Arcola Elementary School
Gator Gazette
1820 Franwall Av enue
Silver Spring, MD 20902
(301) 649-8590
FAX (301) 649-8592
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/arcolaes/
Emmanuel Je an-Philippe, Principal
Angela Ventura, Assistant Principal
Nothing but the best
will do!
October 2013
Dear Arcola Families,
The second month of school is upon us and we are in full gear as a learning community! The
staff members here at Arcola are continually committed to providing a high quality
educational experience for each child. Your support and involvement as parents are a great
part of our success as a school. If you have not already done so, please be sure to review the
MCPS Strategic Framework brochure that was distributed during Back-to-School Night. The
Framework outlines the expectations for students, staff, and community members around the
three competencies of academic excellence, creative problem solving, and social emotional
learning for students, enabling them to be college and career-ready. If you would like a copy
of the brochure sent to you, please send a note to your child’s teacher or contact the main
office to request one.
During this time of year it is a good idea to send your child to school dressed in layers so that
they may be able to adjust to the changes in temperature comfortably. With that said, we all
know that this time of year many children look forward to celebrating Halloween. As you
may know, some people celebrate Halloween and some people do not. At Arcola, we have
Fall Festivals by grade level on October 31st. This is in place of Halloween activities. This
decision was made by the school leadership a number of years ago in order to be consistent
with our local feeder schools and to have an activity our students could partake in as one
classroom or grade level community. More information about the activities and ways you
can help will be sent by your child’s classroom teacher.
Our Back to School Picnic, Wendy’s Night, and first general Parent Teacher Association
(PTA) meeting for the 2013 - 2014 school year were well attended. Thank you to all of the
parents who have attended any of these PTA sponsored events and/or have become members
of the PTA at Arcola. Please be on the lookout for upcoming events and opportunities
sponsored by the PTA.
On Monday, October 14th we will host our annual Open House from 9:30-11:30 a.m. This is
a time for all parents and grandparents (adults only, no small children please) to visit
classrooms and enjoy the Arcola experience. A parent station for refreshments and
information will be available in the all-purpose room. Ms. Ventura, assistant principal, Ms.
Ochoa, parent coordinator, along with other Arcola staff members, will be on hand to answer
any general questions you may have. Please make every effort to join us!
Have a great October!
Important
October Dates

