Teachers have been reaching out to families of students in Grades 3-5 who qualified for a General Education Plan. A general education plan is offered to students in Grades 3-5 who have scored significantly below grade level on their Fall reading assessment (iReady). This plan will allow students to have their math, science, and social studies assessments read to them. This accommodation will assist your scholar in showing what they know, without being hindered by reading. A General Education Plan is NOT part of Special Education. This plan would not only increase your scholar’s testing scores but also help build their confidence academically. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mrs. Parr or your child’s teacher at your earliest convenience. Please make sure you sign and return the form ASAP!

January is a milestone month because it is when students take their second iReady and MAP diagnostic for the school year. These diagnostics show how much your child has learned since September. It is a local assessment that all students in all Wicomico County elementary schools will be taking. It is a good indicator of how your child will do on MCAP in the spring (Grades 3-5).

We want to encourage our students to do their very best to show what they know and hope you will encourage them to do the same. Things you can do at home to prepare them for the diagnosis is to make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep the night before, eat a healthy breakfast the morning of the test, come to school on time, and take the assessment seriously.

Students who meet their mid year growth target will be invited to a Glow Party that will take place at the end of January during the school day. Testing will take place the week of January 13th. If you have any questions about the iReady or MAP diagnostic assessments, please contact your child’s teacher.

During the weeks of January 21-31, all WCPS children, grades K-5, will take the i-Ready Diagnostic for ELA and all grade 2-5 students will also take the MAP diagnostic for math. These are computer based adaptive assessments to be administered at a designated time assigned by your child’s teacher. In accordance with state and local requirements, we will give students this diagnostic to determine their instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year in Reading, English, and Language Arts.

As an adaptive assessment, i-Ready and MAP will adjust the questions to suit your student’s needs and the time frame for this assessment will range between 30-75 minutes. Each item a student sees is individualized based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier questions. The purpose of this is not to give your student a score or grade, but instead to determine how best to support your student’s learning.

These online tests provide immediate and accurate information about your child’s learning, and allows your child’s teacher to use this data to guide instructional decisions. This assessment will be given three times over the course of the school year. Following each testing period, you will receive a report showing your child’s growth, which you can review with your child’s teacher for more insight.

For more information, you can contact your child’s teacher or the Office of Assessments and Accountability at 410-677-4477. To better understand your child’s results, please contact your child’s ELA or math teacher.

Attention Families,

Our "Soup"er Bowl Tailgate family event has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January 29th. Please mark your calendars for a fun night of competition with our staff soup cook off, dinner , games and parent-teacher conference opportunities. The event is from 5:00-7:00 PM.

Tuesday, February 4,2025 from 5:30-7:30p.m.

Be inspired by the poetic story, Undefeated by Kwame Alexander. Let's commemorate and honor the African-Americans who shaped history by traveling through time to learn about these heroes through poetry.

Dinner and take-home materials will be provided to those who register by, January 23, 2025.

The book fair will also be open!

Sometimes a parent’s emotions set off a child’s emotions. Here are a few tips to try when you feel anger is the constant feeling in the home.

1. Identify factors contributing to your emotions (ie: clutter, loud environment, bad mood etc) and meet your own needs first.

2. Learn techniques that work for you (deep breathing, adult coloring books, exercise)

3. Practice techniques together and speak it out loud (“I am going to take a few minutes to breathe so I can speak calmly”)

4. Reset as many times as needed (apologies are 2 way streets, an outburst can be a learning opportunity)

Congratulations to December's Students of the Month who were nominated by their teachers for demonstrating a good mood and positive attitude.

I can’t believe another year is upon us, and I hope everyone had a happy, healthy, and safe holiday and that this new year brings you all health and happiness.

I am working a month behind when the newsletter goes out due to how the data is pulled, so here are November's attendance stats. December's results will be posted upon receipt.

We had our first quarterly incentive, where the students who were here 95% of the time got to play games and enjoy some popcorn. Parents were put into a drawing to win a gift card to Acme(not Food Lion), and those who won for quarter 1 (September-November) were notified via talking points.

We still have some gift cards left, so please get your child/children to school on time and here every day so your name can be entered into next quarter's drawing, which will be from November to January.

Important Reminders:

• If you move, please reach out to me so I can help.

• We must have all our Gators' updated addresses and phone numbers for emergencies; please call the office and let them know if you change your number.

• If your scholar(s) reaches 10 days in a marking term and no notes have been provided to excuse those absences, you will be referred for truancy court, so please make sure you are getting those notes in or call the school to let us know what’s going on.

