Newsletter Date: February 4, 2024 --Volume I, Issue 21
Vision: We will empower all children in order to nurture creative, independent thinkers while elevating change agents in a complex world.
Mission: We foster equitable social, emotional, and academic learning within our diverse, inclusive, innovative community.
SLES Core Values: Community, Innovation, Inclusion, Support
Seven Locks News: Week of February 4, 2024
Update from Mrs. McDonnell (formerly Ms. Hagan)
During the month of February, we will be focusing on the importance of building self-esteem. Our students are passionate about doing their best every day, but there are times when the pressure they put on themselves to be “perfect” negatively impacts their feelings of self-worth. Find tips here on how you can support your child’s confidence at home!
Please find the February Anti-Bullying Clubs schedule here.
SLES News
- We are holding another Open House on February 27th from 12:30 - 1:25 PM, with a Parent Advisory Meeting to follow from 1:30 - 2:30 PM. You will have the opportunity to see your child(ren) during their typical schedule that could include lunch, recess, specials, an intervention group, reading, math, or more. Details on your child(ren)'s schedule from 12:30 - 1:25 PM will be shared with you as the date gets closer.
We look forward to celebrating Mrs. McDonnell this upcoming week, February 5 - 9, as part of School Counselor's Week.
Monday, February 5, we are excited to welcome back Mrs. Page, our Reading Specialist. We also want to welcome Mrs. Jouzy to our team who is our new Special Education Long-Term Substitute. With a background in MCPS teaching, elementary education, and special education - she has already become an asset to students' learning. Read more about her HERE.
Updates from our NAACP Representative, Ms. Cano
The Parents' Council Meeting in December was a really informative one! We had great presentations from the central office about the implementation of the anti-racist system-wide action plan, the school support and student well-being data, and beginning to plan for ways to celebrate Black History Month. [See December Recap HERE.]
The January Meeting shared important information on IEP Meeting Facilitation that is available for all families, what MCPS is doing to implement the Blueprint Legislation that is a state-wide initiative prioritizing equity, and upcoming community events. [See January Recap HERE.]
We look forward to celebrating Black History Month. HERE is an at-home toolkit created by another PC Rep at Rock Creek Forest ES. SLES students will also get to engage in celebrating Black culture at the Assembly on Monday, February 5 which looks at hip hop through the lens of poetry.
Please join us at our next Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Community Meeting on Wednesday, February 21 at 6 pm. As always, don't hesitate to reach out for support HERE.
Bi-weekly Bites
Our Staff at Seven Locks works so hard every day. Here are some of the wonderful things happening in each classroom right now. They were updated this past week.
Specialists (Art, Music, P.E., Media) *updated for Quarter 2
MCPS 5 Things to Know Updates
Take this five-minute survey to share your feedback on the MCPS and Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) Community Engagement Officer (CEO) program.
Please provide your feedback on communication around inclement weather that may impact school operations. We would also like to hear your preferences on how MCPS approaches inclement weather make-up days.
The Division of Food and Nutrition Services (DFNS) is collecting feedback on what you want to see on school menus. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. Survey results will directly impact menu development.
The 2024-2025 Change of School Assignment (COSA) transfer season is now open . The COSA process allows families to submit a request for their children to transfer out of their assigned home school. All COSA request applications must be submitted no later than Tuesday, April 2. Read full details.
Five MCPS media specialists are nominees for the 2024 Maryland School Librarian of the Year award, which honors a school librarian for exemplary service and outstanding achievements in the field of school library media. Read more. We are thrilled to share that our own, Ms. Hickman, was nominated for this award!
Wildcats Weekly Takes
We are so proud of Xiaoxiao, one of our very own SLES 1st graders, who sang in a choral performance, titled "Night of Lunar New Year" organized by the United Nations in New York. This took a lot of hard work and dedication. Nice job, Xiaoxiao 😊
Thank you Mrs. McDonnell and Mrs. Shrager for a great WAYS Assembly to kick off to Marking Period 3! We learned about problem solving. Students had an opportunity to solve many real-time challenges they might face during the school day.
SLES Parent Teacher Association News
https://slespta.membershiptoolkit.com/newsletter/05717-20240201110016-086312500-232474182