Lunar New Year -February Newsletter

Dear Fulton Families,

This weekend we had the opportunity to have three 5th grade groups participate in The Elementary Social Studies office, Black Student Achievement Program, and the Gifted and Talented office annual countywide Unheard Perspectives program.

This program is for students in grades 3-5 to learn more about an often unheard perspective of an innovator in American History. Our students began in November, researching and delving through primary sources like letters, songs, interviews, pictures and maps as well as reading newspaper articles, biographies, and much more as they learned about our history. Specifically, our students learned and presented on Alexaner Miles, Geoggrey Ling, and Ben Carson.

Congrats to Khush A., Branson M., Elise C., Olivia C., Abby L., Elina L., Amelia A., Alyssa B., Hafso D., and Aemilia G. And a huge thank you to Mrs. Dewees for hosting this opportunity.

Warmly,

Dr. Burks, Mrs. Liwosz and Mrs. Sillers

Grade 5 students will take the MISA Assessment on March 5, 6, 7, and 8th .

The Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA) is administered to all students in fifth grade, eighth grade, and high school. The MISA is aligned to the Maryland Next Generation Standards (NGSS). The NGSS integrates three dimensions necessary to understand science. The dimensions are the Science and Engineering Practices, the Crosscutting Concepts, and the Disciplinary Core Ideas. To assess the three dimensions of the NGSS, a set of interrelated items is required. All items on the MISA are part of an item set. This assessment provides educators, parents, and the public with information on student progress towards science literacy.

Test Preparation and Practice

The following link provides resources that can help students prepare for the MISA.

• Grade 5 and 8 Practice Tests - No username and password required. Click the “Practice Tests” link.

Falcon Follies - Only A Few Spots Remain

Registration due Feb 21

Save the Date for the Show March 8

Attention students with talent - it’s that time of year again - Falcon Follies Talent Submission!!

If your student likes to sing, dance, tell jokes, do magic or otherwise perform and entertain - this show is for you! Register here: https://forms.gle/X3iyijrCQWqJ27SU9

Book Fair

The book fair is coming to FES! Another one of the kids’ favorite weeks of the year! We still need more volunteers in order to keep the shop open! If you’re available, please sign up here: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0D4EAFAA2CA1F5CE9-47654360-2024.

(We will send shopping details soon but students can go in and shop during recess, on the day of their choice.)

DEI Committee Would Love Your Help

In order to recognize your holiday/culture/tradition, we need your help! Please see flier below and contact the committee chairs if you are able to help.

Check out the links below from PTA's DEI Committee. We can't wait to see what Lunar New Year and Black History Month means to you.

For a complete list of dates and events visit https://fes.hcpss.org/calendar.

February

• 02.22- 03.04: Book Fair
• 02.28: Evening Book Fair, PTA Meeting (in-person), 7:00pm

March

• 03.04: Kindergarten and PreKindergarten Registration Begins
• 03.06: 4:30 FES Tour for New Parents and Guardians
• 03.07: 4:00pm PTA's Falcon Follies Dress Rehearsal
• 03.08: Spring Picture Day; 6:00pm PTA's Falcon Follies
• 03.13: Professional Workday-Schools close 3 hours early. No half-day Pre-K

• 03.25-04.01: Schools Closed for Spring Break

• 04.02: Schools Reopen

Come out and enjoy a week of art making. These art camps are designed to enhance the skill levels of each individual. Explore and learn about different mediums and techniques. Each camp includes all new art experiences and will not repeat activities for campers who are interested in participating in more than one camp. Click this link to learn more!

• Learn how to help their child manage peer conflict.
• Learn how to identify abuse in teen relationships.
• Gain skills and strategies to intervene, if needed.

Please register for this virtual session here.. Additional information can be found here

State law requires that all public schools in Maryland survey students about school climate. The purpose of the survey is to gain valuable information about the quality and character of each school’s learning environment so that schools can promote a climate that supports student learning.

All 5th grade students will be taking the Maryland School Survey during regular school hours in technology class over the next few weeks. The survey asks students about topics such as student engagement, interactions with adults and with other students in the school, the school environment, bullying, and safety. The survey does not ask about a student’s personal experiences, and students are not asked to provide any information that might violate their privacy.

The survey is confidential and school personnel will not have access to the responses of specific students. The responses your child provides will be combined with the responses from other students in the school, and results will be reported for each school and district.

We are eager to receive this very important information about our school and about schools across the state.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Mrs. Sillers (justine_sillers@hcpss.org or Mrs. Liwosz (meaghan_liwosz@hcpss.org).

Have you heard your child saying "This is too hard" or maybe "I can't do this"?

James Nottingham, refers to this as The Learning Pit, 'when someone is out of their comfort zone or struggling to learn something new.' However, we can help our children be more comfortable with challenge; to develop problem solving strategies; and to articulate their learning. Nottingham noticed that many children take shortcuts and easier options to avoid having to think too deeply about tasks. While this may be helpful when speed is of the essence; however, if the purpose of the task is to learn and improve, then it is far wiser to take intellectual risks, ask searching questions, and willingly step out of your comfort zone

We can help students out of The Learning Pit by providing them strategies to calm their body, shift into mindfulness and flexibility, and encourage Growth Mindset attitudes. One of the easiest ways to encourage Growth Mindset at home is to be aware and deliberate about the language you and your child use.

Here are some examples of how you can shift your language and students’ mindsets while they are engaging in homework or talking to you about their learning experiences throughout the day!