Roadrunner's Digest

Good evening Farquhar Families,

I hope this week's Digest finds you rested, healthy, and dry! It was a pleasure to meet so many of you at last week's Back-to-School Night. Thanks to each of you who attended and supported the Family Fair, and thanks to all of our staff members and student ambassadors who made the evening a success. There was so much positivity in the air, and I'm excited to continue in that energy in the months to come!

In this week's newsletter you will find:

• This week's bell schedules
• This week's Roadrunner Shout Outs
• TIMELY: Map-R testing tomorrow
• NEW: Northeast Consortium (NEC) parent info
• NEW: EF Tours - Roadrunners Go To Europe!
• NEW: COVID-19 Outbreak Measures and Vaccine News
• NEW: MCPS to Host Girls’ Summit
• NEW: Share Your Feedback on the 2024–2025 School Year Calendar
• Student punctuality incentive program
• Save-the-Date for School Picture Day!
• Save-the-dates for Outdoor Ed
• NEW: PTA Corner Updates on upcoming events

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/.

We are operating with a testing bell schedule on Monday 9/18 for MAP-R, then closing out the week with our early release schedule for the half day on 9/22.

• Monday: MAP-R Testing Schedule (with Open ROCK)
• Tuesday: Academic ROCK
• Wednesday: Advisory
• Thursday: Academic ROCK
• Friday: Early Dismissal at noon (with Open ROCK)

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

• Mr. Lichvar
• Ms. Page
• Mrs. Payne
• Mrs. Bubis
• Mrs. Councilman
• Our entire paraeducator team
• Ms. A. Williams
• Ms. Mason
• Ms. Campbell
• Mirella (Mimi) Feghali
• Edwina Lin

Would you like to recognize a student or staff member?

Submit a SHOUT-OUT!

All students will be taking the Fall MAP-R (the Measures of Academic Progress test in Reading) tomorrow, September 18.

Your student's teachers use this data to design instruction that is tailored to their needs. Therefore, we ask that you please ensure your student is in school by 8:05am. For your reference, the testing block will be concluded by 11am.

Grade 8 students and their families are invited to learn about the NEC high schools, the Signature programs, and the Choice process. The high schools that make up the NEC include James Hubert Blake, Paint Branch, and Springbrook. Rising high school students who reside in the NEC will participate in the Choice process.

Click here to view the mailing that went home to all Grade 8 families in English and Spanish.

We’re going to Europe in Summer 2024, and you’re invited!

We’re excited to tell you more about the trip we’re planning with EF Tours, our educational travel partner. Please be sure to register for this info session to be considered for this opportunity: https://bit.ly/45lhagS

When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident. These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow, and we would love to have your student join us on this adventure.

In this info session, we’ll talk about:

• How this opportunity will benefit your student
• What we’ll see and do on our trip
• Everything that’s included in this experience
• How your child can earn academic credit
• How we’re keeping this safe and affordable
• How to enroll on this trip (before it fills up!) during EF’s risk-free enrollment period

There are limited spots on this trip, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

Questions can be directed to Ms. Gramkow at Amber_M_Gramkow@mcpsmd.org.

As new cases of COVID-19 increase locally, we have seen outbreaks occurring in multiple schools across the county. Temporary outbreak precautions for individual classrooms where COVID-19 is spreading rapidly helps prevent spread to vulnerable individuals and to the rest of school. Check out the FAQ page for more information about how outbreaks are managed. The newly approved COVID-19 updated vaccine will be available in our area in the next few weeks. For information about COVID-19, influenza and RSV vaccine availability, refer to Vaccines.Gov.

The district is inviting all MCPS families to the Girls’ Summit on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Clarksburg High School. This event will provide informative workshops geared towards middle and high school girls on a variety of current topics. Join us for a chance to network, participate in fun activities, learn valuable skills and enjoy a fashion show presented by White House Black Market celebrating diverse body types!

Sessions will be provided in English and Spanish, and will be organized by grade level. Student Service Learning (SSL) hours will be available for students. Topics and activities will include:

• Healthy relationships/dating violence

• Social media use and mental health, including cyberbullying

• Self-esteem

• Identifying symptoms of depression and anxiety

• Healthy eating and body image

• Music therapy, Zumba and Kaiser Permanente spin bikes for art therapy

• Narcan kits will be distributed and training will also be available.

RSVP

MCPS is seeking the community’s feedback as it works to finalize the 2024–2025 school calendar. Please complete this survey to share your input.

Your feedback represents an important component of the development process. MCPS will consider educational interests, operational needs, mandated school closures by state law, compliance with minimum instructional days and credit hour requirements, inclement weather and other emergencies, staff professional days and early release days, alignment with assessment schedules and more.

Take the survey

In an effort to promote student punctuality to class, we are implementing a new incentive program. All students who accumulate no more than five tardies from September 11 - September 21 will earn an opportunity to purchase an icy treat during open ROCK time on Friday, September 22.

You can support the incentive at home by monitoring your student's attendance in ParentVUE! The attendance code for an unexcused tardy is "TU". You can find period-by-period attendance records in ParentVUE by clicking the attendance tab from the left menu, then select the date. Attendance for each period will appear at the bottom of the screen when you scroll down.

If your student has earned the incentive, you will receive an email after school on September 21.

Attention Grade 6 parents/guardians:

Interested in being a chaperone for Outdoor Education? If so, please email Mr. Eisenhower ASAP! Parent Chaperones are needed for both sessions! If you are interested in chaperoning, please email Mr. Eisenhower ASAP at mark_a_eisenhower@mcpsmd.org.

Forms/Training Links are below:

• Background Screening Packet
• CPS Background Check
• Online Recognizing Child Abuse Training

At the PTA Community Support meeting, we talked about the anonymous reporting system for students, families, and staff. Students and families are welcome to reach out to FMS administration and teachers or PTA leadership if they have a concern. Anyone can access this resource and report a concern at any time:

https://schoolsafety.maryland.gov/Pages/Tipline.aspx

Tuesday, October 3, 2023: In collaboration with the Sherwood High School PTA, the PTA is hosting a showing of the movie “Angst”.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, all Farquhar students and their families are invited for a free viewing of the movie Angst on Tuesday, October 3rd in the Ertzman Theater, sponsored by the Mia Fontana Foundation and the Sherwood Cluster PTAs. A community discussion about addressing anxiety will follow. Free popcorn! Chick fil-A sandwiches, drinks, and other snacks will be available for purchase. Please rsvp here. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., program is from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Friday, September 29, 2023: FMS PTA will host an appreciation breakfast for our school bus drivers. The PTA will provide breakfast and treats for our hardworking drivers. Please consider making a donation to support this event: https://fmspta.memberhub.com/store

We enjoyed seeing and connecting with so many families who joined us at Back to School Night (BTSN)! Our treasurer, Jessica Ryan, shared that 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 133 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

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

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