Back Pocket
September 2021
Principal's Message
Welcome Back Wolverines! It has been a fantastic start to the school year. Between our Back-to-School and Family Fun Night, our first day of school last Wednesday, and our first full week of school, we’ve had a great start to the new school year. Thank you to everyone for helping make our return to in-person instruction possible. Remember this year, to Be Kind, Be Ready, Be Balanced, and BE YOUR BEST! While we will undoubtedly hit a few bumps in the road, we will work hard to make this school year the best ever.
Calendar
Sept 3 - WKMS Spirit Day: Wear Your WKMS Gear!
Sept 6 - School Closed (Labor Day)Sept 7 - School Closed (Rosh Hashanah)
Sept 10 - WKMS Spirit Day: Wear Your Red, White & Blue!
Sept 11 - Patriot Day (Anniversary of 9/11/01)
Sept 15 - WKMS PTA Meeting (6:30 - 7:30)
Sept 16 - School Closed (Yom Kippur)
Sept 17 - WKMS Spirit Day - Wear Your Favorite Team Gear!
Sept 20 - Fall Assessments
Sept 21 - Fall Assessments
Sept 22 - First Day of Autumn
Sept 23 - 2 Hour Early Dismissal (Mid-Term)
Sept 24 - WKMS Spirit Day - Wear Your Grade Level Colors!
- 6th Grade - Green
- 7th Grade - Yellow
- 8th Grade - Orange
Sept 24 - 3.5 Hour Early Dismissal (Frederick Fair Day)
Sept 28 - WKMS School Picture Day
Sept 29 - Fall Assessments
Oct 4 - Fall Assessments
Oct 12 - 4 Hour Late Opening (Evening Conferences)
Oct 13 - 4 Hour Late Opening (Evening Conferences)
Oct 14 - 3.5 Hour Early Dismissal (Afternoon Conferences)
Oct 15 - School Closed (Professional Development Day)
COVID-19 Updates & Resources
While we have done our best to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at our schools and within our community, COVID-19 cases have popped up at many schools across FCPS, including our own. I would ask for everyone’s kindness, understanding, and patience as we support members of our community impacted by COVID-19 protocols. The health of our students, staff, and families is our first priority. We have learned a lot during the first weeks of school and have streamlined many of our processes and protocols to make them more effective and efficient. Dr. Alban, FCPS Superintendent, recently released updated information for our community through her weekly "Superintendent's Update". Please review it below if you have not already had a chance.
The COVID-19 pandemic crisis continues to challenge us. Along with the gleeful return of students came the news of more than 600 students quarantining. In order to preserve the in-person learning option, we must do all we can to limit spread in our school buildings by following the advice of local, state and national health officials. Families understandably have questions. We wanted to share this video update with you that explains quarantine protocols and procedures. Our Frequently Asked Questions feature on FCPS.org also provides more details on quarantining and a host of other relevant topics. We also have created the following graphics:
- COVID-19 Response in English
- COVID-19 Response in Spanish
- Contact Tracing and Close Contact Information in English
- Contact Tracing and Close Contact Information in Spanish
FCPS is supporting students who are quarantining. Teachers are putting their instructional materials into Schoology, our learning management system, so that students can access the information and assignments for days they are absent. Schoology was used last year and students and staff are familiar with this platform. When a student is placed in quarantine, school leaders work with the families to offer tutoring options. The availability of tutors varies across schools and levels; we continue to explore ways to expand the number of tutors, including contracted services. It is our hope that universal masking and other mitigation strategies we have in place will limit the spread of COVID-19. I am asking any staff and students who are exhibiting symptoms to please stay home. We need everyone working together to help our kids in school.
FCPS is a system that believes in continuous improvement. We always appreciate feedback that can help us improve program implementation. FCPS was the first school system in Maryland to open our doors and welcome back all of our students and staff. Leaders have appreciated the many positive messages they've received from students and families. One thing we know for certain, we must be #TogetherFCPS.
