Argyle Weekly Newsletter
THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 25
IMPORTANT DATES:
Wellness Wednesday (Special Schedule) - Wednesday, October 27
End of Marking Period 1 - November 4
Professional Day for Teachers (No School for Students) - Thursday, November 4, 2021
Book Fair in the Media Center - Monday, November 8 to Friday, November 12
Parent Conferences (Virtual) - November 22 & November 23
Early Release Day for Students - November 22, November 23, & November 24
Thanksgiving Break - Thursday, November 25, 2021 & Friday, November 26, 2021
The Holiday Giving Project
Hello Argyle Families,
The Holiday Giving Project is beginning this year, and families who need or want support with food assistance are encouraged to apply. The form can be found on our Argyle Website, or you can click for the link here. If you and your family are in need and would like to be referred for possible assistance for the holiday season, please complete this referral form to provide the required information. Resources are limited: please apply only if you and your family are truly in need. While a referral is not a guarantee of assistance, the Project helps as many families in need as donations allow. The Deadline is this Tuesday, October 26th.
CELEBRATING NATIONAL PRINCIPAL'S MONTH
Please access the link to add a message for our Principal, Mr. James Allrich, https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/isLi8oSz
NAACP BRANCH AND PARENTS' COUNCIL INPUT TO MCPS SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH
The Montgomery County Board of Education has initiated its search for a new superintendent of schools. We have retained the services of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA), a consulting firm that specializes in assisting Boards with recruiting superintendent candidates.
A key step in this process is to identify the characteristics we will be seeking in our next superintendent of schools. We are delighted to invite you to participate in virtual public forums will be held on the following dates.
Saturday, October 30, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
(Interpretation available for Spanish, Portuguese, Amharic, and American Sign Language)
Thursday, November 4, 2021, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
(Interpretation available for Spanish, Mandarin, French, and American Sign Language)
Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
(Interpretation available for Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and American Sign Language)
We also encourage you to complete the online survey at—
the Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Search Survey 2021
Please Claim Lost & Found Items by Friday, October 29
Students should claim their items in the main office by Friday, October 29th.
Please see pictures of items in the slides linked below:
Book Fair Volunteers
Argyle is searching for parent volunteers to assist during our book fair from Monday, November 8 to Friday, November 12. If interested, please follow the MCPS Volunteer Process below:
Please click here to see the process on becoming a volunteer
INTERIMS GRADES
Parents,
Please remember that grades are now available through ParentVUE. Please review the video on How to Check your Student's Grades to guide you through the steps.
STUDENT ENRICHMENT
Argyle's Minority Scholars Program
The Argyle Scholars Program is Argyle’s chapter of the Minority Scholars Program!
This is an opportunity for student leaders to name, face, and take steps to make a difference at Argyle and close the Opportunity Gap. It is a student-led program that builds community and connects students at various grade levels. Students choose to be a general member or a part of the planning core, which plans the events of each Tuesday session. In facilitating the workshops, students are given ownership of their school community, build confidence, and become leaders in their own way. Further information on the county-wide impact can be found at: https://www.minorityscholars.org
General meetings occur every Tuesday from 3:30 pm until 4:30 pm in Room 124.
COVID 19 PROCEDURES & UPDATES
COVID - 19 Procedures for Students & Families
As we return to school, we continue to rely on our families and each individual to screen themselves daily for symptoms. To help us avoid quarantine, we are asking that you please continue to screen your children at home and if they have even one symptom of COVID-19, or are awaiting COVID test results, please do not send them to school.
This is particularly important if your child has any of the following single symptoms they will be sent home and not be able to return to school until they have a negative test, alternate diagnosis, or complete a full 10-day quarantine. During that period of time, all other students who have been in close contact will have to be in a temporary quarantine while the other families wait on the outcome of that testing for your child. This could be potentially disruptive to your children and families moving in and out of quarantine and to avoid it takes all of us working together. It is a collective responsibility that we exercise extreme caution and be conservative in our approach.
The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.
Quarantine Instructional Support
FAMILY RESOURCES
Tik Tok Challenges and It's impact at Argyle
There are a couple of trends on Tik Tok called "Devious Lick" and the "Hottest Chip" challenges that are affecting our Argyle community. We wanted to bring awareness to these challenges so you can learn about them and communicate with your kids about the importance of keeping our community safe. Students in middle school are at an age that is easily influenced by social media, and as parents/guardians and educators, we can work together to support our students in making choices that align with the values of our community.
The "Devious Lick" challenge involves destroying or stealing school property. The bathroom soap dispensers in the boy's bathrooms have been pulled out by students attempting to emulate this challenge . These acts of vandalism affect the entire Argyle community, especially since we are still in a pandemic.
The "Hottest Chip" challenge involves eating a chip called "Paqui" which is labeled as the world's hottest chip. People react differently when trying this chip and some people have reacted with health concerns.
