The Glade Gazette

September 4 - Favorite Day, Wear something that is your favorite

September 7 - No School, Labor Day

September 14-18 - Safety Week, A safety drill will be perfomed each day

September 15, 5-6 pm - Back to School Night - TIME CHANGE

September 16 - 5th grade Field Trip to ESSL

September 18 - 2 hour Early Dismissal - Mid Term

September 25 - 3.5 hour Early Dismissal - Fair Day

Dear Glade Families!

What a wonderful first few weeks of school! It has been exciting to welcome our students back and see our school community come alive again. Our students have been settling into their classrooms, getting to know their teachers and classmates, and learning the routines and expectations that help our school run smoothly.

The first few weeks of school are an important time for building strong habits and a sense of belonging. Students are learning where to go, what to expect, how to navigate their day, and what it means to be part of our school community. We appreciate your partnership as we help them become comfortable, confident, and ready to learn.

We want to emphasize the importance of being at school every day and arriving on time whenever possible. Consistent attendance helps students stay connected to instruction, develop classroom routines, build relationships with their peers and teachers, and keep up with their learning. Even a few missed days can make it more difficult for students to feel settled and maintain their progress.

Thank you for helping your child establish a consistent school routine—getting a good night's sleep, arriving on time, being prepared, and coming to school ready to learn. These small daily habits make a big difference!

We are so proud of how our students have started the year, and we are looking forward to all that we will accomplish together. Thank you for partnering with us to make this a successful school year for every student!

Gladefully, Mrs. Ivanova and Mrs. Hamilton

• All interior and exterior doors will remain closed at all time.
• All visitors and volunteers must be signed in at the front office to recieve a visitor sticker. Vistors without a sticker will be asked to return to the front office to get a sticker.
• All vistors will be asked to show their ID at the front door via the buzzer video to ensure safety of students and staff
• All visitors will be asked to sit in the front vestibule when waiting for their child(ren) or meeting time.
• Students must always be dismissed from the front office, even on class parties and field trip days.

During Safety Week, students will practice a variety of safety drills each day. Students and staff will learn about safety procedures in the event of different emergencies. Teachers will prepare students each morning with the drill(s) for that specific day.

PreK: Pre-K September Newsletter

Kindergarten: September Kindergarten Newsletter.pptx

1st grade: Classroom News Education Newsletter in Green Peach and Cream Flat Graphic Style.png

2nd grade: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MhXEvJg1_1vgwoc8mmxVZgxwcX3CK84h/view?usp=sharing

3rd grade: September Newsletter.docx

4th grade: https://canva.link/h0wok36ozxhr8s0

5th grade: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1iwb9Rvgex76ssUyGNaaU8hcZIFuYgzLjO5UHfiDUlE8/edit?usp=sharing

Specials: https://canva.link/m1lgrl58koe43ny

We strongly encourage ALL FAMILIES to fill out a 2026-2027 Free and Reduced-price Meal Benefits application (apply online at https://linqconnect.com/main) even if you do not plan for your student to receive free or reduced meals from the cafeteria. Schools with high levels of families qualifying for meal benefits, can receive additional financial support (including additional teaching staff, funding for tutoring, bus transportation for tutoring services and other grant based funding).

You must renew the Free and Reduced-price Meal Benefits application each year.

All adults must complete the multi-step volunteer training for all field trips, class parties, field day, and volunteering in the classroom. This process takes multiple days to complete. Please be proactive and complete the training now. You must renew the training every year!

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. To ensure efficiency, please make sure students are entering and exiting the car on the sidewalk side and have their materials ready.

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. Per FCPS policy, students can only ride their assigned bus. Students cannot invite friends to ride home on thier bus.

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.

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

Hi Glade Families! We are thrilled to be back at school for another incredible year! As a reminder, our roles have changed this year, but as we are reminding students, “Ms. Leahy and Ms. Gordon are both helpers at school” (see below for more details).

We will be visiting all classrooms during the month of September to introduce ourselves, talk about our roles, and remind students how to ask for our support. In primary grades (PK-2, L4L), we will focus on recognizing, naming, and managing feelings. In intermediate grades (3-5), we will expand our discussion to include coping and problem-solving skills.

Looking ahead, we will continue visiting classrooms and supporting students as they build their coping skills, study habits, and sense of belonging within our school community! Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any concerns or questions.

• School Counselor (all grades)

• Lauren Gordon

• Lauren.Gordon@fcps.org

• Behavior Support Specialist (all grades)

• Kim Leahy

• Kimberly.Leahy@fcps.org

For families wondering:

• What Do School Counselors Do???

• School counselors work alongside teachers and parents to help students develop socially and emotionally, and to help remove barriers to learning!

• This may look like:

• Classroom lessons teaching social skills, how to take care of strong feelings, study skills, etc.

• Small group counseling

• Short-term individual counseling

• Consultation with parents and teachers

• Community resource referrals (including longer term therapy services)

• Schoolwide programming (Kindness Week, etc.)

• What Do Behavior Support Specialists Do???

• Behavior Support Specialists work as part of a team to help students develop positive behaviors and succeed in school, and work with all staff to create a safe, supportive learning environment where every child can thrive.

• This may look like:

• Classroom regulation support

• Check-In/Check-Out program

• Small group intervention focusing on self-regulation, social skills, classroom expectations, or other behavioral needs

• Individual behavior coaching

• Collaboration with families and school staff to implement effective strategies

• Support for students during challenging situations and transitions

• 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.
• Cafeteria: Students packing lunches must provide their own condiments and utensils. FCPS requires Food and Nutrition to track and report all their supplies. We cannot turn students down if they request a meal or snack. You can put restrictions on their account by emailing food.service@fcps.org.
• 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