Samuel Ogle Middle School
4111 Chelmont Lane, Bowie, Maryland 20715
Phone: 301-805-2641
Guidance: 301-805-2706
FAX: 301-805-6674
Rigorous Academic Model for Success
Glenise Marshall Tamela Taylor-Orr
Principal Assistant Principal
Dwight Jefferson
Assistant Principal
August 1, 2017
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year! We are very excited about the work that we will do together. We are counting on your continued partnership as we strive to accelerate the progress that each of our students will make during the coming school year.
This year we will continue to articulate a mindset that declares that all students will achieve at high levels – given good instruction, positive relationships and sustained and consistent, effective effort. We take seriously the responsibility of creating an environment where students are educated empowered, inspired, and engaged everyday and ready to demonstrate their knowledge
Like all schools in Maryland we have shifted what and how we teach to align with the rigor of the Maryland Common Core Standards Framework for College and Career readiness, and Mastery of the PARCC assessments which details information on student skills in areas important for college, career, and life. The Maryland Common Core Standards asks students to use evidence in writing to read a variety of fiction, and informational text, to use math to solve real world problems, and to be able to find and correct mistakes in their own thinking.
Orientation Day for new 6 and 7th grade students is on Tuesday September 5th.
The official day of school for all students is on Wednesday, September 6th Bus transportation will be provided for bus riders. Pick-up and drop-off times will be according to the bus schedule mailed to students’ homes from Prince George’s County Public Schools Department of Transportation. Please contact the PGCPS Department of Transportation at 301-952-6570. Transportation information is also available on the PGCPS website at Students must be in their first mod class no later than 9:30 am. Dismissal takes place at 4:10 pm. During Orientation day, new 6thand 7thgrade students will follow their regular schedule all day. Teachers will have lessons ready so students should come prepared to learn. Lunch will be served and so it is imperative that students bring money to purchase lunch or bring a bag lunch. If your child had free or reduced price lunch last year, it will continue until the end of September when you will have had to reapply for this school year. You may do this on line at pgcps.org, Food and Nutrition. Each student who attended Samuel Ogle Middle School last year was assigned a PIN number. Students can continue to use this same number to purchase food and milk in the cafeteria. All students new to Samuel Ogle Middle School will be assigned a PIN number during the first week of school. Food & Nutrition Services accept cashier's checks along with cash and money orders for student food accounts. Personal Checks and Certified Checks are no longer accepted as a form of payment.MySchoolBucks, owned and operated by Heartland Payment Systems, is an online payment service that provides parents the ability to securely pay for meals, monitor student cafeteria purchases, make tuition payments for Before and After School Extended Learning programs, and receive email notifications for low account balances. With MySchoolBucks, payments can be made 24/7 using a Visa, MasterCard, Discover, credit or debit card, and mobile app. Prices: breakfast meals cost$1.60, and lunch meals $3.00. Reduced priced breakfasts are .40, and Reduced priced lunch is .40. Please note that these prices are subject to change.
To Apply for Free or Reduced-Priced Meals: go to www1.pgcps.org/foodandnutrition/
The chart below gives a summary the expectations for Orientation day and the first day of school.
6th Grade Orientation Day / First day of school –Tuesday September 5, 2017
9:30-4:10 / Full day
New 7th Graders –Orientation Day / First day of school – Tuesday September 5th, 2017
9:30-4:10 / Full Day
Returning 7th & 8th Graders / First day of school – September 6th
9:30-4:10 / Full Day
All students will be on a regular schedule beginning Wednesday, September 6, 2017. Our school hours are 9:30 AM – 4:10 PM, and our doors will open at 9:20 AM daily. For safety reasons, children may not be dropped off at school prior to 9:20 AM, as there will not be adult supervision until that time. All students will report to their homeroom class. Studentswithout a schedule will report to the Gym, upon their arrival on the 6th.Students will receive several forms on the first day of school. Those forms include emergency and consent forms. It is very important that those forms are completed and returned the following day. Your child will be issued a locker after we have received these forms. Thank you for your immediate response. The information required to complete the Emergency Contact Form is very important to maintaining the safety of your child. Current home, business and emergency telephone numbers are critical in order for the school to be able to contact you at any time. The phone numbers and email information will permit us to assure that you and your family will receive information about Samuel Ogle and community activities and events. We have advanced into the age of technology and now do email and call-out messages and post our newsletter on-line instead of sending home paper notices. Additional Emergency Contact Forms will be located in the main office. Only the person/persons listed on your child’s form will be allowed to pick up your child unless prior arrangements are made, in writing. The designated person/persons must enter the main office and show proper identification in order for us to release your child. Each child is required to purchase an Agenda Book during the first week of school. Agenda Books cost $4.00 and will be used as a major form of communication between teachers and parents throughout the school year. Please review your child’s Agenda Book with her/him and sign the following Agenda Book pages:
p. 1 – Attendance Policy, Excused Absences, Tardiness
p. 3 – Use of Telephones, Pagers, Cell phones
p. 3, 4 – System-wide Dress Code for Students
p. 5 – Make-up Work
p. 6 – Discipline Policy and Procedures, Code of Student Conduct
If your child rides a bus, please watch your mailbox for information about the bus routes and times from the Department of Transportation during the week ofAugust 17th. To reduce the chance of missing the bus, I recommend that students be at the bus stops ten minutes before the listed times. Walkers will be directed to the door through which they will enter the building on a daily basis. Children who arrive by car will exit the car on the right side of the car in our drop off area and enter the building through the walkers’ entrance. Parents may not park in the drop off area, and those who park in the parking lot must escort their children into the building. To ensure all students’ safety, no child may walk across the driveway during arrival or dismissal unless accompanied by a parent.
The SOMS Parent Teacher Student Association has provided tremendous support over the years. We rely on the generosity of our parent partners in a variety of ways. We expect our PTSA to be a partnership in action in the form of several committees. The most effective way to help is simply by joining the PTSA. The cost is $20.00 per individual. Please know that these funds will be used to directly supply needed materials to all the children and teachers in this building. It is my hope that all of you will support our children by joining the PTSA.
This school year will be filled with rigorous academic instruction and high levels of student achievement. I look forward to working with all of you as we strive for the success of all of our students. Please mark your calendar for Back To School Night! 7th and 8th grade Grade will be held onTuesday, September 12th, at 6:30 PM. 6th grade Back To School Night on Tuesday, September 19th at 6:30 PM.
Sincerely,
Glenise Marshall
Principal