When having these conversations with your children, here are some points to focus on
- Be an ally and advocate for the school and their personal safety.
- Share information with adults. if your kid sees or knows something is going on, informing a trusting adult can help us keep everyone safe.
- Take care of school/teacher property. The entire Argyle staff has worked hard to make Argyle a welcoming and safe place for everyone.
- Identify and avoid social media challenges that are dangerous.
We will be discussing this further at our next parent meeting.
Montgomery County Cares Clinics
Shortage of Meal Supplies
Parent,
Please keep in mind that due to a shortage of food supplies in the country, students will receive different meals that are not on the MCPS menu.
FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE MEALS
Students may qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on household size and income. They may also qualify if they are receiving Food Supplement Program (FSP) or Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) benefits. Families may apply for meal benefits by completing an Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals for the current school year.
Apply online NOW at MySchoolApps.com (Translations available)
Click here for English video tutorial. Click here for Spanish video tutorial.
Federal eligibility guidelines change each school year; therefore a new application must be submitted each school year. All students in the family should be listed on one household application. A notice will be mailed home for each student if you are approved for meal benefits or do not qualify for meal benefits. Please keep this important document for your records and use throughout the school year. Families may apply for meal benefits at any time during the school year.
Households that are unable to apply online should contact their school or the Division of Food and Nutrition Services at 301-284-4900.
Please click here to apply online.
Lunch Safety Protocol Update
As a result, of additional support provided through the hiring of an monitor, we are able to provide additional support during lunch in the form of limited seating (40 students) outside. This increased safety protocol along with other measures below will continue to reduce the number of students eating and unmasked at the same time
Four lunches will continue to reduce the number of students in the cafeteria
Additional spaces for lunch provided in the bus loop, media center and as well as 40 seats outside
Staggered release of students to lunch lines
Recess options after eating
low-cost internet access
Please visit Montgomery County - Low-Cost Internet for more information!
Parent Teacher Student Association
PTSA WELCOME LETTER
Please take a moment to review the welcome letter from Argyle's PTSA President below:
Participate in Argyle's PTSA!
We want to make sure you know about all the great things going on at Argyle!
To join, please complete the forms linked below:
Whatsapp Responsibilities
Your responsibilities by joining the Whatsapp group:
- Messaging rights may be limited if we encounter additional issues.
- Although Whatsapp is very user family-friendly, we cannot prevent anyone from joining. We can remove a person, however, we cannot remove messages or content.
- People will be removed (or block) who post inappropriate messages or content and we will not allow that individual(s) from joining.
- If this happens again, please remove the content from your view by selecting the content and select the trash icon.
PTSA What's App Discussion Board
Join PTSA What's App Discussion Boards by clicking below ...
English (ArgylePTSA.en) - What's App Link - New Link*
Spanish (ArgylePTSA.sp) - What's App Link
Vietnamese (ArgylePTSA.vi) - What's App Link
Portuguese (ArgylePTSA.pt) - What's App Link
SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION
WE ARE HERE TO HELP!
Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Below are emails and phone numbers for the following departments:
Administration (240) 740-6370
School Principal - Mr. Allrich: James_K_Allrich@mcpsmd.org
8th Grade Administrator - Ms. Sandall: elizabeth_a_sandall@mcpsmd.org
7th Grade Administrator - Ms. Shorts: lisa_n_shorts@mcpsmd.org
Magnet Coordinator /6th Grade Administrator - Ms. Chao: Cortney_E_Chao@mcpsmd.org
Main Office (240) 740-6370
Attendance Secretary - Ms. Chavarria: Johana_M_Chavarria@mcpsmd.org
Front Office Secretary - Ms. Jones: Ashanti_Jones@mcpsmd.org
School Financial Specialist - Mr. Magruder: Timothy_W_Magruder@mcpsmd.org
Administrative Secretary - Ms. Majano: Jennifer_L_Majano@mcpsmd.org
Counseling Office (240) 740-6380
Counseling Secretary/Registrar - Ms. Pineda: Marlene_C_Pineda@mcpsmd.org
6th Grade Counselor: Ms. Tran | Email: Lisa_L_Tran@mcpsmd.org
7th Grade Counselor: Mr. Rowan | Email: Matthew_J_Lilja@mcpsmd.org
8th Grade Counselor: Ms. Green | Email: Chelsea_R_Green@mcpsmd.org
Resource Counselor/ SSL Coordinator: Mr. Lilja | Email: Matthew_J_Lilja@mcpsmd.org
Argyle Magnet Middle School
Website: www.argylems.org
Location: 2400 Bel Pre Road, Aspen Hill, MD, USA
Phone: (240) 740-6370
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Argyle-Magnet-Middle-School-102726228178724/
Twitter: @ArgyleMagnetMS