Friday, October 6, 2017

Linda M. Jones, Principal

Kimberly A. Thompson Assistant Principal The Principal’s Message for Stonegate Families Stonegate Elementary School 14811 Notley Road Silver Spring, MD 20905

THE STONEGATE SPLASH

A MESSAGE FROM MRS. JONES

Dear Families,

It was a pleasure to see so many families attend Back to School Night. It gave me an opportuni-

ty to meet many families and share some school procedures and policies. I hope that you en-

joyed the overview of school-based initiatives through the video presentation prior to hearing

from your teachers. This year we opted not to conduct the general session meeting. This al-

lowed families to go straight to the classrooms to learn more about grade level expectations and

the curriculum. We were pleased to end Back To School night before 8:00 p.m. so students

could still settle down early and have enough rest for school the next day. We received positive

feedback about our video. We do have some upgrades that we will include in our video next

year. Thank you so much for your support as we tried something new this year. If you were

unable to join us, the Back to School Night video and teacher PowerPoint presentations shared

are posted on our school’s website. Also, if you were not able to attend, please be sure you have

contacted your child’s teacher to schedule a November conference time. I look forward to

working with all families this year and providing a high quality education for all stu-

dents. Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @StonegatePrin.

Thank you so much to the families that attended our PTA-sponsored Back to School Picnic on

September 28th! This was a wonderful opportunity to re-connect with old friends and make

new ones.

Thank you so much to all of my Stonegate Dads, Grandfathers, Significant Male Caregivers, etc.

for an amazing Dads Take Your Child To School Day. It was such a success because of you. We

had over 100 Dads participate in our special morning.

We hope that you will join us for our Open House. We would appreciate your presence and

taking the time to join us in our learning journey!

Open House is an opportunity for families to “experience” the school and classroom alongside

your children. To make your visit a success, the following tips and expectations are provided.

· Open House will be held on Monday, October 9 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. We appreciate you

adjusting your schedule to join us during these hours as afternoon times are not available.

· In order to focus on the learning experience for your school-aged children, we respectfully

request you leave younger siblings at home. We love all of our littlest learners, but believe your

experience will be most positive without distractions.

· Please feel free to bring your smart phone or other device, but we do ask that you either turn it

off or place the ringer on vibrate. Photos should not be taken in the school building of any indi-

viduals (adults or children) except your own. Thank you for helping us to honor the privacy of

our school community.

· Get involved! We believe that student learning is best experienced through active engage-

ment with the content. Feel free to sit with your children, join us in groups, and participate!

· Please remember that this is not a time to conference with teachers. However, please feel free

to email the classroom teacher with questions that you may have. We know that you will leave

your visit with a smile and sense of confidence in the educational experience of your children.

Thank you for joining us and enjoy the classroom experience! In addition, we hope to see all dads, grandparents, etc. at our PTA sponsored Breakfast with Dads event on Monday, October 9th , and Tuesday, October 10th. While you are here, please stop by the Scholastic Book Fair. This is a very busy and exciting week at Stonegate. I look forward to seeing you at these great events!

Important Dates:

10/11—Mid term progress reports sent home

10/9-13—Fall Book Fair

10/9 –Open House, 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

10/9—Breakfast with Dads, Gr. 3-5, APR, 7:40-8:50 a.m.

10/10—Breakfast with Dads, K-2, APR, 7:40-8:50 a.m 10/10 Family Portrait Night 4:30—7:30 10/11—SGA Speeches 9:30-10:15 APR 10/12 Multicultural Heritage Night 6:30—8:00 APR 10/13 Close Encounters, Gr 4, 9:40—2:10 10/17 Sharkbites Breakfast 10/25 Strathmore Music Hall, Gr. 5, 11:20—2:00 10/30 PBIS Monthly Celebration 9:30—10:15, APR 10/31 Halloween Parade 2:00, followed by parties

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On October 9th, we will celebrate our annual open house for families. Parents are encouraged to

visit their children’s classes anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.. This is a wonderful oppor-

tunity to see your child engaged in learning and interacting with other students and teachers and to

observe classroom routines and procedures. We ask that younger siblings not attend in order to

limit distractions to the teaching and learning taking place and to make the day special for the child

(ren) you are visiting. In addition, we ask that cell phones be turned off during your visit. We look

forward to seeing you and hope that you will stop by the Scholastic Book Fair during your visit.

