Urbana Families,

We have had a great start to another year of academics, learning, and growth with our students. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing students working in their classes, navigating the hallways, and socializing with their classmates. The car riders are also doing a great job of arriving prior to the 8:00 start time of the school day. I have been able to enter UMS by 7:56 am each morning thus far... keep up the good work! As we transition to our second week of school, I wanted to send a reminder about the importance of being to school on-time and consistent attendance. Doors open at 7:30 am and instruction begins promptly at 8:00 am.

Parents' support of regular daily attendance is essential. We know students get sick, please remember to provide us a note stating the reason for your child's absence upon their return and encourage your child to request all make-up work from their teachers.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Looking forward to seeing many of you this Thursday evening at BTSN.

Go Hawks,

Mr. Kibler

Principal

UMS

Aug. 29th: Back To School Night 5-7pm

Sept. 2nd: Schools Closed - Labor Day

Sept. 19th: 2 hour early dismissal - Mid-Term

Sept. 20th: 3-1/2 hour early dismissal

Sept. 26th: School Picture Day

Nov. 14th: Picture Retake Day

Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) is thrilled to partner with family and community members who are interested in joining efforts to support our students and schools with their time and talents by way of volunteering. Last year, we welcomed over 13,000 volunteers into our school system contributing over 93,750 volunteer hours. THANK YOU!

This year, FCPS has enhanced the volunteer process to prioritize the safety and security of our students, staff and community. As a result, we have added additional training to be completed by all volunteers across the county. These trainings will ensure our volunteers are equipped with the necessary information they need to partner with our schools. Family and community members interested in volunteering should begin the volunteer process by visiting our new FCPS Volunteer Webpage. Applicants will be directed to:

1. Register for a guest account on Unified Talent (instructions available online)
2. Complete and pass two training modules on Unified Talent.
3. Complete the registration application in the Volunteer Center.
4. Await school approval on application.
5. Sign-up for volunteer opportunities facilitated by individual schools.
   
   

The volunteer training and registration process is completed annually for each school year. Volunteers must complete the process before being signed up for volunteer opportunities. FCPS encourages family and community members interested in volunteering to complete the process early as processing times have increased. For technical support in Unified Talent, volunteer applicants may contact unifiedtalent@fcps.org. For all other volunteer related questions, volunteer applicants may contact: FCPSVolunteers@fcps.org. FCPS is grateful for the generous support from our family and community volunteers.

Formative Assessment

Purpose: To assess student understanding while they are still learning so adjustments can be made to improve student understanding. Re-assessment may be part of this process but is not required because this data is a snapshot of information for both the student and the teacher. Learning is still happening within the instructional cycle.

Time: Occurs during or within an instructional window

Tools: Class discussions, exit surveys, classroom polls, various games, types of student feedback (just to name a few).

Summative Assessment

Purpose: To assess students' comprehension and application of subject matter and content, typically compared to a set standard. Re-assessment should be part of this process.

Time: At the conclusion of the course, module, and/or unit.

Tools: Tests, quizzes, midterm exams, final exams, etc.

More information related to this topic will be communicated to students during our grade level town hall meetings.

Parents/Guardians, earlier this month you should have received an email from "PowerSchool Enrollment" asking for an update to your child's "Frederick County Public Schools Student Information Form for STUDENT NAME". This email is not spam. UMS needs this information updated in our system (revisions to address, home phone number, cell phone number, email address, etc.)

When you have a moment, please review, update, and submit this information for us through PowerSchool. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

School safety is the foundation of student success. We will begin our practice of important safety drills during the early weeks of the school year. The state of Maryland requires us to complete 8 types of safety drills within the first 45 days of school. Our first fire drill was held on Friday, August 23rd. This week we are celebrating "School Safety Week" which will include the following drills: Evacuation, Lockdown, Reverse Evacuation, and Active Assailant. Teachers will lead students in learning and practicing these drills. We will send further communications about the drills so that you can discuss them with your child.

Looking for a previous version of a Tales From the Nest Newsletter, check out our website under the News tab. You can visit the link directly here.