Nantucket News and Notes

Nantucket's Biweekly Publication for Parents/Guardians

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Families,

Thank you to all of our parents, guardians, and volunteers who supported Field Day this week. The students had a fantastic time as they rotated through the various stations with their classmates. Your support helped make the day such a success!

A special thank you to our PTA for providing students with a cool treat on Field Day—it was a perfect way to celebrate such a fun-filled day.

We are now in the homestretch as we move toward June 16. Instruction will continue going strong through the last day of school, and we look forward to seeing all of our students present and engaged each day.

Please be sure to read the newsletter below for important updates about the end of the school year as well as information for the 2026–2027 school year.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Warmest regards,
Megan E. Edwards
Principal

Thank you to our Nantucket PTA for a fabulous year! Just some highlights:

*a new sensory path in the courtyard

*restocking of indoor recess supplies

*numerous family/community events

*frequent teacher appreciation days

*yearbook organization

The Nantucket PTA Fundraising Chair is currently open for the 2026-2027 school year. If you are interested in learning more about this role, please contact the PTA at NantucketElementaryPTA@Gmail.com.

All international families in the Crofton school area are invited to the Summer Reading Information Night on Monday, June 1, 2026, from 5:30-7:00 pm at Crofton Library. Come join us to learn about reading tips and strategies to help engage your student over the summer. You will be able to enroll your student in the AACPL Summer Reading Program. We will also share information on FREE services and opportunities offered at your local library. RSVP by clicking on the following link, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2Gimaba1j_C-pkE7GlFcYGKsKYi7Q8Wf8_s0xC-ETkNqYaQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=111388134360968454479. For information contact, Griselda Baquedano at 443-758-7144.

Click the picture above to learn more about Jack's Eagle Scout Project supporting AACPS instrumental music programs!

Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten registration is open now! Click here to read more!

Click here to access the AACPS website for more information regarding bullying.

School Meals 2025-2026

Breakfast is available in the school cafeteria each morning. Breakfast cost is $1.50 full price and is free for students qualifying for the free/reduced priced program.

Lunch may be purchased at school for $2.75. Milk may also be purchased during lunch for $0.55. You may pay for lunch in advance and use them as you like. This is encouraged as it avoids “lost” or “forgotten” monies. Checks/cash (payable to Nantucket Elementary Cafeteria) will be accepted in the school’s cafeteria or Meal Pay Plus offers you a convenient, easy, and secure way to make prepayments using your bank account or your Visa or MasterCard. Visit mealpayplus.com for more information and registration.

Application forms for free or reduced lunches need to be filled out online at the beginning of the school year. Families may qualify according to the federal income eligibility guidelines. All applications are kept confidential and are accepted at any time during the school year.

Has your family recently experienced a financial hardship? You may now be eligible for Free or Reduced Meals for your student, even if you previously applied and were denied. You can reapply here online

iReady Diagnostic Parent Reports and Math My Path

AACPS elementary students take the i-Ready Diagnostic assessments in reading and math three times a year—at the beginning, middle, and end.
These adaptive assessments help identify each student’s strengths and areas for growth, providing valuable insights to guide instruction and support learning.

Families can view their child’s progress through the i-Ready Parent Report.
[Click here for instructions on how to access the report.]

Research from AACPS shows a strong correlation between students’ i-Ready composite scores and their MCAP performance—especially for students who meet the recommended usage guidelines.

Students are encouraged to complete their weekly My Path math lessons at home to reinforce learning.

The Middle of the Year iReady Window has closed. Login to see the growth you student made!

Need A Loaner Chromebook?

Does your student have access to technology at home?
Having access to technology at home enhances learning and supports classroom instruction. When students have access, they can:

Reread or preview their CKLA materials using Amplify
In grades 1–5, work on their personalized iReady Math My Path lessons
Watch and engage with Math Replay videos on REVEAL

Additionally, access to a device is essential if AACPS transitions to virtual learning, which may occur after multiple inclement weather days.

If your student needs a device, you can request a loaner Chromebook through AACPS. Simply log in to your PowerSchool Parent Portal and complete the Loaner Request Form for your student.

If you already have a device at home and you need to access the above resources, go to AACPS.org and click the tab for Students and Families. From there, click on AACPS Connect - Students.

Health Room News

Greetings from the Health Room! You can reach us at nurse3282@aacps.org or (410) 451-6135.

If your child requires medication during the school day, or for emergency purposes, please remember to have the student's doctor complete the Parent Request to Administer Medication at School form. A copy of the form can be found here. If you have a student with other healthcare needs or you have any questions, please reach out to our Nurse Heidi via email. Please check your student's take-home folder, we may be sending things home that may require your signature and need to be returned. Please remember that students may not carry medications at school without express consent from the health room. Medication drop-offs need to be an adult-to-adult transfer, please have a trusted adult bring the medication to the health room.

