Cedar Grove Friday Flash
December 6, 2019
Dear Cedar Grove Families,
It's been yet another busy and exciting week here at Cedar Grove. We came back to school last Monday after the long weekend to discover that our main entrance and front hallways were transformed into a winter wonderland with beautiful lights and decorations. The children were thrilled to see all the decorations, and the look on their faces was heart-warming. We thank Mimi Cao and Phan Ma for transforming their vision into a reality, and we also thank all the parent and student volunteers who created and decorated.
In addition to the festive decorations, the Holiday Shop opened for business last Monday. Students and families enjoyed a week of purchasing gifts for the upcoming holidays. Many thanks to Janet Remsnyder, Stacey Lederer, and Jodi Wilbanks (PTA chairpersons), as well as the many volunteers, who made the Holiday Shop possible. We also held our Literacy Fair on Tuesday night. It was a wonderful turn-out, and it was an amazing night of fun reading activities. We are so appreciative of the committed staff members who planned, prepared, and presented for this event - thank you!
The Board of Education adopted the school year calendar for the 2020-2021 school year during its December 3, 2019 meeting. The school year will begin on Monday, August 31, 2020, and the last day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Please see the link below if you wish to see the new calendar.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/calendar/proposed-calendar-2020-21.aspx
Last but not least, our health room is in need of athletic/sweat pants that stretch or have elastic, for younger children in kindergarten through second grade. Please consider donating usable pants to our health room. Thank you.
Mr. Derby and Mrs. German
MCPS New Curriculum Night
The elementary new curriculum night that was originally scheduled for November 18 is rescheduled for next Tuesday, December 10, 2019 in the auditorium at Wheaton High School starting at 7:00 p.m. Parents/guardians and community members are encouraged to come and learn more from MCPS staff about the implementation of a three year roll-out of new curricular and instructional materials and supports for elementary and middle English Language Arts (ELA) and Math.
Math Olympiad
This year, the compacted math classes will be participating in Math Olympiad. This is a problem solving contest that is held five times throughout the school year. Our students joined 180,000 other students from 6 continents around the world. In November, our students took the first contest. The following list of students took the early lead with the problem set being 5 points total. Congratulations to the following students!
Grade 4-5 Math
Sara Ghaznavi: 4 points
Srekar Boggarapu: 3 points
Sophia Hou: 3 points
Sahithya Kalisetti: 3 points
Satvik Kunamanenni: 3 points
Swarnika Maharjan: 3 points
Shriya Sharma: 3 points
Grade 5-6 Math
Sean Donlon: 5 points
Sedric Su: 5 points
Ilan Shterenberg: 5 points
Nikhil Sayal: 5 points
Aarya Bhatt: 4 points
Calvin Coffman: 4 points
Shakthi Girish: 4 points
Sid Karnati: 4 points
Prisha Lamichhane
Jennifer Liang: 4 points
Joseph Pak: 4 points
Nimay Sharma: 4 points
Sharon Zhao: 4 points
From the Choral and Instrumental Music Corners! 🎶
We are very excited for our first performance of the year! The Winter Concert will be held on Tuesday, December 10, and include our 4th and 5th grade Chorus, Advanced Orchestra and Advanced Band. Students will perform an in-school assembly that day, followed by the evening concert at Clarksburg High School at 7:00 p.m. Students are to wear concert attire to all concerts - white dress shirt and black pants/skirt, with dark shoes. Do not hesitate to contact me should you need any assistance finding appropriate concert attire.
We can't wait to see you at our Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 10!
Take Note: Cedar Grove ES Chorus performing at the Cluster Chorus Concert @ Hallie Wells MS: Wednesday, January 8, 2020 @ 7:00 p.m.
-Mrs. Arellano: Cheryl_M_Smoker-Arellano@mcpsmd.org
Breakfast with Santa
Clarksburg High School’s Annual Breakfast with Santa will be held on Saturday, December 14th from 9:00 until 11:00 a.m. in the café. There will be pancakes served, games, crafts, music, face painting, a Holiday Gift Shop and more! The cost is $5.00 for students and seniors, $8.00 for adults, and kids under three eat free. Cash will only be accepted.
