TEAM DUNDALK
The Dundalk Owl
Volume 1, Issue 1
September 2015
Code of Conduct:
 I am respectful
 I am responsible
 I am safe
 I will persevere
Here at Dundalk Elementary,
we accept nothing less than
our personal best.
DUNDALK
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
2717 PLAYFIELD STREET
DUNDALK , MD 21222
PHONE: 410-887-7013
FAX: 410 –887-7015
PRINCIPAL:
Mr. MICHAEL A. PARKER
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS:
Mrs. HOPE MCGUIRE
Mrs. NELSON-TRACEY
Principal’s Message
I want to welcome everyone
back to another exciting school
year. We had a great opening
to our school year and our Back
-to-School was a success. As we
shared with you that evening, it
will take a team effort in order
for our students to reach their
full potential. This year, our
slogan of the “Three A’s” of
Attitude, Attendance and
Achievement will be something
we will emphasize. We have
much work to do but I know
Team Dundalk is up to the challenge.
Thanks, Mr. Parker
EVERYONE
CAN EARN
STRAIGHT A’s
Welcome our New Staff
Members
Ms. Hannah Frank—Gr. 1

ATTITUDE
Ms. Ashley France—Gr. 1

ATTENDANCE

ACHIEVEMENT
Mr. Yusef Alvez-El—Gr. 3
Mrs. Anuradha Kapur—Gr. 4
Ms. Sarah Mott—Grade 4
Ms. Michaela Nesmith—Grade 4
Dr. James Walton—Vocal Music
Ms. Shelbi Bardoff—STAT Teacher
Mr. Jason Holmes—ESOL
Ms. Stacey Lafferman—OT Teacher
Mr. Lee Nowlin—Behavior Interventionist
Mr. Aaron Kahan—Paraprofessional
FUTURE
NEWSLETTERS
WILL BE POSTED
ON DUNDALK’S
WEBSITE AS WELL
AS BROUGHT
HOME BY THE
YOUNGEST STUDENT IN THE
HOUSEHOLD
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
PTA EXECUTIVE
BOARD
MEMBERS
Mr. Wray —PRES.
Mrs. Lilli —VP
Mrs. Seiersen-SECY.
Ms. BROWN-TREASURER
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
Monday, 9/14 –Rosh Hashanah-Schools and Offices
Closed
Tuesday,10/6- PTA General Membership
Meeting-6:30 p.m., Library
Tuesday, 9/22-Techno-Connection Workshop
Friday, 10/16-Professional Development
Day-No Classes for Students
Wednesday—9/23—Yom Kippur-Schools and Offices
Closed
Sept., 2015
P.2
Attendance
The Maryland Department of Education states that a student must miss no more than 10 days a year to be rated satisfactory.
Daily attendance and punctuality are the expectation. Students should remain out of school only when it is absolutely necessary.
Under State law, a note explaining the reason must cover any absences. Illness extending beyond 3 days should be explained by
a doctor’s certificate. Parents or guardians are requested to telephone and discuss issues with the school nurse at 410-284-2204
Absence for family vacation is unexcused. If extenuating circumstances arise, please notify Mr. Parker, Mrs. McGuire, or Mrs.
Nelson-Tracey by letter at least two weeks prior to the anticipated absence. Please know that if you are pulling your child for
vacation, the school does not give work while they are out. The work is collected on a daily basis and will be given to the student upon return.
Behavior Handbook
PLEASE
MAKE SURE TO
SIGN AND
RETURN
THE
SIGNATURE
PAGE IN THE
PARENT HANDBOOK
Mr. Parker, Mrs. Nelson-Tracey and Mrs. McGuire have reviewed the behavior handbook with all
classes. Your child will be bringing home, if they have not already done so, a Baltimore County
Public School Student Behavior Handbook. All parents and students are required to sign and return
the form located on page 27 in the back of the handbook indicating that both student and parent
have reviewed this handbook. Dundalk continues to hold high expectations for student behavior.
Again, we appreciate your support in helping us create an environment in which children are safe
and are able to learn. We will all continue to support the Dundalk Code of Conduct which is located on the front of every Parent Bulletin.
School Safety Plans, Drills, and Emergency Preparedness
You will soon hear your child
talking about participating in a
bus evacuation drill, a fire drill,
severe weather drill and a lockdown drill. The Baltimore
County Public School system
has given a charge to every
school to create an Emergency/
Crisis Plan to be used if a serious situation arises during the
school day.
Members of our School Progress Team have written guidelines to assist the school admin-
istration, teachers and students
to respond with effective action to an emergency. The
administrative staff will make an
early judgment regarding the
seriousness of the situation
that is developing.