October 7
Year-long Gator Club begins
3:45-5:45 pm

October 8
Adult English Classes Begin
Arcola
6:00-8:00 pm

October 10 and 11
Hearing and Vision Screening

October 11
Student Fall pictures

October 14
Open House Day
9:30-11:30 am

October 17
Gr. 1 to National Zoo
9:30 am-1:30 pm

October 18
No school

October 24
Gr. 5 to Strathmore
9:30 am-12:30 pm

October 25
Parent Coffee
9:00-10:30 am
All Purpose Room

October 29
School Improvement Mtg
8:00-8:45 am

October 31
Fall Festival

November 1
No school
Sincerely,
Emmanuel Jean-Philippe
Principal
Angela Ventura
Assistant Principal
News from the Parent Community Coordinator
Thank you to everybody that was able to come out for our first monthly coffee of the year!
The turnout may have been the greatest ever and we hope it becomes the norm. At this
coffee we heard from Ms. Holly Hill, our Title I Specialist who presented the “gifts” our
school is able to obtain for our students through federal funding. As one of 30 MCPS
schools, Arcola has been designated Title I which means it meets with certain criteria as
set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act to receive additional government funding for student
support. The title I funds are used to provide the following “gifts” to our school: support from central
office, highly qualified staff, additional staff, instructional materials, professional development,
extended learning opportunities, family involvement resources, extended day and equipment.
For more details on this program and how you can participate in the decision-making process for
allocation of funds, please see the information attached at the end of this newsletter. We welcome
and encourage you to contribute to in our School Improvement Plan and attend meetings held every
quarter. If you were unable to attend this coffee and would like a copy of information that was
distributed, please contact Magda Ochoa, our Parent Community Coordinator and she will be happy
to provide you with what you need. We have scheduled our next coffee for Friday, October 25 so
please mark your calendar. We look forward to seeing you there!
HEARING AND VISION SCREENING COMING UP AND
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!
Maryland State Law requires students in Montgomery County Public
Schools (MCPS) be screened for possible vision and hearing problems.
Trained hearing and vision screeners will be screening all Kindergarteners,
first graders who failed last year and did not receive follow up, and students
new to MCPS on October 10, 11 and 15. Please feel free to call the health
room at 301-649-8590 should you have questions.
If you are able to volunteer on those days, we could use your help escorting students to
and from the health room! Please contact the health room or Mrs. Ochoa at (301) 6498590 or [email protected] regarding your availability.
FUTURE OPTIONS FOR 3rd AND 5th GRADE ARCOLA STUDENTS
If you are the parent of a third or fifth grade student, keep these key dates on your calendar!
Third Grade: Informational Meetings on the Elementary Highly Gifted Centers/Program
on: Oct 22 at 7pm, Northwest High School and Oct 24 at 7 at Wheaton High School
Fifth Grade: Information on Middle School Magnet Consortium Program and Choice
process, note these dates: Oct. 10 Takoma Park MS magnet meeting at 7pm
Oct 22 Eastern MS magnet meeting at 7pm Application deadline for both : Nov. 8 2013
Also attend open houses at the following schools: Parkland Magnet MS Wed. October 9
Argyle Magnet MS, Wed. October 16 and A. Mario Loiderman Magnet MS Wed. October 23.
Applications also due on November 8, 2013
For more information contact: Emily Parizer or Tina Padilla at Arcola or visit
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
HOMEWORK HELP
Wheaton Library’s Homework Helpers Will Be Available
for 30-Minute 1 on 1 Help Sessions on
Wednesdays from 4:00-6:00pm and Sundays 1-3pm.
Homework Help Sessions Are for Students in K Through 6.
Sign-Up for Your Homework Help Session on the Waiting List When You Arrive.
Homework Helpers will be available from September 11 through Dec18, 2013,
except when MCPS or MCPL is closed.
If You Have Any Questions,
Please Stop By the Wheaton Library Information Desk or Call Us at (240)-777-0678.
THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING! DO YOU NEED A LITTLE HELP?
Anyone interested in receiving support for the holidays is asked to contact
Mrs. Tina Padilla or Magda Ochoa by Oct. 18 to fill out a request
form. Montgomery County provides qualifying families with the opportunity to apply for funds through the Holiday Giving Program. Due to the limitation on funds, please note that it will not be possible to honor all requests
and therefore assistance is not guaranteed.
Walk to School Day
Walk to School Day is October 9, 2013. Click on www.walkbiketoschool.org for ideas
on how to get others to join you. We encourage everyone to walk for better health and
fellowship!
Save the Date! MCPS State of the Schools Event Set for November 11
Superin tendent Joshua P. Starr will deliver h is second State of the Schools address on
Monday, November 11, at the Music Cen ter at Strath more, 5301 Tuckerman Lane in Bethesda. MCPS parents and community members are inv ited to join Dr. Starr as he shares
his vision for preparing all students for success and we celebrate the ou tstanding students of Mon tgomery County Public Schools. This free event will take place from 7:30 to
9:30 a.m. and will feature artwork and performances by MCPS studen ts. Visit the State
of the Schools website at www.mcpsstateoftheschools.org for more information and to
RSVP.
WILL YOU BE ATTENDING OUR OPEN HOUSE ON
MONDAY OCTOBER 14th BETWEEN 9:30-11:30?
____ Yes I will attend!
____No, I will not be able to attend.
Arcola Elementary School
Title I Information for Families
Montgomery County supports the involvement of all parents/families. It is our belief that the education of
our children is a shared responsibility. We believe that when parents are involved, students will be more
successful. The school system as well as individual schools make the commitment to establish programs and practices that create a climate of mutual trust and respect and that support substantive parent involvement.
We wish to provide you with information about the Title I website, the School Improvement Plan, your Right to Request Information and the MCPS Complaint Policy. The proposed MCPS Parent Involvement Plan, the school Parent Involvement Plan
and the School-Parent Compact are also included for your review. Please take this opportunity to review these documents and
send us your comments. The Parent Involvement Committee will review your comments and suggestions and consider them
when revising the Parent Involvement Plan and School-Parent Compact. The final documents for 2013-14 will be shared with
families by parent conference time in November.
We invite you to join the Parent Involvement Committee and the PTA as we work together to provide you and your child a successful school year. If you have any questions regarding any of this information, please contact the school principal.
Title I Website
The Division of Title I Programs website has important information for parents in Title I schools. The website contains information about the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Title I program in Montgomery
County Public Schools, and links to county, state, and federal websites.
If you have comments or suggestions about the Title I website, please call Mrs. Deann Collins at 301-2300660.
School Improvement Plan
All schools develop or revise a School Improvement Plan (SIP) each school year. During the summer and early fall, schools
draft the SIP by examining data collected from student assessments and parent and staff surveys. This data is used to determine where to focus efforts to enhance and improve instruction based on the needs of our students, staff, and parents; to allo cate resources; and to plan parent and staff training. Parents are an important and vital part of the SIP process, and are invited to participate so that their ideas and suggestions can be incorporated into the school’s plan. For further information about
the SIP please contact your school’s principal.
Complaint Policy
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has a complaint policy that provides parents and community members with a process to register their concerns. The policy is posted on the Division of Title I Programs (DTP) and the MCPS website athttp://
www.mcps.k12.md.us
MCPS has a procedure and form for parents and community members to follow when registering a complaint. These procedures can also be found on the DTP and the MCPS website.
Right to Request Information
Our schools are fortunate to receive supplemental funding through Title I, a federal grant program for schools that serve communities with students who have high economic needs. The federal legislation that establishes Title I regulations is known as
the No Child Left Beh!nd Act of 2001(NCLB Act). The NCLB Act requires the Montgomery County Public Schools to inform you
that you have the right to request information about the professional certification qualifications of your child's teacher, substitute teacher, or paraeducator (formerly titled instructional assistant).
If you wish to request certification information about your child's teacher, paraeducator, or long- .term substitute teacher, please submit a written request to the principal at your school. Your written request may include information about the
following qualifications: .


