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Dear Parents,

As we gear up for our upcoming Read-A-Thon, the excitement is already building among our students! Teachers have been talking to them about the event, and it’s amazing to see how eager they are to dive into new books and explore the wonderful world of reading. Reading not only expands vocabulary and strengthens comprehension, but it also fuels creativity, boosts concentration, and supports academic growth across all subjects.

We invite you to join us in keeping this excitement going at home! Here are a few ways you can encourage your child’s love for reading and make the Read-A-Thon experience even more fun:

• Daily Reading Time: Set aside a special time each day for reading together. Whether it’s before bed, after dinner, or during a quiet moment, sharing this time will help foster a love for books. Make it cozy with comfy blankets and a favorite snack!

• Create a Reading Challenge: Get your child excited by setting up a personal reading challenge. Track the number of books or pages they read during the Read-A-Thon and celebrate their progress with small rewards, like picking the next family activity or enjoying a treat.

• Visit the Library: Take a family trip to the library to pick out books for the Read-A-Thon. Let your child choose titles that spark their curiosity, and explore different genres to keep things interesting.

Let’s work together to create a culture of reading excitement that extends from school to home. By encouraging your child to participate fully in the Read-A-Thon, we’re setting the stage for them to develop a lifelong love of reading. Thank you for your continued support and for making reading such a joyful part of our students' lives!

Ms. Helse

We are excited to share the key changes in our new specials schedule, thoughtfully designed to enrich our students’ learning experiences while also providing our teachers with essential planning time. This updated schedule aims to foster creativity, encourage physical activity, and promote a love of reading among our students. We believe these enhancements will create a vibrant and engaging learning environment for everyone in our school community. Here’s a look at what’s new:

Updates to the Specials Schedule:

• Enrichment Specials:

  • An additional 35-minute enrichment special bi-weekly (Art, PE, and Music) for each homeroom teacher and their students until the end of the school year.

• Media Time:

  • 45 minutes of Media bi-weekly for homeroom teachers until the end of the school year.

• Book Checkout:

  • A 30-minute book checkout time for each class bi-weekly.

We are excited to implement this new schedule together and are confident it will bring exciting benefits for both our students and teachers!

We are thrilled to invite you to our upcoming Open House! Each grade level has planned a special activity to showcase the incredible learning happening in our classrooms, and we can’t wait for you to see firsthand what our students have been working on. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to engage with their learning experiences and celebrate their growth with us.

Please take a moment to review the flyer, which includes the designated times for each grade level’s Open House activities. We look forward to welcoming you and sharing the exciting progress our students have made!

We are excited to announce an upcoming event at school called "Book-O-Ween," taking place on October 31st! On this fun-filled day we invite students to dress up as their favorite literary characters or notable figures from non-fiction texts. Students must have the physical book, article or print out to complete their look. Be sure to pack a change of clothes (if necessary) for students to change after the event. Please avoid full costumes, masks, weapons or violent imagery.

The day will kick off with a parade from 9:30 to 10:00 AM, where students will march around the outside school in their creative outfits. Parents are cordially invited to attend and cheer on our young readers!

After the parade, students will return to their classrooms for a special "Book Talk ‘n Treat" from 10:00 to 10:30 AM. During this time, they will share the books that inspired their creative outfits while enjoying a small morning treat. While parents won’t be able to attend the Book Talk ‘n Treat, teachers will be reaching out soon with requests for treats to make this gathering special.

Additionally, a small alternate activity will be available in the media center, where students can share their favorite stories and enjoy a treat.

We look forward to celebrating our love for literature with your children on Book-O-Ween!🙂

Help Promote the Read-A-Thon!

The Read-A-Thon is coming up in November and we need help with posters! The PTA is hosting a poster-making contest for all students that would like to participate. Posters should in some way celebrate and promote reading. Submission of posters are due by Friday, November 1st to the student's teacher. Two posters (one from Kindergarten - 2nd and another from 3rd-5th grades) will be chosen to be used on social media and flyers to help promote the Read-A-Thon. All other submissions will be posted around the school once the judging has been completed. Please see the attached flyers for more detailed information or you can email fundraising@rves.pta.org for more information.

We’re excited to introduce Read-A-Thon Bingo, a fantastic way to encourage reading at home, at school, or both! This interactive challenge allows students to explore various types of reading. They can listen to books, read parts of books, or tackle them in their entirety. Every minute spent reading for the Read-A-Thon Bingo can also be added to Read-A-Thon logs!

Paper copies of the Read-A-Thon Bingo card will be sent home when the Read-A-Thon begins, so keep an eye out! Students who complete the Read-A-Thon Bingo can bring it back to school to receive a small prize. We encourage you to participate together as a family, making reading a shared adventure. For more details, please click here to see the Read-A-Thon Bingo and directions.

Happy reading, and let the bingo fun begin!

This month we have been going into classrooms to teach Growth Mindset. The students have been working hard to show grit when hitting challenges and working through mistakes that help them learn. Next week we are having our first celebration of students chosen by their teachers for showing Growth Mindset. If your child was chosen you should have received an invitation through Remind. Next month we will be working on Perseverance, and teachers will choose more students to celebrate!

As a reminder, if your family would like support through the holiday season, please get in touch with your child's teacher or either of the counselors.

Have a great week!

¡Mensaje de tus consejeros!

Este mes hemos estado yendo a las aulas para enseñar Mentalidad de Crecimiento. Los estudiantes han estado trabajando arduamente para mostrar valor al enfrentar desafíos y resolver errores que los ayuden a aprender. La próxima semana tendremos nuestra primera celebración de los estudiantes elegidos por sus maestros por mostrar una mentalidad de crecimiento. Si su hijo fue elegido, debería haber recibido una invitación a través de Remind. ¡El próximo mes trabajaremos en Perseverance y los maestros elegirán más estudiantes para celebrar!

Como recordatorio, si su familia desea apoyo durante la temporada navideña, comuníquese con el maestro de su hijo o cualquiera de los consejeros.

¡Que tengas una gran semana!

We would love to see more of our amazing Rock View families involved in school activities! Volunteering is a great way to connect with our school community and make a positive impact. Whether you’re helping out in the classroom, assisting with special events, or chaperoning field trips, your support is invaluable.

Here’s how you can become a volunteer at Rock View:

1. Volunteer Form
   Complete the MCPS Parent/Guardian and Community Volunteer Form or the MCPS Volunteers in the Virtual Classroom Form, depending on your role. This form introduces you, shares your interests, and provides important reminders for school volunteers.

2. Online Training
   Complete the mandatory Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect Training online. This is required for volunteers who regularly support schools or chaperone field trips. The training is available in multiple languages, and upon completion, you will receive a report showing your score as proof of training.

3. Contact the School
   Once you’ve completed the form and training, reach out to us with both your MCPS Volunteer Form and your training completion report (showing 100%).

Here is the link to the Volunteer site with all training information. 🙂

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/volunteer

We can’t wait to welcome you as part of our volunteer team! Your involvement helps make Rock View even better for our students.

Phone: 240-740-0920

Address: 3901 Denfeld Ave, Kensington, MD 20850

Principal- Kilsys Batista, kilsys_c_batista@mcpsmd.org

Assistant Principal- Tyvae Helse, tyvae_helse@mcpsmd.org

Admin Secretary- Nancy Morin, nancy_L_morin@mcpsmd.org

Website: montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/rockviewes/