Takoma Park Elementary School

January 26, 2025

No School on January 29, 2025-Teacher Work Day

Principal's Saturday Book Club

(February 15, 2025)

Dr. Gadsden will host a once monthly Saturday book club meeting for second grade students during the months of December, January, February and March. Each month the students registered for the book club will receive a loaned chapter book to read at home. The book will be introduced and passed out to students the month prior to the book club meeting during lunch. The students should read the book or have the book read to them to participate in the discussions and activities that will take place at the book club meeting. The book club can only accommodate 30 students each month. Each month requires a new registration for participation. The registration for the February 15th meeting will open on Sunday, January 26, 2025 and close on Friday, February 7, 2025 . Here are the details:

What: Principal's Saturday Book Club

Who: Second Graders who are not in the BRIDGES Book Club

When: Saturday, February 15, 2025, 9:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Why: To further reading enjoyment and comprehension

How to sign up: February Book Club Sign Up

School Transfer Requests

Student Transfer Application Season Schedule from the first school day in February through the first day in April 2025

Montgomery County parents/guardians who wish to request a Change of School Assignment (COSA) for their children from their home school may begin the process during the upcoming transfer season; from February 3 through April 1, 2025.

Students in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) are expected to attend the school within the established attendance area in which they reside (home school) or assigned in accordance with their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Students may apply for Change of School Assignment (COSA) from the home school, or the school of assignment through the IEP process, based on the following criteria:

When a documented unique hardship is shown: Students may apply for a COSA when extenuating circumstances related to their specific physical, mental or emotional well-being or their family’s individual or personal situation could be mitigated by a change of school assignment.
When a family moved within Montgomery County who wish to continue attending their former home school may request a COSA without demonstrating a unique hardship. Such requests may be considered for a remainder of the current school year only, with the exception that students in Grade 11 or 12 may be granted a COSA to stay through high school graduation.
When a student seeks to attend the school where a sibling will be enrolled in the regular/general school program, or a special education program, during the year the students wants to enroll.

► When a sibling attends a magnet, language immersion or other application program at elementary level, a COSA may be approved to the regular school program for other sibling on a case-by-case basis. Such approval requires consideration of available classroom space, grade-level enrollment, staffing allocations, or other factors that impact the schools involved.

The criteria above regarding siblings do not apply if a boundary change has occurred or if the sibling is in PreK.

Consideration will be given to school capacity and other issues that impact the ability of the requested school to admit new students.

The transfer process begins in the home school, where parents/guardians may request the Change of School Assignment (COSA) Information Booklet through ParentVue. The booklet describes the process, and provides useful information. Beginning the first week of February 2025, the COSA booklet will be available in both English and Spanish. Exempt countywide programs that do not fall under the transfer guidelines are listed in the booklet.

New for the 2025-2026 school year, parents must submit their request for a change of school assignment (COSA) online through their ParentVue portal. The parent making the request will be copied on an email notification sent to the administrative team of the student's current school shortly after the submission; this will serve as their "receipt" of request and will be sent to the email they entered when completing the online form.

For information about assignments for students residing in the Northeast, Downcounty or Middle School Magnet Consortium areas, please contact the Division of Consortia Choice and Application Program Services

240-740-7800 or visit the website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/schoolchoice.

For more information about the transfer process, parents/guardians are encouraged to contact the principal at their home school. Non-english speaking students and parents/guardians who may require assistance may contact ASK MCPS to get the information they need by telephone at 240-740-3000. Telephone operators who speak English and Spanish are available from 7:30am to 5:30pm, Monday through Friday. Parents who speak languages other than English or Spanish who call the ASK MCPS telephone line and identify their language will have their questions answered through a telephone interpreter.

Online Digital Tools Consent Form

Please be on the lookout for a form coming home soon for parents/guardians requesting your permission for students to use MCPS-approved digital tools in school. The form is in English and Spanish and will need your signature. Return it signed to your child's homeroom teacher. If you do not receive a copy, the teacher can send it to you. Thank you!

Peek at the Week/Newsletter/Lunch Menu