S T EP H E N K N OL L S
V O L U ME 1
E A G L E ’ S
ISSUE 5
N E W S
D E C EMB ER 2 01 4
FROM THE NEST
Dec 8: No school for PEP
(preschool) students
Dec 9: PSA Meeting
5:30—7:00pm
Dec 20: PSA Meeting
9:00am
Dec 24— Jan 2: No
School—Winter Break
Warm Winter Greetings! December is
upon us and the hustle and bustle is
beginning. Our staff and students from
Stephen Knolls did a wonderful job
collecting for the Manna Food Drive
and raising funds through the sale of
Yankee Candles. I would like to recognize Donna Moore for her leadership
with Manna and Robin Matthews for
her work with Yankee Candle. Last
month SK also celebrated being recognized in the MCPS State of the Schools
Address and have been sharing in the
excitement as recipients of funding for
our Greenhouse, Sensory Garden and
Memory Garden from the Project Management Association.
During these busy times please take the
time to enjoy all you are thankful for and
how truly wonderful children are. They
are the heart and soul of this building and
never cease to amaze me! I know at any
time they can make me smile or laugh.
They have truly taught me many lessons I
hold dear to my heart. Thank you for
sharing them, they are all treasures! Enjoy
the Winter Break and I will look forward
to seeing everyone in 2015!
With Regards,
Kim Redgrave, Coordinator
NEWS FLASH
Stephen Knolls has been awarded a generous donation
from the Project Management Corporation (PMC). The
PMC is a foundation that selects schools, organizations,
and facilities to partner with and offer financial assistance
or repair services. The organization will be using the money to landscape our campus, restock and repair our greenhouse, and set up a new high tech sensory garden. The
organization was heart struck by out students and staff
and we are fortunate to have been selected for this project.
An event will be scheduled to view the project’s beauty,
recognize the generosity, and to celebrate the students
and families.
Main Office
WO R K H A R D , B E K I N D , B E S A F E A N D D R E A M B I G !
E AG LE ’S N E WS
Page 2
S CHOOL A GE D P R OGR A M HIGHL IGHTS
The 17 th Annual Thanksgiving Fundraiser hosted by
stuffing, mashed potatoes,
sweet potatoes, green bean
authentic setting towards
enhancing life skills. All prof-
Mrs. Moore’s class was once
again a total sell-out suc-
casserole, and corn bread.
The students also made
its raised will help to fund
the community instruction
cess!!! It took 50 pounds of
turkey to serve over 60
delicious pies for dessert.
Throughout the project, the
outings and trips. Stephen
Knolls sends a great big
meals this year!!! The high
students worked on their
thank you to all of the stu-
school students spent most
of November planning for the
occupational therapy and
speech and language skills.
dents, staff, friends and families who supported the
annual fundraiser by selecting the menu, and shopping
This annual project gives the
students a wonderful oppor-
event! We also thank Donna
Moore and the rest of D-5 for
for the groceries and paper
tunity to practice the read-
their hard
goods. The traditional meal
consisted of turkey with
ing, mathematics, and social
study curricular skills in an
work!
Check out School Lunch Menus on our website homepage
PR ESCHOOL PR OGR A M HIGHL IGHTS
We drove our community
vehicles
through the “Our
Community” the me
and are beginning
to
learn
about
“Awesome
Animals”. November
was a fun month of
learning about and
pretending to be
fire fighters, postal
workers, police of-
ficers, and trash
collectors. We had
fun sorting and recycling ite ms with
Mr. Brad and expanded on this topic in late November.
We are also excited
to act out animal
movements, read
“Going on a Bear
Hunt”, and learn
about the different
places animals live.
December will be a
good month for
you to discuss animals
with
your
child.
"There is no giant step
that does it. It's a lot
of little steps."
-Peter A. Cohen
F A M I LY F U N A C T I V I T I E S
B Y : OC C U PA T I ON A L , PH Y SI C A L, A N D SP EE C H & LA N GU A GE T H ER A PI ST S
1. Plan daily events or outings together. For example,
use picture choices via smart
phone, magazines, and weekly ad, TV, etc. to support
plans. (Ex. Today we are going to the grocery store to buy
…
2. Model and practice using
frequently used words/
phrases, signs, and or gestures when talking with family
and friends (ex. My name is
______.)
3. Play with various types of
paper such as wrapping paper, newspaper, magazine,
scrap, etc. by tearing, crunching, throwing away, shooting
hoops, etc.
6. Create an obstacle course
using pillows, boxes, blankets,
etc. Please use words to describe your child’s actions. (ex.
You are climbing over the
cushions.)
4. Sort recyclable items by
labeling items for reinforcement. (ex. paper goes here)
5. Allow to help with cooking/
preparing the food. Practice
using concepts stir, put in,
roll, etc.
7. Practice unpacking groceries. (Ex. take 1 item at a time
out of the bag and put on the
table
~Responsible~
December’s
Character Trait
VO L U M E 1
ISSUE 5
Page 3
M C P S S T AT E O F S CH O O L S A D D R E S S
D R. JOSH U A S TARR
On November 11th, 2014 Dr. Joshua Starr, MCPS superintendent gave the 3rd annual State of Schools Address. He started with presenting data of success and then
spent most of the speech on the MCPS’ five core implementation strategies that
aim to ensure all students are equipped with the skills and knowledge for success.
The underlining basis of the speech referred to closing the academic success gap
based on ethnicity so that the score differential would not be representative of a
specific ethnicity. Dr. Starr made a very exciting mention of the successes at Stephen Knolls and the $10,000 donation the school is receiving.
Go to this website and watch the recording : http://tinyurl.com/nnpy2d3
www.Yankeecandlefundraising.com
Attention Stephen
Knolls Staff, Families
and Friends!
Thank you to those
who ordered Yankee
Candles through o ur
catalog fundraiser and
on-line!
We just wanted to let
you know that our
N E W EA GL E TO TH E N E S T
Stephen Knolls welcomes Aaron Lipshultz
to the family. Aaron
comes to us from Albert Einstein high
school where he
taught and supported
many students who
receive special education services ranging
from Life Skills to Advanced Placement. He
was also a strong supporter of the student
body and extracurricular student life, sponsoring several clubs
(including 8 years with
Best Buddies) and
chaperoning many
school events. Aaron
also had his hand in
staff development, creating and conducting a
training for all school
staff on understanding
the impact disabilities on
student performance and
what teachers can do to
support student achievement.
Aaron came to
Stephen Knolls last year
to take a tour and noted,
“This is a special place,
and there is a lot of love
in these halls. I need to
be a part of it.” He inquired about available
teaching positions at Stephen Knolls and is now
teaching second grade
and has taken on the role
of team leader for the
secondary team. We
are happy to have him
here and look forward
to his continued support of all of our students.
on-line fundraiser
continues until
January 15, 2015.
On-line ordering can
be accessed by going
to:
www.Yankeecandlefundraising.com
and entering the
Stephen Knolls School
code: 990061230.
HIGHER ORDER THINKIN G SKILLS
MISSION
STATEMENT
Comparison
The mission of Stephen Knolls
School is to increase the acquisition of academic and related developmental skills by providing a
safe and nurturing educational
environment filled with meaningful
opportunities designed to maximize each student’s unique abilities.
VISION
STATEMENT

