FES Weekly Update
Week of September 14th
This first week of school was a first for all of us, and we made it through together! Our Fulton staff worked so hard these past few weeks to learn how to truly engage and connect with students for meaningful virtual learning experiences. Our parents and students worked hard this past week and were patient with the little bumps along the way as we got started. We are grateful for all of you!
Please continue to let us know what is working well and not so well. We value your feedback and use it to help adjust our communication, provide supports, and make adjustments.
We appreciate your partnership in helping this to be a great school year!
Warmly,
Dr. Burks
We are so excited to see the Yung family rockin' their Fulton gear and our friendship bracelets. What a great way to kick off the new year with some Fulton pride!
How Does My Child Access a School Counselor?
Please visit the School Counseling Canvas Page to access activities, strategies, and more from Mrs. Shields or Mrs. Wilson-Carr! If your child needs to meet with their School Counselor individually or would like to have a Lunch Bunch, please complete the linked forms.
Parent/Guardian Resources to Navigate Virtual Learning
- a master schedule
- a student friendly schedule with icons,
- your child's related arts classes, be sure to look for your child's homeroom teacher for the correct schedule, and
- a checklist that you can use to help your child better remember his/her expectations for asynchronous learning on Wednesdays.
You may copy and modify these resources for your use. For example, you may want to add your child's teacher-specific Google Meet codes.
Parent Empowerment Conference
The HCPSS Department of Special Education invites you to attend the Empowering Parents as Partners Conference from September 29-October 1st with two sessions each night; 6:30-7:30 and 7:45-8:45. This year’s conference will be held virtually with session PowerPoints posted online for later viewing. This conference will benefit both seasoned parents and those new to special education to help them advocate for their children, and be active and informed members of the IEP team. Staff from the Department of Special Education along with community partners will lead sessions including information on supporting your child and participating in the IEP process during virtual learning. Parents will leave sessions with tools to support success and reduce stress during virtual learning.
Register at http://hcpssne.ws/empower.
Registrants will be emailed all the session descriptions and links to choose from. The first 250 people will be admitted to each session. The deadline to register is Monday, September 28 at 5:00pm. For questions, please email FSRC@hcpss.org. This event is part of the ongoing Parent Empowerment Series sponsored by the HCPSS Department of Special Education.
Refunds from 2019-2020 School Year
Recovery of Learning Packets are Due
As a reminder, the submission of these packets are due tomorrow, September 15th. Please review the followings steps to submit your child's packet:
1. Confirm submission of the packet(s) by completing this google form on or before
September 15: https://bit.ly/HCPSSROLreturn
- If you are unable to complete the google form online, please call to confirm your packet submission and leave a message at the following number: 410-313-1526
- If you prefer to have support for the google form submission in your language, you can call our HCPSS Call Center phone numbers:
- Spanish - 410-313-1591
- Korean - 410-313-1592
- Chinese - 410-313-5920
2. Submit completed packet(s) by mail, drop off, or scan and email on or before
September 15.
- To mail completed packet(s), send to:
ROL Return: Board of Education
10910 Clarksville Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042
- To drop off completed packet(s) for submission, place packet in the “ROL
return” box at the Board of Education (10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD
21042)
- To scan and email completed packet(s), send to: rolreturn@hcpss.org
Are you in need of school supplies?
A big shout-out goes to the Kindness Pantry of thinking of our students. You can learn more about the Kindness Pantry by visiting their website: www.thekindnesspantry.com
HCPSS 2020 Seasonal Flu Vaccine Clinics
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, obtaining a vaccine for seasonal influenza (flu) is even more important this year than ever. HCPSS Health Services is continuing its partnership with the Howard County Health Department (HCHD) and the Maryland Partnership for Prevention (MPP) to offer several regional seasonal flu vaccine clinics for HCPSS students and staff during the month of October.
The clinic dates are October 7-14. The clinics will be held at 24 school sites, outdoors via a drive-up format, from 4:00-6:00 pm, and ANY HCPSS student or staff may attend any clinic they wish; pre-registration with appointments will be required. Students and staff may stay in their car when they are vaccinated, or they can sit outside at a table if they walk up. All parties will be required to use appropriate PPE and all social distancing measures will be employed.
The dates and sites are as follows:
Wednesday, October 7 – AHS, CHS, DLES, SFES
Thursday, October 8 – GHS, WLHS, JHES, ARL
Friday, October 9 – MRHS, HOHS, LWES, HMS
Monday, October 12 – RHS, MHHS, BWES, CRES
Tuesday, October 13 – OMHS, HCMS, LES, DRES
Wednesday, October 14 – RHHS, LRHS, GCES, LFES
Information on pre-registration coming soon.
Dates to Remember
- September 15th: PTA Meeting 6:30pm
- September 22nd K-4th grade Back to School Night 6:00 (Stay tuned for more information.)
