Mays Chapel Elementary School

Labs Lead the Way…. http://mayschapeles.bcps.org

Twitter@Team_MCES

Stephen J. Coco, Principal Kathleen M. Murray, Asst. Principal

Twitter@CocoBCPS Twitter@KMurrayBCPS

DATES TO REMEMBER October

10 PTA Meeting – 9:30 a.m. – MCES School

10 MCES Family Picnic – Padonia Park – 5:00–7:00 p.m.

17 School Closed for Students – Professional Development Day

22 Lifetouch School Picture Day

31 End of 1st Marking Period – School Closes 3 Hours Early

November

3 Half-Day Systemwide Professional Development – All Schools Close 3 Hours Early

4 Election Day – Schools and Offices Closed

13 Distribution of Report Cards

13 Prek Conference Day – No Prek A.M. or P.M. Sessions

14 Elementary Conference Day – Schools Closed for Elementary Students

17–21 American Education Week (more info coming!)

27-28 Thanksgiving Holiday – Schools and Offices Closed

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

What an incredible first month of school! Our journey began as we made history opening our

doors to the community for the first time at our well attended Sneak-A-Peak on August 25th.

The enthusiasm of our first glance carried directly over to the first day of school and beyond.

Thanks to the commitment of our wonderfully dedicated families, our a”MAYS”zing staff, and

the larger BCPS community, our students transitioned well to their new school environment.

INAUGURAL NEWSLETTER

October, 2014

Additionally, we want to thank our families for helping our school community by being mindful

of school procedures in place and those developing based on feedback and observation. Your

attention to these matters has ensured that our students are safe and ready to learn each day.

As our inaugural school year begins, we are committed to the mission of empowering our

students through a personalized learning experience. As such, our instruction will be rigorous,

relevant, accessible, and responsive. You’ll hear and read more about this in our newsletters

and throughout the year in a variety of ways. Together, we will strive for excellence as we

develop strong academic skills through learner-centered environments, strong character, and the

establishment of traditions for our new school.

Any successful school is rooted in the foundation of a strong partnership between home and

school. This will be especially important this year as we begin to develop the traditions of our

new school collectively. Want to be involved? Communicate, early and often, with us and

participate in your PTA. The fastest and easiest way to start is by joining! Our interim

president is Mr. Michael Quinn. For more information feel free to contact our PTA at

president@mayschapelpta.org

As we continue on our journey stay connected through our school website and twitter feeds.

You’ll find there’s a lot to celebrate and many ways to get involved. Each newsletter will be

available on our website as well. Being environmentally and fiscally responsible, we’d like to

manage our resources effectively. If you’d like to receive an electronic version of our newsletter

only go our school website for more information!

If you need anything, have a question or concern, or just want to share some good news, we are

always here and ready to support you.

Reading

Reading Rocks! MCES Strive for 25 Program This year MCES will have a Strive for 25 reading program. Students will track their

reading at home using the designated log. Younger children can log books read to them, as well

as books they are able to read independently. Older students should be reading chapter books as

they are able. Once completed, the log should be turned into the classroom teacher. Mrs.

Guanti will collect, document, and award small prizes for each log. A hall display will be

created to show student progress. At the end of the school year, students who have completed at

least one log will attend a school dance, while top readers will be recognized at the end of the

year awards assembly.

Creating a Community of Readers: Mrs. Guanti’s Role As a reading specialist at Mays Chapel Elementary, I have the honor and privilege of

working throughout the school with all of the teachers and various classes. My goal is to support

teachers and students to meet the needs of all of our Labradors, including students needing extra

support, as well as enrichment, and those in between.

The first steps to provide this support include providing classrooms with worthwhile

reading materials to utilize for instruction and providing support for determining students’

reading strengths and needs. As a new school, this means we will be assessing students during

the initial weeks of school, but how this will look will vary from grade to grade, and class to

class. These assessments will allow teachers to gain insight to each child’s strengths and needs,

as well as provide a baseline from which to see growth as the year continues. I will support

teachers in this, as well as conduct additional assessments when warranted, to provide more

specific information. Knowing the students will allow me to match reading materials with the

classes and provide texts, both hard copy and digitally, to enhance learning.