Portfolio Assessment

Online Assessment

6 Month Testing Window

2 Month Testing Window

Combined Instruction and

End of Year Assessment

Assesses Reading, Writing, and
Assessment

Assesses Reading, Mathematics,

The Stephen Knolls School’s community, consisting of students,
parents, and staff, strives to be a
respectful and collaborative student-centered educational envi- 
ronment composed of individuals
committed to student achieve- 
ment and professional development.
Aligned to Maryland State Cur-

riculum Standards and Common
Aligned to Common Core and
NCSC Common Core Connectors
Core
Prompting Allowed
Vendor Scored
IM P OR TA N T IN FO RM ATION
Delayed
Opening
If
schools
are closed or delayed,
the
announcement is
made no later than
5:00 a.m. (or the
night before if possible). Schools may
open two hours late,
and all operations,
including bus transportation, are delayed by two hours
from the regular
schedule. Field trips
and other activities
Mathematics
and Science
and programs that
begin at 10:30 or
earlier are canceled.
Early Dismissal
If schools are
closing early, the
announcements
are made by
10:00 a.m.
Schools m ay b e
c los e d 2. 5 hour s
ear ly. We di sm is s at 12: 00.

No Prompting Allowed

Combination of Vendor and Ad-
ministrator Scoring
ALT-MSA
The federal No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) of 2001 requires that all students be assessed and that students
receive an individual score in reading
and mathematics in grades 3—8 and
in10th grade. Students in grades 5, 8,
and 10 are also assessed in Science.
The ALT-MSA assesses student attainment of their instructional level that are
aligned with grade level Maryland Content Standards.