Cedar Grove Friday Flash
March 25, 2022
Dear Cedar Grove Families,
We were thrilled to hold our first assembly last Wednesday morning; it's been quite some time since the children have had the opportunity to enjoy a cultural arts program. Kofi Dennis, a Ghanaian native, engaged students with drums, songs, and stories. As you can see from the pictures above, all students participated and thoroughly enjoyed the program. Even the staff joined in! Many thanks to Binnish Mustafa, our PTA president, for organizing this program for the students and staff.
Kindergarten registration opens in Synergy on March 28. If you have a student who will be five years of age by September 1, 2022, please visit the MCPS kindergarten registration webpage for directions on how to enroll your child. We are also including the Kindergarten Handbook link, which contains quite a bit of information about the kindergarten program, vaccine requirements, and more. There will be a Virtual Meet and Greet for incoming Cedar Grove kindergarten families on May 16, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Zoom information will be shared with families soon. All of this information is included on our school website, Kindergarten Registration Materials | Cedar Grove ES - Montgomery County Public Schools. Please share this information with any neighbors or families that may also need to register their child for kindergarten.
MCPS continues to distribute rapid COVID-19 test kits to all students and staff, and the next distribution will be the week of April 4. The county is requesting that families and staff use one of the kits prior to returning to school after spring break to ensure a healthy return to school. For additional resources on testing directions, please click on the following link:
Directions for use of COVID-19 rapid test kit and click here to Learn more at this website.
Parents of students in grades 3, 4, and 5, please note that your child will soon begin taking the mandatory Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) tests in math and English Language Arts (ELA). The math assessments will take place the mornings of April 4 and 5, and the ELA assessments will take place the mornings of April 25 and 26 and May 9 and 10. We would appreciate your help in making sure your child is well rested, has a healthy breakfast, and arrives to school on time. Also, it would be very helpful if appointments can be scheduled later in the day or on other non-testing dates.
As you may be aware, our lunch choices have been limited this year due to the supply we receive, and some of the children have not been interested in eating what is on the menu. We are also very limited in providing and preparing alternative lunches. As a result, some students are not eating the lunch we are providing and throw it away. We ask that you speak with your child about what is offered on the menu, and if your child does not want or like the meal that is scheduled, we encourage you to pack a lunch for your child. The school lunch menu can be found on our school website under Quick Links. Thank you.
Cedar Grove and Wilson Wims ES will be partnering once again to host summer school this summer. The MCPS vision for Summer Programs 2022 is to continue to engage students in summer academics, specials/electives, and social-emotional support, while also narrowing focus to students who are in the greatest need of mitigating learning disruption. Summer school will take place during the month of July at Wims. More specific information will be available in the Flash as it becomes available.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mr. Derby and Mrs. German
From the PTA:
Order your 2021-2022 Yearbook before May 1! Click here to order online or to print the order form!
Our last Spirit Night at Villa Maya earned $575.00 in donations for the school. Thank you to all our families who supported this event. Our next Spirit Night is McTeacher Night on April 6 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at McDonalds (Henderson Corner). Come and see which Cedar Grove staff will be serving dinner! That's right, why do you think it's called McTeacher night?!
IT'S BACK! The CGES PTA is hosting a Scholastic Book Fair!
BOOKS bring us Laughter! BOOKS bring us Joy! BOOKS bring us Memories!
SAVE THE DATE: May 9th - May 13th, 2022!
More details coming soon!
SmARTSummer Program
This MCPS smART summer program registration opens on March 28 to students who will be entering grades 1-5 next school year. The summer program is July 18-29 at Gaithersburg High School. The program is limited to 25 students per grade level, and students may choose to pack a lunch or participate in the Summer Meals program. Transportation is not provided. For more information or to register, please visit:
https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/smartsummer/smartsummer-home
Reminder - Please Complete the MCPS Antiracist System Audit Survey
We need your help to better understand how our schools and the school district are doing as part of our ongoing work to address racial and systemic barriers in Montgomery County Public Schools.
We encourage you to fill out this survey before March 31. You can use your mobile device or computer. The survey is part of a larger process called the MCPS Antiracist System Audit. You can learn more about the audit here.
The survey, which is anonymous and available in seven languages, will ask you about your family’s experiences with your child’s school and MCPS. The goal of the survey is for us to better understand how racism affects teaching, learning and parent engagement.
Students in grades 4 through 12 will also take an age-appropriate, anonymous version of the survey in class between March 1 and March 31. Each school will schedule its own date.
Key information about the surveys and audit:
Parents, students and staff from these organizations were actively involved in providing input and feedback on the survey questions. Sample questions and more information about the surveys can be found here.
A report will be sent to MCPS by the end of June. The report will provide results for MCPS as a whole and by each school.
MCPS will communicate the report’s findings to the community.
This website will provide updates.
Find more answers to your questions here.
March Book Madness Update
This is it! We're now in the championship game for March Book Madness bracket! Starting Friday evening, we will be ready to eliminate one more book to find our winner! The ballot for this last round can be ​found on this slide show or you may access it from the News page on the homepage and also from the March Media Monthly. It's been an extraordinary reading experience and we're hoping to get as many votes as possible, so we finish with a flash!
Submit Your Child's Jokes for the Morning News Show!
We now have a joke column on the morning news show and we need your jokes! Thanks to those student who have already done so. Please fill out this form and submit your jokes! We enjoy making each other laugh first thing in the morning!
April is Autism Acceptance Month. Let's show our support by participating in an Autism Acceptance Spirit Week starting Monday, April 4th!
Poems by You - April Poetry Project!
Mrs. Hirschhorn wants to hear your poems for National Poetry Month! Every day in April we’ll put one of your poems on the morning news and also add it to our PoetTree bulletin board.
Here’s all you need to do. Write an original poem and send it to Mrs. Hirschhorn. Let Mrs. Hirschhorn know whether you want to read it on the air, or just have it posted on the bulletin board. If you want to read it on the air, you will be notified when to appear in the Morning News studio.
Earth Day Project
We now have over 40 participants who have committed to contribute to our Earth Day project. You should have received a confirmation email from Mrs. Hirschhorn with the specific directions. Please email Mrs. Hirschhorn if you did not receive the email. All videos and photographs are due to Mrs. Hirschhorn by April 8. If you'd like to see the wonderful project we completed last year, watch our 2021 Earth Day Celebration! We cannot wait to see all the promises Cedar Grove is making!
Bear Day Information!
May seems like a long way away, and yet...we know it will be upon us in no time! We are going to have our traditional Bear Day celebration on May 20. Save that date! But we cannot do this without parent volunteers. Please take a moment to read this letter, which explains everything in more detail!
Tech Tips and Reminders
From Mrs. Hirschhorn, Media Specialist
Whoever said March comes in like a lion was right. We have so much happening in the Media Center and in the school this month! And the March Media Monthly covers it all! As always, you'll see information about media lessons, but also links to our March Book Madness ballots throughout the month and grade 5 book club updates. Please bookmark the media monthly as it will be updated every Friday!
Art, Music, and PE Newsletter
Here is the link to the March Specialists' Newsletter, which gives you a glimpse into what your students are doing in Art, General Music, Instrumental Music, and Physical Education classes.