Dear Flower Valley Community,
Thank you to our families who participated in our first community conversation around creating a sense of belonging for all of our staff, students, and families at Flower Valley. The rich conversation will help us guide this critical work at Flower Valley! We look forward to having more community conversations in the future.
We have our big, annual Career Day coming up this Friday! We have a fun-filled, educational day planned for our students. Thank you to our families who have volunteered to come in to share their profession with our students. Please don't be worried if you see our local police out front on Friday. They are always willing to volunteer their time to share what they do with our students. A special thank you to Mrs. Atanda for leading the charge to make Career Day absolutely AMAZING and for Ms. Bamberger for supporting the effort. We could not make this happen without them! If you are new to Flower Valley, this is a big day for our students! :)
Below, you will see a picture of our Black-Eyed Susan Book Review Committee. Thank you, Ms. Callen and Ms. LoBosco, for providing this fabulous opportunity for our students and thank you to our students for providing your voice in this endeavor.
I hope you all have a restful weekend!
With Firefly Pride!
Dr. Fish
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April 25th Community Conversation Resource
Call for Volunteers for Field Day
Basketball Clinic
MCPS Information about the New Literacy Curriculum
MCPS Request for Input about Homework
Kindergarten Enrollment Update
Parental Input Regarding Next Year
PTA Corner
RHS Cluster News
Save the Date
Information from Previous Newsletters can be found in the FVES Parent Handbook linked here. The document can be translated by clicking "File", scrolling down to "Language", and then selecting your preferred language.
Thank you to everyone who attended our first community conversation around creating a sense of belonging for all of our staff, students, and families. Linked here are the slides from the evening. We look forward to hosting more of these opportunities in the future.
Our annual FVES Field Days are right around the corner, and Mr. Taubman is busy preparing. If you are interested in volunteering for Field Day, please complete the sign-up linked here.
- Grades K-2 Field Day will be on Friday, May 17th from 9am - 12pm
- Grades 3-5 Field Day will be on Wednesday, May 22nd from 9am - 12pm
Dear MCPS Community Members,
MCPS is excited to adopt Amplify CKLA PreK-5 and Amplify Boost Reading K-5 across
English Language Arts classrooms for the 2024-2025 School Year. There is a lot more
information to come in the coming weeks, yet we wanted to make sure you were able to begin
understanding how to best support your students.
Built on the Science of Reading, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts® (CKLA) sequences deep
content knowledge with research-based foundational skills. For teachers, Boost Reading, a supplemental program, is research-based, standards-aligned programs that support them in building their students’ reading skills across key domains—underlying language skills, decoding, fluency, comprehension, and close reading—along an adaptive pathway that includes increasingly complex skills, content, and text. For students, Boost Reading helps them become more confident readers.
A few key places to review to support your exploration include:
● The CKLA Program Guide details CKLA’s comprehensive approach to reading instruction
and outlines the key components of our approach. The MCPS Component Guide outlines all
of the materials and resources you will use to implement your ELA program next year
across Pre K-5.
● For K-5, the Boost Reading Program Guide outlines the unique ways both programs adapt
to support student’s needs, supplementing the core instruction provided by CKLA and
driven by the assessment results from mCLASS DIBELS!
● This Introducing CKLA Training Video can also help you better understand how the program
is designed to transform a student's literacy journey.
● The CKLA Caregiver Hub provides resources and guides to help you support your students
and enable them to have the most productive experience with our platform throughout the
year. You can reference this now and next year!
It is not recommended that families print the program guides, as they are meant to be a general
preview into the Amplify CKLA curriculum and may not reflect the final versions of documents and
resources that will be customized for MCPS.
We look forward to a continued partnership in the upcoming school year.
https://amplify.com/programs/amplify-core-knowledge-language-arts/
Kindergarten registration is underway! In order to register your child to attend Flower Valley ES, they must be 5 years old by September 1, 2024, and must live within the school boundaries. You may use MCPS's School Locator Assignment tool to confirm that you live in the Flower Valley school boundary.
Children who turn 5 years old between September 2 and October 15 are eligible to apply for Early Entrance to Kindergarten. Click here for more information about the process or to complete an application.
Kindergarten Registration opened on March 18, 2024. Required documents and forms can be submitted online through ParentVue accounts OR to the main office between the hours of 8:00am - 4:00pm (no appointment necessary). We encourage all parents to register their incoming students as soon as possible so that we may plan materials and staffing. Additionally, as we continue to plan for the 2024-25 school year, registering incoming students will give us the ability to contact all of our future families to provide updates, share news and information, and invite students to Open House sessions and summer playdates.
Based on MCPS community feedback, current kindergarten classes will not be canceled to hold orientations this year. We will be offering several opportunities to welcome our incoming students and parents to Flower Valley. This includes:
School Tours for incoming Kindergarten families held on the following days and times:
May 15 8:00-8:30am and 4:00-4:30pm
June 5 8:00-8:30am and 4:00-4:30pm
Summer Kindergarten Playdates hosted by Flower Valley PTA. Dates to be determined.
