds.

To learn more about the MAP assessment, families can visit the NWEA MAP Family Toolkit. https://www.nwea.org/the-map-suite/common-questions-families/

The Howard County Literacy Association invites students in grades 1-5 to submit their original poems and/or short stories to the annual writing contest called The Young Authors' Contest. Please see the attached Young Authors’ Contest Guidelines (link Guidelines PDF) for information about the rules and guidelines. Stories and poems must be typed and saved as a Word Doc or Google Doc. All entries must have a completed YAC Cover Sheet sent as a PDF. Submissions may be emailed to reenie_kraft@hcpss.org by January 13, 2027. Contact Reenie Kraft with any questions. All Young Authors’ Contest information can be found on the HCLA website.

Howard County Literacy Association welcomes parents as members. Visit the HCLA Welcome Page for information about joining.

Each year, all families must verify and update their Family File in HCPSS Connect. This is more than just a form—it’s essential to keeping your child safe and fully included in school experiences.

Accurate Family File information ensures we can quickly and effectively respond in the event of an emergency. It is also required for students to participate in field trips—and some grade levels already have trips scheduled early in the school year.

Please take a few minutes to complete this important step now. Click the button below to update your Family File today!

What you need to know:

• Family File must be completed every school year for every student.
• Parents/guardians must log in using their own credentials (not their child’s account).
• Your username is the email address provided at registration. If needed, you can reset your password directly from the login page.

What you’ll update:

• Family and parent/guardian contact information
• Emergency contacts
• Student information, including health details
• Permissions (directory, media release, etc.)
• Arrival/dismissal procedures
• Technology and program-related information

Please be sure to identify phone numbers as mobile to receive important text messages, including emergency alerts and weather-related updates.

New this year: Families can select additional race categories, including a Middle Eastern/North African option, in alignment with state guidance.

If you need support, members of our Family Resource Center will be available between Tuesday- Friday 8:45am-9:30am and 2:30pm-3:00pm this week to help. Please stop by the front office to log in.

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. During the first 30 school days, students with FARMs eligibility from the prior school year will continue to receive benefits. 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 (and you can change the language of the form on the top left of the page)
• 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, school staff are available to support you and your child. Please stop by the front office and we would be happy to assist you.

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.

Resources to help with this program

• Direct link to apply for Free and Reduced Meals
• FARMs paper applications - In print production, to be delivered to schools and made available to families
• HCPSS Free and Reduced Meals webpage
• FARMs participation additional opportunities
• HCPSS FARMs FAQs

Please help us spread the word with families! The Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP) Saturday Math Academy is returning for the Fall 2026 session.

Certified teachers will provide engaging math instruction and enrichment for HCPSS students in grades 3–12 of all ability levels.

📅 Saturdays, October 10 – November 21
⏰ 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
📍 Lake Elkhorn Middle School
💲 $80 or $40 for FARMS-eligible families

Registration opens Saturday, September 19 at 9:00 a.m. and will remain open until capacity is reached.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® – Iota Lambda Omega Chapter, in partnership with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. – Kappa Phi Lambda Chapter and the Pearl Foundation, Inc., invites Howard County residents to our Annual Coat Day, a FREE community event providing winter coats and cold-weather accessories to individuals and families in need, while supplies last.

📅 Saturday, October 10, 2026 | 12:00–2:30 PM
📍 St. John Baptist Church, 9055 Tamar Drive, Columbia, MD