The TIGER Times
Together We Will Learn, Excel, and Succeed
October 9th Edition
Dear Lewistown Families,
It's hard to believe that we are already into the month of October! It is so refreshing to feel that short burst of cool air outside! Though the weather might be turning a little colder, I truly hope that virtual learning is heating up for our students! Students are settling into routines and teachers are meeting in virtual small groups and providing 1:1 sessions. It is obvious that many of our students are feeling more confident each day! Although this year looks a little different for all of our Tigers, I am so impressed with their resiliency each day.
Friday, October 9th marks our mid-term for first quarter. Teachers have been encouraging students to complete asynchronous assignments and catch up on any missing work. If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to reach out to your child’s teachers if you notice any struggles at home with assignments or concepts. Many of our teachers already offer “office hours” and additional student support times. We still continue to offer evening Learning Lab hours as well. First quarter grading period ends on Friday, November 6th.
Look for an announcement on your child's Schoology pages on those leveling up in LEXIA and meeting their goals! Time to celebrate!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Together in heart and mind,
Belinda Fockler, Principal
Mrs. Byard is starting Book Exchange during Distance Learning!!!
Every other week, families will have an opportunity to pick up books from LES. Next week, the week of Oct. 12, students will learn how to put books on hold, and request materials from the Library. The following week, the week of Oct. 19, Mrs. Byard will get materials ready for pick up on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The media schedule will change to allow this to happen. The library media schedule will rotate between a Week A schedule and a Week B schedule, starting with Week A next week. During Week A, Mrs. Byard will teach her synchronous lessons, just as she has been doing. During Week B, students will access asynchronous activities in their library media center folder in Schoology. They will work on their asynchronous activities independently, during their regularly scheduled Media block.
More information and schedules will be shared soon. Keep your eyes out for FOF messages with more details on how your child/children can participate in book exchange during virtual learning.
Important Dates
Wednesday, October 21, Thursday, October 22 and Friday, October 23:
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Tuesday, November 3rd- Schools closed for students: Election Day
Lewistown Elementary School Conferences: Wednesday, Oct. 21, Thursday, Oct. 22, Friday, Oct. 23
Conferences - Signup Genius!
Evening conferences will be held on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 ● Virtual learning begins 4 hours later than usual Evening conferences will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2020 ● Virtual learning begins 4 hours later than usual Afternoon conferences will be held on Friday, October 23, 2020 ● The end of the virtual day will be 3-½ hours earlier than usual
Lewistown Elementary School Virtual Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences and Google Meet
Thank you for partnering with us to support your child’s education. To participate in Parent-Teacher conferences this year, parents have the opportunity to connect over Google Meet. Your child’s teacher will send you the Google Meet link to join at the assigned conference time.
To access the Google Meet, you must be signed in to a Google account. If you do not have a Google account, you may use your child’s FCPS account to sign in to Google. If you will be unable to access the link using one of these methods, the teacher will contact you at the phone number you provided during the sign-up process. Your child’s school staff will ask for the best phone number for a conference in the event that technical difficulties occur.
Please do not connect to your conference early as there may be another conference in progress.
To access the parent/teacher conference via Google Meet:
STEP 1: Go to the Meet link provided by the teacher. If asked:
Sign in with your Google account or the account of your FCPS student.
Enable your microphone and camera by clicking “Allow”
STEP 2: Click “Ask to join”
STEP 3: Wait on the “Asking to join…” screen for the teacher to admit you into the meeting.
STEP 4: If you get a message that your request to join was denied, the teacher may be meeting with another parent. Wait a few minutes and repeat from STEP 1.
If you are having trouble connecting at the time of your conference, please contact your child’s teacher via their fcps.org email address.
If you have made arrangements with the teacher to hold your conference via phone, the teacher will call at the designated time.
FCPS Martin Luther King, JR. Celebration Artwork Needed!
Dear Families,
This year, the 31st annual FCPS Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration will be going virtual! As a part of the event, the Elementary Visual and Performing Arts Office would like to feature one artwork from each elementary school that demonstrates this year’s theme: “‘Only in the Darkness Can You See the Stars’: Courage to Be The Light.” Your student's art teacher has been asked to provide information regarding this optional opportunity for student artists to submit work.
Your child may create an artwork with any selected 2D or 3D medium as long as the work exemplifies the theme “‘Only in the Darkness Can You See the Stars’: Courage to Be The Light.” Artwork must be photographed and submitted to the student’s visual art teacher by Friday, November 13, 2020. Your school's visual art teacher(s) will select the final artwork for submission to the Visual and Performing Arts Office.
From Ms. Hyde, LES Art Teacher:
You can submit your artwork here: Submit Here
Lewistown Serves School Breakfast and Lunch
The FCPS School Breakfast and Lunch
Meals will be provided to students from 11am-1pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays using the following schedule:
Mondays – “To-go” breakfasts and lunches will be provided for Monday and Tuesday
Wednesdays – “To-go” breakfasts and lunches will be provided for Wednesday and Thursday
Fridays – “To-go” breakfasts and lunches will be provided for Friday, Saturday and Sunday
LES Evening and Weekend Learning Lab Hours
October 12 - October 17
Evening: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 5:00 - 6:00, 7:00 - 8:00
Weekend: Saturday 10:00 - 12:00, 1:00 - 3:00
Very few students are using the evening and Saturday morning tutoring offered by LES. We will be monitoring this for the second half of the quarter to determine if we will continue to offer this option after October 31st. If you would like to begin using this service, contact your child's teacher for details.
To access support please...
- log into a device using your child's FCPS account username and password
- open your web browser
- go to https://meet.google.com/
- click the green "join or start a meet" button
Join: Meet.google.com
Code: LEWES-Lab
Monday- Friday School - Learning Lab Hours
Lewistown Learning Lab Hours
If you or your child need to connect with a member of our Learning Lab team this week for assistance with Schoology, assignments or learning tasks, the Lab will be open between the hours of:
Monday- Friday: 8:15 - 8:45 and 2:00 - 3:45 daily.
Wednesday: 8:15 - 11:00, 2:30 - 3:45
To access support please...
- log into a device using your child's FCPS account username and password
- open your web browser
- go to https://meet.google.com/
- click the green "join or start a meet" button
Join: Meet.google.com
Code: LEWES-Lab
Mr. Kraeuter, our User Support Specialist, is also available for assist at Jeremy.Kraeuter@fcps.org.
LES VISION STATEMENT
Lewistown Elementary School
Ms. Meghan MacKay- Special Education Coordinator
Mrs. Kimberly Little- Secretary
Mrs. Stacy Bokinsky- School Counselor
Email: belinda.fockler@fcps.org
Website: https://education.fcps.org/les/home
Location: 11119 Hessong Bridge Road Thurmont, MD 21788
Phone: 240-236-3750
Twitter: @TeamLES