FCPS Connect

Last week, I was honored to join Waverley Elementary students and staff to celebrate Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week.

It was a great opportunity for third grade students to hear where their foods come from and see a demonstration from Catoctin Mountain Orchard’s Katlyn Robertson, perhaps best known as Farmer Kate. Students even got to taste-test apples and pick their favorites from Catoctin Mountain Orchard, right here in Frederick County.

We are proud of the FCPS Farm to School Program, which continues to expand its reach. The Farm to School Program offers healthy, fresh, locally grown produce to students and helps support local farms and the county economy as well.

In a commitment to provide healthy food choices, the program will go from serving nine schools to 34 next year.

Additionally, our Food and Nutrition Services Department is very excited and honored to be awarded the Local Food for Schools grant from MSDE for the 2nd year in a row.

These funds make it possible for our school cafeterias to offer local leafy greens and seasonal fruit and vegetables the entire school year.

Thank you to all of our community partners and staff who make this effort possible and excite students about the agriculture industry.

Read more about last week's visit in our blog.

Have a great weekend!

Dr. Dyson

With the help of some of our students, we are highlighting staff for National Hispanic Heritage Month! This week, FCPS celebrates Maria-Teresa Shuck, executive director at Centro Hispano de Frederick.

Bridget O’Brien, the 2024 Miss Maryland, is an Urbana High and University of Alabama graduate. She visited Urbana Middle last week, where she also attended, to speak to Grade 8 students about her Boomerang platform. Her message: Don't be afraid of failure and take advantage of all the opportunities you can. She had the opportunity to visit with Urbana Middle staff who supported her when she attended there.

The FCPS Career and Technology Center students and staff can't wait to welcome the community to their annual open house in a few weeks! It's always a must-see event!

Get ready to learn more about 26 career programs available for FCPS students in Grades 10-12. Many offer college credits, dual enrollment, and industry certification and licenses.

The event will take place October 24 from 6-8 p.m. at the CTC.

High school sophomores and juniors who currently attend Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) may apply to serve as the 2025-2026 Student Member of the Board of Education. The nomination deadline is 4:00 p.m., Friday, November 1 for the term beginning in July 2025.

The role of the student member is to bring a student viewpoint to the Board of Education (BOE) and represent a multitude of educational issues, with public meetings held two evenings per month. The function is not to represent any particular special-interest group of students on an issue, but rather to respect the diversity of students’ points of view, to improve communication between the student body, staff and BOE members, and to inform students of policies and decisions executed by the BOE.

Interested sophomores and juniors should contact their Student Government Association (SGA) advisors for a nomination packet or visit https://www.fcps.org/boe/student-board-member-election.

Get ready! The FCPS All-County High School Marching Band Festival is coming up on Monday!

The event will feature all FCPS Marching Bands and include a guest performance from the James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes.

The festival will take place at the Tuscarora High School Stadium on Monday, October 14. Don’t miss it!

Don't miss the Fall Spooktacular at the FCPS Earth and Space Science Lab! See spooky science experiments and much more! Costumes are encouraged.

The show is Friday, October 18 and will take place on the hour between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets to shows are available online at https://edu.fcps.org/essl/home.

High School winter sports begin Friday, November 15!

All sport physicals must be dated April 1, 2024 or after and must be completed prior to Friday, November 15.

Online registration must be completed prior to Friday, November 15.

Once each athletic team is chosen and the roster is finalized, parents will receive an email to let them know when they may go online and pay the participation fee via School Cash Online, the preferred method of payment.

Note to parents: You will not be able to pay online until your student athlete is selected for the team and the roster has been finalized.

Follow @FCPSAthletics on X and visit www.fcps.org/athletics for additional information and updates.

Congratulations again to Middletown Junior Ella Fell for securing the title of the 2024 Maryland Dairy Princess! Check out this blog post to read about her journey so far.

FCPS Teacher of the Year Ivette Taboas and company had an amazing evening last Friday at the Maryland Teacher of the Year Gala!

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Teacher of the Year program recognizes 24 exemplary educators chosen from each school system. Honorees showcase commitment to education, equity, and leadership.

Like many school districts across the country, FCPS is facing a shortage of bus drivers. This shortage means that about 20 or more bus routes are being covered by a small number of substitute drivers, Transportation office staff, or other drivers who are filling in. While we have managed to cover these routes, it has affected pickup and drop-off times for students.

Using substitutes and office staff can cause delays, in addition to usual factors like traffic. To keep you informed about any delays, our Transportation department updates a bus status board, which you can find at this LINK and on the “Transportation” page of our website, www.fcps.org. This board shows the most current information on bus times. If a bus route is canceled due to staff shortages, we will send notifications, and you can also check the status board for updates.

We are actively looking for more bus drivers. If you or someone you know is interested, please apply online at https://www.applitrack.com/fcps/OnlineApp/. Your help in spreading the word is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Did you know FCPS has a Facebook page for Spanish speaking community members? FCPS Informando has important updates for families. We encourage our community to check it out!

¿Sabía que FCPS tiene una página de Facebook para miembros de la comunidad de habla hispana? FCPS Informando tiene actualizaciones importantes para las familias. ¡Animamos a nuestra comunidad a comprobarlo!

Email: communications@fcps.org

Website: www.fcps.org
Location: 191 South East Street, Frederick, MD, USA
Phone: (301)644-5000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fcpsmaryland
Twitter: @FCPSMaryland