Roadrunner's Digest

Good evening Farquhar Families and Staff,

I hope this message finds you and your family well. Tomorrow, April 22, is designated as an asynchronous learning day for students. During advisory last week, we reviewed the expectations for students on this day. They also received a checklist that you can find here to ensure they are marked present for the day and understand where to find their assignments for each class.

On Friday, we experienced multiple incidents of male students participating in a prank with peers that involved "pantsing" one another, or pulling down the pants of a classmate. These incidents happened across grade levels. Exposing another student's body or undergarments constitutes sexual harassment, which is not tolerated. The students involved on Friday were addressed according to the MCPS Student Code of Conduct. As we begin a new week, your support in reinforcing school expectations for appropriate behavior are sincerely appreciated.

I also want to thank the PTA and our Farquhar families for your collaboration and partnership to foster a bullying-free community for all students. This is a relevant and critical topic system-wide. A group of MCPS students have come together to spread awareness about the impact of bullying, harassment and hate-bias. Please take a moment to view this student-led video campaign below.

This Thursday is Take Your Child To Work Day. Please check out the first announcement below if you plan to take your child out of school on this day.

Finally, we need your support to ensure our PTA can function next year. Without a PTA President, FMS cannot have a PTA. The PTA budget allows us at FMS to provide critical resources and opportunities for students and families such as:

• IXL for ELA
• IXL incentives
• Student Wellness Conference
• Community Wellness Night
• STEAM night
• Assistance toward reducing the cost of field trips for our students and their families-- just to name a few!!

Thank you for taking a few moments to visit the PTA corner section of the digest this evening to see how you can help. Thank you for your continued support and partnership, and have an excellent week!

In this week's newsletter you will find:

• This week's schedules
• This week's Roadrunner Shout Outs
• NEW: Taking your child to work on Thursday?
• NEW: Scotland & Ireland Summer Trip 2025
• NEW: Bake for Good @ FMS
• NEW: 8-hour SSL opportunity for 8th grade
• UPDATE: Dear Edwina, Jr. @ FMS
• See A Midsummer Night's Dream at Sherwood HS
• NJHS Clothing Drive ends April 26
• Save the date for FMS STEAM Night May 9
• Share your expertise @ Career Day May 23!

PTA Corner Updates

• FMS PTA Needs a President for 2024-25!
• Support Staff Appreciation May 6-10
• Parent Support for the IXL Initiative

Need to get back to an previous edition of the Digest? Find them in the archive on our school's website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/farquharms/.

Clubs end at 4:15 and students must be picked up no later than 4:30. Students should take the activity bus if they cannot be picked up by 4:30, as the main office closes at this time.

Thank you to the following Roadrunners who have made a positive impact on our learning community!

• Girl's Soccer Team
• Hanna Mesfin
• Liana Taddesse
• Samai Edwards
• Luke W
• Hayward S
• Markos (Lucas) McGibbon
• Moses
• Autumn Pontious
• Nate Carbone (Pip)
• Mrs. Moton
• Ms.Custer
• Karla Rodas
• Ms. N. Williams
• Ms. Orzel
• Ms. Pontes
• Mr. Lichvar

Would you like to recognize a student, community member, or staff member?

Submit a SHOUT-OUT!

This Thursday, April 25, is Take Your Child to Work Day! If you plan to take your child to work with you on this day, please have your student bring in the attendance note linked here anytime before Thursday. Only the front of the note is required for your student's absence to be excused.

Dear FMS community,

I am holding an interest meeting for our Scotland & Ireland Trip for the Summer of 2025! This trip is open to all present/past Farquhar students & family. Please RSVP to the link if you are interested in hearing more about our trip. Spots tend to fill up fast! Our meeting will be on Thursday April 25th at 6pm. It should not take more than 30-45 minutes. If you are unable to attend but would like to still receive information, you can fill that out on the RSVP form, and I will send you all of the information. If you have any questions email me at amber_m_gramkow@mcpsmd.org.

Hope to see you next week,

Amber Gramkow

We will do our first ever “Bake for Good” bread baking event after school on May 8th and 9th. Bake for the Good is a program created by the King Arthur Baking Company to teach students how to positively engage in their community while also learning the basics of baking bread! Students will work in teams to create loafs of bread that will be given to a local food pantry and should also be able to walk away with some bread to nosh on themselves. Sign up by completing this Google Form.

Questions?

Please contact Mr. Green @ Matthew_D_Green@mcpsmd.org

Calling all students in grades 8-12! Join us on Saturday, May 4, 2024 from 9am to 5pm to learn about how you can help end youth gun violence. Attendees will receive lunch and eight (8) SSL hours as a result of your participation.

