Knightly Newsletter

Fri, 03/12/2021 - 3:09pm

Upcoming Events:

HCPSS SY 2020-21 Calendar

3/14 Daylight Savings Time (1 hour forward)

3/23 Virtual Parent Orientation for Returning 6th graders in Group A & B, 7PM

3/29 6th Grade Students in Group A return

4/1 6th Grade Students in Group B return

4/2 – 4/6 Spring Break

4/7 Virtual Parent Orientation for Returning 7th and 8th graders in Group

A & B, 7PM

4/12 7th & 8th Graders in Group A return

4/14 3hr. Early Dismissal, End of 3rd marking period

4/15 7th and 8th Graders in Group B return

Students of the Month for February

Congratulations to the following Knights who have been nominated by our staff to be the February Students of the Month. They have exhibited being Resilient, Responsible, and/or Respectful!

Student of the Month - February.pdf

Resources for Families

If students are looking to continue learning from their first semester courses or want to practice or review over the summer, the following resources may be useful. These sites include the curriculum standards, links to a variety of resources, including videos and practice/extension activities, that students and families can use to review concepts and skills.

Resources:https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/34431

HCPSS Family Mathematics Support Center: https://hcpssfamilymath.weebly.com/
English Family and Community Resources: https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/100137

Science Family and Community Resources: https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/30414

Social Studies Family and Community Resources: https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/76173

Hybrid Model

As we continue to implement the hybrid model in stages, we are keeping our website up to date with information. Please take some time to review the information that we have available:

Our New Schedule started March 1

Information to prepare for In-Person Learning

PowerPoint for families to learn more about In-Person Learning

A/B Group Designation for Hybrid Model

A/B group designation is available in HCPSS Connect. Parents/guardians may view your child’s group designation at any time by taking the following steps:

Log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy Using parent/guardian credentials.
Select Student Info from the left panel
Scroll down to the Other Data section to see the Student group for the attendance field.

Below are some important upcoming dates for students in Group A & B:

March 29-Grade 6 students in Group A return (2 days per week)

April 1-Grades 6 students in Group B return (2 days per week)

April 12-Grades 7 & 8 students in Group A return (2 days per week)

April 15-Grades 7 & 8 student in Group B return (2 days per week)

If after logging in you do not see the options, please confirm you are logged in with your credentials and not as your child. If you need additional assistance, please contact one of our secretaries at 410-313-2848.

Transportation/Bus Information

If you are eligible for, and opted into receiving transportation services, you can now login to the HCPSS Bus Stop Locator for locations and times.

Updated Attendance Reporting Procedures

Please use our "Absence Reporting School Email": pmsabsence@hcpss.org for reporting your child's absences. Please do not send paper notes to school with your child.

To view attendance information for your child, log in to HCPSS Connect and click on Attendance in the left panel.

Attendance During Hybrid In-Person/Virtual Instruction (Started March 1)

If you need additional assistance, email Lindsey Miles, School Counseling Secretary, lindsey_miles@hcpss.org.

Online Workshop: Suicide Prevention & Substance Abuse Presentation for Parents

Parents of elementary, middle, and high school students are invited to attend a powerful session entitled, "Suicide Prevention and Substance Abuse" on Saturday, March 13 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in discussion and receive valuable information as it relates to suicide prevention, substance abuse, and mental health awareness.

The Dance Obsession

Dear Students/ Parents/Guardians:

The Dance Obsession is a community program that offers free dance lessons to youth ages 9-14 (4th-8th Grades). Based in Howard County MD, our goal is to offer an opportunity to anyone who wants to learn how to dance without enrolling at a dance studio, or to anyone who is looking for a virtual extra-curricular program. Through this initiative, we hope to promote diversity and inclusion within the Howard County dance departments and in the dance community as a whole.

Taught by advanced level dancers from Howard County high schools, you can trust that The Dance Obsession will prepare you for dance classes/teams at your future high school and beyond!

Our sessions will be held through Google Meet, using your HCPSS student account. If you have any questions, please email danceobsession5678@gmail.com!

