Good afternoon UMS families,

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for each of you. This time of year reminds us to reflect on the many blessings we have in our lives, and I am THANKFUL for the hard work, dedication, and kindness our school community brings every day to each other! May we ALL enjoy a restful and joyful Thanksgiving break with friends and family!

But until then, we look forward to seeing students at UMS next Monday and Tuesday.

Drew Kibler

UMS Principal

Nov. 25th: Turkey Trot during PE/Health Classes

Nov. 26th: 2 Hour Early Dismissal

Nov. 27-29th: No School - Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 4-5th: UMS Theater Production @6pm

Dec. 9th: Winter Band Concert (Conrad)
Dec. 10th: Winter Band Concert (Conrad)

Dec. 13th: Carson Scholarship Applications due (8th grade)

Dec. 17th: Winter Orchestra and Band (Baughman) Concert

Dec. 18th: Chorus Concert @ 6pm

Dec. 20th: 8th grade Hearing and Vision Screening

Dec. 23-Jan 2nd: No School - Winter Break

With winter break quickly approaching we want to make sure our UMS families have what they need this holiday season. If your family is in need of resources for holiday meals or assistance with gifts, please reach out to your child’s grade level counselor for support by Friday November 29th. Limited assistance is available so support will be provided on a first come, first serve basis.

6th Grade Samantha.Kreiner@fcps.org

7th Grade Dawn.Williams@fcps.org

8th Grade Jillian.Farrell@fcps.org

- UMS Counseling Department

All About Behaviors Webinar is scheduled on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. We will be going over the timeline of a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), Reinforcements, and tools that you can use at home. Sign up here.

- For more information, please contact Isamar Grenier, Partners for Success Family Support Coordinator.

Five of our Urbana Middle School 8th grade Visual Arts students were winners in the 2024 Maryland Judiciary Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest. Out of over 3400 entries across the state of Maryland, our students' art was chosen!

1st Place - Kourtney Sigouin
2nd Place - Kian Byrne
3rd Place - Helen Grant

Alice Liu and Neemai Patel both won Honorable Mention

In December, they are all invited to an award ceremony at the Maryland Judicial Center in Annapolis, Maryland, where the Supreme Court of Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader will be presenting their awards. We are so proud of our students who are representing Urbana Middle School as winners in this contest, and all the 8th grade art students who participated!

Hello Urbana Families and Community Members,

My name is Mr. Conrad, and I am the Band Director at Urbana Middle School. I’m excited to share that we have an upcoming Mattress Fundraiser on Saturday, January 11th, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM in the UMS Cafeteria. The cafeteria will be transformed into a large mattress showroom, where you can browse and purchase top-name brands like Purple, Therapedic, and Helix at significantly discounted rates. All proceeds will directly benefit our student musicians in the largest secondary band program in Frederick County! All mattresses are made to order and will be delivered to your home within approximately two weeks. For more details, please check out this video invitation. We look forward to seeing you at the UMS Band Mattress Fundraiser on Saturday, January 11th!

Best regards,

Mr. Conrad

Dear Parents,

As a token of appreciation, Lifetouch is offering discounts on school photography!

• 50% off a purchase of $50+ with code USNOV50
• 40% off a purchase of $40+ with code USNOV40
• 30% off a purchase of $30+ with code USNOV30

Valid through 12/1/24

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!

More about the Smilesafe program here.

Thank you!

- Lifetouch

- Performances are scheduled on Wednesday, December 4th and Thursday, December 5th and will begin at 6:00 PM.

• $7 Adults
• $5 Students
• FCPS Free

Nerd, Stevie, is frustrated that Stella, the girl of his dreams and the leader of the Cool Kids, won’t acknowledge him, so he devises a way to disable all the cell phones in town. With no phones, everyone must — gasp! — talk to one another. A funny and randomly weird adventure ensues. The Cool Kids try to solve the cell phone mystery, while Stevie and the other Nerds cluelessly try to prevent them from learning the truth. Along the way they encounter wild animals at a suburban park, hostile squirrels, a trio of Fosse dancers, singing Puritans, touchy beat poets, and a chicken on the lam.

Every year UMS is able to nominate one of our 8th grade students for the Carson Scholarship. Our UMS nominee is then entered for a chance to win a $1,000 scholarship from the Carson Scholar Fund, founded by Dr. Benjamin Carson and his wife. In order to be considered for nomination a student must have the following:

• A 3.75 GPA or higher for Term 1.
• Demonstrate humanitarian qualities in their schools and communities through volunteer work and/or community service.
• A completed essay of between 450-500 words. Students should choose one of the following essay prompts:

1. Imagine you have the opportunity to create a new club or organization in your school or community. What would it focus on, and how would it benefit others?

2. Think of someone who inspires you to reach for the stars. How has that person influenced you to achieve more?

8th grade students / families:

The UHS IB program is currently accepting application for next year. Visit https://sites.google.com/fcps.org/international-baccalaureate-pr/home/application-information for application information, forms and important deadlines. All applications must be submitted to UHS before 2:30pm on December 6th.

- Please notify Ms. Farrell or Mrs. Cook if you are applying so that we may submit your grades and test scores.

Hearing and Vision Screening will take place at UMS on December 20th, 2024 for 8th grade and new enterers to the Maryland public school system. Rescreens are scheduled for January 14, 2025. Parents/guardians who have an objection to this screening must submit a written request for their child to be exempt, to the health room by December 13, 2024.

Maryland State Law mandates these screenings.

If your child wears glasses or contacts, please be sure they have them on the screening days.

- If you have any questions, please contact the health room at 227-203-2609.

Looking for a previous version of a Tales From the Nest Newsletter, check out our website under the News tab. You can visit the link directly here.