Lee F. Derby, Principal
Courtney Jones, Assistant Principal
February 2016
www.mcpsmd.org/schools/cedargrovees
Look How Far We’ve Come!
It is hard to believe that the school year is
already half over. Where did the time go?
As an administrator, I relish this time of
year because it is when our staff, parents,
and students really begin to see the fruits of
their labors. Countless times in the past
few weeks, as teachers have completed
assessments and report card grades, I have
been thrilled to hear them share stories of
wonderful successes and tremendous
progress. There are many successes
beyond the classroom too, and I’ve
included some recent ones in this
newsletter. I hope you enjoy hearing about
our students’ and former students’
accomplishments as much as I do.
Click for Cedar Grove
Cedar Grove is participating in WTOP
Radio’s Click for Kids contest. The school
with the top number of votes will win
$20,000, with a second place prize of
$10,000! Think of how we could enhance
your child’s school experience with those
funds. Please help us win by voting (only
one vote per email address allowed) and
encouraging others to do the same. Voting
is open now and runs through February 26,
2016 at 5:00 p.m.
Board of Education Conditionally
Appoints Dr. Jack R. Smith as
Superintendent
The Montgomery County Board of
Education has identified a finalist for the
position of superintendent of schools—Dr.
Jack R. Smith, who is currently the interim
state superintendent of Maryland schools
and former superintendent of schools in
Calvert County. Dr. Smith has more than
30 years of experience as an educator and
administrator.
Community engagement was a crucial part
of the search for the superintendent of
schools. Dr. Smith met with a community
panel of Montgomery County stakeholders
to provide feedback to Board members and
help them arrive at a decision on the
appropriate candidate. In the coming
weeks, a contingent of the Board will be in
touch with stakeholders and Dr. Smith’s
colleagues. Based on the outcome of this
feedback, contract negotiations, and
obtaining state approval, the Board plans to
hire Dr. Smith as the next superintendent of
MCPS effective July 1, 2016.
A series of public meetings will be
scheduled in the near future for parents and
the community to meet Dr. Smith.
Cedar Grove Poet Wins Contest
I am thrilled to share that Cate Zigmund, a
student in Ms. Koar’s class, won the
Montgomery County Council for the
International Reading Association
(MCCIRA) Young Authors’ Contest for
fourth grade with the poem “Wonder.” The
poem will now be submitted to the State of
Maryland International Reading
Association (SoMIRAC). Cate will also
be honored at the MCCIRA’s Young
Authors’ Celebration in March.
Congratulations, Cate!
Stay Informed About the
MCPS FY 2017 Operating Budget
The Montgomery County Board of
Education has recommended a $2.5 billion
operating budget for Fiscal Year (FY)
2017. The budget request includes a $180.2
million increase from FY 2016, which will
allow the district to make targeted
investments to close the achievement gap;
improve students’ literacy and math skills;
reduce class sizes; foster stronger
partnerships with the community and
families to support students; and accelerate
efforts to improve and diversify the
workforce. The Board’s budget request will
be submitted to the Montgomery County
Executive and the County Council. The
County Executive is expected to release his
FY 2017 operating budget recommendation
by March 15. The Montgomery County
Council will hold public hearings on the
county budget in April before passing a
final budget in May. Stay informed and
engaged on the Board’s budget request on
the MCPS Operating Budget website.
Be sure to share your ideas and views on
the importance of funding the MCPS
operating budget with our elected
Montgomery County officials—the
Montgomery County Board of Education,
the County Executive, and the Montgomery
County Council—through emails, letters,
short videos, and testimonials.
Five Education Budget Meetings, presented
by Montgomery County Councilmember
Craig Rice, MCPS Interim Superintendent
Larry Bowers, and Montgomery College
President DeRionne Pollard, are scheduled
for February and March. Find out how
budget decisions are made, what the county
is doing today to get ready for FY 2017 and
beyond, and the opportunities residents
have to influence budget decisions. The
meetings will take place from 6:30 to 8:00
p.m. at the following locations:
•
February 17, Montgomery College
(Germantown Campus), BE Building,
Room 151, 20200 Observation Drive,
Germantown
•
February 24, Albert Einstein High
School, 11135 Newport Mill Road,
Kensington
•
March 9, Gaithersburg High School,
101 Education Blvd., Gaithersburg
•
March 16, Col. Zadok Magruder
High School, 5939 Muncaster Mill Road,
Rockville
•
March 23, Thomas S. Wootton
High School, 2100 Wootton Pkwy.,
Rockville
Middle School Links
Planning and action for the opening of
Clarksburg-Damascus Middle School #2 is
well under way. Construction continues,
staff is being hired, our fifth grade students
and their parents have completed the
registration process, and the naming
committee is currently discussing names
suggested by the Board of Education as
well as feedback and additional suggestions
from the community. Until a Web site is
established for the new school, we have
created a page on our school site where you
can find updates from Dr. Woodward, the
school’s principal.
Rocky Hill Arts Celebration
Bear Way Updates
We held our second quarterly Bear
Way assemblies on February 3 and had
a blast! We started off singing The
Bear Way song, played a game with
Grover to help identify expected
behavior in different settings and
situations around the building, and
celebrated our January winners. They
are:
K
Mrs. Schofer’s Class
1-2
Mrs. Stevensons’ Class
3-5
Mrs. Troup’s Class
Bravo!