Be sure to send an extra set of clothes for your child to be kept in their locker. This helps ensure a quick return to class for students of any age. Spills, trips, and mishaps happen! Please help us and your student be prepared to face life's unexpected challenges.

Birthdays at Nantucket

Nantucket Elementary recognizes that birthdays are a special day for our students. In order to maintain a safe environment for all of our students, food items WILL NOT be accepted to distribute to classmates. Parents may send in small non-food treats to be distributed to students at the end of the day. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping all of our students safe at Nantucket Elementary.

Additionally, please note that teachers and staff are unable to participate in distributing communications/invitations or email addresses related to birthday celebrations. All planning for birthdays needs to happen outside of school so that it does not take away from the purpose of instruction.

Personal Deliveries for Students

For safety reasons, please note that students are not able to receive deliveries such as Door Dash, Uber Eats, or flower or gift deliveries. If your child forgets their lunch, they always have the option of buying lunch in the cafeteria.

Instructional Interruptions

To minimize disruptions to instruction during the school day, we kindly ask that families avoid requesting office staff to call students out of class unless it is an emergency. Our office team is happy to assist by delivering messages to students at times that do not interfere with learning. Thank you for supporting a focused and uninterrupted learning environment.

Recess Happens Daily

The 2026-2027 Nantucket Yearbook is being delivered from the vendor on May 29. Yearbooks will be distributed in June.

Thank you to PTA President Brenda Williams and the Yearbook Co-Chairs Melanie Chang and Stephanie Lopez for all of their hard work creating the yearbook this year!

Has your child misplaced a sweatshirt, jacket, hat, lunchbox, etc.? Please visit our lost and found before the end of the school year. Any leftovers will be donated to charity.

School Attendance

Regular school attendance is very important to your child’s academic progress and success in school. Please try to schedule dental/medical appointments and other commitments for after school hours whenever possible. Please read the Attendance Section in our Family Handbook for more information regarding Attendance.

At our Attendance Committee Meeting in May, the committee discussed all students who have 18 or more cumulative lawful and unlawful absences and 36 or more tardies and/or early dismissals.

Chronic absenteeism includes students who miss 10% or more of enrolled instructional days. AACPS recognizes a direct correlation between attendance and other academic measures, including grades and state test scores, so monitoring, communicating, and supporting families is necessary for improvement. Even if your student has had lawful absences and you have provided doctor's notes, you may be contacted about your child's chronic absenteeism.

Click here to access the AACPS Compulsory Attendance Regulation

Arrive on Time and Beat the Bell!

Any student who arrives to school late, must be signed into the school office by an adult. Please park your vehicle in a parking space, ring the doorbell and come into the school office to sign in your child(ren).

If you are pulling into the bus or car rider loop and your child will not make it into the front door by 8:01 AM, please do not drop off your student. Park and come in. Parents will be called back to school if their student arrives to the front door without a parent.

Have you heard about Beat the Bell at Nantucket?

Students who arrive on time daily are entered into a drawing in their classroom for a chance to earn the weekly school-wide drawing.

Help your child arrive on time so they get their name into the daily class drawing!

Safety Reminders

To protect everyone's privacy, taking photos or video recordings of others—whether students or adults—is not allowed while on school property. We ask that all members of our school community follow this important expectation to help ensure a safe and respectful environment for all.

We continue to have difficulty with students and adults making safe walking choices at dismissal. Please see the picture above.

All members of the community are expected to stay on the sidewalks and cross the roads at crosswalks that have crossing guards and staff supervision. Please do not cross the car rider or bus rider lanes on foot, on bicycle, or scooter. Model safe crossing for our Starfish!

Students who are dismissed should leave from the front of the building as soon as possible to make room for the next round of students to be dismissed.

If we cannot make safe choices at dismissal, we will need to slow down our dismissal process and release one group of walkers at a time to make sure they are dismissing safely.

Now that spring has arrived, we are noticing that some of our older walking students are lingering in front of the building at dismissal while socializing with friends. This lingering makes it more difficult to ensure a safe and orderly dismissal for all Nantucket students. Unless an older student is waiting to pick up a younger sibling, we ask that families please encourage their child(ren) to head home promptly after dismissal so that we can maintain a safe dismissal process for everyone.

Dismissal Routine Change for Car Riders

Beginning after Spring Break, we are going to change our dismissal procedures for car riders to try to make the process more efficient and safe. Please review these changes with your car riders over the break so they are prepared when they return. Please also encourage your child to leave the classroom when called and go straight out the door so that our dismissal process can run smoothly.