As the “big picture” of needs is clearer, I will be seen in the classrooms co-teaching, or

perhaps pulling a group to facilitate learning. Whatever my role, the object is always the same…

to create a community of readers and to promote reading growth within each student.

STAT in Action!

STAT certainly is everywhere at Mays Chapel!

From day one, students and teachers have embraced

new learner-centered environments, engaged in a

wide variety of instructional strategies and

techniques, and explored digital learning

opportunities and resources using their HP laptops. If the first few weeks of school are any

indication of what’s to come, this is going to be a truly unprecedented year of education in

Baltimore County!

Get ready for BCPS One!

One of the major aspects of our STAT initiative is the launching of the BCPS One platform.

BCPS One is our county’s new learning management system; connecting students, teachers, and

parents with access to student grades and information as well as content and curriculum. The

overall goal of this system is to provide access and transparency to students, teachers, and

parents. This powerful communication tool has been rolled out to teachers throughout the

summer, and in the first few weeks of school students will be learning how to access different

features of the system. Parents are also now able to access

BCPS One! Several weeks ago parent/guardians should

have received a yellow direction sheet with all of the

information required in order to create parent accounts to

access BCPS One. Please be sure to read carefully and to

follow the instructions as listed in the directions on your yellow sheet. If you have misplaced

your BCPS One verification code and need a new sheet, please contact the main office or your

child’s teacher. As exciting as this access is for everyone, we just ask that you exercise patience

during the first quarter as teachers and students continue to learn and adjust to this new system.

These types of changes take time, and this experience is a journey for us all, never a race.

Join us on our journey!

You are an integral part of our Lighthouse journey, and we would love for

you to stay up to date on all of the exciting learning opportunities taking

place here at Mays Chapel. To keep up with our day to day activities and

events follow us on Twitter at @Team_MCES. If Twitter is not for you,

check out our school website at https://mayschapeles.bcps.org/. We also

have a page on our school website titled, “Our Lighthouse Story.” This

page is where we try to capture different aspects of our Lighthouse journey.

On this page you can find photos, captions, recent classroom observations, videos and

reflections, and there is more to come as the year continues to unfold. You can also follow the

progress of the entire BCPS Lighthouse program by visiting the BCPS Lighthouse Website at

http://bcpslighthouse.weebly.com/.

If you or your student(s) have a reflection that you would be interested in sharing with our school

and/or the greater BCPS community, please send it via e-mail to our STAT teacher, Katie Cox at

kcox@bcps.org. Mrs. Cox is in charge of filtering and processing reflections and submissions in

order to help tell our school’s story. In the subject line of your e-mail please be sure to include

“Lighthouse Reflection” so that your responses are handled properly.

Mrs. Counsell’s Corner

Meet Mrs. Counsell

Mrs. Counsell is so excited to

get to know the Mays Chapel

community and work with

your children throughout the

school year. She has been a

School Counselor at New

Town Elementary for the past

four years. She has her

Master’s Degree in School

Counseling from Loyola

University-Maryland and her

Bachelor’s Degree from the

University of Dayton in

Sociology. In addition to

state certification, she also

holds a certificate as a

National Certified Counselor.

Prior to working for BCPS,

she worked for both the Big

Brothers Big Sisters

organization and Catholic

Charities as a case manager.

She is passionate about her

family and being a mother to

her young daughter. She also

enjoys scrapbooking,

reading, swimming, and

watching football (Go

Ravens!) in her free time.

Feel free to email Mrs. Counsell at any time at lcounsell@bcps.org

The School Counseling Program at Mays Chapel

The School Counseling program at Mays Chapel

Elementary is available to help students, parents, and

teachers develop positive learning experiences. The

program consists of a variety of services and activities,

including individual and group counseling, parent and

teacher consultation, classroom core curriculum lessons,

coordination of school wide programs, information

services, participation in education meetings, and referral

assistance to other programs and services in the

community. Working in conjunction with administration,

staff, parents, and teachers, the program is developed to

meet the needs of ALL students at Mays Chapel

Elementary School.

