Dear Fulton Families,

Some of our students are talking and asking about the Ukraine invasion and we are supporting them by letting them know they are safe. Even if you have not shared or talked with your child about the current situation, they may be hearing information from their classmates during lunch/recess or from other students on the bus. It’s natural for children to be curious about the world and ask questions to try to make sense of what they don’t understand. At their developmental levels, it’s also not uncommon for children to fill in the blanks about what they don’t know, and they often share inaccurate information with one another. We encourage you to check in with your child to ask them what they have heard, how they are feeling, and if they have questions. There are many resources available online to help with the conversation. One resource that will be shared with our teachers is, How to Talk to Kids About the Ukraine Invasion, provides guidance for elementary age children. Should your child be experiencing overwhelming emotions about the situation, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Elizabeth Shields, one of our school counselors, or Ms. Christina Devling, one of our school psychologists, for support.

Warmly,

Dr. Burks

As we move into semester 2 of the school year, we will be making a shift in how and where Chromebooks will be stored. Students in grades K-3 will be keeping their Chromebooks at school. This shift will help reduce the wear and tear of the transport of devices and allow for consistent use in instruction during the school day. Students will still be using the Chromebook assigned to them throughout the day. If a student has a specific need for the device to go home each day, special permissions may be granted. Students are expected to abide by the HCPSS Code of Conduct and Policy 8080 Responsible Use of Technology. Please continue to talk with your child about the appropriate use of technology in and out of the classroom.

Check out this presentation celebrating Irish Heritage made by some of our teachers and students here at Fulton!

We have several pairs of eyeglasses that have not been claimed. If your child is missing a pair of eyeglasses, please have the student come to the office to see if we have their pair. Thank you!

Are you interested in learning about Pandas? Do you love spaghetti, but maybe not meatballs? Or even want to learn more about Mrs. Ciliberti? Well you must check out our new edition of our Falcon Gazette.

Your child can pick up his/her own copy in our Fulton Paper Box.

After a two-year hiatus, International Night is back! International Night is an annual celebration of the diversity and multi-cultural students/families that attend Fulton Elementary. This year we will celebrate outdoors, May 12th starting at 5:30 pm, on the FES playground. The evening includes food tastings, music, informational booths, fashion, and more! But, in order to make this event happen, we need YOU! We are looking for families to volunteer to share their culture, heritage, and traditions with our FES community and/or help with the setup/breakdown of the event. In the next several weeks we will send out a sign-up for you to claim your spot. This is an opportunity to be creative, have fun and meet the wonderful families that make up our fabulous school. Stay tuned!

A small group of Fulton parents and staff have begun to explore the idea of growth mindset learning in our students. As our learning on this topic has expanded, we wanted to take the opportunity to share a few key concepts of growth mindsets over the next few months to the whole school community.

So...What is Growth Mindset Anyway?

Growth mindset focuses on learning, growth, and improvement and less on grades or success. Growth mindset teaches our children about malleability and what can happen as a result of practice, perseverance, resiliency, and grit (all terms we'll explore in another update!) The opposite of this is a fixed mindset, which is a belief system that believes intelligence is something you are born with and although everyone can learn new things, the level at which you can succeed cannot be changed. Doesn't growth mindset sound so much more appealing to encourage our young learners?!

A shift in mindset can be difficult and an immediate shift is not realistic! Over the next few weeks, try to self-monitor how much you praise grades versus the process; or how frequently you celebrate a win or an achievement versus the time, practice and effort your child has put in. By celebrating the process and less on the end goal, you're already showing growth mindset thinking.

Please visit or subscribe to the FES Calendar Webpage to view important upcoming dates:

• March 7th-March 11th: Scholastic Book Fair

• March 8th: Late Night Shopping at Book Fair; In Person (Art Room) PTA Meeting 7:00pm

• March 16th: Schools Close 3 hours early, 12:55

• March 17th: Lucky to be Readers Spirit Day

• March 22nd: 11:00am Virtual Tour for New Families

• March 31st: Character Day - Dress as your favorite book character
  

• April 1st: Schools Close 3 hours early, 12:55; End of 3rd Quarter

• April 5th: 7:00pm PTA Meeting Virtual

• April 8th: Spring Student Picture Day; Report Cards Issued

• April 11th- 18th: Spring Break

Online enrollment requests for summer programs will reopen on March 1 at 6:00 p.m. for the BSAP Summer Institute, Gifted and Talented Summer Institutes for Talent Development, Innovative Pathways High School (Math and Science only), and STARTALK Chinese Language Summer Camp programs. Please find more information regarding these summer programs here: (https://www.hcpss.org/summer-programs/

The River Hill High School Boosters are sponsoring summer camps at River Hill High School. The camps are designed to help young athletes improve their fundamental athletic skills. Over twenty different camps are offered this summer, including football, soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, field hockey, volleyball, basketball, tennis, cheerleading, art, and weight training. Weekly camps begin on June 13th. For more information and to register, visit https://riverhill.membershiptoolkit.com/camp.

A workshop for Asian American parents and their children on youth mental health first aid (i.e., teaching parents, family members, etc. how to help a child (ages 8-20) who is experiencing or may experience a mental health challenge).

