Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! I am humbled to once again be a part of the dedicated educators, students, parents, and community members who have made Samuel Chase Elementary School outstanding! Our district and school leadership teams, along with all staff members, are focused on continuous collaboration and planning in order to create and plan a robust learning experience for our BULLDOGS!
I trust that you and your family are having a wonderful and safe summer and are eagerly anticipating the start of the school year on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Our instructional program for the 2026-2027 school year will continue to focus on Reading, Writing, and reasoning in all content areas. Here at Samuel Chase ES, we believe that high expectations yield academic successes for all students. Be assured that we are committed to doing our part in ensuring your child achieves academic excellence; we look forward to partnering with you to achieve this goal. You play a key role in the academic success of our school; hence, school-parent communication is crucial. Our focus on instruction and learning will not be compromised. To further ensure a successful school year please:
Parents/Guardians, recognize that the expectations are high and that the instructional program will be rigorous and challenging, yet rewarding. Thus, this year we will continue implementing rigorous reading, writing, and mathematics instruction as well as utilizing several resources to challenge our students. Our instructional program will be far more effective with your active participation. Please send your children to us well-behaved, on-time, future focused, equipped with the proper materials, and encouraged. We, in-turn will send them home to you prepared to meet the demands of college and careers. Your presence is not only welcomed, but it is greatly needed and appreciated!
Below you will find key information about the start of the school year.
School begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 2:45 p.m. Students are allowed to enter the building at 8:20 a.m. for breakfast. Prior to that time, there is no adult supervision so students will not be permitted to enter the building. Remember, to receive the full benefit of the instructional program it is important to be present and on time every day. No early dismissals will be allowed after 2:20 p.m. After this time, we are preparing for dismissal and will need to be able to account for all children. Parents/Guardians/Caretakers are not permitted in the building to wait for their children for dismissal. The lobby must be free of all visitors during this time.
In an effort to support the saving of our environment and conserve our school’s resources, we will utilize the school’s website at http://www.pgcps.org/samuelchase/, call out system, and ClassDojo in all grade levels for communication.
I am excited to announce that Samuel Chase Elementary School will continue to be enrolled in the Community Eligibility Provision. By participating in this program, ALL STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE FREE BREAKFAST and LUNCH THIS YEAR! However, as a newly identified Community School all parents must complete the application for meal benefits. Households can complete an application at MySchoolApps.com. Online applications are processed within 24-48 hours.
We are a uniform school and all students are required to follow the uniform policy.
Thank you for your commitment to your child's education. As always, please feel free to contact the office with any questions at 301-702-7660. I can also be reached at Nicholas.Ohlson@pgcps.org
Educationally yours,
Nicholas A. Ohlson
Principal