Updates and Information from the School Counselor Sept 2014

What Does A School Counselor Do?

My job is to help your children have a successful day while

they are at school. Some parents hear their children say,

"I talked to Mrs. Counsell today!" and they wonder what this

means. It is a normal part of the school day to meet with

students regarding their concerns about everything from

friendship problems and conflicts with classmates to the death

of a pet. I listen, refer back to lessons taught in the classroom,

and help students make decisions about what to do next. I

always encourage them to talk to their parents!

If I find that I talk to your child more than a few times on the

same topic in a short span of time, or if the discussion involves

student safety, I will certainly give you a call. Most of the time,

our interactions are brief and focused on helping children

find their own solutions to their concerns. As always, if

you have questions or concerns about your child talking

to me, please do not hesitate to call or email me at

school.

Health Suite Happenings

The Health Suite at Mays Chapel is so excited to kick off the 2014-2015 school year! We hope that with the combined efforts of everyone, the inaugural year of our school will be happy, safe, and healthy! Some important things to note: For this year, Mays Chapel is a FOOD-FREE SCHOOL for parties and celebrations. In order to keep everyone safe from potentially life-threatening food allergens, food will not be permitted for birthdays, holidays, or other parties. However, this doesn’t mean that we won’t celebrate! Here are some great ideas instead of food: -pencils for the class -donating books in your child’s name to the classroom library -providing balls, jump ropes, or other activities -bubbles, sidewalk chalk, or board games As always, look for information from your child’s teacher concerning how the class plans to celebrate an event. Please contact your child’s teacher if you wish to do something special for a birthday.

A nut-free table is available in the cafeteria for any parent who wishes his or her child to sit at the table for allergy reasons. We also abide by a strict no-sharing policy for food. Help us by reminding your child that while something that another student has may look tasty, it is important to only eat the food that the child brought from home or purchased for themselves.

The medication and attendance policy for Mays Chapel is attached. Please read it carefully for information pertaining to medication in school, illnesses and absences, and other helpful tips. Remember, students are NOT permitted to carry any medication while in school! See Mrs. Lanier for the appropriate forms if during the school day your child requires medication of any kind. Blue Discretionary Medication Forms went home the first day of school. Thank you to so many parents for promptly returning them! If you have misplaced the form for your child, please contact Mrs. Lanier for a new copy. BE SURE to contact the school to update your phone number if it has changed, as that is our primary way of contacting you in the event of an illness or injury while at school. Check your child’s folder daily for any other information from the Health Suite! Mrs. Lanier, our school nurse, can be reached at 410-887-7954.

CLASSROOM VISITORS We welcome you to visit your child’s classroom. Any visitor must be listed on the child’s

emergency contact form. If you’d like to visit, please do your best to provide the teacher a

minimum of 24 hours notice. We will certainly look to accommodate you if we can on shorter

notice; however, there are some instructional situations that are not conducive to visitors,

including assessment times. Additionally, for more information about how you can support

your child’s classroom, please see our parent volunteer opportunities and protocol on our website

and in the newsletter.

ATTENTION WALKERS

The Baltimore County Police Department has indicated that they will discontinue

crossing services at the intersection of our school and Roundwood Road effective

Monday, October 13th. A crosswalk was recently added to this location. At

this time, this intersection does not qualify for a crossing guard. Anyone

crossing at this intersection is strongly encouraged to be mindful of crossing safety and utilize

the area designated for crossing. Any questions should be directed to the Office of

Transportation at 410-887-4321.

HALLOWEEN: FALL THEMED CELEBRATIONS!

For our inaugural year, each teachers will have the option of hosting a fall-

themed celebration with activities related to the season. Our pre-K and K

classes will have the opportunity to wear costumes and parade through our

classrooms throughout the school day on October 31st. Each grade level

will provide details regarding their plans and times. Please note that

October 31st is the end of the first quarter. Elementary and middle schools

dismiss 3 hours early this year. Dismissal for MCES will begin at 12:50.