The flyer provides all the information you should need if you are interested. Please consider attending this virtual training to become more educated on mental health in our community!

Adult and pediatric Covid Vaccine Clinics held by the HCHD at our local libraries (please click on links to register):

3/8/22 5-7pm Central Branch Library 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 21044 https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/1972911605

3/9/22 4-6pm Savage Library 9525 Durness Lane, Laurel, MD 20723

https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/2012859169

3/15/22 4-6pm Elkridge Library 6540 Washington Blvd, Elkridge, MD 21075

https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/3012759169

3/16/22 4-6pm Miller Library 9421 Frederick Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21042

https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/9216901685

3/22/22 4-6pm Miller Library 9421 Frederick Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21042

https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/8512609179

3/23/22 4-6pm Savage Library 9525 Durness Lane, Laurel, MD 20723

https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/1982910605

3/29/22 4-6pm Glenwood Library 2350 State Route 97, Cooksville, MD 21723

https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/2619581109

3/30/22 4-6pm Central Branch Library 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 21044

https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/1615729059

The Council of Elders of the Black Community in Howard County (TCOE) in collaboration with the Howard County Public School System will host a TCOE Community Academy on Substance Abuse on March 12 from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. The session will provide information regarding substance abuse prevention and behavioral health within the Howard County community. Representatives from HC Drug Free will provide resources and education on prevention, risk factors, warning signs, and treatment. This session will be held virtually. Registration is required at: http://tinyurl.com/2p9dnz8f. Flyers are located here.

Come out to sports camp the week of June 27 and/or July 18 at Reservoir High School. Camp is hosted by Lime Kiln teacher and Reservoir coach Phil Ranker as well as other certified elementary and middle school teachers in the county and state. The camp is open to current K-8th graders and features many different sports and activities every day. If your child likes PE, they will love camp. Campers are split into age and ability groups to ensure that everyone has a fun and productive time. Full day and half day options available. For more information, please visit http://rankerssportscamp.weebly.com or email phillip_ranker@hcpss.org for questions!

SPRING ALLERGY SEASON is upon us. Does your child suffer from spring allergies? The following are some things you can do to help your child during allergy season:

1) Regularly give allergy medication as prescribed by the doctor.

2) When your child comes in from outdoors, the following may help alleviate symptoms:

a) wash hands with soap and water,

b) wash off face, including glasses, with a washcloth, or splash water on face,

c) wipe down from head to toe with a wet cloth, and

d) change clothing, if not going back outside.

3) Try not to allow your child to go into the bedroom with the clothing worn outside; this will prevent pollen from falling on the bed.

As you may know, the following updates were provided by Dr. Martirano on Friday, February 25th. Please see the highlights, effective Tuesday, March 1st:

• Masks in Buildings and Buses: The universal indoor masking in HCPSS buildings as well as on school buses is no longer required. Any student, staff or visitor may choose to wear a mask, and should feel comfortable doing so.

- Masking is a personal family preference. Please take a moment to discuss your families' expectations of wearing a mask or not with your child prior to March 1st. Our staff will not remind individual students to wear or mask or not.

- If a student and/or staff member needs to visit the health room, a mask will be required to enter. Our Health Team has additional masks if needed.

-While we understand that some parents/guardians may wish for their child to work only with masked students, this is not feasible given the make up of our classes and academic programs. As such, current seating charts will remain in place and teachers will revise as needed based on instructional needs.

• Contact Tracing: HCPSS will only be conducting household-level contact tracing. The school system will no longer identify students in close proximity to a student or staff member with COVID-19.
• Quarantine: Persons not up-to-date on vaccinations who are household contacts or identified as part of an outbreak will be expected to quarantine for five days with the earliest return date on day six from their exposure to the infected individual.
• Isolation: Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 will be expected to isolate for five days with the earliest return date on day six from the onset of symptoms or the date of the test if asymptomatic.
  
• Student Meals: Students will continue to be able to eat outdoors, as permitted by weather and staff coverage. Plexiglass dividers will no longer be in place at elementary school.

For further details on each of these highlights, please view this link.

Starting tomorrow, 3/1, we will be celebrating Irish Heritage and Women’s History Month!

• All grade level canvas pages will have these interactive slides uploaded by Tuesday, March 1st

• Please use this link to fill out a google form about Irish Heritage and Women’s History Month! The responses will be shared on our morning announcements!

• Enjoy these extra resources as well!

• Extra Resources

• EPIC Resources

• Students will also get to check out the new bulletin board in the front of the school and the display in the media center!

The annual HCPSS educator recognition program sponsored by the Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee (GTAC) celebrates educators who demonstrate exemplary commitment to the needs of advanced-level learners and/or the Howard county G/T education program. Please take some time to nominate all outstanding educators that you think deserve the recognition. This is a difficult year and every bit of your encouragement goes a long way. The deadline is March 4.

Nominate an Outstanding Educator!

Nominations for 2022's Educator Recognition are due by March 4. Please see the link below for full details: https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2022/01/g-t-advisory-seeks-nominations-for-educator-recognition/

Children must be 5 years old by September 1 in order to enroll in kindergarten. Every child who is 5 years old by September 1 must be enrolled in a kindergarten program this fall or have an approved waiver.

More information about registering a Kindergarten student