Welcome to School Year 23-24

August 1, 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians:

We trust that this communication finds each of you doing well and enjoying the remainder of the summer!

We are rapidly approaching the opening day of school year 2023-2024 at Robert R. Gray Elementary School. The FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL is Monday, August 28, 2023 at 8:30am.

We are excited and proud of the progress and perseverance of all of our scholars, families, and staff as we transitioned into FULL In-Person instruction last school year. The support of your children and our staff was phenomenal and we want to take this time to let you know that you are appreciated!

We would like to personally thank each of you for ensuring that students came to school each day – ready for a day of rigorous learning. We applaud all of our scholars for their academic efforts across all content areas and look forward to the academic growth that SY 2023-2024 will bring. While there is continued room for growth around attendance and our academic progress, we are pleased to partner with you through this journey towards academic excellence.

It is important for us to inform you that this school year brings another level of academic rigor with our curriculum and opportunities to close gaps of learning while students were outside of the school house. More information around curriculum updates will be provided by your child’s teacher during Orientation/Back to School Night. We will spend that time ensuring that you are aware of the shifts in instruction and the high expectations this will mean for ALL learners. We are preparing students for success in a global society. WE can do it! Each student, parent/guardian and teacher must work collaboratively to maximize student learning and to prepare them for success!

Our school theme for the 2023-2024 school year is, “Keep Rising to the Top!” In order for each student to be successful, it is critical that he/she reads with comprehension at or above grade level and shows competency in basic math facts and data analysis. To address this, we are excited to provide an instructional design which emphasizes independent reading fluency, comprehension, strategic reading, research, and analytical writing skills of our students. Further, students will utilize their data analysis skills and basic computation skills to demonstrate proficiency around the 8 Standards of Mathematical Practice.

The Robert R. Gray Elementary School staff is committed to excellence as we work with you and your child (ren) to ensure that every student:

• is exposed to a nurturing and caring school environment
• achieves and is successful in all subject areas
• continues to develop outstanding social skills and character
• feels safe at school

We welcome your involvement in your child’s education. Both student achievement and social-emotional wellness are significantly improved when parents/guardians are actively and positively involved in their child’s education. Therefore, I am asking you to be actively involved by working cooperatively with your child’s teacher throughout the school year. Schedule conferences when needed, join our PTA, join our community of parent volunteers - Partner with us!

This year we will continue to serve as a Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) school. This means that we will enhance our school-wide focus on EAGLE P.R.I.D.E. (Prepared, Respectful, Integrity, Determined, and Excellence). Your scholar will have lots of opportunities to engage in fun activities as a reward for demonstrating EAGLE PRIDE throughout our school community.

I am excited about working with you as we provide a quality education for every child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (301) 636-8400. Our Main Office Hours are 8am-3:30pm. We look forward to seeing you and your child on the first day of a GREAT school year!

Educationally,
Dr. C. Franklin
Dr. Cheryl Franklin
Principal

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

SCHOOL HOURS

8:30am-2:40pm

• Please do not drop students off onto the school property prior to 8:30am as there is no supervision for them before 8:30am. Safety first!
• All students will ENTER through the main doors.
• PK/K will DISMISS from the side cafeteria doors.
• Grade 1 and 2 will DISMISS from the side blacktop.
• Grades 3, 4, and 5 will DISMISS from the front side stairwell doors and will report to the designated pick up areas in front of the school.

COVID Protocols

• All PGCPS facilities are mask optional. Should anything change regarding this protocol, we will inform you.
• All individuals in our facility will wash their hands and sanitize regularly throughout the school day.
• Our facility is cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized per PGCPS protocols.
• It is important that all individuals entering our facility monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19. If symptomatic/positive, please quarantine per the guidelines of PGCPS and your physician.
• If a student is symptomatic/positive, they must be picked up within 1 hour.
• Visitors must make an appointment with the Main Office in order to enter the facility.
• Additional information/protocols will be provided via the School Nurse

SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTS

Our School Supply Lists are included on our website and in this mailing. Please stay tuned to ClassDojo and our School Website for more information.

FOOD SERVICES – TIME SENSITIVE

• Applications for free and reduced meals must be completed by EVERY STUDENT each year. The quickest way to complete this process is to complete an application online at https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application.
• You may call (301) 952-6517 to have a form mailed directly to your home.
• You may still use the www.myschoolbucks.com online system to add money to your child’s account. NO CASH will be accepted at the school.
• PIN Numbers will be provided to students on the first day of school

ONSITE BEFORE AND AFTER CARE OPTIONS - AlphaBest

https://www.alphabest.org/ or (866) 300-7750

SCHOOL UNIFORMS

Please view our Uniform Policy page for information about our required uniforms.

TRANSPORTATION

Please use the contact information below for any transportation related questions: 301-952-6570

VOLUNTEER PROCESS

Please visit this site to register and apply to be a volunteer: https://erp.pgcps.org/OA_HTML/OA.jsp?page=/pgcps/oracle/apps/per/sms/webui/CreateVolunteerRegisterWelcomePG

IN-PERSON ORIENTATION DAY (PK and K Families Only)

An In-Person Orientation will take place on Friday, August 25, 2023, for students in grades Prekindergarten and Kindergarten.

PK: 9:00am
KINDERGARTEN: 10:00am

*To assist with health and safety protocols, please do not arrive early for your session. Participants will be invited into
the Multi-Purpose Room ten minutes before the start of their session.

WE COMMUNICATE USING CLASSDOJO

Your child’s teacher will provide you with instructions regarding how to sign up for ClassDojo to remain aware of class assignments and school announcements.