Dear Beall Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful and refreshing summer! As we welcome you back to Beall Elementary School, I am excited to kick off another year together. Our Dragons are another year older and ready to continue making us proud with their hard work and achievements.

This year, we look forward to exploring and learning a new literacy curriculum, building new friendships, and watching our students mature both academically and personally. With our outstanding staff and incredible community, I believe we are equipped to meet the high academic expectations we set for our students. We are committed to making sure all of our Dragons have opportunities to learn and grow.

At Beall, we want to see all of our students LEAD. Our students have the amazing ability to thrive in the right setting, experience productive struggle but persevere to achieve their goals, build friendships with students who may not look like or sound like each other, and contribute in a positive way to the school community. We expect that our Dragons will Learn together; Exceed Expectations; Accept Responsibility; and Demonstrate Respect. These values guide all of us in creating a supportive and enriching environment for all our students. Thank you for being an essential part of the Beall learning community.

Let's work together to make the 2024-2025 school year the best one yet!

While we are proud of our accomplishments over the past year, we are looking forward to the excitement and changes that come with a new school year. Some changes, such as schedules or student routines, will be quickly noticed by students. Other changes including curricula and staff initiatives may be less evident. As the school leadership team met this summer, we wanted to be sure that we continued to focus on our school mission: The Beall community will promote educational equity and excellence. We celebrate diversity, practice inclusivity and advance anti-racism. Every student will be embraced for who they truly are and will be taught with a focus on fostering mutual trust, respect, and high expectations every day. We spent time analyzing our school data, reviewing our practices to determine how we could continue to grow as a staff, participating in professional development activities, and identifying opportunities to improve the learning environment for students. We have challenged ourselves to make sure that all of our students have equal opportunities for success and high expectations.

We appreciate the feedback that was provided by students, parents, and staff through our surveys. Click here to view some of the data that was collected. As we look forward to the 2024-25 school year, we are committed to collaborating with all stakeholders. Our goal is to be inclusive for students and families to participate in learning experiences and access resources. Staff will continue to identify strategies, facilitate conversations, and recognize changes in instruction that help our efforts to address inequities which may be occurring throughout the school experience. We will continue to implement MCPS initiatives, increase our use of data, implement positive behavior expectations, and work collaboratively as we grow professionally. Additionally, we will continue to build on creating cross-grade level "buddies," fostering a sense of leadership and belonging for all of our students.

I look forward to greeting all of our new and returning students on Monday, August 26, for the first day of school. It is my hope that you will visit often and continue to be active in your child’s learning. Your support, cooperation, and involvement will ensure that this school year will be a successful one for all of our Dragons.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

Sincerely,

Mr. Alter

Teacher Assignments

Our staff worked hard last spring to develop instructional groups for the 2024-2025 school year using student data, teacher feedback, and parent feedback. When forming the classes, we factored in academic needs, social-emotional needs, peer matches and other considerations. We also focused on organizing classes so we can provide the greatest amount of support from our English Language Development (ELD), Special Education and Paraeducator teams. Our teachers have already begun thinking creatively about their instructional programs to maximize the support and guidance that we can provide to all students. I can assure you that we have a very capable and caring staff who will work with you to meet the academic and social-emotional needs of your child. We work diligently to make class groupings, and take great pride in our efforts to consider all factors when placing students where we believe they can be their academic best.

Student schedules (including teacher assignments) can be viewed in the MCPS Parent Portal. We encourage you to take a few minutes to set up your account if you haven’t done so, yet. Once this portion of the Parent Portal becomes active, this will be the quickest and easiest way to identify your child’s homeroom teacher. It is expected that Teacher Assignments will be available on August 21 or 22.

Staffing Updates

We want to update you on staff changes that have been made for the 2024-2025 school year. Every year, we have to say farewell to several friends and colleagues. It is always sad to see staff members leave, but exciting to welcome new staff to Beall and hear how they will be able to support our community.

• Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Tappis, Mrs. Mazur, and Ms. Benn on completing successful MCPS experiences! We wish them the very best as they leave the school system and seek to enjoy their next great journey.
• Ms. Shiphrah, Ms. Stabbe, Mrs. Cardemil, and Ms. Dominguez will be continuing their professional experiences at other MCPS schools/locations.
• Mrs. Roussel completed her long-term sub position with our PreK class.
• Mrs. King and Mrs. Mahoney continue to be on leave from MCPS.