OPEN HOUSE

BREAKFAST WITH DADS

Join Us for Breakfast with Dads!

What: Breakfast for Dads and their children

Who: All Dads, Step-Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles or Male Mentors and their chil-dren who attend Stonegate ES (no RSVP necessary)

Dads are asked to stay with their child until 8:40 am

When: Monday October 9th (grades K-2) and Tuesday October 10th (grades 3-5)

Why: Show our appreciation for our Stonegate dads and encourage them to be involved with their children's education!

The PTA will provide muffins, waffles, coffee, juice, fruit and other hot food items.

Donations of donuts holes, granola/cereal bars, yogurt (drinkable or squeezable), mini cereal boxes and pop tarts are greatly appreciated.

CELEBRATING HISPANIC HERITAGE

During National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) we recog-

nize the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanic and Latino Amer-

icans to the United States and celebrate their heritage and culture.

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myMCPS Portal for Parents and Students The new myMCPS Classroom portal is a 21st century digital learn-ing environment designed to meet the needs of staff, students, and parents of MCPS! The myMCPS Parent Portal is replacing Edline as the primary home-to-school communication vehicle for schools to share information regarding grades, attendance, scheduling and more. Letters with in-formation on how to create a myMCPS Parent Portal account have been mailed home to parents. The Parent Portal is live for secondary students and families. The Portal for ele-mentary families will be implemented on a staggered schedule. For more information, visit www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/mymcps-classroom/index.aspx.

Portal myMCPS para Padres y Estudiantes ¡El nuevo portal myMCPS Classroom es una plataforma de aprendizaje digital diseñada para responder a las necesidades del personal, los estudiantes y los padres de MCPS! El Portal myMCPS para los Padres reemplaza a Edline como el principal instrumento de co-municación entre el hogar y la escuela, para que las escuelas puedan compartir infor-mación relacionada con calificaciones, asistencia escolar, programación y más. Se han enviado cartas por correo a los padres con información sobre cómo crear una cuenta para acceder al Portal myMCPS para los Padres. El Portal para los Padres es en vivo para los estudiantes de las escuelas secundarias y sus familias. El Portal para familias de las es-cuelas elementales se implementará en un calendario escalonado. Para más información, visite www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/mymcps-classroom/index.aspx.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

The Book Fair is Coming! Monday, October 9– Friday, October 13

Book fair hours are: Monday and Tuesday 7:40 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

(Open Early For Breakfast with Dads) Thursday 8:40 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Friday 8:40 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

MYMCPS PORTAL FOR PARENTS

Mission Statement

Stonegate's mission as a

caring community is to

foster the growth of life-

long learners by com-

municating high expec-

tations and standards

through respect, flexibil-

ity, and collaboration.

Vision Statement

The Stonegate Commu-

nity will be committed

to a multicultural learn-

ing environment that

motivates and supports

all learners to achieve

their greatest potential.

We will collaborate re-

spectfully to develop a

standard of excellence

that promotes high ex-

pectations for all learn-

ers.

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Ask teachers for help Mondays from 6:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m. and Tuesday-Thursdays

4:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. on MCPS TV's Homework Hotline Live (HHL). Watch teachers

here as they work with you to solve homework problems. To ask your question:

From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, call 301-279-3234 (STILL THE

BEST--talk directly with a teacher). Tweet Us @AskHHL,

Text HHL 724-427-5445, send an E-mail to question@AskHHL.org, or post a

message on the HHL Facebook wall. Homework Hotline Live has been helping

students for 30 years. It is a service of Montgomery County (Maryland) Public

Schools. In addition to this website, HHL can be viewed in Montgomery County

on cable TV (Comcast 34, Verizon FIOS 36, RCN 89).

FREE HOMEWORK HELP IS HERE!

