Important News

Check out some of the opportunities available to HCPSS students during summer 2020.

This year the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) will continue to use Synergy Conference Management to schedule Parent Teacher Conferences on February 13th and 14th. Although parents and guardians are always welcome to communicate with teachers regarding student progress, February 13th and 14th are designated Parent Teacher Conference days focusing on mathematics as we begin the second semester of the school year. Beginning on Thursday, January 30, 2020 you can log on to HCPSS Connect to access Synergy Conference Management. You can then choose your desired conference time based on each teacher’s availability. For parents without Internet access, please contact our front office staff at 410-313-6879 for assistance in scheduling conferences. Calls coming in after 12:00 pm on Wednesday, February 12th will require scheduling a conference after February 14, 2020. Tips for Scheduling Conferences: Parent Teacher Conferences will be scheduled in 20-minute increments. To allow travel time from one teacher to the next, consider staggering your appointments to allow for full 20-minute conferences. Parents are encouraged to sign up with your students’ mathematics teacher. You can also sign up with other teachers based on their availability in Synergy Conference Management. Related Arts teachers have a limited number of conference times available in comparison to the number of students they teach. You are not required to schedule a related arts conference; however, we encourage you to schedule a conference if you have a concern or information you would like to discuss with the teacher. Parents and guardians are encouraged to sign up online or call our main office prior to February 12, 2020. If you need assistance or have questions, please contact the school directly in order to confirm your meeting date and time(s).

Our annual Friendship Fling is just a couple of weeks away. RSVP today. Flyers will be shared with students this week, but you can also download a form here: https://tinyurl.com/sqa8vlz

Free Dental Exams & Cleaning - Appointments Available Monday, Feb. 17. Click here to learn more.

The Longfellow Regional Early Childhood Center (RECC) prekindergarten programs are making preparations for classes for the 2020-2021 school year. These classes include children with and without disabilities. The program’s focus is helping all children develop communication, literacy, math, problem solving, motor, and social skills. Parents of children who will be 3 by September 1st or 4 by September 1st may obtain an application packet by contacting Cecilia Booth in the school office for an application package beginning February 3, 2020. All applications must be returned by Friday, February 28, 2020. A limited number of openings are available for children without disabilities. Children are selected based upon screening information given on the application form, completion of the “Ages and Stages Questionnaires,” and observations of the child’s participation in a playgroup. If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Lynn at (410) 313-6879.

In accordance with Maryland’s Ready to Read Act (2019), all HCPSS kindergarten students* will be administered a screener assessment that includes a battery of four one-minute reading measures (DIBELS 8th Edition) to examine their letter naming, decoding, and word reading skills. The assessments will occur throughout winter, 2020. Parents and guardians will be notified if assessment results indicate that your child would benefit from an intervention. *This includes kindergarten students who do not have a current Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) with reading foundational skills goals.

We wanted to share a brief summary of the Black History Month activities at Longfellow Elementary. It is going to be an enriching month! Volunteer opportunities Black History Month General Volunteer Opportunities Book Reader Time Slots

The 2nd Annual Advocate Night is February 5th. Sign up by 1/31 for a free 15 minute session with a special education advocate and don't forget to bring your student's IEP. The event will be held in the WLMS library from 7-9pm. We will try our best to pair you with the best advocate for your student's needs as well as schedule at one of your preferred times. We will send an email with the time by Monday Feb 3rd. https://forms.gle/EThWa9ixijYLGePL8 The topic for the February 12th SECAC meeting is the State of Reading in HCPSS. Members of Decoding Dyslexia Howard County and HCPSS Staff will present information on struggling readers, dyslexia and Ready to Read Act implementation. Questions can be pre-submitted using the form below before Jan 31st. Questions will be taken at the meeting but pre-submitted questions will be answered first. https://forms.gle/arhv2wwcKfdcp5o87

The peak of the cold and flu season is upon us. To prevent widespread flu in our school, we recommend that your child stay home from school if experiencing flu or cold symptoms. It is sometimes difficult to make a decision about whether or not your child is too sick to go to school. As a general rule, your child should stay home if he/she has: A fever higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit Vomited Diarrhea A very frequent cough Persistent pain (tooth, ear, stomach, etc) A widespread rash Also, students who have been ill must stay home until they are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication. If your child has been diagnosed with the flu, please let our school nurse know for tracking and reporting purposes. Please call 410 313 6882 or email susan_mchale@hcpss.org You can learn more about how the flu is affecting our area at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/index.html Thank you for your assistance in keeping LoES students healthy and ready to learn! Please contact the health room with questions.

Bring your family to warm up from the cold winter weather! Staf will make it a cozy night with snowy read alouds and bedtime math! For more details and sign up information, view the flyer in English or Spanish.