We will meet every Wednesday from 2-3 PM. Our start date is March 24th and the end date is May 19th!

The last day to sign up is March 17th! PLEASE submit ONE response. We are accepting the FIRST 50 students that sign up (PLEASE only sign up if you will actually attend)! We can not wait to dance with you!"

This program is teacher-advised by Brooke Kuhl-McClelland brooke_kuhl-mcclelland@hcpss.org (Hammond High School Dance Director/HCPSS Head of Dance) and Holli Tucci holli_tucci@hcpss.org (Oakland Mills High School Dance Director), so feel free to email them if you have any questions.

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/1eepLmxzT5JNY2ta7

From the Health Room

Medication Drop Off
Medication Drop off for all students will be every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 8:30-2.

When you arrive at the building, please go to the door and ring the buzzer. Let the front office know that you are dropping off medication and the nurse will come get the medication from you.

Please make sure all medications have a physician order, and that both the physician and the parent have signed the medication order form. All prescription medications must have the pharmacy label on the bottle. All over the counter medications must be in a new unopened bottle. Be sure to check that the medications are not expired. Please have the medications and orders clearly labelled with the student’s name and grade in a zip lock bag.

If you are unable to drop off medications during these days and times please contact the nurse at Megan_Blouse@hcpss.org or 410-313-2848 to make other arrangements.

Here is the link to medications forms:

https://www.hcpss.org/health/medications/

Parents of 6thgrade students…

Reminder that all students entering 7th grade are required by the State of Maryland to have the MCV4 and Tdap vaccines prior to the first day of 7th grade. Many students may have already received these immunizations, but the Health Room may not have the updated immunization record. Please contact your child’s doctor and email an updated copy of your child’s immunizations to Megan_Blouse@hcpss.org.

Symptom Check Everyday

To ensure students are healthy enough to attend in-person instruction, parents/guardians are to perform a symptom check every day before the student leaves home. A student having any of the following symptoms should not be sent to school and may continue to access their classrooms virtually if they are well enough to do so: Maryland Department of Health Response to COVID 19 Positive Cases or COVID 19 Like Illness https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html#cdc-chat-bot-open

1 of the following:

New onset cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing;
New loss of taste or smell; OR

2 of the following:

Fever over 100.4 or chills within the past 24 hours;
Fatigue;
Muscle or body aches;
Headache;
Sore throat;
Congestion or runny nose;
Chills or shaking chills;
Nausea or vomiting;
Diarrhea.

Additionally, students who have been in close contact (within <6 feet for a cumulative of >15 minutes over the past 24 hours with or without a mask) with anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 or is suspected of having COVID-19 (exhibiting COVID- like illness and has not tested negative after exhibiting symptoms) should not enter any HCPSS building.

Parent/guardians will assess their children for symptoms of COVID-19 illness and refrain from sending/transporting them to school until after they have been symptom-free at least 10 days after the onset of symptoms, have no fever for at least 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication, and have continued improvement of symptoms and /or medical consult with their primary care physician.

If you have any questions about when to send or not send your child to school email Megan_Blouse@hcpss.org

(Información en español)

Free Food Distribution

Free Food Distribution at Ducketts Lane ES The Catholic Community of Ascension and St. Augustine has partnered with Lancaster Foods, and we have received a grant from the US Department of Agriculture to distribute boxes of food that contain 30.5 pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, and meat. The boxes will be distributed on Saturdays in March beginning at 10:00 am and ending at noon, or earlier if the food is gone. The distribution will take place at Ducketts Lane Elementary School, 6501 Ducketts Lane, Elkridge, MD 21075, on the following dates:

Saturday, March 13, 2021

Saturday, March 20, 2021 Saturday, March 27, 2021

Each vehicle or walker will be eligible to receive one box of food, and all participants must wear a face mask during pickup. There are no income or documentation restrictions. We have requested over 2,000 boxes of food, but once the food is gone it is gone. You are welcome to come each week that the program is available to receive food. Questions? Please contact ccastafooddistribution4@gmail.com