The Fulton Flier
Week of December 13th
This week our SGA has organized and planned a "Lighting Up Winter" Spirit Week. Members of our SGA have transformed our cafeteria into a Winter Wonderland, it truly looks magical. Please below for details on the happenings for each day.
Additionally, please remember on Wednesday, December 15th, we will have an early dismissal. This is an update to the HCPSS academic calendar in which the Board created several 3-hour early dismissals for students, including this Wednesday, December 15. Details are available online.
Warmly,
Dr. Burks
A Message from our Health Team....
COVID-19 Self Screening Symptoms Reminder
Parents/guardians should keep their children home if they are experiencing symptom(s) associated with any communicable disease, including COVID-19. In addition, parents/guardians are to perform the following COVID-19 health check every day before the student leaves home.
A student should NOT come to school with any of these symptoms:
fever of 100.4 degrees or higher
sore throat
cough
difficulty breathing
diarrhea or vomiting
new onset of severe headache (especially with fever), or
new loss of taste or smell
For persons with chronic conditions such as asthma, the symptoms should represent a change from baseline.
Last Day for Holiday Shop
The PTA Perch
Chipotle Night
12/14 | Chipotle Maple Lawn | 5-9pm
Chipotle is kindly donating 33% of sales for the night to the FES PTA! Mention Fulton when ordering in person or include code JAYBN68 for ordering ahead!
PTA Meeting
Please join us on Tuesday, December 14 at 7PM for a PTA Meeting!
Join with Google Meet: meet.google.com/hxu-xfbk-wzv
Join by phone: 470-466-0073 PIN: 581834033
Spirit Wear Promotion Going on Now
Spirit wear makes the best gift! Make a purchase and be automatically entered to win a $100 gift card, drawings are weekly! Visit: http://www.fultonspiritwear.com
Book Fair Chair Needed
FES PTA is looking for a bookfair chairperson! We are planning to host the Book Fair at Futon Elementary this spring and we need an AMAZING parent volunteer (or two) in order to do so. The Chair(s) will be responsible for promoting and organizing the Book Fair, coordinating and recruiting volunteers, supervising the book fair set-up/break down, being responsible for the register and available to open and close the book fair on a daily basis during the week of the fair.
Thank you!
To those who participated in the food drive and the holiday shoppe to help make both events a success!
Upcoming Dates
Please visit or subscribe to the FES Calendar Webpage to view important upcoming dates:
December 14th: PTA Virtual Meeting; 5:00-9:00 PTA Chipotle Restaurant Night
December 15th: School Closes 3 hours early; No 1/2 day PreK/RECC
December 21st: Yearbook clubs & Group Picture Day
December 23rd-31st: Winter Break
January 1st: Happy New Year
January 17th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day- Schools and Offices closed
January 19th: School closes 3 hours early; No 1/2 day PreK/RECC
January 21st: End of 2nd Quarter
January 24th: Schools Closed for Students- Professional Work Day
January 31st: Quarter 2 Report Cards Issued
February 1st: School Closed for Students- Professional Work Day
Happenings Around our Fulton Community
Vaccination Clinics for HCPSS Students Aged 5-11
HCPSS is working with the Howard County Health Department and several local pharmacies, to provide students ages 5-11 the opportunity to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Information about upcoming clinics is available on the HCPSS website and will be updated as new clinics are added. Vaccination remains the most effective strategy to save lives and end this pandemic so I encourage you to make an appointment for your child if you have not already done so.
Answers to frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine can be found on the Howard County Health Department’s website. Additional information can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Worth Repeating
THANK YOU!!!!
CogAT Testing in January
The test is made of three batteries – Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal. Each battery takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The CogAT helps educators understand a student’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses and assists with adapting instruction to meet the needs and abilities of each student.
All students in Grades 3 and 5 will participate in the testing. The CogAT will be administered on January 10, 11, and 12. No special preparation is required. Just send your child to school ready to learn as you do daily.
The Gifted and Talented Education Program will use the data from the CogAT as one criterion for placement into fourth grade Gifted/Talented mathematics classes and middle school Gifted/Talented content classes. Students’ individual scores will be reported to parents in late February/early March.
Please contact Leslie Brickner (leslie_brickner@hcpss.org) if you have any questions about your child’s involvement with the CogAT assessment.
Screener for Students With Reading Difficulties
All Howard County Public School System students in kindergarten to grade 5 were recently screened to identify potential reading difficulties using the Amplify mClass with DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. The assessment will be administered again in the winter and spring.
Performance on the literacy skills assessed on the screener is an indicator of overall reading status and gives school staff additional information about whether a student is on track for grade-level reading success. Parents/guardians will receive a report containing their child’s screening results via backpack today.
For more information about the Ready to Read Act visit HERE.
