5th Grade Puberty Education Information Night for Parents--February 6th at 6pm
Parents of 5th grade students are invited to attend an information night about Puberty Education on February 6th at 6:00. Parent permission is required for students to participate in the puberty education lessons. Puberty Ed will be taught from February 24th-28th. Please attend the information night to assist you in making an informed decision.
BSAP and GT Summer Institutes Registration--February 1
On-site/online enrollment requests for Summer Programs begin Saturday, February 1.
BSAP Summer Institute (Entering Grades K-9)
Gifted and Talented Summer Institutes for Talent Development (Entering Grades 1-8)
Innovative Pathways High School (Entering Grade 9 and Current Grades 9-12) - Math and Science courses only
Enrollment requests can be made by a parent, guardian, school counselor or achievement liaison. Before submitting an enrollment request on-site or online, please review the program descriptions, dates, times and locations on the Summer Programs website (https://www.hcpss.org/summer-programs/). Early registration is highly recommended. Program availability may be limited during the later registration dates.
Regional Early Childhood Center Learning Together Program Applications
The Deep Run Regional Early Childhood Center (RECC) preschool programs are now accepting applications 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 and 4 years of age for the 2020-2021 school year may come to school office for an application package beginning February 3, 2020.
The monthly fee for the preschool program will be between $180.00 and $290.00 depending on the number of hours your child participates in the program.
All applications must be returned by 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 and the “Ages and Stages Questionnaire,” as well as observations of the child’s participation in a playgroup. If necessary, a lottery process is conducted.
The Howard County Public School System continues to offer a PreK program for income eligible children who will be four years old by September 1, 2020.
If you have any questions, please contact Ruth Gibson at ruth_gibson@hcpss.org or call 410-313-5000.
Kindergarten registration begins March 9, 2020. Details will be shared at a later date.
Worth Repeating
Road to Kindergarten
Road2KEvent: Information session for parents about Kindergarten in the Howard County Public School System:
Be Prepared for Early Dismissals Related to Inclement Weather
Thanks to all DRES families who had their Family File up to date for last week's unexpected early dismissal!
In order to be prepared for unscheduled school closings during these winter months, or in the event of an emergency closing for any reason, please sign into your Family File at https://www.hcpss.org/connect/ to review how your child is scheduled to go home in the event of an UNSCHEDULED CLOSING. Please make sure that it reflects how you want your child to be dismissed in these situations. In addition, please have a conversation with your child about this dismissal procedure if it is different than their normal dismissal.
February Conferences--Save the Date
Winter conferences will take place on February 13th and 14th. School will dismiss at 12:55 on both days. The majority of teachers are offering conferences from 1:20 to 6:30 on the 13th with a few teachers offering time on the 14th. The February conferences will be student-led. Students will be prepared to share their progress with their parents. The student led conference will take place for up to 30 minutes and teachers will be available to participate for 10 minutes. Parents will sign up for conferences in early February.
Outdoor Recess during Winter
We believe children greatly benefit from having daily physical activity in the fresh air. We will be following the guidelines from HCPSS Policy 9090 regarding outdoor recess when temperatures are cold. Administrators in a school make the decision about outdoor or indoor recess. These are the considerations: temperature, wind chill, age of the students, length of time outdoors, adequacy of children’s clothing and precipitation. Generally, HCPSS is assuming children will be outside for recess when the temperature combined with the wind chill is not less than 20 degrees. Please be sure children have appropriate clothing to participate in outdoor recess. We have coats for children to keep or borrow. We also have hats and gloves. Please let your child's teacher know if you need assistance with clothing for the cold weather.
Please visit the Community News and Programs page at http://www.hcpss.org/community-news-and-programs/ for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.