YSES Newsletter
March 27, 2020
Important Message from Ms. Gullo
I hope this communication finds all our Yellow Springs students and families healthy and safe. I have been thinking about community over these past two weeks and hoping we are taking care of one another while keeping our social distance. It has been a highlight for me in the past days to make and send the morning announcements to our Yellow Springs community. I feel it is important during this time to try to keep our school together as much as possible and I thought morning announcements would be a way to keep our Yellow Springs Eagles together. I plan on sharing announcements every weekday morning.
Hopefully you have received the communication from FCPS that our school system will be starting distance learning on Monday, March 30th. The YSES staff has been hard at work this week preparing. I am proud of the work of our teachers. I recognize that this is new for our staff, new for our students and new for our families. There will be much learning for all of us as we navigate this approach to learning. There may be bumps in the road. I ask for your patience as we embark on this journey. If you have any questions during distance learning time, please reach out to your teacher or myself. We are here to support and we are in this together for the success of our students.
Our teachers will be using Schoology as the platform for distance learning. Most of our students are familiar with Schoology as they have used it in the media center with Mrs. Hyatt. This will be new for our youngest learners, our kindergarten students. Schoology can be accessed through our YSES media home page at
https://education.fcps.org/yses/mediacenter .
Once on the media home page, click on the Schoology icon in the center of the screen. This document will assist you and your child accessing Schoology How to Log Onto Schoology at Home . If your child has challenges with their username and password, please contact the front office. Teachers of our kindergarten and first grade students will be communicating username and passwords with families directly by Monday morning. All teachers will communicate with you by Monday morning to let you know that assignments are available in Schoology. These assignments should be ready for view by 12 noon. Please know our first assignments will be an opportunity to ‘get our feet wet’. We want the students and families to get comfortable navigating distance learning. If you are looking for more activities to complete with your child, please access
https://sites.google.com/fcps.org/fcpslearning/home .
If your child does not have access to the internet or a device, please contact your child's teacher. We will make arrangements to provide print materials to your child. Whatever difficulties or challenges you may face during this time, please reach out to me, as I am ready and willing to help. My email is susan.gullo@fcps.org. Our school team is ready and willing to help as well. Although we are apart, our Yellow Springs Eagles will still continue to SOAR! Take care everyone.
Best regards, Sue
Fun Activities for Students
Spirit Days: March 30th, April 1st and April 3rd, 2020
Did you know the month of March is recognized as Youth Art Month and Music in our Schools Month? We use this month to acknowledge all of our student artists, musicians, instrumentalists, dancers, and performers. Yellow Springs will be hosting a virtual spirit week to celebrate art and music with something unique for you and your family to participate in together.
- March 30th will be Crazy Pattern Day. Find as many articles of clothing or accessories that show a variety of patterns. Whether it’s stripes, polka dots or checkerboards, we want to see you decked out in patterns from head to toe!
- April 1st will be A Day at the Opera. We invite you to search your closet and dress up in your finest attire, fit for attending an opera performance. Get out your dresses, suits, top hats, gloves and jewelry for this fancy occasion!
- April 3rd will be My Colorful Day. Inspired by the children’s book “My Many Colored Days” by Dr. Seuss, we want to see you wear your favorite color family! Primary colors, secondary colors, warm colors, oh my! Whether it’s cool colors, monochromatic colors, or neutral colors, we want to see your colorful personality!
Email a photo of your family participating in our virtual spirit week to Mrs. Shields-Roberson (kristin.shields@fcps.org). We will be creating a virtual slideshow for families to view and see how together, our Yellow Springs eagles have school spirit and SOAR!
Delaplaine Student Art Exhibit:
The Delaplaine has released a virtual tour of all the artwork still on display from the FCPS Youth Art Month Student Exhibit. If you were unable to visit the Delaplaine, now you can view the virtual tour to see all of the artwork created by FCPS students, including our YSES representatives Rylan Roberts, Max Frankel and Kayla James.