Free and Reduced Meals Application Forms need to be turned in as soon as

possible if you wish to apply. Meal benefit eligibility from last year will re-

main current only through October 14, 2017. Students who received meal

benefits last year must have a new application approved by the end of Septem-

ber in order to continue receiving free or reduced-price meals. Beginning Oc-

tober 15th, all students who do not have an approved application for the

current year must pay for meals until a new application is approved.

FREE AND REDUCED APPLICATIONS

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HARVEST FESTIVAL AND PARADE

We are looking forward to our upcoming Halloween and Harvest Day celebrations.

Both will be held on October 31st beginning at 1:45 p.m. Students participating in

Halloween festivities will begin changing into costumes at 1:45 p.m., with the pa-

rade beginning at 2:00 p.m. Students are NOT to wear costumes to school. No

pretend weapons will be allowed as part of any costume and all costumes

should be rated “G.” Following the parade, students will celebrate with their classmates with a party!

They will participate in games and activities, and enjoy a snack. Please remember that food items

provided for parties should be store bought and still in their original wrappers or unopened bags.

Also, please be mindful of food allergies in your child’s classroom. Peanut and tree nut free items

are preferred.

The Harvest Festival is being offered as an alternative event for children who do not celebrate Hallow-

een due to religious or cultural beliefs. This event will begin at 2:00 p.m. in the All Purpose Room. We

are grateful to the parent volunteers for ensuring that our Harvest Festival is a success! Only students

who return the form requesting to participate in the Harvest Festival and NOT participate in the

Halloween activities will be allowed to attend.

*Students who are in need of a costume should contact Mr. Seward. He will be able to provide

extra costumes to those in need.

Saturday School Online Registration is now open!

Saturday School offers tutoring and mentoring in reading/language arts, mathematics, and

test-taking skills for students in grades 1-12 that reside in Montgomery County. It takes place

Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at 12 high school centers.

Fast and easy registration online for the 2017/2018 school year. Follow this link to the Satur-

day School Registration page: http://www.saturdayschool.org/programs/enroll.shtm. Cash,

checks, or money orders (made payable to GBTLA or The George B. Thomas, Sr. Learning

Academy, Inc.) are accepted. Please remember to bring a copy of your student’s report card

to the first tutoring session.

SATURDAY SCHOOL REGISTRATION

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PTA NEWS

As we begin to see and feel the signs of fall, the PTA has been busy holding our first few activities and prepar-ing for an autumn packed with opportunities for fun and learning. Last Tuesday, at our October PTA meeting, we were able to hear from our school staff development teacher, Stefanie Bollock. Mrs. Bollock shared infor-mation about the new MCPS Grading and Reporting policy and how to understand the new report card marks coming home. Any specific curriculum questions can be directed at your child’s teacher or to Mrs. Bol-lock Stefanie_Rardin@mcpsmd.org.

We had a very successful PTA volunteer fair. Thank you to those who came and signed up to volunteer! We encourage you to join us in participating in our school community. As PTA events and activities draw nearer, there will be opportunities to volunteer for each of them. The PTA is the voice of our children! Come and be a part of that voice! Please contact me with any suggestions, concerns or comments at: Melissa Labriola stonegateptapres@gmail.com

Looking forward to….

Breakfast with Dads! This amazing event will be held from 7:40 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. on Monday, October 9th for

K-2nd grade families and Tuesday, October 10th for 3rd-5th grade families. Dads and other male role mod-

els are invited to share a delicious breakfast with their students before the school and work day begins.

We are still in need of volunteers for this event. Please sign up at: http://www.signupgenius.com/

go/10c0c4ea4a72aa02-stonegate

The Scholastic Book Fair will be at our school from Monday, October 9th - Friday, October 13th in the Media

Center. We will be open early on Monday and Tuesday during Breakfast with Dads and open late Thurs-

day evening during the family portrait sessions. The book fair closes on Friday at 1:30 p.m. after the last

lunch. You can visit our online fair through October 13th at: http://www.scholastic.com/bf/

stonegateelementaryschool8.All sales at the book fair are TAX FREE! 25% of book fair sales support our

PTA. Sign up to volunteer at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4ea4a72fa6f85-stonegate1

Multicultural Heritage Night will be Thursday, October 12th, from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Come celebrate the

cultural heritage of all families at Stonegate! Whether you hail from Bolivia, Belize, Botswana, Belarus,

Bangladesh or Baltimore, please share your cultural heritage with the Stonegate community! Please email

Danielle Sodani (danielle@sodani.com) if you would like to share your culture, volunteer the night of the

event or have any questions.

