The Glade Gazette

August 10 - Systemic email will be sent to primary and secondary guardians with student’s homeroom teacher. Emails are sent starting at 4:00 p.m. Glade will not be mailing/emailing homeroom teacher assignments to parents.

Classroom lists and teacher assignments are still "UNDER CONSTRUCTION." Some of you were able to see your child's teacher in Talking Points when you accessed middle/high school schedules. Glade Elementary teacher assignments will be finalized on August 9th due to the ongoing enrollment. Students are placed in classes based on academic, social-emotional and other needs. We are monitoring class sizes and moving students in and out of classrooms daily to ensure equitable placement for all. Please be patient as we are working around this process. Thank you!

August 12, 5-6 pm -Kindergarten Orientation is for parents/guardians of rising kindergarten students only. Please do not bring students to this event.

August 18, 3-4 pm - Open House

August 19 - First Day of School

September 15, 4-5 pm - Back to School Night

Glade is closed on Fridays - Summer Four-Day Work Schedule. Office will be open to the community Monday through Thursday from 8:30am-3:00pm. Extended hours are also available by appointment. Please call the front office prior to stopping by to ensure the staff member you need assistance from will be available.

Dear Glade Families,

The countdown is on—less than three weeks until the first day of school! We hope your family is enjoying the final weeks of summer, making memories, and finding time to relax and recharge.

Here at Glade, our staff has been hard at work preparing for an exciting school year. Classrooms are coming together, staff is resting, and Front Office staff is getting everything ready to welcome our staff and students back.

As the first day approaches, please keep an eye on your email and systemic communications for important updates, including:

• • Classroom teacher assignments
  • Transportation information
  • Back-to-School events

  We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our upcoming events:

  • Kindergarten Parent Orientation: August 12, 5:00–6:00 p.m. (Parents/guardians only)
  • Open House: August 18, 3:00–4:00 p.m.
  • Back-to-School Night: September 15, 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Enjoy these last weeks of summer, and know that we can't wait to welcome everyone back to Glade. It's going to be a fantastic year of being Kind, Accountable, Together!

Thank you for your partnership, trust, and continued support. Please continue sharing feedback: Glow & Grow Feedback Survey It will help us identify opportunities for growth and improvement.

Gladefully,

Mrs. Ivanova and Mrs. Hamilton

Beginning Wednesday, August 19, FCPS will implement updated expectations for student use of personal communication devices. Under the new "off and away, bell to bell" expectation, students at all grade levels must keep cell phones, smart watches, and other personal communication devices out of sight and not in use during the school day.

Permitted Student personal mobile devices uses:

a. Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 Plans:

• Use of personal mobile devices must be permitted where included in a student’s IEP, Section 504 Plan, or where required by law.
• The IEP and/or Section 504 teams for a student with a documented disability should collaborate to consider the need for the device to support the student’s needs and should provide educational and/or assistive technology supports as appropriate.
• The need for the device will be reviewed at the student’s IEP or Section 504 review meeting as needed. Student with Documented Health/Medical Needs.

c. Statutory Extenuating Circumstances. School administrators may grant exceptions Regulation 118-01 3 of 5 for students to access their personal mobile devices:

• To access language translation tools to ensure educational equity for multilingual students when FCPS-issued technological devices are not available or sufficient for this purpose; or
• For the purpose of meeting caregiving responsibilities, as approved by a school principal.

• Parents may request an exception for their children to use personal mobile devices during the academic school day as listed above.
• Requests must be made to a school administrator, and, must include supporting documentation.

a. Communications from Students to Parents: Students must use school-based communication tools and methods (e.g., phones in the main school office, their classroom, or other centralized location) to communicate emergency or non-emergency needs with parents.

b. Communications from Parents to Students

• As student devices are required to be off, in airplane mode, or school mode while on school grounds, parents are encouraged to refrain from calling or texting their child’s personal mobile device during the academic school day.
• Parents are encouraged to use school-based communication tools and channels to communicate family-based emergencies and non-emergencies during the academic school day.
• If a child contacts their parent during school hours via a personal mobile device, parents are encouraged to reinforce responsible student technology use expectations and remind their child to focus on learning.

All absences require a parent note or they will be marked unlawful. Be sure to include the child’s first/last name and teacher name. Even if you have called the school to report an absence, we still require a note upon returning to school. You may print one off - ABSENCE NOTE or email a note to GES.Attendance@fcps.org

You can support maintaining our perfect attendance by sending your healthy child to school each day on time. Instruction begins at 9:00 every morning and ends at 3:30 pm.

