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A big thank you to teachers Allison Holcombe (K) and Stephanie McCoy (3rd grade) for sharing information at the March 6 PTA meeting about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the leadershp project at Forest Knolls.
UDL is a part of Curriculum 2.0 and an important initiative at Forest Knolls in the next few years to provide support and challenge for all learners at our school. Forest Knolls is one of three elementary schools in the county selected as a pilot project on best practices in UDL implementation to challenge all students. The project has provided training and additional technology to support the program at Forest Knolls.
Additional information on UDL is available at the following link from the Maryland Department of Education: http://marylandlearninglinks.org/950
Here is a video with more information about how the program recognizes that individual children learn in different ways and uses a variety of ways to teach students:
http://marylandlearninglinks.org/output/media.php?id=16321&type=Movie
Bill McGrath
PTA President
Introductory Spanish (Thursdays from 7:55am to 8:40am) has room for 2-4 more students. If your kindergartener or first grader is interested in joining the class for the second story of the year, Jan. 19 (barring any weather delays) would be the day to begin. Registration will open on Dec. 5, but there will be very limited spaces.
The two stories each year are different, and pretty independent of one another, so joining for the second story is not a problem for learning. The cost would be half of that for the full year, so $130. If the weather is perfect all year on Thursdays (knock on wood), the class will end on March 22nd.
The FLES office is also able to offer a Beginning Spanish, Part B. This is for 2nd to 5th graders. It would be on Thursday mornings, from 7:40am to 8:40am. It will have 12 sessions and cost $130.Open house for the Intermediate/Advanced FLES Spanish will be on Dec. 20th, barring any weather issues.The Chinese class I have been working on all year will be an after-school activity in the spring session, tentatively on Thursdays. It will not be an official FLES class, but offered through a private teacher. Thanks for tolerating my mistakes as I figure out the after-school system.
Kirsten Frank
Curriculum 2.0 has been developed to create a more exciting learning experience for our students in Grades K-5. Built upon the existing Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) curriculum, Curriculum 2.0 blends reading/language arts and mathematics instruction with lessons in science, social studies, music, art, and physical education in a way that spurs creativity and critical thinking skills. Come learn about the new curriculum at one of the following sessions:
Thursday, December 1—7:00-8:30pm
Sligo Creek ES, 500 Schuyler Rd., Silver Spring 20910
Thursday, December 15—7:00-8:30pm
Roscoe R. Nix ES, 1100 Corliss St., Silver Spring 20903
More information is here: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/parentacademy/
To register, call (301) 279-3100.
Last week’s parent-teacher conferences uncovered many unhappy and/or confused
primary school parents who want to understand what happened to the accelerated
math pathways and why second graders are no longer described as “above grade
level” even if they seem to be performing well above average. If you are one of
those parents, or teachers, you are not alone!
The Gifted Child Committee will host Marty Creel, MCPS Director of Enriched and
Innovative Programming, for a discussion of Curriculum 2.0 geared specifically
to gifted education, on November 30, 2011 at 7-9 p.m. in the auditorium at
Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville 20850.
Marty will present an overview of C2.0 and its relationship to the new standards
Maryland has adopted, discuss the acceleration and enrichment tools buildt into
the new curriculum, and take parent questions. Unlike the Parent Academy
sessions on C2.0, this one will be geared specifically to the needs of the
advanced level learner. All Elementary and Middle School GT Liaisons are
encouraged to attend (this will affect Middle School offerings eventually, even
though it’s only been rolled out to second grade thus far).
In addition, all interested parents and teachers are welcome and encouraged to
attend and ask questions, so please publicize this opportunity to your school
websites and email lists, and cross-post to any other appropriate forum.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Michelle Gluck
Chair, MCCPTA Special Instruction and Gifted Child Committees
The presentation below is an overview of changes made in grading and reporting. If you have questions, comments or concerns about standards based grading and reporting, please email Carolyn Scalera (cvscalera@comcast.net). She is the FKES parent representative to the MCPS committee and will forward your comments to them and report back to FKES what she learns. The next meeting is scheduled for February.
ES OARS Parent Meeting Oct 19, 2011 (PDF)
Carolyn Scalera
Standards Based Grading and Reporting Representative
cvscalera@comcast.net
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