Cedar Grove Friday Flash
June 12, 2020
Dear Cedar Grove Families,
We hope that this final newsletter finds you and your family well. This has certainly been a most unusual school year, and there have been many challenges; however, there have also been many wonderful memories. Although we do not yet know what the coming school year will look like, we will continue to connect and communicate with you as we learn important information. Of course, we are hoping that we will be back together in the school building in the fall, but regardless of the outcome, we will continue to serve you, our families, to the best of our ability. We also want to take a moment to bid our 5th grade students farewell and wish them continued success on their next journey to middle school. Parents may visit our school website to view the 5th grade promotion ceremony.
There is a lot of information provided below, so please take time to review the information about our student close-out plan and information about summer school below.
Student Close-Out Plan
Next week, student close-out and return of school property will occur on Tuesday, June 16 and Wednesday, June 17. Families will be assigned times based upon the first letter of the students' last name to enable those with multiple children to come at one time. There will be an open slot for those who can't make it to their assigned time; however, no family will be turned away no matter when they come. Please see the schedule below for your assigned time and note that 5th grade student drop off and pick up will be done separately due to the amount of belongings being handed out.
Process/Traffic Flow:
Families driving up will enter the school driveway and be directed to turn right into the small side parking lot. In the side lot, there will be stations set up to collect any school property being returned (library books, musical instruments, patrol belts/badges, Chromebooks for students leaving MCPS). A staff member will monitor the area to ensure items are labeled and to ensure that adequate storage/collection space is available.
Families will proceed to the bus lane to retrieve student belongings following the same process used to distribute Chromebooks. They will be asked to display a sign with their child(ren)’s name(s), grade level(s), and teacher(s) prominently in their vehicle windows. Distributors will communicate with runners via walkie-talkie so the student belongings can be retrieved from the staging area in the All Purpose Room and placed in the trunk/back to minimize contact.
Cars will exit the school parking lot.
See the map below for details.
Walk-Up:
A table will be set up at the northern end of the bus lane to accommodate our few families whose students walk to school. A distributor will meet the walkers there and communicate with runners to bring the student(s)’ belongings, which will be placed on a table for the family to pick-up to again minimize contact and maintain social distancing.
Parent Communication:
All families will receive messages via multiple venues alerting them to the pick-up and drop-off process and dates. Communication methods will include Connect Ed emails, texts, and calls, teacher emails, weekly parent newsletter, and discussion in live class sessions. Families of students who have belongings to retrieve will receive a second message notifying them of that.
We wish you a happy, healthy, and safe summer!
Mr. Derby and Mrs. German
Student Close-Out Schedule
Summer School
Summer school will be available to all students from July 13-31. Classes offered will include Mathematics Boost, English Language Arts Boost, and a few Enrichment courses that will be determined in the near future. Information will be coming to families next week on how to register their child for summer school. Classes will be taught mostly by our Cedar Grove teachers.
Chromebooks Available During the Summer
MCPS will continue daily technology distribution at 45 W. Gude Drive, Rockville, MD throughout the summer. Parents may pick-up Chromebooks and MiFi devices and exchange any non-functioning devices. Any students not returning to MCPS in the fall can also return devices during distribution hours. Hours are from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m Monday through Friday.
Gifted and Talented Information for 2nd Grade Parents and 3rd and 5th Grade Rescreened Students:
Due to the emergency closure of schools ordered by Governor Larry Hogan, there are some changes to the Gifted and Talented Identification process for the 2019-2020 school year. Please follow the link below to read about changes to this process.
Goodbye from the Art, Music, PE and Media teachers!
None of us can believe that this year is almost over - and part of that is because we have not been able to say "goodbye," "have a great summer," "read stuff," "get outside," "make some great music," to you. You know, all the things that Mrs. Arellano, Mrs. Kim, Mr. Jansson and Mrs. Hirschhorn would say to you on the last day of school? So...we thought it might be great to record our thoughts and goodbyes to you and put them together into a video! Have a great summer, everyone!
Kindergarten Orientation
From Mrs. Spoales, School Counselor
Hello Parents,
These past few weeks, students in counseling lessons in grades 4 and 5 read a story called Let's Talk About Race and students in K-3 read a story called Say Something, encouraging children to speak up and have courageous conversations. It saddened me to create these lessons online because I yearned for the discussion that would arise had I taught these lessons with each class at school. Your children's minds are open and they are soaking in the events facing our nation right now. They have such a powerful voice and are shaping their minds and opinions. Please open communication lines with your children. You will be very surprised by how much they know and can share with you. I've included a fantastic book list link below that will prompt conversations and resources/talking points. Please feel free to reach out if you'd like more resources.
From Mrs. Hirschhorn, Our Media Specialist
It's here! Our fabulous summer reading program, which is integrated with the Montgomery County Public Library Program! We are introducing the summer reading program to our students in the coming week, starting with an introductory video. However, the Google Slide Deck shown in the video is loaded with live links and all kinds of treasures, so we are also making that available to you as a working resource for your child's summer reading! All this information, including incoming 6th grade info, is also available on our Summer Reading page, linked to the Home page. And of course, our Summer Media Monthly will be updated throughout the summer as we receive more information important to your child's reading and tech experiences.
From Mr. Jansson, PE Teacher
Hi Everyone,
It's hard to believe it's the end of the school year! It's been a crazy year, but I want to tell you how proud I am of each and every one of you. You and your families have worked very hard through a challenging time. Online learning was new for all of us. You all did it with much success!!!
Patrols, I know you have a lot questions about what to do with your belt and badges. Look for an email explaining the MCPS process from Mr. Derby. As far as picking patrols for next year, we are going to hold off until we see what the beginning of the school year will look like.
Now for the hard part. Saying good bye. For some of you, I will be lucky enough to see you when school starts back, but for others, you will be moving on to middle school. This group means a lot to me because my son, CJ, was your classmate from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Mr. Bishop and I spent 3 years being a cub scout leader for some of you. I wish you all continued success as you continue your journey through middle and high school.
I hope everyone has a safe and fun summer. Remember to stay active and healthy. Most important - remember KINDNESS MATTERS! Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
Mr. Jansson