Roadrunner's Digest

Happy Sunday, Farquhar Families and Staff!

We’ve made it to February! This month, we are proud to celebrate Black History Month, recognizing the contributions, resilience, and achievements of Black leaders, past and present. As part of our celebration, students are invited to attend the HBCU College Fair on February 14. If transportation is needed, students of all grade levels are welcome to sign up to take the bus from Farquhar, which will depart at 5:15 PM. In addition, our social-emotional learning (SEL) lessons this month will focus on fostering a safe and inclusive environment where all students feel supported and valued. Finally, students and families of rising 7th and 8th graders will engage in the course registration process for next school year, 2025 – 2026, during the upcoming months of February and March. Scroll down for more details.

A huge shout-out to our amazing PTA and parent volunteers for making Friday night’s social such a success! Over 250 students had a fantastic time connecting with friends and making memories. We can’t wait to offer more opportunities like this for our students!

This week, we also celebrate National School Counseling Week. National School Counseling Week 2025 (#NSCW25) is Feb. 3-7, 2025, to focus attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. Please join us in thanking our incredible counseling team—Ms. Lazaris, Ms. Payne, Ms. Bronstein, and Ms. Mora—for their dedication, guidance, and unwavering support of our students and families.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!

In this newsletter you will find:

• This week's bell schedules
• This week's Roadrunner Shout Outs
• After School Activities Schedule
• FMS Counseling Updates
• Candygram Fundraiser
• HBCU College Fair
• NEW: Kudos to 8th grade Art students!
• NEW: FMS Course Registration Process
• NEW: Audition for Legally Blonde, Jr.!!
• NEW: Has your student lost their chromebook?
• TIMELY: Course Registration Deadline 2/7
• NEW: FREE Valentine's Day Ice Skating
• NEW: MCPS Regulation Revision on Public Information
• MCPS Things to Know

PTA Corner:

• Volunteers needed
• New PTA Treasurer Needed
• February PTA meeting 2/11
• 2025 OBGC Girls Lacrosse
• Join the PTA

Thank you to the following Roadrunners who have made a positive impact on our learning community!

• James Makfinsky
• Dani Affinito
• Miya Page
• Erica Steadman
• Joe Mann
• Roy Lynn
• Stephen Katzel
• Ms. Via
• Moira Kenyon
• Joyce Varghese
• Freddy Salguero Valdez
• Mr. Mark Eisenhower
• Melanie Bronstein
• Julie Lazaris
• Jacqueline Payne
• Basketball Mr. Kevin Thompson and whole team
• Amber Beil
• Alexis Savage
• Dr. O
• Brigid Blake
• Skyler Wiley
• Madeleine Parks
• Chloe Laliberte
• Natalia mathanos
• Maddie Hamilton
• Valery Vega
• Mr. Green
• Amelia Andrews
• Liliana Tran
• Nataniah Pilehvar
• Penny Ketchen
• Paisley Formichelli
• Emely

Would you like to recognize a student or staff member?

Submit a SHOUT-OUT!

Thank you for taking a moment to thank a Roadrunner who has made a meaningful difference.

Activities end at 4:15 and students must be picked up no later than 4:30. Students should take the activity bus if they cannot be picked up by 4:30, as the main office closes at this time.

Please check out the School Counseling Website for information regarding community events, SSL opportunities and mental health resources.

We are excited to announce that Farquhar Middle School’s Counseling Department is sponsoring a Valentine’s Day fundraiser! This event is designed to promote kindness, support our school’s programs, and bring the community together during this season of love and appreciation.

Students and families will have the opportunity to purchase $2 Candy Grams and a $5 plushies and send a special message to friends, teachers, and staff. All proceeds from the fundraiser will directly benefit the Counseling Department, helping to provide important resources and programs for our students. Pre-order begins today via your school SCO account. All SCO orders will incur a .25 cent administrative fee. Students can purchase in-person during Connect Time starting February 5th- 12th. Quantities are limited.

All online purchases must be made by midnight on 02/12. All in-person purchases must be made by the close of school on 02/12. Goodies will be delivered during the school day on 2/14.

How You Can Help:

• Send a Valentine’s message: Have your child send a kind note or token of appreciation to a friend or staff member.
• Spread the word: Encourage others to get involved and make this fundraiser a success!

We hope this Valentine’s Day brings joy and a sense of connection to all of our students, staff, and families. Thank you for your continued support and involvement in making Farquhar Middle School a welcoming and caring environment for everyone.

Warm regards,
The Farquhar Middle School Counseling Department

Join Ms. Mason, Ms. Payne, and Mrs. Page to attend the Montgomery County HBCU Fair on Friday, February 14, 2025!

Farquhar will provide a bus to and from the fair for students who need transportation. Students should be dropped off at FMS at 5:15 pm to depart to the Universities at Shady Grove. This is now open to ALL grade levels. This sign-up is for transportation on a first-come, first-served basis for the first 36 students.