They will be missed but will always be a part of the Beall family. We congratulate them and wish all of our departing staff the very best, wherever their new adventures may take them.

We would also like to share staffing changes within the building:

• Mrs. Searles will be teaching our Head Start and PreK classes this year.
• Mrs. Bolger will be teaching our Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) class.

We are also excited to have some incredibly talented new staff members join the Beall community. Please welcome: Mrs. Dimmerling (Kindergarten), Ms. Wiking (Resource Teacher), Ms. Mercurio (Resource Teacher), Ms. Lascari (Speech Pathologist), Mrs. Seligman (Speech Pathologist),

and Ms. Ahmad (cafeteria).

Currently, our homeroom teacher assignments are:

· PreK & Headstart– Mrs. Seligman, Ms. Thomas, Mrs. Searles

· Kindergarten– Mrs. Clagett, Ms. Davis, Mrs. Dimmerling

· 1st Grade- Mrs. Gozalo, Ms. Koch, Mrs. Wong

· 2nd Grade- Mrs. Buttrey, Mrs. Friedman, Mrs. Garcia

· 3rd Grade– Mrs. DeVriendt, Mrs. Schofer, Ms. Sumondong

· 4th Grade– Ms. Czajkowski, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Thomason

· 5th Grade– Mrs. Newcomb, Mrs. Saffell, Ms. Wagner

· Alternative & Augmentative Communication (AAC)– Mrs. Bolger

Student Emergency Information should be updated through ParentVUE. Each year parents/guardians are required to complete the Annual Verification of Information through the Online Registration portal (in the right corner of your ParentVUE home screen). We highly recommend that you complete this as soon as possible. It is critically important that we have accurate parent contact information on file with the school and system as soon as possible. Here are links to the ParentVUE Support Guide and directions for completing the annual verification of information.

A Note on Directory Information

If a parent does not wish to have his/her child’s name or other information included in the student directory (published by Beall PTA), they should complete the “Directory Information Withholding” portion of the ParentVUE annual verification of information online registration. You may also complete MCPS form 281-13 - Annual Notice for Directory Information and Student Privacy. The form must be returned to the school by Friday, September 10, 2024.

· August 22– Kindergarten Back to School Night

· August 23– Sneak Peek

· August 25– PTA Summer Playdate for Kdg and New Beall families

· August 26– First Day of School

· August 29– Back to School Nights for grades 1, 2 & 3

· September 2– Labor Day Holiday, No School

· September 4– Back to School Nights for Grades 4 & 5

· September 6– PTA Back to School Picnic (Rain date TBD)

· September 27– Early Dismissal for Students

· September 30– Fall Picture Day

· October 3– No School

Beall staff has been planning for the excitement that comes with the new school year. As I met with our Instructional Leadership Team in the spring and during the summer, we took the time to review our initiatives and instructional strategies with an intentional focus. We have been working hard to develop instructional plans that align with MCPS and state guidelines, continue to elevate our focus on equity, and meet the needs of our students. We will continue to implement the Eureka! math program with fidelity. Our staff has been attending training throughout the summer to prepare for the implementation of our new literacy curriculum, Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA). This program is grounded in the science of reading, integrates foundational reading skills, and builds rich content knowledge. Click here to view more information and resources on the MCPS website or here to view the program guide. Beall staff will share more information about our new curriculum throughout the year. Teachers will share additional information during Back to School Night highlighting changes to daily instruction.

School Improvement Plan (SIP):

When developing our SIP, we wanted to answer the following questions:

• What has been learned as a result of reviewing and analyzing the data story?
• What steps have been committed to (including the steps taken) as a result of the data story?
  
• What needs to be prioritized to ensure that all students can meet the district learning goals in a safe, inclusive, and antiracist learning environment?