Damascus High School Presents A Charlie Brown Christmas
It’s that time of the year again! The Damascus High School (DHS) Drama Club is presenting A Charlie Brown Christmas on Wednesday, December 18th. There will be two separate shows at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The program time is 30 minutes, and general admission is $5.00. If you have any questions, please contact Steve Kachadorian at steven_r_kachadorian@mcpsmd.org
Save the Date for Around the World Night!
Around the World Night will take place on Friday, January 31, 2020. Please click on the link to Register for a table and/or for the fashion show . This form is due to your child's teacher by January 10, 2020. Thank you.
Virtual Conversation on New Curriculum Available Online
If you missed the Thursday, November 14 virtual conversation and presentation on the new curriculum, the entire presentation is available on the Curriculum Implementation webpage at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/curriculum-implementation.aspx. The presentation discussed curriculum implementation, key highlights, and available resources and supports for parents/guardians. It focused on both the new elementary and new secondary curricula.
The webpage includes other information, such as a list of Cohort One schools and video overviews of the StudySync, LearnZillion, Eureka Math, and Benchmark Advance curricula.
Winter Weather: Stay Informed
Winter weather is coming soon. MCPS offers numerous ways for parents to learn about school closures, delayed openings, and early dismissals due to inclement weather.
- AlertMCPS: Subscribe to AlertMCPS
- Receive text messages or emails from MCPS during weather-related emergencies and other major events that impact school system operations. Parents can also sign up to receive alerts specific to their child’s school.
- MCPS homepage: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org
- MCPS cable channels: Comcast 34, Verizon 36 or RCN 89
- Recorded information: 301-279-3673
- Ask MCPS: 240-740-3000
- Staff takes calls from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, in English and Spanish.
- Twitter: twitter.com/mcps
- Local radio and TV stations
- Please make sure emergency contact information on file at your child’s school is up to date.
Visit www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/emergency/sources.aspx for more information on how to receive MCPS emergency information.
Maryland Report Card
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has released the 2019 accountability report card for every school in the state of Maryland. The 2019 Maryland Report Card for Cedar Grove can be found at this link: [https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/ReportCards/ReportCardSchool/1/E/1/15/0703/
The report card for Montgomery County Public Schools can be found here.
The Maryland Report Card is designed to evaluate school success in several ways, measuring state test results in English Language Arts and math; postsecondary readiness; progress of English learners in achieving English language proficiency; graduation rate; and students with access to and earning credit for a well-rounded curriculum.
It is important to note that additional performance indicators have been added to the 2019 Maryland Report Card. For elementary and middle schools, the Academic Progress indicator now includes student performance on the state science tests for Grades 5 and 8. The School Quality and Student Success indicator now includes the results of the Maryland School Survey, a survey of students and educators. In addition, on each Report Card, there is now an indication as to whether a school improved its performance on each indicator, compared to the previous school year.
Below are a few resources to help you understand the Maryland Report Card:
· MCPS Video – Understanding the Maryland Report Card
As Superintendent of Schools Jack Smith shared last year, while the Maryland Report Card does provide important information about our schools, it provides a limited view of the progress of our more than 165,000 students.
To better understand how our schools are serving all of our students, MCPS has developed an Equity Accountability Model that provides a more detailed and focused report of school success. The Equity Accountability Model uses multiple and frequent measures of students’ progress to determine if a school is meeting the needs of ALL students, with a special emphasis on reducing and eliminating disparities in student achievement.
We are in the process of analyzing our Maryland Report Card so we can celebrate our successes and make plans to improve any areas not yet at the desired level. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
From Mrs. Hirschhorn, Our Media Specialist
Please click on the link below for this month's Media Monthly. You may also access the Media Monthly on our school website. This will provide you with some great information and available resources.
From Mr. Jansson, Our PE Teacher
Please click on the link below to view Mr. Jansson's monthly PE newsletter!