RES Family Update

March:

19 - 5th Grade Panoramic & Group/Club Pictures

- PTA Smecil Day

21 - 1 PM Dismissal Day for Students

- PTA Meeting 5:30 PM/PTA Movie Night following the meeting

25 - Grade 3 Field Trip - Chesapeake Environmental Center - Fox and Brown - 9:15 - 1:45

26 - Grade 3 Field Trip - Chesapeake Environmental Center - Frantum & Brian - 9:15 - 1:45

28 - Spring Pictures

April:

1 - Board of Ed Meeting - 6:00 PM

2 - 1 PM Dismissal - End of Q3

3 - 5th grade Field Trip - Ches Bay Envir Center - Baughman & McMahon - 9:30 - 2:00

4 - 5th grade Field Trip - Ches Bay Envir Center - Gieraltowski & Manship - 9:30 - 2:00

- Gr 4 - Sultana Trip #1 - Bledsoe & Mitchell - 9:00 - 2:00

7 - Gr 4 - Sultana Trip #2 - Parks & Hart - 9:00 - 2:00 PM

At the January board meeting, the Board voted to amend the 2024-2025 calendar as needed following our inclement weather days. Please see all the details on the website news post:

carolineschools.org/article/1981318

Revised calendars are available on the website calendar page.

The 2025-2026 Application for a Change of Student School Assignment is available online from March 1 through June 1. Please visit the Caroline County Public Schools webpage for requirements and application.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgQts1JNWn7uIPYYf30vNR3bLnlef7B5HnydCCNeumSUzwJw/viewform?usp=header

We're getting a mobile cafe! Caroline Food Services is happy to announce the addition of a mobile cafe that will be available for all schools to reserve as a place for students to gather in a booth and enjoy lunch with classmates. It will also be available for staff and community enjoyment and include chef demos, art activities, a free little library and more! The only thing that's missing is a name for the bus. Can students help with that?

The Name That Bus Contest is open to all Caroline County Public School students! The deadline is March 25 and submissions may be made at tinyurl.com/3pwya3s5. We can't wait to see what students suggest!

Caroline County Public Schools is aware of concerns regarding recent changes to U.S. immigration policy and enforcement. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has provided guidance which reinforces our own belief that every student—regardless of immigration status—receives the support they need from our educational system. Please visit the CCPS website for complete information.

The Board of Education is currently considering revisions to the Dress Code Policy. Please visit the district website for complete details and information on providing feedback.

Caroline Families, start your summer planning now with a FREE PROGRAM for rising 6th, 7th 8th and 9th graders!

Summer Career Enrichment Program

Session I: July 7 - July 17, 2025

Session II: July 14 - July 31, 2025

Location: Easton High School (free transportation provided)

This program will engage students in hands-on activities that lead to career paths in cybersecurity, media arts, video design, health, computer science, and engineering.

Classes offered will include: Animation, App Development, Careers in Healthcare, Chess, Cyber Security, Drones, Media Arts, Presentation/Graphic Design, and Robotics.

The program is in partnership the People for Change Coalition, Mid-Shore Regional Council, Rural Maryland Council, and Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot County Public Schools.

For more info: contact@pfcoalition.org, 310-772-1552

Choptank Community Health: School Based Health Care

Ridgely Elementary School: Tues/Thurs 8-4

In collaboration with the Caroline County Health Department and Choptank Community Health, we are working to prevent the spread of colds and flu in our schools. Please review the following measures that will aid in keeping your family healthy.

• If your child is sick, especially with a fever*, keep him or her at home until he or she has been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

*Fever: oral temperature of 100° or more, or ear or forehead temperature of 100.4° or higher

• Follow up with your child’s health care provider if he/she becomes ill.

• Encourage your child to cover his/her mouth and nose with tissues when sneezing or coughing. If a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into the bend of the elbow.

• Remind your child to wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

• Remind your child to keep his or her hands away from the face.

• Avoid being around people who are sick.

• Make sure your child and family members receive a seasonal flu and COVID vaccine if recommended by their doctor.

• Make the school aware of new or changed contact numbers so that we may reach you promptly.

The staff at each school will be reinforcing these measures with the students. In addition, we are asking that if your child is at home sick with a fever and symptoms of an influenza-like illness (cough, sore throat, sneezing, runny nose), please let your child’s school nurse know. This will enable CCPS to track and identify patterns of illness more quickly.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your school’s Health Room, or your school’s School Based Health Centers.