- September 24th GT Information Session 5:30pm, 5th Grade Back to School Night 6:00 (Stay tuned for more information.)
- September 28th: No School
Worth Repeating
Related Arts Follow-up
Each week your child should have a combination of 5 total related arts experiences (PE, Music, Technology, Media, and Art), either live (with the teacher on a Google Meet) or asynchronous (on their own). If your child participates in two live related arts subjects, they will complete three asynchronous assignments on Wednesdays. When your child participates in three live related arts subjects during the week, your student will only complete two asynchronous assignments on Wednesday. This only occurs when your child has two 30-minute related arts classes in one day.
You can find the synchronous Related Arts class schedule on the Canvas Calendar along with the link to access the Google Meet live synchronous session. Additionally, each Monday, your child’s homeroom teacher will be sending out a Weekly Announcement. This weekly announcement will include a schedule of which related arts classes your child will be attending synchronously and which classes they will be required to complete asynchronously for the week.
During the first synchronous session for each related arts class (i.e. PE, Music, Art, Media, Technology) your child’s related arts teacher will communicate with the students how to best navigate the course and identify where students will obtain weekly assignments and lessons. Students will not be responsible or required to complete asynchronous assignments for any related arts until they have their first synchronous class with their Related Arts teacher. Once your student has met with a related arts teacher, they will be required to complete assignments as outlined in the asynchronous lessons for that class.
The best way to access your child’s Related Arts assignments is through each Related Arts teacher’s homepage located on your child’s Canvas dashboard. Once you are on the dashboard and select a teacher, you should click on the link that says, “Lessons & Tasks”. Once in “Lessons & Tasks” students will see dated lessons and assignments. Students are to complete activities assigned for the asynchronous week.
Asynchronous lessons should take your student approximately 30 minutes to complete. Please inbox your Related Arts teacher if you are unable to find it- they will be happy to help.
In the future, homeroom teachers will be adding asynchronous lessons/assignments in Health and Math. Your child’s math teacher and homeroom teacher will inform you and your child when these lessons will be required. Your child should also work for 15-20 minutes on LexiaCore & 15-20 minutes on Dreambox as indicated by your child’s teacher.
Emergency Card Procedures on Family File
We have 528 completed Family Files out of 846 families! All families must update their family file every year, even if information has not changed. It is critical for you to fill out this information in order for us to have the most current information.
Please visit HCPSS Connect to update your Family File for the 2020-21 school year today! Once logged in, parents/guardians will be asked to verify, or update the following information: Student Information, Parent/Guardian Contact, Emergency Contact, Medical Information, Arrival/Dismissal Procedures (for when in-person classes resume), Photo Approval, Data Confidentiality, PTA/PTSA Directory.
Technology Support
If your child is experiencing any technical issues, please complete our Student Tech Support Request Form and a member of our Tech Support Team will be in touch with you within 24 hours. If you need more immediate attention, please contact our Front Office between the hours of 8:00am-4:00pm Monday-Friday at 410-880-5957.
School Meals & FARMS Application
Meals will consist of Grab-and-Go breakfasts and lunches served Monday through Friday from 8–9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. We will use the cafeteria doors in the front bus loop at Fulton Elementary.
Parents of students who qualify for Free and Reduced-Price Meals (FARMs) must submit a new application every school year. View program details and learn how to apply.
Immunizations--Even Though We are Virtual
Student Absences
Please email all student attendance notes fesabsence@hcpss.org to ensure that your student's lawful absence is marked as excused and they will have the opportunity to make up work. In your email, please include your child's name and grade. Please remember that you have up to 5 days after your child's return to school to submit an absence note. When emailing a note, you will receive an automated message to verify that your email was received. Please do not send attendance notes to your child's teachers. If you have any questions about your child's attendance, please email fesabsence@hcpss.org.
Student attendance for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday will occur as follows:
Both the homeroom teacher and mathematics teacher will take attendance, noting whether students were present online for synchronous instruction.
A student must attend BOTH the ELA synchronous session and the Math synchronous session to be counted present for a full day.
If a student attends EITHER the ELA synchronous session or the Math synchronous session he/she will be marked present for a half day.
If a student DOES NOT attend the ELA synchronous session or the Math synchronous session he/she will be marked absent for the day.
Student attendance for Wednesday instruction will occur as follows:
A student will be counted as present for Wednesday if they do one or more of the following since the previous Wednesday:
Submit an assignment to one of their teachers
Engage in synchronous instruction with an HCPSS teacher
Complete work in the Canvas learning management system, DreamBox or Lexia Core5
Fulton Elementary School
Website: fes.hcpss.org
Location: 11600 Scaggsville Road, Fulton, MD, USA
Phone: 410-880-5957
Twitter: @hcpss_fes