Important Dates:

• Wednesday Evenings - Virtual Storytime, 7pm. Code: Swansfield Storytime

• Wednesday, January 27 - Virtual Talent Show, 7pm. Code: SES-Talent-Show (see more below)

• Thursday, January 28 - End of 2nd Marking Period

• Friday, January 29 - Schools Closed for Students

• Friday, January 29 - Registration Opens for Parent/Teacher Conferences (see more below)

• Wednesday, February 3 - MAP Reading Test, 9-11am (see more below)

• Friday, February 5 - Report Cards Issued

• Friday, February 5 - Registration Closes for Parent/Teacher Conferences (see more below)

• Wednesday & Thursday, February 10 & 11 - Parent/Teacher Conferences. Early Dismissal (see more below)

• Wednesday, February 10 - MAP Math Test, 9-11am (see more below)

• Friday, February 12 - Schools Closed for Students

• Monday, February 15 - Schools & Offices Closed, President's Day

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Join Us Wednesday Evening For Virtual Talent Show

Don’t forget to tune in this coming Wednesday evening, January 27, at 7pm for our Virtual Talent Show.  We’ve got a lot of exciting performances and super talented kids, but we already knew that:)  Gather the family and join us on Google Meet. Code: SES-Talent-Show.

Parent/Teacher Conferences February 10 & 11
Register for Conferences January 29 - February 5

Virtual Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, February 10, and/or Thursday, February 11, following early dismissal for students. Sunday evening you will receive an email from your child’s math teacher with information regarding his/her conference schedule. Next Thursday, January 28, you will receive a school email outlining important information as you prepare to register for Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Registration will open on Friday, January 29, and will remain open through Friday, February 5.  If you need assistance scheduling a conference, please contact our front office staff at 410-313-6907.

Winter MAP Testing

On Wednesday February 3rd and Wednesday February 10th, students in grades 1-5 will take the Measured Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. The data from the MAP assessment will help schools and teachers measure your student’s academic progress. The MAP test does not affect grades and the difficulty adjusts depending on how your child responds. It is normal for students to only answer about half the questions correctly.  To learn more about the MAP assessment, please visit HERE.

The reading test will be offered on February 3rd from 9-11am. The math test will be offered on February 10th from 9-11am.  If your child is unable to attend, makeup testing will be offered during asynchronous learning times. Teachers will share Google Meet information and your student’s testing group as we get closer to the February dates.

January Meal Service Adjustments

With schools being closed for students on Friday, January 29, families who pre-order or walk-up for Grab-and-Go meals on Thursday, January 28 will receive meals for Thursday through Sunday. Meals are free of charge for all students and any child under age 18. All meals include breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.

Read And Earn A Sweet Treat

Nothing Bundt Cakes, located at 10730 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia, is offering a special incentive through the end of March for our students.  “Books and Bundts” is a youth reading program through which students can earn a free Bundtlet and an award certificate.  Students must read for at least 20 minutes a day, five days a week, and record their time spent reading on the attached monthly tracker.  Once the student has read for 400 minutes that month they can bring the completed tracker to the store and receive their sweet treat.  The attached flier also outlines the program information and includes a coupon for a free bundtlet for parents/caregivers to reward you for all you do! 

We appreciate the support of this local business and hope your children have nothing Bundt fun participating!

Books and Bundts Parent Info.PDF 

Reading Tracker.pdf 

Reporting Bullying

HCPSS has launched a new bullying reporting tool that replaces the Sprigeo reporting system that has been in place for several years. This new tool is very easy to use and allows students, staff and family members to easily and confidentially report incidents of bullying.

Acts of bullying can be critically detrimental to the learning environment and have the potential for severely impacting the wellness of our students. Please use this new tool to report any acts that occur in-person or online that you believe may be bullying. Your information will remain confidential and staff will take every report seriously. 
If you should have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Principal Laurel Porter at laurel_porter@hcpss.org. 

The new bullying reporting tool can be found online at stopbullying.hcpss.org.

Additional Resources

Towson University Free Tutoring Program
Please see the attached flier for more information regarding this free online tutoring program for students in K-12. The application window began this past Monday.
Towson U Tutoring Program.pdf 

Behavior Talks Series
The Behavior Talks modules are a series of presentations to assist parents/caregivers with essential tips for working with their children. Please visit HERE to learn more about this video series.

Social Emotional Learning

This week SEL teacher Sarah Croushler discusses designing a calming down or cool down place for your family. Please see the attached.

Cool Down Places.pdf 

#SwanFamily Staff Shout Outs