PES Community PANDA Report

• Monday, September 1 - Schools and Offices Closed
• Friday, September 5 - PTA Welcome Back Picnic 5:00PM
• Monday, September 8 - Back to School Night 4:00-5:00PM
• Week of September 15 - Safety Week (See flyer below)
• Monday, September 15 - PTA Meeting 6:00PM
• Friday, September 19 - Mid-Term Quarter 1/ Fair Day - School Dismisses 3.5 Hrs Early (12:00PM)
• Monday, September 22 - School Picture Day (Flyer to come)
• Tuesday, September 23 - School Closed for Students
• Friday, September 26 - School Dismisses 2 Hrs Early (1:30PM)
• Thursday, October 2 - School Closed for Students

Greetings PES Families,

Welcome back to Parkway Elementary! Our 2025–26 theme, “Finding Our Way,” is about helping every child set goals, reflect on growth, and build the habits that lead to success. Thank you to everyone who joined us for Popsicles & the Playground (Sun, Aug 10) and Open House (Fri, Aug 15)—your energy set the tone for a fantastic start. We loved kicking off the first day together with our flag-raising on the blacktop!

This year, you’ll see us living our PANDA values every day—Positive Attitude, Respect, Initiative, Determination, and Empathy. These guide our learning, our friendships, and the way we care for our school community.

Teaching & Learning Highlights

• Panda Path (MTSS) Block: Each week, all students get targeted time for just-right practice or extension in reading and math. Grade-level teams will use the Accelerated Learning Process to track progress and adjust supports quickly.

• Strong Tier 1 Instruction: Co-teaching, small-group routines, and high-quality materials ensure every student has access to grade-level learning with the right scaffolds.

Safety & Belonging

• We’ll conduct our September Safety Week drills the week of Sept 15 (evacuation, secure/hold, shelter, and lockdown). Practicing calmly and age-appropriately helps everyone feel prepared and safe.

• Please review our arrival/dismissal procedures and be mindful of crosswalks and staff directions—thank you for keeping our pandas safe.

Stay Connected

• Look for classroom updates, celebrations, and quick reminders from teachers each week.

• If your contact info changes, let the office know so you don’t miss important messages.

• Attendance matters—being on time and in school each day sets students up for success.

Dates to Remember

• Mon, Sept 8, 4:00–5:00 PM — Back to School Night

• Week of Sept 15 — Safety Week Drills

• Oct 13 & 14, 4:00–8:00 PM; Oct 15, 12:30–4:00 PM — Parent-Teacher Conferences (sign-up info coming soon)

As always, my door is open. Thank you for partnering with us to make Parkway a place where every child can find their way and thrive. Here’s to a joyful, safe, and successful start!

Yours in Education,

John Ridenour, Jr.

Principal

• Welcome Back Picnic next Friday 9/5 at 5pm on the playground
• First PTA Meeting 9/15 at 6pm in the Media Center and online
• Rita's Fundraiser night 9/10 from 4-8pm
• Join "Parkway Elementary PTA 2025-2026" on Facebook for more information on PTA events
• Order Spirit Wear  https://pandaparkway.itemorder.com/shop/home/
• Join PTA  http://parkwaypta.org

Kindergarten: We are delighted to welcome Ms. Brandi Searfoss to Parkway Elementary School as our new Kindergarten teacher for the 2025–2026 school year. Ms. Searfoss brings a wealth of experience as an Elementary School teacher and a deep passion for early childhood education. Her commitment to fostering a nurturing and engaging learning environment will undoubtedly benefit our youngest learners as they embark on their educational journey.

Attention Kindergarten- Second Grade Families!

This year, your child will be bringing home paper copies of decodable texts. These texts reflect the phonics skills that we focus on in school. As the year progresses, the complexity of these short texts will increase as new skills are introduced. It is important for readers to understand the phonics patterns within the words they read and then to be able to transfer these patterns to their writing. These decodable texts are part of daily instruction but can also be used at home to support learning. Here are some suggestions to use with your child at home when reading these decodable texts:

• Please have your child reread this selection aloud to you to reinforce the skills learning in class
• Ask your child questions about the text
• Underline words that match the target phonics pattern. Circle verbs, box nouns and draw a squiggly line under adjectives and adverbs.
• Practice handwriting by copying the sentences onto lined paper.
• Improve elaboration skills by writing a sentence on each page that would expand the story.
• Retell the story in your own words.
• Tell or write a sequel to the story. Try to Include pictures or words with the same phonic skills.

Thank you for your support in helping to build, strengthen, and extend your child’s reading skills this year!

Grades 3-5

Be on the lookout for Family Connection Newsletters as supplemental information to our High Quality Instructional Curriculum resource that is used in the classroom. Students have been working on completing their iReady diagnostic and settling in to their ELA routines.

We heard through the grapevine that there are two new members of the Panda Pack! Amy Gaudaen is our new School Counselor, and Jesie Crouse is our new Behavior Support Specialist. Below are some tips from Ms. Gaudaen and Ms. Crouse for our pandas' families!

A quick tip to start the year off: consistent reminders of expectations paired with positive reinforcement assists with keeping our students on task and following expectations set at school. Having consistency between home and school by using P.R.I.D.E. at home when going through daily routines and setting home expectations can make the transition back to school easier.

-Ms. Gaudaen & Ms. Crouse

Here’s how to access i-Ready at home:

written directions / video directions

1. Using your child’s FCPS credentials, log into Chrome.

2. Sync the Chrome browser so your child's profile and bookmarks show up.

3. Open FCPS Bookmarks

*If you have questions about your child's log-in credentials, please contact their classroom teacher.

FCPS implemented the Student Code of Conduct last year to ensure all students have a safe and supportive school environment. The goal of the Student Code of Conduct is to ensure all students, staff, and families have a clear understanding of our commitment, how we will respond when challenges arise, and how our support is clear and consistent across all schools.

In every classroom, students are expected to adhere to the following expectations:

• Positive Attitude
• Respect
• Initiative
• Determination
• Empathy

Please take a moment to reinforce with your student these expectations; together we can ensure that each and every student reaches their full potential.

We are excited to inform you that Frederick County Public Schools offers SchoolCash Online as our preferred method of payment for all school fees, including everything from field trips to fundraisers. Our SchoolCash Online page can be found here: https://frederickcounty.schoolcashonline.com/.

Register now!

Registering for your free SchoolCash Online account takes less than two minutes! Visit https://frederickcounty.schoolcashonline.com/ and click Register.

Should you encounter any difficulties, please contact the SchoolCash Online parent help desk by visiting schoolcashonline.com/Home/Support.

• Convenient and Easy to Use--Available 24/7
• Safe-avoids having students carry cash and checks
• Saves Time--shows payments & order history in one place

To access the FCPS school meal app, go to the parent portal at http://linqconnect.com/ where you can:

- Apply for meal benefits (FARM)

- View menus, meal prices and a la carte prices

- Add money to student accounts

- Transfer funds between students

- View student meal transactions

- Set low-balance notifications

Email: John.Ridenour@fcps.org
Website: https://edu.fcps.org/pes/
Location: 300 Carroll Parkway, Frederick, MD, USA
Phone: (227) 203-1380