We reviewed many data points including demographic data, academic progress, and student/staff/community surveys. The development of the SIP includes determining how to develop a schedule that supports instructional strategies and maximizes resources, process for collecting, monitoring and analyzing data, daily instructional procedures to meet diverse student needs, implementation of MCPS Initiatives, and behavior expectations to support student well being and school climate. The finalized SIP will be shared with the community and posted on our school website later in the fall. The plan will include goals in the following areas:

• Literacy
• Math
• Well Being
• Culture/Climate

2023-24 Academic Data to be celebrated :

Although we have many data points that we could celebrate, we wanted to highlight a few:

• There was an increase of 30-35% of our identified students who met their math projected growth in grades 3-5 .
• There was an increase of 10-18% of our identified students who met the DIBELS milestone in grades K-2.
• The majority of Beall students met the county's Evidence of Learning (EOL) benchmarks, which includes criteria that is based on classroom performance, curriculum assessments, and standardized assessments. This includes:
• 78% of rising 5th graders in literacy and 77% of rising 5th graders in math
• 76% of rising 4th graders in literacy
• 89% of rising 3rd graders in literacy and 96% of rising 3rd graders in math

When reviewing our student data, staff are quick to recognize that each measure is just one piece of the puzzle that makes up a student's profile. We continue to look at each child individually to determine how to improve their learning experience, support them throughout the school day, and plan effectively. This is all part of our story.

The main office will be open from 7:30 am– 4:45 pm.

• 8:40 am- First bell- Students welcome to enter building
  
• 8:50 am- Classroom bell- Students allowed to enter their classrooms
• 9:00 am- Instructional bell- students arriving to their classrooms after this bell are considered tardy;
• 3:20 pm- Patrol bell- safety patrols dismissed to their afternoon posts
• 3:25 pm- Dismissal bell- students will be escorted to designated dismissal location; Parents are expected to wait outside during the dismissal process.
  

Early Dismissal– On scheduled Early Dismissal dates, we will begin our dismissal routines at 12:55 pm.

2-Hour Delay- When schools have a 2-hour delayed opening due to inclement weather, arrival routines will being at 10:40 am. Breakfast will not be served.

Each classroom teacher will share their instructional schedule directly with students and parents.

Students may enter the building at 8:40 am. Please do NOT drop your child off before 8:40, as there is no adult supervision available. Students will wait outside of their classroom, or in their designated location, between 8:40 and 8:50. Supervision will be provided by Beall staff during this time. School starts at 9:00 am. Parents should accompany students arriving after this time into the main office to sign in and receive a late pass.

We ask that parents who are dropping off students at our supervised location on Luckett Street please remain in your car, pull forward all the way, adhere to the posted traffic signs, and avoid “leap frogging” other cars. We want every child to have a safe opportunity to exit their vehicle.

Dismissal will begin at 3:25 pm. If there is a change in your child’s after school plans, please send a note to the teacher in advance. Prior to the start of the school day, we recommend that you take a moment to review with your child all changes to their dismissal routine, including after-school activities. If you need to pick up your child during the school day, please send a note to your child’s teacher. Office staff will call your child out of class once you have arrived to pick them up. Following these procedures will minimize disruptions to instruction. In case of emergency, please call the school as early as possible to ensure that messages are received in a timely manner.

Please click on the links below!

LETTER FROM TRANSPORTATION (en Espanol)

What You Should Know About Riding the Bus (en Espanol)

ARRIVAL and DEPARTURE ROUTES

Assessments/Grading & Reporting

All public schools in Maryland will participate in the statewide assessment program. Students in grades 3-5 will participate in this assessment in May or early June. The assessments will be administered electronically. Additional information can be found on the MCPS website and will be provided in future Beall Newsletters. All schools routinely use a variety of assessments to measure student learning and guide teacher planning. This may include formal assessments that students complete using the computer or informal assessments, such as reading directly to the teacher. Teachers will also provide feedback to students on assignments that are submitted for review. The feedback may be oral or written. Please remember that many assignments are reviewed by staff to monitor progress and identify points of confusion, but may not be graded or scored. Please ask your child’s teacher for more information.

Report Cards

Report cards for Kindergarten--Grade 5 are available four (4) times a year in nine week cycles – November, February, April and June. In November, Parent-Teacher Conferences will be scheduled to review student progress from the first marking period for each student in grades K-5. Additional conferences may be requested with staff as needed. Although the MCPS calendar only identifies one specific time for formal parent-teacher conferences, we encourage you to meet with your child’s teacher/staff as necessary if you have concerns about your child’s academic or social progress.

Click here to learn more about MCPS Report Cards.

