From School Administration
Dear Manor Woods Families,
The first two weeks of May at Manor Woods have been FANTASTIC! As we near the end of the school year, we have so many wonderful events, activities and celebrations planned for our students. Wednesday, our 5th grade students participated in one of these amazing 5th grade events ~ Simulated Congressional Hearings.
CONGRATULATIONS to our 5th grade students! We proudly celebrate the outstanding efforts of our students who showcased their knowledge, poise, and civic understanding through their simulated congressional hearing presentations. Each group demonstrated a deep commitment to research, critical thinking, and respectful discourse as they addressed constitutional issues. Their articulate arguments, thoughtful responses to challenging questions, and teamwork were a testament to their hard work and dedication. A HUGE THANK YOU to our staff for all your hard work in preparing students for their presentation and our parent volunteers for your support with set-up and organizing a wonderful breakfast for our SCH judges! AND a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our judges who volunteered their time for this fantastic event! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Last week, we had our 4th and 5th Grade Band in-school and night concerts. We want to give a big SHOUT OUT to our 4th & 5th Grade Band students for their performance during the in-school and night concerts. Both concerts were AMAZING! Thank you to Mr. Marini for all his hard work and dedication to our students and our band program. In addition, thank you to our staff who volunteered at the night concert. The concert was a great success due to our students and staff. BRAVO!
On behalf of our entire staff, we want to thank all of our families and PTO for a wonderful Staff Appreciation Week last week with the theme THANK YOU FOR HELPING US GROW! The flower station, sound bath, trail mix station, SWAG Bag, acai bowls, kind words and thoughtful gestures made our staff feel valued and celebrated! Your thoughtfulness is truly appreciated. We are all blessed to work at Manor Woods with our amazing students and community! THANK YOU!
Looking ahead, we are excited for our Field Day on Tuesday, May 19th. We are appreciative of all the parent volunteers to make Tuesday a wonderful event for our students!
Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend!
Kelli Jenkins, Principal
Jennifer Zinn, Assistant Principal
Important Date
May
19 - Field Day
22 - MWES Consideration Form for 2026-27 School Year Due
25 - Schools and Offices Closed ~ Memorial Day
27- Schools and Offices Closed ~ Eid ul-Adha
28 - 4th Grade Field Trip to Biz Town
29 - 4th Grade Field Trip to Biz Town
June
3 - Spring Orchestra Concert, Marriotts Ridge HS, 7:00 PM
8 - Full Day of School (New)
9 - Spring Chorus Concert, Centennial HS, 7:00 PM
15 - 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony, 9:15 AM ~ (More details coming soon)
16 - 3 Hour Early Dismissal - Professional Learning Day
17 - 3 Hour Early Dismissal - Professional Work Day
18 - Last Day of School / 3 Hour Early Dismissal - Professional Work Day
19 - Schools & Offices Closed - Juneteenth
23 - Schools & Offices Closed - Primary Election Day
RELATED ARTS ~ COLOR CALENDAR SCHEDULE
Note: Color Calendar May Not Reflect Updated School Closures/Early Dismissals
UPDATED HCPSS CALENDAR
https://www.hcpss.org/calendar/
MWES NEWS
MWES CONSIDERATION FORM FOR 2026-27 SCHOOL YEAR
The Manor Woods staff is looking ahead to the 2026-27 school year. As part of this process, we would like to give you the opportunity to share some information that you would like for us to consider as we work this spring/summer to finalize class placement for next school year. This consideration form is for you, as parents/guardians, to share specific information about your child that you feel would be beneficial to determine next year's placement.
When placing students, the staff and administration utilize a wide range of criteria, which are supportive of the Howard County philosophy of heterogeneous grouping. Some of these criteria include, but are not limited to:
- social emotional strengths and needs
- learning style
- math, reading and writing strengths and needs
- assessment results
- special education requirements; IEP goals
- structured versus unstructured needs
- information from previous teachers and school counselor
There are certain concerns that we cannot consider as part of this Consideration Form: therefore we ask that you not use this form to propose the following:
- specific teacher requests,
- grouping based on siblings’ experience,
- grouping based on friends,
- grouping based on hearsay.
Your input on this form will be used in our planning for your child rather than a letter requesting a specific teacher. Your response is OPTIONAL but is a very valuable source of information to the school staff and to the next teacher.
The form closes on May 22nd at 4:00 PM. Thank you for your help. The time, thought, and commitment put into the completion of this form is appreciated.
Click on the following link to complete the MWES Consideration Form for 2026-27 School Year.
MWES Parent Volunteer Packing Support
Our school and campus will be closed this summer due to Phase 3 of a major HVAC renovation project that is scheduled to begin shortly after the school year ends. Phase 3 requires the entire back half of the school building to be packed up by the end of the day on June 18. Staff located in the back of the building will begin packing up their classrooms and workspaces in the beginning of June.
Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up if you are interested in volunteering to help staff with packing tasks. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0444A4A72BA6FA7-56901731-mwes#/
Counselor's Corner
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an annual observance founded by Mental Health America in 1949 to highlight the importance of mental wellbeing, educate the public, reduce stigma and promote support for those affected by mental health conditions. Each year, individuals and organizations come together to raise awareness and advocate for better mental health care and resources.
FIELD DAY
Field Day is Tuesday May 19th! Students will be participating in movement & cooperative activities during the school day. We need volunteers to help supervise and run stations. If you would like to volunteer, please register here. Please be mindful when registering to look at which grade levels will be participating in the area during that session.
Students are encouraged to dress appropriately for the outside weather in their Field Day color or any MWES attire for the event. (K-Red, 1-Orange, 2-Yellow, 3-Blue, 4-Green, 5-Purple)
If you have any questions, please email Karyn_peksa@hcpss.org, Allison_holocker@hcpss.org, laura_krasilovsky@hcpss.org.
