Roadrunner's Digest

Good evening Farquhar Families,

What an incredibly warm weekend it's been! I hope you're feeling rested and excited for another great week at Farquhar. Remember that the end of Marking Period 1 is this Tuesday, October 31, and there is no school for students on Wednesday, November 1. Students are not permitted to wear Halloween costumes on Tuesday, October 31, but we hope all students enjoy participating in Mental Health Awareness Spirit Week in lieu of a costume (scroll down for details). We are also kicking off Remembrance and Reconciliation Month. Read on to learn more!

Please note that this Friday, November 3 is the deadline for multiple forms and applications! Please be sure to read those announcements carefully.

Finally, the FMS Instructional Leadership Team is excited to soft-launch our improved Open ROCK schedule this Friday, November 3 to celebrate a strong finish to MP1. A great deal of consideration and collaboration went into its design, and we are eager to hear your feedback. A parent voice survey is linked here for you to share your voice. The survey will remain open until Monday, November 6.

In this week's newsletter you will find:

• This week's bell schedules
• This week's Roadrunner Shout Outs
• TIMELY: **Deadline Change: Outdoor Ed Forms Deadline November 3
• TIMELY: Eighth Grade High School Applications due November 3
  
• TIMELY: NEC Choice Form due November 3
• NEW: Highlighting Red Ribbon Week @ FMS
• NEW: 7th grade Social Studies Update
• NEW: Remembrance and Reconciliation Month Info
• NEW: Mental Health Spirit Week
• Support FMS by shopping at Harris Teeter
  
• POMS Day Camp @ Blake HS

PTA Corner Updates

• Join the PTA!
• Upcoming November 14 PTA Meeting
• Order your FMS Spirit Wear by November 13!

Need to get back to an previous edition of the Digest? Find them in the archive on our school's website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/farquharms/.

There is no school for students on Wednesday, November 1. We will operate with regular bell schedules this week. On Friday, we will test-run our newly-designed Open ROCK schedule to celebrate a strong finish to Quarter 1. Scroll down for more details on the Open ROCK schedule.

• Monday: Academic ROCK
• Tuesday: Academic ROCK
• Wednesday: No School for Students - Professional Day for Staff
• Thursday: Academic ROCK
• Friday: **NEW OPEN ROCK SCHEDULE** (Scroll down for details)

Reminder: After school activities end at 4:20. After School Activity buses, though they make take extra time and do not stop at every traditional bus stop, they do cover all school bus routes. Please make sure if your student does not take an activity bus home, that they are picked up no later than 4:30 as our building closes and staff depart at 4:30pm.

As promised, the dedicated staff on our Instructional Leadership Team evaluated the safety and supervision plan for Open ROCK after listening to preliminary student and parent voice. We are excited to re-introduce Open ROCK to the student experience at Farquhar with an improved main bell schedule and a special Open ROCK schedule. Here are some details to put the improvements in context:

The three-lunch model:

In order to free up more staff members to support/supervise Open ROCK, Academic ROCK was separated from lunchtime. This allows for each grade level to have their own lunchtime (three-lunches) in the Main Bell schedule, which opens the door for an Open ROCK schedule (both pictured below) with adequate supervision.

What are the benefits of the Regular Bell Schedule?

• In separating students by grade level, they have more room to eat inside and play outside. They also have more access to limited playtime resources (i.e. balls) and the media center (limited capacity).
• Lunch is extended to 35 minutes to allow for more wellness time on a daily basis after students eat inside.
• Scheduling Academic ROCK at the same time for all students allows for teachers of multiple grade levels to be available for all students regardless of the teacher's schedule.

What are the benefits of the Open ROCK Schedule?

• Separating Open ROCK from lunch allows all students to have 30+ minutes of wellness time with safe supervision. This model allows supervision to increase from 6 staff members to approximately 20 staff members.
• Wellness time is in addition to lunch, eaten inside, affording two mental breaks for students on these days.
• The Open ROCK schedule will operate after interims and at the end of each marking period to honor and recognize academic milestones. If inclement weather prevents us from going outside, we move to a "rain date" or move inside as appropriate.

When is this starting?

After we've heard all voices! We are collecting student, staff, and community feedback on the Main and Open ROCK schedules as they are designed here. We will be piloting the Open ROCK schedule this Friday, November 3, to celebrate a strong finish to MP1, then we will continue the existing main bell schedule November 6-10.

Our leadership team will review all stakeholders' voice data on November 9, and an update on our next steps in response to the data will be published in the November 12 Roadrunner's Digest.

Tell us what you think!

Please take the parent voice survey to let us know how this year is going for you and your thoughts on the benefits of Open ROCK for our Roadrunners. The survey is open from now until Monday, November 6.

Thank you to the following Roadrunners who have made a positive impact on our learning community!

