Principal's Message

Dear FSES Families,

The mums are for sale at the garden center, and the fall decorations are making their appearance! September is in full swing, and we have had a productive start to the school year.

An important part of the beginning of each year involves assessing the reading and math skills of each student. Children in grades 1-5 have completed the iReady math and reading diagnostic tests. Kindergarteners through 5th graders have participated in the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment. Kindergarten are also taking the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Each of these tests provides teachers and parents with information that helps us know the strengths and needs of your children. Our work this year will involve carefully monitoring the progress your children are making academically in school. On October 22, we will host an information night for parents interested in learning more about their children's assessment reports.

But, school is not just about testing! The children are also making progress in their ability to learn as members of our school community. The development of pro-social skills such as conversational turn-taking, delayed gratification, sharing, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and self-control are some of the most important things children learn with us. These valuable lessons happen purposefully, as well as incidentally, each day. We are proud to reward the students with Rocky tickets and positive behavior referrals when they demonstrate positive expected behaviors.

We will celebrate these positive behaviors at our Fall Fest on the afternoon of October 24. More details are included below on how to sign up to volunteer.

Thank you for your confidence and for entrusting your children to my care. I have three jobs as a principal: 1) To keep kids safe; 2) To help kids learn; and 3) To make school fun! Thank you for your partnership in achieving these three goals each day.

Sincerely,

Ms. Shelley Hartford

Principal

Important Dates

• September 23 - School Closed

• October 2 - School Closed

• October 3 - 4th Grade Field Trip to Arlington Echo

• October 7 - 1st Grade Field Trip to Clark's Elioak Farm

• October 10 - School Picture Day

• October 14 - Early Dismissal

• October 22 - Assessment Information Event for Parents at 6:00 pm

• October 24 - Fall Fest

• October 27 & 28 - Early Dismissal

• October 31 - Halloween Parade at 1:00 pm

• November 3 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Downs Park

• November 3 - 7 Book Fair

• November 7 - Race for Education

• November 13 - PTA Meeting at 6:00 pm

PTA Fundraiser This Friday

Come help support the Fort Smallwood Elementary PTA with a Fundraiser at Warriors Academy of Gymnastics this Friday, September 26th! This is an open gym style activity space for children. Pre-registration is required as the facility only has 60 slots available.  Please sign-up using the following sign-up link: 

https://app.jackrabbitclass.com/regevent.asp?xID=7727149&orgid=546114

Counselor's Corner

Food Drive

Our Food Drive will take place during the month of October. It’s time to start collecting boxes! We could use box donations. If you have any to donate, you can bring them to Ms. Carleton's office. Please see the links below for more details about the Food Drive. 

• Food Drive Letter

• Food Calendar

• Spirit Week Flyer

Fall Festival

Our Fall Festival for this year will be held on Friday, October 24th! The time frames for each grade level are as follows:

·   K, 1- 12:25-12:55

·   4th and 5th grade- 1:00-1:30

·   2nd and 3rd grade- 1:35-2:05

·   *LTP and Pre-K- more information to come

In addition, we will need volunteers to help with set up and clean up.  You may sign up for as many slots as you wish.The deadline to sign up for a slot is Friday, October 3rd.

If you are interested in volunteering, follow this link to the Fall Festival Sign Up Genius.

 A different sign-up will come out at a later date with rotation options so that you may choose the one that works best for you. 

As a reminder, all volunteers must have a current and valid Background Check or Fingerprint Card on file. Background Checks are valid for two years. Fingerprint cards are valid until your child graduates from AACPS. More information, as well as the application for background checks can be found by visiting the link below. Https://www.aacps.org/o/aacps/page/volunteering-for-aacps/#become-a-volunteer

Please reach out to Nikki Carleton at ncarleton@aacps.org with any questions. 

School Nurse Tips for a Healthy School Year

Always send your child to school with a water bottle.

Adequate hydration is one of the simplest things to do to keep your child healthy and feeling well at school. Headaches, tummy aches, mild nausea can all be signs of mild dehydration. Fort Smallwood has a filtered bottle filling station for easy refills!

 It is important to keep your child home if they are sick for 2 main reasons:

1.  Rest is crucial for the body to focus its energy to promote healing

2. Many illnesses are transmissible, especially in tight classroom environments

 When to keep your child home for illness:

•  Fever 100 degrees or higher. Students should be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication before returning to school.

• Cough. A mild cough may be acceptable, but if the student has an uncontrollable or persistent cough they should remain home and see a provider for evaluation.

• Vomiting or diarrhea associated with an acute GI illness.

• Contagious diseases such as Strep Throat or Pink Eye. The child should be on a prescribed antibiotic for 24 hours before returning to school.

Encourage resilience.

At times children will come to the health room to avoid work, to take a break, or because they don’t want to be at school. This is normal and acceptable on occasion. If it becomes a pattern, consider speaking with your child’s teacher, or the school nurse to discuss strategies and encourage your student toward academic success.

 Ask your school health team for assistance!

Your school nurse has access to many resources and can assist in ensuring your child’s safety and health while at school.

School Procedures and Policies

Morning Arrival

Student arrival is between 7:40-7:55 AM. Instruction begins at 8:00 AM. The car rider lane will close at 7:55 and adults must park and accompany their student into the office to get a late pass after 7:55 am.

Car riders must be dropped off in the car rider lane through main parking lot. Do not drop off students in the bus lane directly in front of the building. Do not use two lanes for morning drop off.