In the event of a fire, bomb
threat or other similar situation, the students will evacuate
the building and assemble in an
open area away from the building. Students will wait for a
signal that it is safe to return to
the building.
In the case of a natural disaster,
a weapon on school property
or unauthorized school visitors,
students will be asked to “stay
put” in what we call a
“lockdown” in their classroom.
If such an emergency develops,
children will be asked to remain in their classroom with
their teacher and the classroom door will be locked.
Attendance will be taken to
account for all students. At the
end of the crisis, an announcement to resume normal activi-
ties will be made. Please talk
with your child about the importance of these drills.
During September and
throughout the school year, we
will practice fire drills, bus
evacuation drills, severe
weather drills and lockdown drills to ensure the
safety of our children and faculty in order to be prepared for
a school emergency.
Sept., 2015
P.3
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL
The front school doors open at
8:25 a.m. To help us with a
smooth, organized start of the
school day, please follow these
guidelines:
1. Children may line up outside
starting at 8:25 a.m. Grades 1-5
will line up at the front steps.
Kindergarten and Prekindergarten will enter on the Dunmanway side of the building.
2. Children need to be in class
by 8:40 a.m. Children will need
to get a late pass from the office
if they arrive after 8:40 a.m.
3. For children’s safety, parents should say good-bye
outside. If parents want to
meet with a teacher, please
set up an appointment as
teachers are involved with
their students from the start
of the school day and not able
to conference with parents at
this time. Teachers will gladly
talk to parents at a scheduled
time.
4.Walkers will be dismissed
at 3:05 p.m. Grades 1-5 will
dismiss from the front entrance, Kindergarten and
Prekindergarten will dismiss
from the Dunmanway side of
the building.
We understand that emergency situations arise, and in
those cases we certainly will
do whatever is necessary to
assist parents in picking up
the child.
5. There are no separate afternoon dismissal procedures
for inclement weather. Please
make sure your child is prepared
whether it is an umbrella or
heavy coat.
Students who are regularly
meeting parents on the front
lawn, and whose parents
have previously advised the
teacher in writing of this pick
- up procedure, should have
a pre-arranged spot to meet
the parent.
Any changes in normal dismissal procedures should be
handled by a written note by
the parent to the teacher
first thing in the morning.
VOCAL MUSIC NEWS
The fifth grade is off to a great start in preparation for our holiday concert. We are learning a song
in a minor key and trying to hear the difference between major and minor chords. We are working
on keeping a steady beat using our friend, “Wilson,” the tennis ball. Also, all classes are going to be
able to identify notes and their values. Soon we will be singing some familiar fall and Halloween
songs as we start October and 2nd and 3rd grade will begin playing their recorders. This has been a
great start to the new school year and as usual, our Dundalk students are ready for the musical
challenges.
No Check Policy at Dundalk
As has been instituted at other Baltimore
County Public Schools, Dundalk Elementary
School has instituted a no-check policy.
Due to the additional charges incurred as a
result of checks returned for insufficient
funds, and the additional paperwork resulting from returned checks, any payments
made to Dundalk Elementary School must
be in the form of cash or money order.
Anyone wishing to receive a receipt for
their payments should direct a note to the
office with their payment and a receipt will
be issued to you. We apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding in this matter.
Update Information
CASH
ONLY
NO
CHECKS
PLEASE
At anytime during the school year you have a phone
number or address change please notify the school
office. It is imperative that the office, school nurse and
classroom teacher be kept updated in the event of an
emergency or illness of your child(ren). If daycare
situations change please notify your child(ren’s) teacher in writing so we can continue to keep them safe as
dismissal.
Page 4
The Dundalk Owl
Opt-Out Form, Directory
Information
On the first day of school, your
child brought home a packet of
information which contained
the “Parental Opt-Out Form
for Directory Information” for
the 2015-2016 school year.
Many of you have already returned this form. If you have
not returned the form, please
do so as soon as possible. If
you need another form, please
call the office. We will be happy to send one to you.
Under the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act, school
systems may release directory
information on enrolled students. Directory information
includes: name, address, date of
birth, participation in officially
recognized activities and
sports, as a member of an athletic team height and weight,
dates of attendance, degrees
and awards received.
To opt out means that a
parent/guardian or eligible
student is not permitting
the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) to share
a student’s directory information. To make your requests known, you must put
your requests in writing or
complete the form and send it
to Mr. Parker by October 1,
2015 or within 30 days of your
child’s enrollment in school. If
you do not express your preferences, you are giving BCPS
permission to share your
child’s directory information.
