The Fulton Flier

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Good morning Fulton Families,

We hope you and your family had a wonderful weekend, stayed warm and made many memories this past week! As a reminder, schools are closed on today for a pre-scheduled Professional Work Day. Due to the cancellations last week, the Board of Education has pushed back the end of quarter 2. It now ends on January 25th. Grades are due on January 30th.

Warmly,

Dr. Burks, Mrs. Liwosz, & Mrs. Sillers

As we approach the second half of the school year, we wanted to remind you that HCPSS is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment that focuses on student well-being. We are taking this time to uplift the importance of reporting any type of bullying that has occurred. We will be reviewing this with our students and staff as we start the second half of the school year, and hope that you too can uplift this at home.

For children facing the emotional toll of bullying, a supportive individual can make all the difference. Please encourage your children to reach out to a trusted staff member at school should they need to report anything. As parents and guardians, you will use the same reporting form as students by following the steps outlined below.

How do I report bullying?

1. When you believe bullying has taken place, you should report it through the Bullying, Cyberbullying, Harassment and Intimidation (BCHI) reporting form. Reporting can take place in one of three ways:

1. Complete a BCHI online reporting form

2. BCHI paper reporting form (available in the main office, staff workroom, school counseling office, media center, and health services office

3. An oral report to a staff member

2. It is important to note that policy states “in the event the reporting party does not complete a BCHI Reporting Form, school administrators/supervisors will take the appropriate steps to address and document the incident.” Therefore, if you or someone else makes an oral report, it then must be documented (i.e. through a BCHI reporting form) by the administrator.

Thank you for your partnership and attention to this important topic.

It is time to begin thinking about parent/teacher conferences with your child's math teacher! This is a great opportunity to learn about what your child has been learning about in math, how they are progressing with the taught curriculum and how we can partner together for your child to excel.

We will be hosting 15 minute conferences.

Wednesday, February 7th:

- Afternoon conferences will be IN PERSON at FES.

- Evening conferences will be VIRTUAL. A google link will be sent.

Thursday, February 8th:

- All Conferences will be VIRTUAL - A google link will be sent.

The Google Meet link will be sent to you with your confirmation email. If you have questions, please email your child’s math teacher. Please note, 4th grade students who are in GT Math, met with GT Math teachers during our 1st quarter conferences; as such, conferences will not be held at this time.

Scheduling Conferences:

Beginning Monday, January 22nd at 8:00 am, you can log into HCPSS Connect to view and select from the time slots provided by the teacher for conferences. Step-by-step directions are below. If you need assistance please call 410-880-5957 and we would be happy to help.

Directions to Select a Conference Time:

Login to hcpss.org/connect

Select Conference from the left-side choices

Select Parent Scheduled Conferences at the top right

Select a time slot for your conference

You will have access through Friday, February 2nd at 4:00 pm to schedule your child’s conference by logging into HCPSS Connect.

Engage your child(ren) at home this week with Measurement

Suggested Activities:

Predict how much milk or juice is needed for the week.

• We are purchasing three gallons of beverages (milk, juice, or soda). Predict how many pints would be in three gallons, how many cups are in three gallons, or how many quarts are in three gallons.

• How much would three gallons of milk cost?

• Discuss how much money would be saved on various items using a coupon.

Helpful Hints

• 2 quarts = ½ gallon

• 4 quarts = 1 gallon

• 2 pints = 1 quart.

• 2 cups = 1 pint

• Look at metric measurements and compare sizes too.

Skate Nights

Calling All Talent

Attention students with talent - it’s that time of year again - Falcon Follies Talent Submission!!

If your student likes to sing, dance, tell jokes, do magic or otherwise perform and entertain - this show is for you! Register here: https://forms.gle/X3iyijrCQWqJ27SU9

THANK YOU!

On behalf of our FES families, the PTA would like to thank admin, teachers and everyone else who was a part of organizing and implementing Literacy Night. It was so much fun for us and our students!

January

• 01.22: Schools Closed for Students/Professional Work Day
• 01.25: NEW DATE: End of 2nd Marking Period

February

• 02.05 NEW DATE: Report Cards Issued
• 02.07 & 02.08: Elementary Schools ONLY-Close 3 Hours Early (No half day Pre-K/RECC)-ES Parent Teacher Conferences
• 02.09: Schools Closed for Students-Countywide Professional Learning Day
• 02.19: Schools & Offices clOSED
• 02.28: Book Fair

HCPSS and The Council of Elders (TCOE) Community Academy - Processes for Parent Empowerment:The next HCPSS and The Council of Elders (TCOE) Community Academy will take place on January 27 from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Parents and families are invited to attend a virtual session regarding parent advocacy topics include: Bullying, Parent Concerns, Special Education, Advanced Placement. Representatives from HCPSS will provide resources. This session is for families of students at the elementary, middle, or high school levels and will be held virtually. To register, please complete the registration form linked hereLinks to an external site.. More information can be found in the TCOE Processes for Parent Empowerment FlyerLinks to an external site.. If you have any questions, please contact Sheree Tilley at sheree_tilley@hcpss.org.