Information Worth Repeating
5TH GRADE BATTLE OF THE BOOKS ~ CONGRATULATIONS!
On Friday, April 24th, the Howard County Public Library Battle of the Books event took place at Merriweather, with over 365 teams competing from across HCPSS and Manor Woods had a fantastic showing!
We are so proud of all of our students/teams who participated!
Gold Place:
K-Pop Reading Hunters
Silver Place:
Book Burglars
Chapter Soldiers
Kit Cats
Pen and the Paw
2nd Place for their Poster:
Reading Rebels
Brainy Bananas, The Refereaders, The Book Bees, Look What You Made Me Read, Storm Dashers, Word Warriors, Reading Rascals, Sad Secretly A Dinosaur, Book Bosses and Chapterbara Books
We know this was a memorable event as these students are coming to a close of their 5th grade year. CONGRATULATIONS to these AWESOME young readers!
HOCO SECAC ~ 3rd ANNUAL GLADIATOR AWARDS EVENT
Step into the Arena: It’s Time to Honor Our Champions!
The 3rd Annual Gladiator Awards is back, and we are calling on our community to help us recognize the true heroes among us. This event is dedicated to celebrating the incredible individuals within the HCPSS school system who go above and beyond to support, uplift, and empower students in special education.
Nomination Criteria:
- The nominee must have worked with the student for a full school year (current or previous).
- You must provide complete and accurate contact information for the nominee (nominations without this will not be considered).
- You’ll be asked to share specific examples of your Gladiator's impact
- The nominee will be notified, and your name as the nominator will be shared with them.
- Only the first 300 nominations will be accepted—submit early!
- Each individual may submit up to two nominations.
Nomination Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffFs6S0lf1MWYH2zU2JYjU1l7ToglRxrZQE2FWCWm4OD1sJw/viewform
📅 Event Details:
Monday, June 15
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Guilford Park High School
8500 Ridgelys Run Road, Jessup, MD 20794
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! YOUR OPINION MATTERS!
Parents and guardians of children receiving special education and related services were mailed the Maryland Special Education Parent Involvement Survey from the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services. Parents are asked to complete the survey and return it in the postage paid envelope by Friday, June 5, 2026. The survey can also be completed online.
Your feedback will help guide efforts to improve special education and related services in HCPSS. Your voice can make a real difference for your child and many other children across the state of Maryland.
MARYLAND MATHEMATICS POLICY FAMILY INFORMATION SESSIONS
Mathematics Policy Family Information Sessions: MSDE will host virtual Math Policy Family Information Sessions in June 2026 to support family understanding of upcoming mathematics initiatives and updates for the 2026–2027 school year.
Participants must register in advance to receive session links. Click here for details and dates/times.
FIELD DAY
Field Day is Tuesday May 19th! Students will be participating in movement & cooperative activities during the school day. We need volunteers to help supervise and run stations. If you would like to volunteer, please register here. Please be mindful when registering to look at which grade levels will be participating in the area during that session.
Students are encouraged to dress appropriately for the outside weather in their Field Day color or any MWES attire for the event. (K-Red, 1-Orange, 2-Yellow, 3-Blue, 4-Green, 5-Purple)
If you have any questions, please email Karyn_peksa@hcpss.org, Allison_holocker@hcpss.org or laura_krasilovsky@hcpss.org.
YEARBOOK
PURCHASE A YEARBOOK!
Purchase a yearbook today! The deadline for ordering and creating custom pages is 5/13/26. Yearbooks are available for purchase at:
https://account.treering.com/create-account/1014749226162236?PassCode=1014749226162236
Early Pickup/Afterschool Activities Reminders
To ensure smooth end-of-day procedures, please plan to pick up your child no later than 2:55 pm for an early pickup. This helps us maintain a focused learning environment and ensures the safety and smooth dismissal of all students. Picking up students after this time can disrupt classroom activities and interfere with dismissal procedures. Early dismissals cannot be conducted after 2:55 pm. If you arrive after 3:00 pm, you will need to wait in the car loop line until our regular dismissal begins.
Please bring your driver's license for any early dismissal.
If your child has an after-school activity, please provide a note each day. This will help for a smoother dismissal as there are many days our students visit the front office at dismissal with questions regarding an afterschool activity and if they are supposed to stay at school for the activity. A note will help the teacher and your child remember the activity on a weekly basis.
We appreciate your cooperation in helping us provide the best possible environment for all students!
PTO NEWS
COMMUNITY NEWS
HCPSS Student Code of Conduct
The Howard County Public School System is committed to providing a safe, engaging and supportive learning environment where all policies are enforced fairly and consistently. HCPSS policies and regulations emphasize instruction and rehabilitation rather than punishment and are designed to foster and reward appropriate behavior and keep students connected to school so they can graduate college and career ready. Please read and review the HCPSS student code of conduct with your child(ren) before the school year begins: HCPSS Student Code Of Conduct
HCPSS Student & Parent Handbook
The Student & Parent Handbook can be found online and outlines districtwide practices and policies related to parents and students, including the Student Code of Conduct, school procedures, student responsibilities and more.
Family Guides: What your Child Will Learn this Year
Do you want to get a head start on the school year? We encourage all parents/guardians to visit the link below to learn what your child will learn this year in grades PreK-5! Once you click on your child’s grade level, use the yellow “course navigation” box in the top right corner to navigate standards, free games, and family activities for each subject area. Happy learning!
What Your Child Will Learn Guides
HCPSS / Community News and Programs
https://community-programs.hcpss.org/
HCPSS NEWS