Car riders will be called for dismissal AFTER all walkers have been called. They will go immediately outside and to the right of the building where the blue line is. They will then stand behind their grade-level sign. Students will stand behind their grade-level cone until their name is called. Car riders will no longer first report to the cafeteria and then be brought outside in a line, which will hopefully speed up the process.

Upcoming Events

May 21-22: No School for PK/K - Parent Teacher Conferences
May 22: 3rd Grade Field Trip
May 25: No School - Memorial Day
May 26: 5th Grade Field Trip; DIBELS Window Opens
May 28: iReady Window Opens in Grades 1-5; Senior Walk
May 29: MCAP Window Closes, SeaPerch Field Trip

Looking for a career opportunity nearby? AACPD is currently hiring for a Crossing Guard at the intersection of Nantucket Dr. and Wellfleet. Check it out!

Summer Reading

Books and Bundts by Nothing Bundt Cakes - Books & Bundts is our youth reading program for pre-K through elementary students that celebrates the joy of reading. It's easy and free with delicious results. Contact your local bakery to see if they are participating and to learn more.
Books for Bill - Navy Athletics and Annapolis Ice Cream
Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program
AACPL Summer Reading Program
Ledo Pizza Summer Reading Incentive - Stay Tuned!

Summer Social Skills Group

STEM Summer Camp at Nantucket

Withdrawls

If you are planning to move over the summer or have already moved and will be attending another school, you will need to notify us and be provided with a transfer packet. Marjorie Woodings, School Registrar, will be the point of contact for transfer packets and withdrawals. To receive a transfer packet, please complete the Google Form found here for each student transferring/withdrawing. Please contact her at 410-451-6120 or at mwoodings@aacps.org with any questions.

Teacher Requests

Class configurations are compiled by the administration and staff. This is a difficult and complex task and many factors are taken into account. When grouping children, we consider students’ abilities, work habits, and social skills. We try to place students where they will be able to work successfully with their new team of teachers and classmates, thereby maximizing their potential.

Requests for a specific teacher will not be accepted. The Nantucket Elementary staff feels strongly about demonstrating mutual respect for all teachers. We have a staff with various experiences and styles, and we feel all have something to offer to our community of learners.

Class Assignments

A new school year brings about fresh and exciting adventures. Please be aware that as circumstances change, the staffing may change as well. Students will receive their class assignments in August. Our grade level teams for next year will be:

Pre-Kindergarten: LeGrand and Lecato

Kindergarten: Connolly, Georgopalis, Herrick, White, Pelletreau, Slonaker, and Smith

First Grade: Choi, Donnor, Hoffmann, and Kujan

Second Grade: Amadu, Barrick, Garino, Potter, and Slider

Third Grade: Briemann, Calloway, Costello, Hartman, and Smith

Fourth Grade: James, Sanders, Scholten, and St. John

Fifth Grade: Cartee, DeFeo, Pinder-Christman, and Spadaro

Cultural Arts: Gifford and TBD (STEM), Hysell and Wittelsberger (Art), Peterson and TBD (Phys Ed), Hess and Mavica (General Music), Zimmerman (All Instrumental Music), and Reymann, TBD, and Starks (Media)

Resource Team: Ahmed (ESOL), Ahmed, Baquedano, Chen, and Zanaty (Bilingual Liaisons), Rye (Literacy), Brauer and Dring (School Counseling), Braun, Helm, LaCroix, Maldonado, Sollars, and Williams (Special Education), Schubert, Mootz, and Jones (Service Providers)

Secretarial and Office Team: D'Erasmo, Polk, Sherman, Wagner, and Woodings

Farewell Starfish

We say a fond farewell to some of our Nantucket Staff: Ashlee Fredericks, Stacy McAfee, Van McKinley, Jessica Pfeiffer, Margaret Porschet, Janie Riggie, Tiffany Stahl, Soni Tankersley, Keith Tremel, Anton Wesley. We wish them well in their future endeavors! Once a Starfish, always a Starfish!

School Supplies

Basic school supplies will be purchased and provided for each student to start the school year in the fall.

Tieing up Loose Ends

Before the end of the school year, please make sure to take care of any unpaid Cafeteria or Media balances your student has accrued. To see if your student has an unpaid balance, please reach out the the individuals below:

Cafeteria Balances: Sandy D'Erasmo

Media Balances: Shannen Reymann and Soni Tankersley

To help families and students be able to more easily access resources and information during the aftermath of this winter storm, Anne Arundel County Public Schools has created a special web page. Go to www.aacps.org/stayconnected to access that information, including rescheduled dates for postponed events.