Our next general PTA meeting is Tuesday, November 7th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Media Center. Childcare will be

provided by Global Children’s Center for students ages 5-12.

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Thanks… Thank you to Sean Kelly for his diligent work in keeping flower beds at Stonegate clean and clear and looking great! The beds were all ready to go for the Open House before school started. Many thanks to all of our committee and event chairs for a most productive PTA Volunteer Fair. I am grateful to each of you for making so many wonderful things happen at Stonegate ES! Thank you new and returning families who attended our PTA Volunteer fair and have signed up to help with or chair an event or activity! Working together we can do incredible things for our children and community. Thanks to Ashley Moore for her wonderful work with membership so far! We already have approximately 65% of staff signed up and 191 members! We are excited for a new school year and have many fun events and programs planned. Please become a member to support the work that we do.

Mid-Term Progress Reports

Mid-Term Progress Reports will be sent home on Wednesday, October 11th. All students will re-ceive a Mid-Term Progress Report. A level of proficiency may not be reported for particular meas-urement topics on your child’s Mid-Term Progress Report because, at just five weeks into the marking period, all measurement topics have not yet been addressed.

Curriculum 2.0 Parent Guides

Montgomery County Public Schools has published curriculum guides for each grade level. These guides provide an overview of the grade level program and explain what your child will be learning in art, mathematics, music, physical education, reading/language arts, science, and social stud-ies. The information in these guides will assist you in providing support for your child throughout the year. The guides can be accessed here: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/elementary/guides.aspx. They were also sent home with students in September.

Any specific curriculum questions can be directed to your child’s teacher or to Stefanie Bollock, Stonegate’s Staff Development Teacher, at Stefanie_Rardin@mcpsmd.org.

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY EVENTS

Celebrate the 31st Annual Montgomery County Community Service Week Get ready for a week chock-full of volunteer opportunities across the county in honor of Montgomery County’s 31st annual Community Service Week, set for October 22-29. There will be lots of ways for students and families to help a variety of local nonprofits, schools, and government agencies throughout the week, including many projects preapproved for student service learning hours. Check the Montgomery County Volunteer Center’s online calendar of volunteer needs for the latest list of projects (and check back regularly as projects are being added daily), and pick any of all that match your interests! Schools and PTAs are planning volunteer projects as part of the service week. Visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/volunteercenter/volunteers/Community-Service-Week.html for more information.

Celebre la Trigésima Primera Semana Anual de Servicio Comunitario del Condado de Montgomery Prepárese para una semana repleta de oportunidades de voluntariado en todo el condado en honor a la Trigésima Primera Semana Anual de Servicio Comunitario del Condado de Montgomery, que tendrá lugar del 22 al 29 de octubre. Habrá muchas maneras en que los estudiantes y las familias podrán ayudar a una variedad de organizaciones sin fines de lucro, escuelas y agencias gubernamentales locales durante la semana, incluyendo muchos proyectos pre-aprobados para horas de aprendizaje mediante servicio estudiantil (Student Service Learning–SSL). Consulte el calendario en línea de necesidades de voluntariado en el Centro de Voluntarios del Condado de Montgomery (Montgomery County Volunteer Center) para ver la lista más actualizada de proyectos (y vuelva a consultar la lista regularmente, ya que se agregan proyectos todos los días). ¡Elija cualquier proyecto, o todos los proyectos más adecuados a sus intereses! Las escuelas y las Asociaciones de Padres y Maestros (Parent-Teacher Associations–PTAs) están planeando proyectos para voluntarios como parte de la semana de servicio. Visite www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ volunteercenter/volunteers/Community-Service-Week.html para más información.

