Roadrunner's Digest

Good evening Farquhar Families,

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful long weekend with your friends and families, and that you are getting well-earned rest. I'm happy to report that we had an amazing first week of school! Students nurtured new friendships, teachers dove into their content, we met in grade level town hall meetings, and had a successful first fire drill! Your continued communication with our admin and counseling teams has made all the difference. Please continue to reach out to us so that we can ensure your student is thriving at Farquhar. I look forward to another great week ahead!

In this week's newsletter you will find:

• This week's bell schedules
• NEW: Transportation Update
• NEW: Back-to-School Night details
• NEW: Save-the-dates for MAP Testing
• Eighth grade classroom meetings information and Opt-Out
• NEW: Seventh grade classroom meetings Opt-In
• NEW: A message from Mr. Britton, Principal of Sherwood HS
• ParentVUE registration resources
• IXL login procedures for Math and ELA
• Save-the-dates for Outdoor Ed, and 7th grade field trips
• NEW: PTA Corner Updates about an upcoming community support meeting
  

We will continue with our regular bell schedule this week, running advisory rotations on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Friday 9/8 will be our FIRST Open Rock Time, where all students will share a 54 minute open lunchtime. Students should anticipate longer lunch lines on Open Rock days.

Thanks to the families who reached out to document school bus route issues last week. We have been working closely with our depot management to adjust routes and ensure that all students arrive to school on time.

If you are experiencing a regular transportation concern with school buses, please email Mrs. Rivas-Smith, Acting Principal, at Angelica_L_Smith@mcpsmd.org with specific details about your concern.

All students will be taking the Fall MAP-M and MAP-R (acronyms for the Measures of Academic Progress test in Math and Reading) on September 11 and 18, respectively.

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 on both of these days. For your reference, the testing block on both days will be concluded by 11am.

On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, members of the district crisis team will be facilitating 8th grade classroom meetings for students to process any feelings or questions surrounding the Washington Post article about the former principal of Farquhar MS. The classroom meeting will take place during advisory (11:30 - 11:54am). If you prefer that your student not participate in the classroom meeting, please complete this opt-out form. All students who opt out will be provided an alternative activity in the media center during this time. Questions can be directed to Angelica Rivas-Smith, Acting Principal, at Angelica_L_Smith@mcpsmd.org.

We are offering classroom meeting Opt-In opportunity for families who want their seventh grade student to participate in the classroom meetings described above. If you would like your 7th grader to participate in a classroom meeting, please complete this opt-in form.

The interest level from 7th grade families will determine the date for the 7th grade classroom meeting. An update will be provided to the families who indicate interest on the form.

Dear Sherwood Community,

As we continue to build on the safety and well-being of our fans, our policy for the 2023-24 football and sports event season will be that no middle school and/or elementary school students will be allowed to attend the game without being accompanied by a parent. We realize that tickets are now being purchased online, however, money can be restored if the student does not enter the game.

Please also follow the guidelines below:

• Middle and elementary school students coming to the game must be escorted and supervised by their parent/guardian at all times
• Middle and elementary school students are welcome to watch the game in our stands
• Any middle and elementary school student not in the stands watching the game with a parent/guardian, will be escorted out of the stadium. (The parent will be notified)

We are requiring all students to present an ID card at the ticket gate. If no Identification is

available, the student's high school class schedule will be accepted.

We are also NOT allowing any food, drinks, and/or coolers to be brought into the stadium by all fans, including students, parents, and community members. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding.

Respectfully,

Mr. Tim Britton

Principal

Sherwood High School

Synergy ParentVUE is the Parent Portal that serves as the primary home-to-school communication vehicle for schools to share information regarding grades, attendance, scheduling, access into myMCPS Classroom, and more.

If you have not yet created an account in ParentVUE, request activation here.

An overview and FAQ for ParentVUE can be found here (scroll down to find the information).

At Farquhar we utilize the IXL learning platform to provide students with practice opportunities in math and literacy that is tailored to their needs and meets them at their level. Due to MCPS contract updates, students will access their Math and ELA IXL accounts in two places:

To access the Math IXL account: Navigate through Clever. If Clever does not auto-populate a student’s username and password, the login info is:

• Username: student’s first initial and their last name @montgomerycps (example: asmith@montgomerycps)
• Password: student ID number

To access the ELA IXL account: Go to IXL.com.

• Username: student’s first initial and their last name @williamhfms. (example: asmith@williamhfms)
• Password: student ID number

FMS Outdoor Education will take place from November 13 - 17 this year at Skycroft in Middletown, MD. Half of the class will attend from 11/13-15, and the other half will attend 11/15-17.

Parent Chaperones are needed! If you are interested in chaperoning, please email Mr. Eisenhower, one of our 6th grade Team Leaders, at mark_a_eisenhower@mcpsmd.org.

Forms/Training Links are below:

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

Families of 7th grade students should mark the calendar for two upcoming field trips:

• Medieval Times Field Trip- January 30, 2024
• Finance Park- March 14 & 18, 2024

Further details and permission slips will be forthcoming.

The FMS PTA will be hosting a Community Support Meeting on Tuesday, 9/12 7:00-8:00 p.m. via Zoom with Dr. Christina Conolly-Chester, Director in the MCPS Psychological Services Office. The purpose of this meeting is to offer parents resources and discussion strategies (for their families) regarding the investigation and ongoing media coverage surrounding the Washington Post article involving the former principal of FMS.

Due to the sensitive nature of the meeting, if you wish to attend, you are required to complete the RSVP form. Upon submitting your RSVP form you will be provided a Zoom link for the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 9/12 at 4:00 p.m. We ask that you not share the Zoom link with others, but instead, encourage everyone in the FMS community to register for the event in order to obtain the Zoom link.

We encourage you to join and donate to the FMS Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)! The FMS PTA supports student programs and activities, and your donations help to fund the entire budget. Over the past few years, the PTA has funded Math, English, and Science materials and programs; Guidance and Wellness initiatives; Field trips; Teacher Appreciation events; Parent/family resources, and more. Your contributions will allow the PTA to provide events and programs at FMS this upcoming year!

General donations or donations to support a particular class can be made at the link below.

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

Several families have noted an interest in connecting with others who drive their children to/from school. If you are interested in joining a carpool, complete the form below. We will share the responses with all those who complete the form on 9/8 so you can reach out to each other and create your own carpools.

https://forms.gle/oH8m5Quz6YJycoqf9

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

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