Status of outdoor dining tents during winter months
This fall we provide students the opportunity to eat school meals in the outdoor dining tent that was put in place at each HCPSS elementary school as an additional health safeguard during the pandemic. Now that winter is on our doorstep, and we expect to have much colder temperatures and precipitation, the tents will soon be removed for the winter months, December through February. This is necessary to ensure the safety of our students and staff, because the tents are not designed to sustain heavy snow, wind or ice accumulation; they cannot be safely heated, and lowering the sides that are currently left open would not allow adequate outdoor air ventilation to occur.
HCPSS plans to reinstall the tents outside all elementary schools at the beginning of March 2022, with the specific timing dependent on weather conditions.
We will continue to designate outdoor spaces at our school throughout the winter months where students can eat their meals as weather conditions allow. As a reminder, please send your child to school dressed appropriately for weather conditions, especially if it is their day to eat outside.
Thank you for your support and collaboration in ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment for all students. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Please be Mindful of Parking at FES
A friendly reminder - Please do not park in handicapped parking spots in front of FES at any time, even for a brief moment These spaces are reserved for those who have permits to park there. Thank you for helping us to make our school safe and accessible for all who visit.
A Message from our Health Team...
Parents/guardians: Please continue to perform the following COVID-19 health check every day before the student leaves home.
Symptom Self Check
- fever.
- sore throat.
- cough.
- difficulty breathing.
- diarrhea or vomiting.
- new onset of severe headache (especially with fever), or.
- new loss of taste or smell.
If your child has any of the following symptoms, they should be evaluated by a physician and must receive a negative PCR or alternate diagnosis before returning to school:
Documentation must be provided to the attendance secretary at FESabence@hcpss.org prior to your child's return. Please reach out to our School Nurse (christina_toler@hcpss.org) or Health Assistant (Kathleen_Wurstner@hcpss.org) at our school if you have any questions related to your child's health or return status.
Travel guidelines: HCPSS is following the CDC guidelines. Please see the attached link. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html
Given new evidence on the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, CDC has updated the guidance for fully vaccinated people.CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.
Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping all our students and staff healthy and safe.
Do you work on a federal property in Maryland and/or are a member of a uniformed service?
From our Student Government Association...
The Student Government Association (SGA) is sponsoring a toy drive for Toys for Tots. SGA is collecting new unwrapped toys to be donated to Toys for Tots until Wednesday, December 15th. There are two boxes located inside the school for your donation. SGA has a goal of collecting 100 toys that we can donate. If we reach our goal, then one lucky winner, who donated a toy, will be able to pie in the face Dr. Burks. Let's show kindness this season and help support Toys for Tots.
A Message from our Belonging Team...
In the month of November, we are going to be celebrating Holidays of Light!
All grade level canvas pages will have these interactive slides uploaded by Monday, December 6th.
Please use this link to fill out a google form about Holidays of Light such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Eid, St. Lucia’s Day, and more!. The responses will be shared near our Belonging Bulletin Board located outside of the nurses office. If you would like to participate, you are welcome to as well! Click the link to fill it out!
This week is also inclusive schools week! Your children will be learning about what it means to be inclusive and will participate in conversations and activities about this subject! Our front bulletin board will display how we all work together like puzzle pieces to make our Fulton Family! Our Bully Busters will also be sharing about this on the announcements!
Did you know Hanukkah 2021 began at sundown on November 28 and lasts until sundown on December 6. Hanukkah, which is Hebrew for “dedication,” is the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek army, and the subsequent miracle of rededicating the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and restoring its menorah, or lamp.
Upcoming Book Club for Parents/Guardians
As educators and parents, our ultimate goal is to create a community of lifelong learners who embrace challenges, learn from their mistakes, and thrive and grow from productive struggle. In order to foster a lifelong love of learning, teachers and parents must work together to inspire and empower all students. Each of us plays a monumental role in the growth and development of all stakeholders in our community. When we add the addition of the return to “normalcy,” after the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize that many of our students may be struggling. Because of this, Fulton Elementary staff hope to expand parent and educator knowledge with how to support the well-being and success of our students by offering a parent book club.
Mindsets for Parents: Strategies to Encourage Growth Mindsets in Kids by Mary Cay Ricci and Margaret Lee is a quick read with a powerful message that can change the way we view growth and development forever. Our goal and view for this book club is to hold two sessions. The first to share our key takeaways from the book and the second to discuss how well applying these concepts has been going.
We will be offering spots to the first 10 parents who sign up via this Google Form. If you are selected, you will receive an additional email to confirm your participation.
For a better idea of how powerful a growth mindset in children can be, we recommend watching this short Ted Talk presented by a 5th grade student!
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Christina Devling (christina_devling@hcpss.org).
Check out Mrs. Watson's Class!
A Few of Favorite of Things..
Fulton Elementary School
Molly Caroland, Assistant Principal, molly_caroland@hcpss.org
Leslie Brickner, Assistant Principal, leslie_brickner@hcpss.org
Email: tanisha_burks@hcpss.org
Website: fes.hcpss.org/
Location: 11600 Scaggsville Road, Fulton, MD, USA
Phone: 410-880-5957
Twitter: @hcpss_fes