Degree status and subject area of certification
State of Maryland certification status, including conditional certification status
Qualifications of paraeducators or long-term substitute teachers who may be working with your student
Your request will be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources, and you will receive a written response from them within 30
business days.
Please contact the principal if you have any questions.
Arcola Elementary School Title I Parent Involvement Plan: 2013-14
Arcola Elementary School supports the involvement of all parents/families. It is our belief that the education of
our children is a shared responsibility. We believe that when parents are involved, students will be more successful. In this policy, “parent” is intended to include parents, guardians, and other family members involved in
supervising the child’s schooling.
We carry out the requirements for Title I schools in the following ways:
General Requirements
Involve parents in deciding how family involvement funds are being spent
Involve parents in the development of our school’s Parent Involvement Plan
Distribute the Parent Involvement Plan to all parents
Hold an annual Title I meeting to provide information about the Title I program, parental rights, and the
important role parents play in their children’s education.
Involve parents in planning, reviewing and improving our school’s Parent Involvement Plan and Program
Ask for parents’ comments about the Parent Involvement Plan and submit those comments to the Division of
Title I Programs
Develop a written school-parent compact with parents
Building Capacity
Help parents understand the Maryland School Assessment Program and the Maryland and MCPS Standards and Curriculum and the requirements of Title I
Provide materials and parent trainings/workshops to help parents improve their children’s academic
achievement
Provide training for staff about how to work with parents as equal partners
Work with other agencies and programs that support parental involvement, such as Special Education,
ESOL, Linkages to Learning, Judy Center, Health Department and Library
Communicate information in a format and language that parents can understand whenever possible
Provide reasonable support so parents may participate in school activities as much as possible, such as
transportation and childcare
Accessibility
Provide additional support for parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, or parents
who are homeless
Provide information in a format and language such parents will understand to the greatest extent possible