DATES TO REMEMBER:

December 6                         School Spirit Day - Crazy Hair Day

Dec 6 - 10                             Inclusive Schools Week

December 9                         Virtual Chat & Chew w/ Admin meet.google.com/pjc-fvmw-auk

December 15               Half Day for Students - Dismissal at 12:55pm

December 22                       Last Day of School Before Winter Break

Dec 23- Jan 2                     Schools Closed - Winter Break

January 3                             School Starts Again

 

 

 

Guilford Family and Friends,

Our staff enjoyed meeting with parents for fall parent/teacher conferences. We believe strongly that it takes all of us to help each child grow and learn. Your partnership in this endeavor will help your children succeed!

As we move through December, we need your continued help. Please make sure you are encouraging your children to only say things that are nice, to keep their hands to themselves and to make good choices while they are at school. We want every child to come to school feeling safe. If they feel there is a conflict, they should definitely share this with their classroom teacher or our guidance counselor, Mrs. Clarke. We can then help them work through any issues.

I want to sincerely thank Mrs. Lauren Bauer for being my substitute principal while I was out for surgery. It is an incredible feeling when you know your school is in good hands and you are able to spend your time healing. Mrs. Bauer was actually my childrens’ principal when they were students at Rockburn ES, so I knew first hand the school would be well taken care of. I look forward to returning on December 6th.

We hope to see many of you at our next Virtual Chat & Chew this Thursday at 5:30pm. Please see the information in the newsletter below for logging in and for submitting questions ahead of time. As always, please feel free to contact me or Mrs. Guide if you need anything or have any questions.

~Mrs. Lannon, Principal

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

December Chat & Chew

Join Mrs. Lannon and Mrs. Guide for our next virtual Chat & Chew on December 9th from 5:30 - 6:30pm. Please use this Google Meet link to join us: meet.google.com/pjc-fvmw-auk

To assist us with the topics that you would like us to address, please use THIS GOOGLE FORM to submit topics and questions.

Reading Foundational

Our Kindergarten through Grade 5 students (except those who have Special Education IEP Goals for Reading) will be bringing home a notice with the title: Screener for Students with Reading Difficulties. In accordance with Maryland's Ready to Read Act (2019), COMAR (2021) and the HCPSS Board of Education, Kindergarten through Grade 5 students were screened for specific reading foundational skills. The letter explains this screener more in depth. Please note that the DIBELS Screener is one point of data among many that are collected to assess a child's reading skills. The DIBELS screener is different from the MAP Assessment. If your child is identified as a student who will receive supplemental instruction, it is noted on the letter. The length of time of supplemental instruction will be determined by your child's successful demonstration of the skills being addressed.

For more information about the universal screener and possible supplemental support, please visit the Family and Community Resources section on the HCPSS English Language Arts page and click on the Ready to Read Act link at the bottom of the page. 

 

Inclusive Schools Week

Inclusive Schools Week provides another opportunity for our students, school staff and families to come together to celebrate the accomplishments of schools in acknowledging and accepting students with disabilities as full members of their school communities. This year’s theme is Rebuilding Our Inclusive Community Together. Throughout this week, students will be hearing historical information about persons with disabilities and/or landmark legislation pertaining to disability rights and advocacy. 

 

Close Adult Support for Special Needs Students

We are in need of 3 adults to hire for this position. For the close adult support position, you would apply through an outside agency that staffs these positions in our schools. The position is for 6-hours each day, Monday-Friday and we currently need to hire 2 people. We also frequently need subs for this role, as well. Click here to learn more and apply.

 

 Absences

If your child is absent at any point this school year, please send an email to gesabsence@hcpss.org and your child’s homeroom teacher. In your email please include your child’s first and last name, date of the absence and the reason.

Quarantine Procedures

The close contact and quarantining procedures that were put into place last year will remain this fall. Only unvaccinated students and adults who are identified as close contacts must quarantine. Vaccinated students and staff will not be required to quarantine unless they receive a positive test or are displaying symptoms, but are expected to monitor their symptoms closely for the 14 days. Instructional supports are in place for students who must quarantine.

 

Additional Benefits of FARMS (Free and Reduced Meals)

FARMS eligibility provides discounts for summer school, recreation programs, Maryland Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), internet programs, SAT and ACT tests, and much more. Families must submit a new application every school year.

Any student who has not filled out an application up to the 30th school day will have their prior year status changed until a new application is received. 

Parents/guardians are highly encouraged to fill out the applications by October 15th. Apply for school meal benefits the easy way. MySchoolApps is the fast and secure way to apply for free and reduced meals online. www.myschoolapps.com

Guilford Elementary School PTA

Stay connected with our amazing PTA by joining their Facebook page. You can join by clicking on THIS LINK. You can also follow them on their website HERE. One of the most important things the PTA does for Guilford ES, is to support our students with fun events, assemblies and activities. In order to do this, they need you to join the PTA! You can join by going HERE.

 

COMMUNITY NEWS & EVENTS

In response to community requests for resources, HCPSS’ new Community News and Programs website makes it easy for families to find educational and recreational resources, events and after-school programs beyond the school day by non-profit organizations.

Community organizations requesting their announcements be shared in school newsletters should visit community-programs.hcpss.org for more information. Questions should be directed to the Public Information Office at publicinfo@hcpss.org.

 

TITLE 1 INFORMATION

Guilford Elementary School is a Title I School-wide Program school. Title I is a federally funded program designed to close achievement gaps and ensure all children have an opportunity to access a high-quality education by providing funding for supplemental academic services and supports. 

A Family-School Compact & Plan is an agreement between families, students, and teachers that is jointly developed and distributed to all families. It explains how families, students, and teachers will work as a team to make sure all students meet with success and get the support they need to achieve grade level goals.  

The Guilford Elementary School Family School Compact and Calendar of Events can be found here http://ges.hcpss.org/sites/default/files/ges-title-I-compact-calendar.pdf for English; http://ges.hcpss.org/sites/default/files/ges-title-I-compact-calendar-spa.pdf for Spanish and on the Guilford Elementary School Title I can be found here  http://ges.hcpss.org/about/title-i-program. 

If you have any questions, please ask your child’s teacher at your upcoming parent teacher conference.  If you have any input or feedback, please contact Donna Bethune Brown at donna_bethune-brown@hcpss.org.