Burtonsville Beat (February 4, 2023)

February 4, 2024

Good evening, Burtonsville families,

Mark your calendars…

  • 2/6 - Family Market - 5:00 PM
  • 2/6 - New School Rally at County Council Bldg - 7:00 pm
  • 2/19 - Holiday - No School

School & Community News…

Replacement Facility for Burtonsville ES - In November 2022, the Board of Education approved the construction of a new Burtonsville Elementary School at 14709 Saddle Creek Drive, Burtonsville, Maryland 20866. (Burtonsville Elementary School: Replacement Facility) Next step…County Council budget approval!  Rally with us at 7:00 pm this Tuesday, February 6th at the Council Office Building, located at 100 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD, 3rd floor Hearing Room.  Bring the entire family out to support our PTA and members of the BES community as they testify to secure funding for our new school building.   See more details and information in the Message from our PTA below.

Attendance Matters - Did you know that good school attendance correlates directly with high grades?  Student report cards for the second marking period will be available soon.  In addition to reviewing academic progress, please make note of the number of absences your student has had during the first and second marking periods. 

A student is considered chronically absent if they are absent 10 percent or more of the days they are enrolled. Please make every effort to send your child(ren) to school on time every day.  If you have any barriers to sending your child(ren) to school, reach out to a trusted adult including one of our counselors, Felita Barrett-Smith and Trisha Samuels, or our Pupil Personnel Worker (PPW), Robyn Hart.  We are here to help. 

In addition to student absences, we are seeing an increase in the number of students who are arriving at school late.  The student day begins at  9:20 AM and ends at 3:50 PM.  Students may arrive as early as 9:10 AM; the late bell rings at 9:25 AM.  Parents/Guardians must enter the school through the front office after 9:25 AM to sign their children in.

Read here (ENGLISH | SPANISH) about how student absences and tardiness equals learning loss over time. 

February is Library Lover’s Month at the Marilyn Praisner Library - Kickoff: Saturday, February 3rd, from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm.  This is a FREE event for elementary-aged children and their families. See the flier linked here for details,

Bowie Baysox "Read & Hit a Home Run" Reading program sponsored by Educational Systems Federal Credit Union -  Burtonsville ES is participating in the Bowie Baysox Reading Program this year.  The program provides an incentive for students to read both inside and outside of the classroom.  To complete the program, students need to read a minimum of four books inside or outside of the classroom from early January through mid-March. There will be a poster in the classroom for students to keep track of their reading.  Students who complete the program will receive two free tickets to the Bowie Baysox game on April 19th at 7:05.  

A Message from our PTA…

Your Testimony Is Vital! We urgently need your voice to advocate for funding a new school and to secure a completion date of August 2026 for this critical project. For more information and to sign up to testify, please visit the following link: https://shorturl.at/lwyP6. 

Please note that the PTA meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 6, has been canceled.  Instead, we hope that more people will come out and support those who are testifying on Tuesday, February 6th at 7 pm at the Council Office Building, located at 100 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD, Third Floor Hearing Room.   Bring your entire family and wear your Burtonsville spirit wear or colors.  The support shown at these meetings is important to our cause! 

The Spirit Wear store is now back online! We have new designs available for t-shirts, long sleeves, and hoodies for men, women, and children. Please visit https://www.burtonsvillepta.org/store to purchase your Burtonsville Elementary School items online and support your PTA.

The Burtonsville Yearbook for 2023-2024 is available for purchase! Ensure your copy by ordering online at https://shop.memorybook.com using the School Code: 165015M. (First-time users need to register on the site.) Buy the yearbook at the exclusive pre-sale price of $22 (plus a $0.99 service fee & tax) through March 1st. After March 1st, the price will increase to $25 (plus service fee & tax). Don't miss out on this special offer!

We are looking for school event photos to be featured in the 2023-2024 yearbook.  Please share your photos for the yearbook using the photo sharing link at: https://images.jostens.com/04vcaBJucKb-wfDXtKh-6Nw.

Want to reduce our lost and found chaos? Grab some name tag labels from Mabel's Labels! They'll give 20% back to BES PTA. Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search for Burtonsville Elementary PTA.

County News…

Guideline for the Use of Personal Mobile Devices (PMD) - Elementary school students may use PMDs before and after the student day.  Student Day starts at the time that students arrive and ends at the time of dismissal. Student Day also includes the instructional times for students attending extended day and extended year instructional programs.  Elementary school students are not permitted to use PMDs during instructional periods, lunch periods, or between classes/during transitional time.  This includes but is not limited to cell phones, smart watches, tablets, and e-readers. 

personal mobile devices

Important Legal Guidelines: Students must not use their device to communicate information that violates the privacy of others, jeopardizes the health or safety of others, is obscene or libelous, causes disruption of school activities, plagiarizes the work of others, or is a commercial advertisement. 

MCPS -  Things to Know | Parent Resources

How to receive emergency information from MCPS - Click here.  In the event of inclement weather, please listen to the radio or tune in to the local news for information about school delays or closures. 

Read Get Ready for Inclement Weather Season for the full list of system-wide weather-related and operating status options.  REMINDER: When operating on Code Yellow (2-Hour Delayed opening) our school day begins at 11:20 AM and breakfast will not be served.

Transportation:

Saturday School - Registration  - The George B. Thomas Learning Academy Saturday School at Paint Branch is up and running. Families can register students for tutoring support or enrichment guidance online at https://saturdayschool.org/ or in person during any Saturday session. The cost for the two semesters is $85.00 or $40.00 for families eligible for FARMS (Free and Reduced Meals).  Course Flyers: English | Español | Francés  | Fill-in Registration Form

Yours In Service,

Kimberly Lloyd, Principal

Terry Gobourne, Assistant Principal