October 9, 2015
Dear Farmland Students and Families,
I wanted to inform you that I will be on leave Monday, October 12th through Wednesday, October 14th as I
have to travel to Canada for the funeral of a close friend. I am sorry that I will be missing our annual Open
House and I thank you for your understanding.
Open House will be held on Monday, October 12th from 9:30-11:30 and 2:35 to 3:30. Tables will be set up in
the main lobby for you to be able to sign in and receive a Visitor’s pass. Open House is a valuable opportunity
for you to be able to view your child’s classroom instruction and observe your child’s learning style. This day
is a normal day of learning for your child so we have a few guidelines to ensure that instruction can continue
uninterrupted:
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Please try to be quiet as you enter the classroom and do not engage in conversations with other
families which will distract the children. Also, please refrain from using your cell phones. This is a
wonderful time for adults to model appropriate classroom behavior for their children!
We ask that you do not bring under-school age children. The classrooms cannot easily facilitate
strollers in a full learning environment.
Chairs will be set up in the back of the room or you can stand along the sides of the room.
This is not an opportunity to greet or interact with either your child or the classroom teacher, unless
the teacher requests that you do so. He or she will be focused on the lesson. If you would like to
speak to your child’s teacher, please make sure to email him or her to set up a conference at a later
date.
The children are very excited to have you come to see them work in their classrooms. Sharing what you
noticed and learned during your visit will make terrific dinner conversation at the end of the day. We hope to
see you here!
Farmland has a school wide-practice of assigning 15-20 minutes for independent reading each night. Our
younger students can be read to or take turns reading with a family member. We also make independent
reading a portion of our reading block each day. The reason we do this is because “silent reading volume
[AMOUNT] is the obvious strategy for improving reading achievement” (Lindhart/Allenton). Research
reported in the Reading Research Quarterly, Volume 3, 1988, “Growth in Reading and How Children Spend
Their Time Out of School” found:
Minutes/Day Reading
67.3
33.4
16.9
9.2
4.3
1.0
Exposed to # Words/Year
4,733,000
2,357,000
1,165,000
601,000
251,000
51,100
Percentile Rank
98th
90th
70th
50th
30th
10th
These twenty minutes are not only a gift towards your child’s future, it is a glorious time for spending time
together and building memories. Enjoy the wonder of books together!!
Fall into Fitness Night on October 6th was again a smashing success with 118 parents and 162 students in
attendance. Many thanks to all of the families who came out to get fit as a community of staff and
families! The staff had a great time leading AND participating in the many events. After doing step aerobics
with Mr. Adkins, I am inspired to keep going! Mr. Tucci went for his favorite, basketball! We want to
especially highlight and recognize Mr. Adkins who was the driving force and conductor for arranging this
incredible event. Thank you! And, we could not have done it without the assistance of our fabulous staff
volunteers: Prab Basra, Gail Gleeson, Lori Goodman, Kathryn Hanifin (and husband), Ann Kasab (and
husband), Aryn Langford, Angela Lozupone, Alyssa Lund, Sue Mann, Kay McClure, Nancy Monds, Holly
Murphy, Lisa Ortiz, Chris Peters, Carolann Regnell, Lynn Ricke, Jessica Roberts, Carlos Rodriguez, Jeff
Trachtenberg, Ashley Weissenburger, Judy Wilson and Matt Wellen and the KAH gang! If you did not make
it this year, make sure to come out next year! You do not want to miss the fun!
The application for the Highly Gifted Centers has been mailed to the home of every Grade 3 student enrolled
in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). In addition, the application is available in Chinese, French,
Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese and is posted on the
website www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/. All applications for the Highly Gifted
Centers are due on Friday, November 6th. If you need more information on this, please contact Mrs.
Regnell, GT Coordinator, at 301-230-5919.
Make a note on your calendars that MCPS will be hosting a district wide Assessment Night on November 23rd
and again in February to help parents understand the state PARCC (Preparedness of Assessment for Readiness
for College and Career). Information on how to measure student performance in grades 3-5, the new district
assessment strategy, and Curriculum 2.0 will also be presented. These evening events are great opportunities
for you to learn more and ask questions regarding this state assessment. More information will be forthcoming
as we get closer to the date.
“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”- Omar Khayyam
Have a happy weekend!
Warmest regards,
Mrs. Bliss (Mary)
Principal
Farmland ES