Health Room
If your child takes medication, please know that prescription medication(s) must be in a container labeled by the pharmacist with the student’s name, prescriber’s name, name of medication, dosage, route, directions for administration, conditions for storage, prescription date and expiration date. Maryland law allows prescription medication to be used only until the expiration date indicated on the medication or for one year from the date it was dispensed, whichever comes first. Over-the counter medication(s) must be provided to the school in the original sealed container. The parent/guardian must bring the medication and forms directly to FCHD school health staff. School health staff will administer medications. It is required that the first full day’s (24 hours) dose of any new medication be given at home, except for emergency medications. If unsure, please follow the recommendation of a health care provider about attending school during the first 24 hours.
Odds & Ends
- Students are permitted to carry water bottles at school instead of using the regular water fountains. We have several bottle filling stations around the building. We ask that students only drink water.
- Students will need to use headphones in many of their classes for various activities and assessments. Wireless headphones do not work with school-issued Chromebooks. Wired headphones are best. The school will provide students with headphones if needed.
- Arrival and dismissal are beginning to go more smoothly. Please be mindful that there are students in our parking lots and crossing Windsor Rd. Their safety is our first priority. Most of our buses are arriving to school in the mornings and afternoons in a more timely manner. Thanks for your patience.
- School pictures are scheduled for Sept 28th. If you would like to purchase school pictures, please access this link. The Picture Day ID for WKMS is EVTRK9NB9.
- Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Oct 12th - 14th. These conferences provide an excellent opportunity for teachers and parents to connect and discuss progress. Please put these dates on your calendar. More information about registering for conferences will be forthcoming.
Fall Assessments
As we progress further into the fall, students will begin required state testing during the second half of September. Please see below for pertinent information and reminders about the testing process:
- Maryland State Testing will occur in the morning on the following dates: Monday Sept. 20th & Tuesday Sept 21st, Wednesday Sept 29th, and Monday October 4th.
- It is important for students to be well rested and get a good night sleep in preparation for testing on each of these dates.
- Please if at all possible, make every attempt to get students to school on-time and avoid scheduling appointments during testing.
- All students will need to bring corded headphones for use on the assessments.
As we get closer to these dates, additional information will be provided to students and families. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Hinson at Joseph.Hinson@fcps.org
Technology Update
Join us in welcoming Mesfin Tabour to the WKMS Community. Mr. Tabour will be our new User Support Specialist (in-house technology expert). If your child is having difficulty with their Chromebook or any other piece of school related hardware or software, please contact Mr. Tabour. He is in Room 201 at WKMS or he can be contacted at Mesfin.Tabour@fcps.org
Help Wanted
FCPS Food & Nutrition Services is currently recruiting for non-benefitted Food Service Workers for our school. The position is 3 hours a day with a payrate of $13.70 per hour. If you’re interested, please view JOB 8046, Non-benefitted Food Service Worker for the Urbana region and submit your application through this link. If you have questions, please contact Susan Wedge in Food & Nutrition Services at 301-644-5067 or email susan.wedge@fcps.org
Counselors' Corner
Welcome back! We’re so excited to be back in the building and work with your children! Please meet the members of our department below.
- Mrs. Travis - 6th Grade Counselor
- Mrs. Meyer - 7th Grade Counselor
- Mrs. Koshar - 8th Grade Counselor
- Mrs. McNiff - Behavior Support Specialist
- Mrs. Anderson - Registrar
Be sure to check out our WKMS Counseling website for lots of useful resources. You can also click on your student’s grade level office door to be taken to your counselor’s virtual office. Click on items in the office to explore helpful strategies and information!
If you attended the 6th grade Open House or the multi-grade Back to School Night, you know that social-emotional learning is a key part to student success and our staff is committed to supporting every student, every day. Please check out this link to see how you can help support your child’s mental and physical well-being at home.
Student Information Forms were sent out via email from Powerschool. If you haven’t already, please complete and submit the form as soon as possible so that we can be sure that we have the most up to date information in our system for your student.
