Waters Landing Elementary School would like to hold a meeting for parents and guardians to discuss grading and reporting. The information discussed will include how to read the new report cards (what do the 4, 3, 2, 1 scores mean?), how student scores are obtained, taking a look at scoring rubrics used in grading, and of course an opportunity for parents to ask questions. The evening will include a general information session as well as a break-out session for parents to ask specific questions based on grade level work.

The WLES administration would like to ensure that this information is most useful to parents and guardians. Therefore, they are asking your opinion as to when you would like to see the meeting be held.

1. Do you think this information on grading and reporting would be more useful BEFORE report cards are sent home?

or

2. Do you think this information on grading and reporting would be more useful AFTER report cards have been sent home?

Please keep in mind these issues:

• If the meeting is held before report cards come home, you will not have had a chance to see your child's report card yet. This means you are not yet sure what questions you need to ask. However, you will have the information from the meeting to help you understand your child's report card when it arrives.
  
• If the meeting is held after report cards come home, you will have had a chance to think of questions to ask during the meeting regarding the scores based on your child's report card. However, you will not have advance information on what the scores mean.
  
• Because report cards will be sent home before parent/teacher conferences, you will, of course, have an opportunity to discuss your child's grade with his or her teacher during the conference.
  
• Because of scheduling conflicts and the Thanksgiving holiday, a grading and reporting meeting held after report cards are sent home would not be able to be scheduled until early December.

Please send an email to Denise Ackerman, at denise1165@gmail.com, by Friday, October 23, to indicate your preference of meeting scheduling. Thank you for your input.

Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services will offer H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine to MCPS students, private school students and other healthy children from 2 years up to 18 years of age at FREE school-located clinics on the following dates: Wednesday, October 28; Wednesday, November 4; Wednesday, November 11 and Wednesday, November 18 from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the following locations:

• Northwood High School, 919 University Boulevard West, Silver Spring, MD 20901
• Northwest High School, 13501 Richter Farm Road, Germantown, MD 20874
• Rockville High School, 2100 Baltimore Road, Rockville, MD 20851

Both the H1N1 (swine) flu nasal spray and injectable (flu shot) vaccine will be offered as it is available. Individuals cannot receive the H1N1 (swine) flu nasal spray within 28 days of receiving the seasonal nasal spray (FluMist) vaccine.

For more information on the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccination program, please visit the MCPS web site at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/emergency/h1n1/.

Does your child like to:

• Solve complex mathematics problems for fun?
• Write poetry, plays, or stories to share with your friends?
• Design science experiments and test them?
• Work cooperatively with friends on projects?

The Elementary Center Programs for the Highly Gifted provide a learning environment for Grade 4 and Grade 5 students that enriches, accelerates, and extends the MCPS curriculum. It is designed to meet the needs of highly gifted and motivated learners in mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies. The program focuses on critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills. A parent information meeting will be held for current 3rd grade students on Tuesday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. at Quince Orchard High School. The deadline for applying is Monday, November 9, 2009.

The Middle School Magnet Application Programs provide rigorous and engaging programs in Humanities and Communication and in Mathematics, Science, Computer Science. Students from across the county may apply to programs by geographic cluster. The deadline for applying to the magnet program is Monday, November 9, 2009.

For more information on these programs, please visit the MCPS site here.

The WLES PTA has registered with the Amazon Associates Program this year. Anytime you plan to order items from Amazon.com, just come to this page first and click on the Amazon banner ad at the top of the page -- then go shopping! All items ordered from Amazon after clicking through our ad will earn our PTA a donation from Amazon.com. What an easy and great way to raise extra funds for our fantastic programs! Anyone can participate, so tell you friends and family, too. Please remember that our PTA can only receive the dontation from Amazon if you click through the ad above first. If you have any questions, please contact Denise Ackerman at denise1165@gmail.com. Happy Shopping!!

Montgomery College is again offering Kids' College, enrichment courses for students in Grades Pre-K-12. Fall Classes begin in October on Saturdays. Classes are now offered on the Germantown as well as Rockville campus! Check this wonderful opportunity out at www.montgomerycollege.edu/youth or call 240-567-7917 or 240-567-7264. Keyboarding for Computers may be of particular interest to those students in Grades 4-6. Your child can learn how to type on the computer with expert instruction.

Everyone can contribute to a safe and healthy school environment. Often, tips from parents and students can prevent youth violence, drug and alcohol abuse, gang involvement and other dangers to the safety of students. MCPS has a confidential Safe Schools Hotline to report threats, or safety and security violations. This anonymous service is available 24 hours a day/seven days a week.

* Safe Schools Hotline: 301-517-5995
* More hotline information

MCPS also has a process to document and investigate incidents of bullying, harassment and intimidation against students attending public schools that occur on school property, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored activity. Bullying, harassment, or intimidation can be verbal, physical, or written (including electronic). Reports of bullying may be made by students, parents, close adult relatives and school staff members.

The reports are made on the Bullying Harassment or Intimidation Reporting Form (MCPS Form 230-35), which is available at all schools and on the MCPS website. Reports are submitted to the school principal.

* More about preventing bullying

Parents, staff, students and community members are encouraged to testify at community forums sponsored by the Board of Education. Each person will have 3 minutes to speak on the following question: "During difficult economic times, what priorities in the Montgomery County Public Schools strategic plan should we focus on for the 2010-2011 school year to improve achievement for all students?" To review the MCPS strategic plan, please follow this link. The two community forums will be held on Thursday, September 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Quince Orchard High School, and on Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. at John F. Kennedy High School. To sign up to testify call the Board of Education office at 301-279-3617 or 1-800-735-2258 (Maryland Relay) three weeks prior to the forum date (September 17 forum - sign up starting August 27; October 15 forum - sign up starting September 24). Please submit a copy of your testimony to the Board of Education office by noon on the day of the forum so that a packet of testimonies may be prepared for each Board member to have on the night of the forum. Your testimony may be sent by hand delivery, mail, email (boe@mcpsmd.org) or fax (301-279-3860). If you do not submit your testimony in advance, please bring 25 copies of your testimony with you to the forum and provide it to the staff member at the speaker registration table.

The MCPS Parent Academy offers free workshops that provide information on topics such as the Seven Keys to College Readiness, strengthening advocacy skills, helping with homework, understanding the special education process, cybersafety, and communicating with your child’s teachers. These parent workshops are held at convenient locations throughout the county. Interpreters and childcare are provided.

* Sign up for the classes
* For more information call 301-517-5940
* Parent Academy

If you have a question about the school system, call the ASK MCPS Telephone Information Center at 301-309-MCPS (- 6277) between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Answers are provided in English and Spanish. You also can get information by sending an e-mail to AskMCPS@mcpsmd.org, or by stopping in to the offices of the Department of Communications' Division of Family and Community Partnerships (DFCP) weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Also look for ASK MCPS events throughout the year held at DFCP and in neighborhood locations.

Elementary School Parent Guides for the school year are available on-line at the MCPS web site. These guides will give you an overview of each grade level program and explain what your child will be learning in art, mathematics, music, physical education, reading/ language arts, science, and social studies during this school year. In addition, you will also find information on ways of gathering evidence of what students learn, how parents can help, and curriculum resources for parents (many of these on-line resources have been added to our web site - please visit "Curriculum Help" for more information). The information in these guides will assist you in providing support for your child throughout the school year. The guides are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format in the following languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, French, and Vietnamese. The Parent Guides can be accessed through the following link: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/elementary/parentguides.shtm