On the back of this form, you
also need to complete and
return to school if you do not
want your child to use telecommunications. If you do not
want your child to use telecommunications in school, your
child may not use any computer connected to the internet,
meaning your child will not
Birthday Celebrations at Dundalk
When planning birthday celebrations for students this
year, please remember that individual cupcakes are the
preferred treat of choice for our students, and, specifically, the mini-cupcakes, which obviously have less sugar, are easier for our little ones to handle, and are more
economical. All cupcakes must be store-bought. We
cannot distribute anything home-made for student consumption. Cupcakes can be brought into the office on
the child’s birthday, before the student’s regularly
scheduled lunch time, and the teacher will distribute the
cupcakes to the students either at lunch or recess.
Please be sure to bring enough for the entire class so
that each child receives a cupcake.
Since some of our students have peanut
allergies, we ask that no cupcakes be
brought in containing peanuts or peanut
butter.
Also please do not bring drinks or additional snacks since no “birthday parties”
will be held in the classroom.
Also, please coordinate with the classroom teacher before dropping off cupcakes.
Your cooperation to this request is
greatly appreciated.
Title One Continues at Dundalk
During the 2015-16 school
year, Dundalk Elementary will
continue to offer Title 1 services to all students. This
funding is based on the number of students who participate in the free and reduced
meal program.
Provide additional opportunities to students to support a
rigorous program for all students; support supplemental
professional development activities to ensure high quality
instruction; provide additional
instructional support.
Being a Title I Schoolwide
School means the school receives supplemental funds to:
support the achievement of
students at-risk of not achiev-
We are very excited to receive
these supplemental funds that
we will use to continue to provide a high-quality instructional
program.
One component of the Title 1
program is parent involvement. If
you would like to give us input
and be involved in the decisions
regarding the spending of the
Parent Involvement Funds, please
feel free to contact Mr. Parker,
Mrs. McGuire, or Mrs. NelsonTracey at 410-887-7013. There
are also survey forms located at
the Parent Communication Station in our school lobby and attached to this bulletin. Please fill
one out today.
have access to computer
resources and BCPS licensed
software. Your child would
not be able to work in our
computer lab or on a class
laptop to do research or use
other web-based resources
such as FASTTMath or First
in Math. Please consider not
opting out of letting your
child use telecommunications in school so your child
can use computers while in
school.
Sept., 2015
BCPS One
P.5
Library News
BCPS One is an online communication tool. This online resource will allow you to check
your children’s grades and assignments, review curriculum, access educational resources, and link to
school websites.
Welcome back to school and to the
library! We have many new books
in the library just waiting for students to check out!
Over the next two weeks of school, all BCPS students will take home yellow instruction
sheets about how to get started with BCPS One. Following these instructions, you will be able to
create a BCPS One account and add your students using a parent verification code. There is one
verification code per student for all parents and guardians to use.
In order to keep our collection available for all students I would ask for
your support in the following ways:
To help all parents and guardians set up their BCPS One account, we are offering the use
of our Computer Lab, and assistance in creating accounts on
Tuesday, September 22nd.
Help your child keep their
books in a safe place at
home
Help your child remember to
bring their books back to
the library on their assigned day. (Grades K-2
bring their books back
every week. Grades 3-5
every other week.)
Read with your child as often as
possible-even older children! Studies show that
students who are read to
regularly become better
independent readers.
If you lose a book, or it becomes damaged, there is a
replacement fee of $10.00
Physical Education News
Welcome back to our old friends and to our new students, WELCOME!!
We have a lot of exciting units planned this year in phys. ed. starting with our first unit. It’s called
movement education equipment and your kids may have already come home talking about it. They may
have called it jungle gym or whittle but no matter what they call it, it is FUN. Please feel free to stop in
and check it out. Parents, we sent a phys. Ed. letter home last week (Mr. Mirabile’s is blue and Mr.
Nicholson’s is yellow). We ask that you please read and fill it out and then return it for us. It goes
over the basic rules and allows you to tell us any important info as well. Ask your child when they
have PE so that they can make sure they have the correct shoes on that day. Again, welcome back and
we are looking forward to an exciting year. If you have any questions please call or email us.
Thanks,
Mr. Mirabile & Mr. Nicholson
I look forward to working with everyone this year!
