From School Administration
Dear Manor Woods Families,
We had a wonderful orchestra concert last night where we could celebrate our amazing student musicians! Congratulations to all of our student performers on an excellent concert! THANK YOU to Mrs. Zeitler for working so hard with our 4th & 5th grade orchestra students! YOU ROCK! And thank you to all of our staff volunteers for your support and dedication to our music program and helping to make the night a huge success. This concludes our winter concerts with our MWES AMAZING Chorus, Band and Orchestra student musicians. We are SO PROUD of all of you! We are looking forward to our spring concerts!
Schools are closed on Monday, January 19th in recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King devoted his life with a mission to achieve racial equality, human rights and economic and social justice through nonviolent resistance to ensure dignity and opportunity are universal. Each year, instead of having a day off, the third Monday in January is a day "on" for volunteerism to help communities all over our country. We encourage you to learn more about Dr. King and find ways to further his vision through service to our community. There are many opportunities throughout Columbia, Howard County, and Maryland (click here for ideas) to help make January 19 a "DAY ON" and a day of service.
Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend!
Kelli Jenkins, Principal
Jennifer Zinn, Assistant Principal
Important Dates
January
19 - Schools & Offices Closed - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
22 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early at 12:15 PM - Professional Learning Day
22 - Scheduling for Winter Parent/Teacher Conferences Opens @ 8:00 AM
23 - End of 2nd Quarter (FULL SCHOOL DAY for ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOLS ~ Early dismissal for HS only)
26 - Schools Closed for Students - Professional Work Day
February
4 - 2nd Quarter Report Cards ~ Viewable via HCPSS Connect @ 4:00 PM
4 - Schools Closed for students
5 - Elementary Schools ONLY ~ Close 3 Hours Early at 12:15 PM
5 - Elementary Schools ONLY ~ Parent/Teacher Conferences
6 - Elementary Schools ONLY ~ Close 3 Hours Early at 12:15 PM
6 - Elementary Schools ONLY ~ Parent/Teacher Conferences
16 - Schools & Offices Closed
17 - Schools & Offices Closed
RELATED ARTS ~ COLOR CALENDAR SCHEDULE
MWES NEWS
February Parent-TeacherConferences
The Parent-Teacher Conference scheduling window will open on Thursday, January 22nd at 8:00 AM. Winter conferences will be held on February 5th and February 6th. When scheduling conferences for multiple children, please allow one full conference time between your meetings to allow for transitions both in person and virtually. The conference scheduling window closes January 30th.
See Directions How To Register
Directions to Select a Conference Time:
Login to hcpss.org/connect
Select Conference from the left-side choices
Select Parent Scheduled Conferences at the top right
Select a time slot for your conference
- For winter conferences:
- On Thursday, February 5th, and Friday, February 6th, all elementary schools will close 3 hours early for parent-teacher conferences.
- On February 5th, afternoon conferences (12:30-3:30 pm) will be held in-person only. If a teacher decides to host evening conferences, these conferences will be held virtually.
- On Friday, February 6th, all conferences will be held virtually.
- Parents should schedule a conference with their child’s MATH teacher only. Mrs. Parker will hold Math conferences for 5th Grade GT Math students ONLY. 4th grade G/T students in Ms. Parker’s math class will not need conferences at this time as math conferences were already held in the fall for these students.
- Related arts will be hosting one office hour during the conference window. The office hours are for general questions about the content area and expectations. Office hours should not be used for questions specific about your child. The office hours schedule will be shared with parents from the teachers’ Canvas pages
- If you have a child-specific question, please sign up for a conference spot with the related arts teacher. Each related arts teacher will have limited conference spots.
If you cannot access HCPSS Connect, please contact the school at 410-313-7165 for assistance. The scheduling window will remain open from Thursday, January 22nd, at 8:00 am through Friday, January 30th, at 4:00 pm. After Jan. 30th, families must call the front office secretaries directly to check availability to schedule a conference.
YEARBOOK COVER CONTEST
2025-26 Yearbook Cover Contest flyer (3).pdf
All Students are invited to enter the Yearbook Cover Contest. Teachers and staff will vote for their favorites, based on creativity and representation of the yearbook theme. First and Second Place will be displayed on the front or back cover of the yearbook and Third Place will be included on the first inside page. All other entries will be displayed throughout the yearbook.
Please see Flyer for more details: 2025-26 Yearbook Cover Contest flyer (3).pdf
INFORMATION WORTH REPEATING
UPCOMING ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE
With the start of the new year, students in Grades K–5 will participate in several assessments. We kindly ask that you review the Winter Testing Dates below and be mindful of your student’s schedule during these testing windows.
WIDA ACCESS Testing for Multilingual Learners (K–5)
This assessment measures a student’s English language proficiency.
Testing Window: January 7 – February 18
Make-Up Testing: February 19 – March 4
This assessment may be administered in small groups or one-on-one.
DIBELS Reading – Middle of the Year Screener (K–5)
This is a brief, one-minute fluency assessment used to evaluate key reading skills such as letter naming, phonemic awareness, and decoding.