You will hear from experts on mental health, gun violence prevention, Stop the Bleed campaign, and other useful tips in combating youth gun violence in Montgomery County.

Register now at http://bit.ly/2024maysummit for this helpful learning opportunity!

• When: Saturday, May 4, 2024, from 9 am to 5 pm.
• Where: The Universities at Shady Grove (9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD 20850)
• Who: For students in grades 8-12

Technical Rehearsals begin this week. All Cast & Crews are rehearsing after school on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday until 5:30. The goal of each rehearsal is to run through the show each day with lights, mics, props, and costumes.

Step into the enchanting world of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream brought to life by the talented students of Sherwood High School. This timeless comedy follows the misadventures of four young lovers, a group of amateur actors, and mischievous fairies as their paths intertwine in the mystical forest. With love potions gone awry, mistaken identities, and uproarious antics, this production promises an evening of laughter, romance, and magic. Join us for an unforgettable journey into the whimsical realm of Shakespearean comedy at Sherwood High School's not-to-be-missed presentation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Show dates: Thursday - Saturday, 4/25-4/27 at 7pm and Sunday, 4/28 at 2 pm. Tickets can be purchased at ShowTix4U, https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/80156.

The FMS National Junior Honor Society students are holding their annual clothing drive challenge from April 2 through April 26! Donate gently used clothing and shoes to collection boxes in each advisory classroom. The class who collects the most donations wins an ice cream party! This is a time of great need in our community. Do your part to help!

Hello FMS Community!

We are hosting our 3rd Annual STEAM Night on Thursday, May 9th, 2024 from

5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.This extraordinary night features amazing opportunities, activities, and exposure to the world of STEM to our bright and eager students through an EXPO style format. It is all about community and sparking the curiosity of learning and exploration as our students learn to become future leaders, problem solvers, and outstanding citizens of this world. Meet people from all over the STEM community including the University of Maryland, Northrop Grumman, NASA, High School Robotics and so much more!

You and your family are invited to interact with the presentations, participate in the activities, and good food from our food trucks! Last year we were BLOWN AWAY when 300+ students, families, and community members came out to take part in this special event.This year, we expect nothing less and want YOU to be a part of it!

Hope to see you here on Thursday, May 9th!

If you are interested in becoming a Presenter/Volunteer to showcase a project, provide a STEAM activity, or share information about STEAM related clubs and activity, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM and save the date for 5/9/24.

Sincerely,

Kristina Mason, Heather Bruns, Shannon Sullivan, and Stephanie Seo Gould

Are you interested in presenting to our students or do you know someone who would? Please complete the Career Day Google Form by April 17

Without a President, the FMS PTA will not exist next year. We know being on the PTA board takes time and the reward is seeing support provided to our students and teachers. We have a great group of volunteers next year but we do not have a President or Communications Secretary. Please see the information below about these roles and reach out to the nominating committee to learn more.

President*: Leads the PTA, meets regularly with the FMS Principal and runs board meetings. We have a strong incoming Executive VP and board who will be able to support the President in this role.

Communications Secretary: Responsible for all communications from the PTA (newsletter, email, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter). Our principal sends a weekly email to families and we include a PTA corner with messages from the PTA. If you are not an active user of social media no problem, we just need someone to share about the PTA news which is not a huge time commitment and can be done in your own time.

FMS PTA 2024 Nominating Committee:

Katie Morris kjkharrison96@msn.com

Marcia Munoz mvmunoz3@gmail.com

Kathleen Robergeau Hunt rhunt.k@gmail.com

Staff Appreciation will be celebrated the week of May 6-10. FMS PTA would like to thank the staff for all they do with an iced coffee bar (Thursday) and lunch (Friday). Please consider donating to the purchase of lunch here.

We are also seeking donations for the coffee bar. All items can be dropped off in the main office on Wednesday, May 8 between the hours of 7:30am- 3:30pm. Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090949ACAC2CA57-49046586-coffee#/

At FMS, teachers utilize the IXL learning platform to provide students with practice opportunities in math and literacy that is tailored to their needs and meets them at their level. FMS has instituted an incentive program that is very popular with students. The students look forward to trading in their earned tickets for fun merchandise. As we begin the new year, the school is planning to restock the store and could use our help. Please consider purchasing incentive supplies for the IXL store through the Amazon Wish List: Amazon.com

Feel free to contact me anytime and follow Farquhar on Twitter!

Email: Angelica_L_Smith@mcpsmd.org
Phone: 240-740-1200
Twitter: @farquharms