Thanks, and Happy New Year 😃

Melissa Johanning - Glen’s Pupil Personnel Worker

Teachers Who Make a Difference is a monthly honor designed to recognize local teachers who make a difference in the lives of their students. Each month a winning teacher is chosen by selection committee from all submitted nominations. Teacher nominations are open to any person on the Delmarva Peninsula, including students, parents, teachers, friends, and acquaintances of nominees. To nominate a teacher, complete and submit the form found on the Contest page of wmdt.com. The nomination period is open from September 24, 2024 through May 31, 2025. Each month (October 2024 through May 2025), a teacher is selected from all 2024-2025 entries and is recognized by WMDT as a “Teachers Who Make a Difference” award winner.

Dear Families,

School pictures are ready!

To order, log in to your account on https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/#/ or create an account using your child's student ID number.

All families can also log on and order a FREE Digital SmileSafe card.

Don't Forget to Order This Year's School Pictures

ENJOY 10% OFF your order!

CODE: F202410OFF

EXPIRES: July 31, 2025

To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an online account. Don't forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card!

Happy New Year! With the New Year, I wanted to remind parents and guardians about our medication administration policy here at Glen Avenue and a few other notes:

*In order for medications to be given at school, a student’s Primary Care Provider, such as a doctor or nurse practitioner must fill out and sign the Maryland State Administration Authorization Form. Nursing staff cannot give these medications without a doctor’s order. In addition, a parent or legal guardian must sign giving permission at the bottom of the form for the school nurse to administer the medication. It cannot be, for example, an aunt or cousin who is not the legal guardian. See form below.

*Non-prescription medications must be in the original container with the label intact.

*Medication must not be expired.

*An adult must bring the medications to the school. A student cannot transport the medication to school due to legal and safety reasons. For example, medications do have severe side effects, there are increased risks of drug overdose for minors because of using the meds improperly or there may be other peers in the class who could tamper with medications and be one of those students with a severe medication allergy. Remember the students are under the age of 18, and despite the parent’s good intentions and teaching their kids how to properly use medication, sometimes the students may not follow parental instruction and things happen beyond their control. Please keep all of our students safe by prevention and following this policy. No exceptions!

*Please do not send medicated chapstick, cough drops, cough syrup, medicated creams or acne pads to school with students. These are considered medications and must require a doctor’s order and be kept in the nurse’s office in order for a student to get this at school.

Also, reminder- if your student sustains any injuries that require crutches, wheelchair, boots, knee scooters, activity restrictions for gym etc., we must have a note from the doctor specifying the diagnosis, what kind of device the student will using, and what kind of accommodations the student will need at school. Without this knowledge, we will not know how to take care of your student and we want your student to be safe here at school while recovering from injury. So I implore you, get a note with your child’s doctor’s recommendations to us as soon as possible.

If you have read through all of this and have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me here at school during school hours 8:30 AM-4:00 PM. Our direct number is 410-677-5844.

The mission of the Division of Student and Family Services is to support the total educational experience, thus assuring all students the opportunity to develop skills essential for successful learning, healthy physical/emotional/social growth and gainful employment. Please click the link to view the available resources.

WCPS Code of Conduct states that students in elementary school are not to have cell phones in school. Please assist us with enforcing this by checking your scholar’s bookbag and making sure they are not bringing the phone to school. This includes smart watches, iPads, tablets, iPods, electronic games, etc. If you need to speak with your scholar during the day, please call the school, and we will bring your student to the office to speak privately with you.

Inappropriate items will be confiscated until the end of the day or retained by the administration until a parent/guardian can reclaim the item.

*The school will not be responsible for these items and will not investigate if they are lost or stolen.

Please assist us in keeping the focus on school by not allowing your child to bring toys, football, trading cards, etc. to school.

Our class is ready to dive into physical science lessons! In this unit, scholars learn about the three phases, or states, of matter. The scholars will read a story and follow along as a new character; Kenji and his grandpa, watch candle wax change. The wax will transition from a solid to a liquid to a gas, and then from a liquid back to a solid again. States of matter are further explored in the book Matter. In this story, Megan identifies and describes matter in all of its phases while at a birthday party. Scholars continue to learn about matter and its properties. In our math lessons, scholars will work with objects at a birthday party to solve place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and order of operation problems. Families at home, please review the materials completed in class and talk with your child about the properties of each phase of matter: solid, liquid and gas. Please contact Mrs. Krider on “Talking Points” with any questions or concerns. We are excited to begin a new year of learning together.