Testing Window: January 12 – January 31
ELA Reading Assessments (Grades 3–5)
This reading assessment is administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to monitor student growth and reading proficiency.
CommonLit Testing Window: Month of January
MAP Winter Assessment (Grades 1–5)
This computer-adaptive assessment measures student growth in Reading, Math, and Language Usage. It adjusts question difficulty in real time to identify learning levels and support personalized instruction throughout the school year.
- Grade 5 Only: January 5 – January 14
- Grades 1–4: January 27 – February 27
HOWARD HIGH SCHOOL FOOD PANTRY
The Howard High School Food Pantry is open January 15th from 4-6pm.
Howard HS is located at 8700 Old Annapolis Rd., Ellicott City 21043.
Superintendent Presents Proposed FY 2027 Operating Budget
Yesterday, Jan. 8, Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Superintendent William J. Barnes presented his proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 (FY 2027) to the Board of Education. In total, the Superintendent's Proposed FY 2027 Operating Budget is $1.278 billion, which reflects an increase of $61.9 million, or 5.1% over fiscal year 2026.
The proposed budget emphasizes maximizing and tactically reallocating certain existing positions and resources, prioritizing critical funding investments in high priority needs aligned to the HCPSS Strategic Plan.
“Today marks a deliberate shift away from past practice, and away from managing the budget to accommodate fiscal realities, towards leveraging the budget as a strategic tool to advance our vision for all students,” said Superintendent Barnes. “Rather than layering program and service enhancements on top of the current year’s budget, we are starting this work with a different question: How do we best serve all students?”
Major areas of investment include:
- Employee Compensation and Benefits: An increase of $52.1 million
- Special Education: A net funding increase of $11.4 million and a net staffing increase of 23.10 FTE
- Bus Contracts: An increase of $5.5 million
- Blueprint Full-Day Prekindergarten: An increase of $2.4 million and 25.0 FTE
In addition, targeted new investments are proposed to advance Strategic Plan priorities and address emerging system needs, including:
- Strengthening Learning and Instruction: $1.6 million and 2.5 FTE
- Cultivating Student Belonging and Well-Being: $1.5 million and 15.0 FTE
- School Safety and Security: $743,522 and 6.0 FTE
- Enhancing Systemic Planning and Procedures: $655,576 and 2.0 FTE
- Foster Staff Growth and Engagement: $144,514 and 1.0 FTE
“I often say to anyone who will listen that in Howard County, we are in pursuit of greatness,” said Barnes. “But I also believe deeply that we can only claim to be a great school system once we are great for every student we serve. To clear that high bar requires us to acknowledge an uncomfortable truth—today, our school system is not great for every student. For some students, we are not even consistently good. If we are serious about achieving greatness for every student, then we must be equally serious about transforming education in Howard County, which requires change—real change—not incremental adjustments to existing practice.”
The Board of Education will hold its first public work session on Jan. 15 at 1:00 p.m. More information about the FY27 Operating Budget development process may be found online.
“Throughout this budget development process, I implore everyone to remain grounded in the shared priorities we have established and the shared goals we have stated as part of the HCPSS Strategic Plan,” added Barnes. “I look forward to receiving feedback from students, staff, and community members throughout the budget development process, and working with the Board and our County partners over the next few months as we work collaboratively on behalf of students. I appreciate everyone’s partnership as we strive to be a great school system for every student.”
Additional budget documents are forthcoming, including a guide to understanding the budget and a budget toolkit. Those items will be made available online and will help HCPSS stakeholders more easily understand the Superintendent’s FY 2027 Proposed Operating Budget without having to navigate the more than 700-page budget book.
COLD WEATHER INFORMATION REMINDERS
To learn about the decision process for closing schools, please view the Vimeo video below.
You can also visit the section of the HCPSS website listing the many ways you can be informed of weather-related school closings. Manor Woods Elementary will not send any additional email out because that communication comes directly from the HCPSS Communications Office.
Unscheduled Emergency Early School Closing
In the event that schools need to close early due to an unexpected weather event, please be sure to share with your child how he/she will go home if it is different from their normal dismissal routine.
All parents were asked to indicate how children are to go home in the event of an emergency/unscheduled closing when they completed their Family File information in August or September.
Weather Guidelines for Outdoor Recess
Exercise outdoors is healthy and is strongly encouraged. It provides a break from the regular school routine, a chance to get some outside air, and an opportunity to run off excess energy.
If conditions preclude the full recess time, even a five-minute break can revitalize children and prepare them for more sitting and academic learning. Children are expected to wear warm clothing to protect them during cold weather when participating in recess or outside activities.
The decision to go out or stay in for recess is the decision of the Administrator at individual schools. However, the following are to be considered in determining whether recess is to be held outside:
- Temperature and Windchill
- Age of students
- Length of time outdoors
- Adequacy of the children’s clothing
- Condition of the playground
- Falling precipitation (more than a sprinkle or mist)
Generally, it is assumed that students will be outside for recess when the temperature combined with the wind chill is not less than 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Children with certain health conditions may need special accommodations during extremely cold weather. Parents of those children should provide medical documentation and may be consulted to determine if other arrangements are necessary.
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