Bella’s Best is a schoolwide, positive behavior recognition system. Simply stated, we want to recognize the outstanding behaviors that our students exhibit each and every day. The program, called Bella’s Best, has two main components. The individual component allows each child to be recognized throughout the day, in the classroom, hallway, cafeteria, etc. for being responsible and/or respectful. Teachers will discuss what this looks like in the various locations around the building. Bella’s Tickets can be exchanged for rewards, which may be tangible (e.g. a prize box item) or non-tangible (e.g. lunch with the teacher). The second component of the program is group recognition, known as Braggin’ Dragons. Adults, throughout the building, are encouraged to offer praise to whole classes or larger groups of students who display respectful and responsible behaviors. This may include moving through the hall in a quiet and orderly line, whole class participation during instruction, appropriate lunchroom behaviors such as clean tables or lining up after recess. Compliments, or “Brags,” will be recorded in the classroom. Each week, we will collect and calculate the total number of Brags earned as a school. A schoolwide celebration, such as a spirit day, will be planned once our goal has been reached. We believe that recognizing Bella’s Best has a positive impact on what we are all doing every day.

Although teachers will continue to use technology to support their instructional delivery, technology will not be the primary tool for delivering instruction. Staff often use technology to enrich a student’s learning experience. This may include opportunities for research or simulated experiences, collaboration, problem solving, accessing resources, and digital experiences or tools.

All students will be assigned a Chromebook for instructional use. Students are expected to use the devices safely and appropriately, while handling with care at all times. Families are expected to be financially responsible for damages to the device that are a result of misuse or intentional actions.

MCPS revised and updated the policy that regulates the use of Personal Mobile Devices (PMD) that include cell phones, Apple Watches, iPads, headphones, etc. 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 periods, and between classes/transitional time. 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.

For more information and How-To videos visit the Food Services website: www.montgomeryschools.org/departments/food-and-nutrition/meal-payments/#FARMS

Please contact the school or the Division of Food and Nutrition Services at 301-284-4900, Ms. Geary, Beall cafeteria manager, or the main office if you need more information.

Montgomery County Public Schools has transitioned to an online payment system called SchoolCash Online as its preferred method of payment for school-related fees such as fundraisers, field trips, obligations, etc. (Please note that the payment system is NOT related to school cafeteria accounts.) SchoolCash Online helps parents/guardians and community members pay school-related fees safely, quickly, and easily. SchoolCash Online will help increase efficiency and security at schools by making payments directly into schools’ bank accounts and eliminating the need for teachers to handle money. In addition, once registered, you will be immediately informed about school activities! Powered by KEV Group, SchoolCash Online is the industry leader in the management of school fees. The new system puts all of the school-related fees online for purchase so users can make purchases online using a credit card or e-check. A processing fee will be included on all items available for purchase, regardless of the type of payment used on SchoolCash Online or at the school. Parents/guardians can register now at https://mcpsmd.schoolcashonline.com/

We are very appreciative of the efforts of our PTA. The many roles of the PTA include fundraising to support instructional programs and student needs, planning social events, advocating for our students and community at county or school system functions, and offering parents a chance to be involved throughout the school year. The PTA is also instrumental in providing enrichment activities available to students beyond the school day. We encourage you to join the PTA and become a part of our partnership in which parents and teachers work together to ensure whole-school success! Check out their website: www.beallpta.org.

Message from Tina Giustiniani (Acting PTA President):

On behalf of Beall’s PTA Board, welcome back to a new school year! We have worked over the summer to identify and eliminate barriers to joining our group in the hopes that we grow our association to represent our entire school community. We have also worked to ensure we continue to provide robust programs and events; that these activities are spread out throughout the school year; and that we advance programs, practices, and policies that empower every parent to make their child’s potential a reality through sharing family resources, celebrating with PTA events, influencing policy, and advocating for children. Please join the PTA to receive ongoing communication on these topics. Please be on the lookout for information about our Back to School Picnic. We hope to see you there!

1. Go to https://beallpta.ptboard.com.
2. Click "Sign Up" link to sign up (For mobile phone, click top right menu, then "Sign Up" link)
3. After signing in to https://beallpta.ptboard.com, enter code DVHR3F to join

We will be working to improve our school's website throughout the year. We would like for the webpage to be informative and updated. All of the information below can be found on our Parent Resource Page (linked here). All of our Principal Page Newsletters will also be added to the Beall Webpage throughout the school year.

Please make sure the office is your FIRST stop when you come to Beall Elementary School. Ms. Astrid Paz, Attendance Secretary, and Mrs. Gina Gill, Administrative Secretary, would like to help make your visit a productive experience and will be able to assist in answering many of your questions. Due to the need to maintain a safe environment, please do not be surprised if you are asked to show identification when coming into the building.