National Pan-Hellenic Council of Howard County Black History Expo 2024: The annual Black History Expo sponsored by the National Panhellenic Council of Howard County and the Howard County Public School System will be held on February 17 at Long Reach HS from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The theme of this year’s event is “African Americans and the Arts.”

HCPSS student organizations are invited to participate with exhibits that speak to the theme"African Americans and the Arts" (exhibit fee is waived), as assistants in various areas, or provide program performances. Students can receive community service hours for their participation. Registration forms for exhibitors, vendors and program performances are included in the Black History Expo packet. The deadline to register to participate is January 20,

For more information please contact Muriel G. Mitchell, Black History Expo Coordinator at (410) 461-4717 or blackhistoryexpo@gmail.com.

How perfect that we celebrate the life of MLK just at the start of the new year -- it offers the opportunity to make resolutions about the steps we each can take to foster a more just world.

FES staff want to thank all the students who submitted an entry for the Young Authors’ Contest this year. There were so many amazing poems and short stories, it made it very difficult to choose a winner. We appreciate all the time and effort that was put into writing some great pieces.

Congratulations to the following winners:

For the poem category, the winners are:

2nd grade- Sahib A.

3rd grade- Molly P.

4th grade- Aanya D.

5th grade- Margaret D.

For the short story category, the winners are:

1st grade- Ariana A.

2nd grade- Royalty O.

3rd grade- Serafina S.

4th grade- Grace N.

5th grade- Abigail L.

Congratulations to all the winners! Those students’ short stories and poems will now go off to compete at the county level. Good luck to those students. We hope to have winners from Fulton this year!

As you may know, our students are learning about empathy and inclusion during our Social Emotional Learning time through The Nora Project. A couple of weeks ago, our 4th graders had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Tyler Cashman. Mr. Cashman's presentation was moving and powerful. If you have a 4th grader, please ask them about it!

Do you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2024? Please save the date and join HCPSS for an upcoming Road to Kindergarten parent information session. All sessions will run 6:30-7:30 p.m. and cover the same content.

At this session you will learn:

• Expectations for school readiness (and receive a Ready for Kindergarten toolkit);
• Details about the HCPSS kindergarten program;
• Information about HCPSS kindergarten registration and website;
• Ways that families and children can be supported during the transition to kindergarten.

Information sessions will be offered at the following times:

• Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, Centennial High School**
• Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, Hammond High School*
• Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 Wilde Lake High School*
• SNOW DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, Hammond High School**

* Spanish interpreter will be present at these sites.
** Chinese, Korean, and Spanish interpreters will be present at these sites

If Howard County Public Schools are closed for inclement weather, the session is canceled.

Child care is available at each session for children ages 2 and older; the session is designed for adults only. Please note, the session will include information regarding Kindergarten readiness, program components, and registration that is applicable to all HCPSS schools; specific school information will be shared by schools after registration is finalized.

Large crowds are anticipated; please allow ample time for parking, childcare drop off, and check in. Doors open at 6pm.

For more information, visit www.hcpss.org/enroll/kindergarten/ or call 410-313-5693.

The Fulton Elementary School Regional Early Childhood Center (RECC) prekindergarten programs are making preparations for classes for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. These classes include children with and without disabilities. The program’s focus is helping all children develop communication, literacy, math, problem solving, motor, and social skills. Parents of children who will be 3 or 4 by September 1st, applications will be available and accepted in mid February.

In alignment with Maryland’s Blueprint for the Future, a limited number of new applications for students turning 4 by September 1 will be available. The Howard County Public School System continues to offer a prekindergarten program for income eligible children who will be four years old by September 1. For additional information contact the school or visit: https://www.hcpss.org/schools/pre-k-programs/

HCPSS is committed to providing instruction based on the statewide Early Learning Standards which are in alignment with Kindergarten Readiness. The fees listed in the application will be collected monthly regardless of the learning model determined by HCPSS throughout the upcoming school year (virtual, hybrid, in person, or class quarantine). If you have any additional questions , please contact Jessica Lifson at (410) 880-5957.