Afternoon Dismissal

The dismissal bell rings at 2:25 pm. There are no early dismissals after 1:40 PM unless it’s an emergency.

Please display car rider tags when arriving for afternoon dismissal. You may use both car rider lanes for PM pickup, please do not depart until signaled that it is safe by the teacher on duty.

PreK students are dismissed early. Parents, please wait at the flagpole, do not come to the classroom window before dismissal.

Attendance

Good attendance is critically important to your child's success. Students who are absent more than twice a month, or 18 days a school year, are considered chronically absent. Chronically absent students are at risk for lower performance in academics. Our school's state rating is largely based on student attendance. Help us become a FIVE STAR SCHOOL by sending your child to school daily. In the event your child becomes ill, please communicate the reason for their absence to the teacher and/or to front office staff.

School Meals

Applications for Free and Reduced Meals can be completed here: https://www.aacps.org/o/aacps/page/apply-for-free-or-reduced-price-meals

Information on purchasing school meals can be found here: https://www.aacps.org/o/aacps/page/purchasing-school-meals

If your child brings lunch, please send a labeled lunch box and refillable water bottle. Please do not bring students fast food meals to eat in the cafeteria or send DoorDash orders for children.

AACPS School Calendar

Please make note of the AACPS School Calendar and ensure that you are aware of early dismissal and school closures: https://www.aacps.org/o/aacps/page/school-calendar

 Fort Smallwood  Elementary Personal Electronics Policy

Fort Smallwood adheres to the AACPS policies and guidelines regarding personal electronics for students. It is strongly recommended that parents do not permit students to bring cell phones, Apple watches, or other personal electronics to school.  Student use of these devices during the school day is disruptive, interferes with instruction, and presents an instructional distraction that is very difficult for teachers to manage.  Parents can communicate with students through the main office.

 If a child does bring a cell phone to school, the cell phone must remain turned off and be stored in the student’s locker throughout the day.   If students wear Apple watches to school, and those are used inappropriately during the instructional day, children will be directed to remove them and place them in their lockers.  

If a student does not comply with these rules, the following will occur:

First infraction: Student will receive a verbal warning, be instructed to store the electronic device in the locker, and parent will be notified.

Second infraction: Student will receive a Minor Incident Referral and parent will be notified

Third infraction: Students will receive a Minor Incident Referral, the electronic device will be confiscated for parents to pick up from the main office. Further repeated offences will follow the Student Code of Conduct guidelines for classroom disruption.

Birthday Celebrations

We know that birthdays are a special day, but we ask families to please be considerate of the needs of the whole class in celebrating your child’s birthday at school.  We recognize children’s birthdays on the announcements, and teachers take time to recognize birthdays in age-appropriate ways in class as well.  We will distribute invitations to birthday parties that invite the whole class. If you are only inviting select children from the class, we ask you to manage invitations outside of school.

 In consultation with the teacher, parents may:

• Send in simple store-bought treats, such as cupcakes, to be consumed at lunch for the entire class.  Store bought treats must be nut-free and must list the ingredients on the packaging

• Send small favor bags containing non-edible items such as pencils, stickers or playdough in with their child for the entire class

• Plan with the teacher for one family member to visit the class at a specified time to distribute the treats or favors, or to be a guest reader of the child’s favorite storybook.

Parents may not:

• Send whole cakes, pizzas or other food items requiring the teacher to serve

• Send home-made food items

• Send balloons or other large celebratory displays

• Send large gifts or gifts/favors only for certain children in the class

• Bring multiple family members or friends to school to celebrate in the classroom

Volunteering

We welcome school volunteers. In order to volunteer or chaperone, family members must complete a Background Investigation with AACPS. Here is the link for information on how to obtain a background check: https://www.aacps.org/o/aacps/page/chaperonevolunteer-background-investigations

Parent Teacher Association

Our next PTA meeting is Thursday, November 13th at 6 PM in the Media Center!

Below is a link to the PTA product site. We have Individual ($15), Family (2 memberships, $20), and Teacher/Staff ($11) membership options, and ROCKY SWAG!  https://fsespta.givebacks.com/shop  

PTA will offer an after-school Chess Club on Mondays. Look for more information soon!

Federal Impact Program Survey

Parents who are active military or who live or work on Federal Property in Maryland are asked to complete this year’s Federal Impact Aid Survey when it becomes available on September 30, 2025.

You will be asked to verify your home address and identify if it is located on federal property. You will also complete sections identifying if a family member is in the military or works on federally owned property in Maryland. The survey should only take a couple of minutes to complete and be assured, all data collected is kept completely confidential.

Why Complete This Survey

Anne Arundel County Public Schools, like many local school districts across the United States, include within our boundaries parcels of land that are owned by the Federal Government or that have been removed from the local tax rolls by the Federal Government. Federal property is exempt from local property taxes. By submitting an application to the Department of Education each January, AACPS receives approximately $2 million to assist in educating all our students.

Maryland SUN Bucks

Maryland SUN Bucks helps families with school-aged children who receive free or reduced-price meals buy groceries during the summer break when school meals are unavailable. Many AACPS families are enrolled to receive these benefits but have not yet accessed them, and MD SUN Bucks will begin expiring in October. To help ensure families do not lose access to these benefits, we encourage you to remind your families to use their benefits before they expire. SUN Bucks benefits will expire 122 days after issuance, which means that June benefits will begin expiring in October. If families or staff have specific questions, they should contact the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) office at 1-800-332-6347 and select the SUN Bucks option.