The semester one, 8th grade, art students are proud to present their final project! Each student was assigned one or two 2’x2’ pre-printed squares and tasked with carefully observing and mastering color-mixing techniques. These skills were then applied as they enlarged and recreated their assigned image onto an 8’x8’ square. The true magic of the project lay in the mystery—no one knew what the final image would be. As each student completed their square, it was hung up, and gradually, the image they had all been working together to create came into focus. This collaborative artwork showcases their hard work, creativity, and teamwork. Here is their stunning final product!

Course Registration Process for 2025 – 2026 School Year

Students and families of rising 7th and 8th graders will engage in the course registration process for next school year, 2025 – 2026, during the upcoming months of February and March. Students will have an opportunity to hear about their elective course options in 7th and 8th grade during the week of February 10th. They will complete an electives interest survey that week. Then, during the week of March 10th, students will select their electives courses for next year. Please take some time over the next few weeks to review the Farquhar M.S. Course Bulletin, which is posted on the FMS website. The 2025-2026 Course Bulletin link is included here.

Please reach out to your child’s counselor if you have any questions related to the course registration process. Ms. Councilman and Ms. Lazaris will also share a presentation on the course registration process during the February 11th PTA meeting. We hope to see you there.

Dr. Higley and Farquhar MS are THRILLED to announce our spring musical production of Legally Blonde, Jr.! Auditions will take place February 11-13, 2025. Our production timeline is provided to you below for your consideration. We encourage all students interested in being on stage or behind the scenes to participate! Direct any questions to Dr. Higley at Christine_L_Higley@mcpsmd.org.

Families, we need your help! We are experiencing an uptick in the number of students requesting Day Loaner Chromebooks for 5 consecutive days or more. If the student’s Chromebook is missing and it’s been 5 or more consecutive days with a day loaner, a School Cash Online (SCO) obligation for a lost Chromebook ($312) will be placed on your student’s account.

To help prevent students from receiving this obligation, we’re asking families to be sure your student brings their Chromebook charged to school every day. If their Chromebook is missing and unable to be found, please have your student tell the main office and a new Chromebook will be issued to them along with the SCO obligation.

Students attending Sherwood, Blake, Paint Branch, and Springbrook next school year- please be sure to review the presentations below as a family and submit course requests ASAP in Synergy.

Deadlines for submitting course requests in Synergy:

• 2/7 Paint Branch, Springbrook and Blake (PBHS requires a Google Form, Springbrook requires a Course Card)

Blake Course Registration

Springbrook Course Registration

Paint Branch Course Information

If you have general questions or questions about additional schools, please reach out to Melanie Bronstein, 8th grade counselor : Melanie_E_Bronstein@mcpsmd.org

On December 23, 2024, the superintendent of schools approved for revision one MCPS regulations. This may be of interest to to staff and families:

• MCPS Regulation KBA-RA, Public Information

A description of the changes made is available on the Summary of Changes website, along with links to the policies and regulations.

Each week, MCPS shares a community message with helpful system-wide information, reminders, and invitations to events. Though they are sent out via email, we will always link them here.

VOLUNTEERS: Our FMS staff is AMAZING and we are in need of volunteers to support with snacks for the upcoming staff meetings. Please sign up here. The next staff meeting is Monday, October 7th and we need a volunteer!

The PTA is looking for a new treasurer, as our current Treasurer's term will be ending. We will be sharing more information in the coming weeks, so if you are interested, stay tuned!

If you have any questions about how our current treasurer manages this role, please reach out to our PTA president, Kristin Menefee, at menefeekristin@gmail.com.

February 11th at 7pm EST via Zoom. FMS counselors will be providing information and answering questions about class registration and we will share PTA updates.

The Olney Girls Lacrosse program was created to offer youth girls the opportunity to learn, play and love the game of lacrosse. We want to be the best recreational program in the area focused on promoting and educating players, coaches and families in the skill, knowledge, sportsmanship and love of lacrosse. NEW AND EXPERIENCED PLAYERS WELCOME! See attached flyer for more details.

Direct donations to the FMS PTA are our primary source of fundraising! Help us avoid sales-based fundraisers!

• If you have already joined, but have NOT made a tax-deductible donation, we encourage you to do so. Any amount is appreciated!
• If you have not yet joined, please join, and donate, today!

Your direct donations help the PTA fund:

• Math, English, and STEM materials
• Counseling and wellness initiatives
• Field trips
• Arts, music, and athletic activities,
• Staff appreciation
• Parent/family resources

Feel free to contact me anytime and follow Farquhar on Twitter!

Email: Angelica_L_Smith@mcpsmd.org
Phone: 240-740-1200
Twitter: @farquharms