Our advanced orchestra students recently
joined their elementary and middle school
counterparts from cluster schools to present
an outstanding concert, showcasing
showcased what a strong instrumental
music program we have throughout our
cluster. Kudos to our director, Mrs. Vicki
Eschelman, and to her cluster colleagues
for bringing out the best in our talented
young musicians.
The cluster band concert that was
cancelled due to inclement weather on
February 16 will be rescheduled.
You are invited to Rocky Hill MS to
celebrate the arts! RHMS Visual Arts
classes will have their Visual Arts
Extravaganza reception on Wednesday,
February 24, 2016, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in
the media center. This exhibition will
showcase creativity and problem solving
from Rocky Hill MS visual arts students.
The exhibition will include Digital Art,
Technology and Design, Studio Art
(Drawing, Painting, collage and Sculpture)
and Light Camera Literacy creations.
Summer Opportunities Fair
Set for March 2
Parents can explore a wide range of
summer opportunities for school-age
children at a fair on Wednesday, March 2.
Local and regional providers will be
available to talk about summer camps,
programs, and activities. During the fair,
parents can meet program staff, pick up
applications, and get information on
financial assistance. The fair will be held
from 7-8:30 p.m. at Carver Educational
Services Center, 850 Hungerford Dr. in
Rockville. Visit
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/dep
artments/parentacademy/parentacademyreg
ister.aspx to register for the fair.
App Team Wins Best in Nation
I previously shared with you that a team
made up of six of our former students won
Best in State in the Verizon Innovative App
Challenge middle school division and was
competing at the national level. I’m very
excited and proud to announce now that
their app concept, AutBuddy, has been
named Best in Nation, allowing them to
develop the concept for use by families
affected by autism. Thank you for your
votes that supported of this talented group
of young students and may ultimately
positively impact many families. You can
see and hear from the wining team here.
Student Transfer Application Season
Scheduled from
February 1 through April 1, 2016
Montgomery County parents/guardians
who wish to request a Change of School
Assignment (COSA) for their children from
their home school may begin the process
during the transfer season—February 1
through April 1, 2016.
Except for students in the Northeast
Consortium (NEC), Downcounty
Consortium (DCC), and Middle School
Magnet Consortium (MSMC) areas,
students in Montgomery County Public
Schools (MCPS) are assigned to a school
on the basis of their place of residence or
their Individualized Education Program
(IEP) and are expected to attend their home
school. Assignment changes for students
from one school to another are permitted
under the following limited circumstances:
•
Younger sibling wanting to attend
the school of an older sibling in the
regular/general program, if the older sibling
will be attending the requested school the
following school year, absent a boundary
change;
•
A continuation in a feeder pattern
from middle to high school, except when
affected by boundary change, application
program acceptance, or Consortium Choice
guidelines;
•
When a family moves within
Montgomery County, preference to remain
in the original school will be considered to
complete the current school year only;
•
A documented, unique hardship
situation.
The transfer process begins in the home
school, where parents/guardians may
request the Change of School Assignment
(COSA) Information Booklet that contains
the COSA form, describes the process, and
provides useful information. The COSA
booklet is available in schools and online.
The booklet will be available in both
English and Spanish. Exempt countywide
programs that do not fall under the transfer
guidelines are listed in the information
booklet.
There is a different process to access the
elementary language immersion programs.
Full information and copies of the
elementary Immersion Interest Form are
available at all elementary schools and
online at
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculu
m/specialprograms.
For information about assignments for
students residing in the NEC, DCC, or
MSMC areas, please contact the Division
of Consortia Choice and Application
Program Services at 301-592-2040 or visit
the website.
For more information about the transfer
process, parents/guardians are encouraged
to contact the principal at their home
school. Non-English speaking students and
parents/guardians who may require
assistance may contact ASK MCPS to get
the information they need by telephone at
301-309-MCPS (6277). Telephone
operators who speak English and Spanish
are available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. Parents who speak
languages other than English or Spanish
who call the ASK MCPS telephone line
and identify their language will have their
questions answered through a telephone
interpreter.
PARCC Webinar Recording
Available for Parents
MCPS presented a webinar on the PARCC
(Partnership for Assessment of Readiness
for College and Careers) assessments for
parents on February 10. Staff provided
important information on the upcoming
changes for the 2016 tests and provided tips
to help parents better understand the score
reports from the spring 2015 administration
of the PARCC tests. If you were unable to
watch it live, you can view the video
recording of the webinar. The presentation
document is available in English, Spanish,
French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and
Amharic. If you have additional questions
about the PARCC assessments, be sure to
visit the MCPS PARCC web page, which
features a variety of helpful tools, FAQs,
videos, and much more.
Dates to Remember
2/22
2/23
2/24
2/26
2/29
3/1
3/11
PTA Spirit Night @ Panera
Moms & Muffins (Grade 2)
Dads & Doughnuts (Grade 3)
Early Release Day
1:20 p.m.
Progress Reports
PTA Meeting
7:00 p.m.
PTA Bingo Night
6:30 p.m.
@ Rocky Hill
On behalf of the staff, I want to
thank Mrs. Tregoning, the Staff
Appreciation Committee, and all
parents who donated to the amazing
dessert bar last week. The variety
of desserts was impressive, and they
were all delicious. What a treat!
Thanks also to our room parents
and other volunteers who did such a
nice job putting on fun Valentines’
Day parties for all of our classes. It
was great visiting each room and
seeing all the kids having so much
fun with their friends.