VISITORS

All parents and visitors to the school should enter through the main doors and

report to the office to state the nature of their visit. Office staff will request to

see a driver’s license or government issued ID and will scan the ID into the

Raptor system. Raptor is a computer system in use at all BCPS schools to scan

visitors and issue ID badges. Raptor compares the visitor’s information

against sexual offender databases throughout the country and if the visitor’s

name appears on any of the lists, or if the visitor refuses to allow the school to scan their ID, the

visitor will not be allowed access to the school. Likewise, should a visitor arrive without an ID

they will be denied access to the school.

Visitors will receive a badge to wear while in the school listing their destination. Should you

need to add an additional destination to your visit, please report to the office to have your Raptor

badge up-dated. Please stop by the office and return your badge when you are ready to leave the

school so that we may log you out.

Thank you for working with us to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

MONEY MATTERS

In order to streamline our office accounting procedures, we have the following

requirement. Submit cash only in the exact amount required (no checks) when

paying for field trips, instrumental music supplies, or other classroom/school

activities. Insure that any money sent with your child is in a sealed envelope with

all relevant information written on the front so that we are able to credit payments

to the correct student.

DISMISSAL PLANS

In order to ensure the safety of every student, should your child have a change in

dismissal plans, please send a note to school advising us of the change. We cannot

honor phone calls. To assist the office staff, who may not be aware of nicknames

or know a last name to add to a first name, please include your child’s full name in

the note. Also include the name of the person picking the student up and remind

that person that they will be required to show picture ID. The note should be sent with your

child in the morning to give to the teacher advising of a change in dismissal plans. This note will

be sent to the office to be logged in. If you prefer to e-mail your alternate dismissal plan, please

e-mail your child’s teacher and the office staff (jhurtt@bcps.org and meccleston@bcps.org) by

noon of the day a change is planned. Adherence to the above guidelines will help ensure that our

students and staff are aware of dismissal changes in a timely manner. Please note that without a

note from the parent, students will follow their normal transportation schedule.

Students may only ride their assigned bus to and from school and be picked up and discharged at

the same stops. Please note that students may not ride a bus other than the one he/she normally

rides.

CURRENT INFORMATION

It is critical that we have current information on file so that we may reach you when necessary.

Thank you to all parents who updated and returned the Student Contact Information Sheet sent

home in the summer mailing. If you have not yet completed and returned your Student Contact

Information Sheet, please take a moment to complete this important task. Should you have any

changes in your address; home, work, or cell phone numbers; or wish to update your emergency

contacts, you may do so at any time during the year.

VOLUNTEERS

The contributions volunteers make to our school community are immeasurable. We appreciate

your support.

BCPS requires that individuals interested in volunteering at BCPS schools,

including chaperoning field trips, complete volunteer training prior to

providing any volunteer services. Please remember that even if you

completed volunteer training in prior years, volunteer training must be

completed each year. We are excited to announce that online training, which

you may complete at your leisure at home, is being offered this year. Please

see the attached flyer for on-line training instructions.

Once you complete the online training please submit your application and training certificate to

the front office. Your paperwork will be forwarded to Ms. Lori Counsell, our school counselor,

who will process your paperwork. Please allow seven (7) business days for your paperwork

to be processed and remember that you may not volunteer in the school or attend field trips

until you receive approval from Ms. Counsell. A volunteer handbook will be sent home once

Ms. Counsell has processed your paperwork and added your name to the volunteer database.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Counsell at lcounsell@bpcs.org or

410-887-4134.

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Please consider signing up to receive your monthly edition of the MCES newsletter

via email by going to our website, http://mayschapeles.bcps.org, clicking on the

News tab, follow to the School Newsletter link, and submitting your email

information. Monthly newsletters will also be posted to our school website.

If you prefer to have a paper copy of the newsletter sent home with your student,

please complete the form at the end of this newsletter and return to the school office.

Whatever your delivery preference, be sure to watch for your monthly newsletter to stay current

on important dates and happenings at MCES!

