What's New Be sure to check this link often for updates! Upcoming events at Rosa Parks include: Monday, May 19. Spring Concert at 7:00 P.M. in the multipurpose room. Monday, May 26. Memorial Day. School closed. Friday, May 30. Sixth grade promotional exercise at 6:00 P.M. in the multipurpose room. Monday, June 9. Last day for students (changed by the Board of Education from an earlier date due to use of a snow day in February). The following students were honored at Bowie State Univesity on May 1 for their participation in the LINKS Poster Contest sponsored by the Prince George's County Public Schools: Alcides Chicas, Vanessa Herrera, Romare Marshall, Anthony Reyes, Fatou Singhaten, and Alexis Yanes. Congratulations! For the new Board Systems Oversight Policy, click here. To check the current status of Prince George's County Public Schools as regards delayed openings, closings, and early dismissals, click here. For Dr. Deasy's letter on procedures relating to weather-related delays, closings, and early dismissals, click here. For the English version of Dr. Deasy's letter on staph infection, click here. For the Spanish version of Dr. Deasy's letter on staph infection, click here. For the English version of a fact sheet on staph infection, click here. For the Spanish version of a fact sheet on staph infection, click here. For our "Hands" video dedicated to the troops in Iraq, click here. For our "Hands" video dedicated to victims of the Virginia Tech shootings, click here. For our "Rosa L. Parks Elementary School" video, click here. For school-wide and grade level newsletters in English and Spanish, click here. For the ESOL Insights newsletters, click here. For minutes of the School Planning Management Team meetings, click here. For a directory listing various scholarships available to Prince George's County students, click here. Colorin Colorado is a site created for Spanish speaking parents to better understand how to help their children read. The site was originally created to help students in K-3, yet you'll find strategies to help all children. The site can be viewed in English or Spanish. Check out it at : http://www.colorincolorado.org Thank you to all of our parents who has volunteered thus far. According to new board regulations, all volunteers must be fingerprinted before working with our children. Unfortunately this may be an inconvenience for some, but safety for all of our children is our first priority.Tips for Reading with Your Child: Do it every day and pick a regular time. By doing so, you demonstrate that reading is important. Read the book before you read it aloud. Reading aloud is performing. You will do a better job if you are familiar with the book. Read books you like. If you like the book, odds are your child will also. Start by reading books you enjoyed as a child. Read articles from magazines, newspapers, and other materials aloud. Read for information and for fun! Parents are encouraged to remind the students to walk on the main roads to school each day. We can ensure our children's safety if the students follow the directions of the crossing guards. Students will not be allowed to walk through the community parks as a means of a short-cut. Adult supervision will not be available in those areas. Car riders will continue to enter and exit the building through the front doors (Kiss and Ride). Please do not leave your automobile unattended in the Kiss and Ride section. Students should arrive no earlier than 7:30 A.M. Adult supervision will not be available before 7:30 A.M. Students walking to school should report to the blacktop area. Students will be escorted in the building at 7:30 A.M. Walking students in grades Headstart through three will enter and exit through the yellow door (north side of the blacktop). Walking students in grades four through six will enter and exit through the green door (south door of the blacktop). Parents are asked to remain near the fence during dismissal time. Parents will not be allowed to escort their children to and from the classroom. All visitors to the school must sign in at the main office and wear the visitors' badge. Parents violating this request will be ask to report to the office or leave the building. We must always ensure the safety of our students. Friendly Reminders Students eating breakfast should report to school at 7:30 A.M. Students arriving before 7:45 A.M. will be allowed to eat breakfast. Students reporting to school after 7:50 A.M. will be marked tardy. Students are encouraged to wear the school uniform daily. Request for early dismissal must occur before 1:30 P.M. All parent correspondence and student information will be sent home on Thursdays. Parents are encouraged to get involved in their child's education by volunteering at school, a volunteer sign-up sheet is available in the main office. Remember to hug your child each day! Changes for students' dismissal must be submitted in writing to the classroom teacher. Telephone requests for dismissal changes will not be honored unless it is an emergency. Emergencies will be determined by an administrator. 2007-2008 Master School Calendar 2007 Monday, August 20. First day of school for students. Monday, September 3. Labor Day. School closed. Thursday, September 13. Rosh Hashanah & Ramadan. School closed. Friday, September 21. Professional Development. School closed. Wednesday, October 17. End of First Quarter (40 days). Thursday, October 18. Grading/Teacher Planning. School closed. Friday, October 19. MSTA Convention. School closed. Monday, November 12. Parent/Teacher Conferences. School closed. November 21 - 23. Thanksgiving break. School closed. Thursday, December 20. End of Second Quarter (40 days). Friday, December 21. Grading/Teacher Planning. School closed. December 24, 2007 - January 1, 2008. Winter Break. School closed. 2008 Wednesday, January 2. First day back from Winter Break. Monday, January 21. Martin L. King, Jr. Day. School closed. Wednesday, February 21. Presidential Primary Election Day. School closed. Monday, February 18. Presidents' Day. School closed. Thursday, March 13. End of Third Quarter (49 days). Friday, March 14. Grading/Teacher Planning. School closed. March 17 - 24. Spring Break. School closed. Monday, May 26. Memorial Day. School closed. Friday, June 6. Last Day for Students. End of Fourth Quarter (53 days). Educationally Speaking... Thoughts on Children and the Field of Teaching Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others. ~Rosa Parks One of the greatest things you have in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You're the one who'll decide what you want to be. Respect yourself and respect the integrity of others as well. The greatest thing you have is your self image, a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you. ~ Jaime Escalante Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. ~Nelson Mandela All who have meditated on the act of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth. ~Aristotle Tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. ~Malcolm X A person's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions. ~O.W. Holmes Train a child to follow in the right path, and when he grows up he will not depart from it. ~Proverbs 22:6 A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ~Henry Adams Children have more need of models than of critics. ~Joubert There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in. ~Graham Greene I touch the future; I teach. ~Christa McAuliffe A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated. ~Horace Mann It takes a village to raise a child. ~African proverb Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. ~George Santayana Failure is instructive. The thinking person learns as much from his failures as from his successes. ~John Dewey Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government. ~Thomas Jefferson All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten. ~Robert Fulghum Only people who die very young learn all they really need to know in kindergarten. ~Wendy Kaminer Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. ~James Baldwin No nation that does not take proper care of its young can survive--or deserves to. ~Father Flanagan A child miseducated is a child lost. ~John F. Kennedy To teach is to learn. ~Japanese Proverb Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give. ~UN Declaration Only the educated are free. ~Epictetus Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. ~John Dana Self-education is fine when the pupil is a born educator. ~John Shedd Out of the public schools grows the greatness of a nation. ~Mark Twain Nothing in life is to be feared, only understood. ~Marie Curie As the twig is bent so the tree inclines. ~Virgil What we are born is God's gift to us; what we become is our gift to God. ~R.W. Emerson Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make ye free. ~John 8:13 If you light a candle in a very dark place, it shines a long way. ~Dr. Tom Dooley