• Ms. Rub
• Ms. Rhone
• Ms. Foster
• Ms. Brown
• Mr. Lichvar

Would you like to recognize a student or staff member?

Submit a SHOUT-OUT!

Outdoor Ed forms went home on Wednesday 9/27. All forms are due to Mr. Lichvar by November 3, 2023. To accommodate Skycroft Center's request for final numbers.

Required:

• Parent/Guardian Approval for MCPS Transportation (Form 555-6)
• Outdoor Environmental Education Program Parent/Guardian Permission

If applicable:

• Anaphylaxis Form (Form 525-14)
• Authorization to Administer Prescribed Medication (Form 525-13)

All Online payments can be complete here https://schoolcashonline.com/

Any questions? Please email Mr. Eisenhower at mark_a_eisenhower@mcpsmd.org.

Attention 8th grade Parents:

Grade 8 students now have access to apply for Regional/Countywide Special Programs using the high school common application found in ParentVUE.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 3. Programs-At-A-Glance, eligibility, frequently asked questions and October open house dates are available on this website.

Parents/Students have access to an Eligibility letter on Synergy which describes all the special high school programs students can apply to based on their home/base high school. Throughout October, the special high school programs will host open houses for interested students and families.

Please view resources linked here to learn more: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high

All NEC grade 8 families are required to participate in the choice process by completing the online form by Friday, Nov. 3rd. Click here for the NEC Choice Form

Our Roadrunners made countless pledges, proudly wore red, and enjoyed a meaningful assembly coordinated by our amazing counseling team and our Community Engagement Officer (CEO), Sergeant Tamara Gutrick. Thanks to everyone for an encouraging celebration of our commitment to a drug-free community!

Heads up! Students submitted their final drafts of an important common writing task on Friday, October 27.

November marks the beginning of Remembrance and Reconciliation Month. Its purpose is to bring the people of Montgomery County together to build a better understanding of the county’s history in relation to African Americans. Remembrance and Reconciliation Month was called for by the Montgomery County Commission on Remembrance and Reconciliation in 2019. The Commission designated November to be a month of Remembrance and Reconciliation in Montgomery County, and the State of Maryland has designated November 1 as Emancipation Day to commemorate the day that enslaved people in Maryland were emancipated (November 1, 1864). Commemorations, lessons, civic awareness activities, and community awareness on local history will take place countywide in the month of November.

The MCPS Social Studies department has worked with community members, Heritage Montgomery, Sandy Spring Slave Museum, and a local historian to create learning for students focused on landmarks throughout Montgomery County that have ties to African American history. All MCPS classroom teachers are required to teach the learning about at least five landmarks during November. Students and families will have opportunities to attend community events at Button Farm Living History Center, a virtual event sponsored by the Sandy Spring Slave Museum, and Changemaker workshops in November.

Mental Health Awareness Week is taking place from October 30th -November 03rd. Raising awareness reduces the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and seeking treatment. This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week is anxiety. During this week students will engage in a variety of activities and lessons that will raise their awareness about mental health and provide them with effective strategies to use when they might feel anxious. Encourage your student to participate in Mental Health Awareness Spirit Week! Details for each day are below.

UPDATE: We now have 16 families participating to support FMS via Harris Teeter. Our goal is 50 families! Please consider linking your VIC card to FMS. Passive fundraising greatly supports our students.

The Together In Education program gives schools a chance to earn funds when you link your VIC card and shop Harris Teeter.

Any VIC member can link their card to a school.

Link your VIC card to support Farquhar Middle School. Simply sign in to your account, search for Farquhar, and you're done!

Harris Teeter donated $376 to FMS last year with only 26 families participating. Thank you for helping us reach our goal of 50 families this year!

We have 152 PTA members—a big thanks to all those who have joined. It is not too late to join and donate to the PTA.

Our PTA budget is primarily based on donations from families. If each family donates $20 above the membership cost it will help us meet our budget goal and enable us to support our student activities and staff appreciation. We have 152 members so far and would like to reach at least 200 PTA members!

Join AND Donate to the PTA at: https://fmspta.memberhub.com/store

Please join us as we meet with the FMS Administration to discuss bullying, harassment, the MCPS code of conduct, and our school's response to these issues. We will meet virtually via Zoom, please see the information below.

FMS PTA meeting

Tuesday, 11/14

7:00-8:00 p.m.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85177068679?pwd=oSuyZMDlGu01pu7E4FnQxdbT46EMul.1

Meeting ID: 851 7706 8679

Passcode: fms

Show your FMS spirit! you can purchase your spirit wear now through midnight on Monday, 11/13.

https://farquharmiddle2023.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Feel free to contact me anytime and follow Farquhar on Twitter!

Email: Angelica_L_Smith@mcpsmd.org
Phone: 240-740-1200
Twitter: @farquharms