Language Arts & Reading
Greetings from the English Language Arts Department! We are so very excited to welcome your students back into the building this year. Students have been working diligently through the first quarter ELA priority standards, and students recently completed the Performance Series Reading Assessment in their Language Arts classes. Students in Mrs. Buckner’s Read180 classes have been reviewing the expectations of independent reading and software rotations, and her students recently completed the Reading Inventory. Teachers will be sharing assessment results with their students once all testing is completed. Mid-term is on Thursday, September 23, and the ELA department is anticipating a fabulous end to the first half of the term! Please reach out to your student's ELA teacher or to the WKMS Literacy Specialist, Ginny Hines, with any questions or concerns.
Mathematics
Hello and welcome to math in the new year! I am Heather Wurster, the math specialist. My job is to ensure that students are being challenged and supported academically in mathematics. I work closely with all our teachers to review student data for math interventions and math classroom opportunities. Mrs. Kinsely, Mrs. McCadney and I will work with all students in Math Workshop to utilize grouping strategies, independent practice, and computer adaptive programs to support personalized learning goals. All students will be using the new digital math platform ALEKS on a regular basis to build their independent mastery of content, everyone will have digital access to support materials online with our textbooks series that came home, Go Math, and all students will be able to use Schoology again this year to support their learning. Please remind your student to charge their Chromebook and bring their earbuds daily. The math teachers are excited to be working with your students this year and look forward to developing their understanding and appreciation of math. If you have any questions about the curriculum, digital access, or how best to help support your student at home please do not hesitate to contact me at Heather.Wurster@fcps.org. I am happy to answer questions via email or set up Google Meets to better facilitate our discussions. We are so very excited to begin seeing your students everyday in person and look forward to a great school year.
Advanced Academics
Hello! My name is Lori Saylor and I am the Advanced Academic/Enrichment Specialist at Windsor Knolls. This is my 24nd year at Windsor Knolls! I hope that your child is having a wonderful start to the school year. It has been great to see them reconnecting with friends and teachers. I hope to introduce myself to all of the students in the next week through their social studies classes.
As the teacher specialist, I work closely with classroom teachers and the other specialists in our building to co-plan and teach lessons for students who are identified as Highly Able (HAL) or have students who have demonstrated the ability to quickly master the topic being taught. It is our goal to promote deep understanding, offer extensions, and enrich the FCPS curriculum. This may take the form of flexibly grouping students within classes to work on more challenging assignments, using higher level questioning techniques, reading higher level texts, and offering extension assignments. Often times, students will receive a more challenging assignment than the rest of their classmates and may not even be aware that they received a more complex, advanced task or text as a replacement.
In addition to supporting the Highly Able (HAL) students and teachers, I also provide school wide enrichment activities for all interested students. These activities take place during the school day during our Extended Learning Time (ELT) and are posted on a board in the cafeteria and announced on the morning announcements. Some of the activities may include Literacy council-Book Clubs, National History Day, Spelling Bee, the Stock Market Game, writing contests, and even student-generated activities such as independent investigations on topics of interest to them. Moreover, I help teachers plan field trips, obtain guest speakers and work with community groups to provide student service learning activities.
I look forward to working with all WKMS students this school year. Thank you for your support and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Lori.saylor@fcps.org
Media Center
It was wonderful to see families at Open House and Back to School night! If you were not able to take a family picture feel free to send one in to be posted on the bulletin board in the LMC... simply place your child's full name and grade on the back of the picture with you and your child.
The library media center is operating with students coming in for orientation lessons in their L.A. classes! In addition, scholars are also coming in at after eating lunch to do homework, art, read, check out books, study and play games. Assistance with research, tutoring and printing are some of the resources also available. Students in 8th grade can be trained to assist with library operations... they should ask Mrs. Holliday about this if interested.
Students are participating in the schoolwide Readers are Leaders challenge. They need to record the time the read on Beanstack which is like a Fitbit for reading. Please continue to promote literacy by encouraging scholars to read at least 20 minutes every day: we have plenty of diverse topics to choose from with over 11,000 books available! Ask students questions about what they are reading and remember that they can access digital audio and e-books on our website using the Sora platform!