Back to School Kindergarten Parent Information Night- Thursday, August 22, 2024 (Tentative)
Annual Back to School Sneak Peek- Friday, August 23, 2024 (Tentative)
Important Resources:
- Kindergarten Information & Resources
Enrolling Students at Flower Valley ES:
MCPS has launched a new online registration/enrollment process. Click here to access the Kindergarten Registration System. English | español | 中文 | français | Português | 한국어 | tiếng Việt | አማርኛ
Current MCPS Families:
With ParentVUE accounts: Register a child for school by clicking on the Online Registration link in the parent portal.
No ParentVUE: You must contact our main office to receive your activation letter.
NEW to MCPS Families:
Create a ParentVUE account: Online Registration system.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our school secretary and registrar, Cathy Sintetos (catherine_g_sintetos@mcpsmd.org) or our administrative secretary, Nevine Peckoo (nevine_a_peckoo@mcpsmd.org).
Planning for next year is currently underway. Our teachers, counselors, and administration are developing the most balanced and appropriate classes for every child at Flower Valley. If you are the parent of a kindergarten through 4th grade student at Flower Valley, we value your input and ask that you provide us with information to help us develop appropriate class groupings for next year. While we do not accept teacher requests, we do value your thoughts about what type of environment works best for your child as well as any social or academic concerns that we may be able to minimize for next year. Please complete the form linked here no later than May 10th. Thank you for your input!
-Our PTA Donation Drive is May 4th from 9:30AM-1:00PM. This is an opportunity for you to donate and clean out your closet while putting money into our PTA.
For more information about what you can and cannot donate, look at the flyer:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_7pLhlVviJseyXvRpFM8-hcw6WsR-I4hPtM50y4N9ec/edit?usp=sharing https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_7pLhlVviJseyXvRpFM8-hcw6WsR-I4hPtM50y4N9ec/edit?usp=sharing
*We will also be taking book donations (any age child) to share with RHS for Rockville Day- August, 18, 2024.
Middle and High School Students in need of volunteer hours should sign up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084BADAE2AA0FB6-48915406-help#/
Any questions, please contact Shira at shirayona@gmail.com.
On behalf of the MCCPTA:
Hi everyone -
Please spread the word! MCPS will be attending this meeting. MCPS is working on its strategic planning for the next five years, and we would like them to hear from the community.
We will laying out our case for what MCPS needs to do to improve student outcomes, including:
Why many students in MCPS are receiving As and Bs but are still not passing district and state assessments – and aren't being prepared for college or career;
How even Honors classes assign content and work that is BELOW grade level and why that hurts our students;
Why this impacts some demographic groups over others – but why ALL of us are impacted, regardless of which MCPS school your child attends;
The research showing that adopting high quality instructional materials and supporting our teachers can help bridge the gap; and
How PTA Leaders and members can support change AND their children.
We urge you to attend if you care about supporting an excellent education for all children.
Evelyn Chung
Curriculum Committee Chair
In 2023:
Only half of all tenth graders in the county passed the English 10 MCAP exam.
Even at our most affluent schools, only half of students receiving FARMS passed.
At our highest poverty schools, only one third of students passed the test.
What can we do to improve student outcomes?
The MCCPTA Curriculum Committee is offering an Instructional Equity Workshop by Zoom on Thursday, May 2 from 7-9 pm to help PTA leaders, caregivers and teachers learn how curriculum and instruction can better support our students for their futures.
Please join us on Thursday, May 2, at 7 pm. to 9 p.m. to:
Understand "The Opportunity Myth" and the four critical resources to help students prepare for college and career.
Learn the important role of instructional materials in creating equity and what this looks like in reading and literacy classes.
Get an update on exciting developments in K-5 Reading in MCPS and explore current 6-8 and 9-12 literature courses.
Hear from MCPS leaders and have an opportunity to share what you're seeing in schools.
Walk away with clear action steps for your PTA to find out more at your school and advocate for strong literacy experiences across K-12.
Let’s make a difference together.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkd-uuqjspEtOy-UYWS6fQJCoYwMqlONqv
Career Day: May 3rd
PTA Sponsored SAVERS Donation Drive: May 4th, 9:30-1:00
Field Days: k, 1, 2 - May 17th; 3, 4, 5 - May 22nd
PTA Sponsored Carnival: May 19th, 2-5:00PM
Spring IM Concert: May 30th at Rockville High School at 7PM (tentative)
5th Grade Promotion: June 12th at Rockville High School
5th Grade Fun Day: June 13th
Flower Valley Elementary School
Be bright! Be kind! Be you!
We inspire all children to become critical thinkers who are imaginative, adaptable, and collaborative. We strive to cultivate peaceful, life-long learners who contribute positively to the community around them.
Email: Angie_L_Fish@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/flowervalleyes/
Location: Flower Valley Elementary School, Sunflower Drive, Rockville, MD, USA
Phone: 240-740-1780
Twitter: @AngieFish_FVES