S T EP H E N K N OL L S
V O L U ME 1
E A G L E ’ S
ISSUE 6
N E W S
J A N UA R Y 20 15
FROM THE NEST
Happy 2015!
Jan 1: Winter Break: No
school
Jan 2: Winter Break: No
school
Jan 13: PSA Meeting
5:30—7:00pm
Jan 15: PSA Meeting
9:00am
Jan 16: 1st Semester
Ends/2nd Quarter Ends
Jan 19: MLK Day: No
School
Jan 20: No School
Jan 29: Report Card
Distribution
needs school. Celebratory activities will be planned throughout the
Fall. We will send out information
as to what will be happening as
soon as the information is available.
As we ring in the new year we
reflect on our families and
friends at Stephen Knolls. We
celebrate those we have lost
and how they have impacted us
and also those who have moved As for now, stay warm and safe,
enjoy the January snow!
to other schools and wish them
well. All will be in our hearts forWith Regards,
ever.
We also have much to celebrate Kim Redgrave, Coordinator
at SK during 2015 as we enter
in our 50 th year as a special
S C H O OL D EL A Y S A N D C L O S I N G S
Stay informed by receiving text messages, emails, or phone calls when Montgomery County Public Schools call for a 2 hour delay or are
closing schools.
Sign up for the alert here:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/
emergency/alertmcps.aspx
Main Office
301-929-2151
301– 929– 2151
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
MCPS has adopted
the Attainment Company Inc. curricula
that aligns with the
common core curricular indicators of Math,
Language Arts, Reading, and Science. The
curricula is divided
school series. The
high school series
integrates vocational
functional skills into
the curricula. The
scripted questions
that come with the
series materials
closely match the stu-
into an elementary
series and a high
dents’ Individualized
Education Program
(IEP) goals and objectives. This streamlines the educational
focus.
Check out School Lunch Menus on our website homepage
PR ESCHOOL PR OGR A M HIGHL IGHTS
Our preschool students
began learning about animals in our Awesome Animals unit in December
and will be continuing with
this unit this month focusing on learning about
Creepy Crawly Insects and
How Animals Grow and
Change. After our animal
unit concludes at the end
of the second quarter, we
will begin to focus on how
to use our imagination to
think of things and then
make them, in our Imagine It, Make It unit. We’ll
look at how to be creative
using a variety of mediums and materials, the
tools we can use to make
things and how to appreciate art. We are looking
forward to seeing what our
students create and sharing them with you! Some
of the books we will use at
school include this month
include: Over in the
Meadow; Bugs, Bugs,
Bugs; Dora’s Eggs; Butterflies; 10 Black Dots; Not a
Box; and The Shape of
Things. Feel free to check
these out of the library
and read them with your
children. Repeated readings of the books we use
at school help support
what your children are
learning in school.
P RE S C HO OL TR A NS I TI O N T O KI N DE RG AR T E N
January is also the beginning of our Transition to Kindergarten
process for those students who will be attending Kindergarten
next year. There will
be a countywide meeting on January 14th
hosted by the Special
Education Supervisors
at 7 pm to discuss special education Kindergarten services. Parents who have children
who will be going to
Kindergarten next year
should have received a
flyer with information
on which location to go
to. If you did not receive a flyer, please
contact your child’s
teacher or Robin Matthews. Following this
meeting in January,
there will be scheduled
tours to various programs for parents to
attend, so please be
sure to check your
child’s backpack daily.
"There is no giant step
that does it. It's a lot
of little steps."
-Peter A. Cohen
~Cooperative~
January’s
Character Trait
VO L U M E 1
ISSUE 6
Page 3
I N F O R M AT I O N F R O M T H E N U R S E S
P H ON E : ( 3 0 1 ) 9 2 9 - 2 1 5 4
When to keep your child home from school
Important Signs of illness
1.
A temperature of more than 100°
2.
Vomiting, nausea, stomachache
3.
Diarrhea
4.
Pale or flushed face, headache, cough, earache
5.
Thick discharge from nose, sore throat
6.
Rash or infection of the skin, red or pink eyes
7.
Loss of appetite or loss of energy
What should I do if my child has any of
these signs?
If your child has any of these symptoms when it is time for school, it is
best that he/she stay home. Most
childhood illnesses are over soon and
no cause for worry. But, if the symptoms are severe or persist for more
than 24 hours, you should contact your
private source of medical care.
paraeducator in the MCPS
preschool autism program
at Rosemary Hills Elementary before deciding to become a special education
teacher. She is so happy to
finally be done with studying and able to put learning
into practice! Susan was
drawn to the PEP INC program because of the time
she gets to work together
with her students’ families,
and she feels privileged to
be welcomed by the wonderful families of the children in her classroom. She
is also having fun incorporating her love of music, art,
and reading into the weekly
activities she plans for stu-
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
Susan Greifer is new to
Stephen Knolls, new to
PEP, and new to teaching, having just graduated in May with her Master’s in Early Childhood
Special Education from
the University of Maryland. After a career in
USDA working on agricultural trade and animal
welfare issues, Susan
was tired of sitting behind a desk with little
direct contact with the
stakeholders affected by
her work. She wanted an
active job that made a
difference in people’s
lives. Susan first worked
for three years as a
www.Yankeecandlefundraising.com
dents. Susan lives in
Silver Spring with her
husband, two children,
and a little maltipoo
dog. She has been
grateful for their support during this career
transition. And, she is
thrilled to be a part of
the talented staff at Stephen Knolls School.
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.