Waters Landing Elementary School

Vision: Waters Landing Elementary embraces diversity to dismantle systemic inequities and create thriving and responsible members of society.

Mission: Waters Landing Elementary strives to cultivate an anti-racist and inclusive learning environment by building positive self-identities and relationships to value and meet the diverse needs of everyone, every day.

 Administration 

School Information & Procedures

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School Overview

Located in Germantown, Maryland, Waters Landing Elementary School (WLES) is one of five elementary schools in the Seneca Valley Cluster. When students are promoted from Waters Landing, they matriculate to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School, and from there complete their high school education at Seneca Valley High School. The school was built in 1988.

School Hours

Office Hours: 8:45 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Student Breakfast: 9:10 a.m.
Students Enter Building: 9:10 a.m.
School Hours for Students: 9:25 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Early Release Days Dismissal Time: 1:20 p.m.

Student Arrival/Dismissal

Students may enter the building at 9:10 a.m. and should be in their classrooms when the bell rings at 9:25 a.m. Breakfast will be available to all students in their classrooms beginning at 9:10 a.m.  Classes start at 9:25 a.m. If your child arrives to school after 9:25 a.m., a parent must come into the office to sign them in late.

If your child must leave early for an appointment, we ask that you sign your child out prior to 3:25 p.m. The time between 3:25 and 3:45 is criticial for our staff to prepare students for dismissal and each staff member has distinct responsibilities during this time. In order to ensure a safe and orderly dismissal of all students beginning promptly at 3:50 p.m., students will not be called out of class after 3:35 p.m. Please be prepared to show identification when picking a child up early.

Student Absences

When your child is absent for any reason, please call the school office at 240-740-1020 before 9:15 a.m. to notify us of the absence. You may call during non-office hours and leave a message on our machine. When the student returns to school, a note explaining the absence should be sent to his/her teacher. Late arrivals/early dismissals are processed in the office. Parents must accompany students into the office to sign in when arriving at 9:25 a.m. or later, or when picking up your child early. With regards to tardiness, your child's tardiness will be unexcused if a parent does not sign the child in late.

School Meal Prices

Breakfast and Lunch will be provided free of charge for all students at Waters Landing ES during the 2023-2024 school year.

Please fill out a FARMS application for the 2023-2024 school year, as this information must be updated every year, and it is used to determine if our school gets additional funding.

MCPS meal prices for the 2022-2023 school year were as follows:

Elementary Lunch: $2.55
Breakfast: $1.30
Milk: 60 cents
Reduced-price Lunch: 40 cents
Reduced-price Breakfast: 30 cents

Please check the MCPS Food Services web site for any last-minute menu changes at this link.  

Our cafeteria will continue to use MySchoolBucks! Please visit this link for more information, including directions.

PLEASE NOTE: The school is not able to loan lunch or breakfast money to children without a lunch or money. Children who do not have a lunch or lunch money will receive either a peanut butter/jelly or cheese sandwich and milk from the cafeteria. Parents will be notified and must repay $2.55 for lunch to the cafeteria. Please make sure there is always money available on your child's account for emergency situations (lost or ruined lunch, etc.).  

Sending Money Into School

MCPS encourages parents to use School Cash Online to pay for any and all in-school expenses. More information can be found here. 

It is very important to remember when you are sending money into school that all cash or checks should be placed in a sealed envelope. On the outside of the envelope please indicate what the money is for, the student's name, and the teacher's name. Money that is not sent in with these safeguards is easy to misplace or lose, or to be credited to another student. It is always safer to send in a check, so please avoid sending in cash if at all possible. Thank you for your consideration.

Telephone Calls

Please provide us with a local number where we may reach you during the school day. We only have one long distance phone line, which is also the principal's private line. Keep in mind that there may be a delay in reaching you if we do not have a local number. Please remember to keep the office informed of any phone number changes in case of an emergency.

Birthday Celebrations

To preserve our focus on instruction and to address the growing concern with student allergies the school Birthday Celebration policy is as follows: Each child will receive a birthday pencil on his/her birthday (summer birthdays as well). No food (cupcakes, cakes, cookies, chips, candy etc.) will be shared with the class during lunch time or instructional time. Personal birthday invitations will not be distributed in school.

Contacting Staff

The easiest way to contact your child's teacher is via e-mail. Links to staff members are found on our website. You may also send in a note to your child's teacher requesting that they contact you. Please do not try to meet with a teacher during student arrival or dismissal time. Thank you for your cooperation.

Parking Lot/Car Circle Safety

Please help us to keep our students safe in the parking lot and the carpool circle. When dropping off students in the car circle in front of the school, please follow the directions of the staff on duty. Please let your students off from the passenger's side of your vehicle. Adults MUST remain in their vehicles in the carpool circle at all times to keep traffic moving. If you choose to drop off your student in the parking lot, cars must be parked in an empty parking space and adults are requested to walk their student to the sidewalk area. Children who walk through the parking lot alone are at risk of stepping out in front of a moving vehicle, or of not being seen by a vehicle backing out of a parking space. Families that cannot find an open parking space must exit the lot and park on the street.

PLEASE REMEMBER: Handicapped parking spaces are meant only for those vehicles who have appropriate passes. Please do not park in these spaces without a Handicap permit. Thank you for adhering to these guidelines in the interest of the safety of all of our children.