All parents, visitors, and volunteers must first stop in the main office. Visitors are not allowed in the classroom unless a visit has been pre-arranged with the teacher. We respectfully request that you make an appointment in advance if you would like to speak with a teacher, administrator or other staff member. We want to be responsive to your needs, and we must be respectful of instructional time. All parents, visitors and volunteers must wear nametags or visitor stickers. This is for the safety of all of our children! Volunteer information will come home during the first week of school. In order to volunteer, MCPS requires individuals to complete their mandatory volunteer training. NOTE: We typically do not have visitors over the first several weeks of school to establish routines, procedures, and relationships. We appreciate your patience.

Observing in Classrooms: Often, we receive requests for parents, special education advocates, and outside service providers to observe a child in the classroom. We are usually able to accommodate these requests, but we ask that they are handled through the school administration. Observation requests must be made through the principal’s office and not through individual teachers or staff members. When an observation is arranged, Beall ES provides staff to accompany the observer and a time prior to the observation or directly following the observation to discuss and debrief. We take these steps to ensure that the observation is effective and efficient for the observer and so that school operations are not disrupted for staff and students. Observations are scheduled for a period of 30 minutes, and may be followed by a debrief with the staff member who accompanied the observer. Please contact the principal to arrange such an observation with at least 24-hours advanced notice. Observations are only scheduled at a time and in a manner that is not disruptive to the operations of the building, or the instruction of students, and when staff is available to accommodate the request. Requests for regularly-scheduled, frequent or immediate observations may be refused at the discretion of the principal. For more information on observations and visits in MCPS schools, please see MCPS Board of Education policy ABA-RB, School Visitors at
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/abarb.pdf

Ms. April Medillin (School Nurse) and Ms. Angelia Davis (Healthroom Technician) are wonderful resources for health related questions.

Medication will not be administered in the health room unless:

The parent/guardian hand delivers the medication to school. Medication must be properly labeled by a pharmacist and MCPS Form # 525-13 (Authorization to Prescribe Medicine) must be filled out by a Physician and given to the health technician. Form # 525-13 is available in the health room or online. Our health room staff (240-740-1222) will be happy to assist you if you have any questions.

It is important for parents to update emergency information in ParentVue. If you change your home phone number or cell phone number, please make sure that those changes are reflected in your contact information. Additionally, you should review the individuals who you have identified as emergency contacts to ensure that your child(ren) would feel comfortable with them if a situation arose that would require Beall staff to contact those individuals.

Students are not permitted to use cell phones or other personal electronic devices in school without staff permission. E-readers, such as Kindles and Nooks, also need to be approved to be used during the school day. Students will not be allowed to use any electronic device for gaming purposes during school hours. (This includes on MCPS school buses.) It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that devices are turned off and out of sight during the instructional day. Students must adhere to the Student Code of Conduct, especially as it relates to the communication of information related to student privacy, jeopardizes the health or safety of students, is obscene or libelous, causes disruption of school activities, plagiarizes the work of others, or is a commercial advertisement. If a student brings an electronic device to school, parents should be aware that we try to provide a safe environment, but there is always a chance of the device breaking or being stolen. According to MCPS Policy, MCPS and Beall staff cannot assume responsibility or liability for loss, theft, or damage to a device or for the unauthorized use of any such device.

Birthdays will be recognized on Beall’s daily WBEL television broadcast and posted on the birthday board located in the main hallway. Children will receive a birthday pencil from the main office. In order to encourage healthy eating habits, birthday treats are not permitted at school. Students will not be allowed to distribute birthday invitations in school. Please use the school directory and outside avenues to invite friends to parties.

Breakfast will begin on Monday, August 26. It is recommended that families complete the 2024-2025 FARMS application that is now available online using this link: www.MySchoolApps.com. If you need assistance completing the online form, please contact the main office or cafeteria. We will continue to implement the SNAP (Student Nutrition Accountability Program) lunch program. It is recommended that each family pay a minimum of $10.00 into his/her child's account. It is important to do this because the school does not loan money for lunch or breakfast. Checks should be made payable to Beall Elementary School Cafeteria. Low balance letters will be sent home with students who have less than $6.00 in their account. More information, including menus and managing student accounts, can be found on the Division of Food Services Website: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/foodserv/menus/cafemenus.shtm