The Fulton Flier

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Dear Fulton Community,

We are excited to welcome you to the upcoming Math Conferences! This is a wonderful opportunity for us to discuss your child's progress, share insights into their learning, and collaborate on ways to support their continued success in math.

As you prepare for the conference, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Review Progress Reports: Take a look at your child’s recent assignments, quizzes, and assessments to get a snapshot of their current strengths and areas for growth.

2. Reflect on Goals: Think about any specific questions or goals you would like to discuss, such as challenges your child may be facing, areas where they’ve shown improvement, or topics they’re particularly interested in.

3. Student Work: Feel free to bring in any math work your child is particularly proud of, or any work you’d like more clarity on. This can help guide the conversation and give us a better understanding of how to best support your child.

4. Support Strategies: If you’re looking for ways to support your child at home, we’ll be happy to share some helpful resources, tips, and strategies.

We’re looking forward to collaborating with you to help your child continue to grow in their mathematical understanding. Please let us know if you have any questions or if there’s anything specific you’d like to discuss during the conference.

Wishing you wave of joy,

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

This week, we’re excited to honor and celebrate our incredible school counselors, Ms. Courtemanche and Ms. Diggs-Kissi, during National School Counselor Week! 🎉 They play such a vital role in supporting our students' academic, social, and emotional growth, and we want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for their dedication and hard work.

Let’s show our appreciation by recognizing their contributions and the positive impact they make on our school community every day. Let's flood their inboxes with notes of gratitude: Samantha_Courtemanche@hcpss.org and Jerrica_Diggs-Kissi@hcpss.org🌟

#NationalSchoolCounselorWeek #ThankYouCounselors #WeAreGrateful

Effective March 2025, HCPSS will expand its pilot program for a student bus identification card to Fulton Elementary School!

Identified bus-rider students are provided with an RFID (radio-frequency identification) Card, on which a student’s assigned bus is stored on a contactless chip in the card. Student bus cards use the same contactless RFID technology found in metro transit passes, corporate access cards, and other commonly used ID cards. Tapping the bus card records only the student boarding or disembarking the vehicle. The Zum RFID bus cards are not GPS-enabled and cannot track or follow a student’s movements outside of getting on or off their bus.

Please use this links to read more about the Student RFID Bus Cards

• https://www.hcpss.org/schools/transportation/student-bus-cards/
• https://help.hcpss.org/student-rfid-bus-cards

On Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, the Howard County Board of Education approved adjustments to Policy 8080 - Responsible Use of Technology, Digital Tools, and Social Media, and the Student Code of Conduct that is intended to reduce the use of personal devices by students during the student day. The policy changes will take effect on Monday, March 3, 2025.

While more information will be provided to students, staff and parents/guardians prior to the March 3rd implementation date, here are a few highlights of the adjustments that were adopted by the Board:

• No students, PreKindergarten-12, will be permitted to use cell phones and other personal devices during the student day (first bell to last bell of the day) except for reasons detailed in a student’s IEP, 504, or health plan.
• Smart watches will be permitted to be worn to check time but may not be a distraction.
• When a personal device is used in violation of the new policy, the device will be confiscated for the remainder of the student day.
• Students may be in possession of personal devices, but they must be “away and silenced”, meaning devices are not able to be seen by either the student or staff member and are set to make no noise.

Last week we congratulated all of our students who participated in this year's Young Author's Contest and highlighted the winning entries who were submitted to the County level. This week, we thrilled to announce our Fulton authors who earned an award in this year’s Howard County Literacy Association (HCLA) Young Authors’ Contest (YAC).

• 2nd Grade Short Story- Maeve G. earned 2nd place, 2nd Grade Short Story, Snakes Don’t Wear Roller Skates!
• 3rd Grade Poem- Sahib A. earned 1st place, 3rd Grade Poetry, The Wonderful Ocean!
• 4th Grade Poem- Rishika K. earned 1st place, 4th Grade Poetry, Mother Nature’s Cry

Congratulations Maeve, Sahib and Rishika! We are so proud of you!

Sahib and Rishika's entires have advanced to the state level of the Young Authors’ Contest. Judging will take place in February.

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) remains steadfast in its commitment to providing all 57,000+ students with a safe, supportive, and welcoming learning environment. This dedication guides our efforts as we collaborate with local, state, and federal partners to support our students and families.