Come to the World of Montgomery Festival! The World of Montgomery Festival celebrates and displays the rich cultural heritages of Montgomery County and the Washington, D.C., area. The festival will be held Sunday, October 15, at Montgomery College’s Rockville Campus, 51 Mannakee Street in Rockville, from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. MCPS is proud to be a partner in this year’s festival. The free event includes an international village, a global kitchen with chef demonstrations of traditional ethnic food, a craft market, a Parade of Cultures, two performance stages of traditional dance and music, connections through service, traditional arts, and fun interactive activities for the whole family. For more information, visit www.worldofmontgomery.com.

Venga al Festival del Mundo de Montgomery! El Festival del Mundo de Montgomery celebra y exhibe las ricas herencias culturales del Condado de Montgomery y del área de Washington, DC. El festival tendrá lugar el domingo, 15 de octubre, en el campus de Montgomery College en Rockville, 51 Mannakee Street, de 12 del mediodía a 4:00 p.m. MCPS se enorgullece en ser un colaborador en el festival de este año. El evento gratuito incluye una aldea internacional, una cocina global con demostraciones de chefs preparando platos étnicos tradicionales, un mercado artesanal, un Desfile de Culturas, dos escenarios con danzas y música tradicionales, conexiones a través de servicios, artes tradicionales y divertidas actividades interactivas para toda la familia. Para más información, visite www.worldofmontgomery.com.

MCPS QUICKNOTES

PARENT ACADEMY WORKSHOPS

PROPOSED SCHOOL CALENDAR

Proposed 2018–2019 School Calendar

It’s that time of year again when the district develops the school calendar for the following school year. Since last year, school districts across Maryland have been discussing how best to design their school calendars given the new time constraints placed on the length of the school year. The current 2017–2018 school year is the first school year operating under these new rules, which are that school cannot start before Labor Day and must end before June 15. MCPS has been meeting with focus groups of parents, staff, and other stakeholder groups and is seeking your feed-back on how best to design the 2018–2019 school calendar. Next year, the district will have even fewer days to work with than in years past to accommodate instructional and non-instructional traditions. For a more detailed explanation of the calendar, as well as to see various examples of how the calendar could be de-veloped, please visit the school calendar webpage. If you would like to offer comment on the calendar, please do so using the drop box provided on the calendar webpage.

Registration Open for New Parent Academy Workshops The MCPS Parent Academy offers parents and community members the opportunity to attend free workshops that provide information, resources, tools, and tips to support their children’s success in school. Don’t miss the fall season of workshops, which will be offered on a range of topics, including college and career planning, active parenting, and cybersafety and social media. Parent Academy workshops are free. Childcare and interpretation services are provided at all sessions. A full list of courses is available online at www.mcpsparentacademy.org.

Ya Están Abiertas las Inscripciones para los Nuevos Talleres de la Academia para Padres La Academia para Padres de MCPS ofrece a los padres y a los miembros de la comunidad la oportunidad de asistir a talleres gratuitos que proveen información, recursos, herramientas y consejos, con el fin de apoyar a sus hijos para que sean exitosos en la escuela. No se pierda los talleres de la temporada de otoño, que ofrecerán una gama de temas, incluyendo planificación para la universidad y para carreras, crianza infantil activa, y ciberseguri-dad en los medios sociales. Los talleres de la Academia para Padres son gratuitos. En todas las sesiones se proveen servicios de cuidado infantil e interpretación de idiomas. Se puede encontrar una lista con los talleres dis-ponibles en www.mcpsparentacademy.org.

Sign-up for MCPS QuickNotes

MCPS QuickNotes is a free e-mail service that provides subscribers with important news and information about MCPS programs and activities, plus emergency information. MCPS QuickNotes is offered in seven languages: English, Spanish, French, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Amharic. Visit www.mcpsquicknotes.org to subscribe.