Happy Reading,
Ms. Brown
DIRECTIONS FOR ACCESSING DUNDALK ELEMENTARY’S WEBSITE
For directions accessing Dundalk’s website, see attached snapshot for step-bystep instructions, or,
1. go to http://www.bcps.org
2. Click on OUR SCHOOLS
3. Select DUNDALK ELEMENTARY from the list and click on GO
4. Click on Website link
5. Click on NEWSLETTER or other links to get information about our school.
Sept., 2015
P.6
Counselor’s Corner
WELCOME STUDENTS & FAMILIES! We hope you had a wonderful summer and are ready for
a great school-year! We welcome all of our new students and look forward to getting to know all our
new families soon. Christina Johnson and Jill Marzilli will continue to be Dundalk Elementary’s School
Counselors! Miss Johnson will work primarily with our 1 st, 3rd & 5th grade students. Mrs. Marzilli will
work primarily with kindergarten, 2nd & 4th grade students. As school counselors, our goal is to help
every student be the best student they can be; this includes working directly with students, as well as,
collaborating with families and staff. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help your child
this year!
BACK TO SCHOOL TIME CAN BE ROUGH ON KIDS AND PARENTS!
After spending summer with family, the transition back to school can feel like you’re starting all over,
even if your child isn’t new to the back to school routine.
Try some of these tips to ease the back to school anxiety and fear:
Check your feelings at the door. If you are really nervous or scared to drop your child off at
school, your child will feel it too. Find time to express your feelings separately.
Make your goodbyes quick. Long and repeated goodbye rituals can prolong your child’s fear about
you leaving them at school. A hug, kiss, and “have a good day” are all your child needs to start their
day.
Be careful about saying “I’ll miss you.” While this sounds loving, it may cause your child to feel
worried about you, instead of focusing on their school day. You might say,”I can’t wait to hear about
your day later” or “I’ll see you at dinner time” instead.
Write your child an encouraging note. Packing a short note in your child’s lunchbox or backpack
can give them something to look forward to.
Avoid walking your child in after the first week. There will be opportunities for you to come
into their classroom, but your child needs to know they can do it on their own.
To contact us please call or email at Dundalk Elementary – (410)887-7013
Grades 1, 3, 5 – [email protected]
Grades K, 2, 4 – [email protected]
Nurse’s Notes
Hello Dundalk Elementary Families! We are so happy to have the students back for what is already
shaping up to be a great year!! It is very important for all students new to Maryland, Pre-K and Kindergarten to contact their doctor or clinic to ensure they have received all vaccinations needed for
school. This includes students that attended a Baltimore County School Pre-K. Maryland may have
different vaccine requirements than were required in your previous area. Also, additional vaccines are
required for Kindergarten than were for Pre- K. We still have time to identify and have your child
receive the missing vaccines before our deadline, but it is rapidly approaching. Please contact me with
any questions, but contacting your child’s provider first will expedite this process.
If you child requires medication during the school day, please have your doctor complete an order
form and bring medication to the school.
We are accepting application for our Wellness Center. Leigh Weihs, FNP is available on Monday &
Wednesday afternoons to fulfill many of the students health needs. Please contact me to request an
application or for additional information.
Things to Remember:
Hopefully you have heard that we are all striving for straight AAA’s -Attitude, Attendance, and Achievement -all are so important!! For attendance, here are a few things you should know:
Attendance is so important! Maryland wants all students to be in school 94% of the school year.
This means your child would be absent less than 9 days each school year.
We understand all children get sick. If they have a fever, please keep them home.
If you are uncertain if they should come to school, contact me or bring them in for an evaluation
at 8:25 a.m.
Always provide a note when you child is absent for any reason
I will be sending home more detailed information soon on when to send to school and when to
stay home.
Check back for more information on these events, important health topics and information on our
Wellness Center. As always, if you have questions or need any assistance, please contact me.
Lauren DeWald, RN
Art News
Hi Dundalk Families and Friends,
Wow, summer seemed to have
gone by in a matter of seconds.
For those of you who do not
know the art teachers, our names
are Mrs. Thompson and Ms.
Cheeks. We are so excited about
this upcoming art year. There will
be two art shows in the spring,
along with art museum displays in
which you will receive more information at a later date.
One of the first projects Ms.
Cheeks and I completed is a school
wide: “Getting To Know You”
Installation. Your child completed
a beautiful trading card in which
they shared information about
themselves using visual arts and
text. They then shared this information with other classmates in
order for the class to really get to
now each other and work as a
team! There is a beautiful display
of all trading cards on the second
floor across from the art studio.
We are excited to work with you
children and teach your children to
become the best artist they can be!
I you have any questions please
never hesitate to contact us at
Dundalk Elementary.
Thank you,
Mrs. Thompson
Ms. Cheeks