Please view this link for HCPSS Supports for Immigrant Students and Families.

Uniqueness: Learning more about others so you can know more about yourself

SHARE WITH YOUR CHILD:

• Some things you remember about your childhood that made you feel unique
• A time when your uniqueness helped you understand others

ASK YOUR CHILD:

• What are some ways you feel unique?
• Has anyone ever complimented you on something that made you feel unique?

February

• 02/03-02/07: School Counseling Week
• 02/04: Report Cards Issued for Students (4:00 pm)
• 02/05 Schools Close 3 Hour Early (12:55pm)- Parent Teacher Conferences; No half day Pre-K/RECC
• 02/05 In-Person Parent Conferences
• 02/06 Schools Close 3 Hour Early (12:55pm)- Parent Teacher Conferences; No half day Pre-K/RECC
• 02/06 Virtual Parent Conferences
• 02/07 Schools Closed; Teacher Professional Learning Day
• 02/13 Fulton's Reading Night
• 02/17 Schools Closed - Presidents’ Day
• 02/21-02/28 Scholastic Book Fair
• 02/26 PTA Meeting (in-person)

For a complete list of dates and events visit https://fes.hcpss.org/calendar

PTA Happenings

Student Safety Committee

We are excited to be adding a new committee to the PTA! Donna Cruz is the chair of Fulton's Student Safety Committee. Please reach out to her at donnajeen@gmail.com with any questions, concerns or if you would like to join!

PTA Sponsored Events

Climbzone was a hit! Thank you to everyone that attended this fun event. This Tuesday, Decadent is hosting a fundraiser! $1 will be donated to Fulton's PTA for every cupcake sold. Support has never been so sweet!

• Feb 4: Decadent
• Feb 19: Maiwand Kabob

Falcon Follies Show

April 24 • 6-8pm Reservoir High School

If your student likes to sing, dance, tell jokes, do magic or otherwise perform and entertain - they can start preparing now for the Falcon Follies show on April 24th! Stay tuned for more details!

We want to extend a huge thank you to the Lang family and all the other parents who helped put together our Chinese New Year displays. Your hard work is truly appreciated!

As we begin the 3rd quarter, there’s a lot to look forward to. This week, we have our Spelling Bee as well as our Winter Concert. The concert will feature performances from our Band, Orchestra, and Chorus, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to experience the talent and hard work of our students in the music program.

Please also note that school will be closed this Wednesday. Our teachers will be working on report cards and preparing for the upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Do you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2025? Please save the date and join us for an upcoming Road to Kindergarten parent information session. All sessions will run 6:30-7:30 p.m. and cover the same content.

• 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 on the following dates:

• January 23, 2025 Centennial High School**
• January 28, 2025, Wilde Lake High School*
• SNOW DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, Hammond High School**

* Spanish interpreter will be present at these sites.

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

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.

Free Life Skills Classes for HoCo Middle/High School Students

• Classes will be taught by HoCo college students with high school student assistants and adult supervision. Botvin’s Evidence Based Curriculum promotes positive health and personal development for students in grades 6 to 9. (Slightly younger students will be considered especially if joining an older sibling, and students older than 9th grade may be invited to join our high school team to earn Community Service Hours while learning.) If parents/guardians have questions about the appropriateness for students, register the students and HC DrugFree’s team will contact you. Siblings and friends are encouraged to take these classes together.
• Class dates: February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 31, April 7, 28, and May 5 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Visit HC DrugFree’s website for more information and register students at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Spring2025LifeSkills
• HoCo High School Student Leadership Opportunity to Earn Community Service Hours: Join HC DrugFree’s instructional team to assist college students teaching online Life Skills classes – all while serving as a role model and mentor to younger HoCo students. This leadership experience looks good on resumes and college applications. For more information and to register to volunteer, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AssistLS2025spring

Free Parenting/Grandparenting Classes

• Free! On Zoom and open to parents, guardians and grandparents residing in HoCo or with school-age children/grandchildren residing in HoCo. This evidence-based, interactive prevention program provides families with the skills and knowledge to reduce the risk that their children will use drugs including alcohol or engage in other dangerous behaviors. The curriculum was written for families with children 9-14 years olds, but we believe it is appropriate for K-12 families. Class dates: March 18, 21, 25, 28 and April 1 from Noon to 1:30 p.m. on Zoom. Visit HC DrugFree’s website for more information and register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Spring2025GGC