Happy New Year families! Second grade is looking forward to learning so much in the new year. We will begin our Cinderella unity in ELA when we return. Students will work on identifying morals and lessons the author wants the readers to learn in fairytales. We will explore character traits and how what characters say and do help readers understand the main message within a story. Scholars will be working with a lot of new vocabulary words and continue to work with unpredictable vowel teams and writing in complete sentences. In math we are going to be using multiple strategies to solve multi-digit subtraction problems. We will continue to work on problem solving and mastering our addition and subtraction facts. We will be wrapping up our science plant adaptations unit and begin to learn about erosion. In social studies scholars will explore economics. Please be sure to have your scholars read daily and discuss what they read with them. Practice basic math skills like counting coins, addition and subtraction, and telling time with your student. We hope you had a wonderful break!

Happy New Year! We will begin the year by reviewing Gator expectations. In ELA, we will start our Poetry Unit. We will be reading many different poems and learning about different literary elements. We will also be taking our mid-year IReady assessment. Continue to work on ELA homework weekly and read 20 minutes every night. In Math, we will be starting Topic 7: Represent and Interpret Data. We will be focusing on reading and making scaled bar graphs that represent data sets that have several categories. They will also solve problems involving the data represented in the graphs. We will also be taking our mid-year MAP assessment. Continue practicing math facts at home to build that multiplication and division fluency and complete all math homework being sent home. In science, we will be starting our new unit: Fates of Traits. We will be exploring the inherited and acquired traits of plants and animals. In Social Studies, we will be learning about Diversity in the United States and making our community a better place.

Happy New Year! Fourth grade is kicking off the new year with new units of study! In our new ELA unit, students dive into the world of Greek mythology. Over the course of the unit, students will read the classic myths of Pandora, Arachne, and Echo and Narcissus. One of our tasks during this unit is to understand the central theme of the myths. In Math Your child is learning about factors. In this topic, he or she will use arrays and multiplication to find the factors of a given number. The concept is extended to include factor pairs, lists of factors, and prime and composite numbers. Your child will also learn that factors are related to multiples which will prepare him or her for working with fractions. Science we will continue studying where and how natural disasters occur. In Social Studies we will dive deeper into the history of slavery in the Americas by analyzing primary sources, images, and literature from different parts of the journey enslaved Africans experienced. Please encourage your child to read for 20 minutes daily. This is also a reminder that Math homework will be sent home each Monday and is due the following Monday. Please reach out to your child’s teacher with questions or concerns!

Is it 2025 already? We can barely believe it here in fifth grade. In reading we are moving on from human rights abroad to human rights here at home. We will be reading “Witness to Freedom” which tells the stories of lesser known individuals in the Civil Rights movement of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. It is an in depth look at the lives of those that gave up their safety in order to make the lives of those around them better. In math we are working on division of decimals and various ways to help students solve those kinds of problems. In science we are looking into the interaction of the systems of spheres and how they work together to give us our weather. Finally, in social studies, we are looking into both Manifest Destiny as well as the expansion of the United States in the 1800’s. We are doing lots of great things here at Glen.

This month is full of fitness activities for our gators to stay warm and fit!

• On-the-Road will be working with our 5th graders on team building again this year! The On-the-Road program is a 2-day team building challenge for 5th grade students to participate in during their regularly scheduled gym classes. This program is designed to help students connect with their peers, learn and practice good communication skills, and encourage students to challenge themselves physically and mentally.

• Our 4th graders that filled out and returned their permission form will be able to participate in The Water Safety program! This is a survival skills program, educating students on practical lifesaving and water rescue skills, designed to help students recognize and respond to water-related emergencies in the safest way possible. The program will be conducted at the Henson family Y.M.C.A in Salisbury on 1/7 and 1/8. Trip times will be from 9:00 - 12:00.

In class we will be ringing in the New Year with our dance unit for all ages.

What We're Learning:

• Basic Movements: Students are practicing foundational moves like jumps, turns, and stretches to build coordination and balance.

• Rhythm and Timing: Through music and beats, students are learning to move in time, which helps with their listening and motor skills.

• Cultural Dances: We are exploring simple dances from various cultures to celebrate diversity and global traditions.

• Group Choreography: Teamwork and cooperation are emphasized as students work together to create short dance sequences.

Benefits of Dance:

Dance helps children develop physical fitness, confidence, and an appreciation for the arts. It also encourages them to express themselves and engage with others in a positive and fun environment.

Happy New Year!

With a new year comes resolutions to strive in being a better, healthier version of yourself. Here at Glen Avenue we encourage our students to eat healthier and be more physically active.

We know our teachers are working very hard to be healthy role models for your students (and each other). We cannot expect children to make healthy choices if we don’t! Some ways we can continue to encourage this:

• Drink water instead of pop.