FROM THE PTA – ROOM PARENTS

If you are interested in working closely with your child’s teacher to plan fun

activities and celebrations for the class, as well as organize classroom

volunteer efforts and help with other classroom needs, room parenting is the

perfect job for you!! Special area instructors as well as resource staff can use

parent assistance also. The effort is minimal and the reward of getting to know the staff and

being involved in your child’s class is well worth it! It takes extra efforts to start a new school

and the staff at MCES is pleasantly plowing away to get our school established. They could

really use our help this year. Please contact your child’s teacher or feel free to contact me

directly if you have questions or would like to know more. There is a meeting planned for

October 14th at 9:30 a.m. in room 201 at MCES to discuss the guidelines and share ideas for

ways to make this year at Mays Chapel Elementary a truly special one for all of our children. I

hope to see you there. Thanks for your attention. Tricia Guildener – 410-440-3326 -

theguildeners@yahoo.com

Volunteer Training Instructions from BCPS website:

Thank you for your interest in volunteering in Baltimore County Public Schools. Our schools depend on volunteers and value their contributions to enhance the programs and services provided for students. Volunteers are important members of Team BCPS and help our professional staff sustain effective learning environments, enrich the education and experiences of students and build critical partnerships to increase achievement for all students. Volunteers are essential to the educational process, as they bring knowledge and skills into our schools and strengthen classroom instruction.

VOLUNTEER INSTRUCTIONS:

All volunteers must complete the volunteer application and participate in an

orientation/training session annually.

Step 1: Complete the BCPS Application for Volunteer Services.

www.bcps.org

Community tab to dropdown menu Volunteer with BCPS

Link for Application for Volunteer Services (fill out and print)

Step 2: Complete the online volunteer orientation. You will be provided with a

certificate once you successfully complete the training.

Link for BCPS Online Volunteer Orientation

Complete Orientation, Handbook Recognition, and Quiz

Print Certificate of Completion

Step 3: Submit the application and the valid training certificate to the school in

which you intend to volunteer. Volunteers may provide hard copies. Both documents must be submitted at the same time to be accepted and reviewed by the school staff.

Once the application is reviewed and training has been verified, volunteers may be placed by schools and offices according to identified needs to perform tasks that support our established goals.

For families unable to access the internet at home there will be a number of trainings at MCES. Please refer to those dates in this newsletter and call to set up an appointment.

Please allow a seven (7) business day processing time before any volunteer

opportunity. Please contact Lori Counsell, MCES School Counselor, at

lcounsell@bcps.org if you have any questions or concerns.

MAYS CHAPEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Dear Parents:

Welcome to the start of a new school year and a year of A+ School Rewards. Starting

October 3, 2014 through March 19, 2015 Mays Chapel Elementary School will have the

opportunity to earn cash through Giant A+ School Rewards Program.

All you have to do is:

Log on to www.giantfood.com/aplus select CUSTOMER REGISTRATION to register

online using your Giant Card. Mays Chapel’s school ID Number is 18367.

After you register your card, each shopping trip at Giant using your Giant Card earns

CASH for our school. Each month, the amount of CASH awarded will be updated on the

Giant website. You can track the amount of points you earn for our school by checking

your grocery receipt and online when you create an account at www.giantfood.com.

Our school will receive a check at the end of the program. The money can be used for

any of our school’s educational needs.

Thank you for supporting your

Mays Chapel Elementary School Labs!

*Phone numbers may not be used to designate.

If you do not know your 13-digit Giant CARD number, call the

Card Hotline at 1-877-366-2668 and select OPTION #2

MAYS CHAPEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

The monthly Mays Chapel Elementary School newsletter will be posted on our

website at http://mayschapeles.bcps.org and emailed to parents who sign up for

email notifications.

If you prefer to have your child bring home a paper copy of the Mays Chapel

Elementary School newsletter, please complete the information below and return this

form to Mrs. Eccleston in the office. Thank you!

Student’s Name:________________________________________________________

Homeroom Teacher:_____________________________________________________

Parent Signature:__________________________________Date:_________________