Please remember, for all notifications, parent/guardian numbers and emails are taken directly from information provided by the family in PowerSchool. Staff contact information is taken directly from the Employee Access Center.

School delays and closings are shared via:

• a phone call, text, and email through our notification system

• a message on the CCPS Mobile App the district website (carolineschools.org)

• social media: Facebook (Caroline County Public Schools and all school pages), and Instagram (carolineschoolsmd)

• some local news and radio stations

The process for making weather-related decisions is outlined on carolineschools.org.

Need to provide or update your student's information? Parent/Guardians should use the Year Round Form, also in the parent portal in PowerSchool.

Visit carolinecps.powerschool.com and log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal. (You must log in via a browser, not the app.)

From the Parent Portal:

1. Select the student you wish to update along the top.

2. Select the Student Information Update form icon on the left side for the applicable school year.

3. Verify the student's date of birth.

4. Select ‘Begin Form’.

If you are unable to access either form, please contact the school to update your child's information. This information is also available on the district website.

Parents, please be sure to remind your children to check the LOST and FOUND located in the cafeteria. We already have a number of sweatshirts, light jackets, and at least one lunch box in the lost and found..

Using precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses when you are sick is a core prevention strategy to lower risk from respiratory viruses. CDC guidance for when people may have a respiratory virus is as follows:

● Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren't better explained by another cause. These symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, muscle or body aches, runny nose, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, among others.

● You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:

○ Your symptoms are getting better overall, and

○ You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).

● When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors. These additional precautions are especially important to protect people with factors that increase their risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses.

Spam filters are designed to identify emails that attackers or marketers use to send unwanted or dangerous content. They also throw out malware, malicious, and virus-infested emails and protect user security. Unfortunately, spam filtering is an inexact science that at times blocks legitimate messages.

Should you send an email to a staff member and not receive a reply within a reasonable amount of time (no more than 48 hours), please call the office.

Caroline County Public Schools prohibits discrimination in its educational programs, and in employment, on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or disability.

Use the link below to review the Parent Guide to the Code of Student Conduct

https://5il.co/2twdh

Please use this form to report incidents of bullying, harassment or intimidation of a Caroline County Public Schools student.

https://www.carolineschools.org/forms/bullying-harassment-or-intimidation-reporting-form

Parents Right to Know:

The Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) contains several provisions that promote a parent/school partnership through communication. One such provision gives parents the right to ask for and receive information about the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers. A parent may request the following information:

• Any college or university degree, major or certification held by the teacher
• Whether the teacher is certified by the State of Maryland to teach a particular grade level or subject area
• Whether the teacher holds a conditional teaching certificate
• The qualifications of the paraprofessionals serving the student
  

If you would like to request the professional qualifications of your child’s classroom teachers or paraprofessionals, please submit a written request to the principal. The principal will provide the information to you within 30 business days of the date of your request.

Parents may also request information on the level of achievement and academic growth of their child, if applicable and available, on each of the State academic assessments.

Parents will receive timely notice if the student has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

Parents May Request Teacher Information:

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 provides parents of students attending Title 1 schools the opportunity to request information about the professional qualifications of their child's teachers. Parents of elementary students may request in writing to the school principal information about their child's teacher including college/university degrees of certification held, subject area of the teacher's degree or certification, and Maryland certification status. Additionally, if your child is served by paraprofessionals, parents may request their professional qualifications.

Parent Information Resource Center:

Parents are encouraged to visit our Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC) located in the lobby outside of the front office. The PIRC has a variety of parenting resources and informational brochures and flyers. These materials are all free. Parents can find the School Improvement Plan, RES School Family Engagement Compact, booklets from The Parent Institute on topics such as “Seven Habits of Highly Responsible Students; Help Your Child Balance School and Extracurricular Activities; and Helping Children Learn to Resolve Conflicts.” Parents can also find information regarding Caroline County Recreation and Parks, Caroline County Library, Imagination Library and Maryland Department of Health . Please be sure to check out our Parent Information Resource Center next time you come to the school.

OFFICE HOURS:

The RES front office will be open Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 4:15 PM.

Use the link below to view the school calendar:

carolineschools.org/page/school-calendar

Email: sutton.lee@ccpsstaff.org
Website: ridgelyes.org
Location: 118 North Central Avenue, Ridgely, MD 21660
Phone: 410 479 3243