VACATIONS - Per Board of Education Policy 430-02 Student Attendance, Absences for students who take trips during the school year will be considered unlawful. However, these absences will not be considered as truancy, for a maximum of 5 days, per school year, with prior written notice to the principal or designee. Students shall be permitted to make up missed classwork, homework and assessments missed while absent. Email written notice to GES.Attendance@fcps.org

You can also support by planning vacations around the FCPS calendar and State Assessments.

State assessments are tentatively scheduled for:

MISA - Grade 5 - April 5-14, 2027

MSTAR Reading (formerly MCAP) - Grades 3-5 - April 15-30, 2027

MSTAR Math (formerly MCAP Math) - Grades 3-5 - May 3-21, 2027

At the end of SY25-26 we started practicing a school-wide dismissal, where all students were either dismissed or were at their dismissal location by 3:40 pm. Glade will continue with this practice for SY26-27 to ensure staff can meet their contractual planning time and prepare for the next day.

NEW!!! To allow for a safe and smooth dismissal, the Front Office will be closed for visitors between 3:20 and 3:40 pm every day. No students will be dismissed from the Front Office during this time.

WALKERS: Only students who live or whose childcare provider is within 1.25 miles or less from Glade will be dismissed as walkers.

CAR RIDERS: You can drop off your child between 8:30 and 8:55 am and pick them up after 3:30 pm. While the dismissal line may appear long at times, our staff works efficiently to ensure a quick, safe and smooth process, and the line typically moves quickly.

BUS RIDERS: Buses depart in two loads, A & B. A loads leave Glade no later than 3:35 pm and B loads leave around 3:45-3:50 pm. Occasional delays will be communicated with affected families via School Messenger. School buses are considered an extension of the school building and all rules and regulations apply accordingly. Students are expected to abide by the Student Code of Conduct while riding on an FCPS bus for any purpose.

Any changes in your child's dismissal or transportation home needs to be shared with the front office before 2:30 with either a note, phone call or email to Glade.ES@fcps.org. If there's an emergency, and you have to make a change after 2:30 pm, please CALL the office. If you email the teacher only and they are absent, nobody will get that information. Thank you.

The Online Enrollment Portal for the 2026–2027 school year (SY27) is now open! Frederick County Public Schools transitioned to a new Enrollment Portal after May 29. If you registered before this date and have not yet received an acceptance decision, you will need to re-register again.

Income guidelines for approval can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Oazmz_pAPSz2nn8dlJDzI9L0AynAQoi2/edit?gid=97339937#gid=97339937

To be considered for PreK registration, the following documentation is required:

● Birth Certificate

● Proof of Residency

● Proof of Income (W-2 forms, Tax Return, or SNAP Benefits letter)

For PreK registration, please visit: https://www.fcps.org/academics/early_childhood_education/pre-_k_application_process

For Kindergarten registration, please visit: https://www.fcps.org/academics/early_childhood_education/kindergarten_enrollment

Please pass this information on to your friends and neighbors with PreK and Kindergarten aged children at home. Early enrollment can support informed staffing decisions.

Consider joining the Frederick County Public Library summer reading challenge: https://www.fcpl.org/participate/summer-challenge

Play the following math games with a deck of cards: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b0u3XPaKZItWI5vu11LyfafubvHMhy79/view

Glade Elementary will only have one School Counselor for SY26-27. Mrs. Gordon will continue supporting classrooms and individual students to build coping skills, study habits, and sense of belonging within our school community! Please do not hesitate to reach out to her with any concerns or questions: Lauren Gordon - Lauren.Gordon@fcps.org

Mrs. Leahy will support Glade Elementary in the capacity of a Behavior Support Specialist. She will be pushing into classrooms to support students who experience behavioral, social-emotional, or self-regulation challenges. Her new role will focus on prevention, intervention, coaching, and collaboration. Please do not hesitate to reach out to her with any concerns or questions: Kim Leahy - Kimberly.Leahy@fcps.org

• Address change: Please provide a new proof of residency (a copy of a property tax bill, gas bill, electric bill, water/sewer, cable bill or a signed current lease/rental agreement; NO phone bill or mortgage statements).
• Custody change: If there is a change in child custody, please make sure you share that information with your child’s teacher and the office. It is extremely important that a copy of the court document be delivered to the school and placed in the child’s permanent record folder. Should the school not have this documentation, we have no recourse but to release your child to either parent upon request.
• Weapons: Possession of any firearm or other weapon by a student on school property is strictly forbidden. This also includes look-alike weapons. The penalties for violation are detailed in the Discipline section of the FCPS handbook. Please remember it is a serious offense to possess a weapon of any kind on school property.

Website: https://education.fcps.org/ges/

Location: Glade Elementary School, 9525 Glade Road, Walkersville, MD, USA
Phone: tel:227-203-1700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GladePTA