• Participate in the physical activity breaks with the students.

• Walk with children during recess.

• Bring healthy snacks to school.

• Eat lunch with students and talk about healthy choices.

• Bring in healthy items for classroom parties.

• Give stickers or prizes instead of food to reward good behavior.

Below are some articles you can read over with your child to help them make healthier decisions during this New Year!

I can’t believe we are halfway through the school year already!

Your scholars have accomplished so much–from being coders, to designers/architects, reading awesome books, and learning more about the world through research. I am so proud of their effort!

For the month of January, we will continue to build on our skills by researching a person who is making a positive impact on the world, and helping to bring about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of equality, justice, and kindness. Students will be encouraged to check out books about the person they’ve chosen and use resources such as Pebble Go, Epic, and Wixie to create a presentation on their research.

Check out some of our creations from our Winter STEM lessons!

Our 2025 Book Fair will be from February 3-7 between 8:30-3. It will also be open during the Family Reading Night on February 4th from 5:30-7:30pm. See the link below for more information.

We are so proud of our third graders for their amazing work at the Motown Holiday Concert! They worked so hard this season and sang so wonderfully!! 🎵 Check out these photos of our amazing singers! 😄

Band & Strings:

Here’s the link to our Digital Winter Showcase! These gators did an awesome job on recording day!

See our January calendar. Dates are subject to change for inclement weather. Remember, students will be graded each class day on preparedness and participation! 🎺❄

Stay tuned for more info!

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has published the state, district, and school-level results for the 2024 Maryland School Report Card. These results offer a comprehensive view of school performance under the Maryland Accountability System for the 2023-24 academic year, highlighting key factors that influence school success and student achievement.

Key Features of the Maryland School Report Card - The Maryland School Report Card evaluates schools based on multiple indicators, including both academic and non-academic measures. Schools earn between one and five stars, determined by the percentage of points earned across the evaluated indicators.

Elementary and Middle School Indicators:

• Academic Achievement

• Academic Progress

• Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency

• School Quality and Student Success

Schools are awarded stars based on their total points earned across all indicators:

• 5 Stars: 75% or more of the total possible points

• 4 Stars: 60% to 74% of the total possible points

• 3 Stars: 45% to 59% of the total possible points

• 2 Stars: 30% to 44% of the total possible points

• 1 Star: Less than 30% of the total possible points

New for 2024: Primary schools are now paired with their intermediate schools, receiving the same star rating as their paired campus.

For 2024, we received a 3 Star rating, which is the same rating as last year. We did show improvements in academic progress, English Language Proficiency, and School Quality and Student Success.

Below are sample report cards for each school level:

• Elementary School Report Card

• Middle School Report Card

• High School Report Card

The complete report card for our school is available at WCPS REPORT CARD. For questions or concerns about the 2024 Star Ratings, please feel free to reach out to Michele McGoogan or Karen Hitch, Supervisor of Assessments and Accountability, Phone: 410-677-4477, Email: khitch@mywcps.org

Glen Avenue School creates a caring school community that provides students with the necessary skills and knowledge to be thoughtful, responsible, and highly productive citizens as well as lifelong learners.

Glen Avenue Elementary School will be:

• the school where all teachers want to teach,
• Students want to learn, and
• Families wish their children could attend

This is Michele McGoogan, principal of Glen Avenue. As a Title 1 school, we are required to inform you of your right to request information on the qualifications of the teacher and/or the instructional assistant who will be working with your child. Please rest assured that we have worked diligently to ensure that staff members meet the Maryland State Department of Education requirements. If you would like to exercise your right to request this information, you may email or send a letter using US mail to the Director of Human Resources to my attention. You will receive a response from the Director of Human Resources within 30 days of the original request. We look forward to serving you and your student this year.

School-Family-Scholar Agreement for Improving Student Achievement

This agreement is a pledge to work together to share responsibility for student learning, high achievement, and student success in school and in life. This compact is aligned with our School Improvement Plan to promote student learning, student attendance, a positive school climate and with our grade level learning outcomes. Upon request, interpreters and transportation can be provided so families can attend school functions.

The Wicomico County Board of Education recognizes that families are their child’s first teachers and that they function as educators throughout their child’s life. More than thirty years of research show that student academic success and high self esteem are closely related to family engagement in education from prekindergarten through high school. Glen Avenue Elementary School also believes that the education of children is a shared responsibility. Involvement by the school, the family and the community creates a stronger educational system and improves the quality of life for the students, their families and the entire community of Wicomico County. The school system as well as individual schools make the commitment to establish programs and practices that create a climate of mutual trust and respect and that support family engagement.