SPOTLIGHT:

What a fantastic start to the 2024-25 school year! We have welcomed just fewer than 500 students back to school this year. We were excited to have our preK students return last week, after opening with students in grades K-5. In addition to getting to know our students, implementing structures and routines, and beginning instructional groups, grade levels have been busy studying and analyzing the grade level curricula and planning lessons to deliver instruction in multiple ways. We hope that many of our parents were able to join us for our 4th and 5th grade Back to School Night last week. We are excited to host parents of grades 1, 2, and 3 tomorrow night. This is an opportunity for parents/caregivers to meet their child's teachers, visit the classroom, and learn more about the grade level expectations. We look forward to continuing to build home/school relationships throughout the school year.

During the summer, Beall’s Leadership Team worked hard to identify our instructional strengths and areas of need. As we reviewed data, it was clear that we have many successes to celebrate, but also recognized the need to focus on inequities in our achievement scores. We then began to identify systematic ways that we will collect and monitor data to support implementation of this instructional focus. We recognize that our biggest priority will be continuing to learn and implement our new literacy curriculum. This year, our instructional focus will also have student well-being and culture/climate goals aligned to our reading and math school improvement goals. Additional information about our School Improvement Plan will be shared throughout the next month.

A couple of quick shout outs and recognition:

• Thank you to our staff for facilitating such a smooth opening to the year! A special thank you to our building service staff who spent many weekends in the building, as contractors were finishing up their bathroom construction project.
• Thank you to Beall PTA for welcoming back staff and students! Thank you for hosting last Friday's Picnic. Thank you for continuing to serve as strong advocates for our community. We hope all families will consider joining Beall PTA. Our PTA volunteers contribute significantly to our school environment through planning and implementing programs and fundraisers, advocating for the school and RM Cluster, welcoming families, supporting teachers and school staff, and always trying to improve our community opportunities!
• Thank you to Global Children's Center for providing childcare at last week's PTA Town Hall and organizing activities at the picnic.
• Thank you to Kusshi Sushi, located in Town Center, for providing staff lunch.

• September 10- Back to School Night, Grades 1-3 @ 6:30 pm
• September 17- PTA Dine Out Night Chick-Fil-A
• September 27– Early Dismissal for Students

• September 30- Picture Day
• October 1- PTA Dine Out Night Giuseppe's & Ben & Jerry's
  
• October 3- No School for Students

As we planned for the opening of the new school year, we always review our Emergency Procedures and plans with the support of our Safety and Security Office. We will continue to practice fire drills and other safety drills throughout the school year. When developing our plan, we always identify safe locations in the event staff and students must evacuate the building. Our primary evacuation site is Welsh Park. Our alternative location will be College Gardens Elementary School. MCPS will assist in communication related to emergency situations.

Fire Drills and Emergency Procedures

Students and staff have already practiced our first fire drill of the year. For most students, the expectations were the same as in previous years. However, this was the first emergency drill for our kindergarten students and other new dragons. Teachers spent time throughout the week reviewing the procedures, identifying where they would exit the building, and making sure students could ask questions about the process. We are very proud of all students for taking these drills seriously, remaining quiet throughout the process, and following staff directions. Students did a great job of helping to make sure we are all safe!

Throughout the year, we will continue to practice our emergency procedures including:

• Fire Drills
• Lock Down Drills
• Shelter-in-Place
• Evacuation/Reverse Evacuation

As in previous years, we will schedule an Emergency Drill Day and practice several drills. We have found this to be an effective way to help students make connections between different types of emergencies and responses to keep us safe.

Click here for more information about MCPS Emergency Preparedness.

Click here for Emergency Resources.

Parent Child Reunification (PCR)- This process is used to safely dismiss students during an emergency situation. During the PCR process, students will remain in their classrooms, or supervised areas, until a parent/guardian arrives to pick up their child. In the event that a parent/guardian is unable to pick up their child, Beall staff will only release students to the authorized adults on the Student Emergency Information form. Updates can be submitted via ParentVue Annual Verification.

All families are encouraged to review their contact information in ParentVue and provide updates as needed. Please do this as soon as possible!

We are excited to be able to welcome parent volunteers back to the building! In order to volunteer at Beall (or any other MCPS school), you must be on the approved volunteer list. All volunteers must sign-in at the main office.

• Click here to view MCPS requirements for volunteering.
• Parents must complete the required modules every three years. Information can be found in the ParentVue Portal. Additional guidance will be linked on the Beall Webpage --> Principal's Newsletter.
• Volunteers are currently welcomed to support lunch and outdoor recess. Volunteering at Beall during the school day lets you get to know your child’s friends by chatting with children during lunch or facilitating soccer, basketball, other games or activities during your child's outdoor recess period. Your presence as a volunteer also provides additional adult support to our school and helps to ensure safety during recess.
• Parents interested in volunteering in the classroom should contact their child's teacher directly. Many teachers will have volunteer opportunities beginning in October. All classroom volunteers must be scheduled in advance.
• In addition to completing the required MCPS modules, all volunteers must sign-in at the Main Office before reporting to lunch, recess, or another building location.

NAACP Representative- Beall is currently looking for a parent to serve as our NAACP representative. All NAACP parent meetings are on Zoom. This is a great opportunity to get involved with community advocacy. If you are interested, please contact Mr. Alter for more information.

MCPS revised and updated the policy that regulates the use of Personal Mobile Devices (PMD) that include cell phones, Apple Watches, iPads, headphones, etc. The major change is that students may possess PMDs on MCPS property and at MCPS-sponsored activities; but may not turn them on until the end of the school day for independent use with a few exceptions. At the elementary level, these types of devices are allowed before or after the student day, but are prohibited for instructional use, during lunch/recess periods, and between classes/transitional time. It is especially important that parents avoid calling their child on their phones or watches during the school day. Students must understand that they may not use their phone cameras or other recording devices to create videos or take pictures of other students, as this may violate other MCPS policies.

As a reminder, MCPS will assume no responsibility or liability for loss, damage, or theft to a device or for the unauthorized use of any personal device.

Click here to view the Regulation at a glance. Click here to view full regulation.

It is not too late to join the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). The PTA supports Beall students in a variety of ways, including after -school programs, cultural arts programs, social activities, fundraising and parent workshops. The PTA also supports student learning by funding programs, technology and staff support. See their website for more information or registration forms.

http://www.beallpta.org/