Regístrese para MCPS QuickNotes MCPS QuickNotes es un servicio gratuito por correo electrónico que ofrece a los usuarios información importante acerca de los programas y actividades de MCPS, además de información de emergencia. MCPS QuickNotes se ofrece en siete idio-mas: inglés, español, francés, coreano, chino, vietnamita y amárico. Ingrese a www.mcpsquicknotes.org para subscribir-se.

VOLUNTEER TRAINING

RECOGNIZING AND REPORTING CHILD ABUSE

Volunteer Training on Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse

MCPS values the volunteers who work in our schools to enrich our students’ experiences. As a community, we all are mindful of our shared responsibility to create safe, nurturing environments for our students. The Montgomery County Board of Education has revised its child abuse policy, and MCPS has engaged in a comprehensive effort to implement practices and protocols to ensure all of our students have a safe learning environment.

As part of this ongoing effort for the 2017–2018 school year, MCPS has developed training for all volunteers in the district to learn about recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. This online training takes about 30 minutes to com-plete and can be accessed through the MCPS website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/childabuseandneglect/. While we encourage all community members to engage in this important, informative training, currently we only require indi-viduals who regularly support schools to complete the child abuse and neglect training.

Answers to frequently asked questions are posted on the MCPS Child Abuse and Neglect webpage. MCPS is grateful for your commitment and partnership to ensure the safety of students.

Capacitación para Voluntarios sobre Cómo Reconocer y Denunciar Abuso Infantil MCPS valora a los voluntarios que trabajan en nuestras escuelas para enriquecer las experiencias de los estu-diantes. Como comunidad, nosotros somos conscientes de nuestra responsabilidad compartida para crear en-tornos seguros y cálidos para nuestros estudiantes. El Consejo de Educación recientemente hizo una revisión a su política sobre abuso infantil, y MCPS se ha involucrado en un esfuerzo integral para implementar las prác-ticas y protocolos que aseguran que nuestros estudiantes tengan un entorno seguro donde aprender. Como parte de este esfuerzo continuo, para el ciclo escolar 2017–2018, MCPS ha desarrollado capacitación para los voluntarios, para prevenir, reconocer, y denunciar abuso y negligencia infantil en el distrito escolar. La capacitación en línea toma aproximadamente 30 minutos para ser completado y se puede ser acceder a través de la página de internet de MCPS www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/childabuseandneglect/. Si bien alentamos a todos los miembros de la comunidad a participar en este entrenamiento importante e informativo, actual-mente sólo se requiere que los individuos quienes apoyan en las escuelas regularmente completen la capacita-ción sobre Abuso y Negligencia Infantil. Respuestas a preguntas frecuentes están publicadas en la página de Internet de MCPS sobre Abuso y Negli-gencia Infantil. MCPS está agradecido por su compromiso y colaboración para asegurar la seguridad de los estudiantes.

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Quick Reference to Frequently

Called Numbers

Child Find

(programs for children w/

disabilities)

301-929-2224 West Farm Bus Depot

301-879-1065

Early Childhood Education

(Pre K-2nd) 301-230-0691

Food and Nutrition Services

301-840-8170 General Info

(MCPS Call Center)

301-309-6277

Hispanic Hotline

301-230-3073 Homework Hotline

(Channel 52)

301-279-3234

Weather Info

(Late opening/early closings)

301-279-3673

Have you been clipping box tops? Send them in to school! Make sure to label them with your child’s name and homeroom teacher. Many products current-ly have double and triple Box Tops available. Through the Box Tops for Edu-cation Program our school has earned thousands of dollars that have been used to enhance our classrooms.

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

Montgomery College

Workforce Development & Continuing Education

YOUTH PROGRAMS

Register now

Kids College

Montgomery College Youth Programs offers Kids College with after school and Saturday courses for students in grades 1 – 10 held on the Rockville and Ger-mantown campuses. This program consists of enrichment and advancement courses that cover a wide range of topics including science, math, art, engineer-ing, study skills, writing, etiquette, and technology. Classes begin in October.

Classes fill quickly, so register NOW!

For additional brochures or registration information, contact YOUTH PRO-GRAMS at 240-567-7264 or 240-567-7917 or access brochure online at: http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/wdce/youthkidscollege.html

Asistencia en Español disponible.