Cup Stacking:
If your child enjoys the cup stacking activities they have done with Mr. Foit in PE, here is a special offer from Speed Stacks. These materials are not necessary for distance learning, but Speed Stacks is offering the cup sets at a reduced price for kids to enjoy this recreational activity while they are away from school. Click the link for more details:https://www.speedstacks.com/store/retail/speed-stacks-sets/?coupon=ATHOME
Young Rembrandts
Young Rembrandts is offering an opportunity for online drawing instruction. Click the link below for additional details:
Student Meals Available
- Ballenger Creek ES
- Crestwood MS
- Frederick HS
- Hillcrest ES
- Lincoln ES
- Monocacy ES
- North Frederick ES
- Waverly ES
In addition, individuals 18 and under are able to pick up 3 meals at once (a cold grab-n-go breakfast, lunch, and boxed supper) 11:30am-12:30pm at our community-based sites. Look for the bright yellow school buses at the following locations:
Brunswick - Rite Aid Parking Lot, Brunswick Heights Shopping Center, 92 Souder Road, Brunswick
Buckeystown United Methodist Church - Parking Lot, 3440 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick
Concord Mobile Homes Park Community, 4828 Pioneer Circle, Jefferson
Heather Ridge - School Parking Lot, 1445 Taney Avenue, Frederick
Jubilee Foods - Parking Lot, 515 E. Main Street, Emmitsburg
Lucas Village Community Center - 111 Pennsylvania Avenue, Frederick
Max Kehne Ball Field - Parking Lot, 1100 West 7th Street, Frederick
New Market Shopping Center - Parking Lot, PNC Bank Location, 11717 Old National Pike, New Market
Overlook Park, 501 Coralberry Court, off Himes Avenue (across from Dutch’s Daughter Restaurant), Frederick
St. John’s Catholic Prep School, 3989 Buckeystown Pike, Buckeystown
7th Street Frederick Shopping Center Parking Lot, 1305 West 7th Street, Frederick
Thurmont Elementary - School Parking Lot, 805 E. Main Street, Thurmont
Walkersville - Discovery Shopping Center Parking Lot (Goodwill Store), 8425 Woodsboro Pike, Walkersville
Weis Market Store Parking Lot, Festival Shopping Center, 448 Prospect Boulevard, Frederick
FCPS is serving FREE meals to all children 18 years & under. Participants do NOT have to live in Frederick County, be FCPS students or be registered to attend the schools serving meals.
Local Food Bank Information
Mount Airy Net: 403 S Main St (Inside Calvary UMC), Mount Airy, Maryland; (301) 829-0472
Brunswick, 601 East Potomac Street, Brunswick, MD 21710; 301-834-9718
Emmitsburg, 502 E. Main Street, Emmittsburg, MD 21727; 717-642-6963
Frederick City, Frederick Community Action Agency, 100 S. Market Street, Frederick, MD 21701; 301-600-1506
Jefferson, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 3866 Jefferson Pike, Jefferson, MD 21755; 301-371-5721
Knoxville, Mt. Zion AME, 202 Jefferson Pike, Knoxville, MD 21758; 301-834-7221
Middletown, Old Municipal Building, 301 W. Main Street, Middletown, MD 21769; 301-371-9429
Thurmont, 10 Frederick Rd, Thurmont, MD 21788; 240-288-1865
Urbana, Please Call for Location; 240-529-4815; Email: allsodifferent@yahoo.com
Walkersville/Glade Valley, 21 W. Frederick Street, Walkersville, MD 21793; 301-845-4229
Health Resources for Families
Frederick County Mental Health Association (211): This agency connects families with community resources around Frederick County. They can be reached by calling 211: https://fcmha.org/how-we-help/24-hour-mha-call-center Note** MHA’s Walk-in Behavioral Health Services has moved to an online telehealth platform. See website for more details.
Talk to someone. Call 1-800-985-5990 or txt TalkWithUs to 66747 to connect with a crisis counselor trained in helping people experiencing distress related to natural or human-made disasters. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline
We Asked Experts How to Cope With Your Coronavirus Anxiety https://advice.shinetext.com/articles/we-asked-experts-how-to-cope-with-your-coronavirus-anxiety/?utm_source=Shine&utm_medium=CareForYourCoronavirusAnxiety "Find a single source of reliable information that is not falsely reassuring but is also not catastrophic."
Care for Your Coronavirus Anxiety https://www.virusanxiety.com/ "You don't have to figure it out on your own; reliable, accessible articles to help you take care of your mental health."
Flexibility in the Midst of Crisis https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-inner-life-students/202003/flexibility-in-the-midst-crisis "Think of flexibility as a medicine against anxiety-a medicine which focuses your mind on possibilities rather than deficiencies (such as losing the freedom of movement).
Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/talking-to-children-about-covid-19-(coronavirus)-a-parent-resource National Association of School Psychologist, a trusted and accurate resource
Coronavirus (COVID-19): How to Talk to Your Child https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/coronavirus-how-talk-child.html (Clear steps for sharing reliable information in a developmentally appropriate way)
25 Simple Mindfulness Activities Kids Will Actually Want to Do https://parentswithconfidence.com/25-mindfulness-practices-for-kids-who-cant-sit-still/ Practice fun social emotional learning activities at home. Try something new!
Child Mind Institute: Informative website that provides resources to help families with anxiety, behavior, challenges with siblings, etc. https://childmind.org/coping-during-covid-19-resources-for-parents/
State of Maryland Resources
Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism Marylanders Serving Marylanders: Resources During Coronavirus https://gosv.maryland.gov/coronavirus-resources/
Notes from the PTA
Next PTA Meeting - scheduled for Monday, May 11 at 6:30pm.
HERO Boys
The Spring session of HERO Boys has been cancelled. Anyone who had already registered will receive a full refund of their registration fees.
Joe Corbi’s fundraiser - We are still working on wrapping up the fundraiser. Stay tuned for further information
Yellow Springs Elementary
Email: kimberly.manley@fcps.org
Website: education.fcps.org/yses
Location: 8717 Yellow Springs Road
Phone: (240)236-1700