Tales From The Nest
January 12th, 2024
Principal Message
Hello Hawk Nation,
I am truly excited to open the 24’-25’ school year at UMS. I hope your summer was filled with time spent with family, loved ones and friends. Our summers are perfect for our children to build lifelong memories as they recharge their batteries for the upcoming school year. I was able to spend time traveling with my wife and children to the Finger Lakes (NY) through the New England area and enjoy the sunshine of Chincoteague Beach. Our eldest is beginning his senior year at Penn State while our next in line left today to begin her next chapter at UNCW. I was also able to enjoy a skydiving adventure this summer with our son on his 21st birthday.
It has been a pleasure over the last four years for our UMS school team to partner with you to help ensure your child has a wonderful experience during their years here. As we enter the 24’- 25’ school year, I am focused on continuing our positive partnerships with the UMS community and our Urbana feeder pattern principals. We are working with the UMS PTSA
(umsptsaboard@gmail.com ) to create a UMS Parent University. There will be more information coming soon as to the topics and dates of this endeavor. I am meeting with the Urbana feeder school principals next week to discuss items such as the importance of daily student attendance and how we can use consistent messaging to share important with your children from K-12 grades.
The excitement is building for your child’s first day of school. We are preparing for their arrival on Wednesday, August 21. As a reminder, our doors open at 7:30 and instruction begins promptly at 8:00 AM. As we know, the UMS car rider line is substantial. The closer you arrive to 7:30, the less traffic you will encounter. Dismissal is at 3:00 PM; please be patient as we welcome new drivers to the car rider line.
As the countdown to school draws near, please start to prepare your child for their first day. Our students will need to be well rested for the energy it takes to focus on seven different classes per day. Proper diet, staying well hydrated and also being well rested play important roles in expecting success at UMS. Chromebooks should be fully charged and ready to go. I urge you to reduce your child’s time on personal devices, specifically their social media sites so it is not a shock to their system on day one of school. In an effort to help lower the amount of time spent on “social drama” amongst our students during the school day and not being able to focus on their academics, our students’ cell phones must be silent and out of sight from 7:30-3:00. Smartwatches must be in the airplane during this time as well.
The first three days of school will be focused on learning the routine of UMS, setting expectations of behavior and school safety. Please discuss these items with your children to help reinforce the lessons from the first several days back to school. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, August 29th from 5:00-7:00 for the UMS back to school night.
Go Hawks,
Mr. Kibler
Principal
UMS
Chromebooks
All students at UMS will be assigned an FCPS owned Chromebook; FCPS policy no longer allows students to bring their own devices for school use.
FCPS staff will be working to assign Chromebooks to each student during the first week of school. FCPS has also reset all student passwords. UMS teachers will assist students in the log in process and support getting acclimated to our digital environment once all the devices have been passed out. Please note that teachers will be waiting for this process to be completed before utilizing the digital environment with their students.
First Day of School
Our school day begins at 8:00 am. During the first week of school, students who arrive before 7:50 am will report to their holding area, where they will sit with their homeroom. Staff will be available to help students locate their homeroom teacher. The 6th grade holding area is in the gym; the 7th and 8th grade students will be in the cafeteria. After 7:50 am, students will report directly to their homeroom for 1st day activities and information. Staff will be available to help students locate their homerooms.
First Week Well Wishes - 6th Grade
At our new student open house, parents and families had an opportunity to write a card to our sixth graders to be distributed during the first week sending them encouragement and congratulations. If you are the parent or family of a sixth grader and did not have the opportunity to write a message and would like to, please see the attached information about creating a well-wish note. Notes should be dropped off by noon on 8/22 at the UMS Front Office to ensure that they are received by students on Friday. Thank you!
School Safety
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 will be held on 8/23 and we will have a "School Safety Week" 8/26- 8/30 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.
