We are celebrating Earth Day this spring by participating in the 13th Annual Neighborhood Forest free tree program, whose aim is to provide free trees to kids every Earth Day.

Since 2010, Neighborhood Forest has reached over 100,000 families and planted over 50,000 (mostly urban and residential) trees through the hands of children and parents across North America.
We endorse this project and are excited to be participating in this wonderful program that teaches kids stewardship through the magic and wonder of planting and watching trees grow.

Please fill out the following online registration form by February 28th and receive a free tree (6-12 inches in size) during Earth Week (April 22-30). Your email is only used to send planting directions and your address is only used by the organization to create a general map of where all the trees are planted.
You also have the option to purchase additional trees (via the registration form) for friends and family members ($10 / tree).  The purchase of trees will help fund free trees for more kids.

Trees will be delivered to us and we will arrange to get the trees in the hands of your children on or around Earth Day (April 22nd) either via pick up or sending home with your child(ren).

Planting instructions and species information will be emailed a few days prior to the trees arriving.

Register to receive a free tree for Earth Day to plant with your child:
Parent Registration | Neighborhood Forest

Or search for a Wayside in the institution search list:
https://www.neighborhoodforest.org/school-search/

Thank you for your support and participation.  For more information about this program, please visit www.neighborhoodforest.org or www.facebook.com/neighborhoodforest.

2. Interested in Joining the Wayside PTA Board?

Would you like to help Wayside be the best school it can be? We’re looking for a few good parents to join the PTA Board next year! The Nominating Committee (Nellie Abdallah, Michelle Baker, Jonathan Carr, and Ziyang Su) is seeking candidates for the following positions on the 2022-2023 Wayside PTA Board:

• VP-Ways & Means (oversees fundraising activities)
• VP-Volunteers (recruits volunteers for PTA and school activities)
• Treasurer (maintains PTA finances)
• Delegate (local PTA connection the the county PTA)

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Nellie Abdallah (nellielaw@yahoo.com), Michelle Baker at michellebaker@me.com, Jonathan Carr at jonathanecarr@gmail.com or Ziyang Su at ziyang127@gmail.com.

3.2021-2022 Wayside Yearbooks on Sale now!

Order your yearbook here before April 20th!

Contact Melissa Rhoads at Melissa_H_Rhoads@mcpsmd.org with any questions.

***This survey is designed for ALL Wayside families, not only for 3rd grade and above.***

Enriched Literacy Curriculum (ELC) is a literacy enrichment program for 4th and 5th grades,  and is similar to what is taught in Centers for Enriched Studies (CES) programs (aka magnet program to some parents) at Cold Spring Elementary School. ELC is currently offered in 43 out of 130+ MCPS elementary schools but not at Wayside. MCCPTA Gifted Education Committee (GEC) advocates MCPS bringing this program to more schools as soon as for the 2022-2023 school year. If ELC will be offered at Wayside ES, it would take the place of the current Benchmark Advance for students who need a more enriched reading curriculum. This chart  compares ELC/CES with Benchmark Advance in a nutshell.

This slide presentation discusses the details of ELC and has additional information.

After reviewing the materials above, please fill out the brief survey if you are interested in having ELC offered at Wayside.

​6. Seeking Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) representative

The MCCPTA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee seeks to ensure that DEI advocates exist in every school. The role of the DEI representative is to address diversity, equity and inclusion issues, best practices, and to be a link between MCCPTA and your schools regarding these issues.

Here is the formal description and more information on the role:  MCCPTA DEI Representative Role 2022 – Google Docs

All DEI representatives are invited to attend the upcoming monthly meetings to learn more on March 3 via Zoom.

If you are interested in being Wayside’s DEI representative for the MCPS students, families and staff in your community, please contact Melissa Adler at president@waysidepta.org.

Please use this link to report positive COVID tests to MCPS.