Welcome to Wood Acres Elementary School!

The Wood Acres PTA would like to welcome you to our school community. We put together some resources to help your family get to know the school, our PTA, and a sampling of what the broader community has to offer through local sports organizations, music and art, theater and dance, etc. This is just a starter guide to help familiarize you with some of what you can find in the area. Our PTA is very active in school-based and community-wide activities and events. We sponsor special school programs, act as a resource for families and teachers, purchase equipment for classroom support, engage in community outreach and much more.

We look forward to getting to know you!

Wood Acres Elementary School

Wood Acres Elementary School (WAES) was first constructed in 1952 on donated land. Over the years, we have had three renovations on to the school building with the most recent--an eight room addition--completed in 2016. In 2017, our student population expanded as we became a home to special education preschool classes (PEP).

There are many reasons to love WAES, but there is one reason that’s at the top of everyone’s list: our very own Planetarium! Our Osceola Sexton Planetarium was created in 1975 by the parent community at the school and has been going strong ever since. The planetarium is run entirely by parent volunteers and is funded by the PTA!

The school office is open Monday through Friday 8:30am - 4pm. The children’s school hours are 8:55am - 3:25pm.

If your child is not yet enrolled at the school, please remember to register by calling the school at (240) 740-1120.

Visit the school website for more details.

Our mascot is the Wildcat, and our school colors are royal blue and white. Go Wildcats!

Wood Acres PTA

Our PTA is a volunteer, parent-run organization committed to making our community closer, more active, and better informed! Learn more about who we are, what we do, and how to help this school year by exploring this website.

The Wood Acres PTA collaborates with school administrators, teachers, families, and representatives in our Whitman Cluster to foster an amazing school and school community for our students. PTA Board members, Committee Chairs and volunteers, and our WAES community make it possible for the PTA to support our teachers and enhance the learning experiences of our children.

We organize many activities including room parents and class parties, community service events for our sister school in MCPS, WAES family events, purchase teacher and recess equipment to support both academic and facilities expenses not covered by the MCPS budget, staff and maintain the planetarium, and more!

Check out the rest of this website for full details on other ways you can support the PTA, and how to volunteer!

If you have additional questions, you may reach out to our PTA president or our general PTA email.

Welcome Events for New Families

We host several events to welcome newcomers into the WAES community. A Kindergarten Meet & Greet in the winter for prospective new families, Kindergarten Orientation in spring, and two Newcomers Playdates in August. These playdates are a great opportunity to meet other WAES families before the school year begins. Be sure to register with the school office so we have your email address!

Every year, we host a Back to School picnic in the first few weeks of school. This is a wonderful event with music, food, and an opportunity to meet the PTA and all WAES families. To ensure you receive information related to the Newcomers Playdates and Back to School picnic, please sign up for Membership Toolkit today (see below).

Get Connected, Stay Connected

To help you become better acquainted with all school, county and PTA activities, there are several key communications sign-ups for your family to get and stay in-the-know!

• Sign up for the all-important Principal Updates: Call the school at (240) 740-1120 to enroll your child/children. Your contact information will be added to the school’s distribution list. Updates start over the summer so don’t delay.

• Don't miss out on Wood Acres PTA activities! The PTA would like to remind you to sign up for the school directory, aka Membership Toolkit. This is a super important step to ensure you are receiving all PTA school-wide & room parent emails. Updates start over the summer so don’t delay! Here is the link to Membership Toolkit.

• Log into ParentVue: ParentVUE is the primary home-to-school communication vehicle for schools to share information regarding grades, attendance, scheduling, log into myMCPS Classroom, and more. For families new to MCPS, a letter with login information was mailed to your home over the summer. Click here to log in to ParentVUE. If you have trouble with your parent login and password, please call the WAES front office at (240) 740-1120.

• Sign up for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) alerts: This site allows you to receive text messages or emails from MCPS during weather-related emergencies and other major events that impact school system operations. Click here to sign up.

Community Resources

Below are some of the many activities available to help familiarize you with some of what you can find in the area. The programs and organizations listed are not sponsored or endorsed by the PTA or Wood Acres Elementary School (WAES). Please contact the organizations directly with questions or concerns.

WAES PTA NEWCOMERS COMMITTEE
Community Resources Guide

SPORTS:

Family Leisure:

Music:

Art:

Theater:

Dance:

Other:

Family Resources: