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Principals Page
Summer Newsletter August 2023
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Principals Page, Summer 2023
Welcome Back Message
Dear Beall Families,
Are you ready for the new school year to begin?
Like many of you, I find myself with mixed emotions. One of my daughters will be heading off to college to begin her freshman year living away from home. I am already wondering: What will it be like? Is she going to be okay in a new school? Will she find her group of friends? How will she do in her classes? What is my role? Another one of my daughters is heading into her final year at college. I am already wondering: How did we get into her final year in this school already? Is she going to be ready for her next learning experience? What can we do to support her transition? Should we be nervous? What is my role? My youngest daughter will be a sophomore in high school. Although she is familiar with the school and community, I still find myself wondering: Will she have friends in her classes? What if she has trouble in one of her classes? Will she be challenged enough? Will she have as much fun this year as she did last year? Will she like her teachers? How do I ask questions about something I heard at the bus stop? What is my role?
Although my children are older than Beall students, many of our parent questions and emotions seem to carry through all of their years in school. However, I hope you also share my feelings that override everything else: pride and excitement. I am proud of all that my children have accomplished from their own hard work, perseverance, and resilience. They have learned so much from their successes and challenges in academic and social settings. I understand that each school year brings new learning adventures and social experiences, and I am so excited for what the new school year will offer!
As many of you are probably aware, there is a teacher shortage nationwide. Many Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) continue to have teaching vacancies that administrators are still working to fill. However, this has not been the situation at Beall. All of our homeroom teachers were Beall staff members last year and chose to remain at Beall for the upcoming school year. I believe that you will find staff chose to return because they are committed to the students and community they serve daily. They are passionate about the work. They find the diverse learning needs of students, and teaching experiences, to be equally challenging and rewarding. We had a few staff members who left (see below); however, we are thrilled to welcome new staff for the upcoming year. As I get ready to start my 13th school year at Beall, I am excited to be working with this community and staff.
While we are proud of our accomplishments over the past year, we are looking forward to the excitement and changes that come with a new school year. Some changes, such as schedules or student routines, will be quickly noticed by students. Other changes including curricula and staff initiatives may be less evident. As the school leadership team met this summer, we wanted to be sure that we continued to focus on our school mission: The Beall community will promote educational equity and excellence. We celebrate diversity, practice inclusivity and advance anti-racism. Every student will be embraced for who they truly are and will be taught with a focus on fostering mutual trust, respect, and high expectations every day. We spent time reviewing our school data, reviewing our practices to determine how we could continue to grow as a staff, participating in professional development activities, and identifying opportunities to improve the learning environment for students. We have challenged ourselves to make sure that all of our students have equal opportunities for success and high expectations.
As we look forward to the 2023-24 school year, we are committed to collaborating with all stakeholders. Our goal is to be more inclusive for students and families to participate in learning experiences and access resources. Staff will continue to identify strategies, facilitate conversations, and recognize changes in instruction to help our efforts to address inequities which may be occurring during instruction. We will continue to implement MCPS initiatives, increase our use of data, implement positive behavior expectations, and work collaboratively as we grow professionally. We will identify opportunities to improve communication and provide information throughout the school year. Additionally, this year will be highlighted by our efforts to continue to build on creating cross-grade level "buddies," creating a sense of leadership and belonging for students.
We have challenged ourselves to make sure all of our students have equal opportunities for success and high expectations. We know effective effort leads to great achievements. We want our students to know this, too. We realize it is okay to fall; but, true growth comes from getting back up and learning from the obstacles that made us fall. We continue to collaborate and plan as we pursue the answer to this question: What needs to happen to ensure all Beall children are successful inside the classroom and beyond?
I look forward to greeting all of our new and returning students on Monday, August 28, for the first day of school. It is my hope that you will visit often and continue to be active in your childβs learning. Your support, cooperation, and involvement will ensure that this school year will be a successful one for all of our Dragons.
Enjoy the last few weeks of summer.
Sincerely,
Mr. Alter
Sneak Peek!
ππ
We will have our annual Sneak Peek on Friday, August 25. We look forward to welcoming
families back to the building. It is expected that all students will be accompanied by an adult and will remain with the adult during their visit.
Doors will open at 1:00 pm. Sneak Peek will end at 2:00 pm with a sweet treat for our students. (Thank you Beall PTA.) ππ
Friday, Aug 25, 2023, 01:00 PM
Teacher Assignments and Staffing Updates
Teacher Assignments
Our staff worked hard last spring to develop instructional groups for the 2023-2024 school year using student data, teacher feedback, and parent feedback. When forming the classes, we factored in academic needs, social-emotional needs, peer matches and other considerations. We also focused on organizing classes so we can provide the greatest amount of support from our English Language Development (ELD), Special Education and Paraeducator teams. Our teachers have already begun thinking creatively about their instructional programs to maximize the support and guidance that we can provide to all students. I can assure you that we have a very capable and caring staff who will work with you to meet the academic and social-emotional needs of your child. We work diligently to make class groupings, and take great pride in our efforts to consider all factors when placing students where we believe they can be their academic best.
Student schedules (including teacher assignments) can be viewed in the MCPS Parent Portal. We encourage you to take a few minutes to set up your account if you havenβt done so, yet. Once this portion of the Parent Portal becomes active, this will be the quickest and easiest way to identify your childβs homeroom teacher. It is expected that Teacher Assignments will be available on August 23 or 24.
Staffing Updates
We want to update you on staff changes that have been made for the 2023-2024 school year. Every year, we have to say farewell to several friends and colleagues. It is always sad to see staff members leave, but exciting to welcome new staff to join Beall and hear how they will be able to support our community.
- Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Akers (relocation), Mrs. Mullenholz, and Mr. Jenkins on completing successful MCPS experiences! We wish them the very best as they leave the school system and seek to enjoy their next great journey.
- Ms. Walker, Dr. Nesson, Ms. Dey, and Ms. Novotny will be continuing their professional experiences at other MCPS schools/locations.
They will be missed but will always be a part of the Beall family. We congratulate them and wish all of our departing staff the very best, wherever their new adventures may take them.
We would also like to share staffing changes within the building:
- Mrs. Buttrey will be teaching second grade this year.
- Ms. Thomas will be teaching preK Speech classes in addition to her other Beall speech pathologist roles.
- Please see Instructional Programs for more information about our fourth and fifth grade staffing model.
We are also excited to have some incredibly talented new staff members join the Beall community. Please welcome: Ms. Machado (Building Service Worker), Mrs. Tulchinsky-Cohen (Assistant Principal) Ms. Fenner (School Psychologist), Ms. Stabbe (instructional support), and Ms. Anani (instructional support). Ms. Lehrman will be serving as Mrs. Barton's long-term substitute this fall.
Currently, our homeroom teacher assignments are:
Β· PreK & Headstartβ Mrs. Mahoney, Ms. Thomas, Mrs. Mazur, Mrs. Tappis
Β· Kindergartenβ Mrs. Clagett, Ms. Davis, Mrs. Searles
Β· 1st Grade- Mrs. Gozalo, Ms. Koch, Mrs. Wong
Β· 2nd Grade- Mrs. Buttrey, Mrs. Friedman, Mrs. Garcia
Β· 3rd Gradeβ Mrs. DeVriendt, Mrs. Schofer, Ms. Sumondong
Β· 4th Gradeβ Ms. Czajkowski, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Thomason,
Β· 5th Gradeβ Mrs. Newcomb, Mrs. Saffell, Ms. Wagner
Β· Alternative & Augmentative Communication (AAC)β Mrs. King
Important Datesπ
Β· August 24β Kindergarten Back to School Night
Β· August 25β Sneak Peek
Β· August 28β First Day of School
Β· August 30β Back to School Nights for grades 1, 2 & 3
Β· September 4β Labor Day Holiday, No School
Β· September 6β Back to School Nights for Grades 4 & 5
Β· September 8β PTA Back to School Picnic (Rain date TBD)
Β· September 22β Early Dismissal for Students
Β· September 25β No School
School Improvement Process (SIP) Plan & Instructional Programming
Beall staff has been planning for the excitement that comes with the new school year. As I met with our Instructional Leadership Team in the spring and during the summer, we took the time to review our initiatives and instructional strategies with an intentional focus. We have been working hard to develop instructional plans that align with MCPS and state guidelines, continue to elevate our focus on equity, and meets the needs of our students. We will continue to implement the Eureka! math program with fidelity. Benchmark Advanced will continue to be the implemented curriculum with a focus on a structured literacy approach. There have been additional courses made available to our literacy program at the intermediate (4th & 5th) grade levels. This year, we will be including the Enriched Literacy Curriculum (ELC) into our schedule for identified students. Teachers will share additional information during Back to School Night highlighting changes to daily instruction.
School Improvement Plan:
When developing our SIP, we wanted to answer the following questions:
- What has been learned as a result of reviewing and analyzing the data story?
- What steps have been committed to (including the steps taken) as a result of the data story?
- What needs to be prioritized to ensure that all students can meet the district learning goals in a safe, inclusive, and antiracist learning environment?
We reviewed many data points including demographic data, academic progress, and student/staff/community surveys. The development of the SIP includes determining how to develop a schedule that supports instructional strategies and maximizes resources, process for collecting, monitoring and analyzing data, daily instructional procedures to meet diverse student needs, implementation of MCPS Initiatives, and behavior expectations to support student well being and school climate. The finalized SIP will be shared with the community and posted on our school website later in the fall. The plan will include goals in the following areas:
- Literacy
- Math
- Well Being
- Culture/Climate
Instructional Programming (Grades 4 & 5)
In an effort to meet the learning needs of our fourth and fifth grade students, we are tweaking our instructional schedule for our intermediate grades. Our goal is to maximize instructional staff and offer MCPS courses new to Beall. As in previous years, our teachers will continue to departmentalize. This means that a student will have at least 2 different teachers (math and literacy). Students may have another teacher for science, social studies, or homeroom. This is the same learning experience that our fourth and fifth graders have had in previous years. However, teacher instructional assignments have been adjusted to maximize flexibility in student groupings and course offerings. Teachers have been assigned to teach the literacy block or math block. This means that a teacher may instruct Grade 4 math in the morning and Grade 5 math in the afternoon. Literacy instruction will follow the same model. (Fourth and fifth graders will not be in the same classes.) As staff analyzed school data and student needs, we determined that this plan allows us to:
- Create flexibility in student groups and create diverse classes/learning environment
- Maximize opportunities to deploy resources including special education staff and english language development services
- Implement Enriched Literacy Curriculum at both grade levels
- Provide Science of Reading strategies and other intervention programs to meet individual student needs in a consistent manner
- Familiarize teachers with consistent grade level expectations to optimize enrichment or reteaching opportunities
- Increase professional development and planning opportunities to support teachers
Although the student learning experience will be very similar to previous years, this "team" model allows us to appropriately address an increasingly complex schedule. Additional information will be presented during Back to School Night on September 6.
School Hours/Schedule π
The main office will be open from 7:30 amβ 4:45 pm.
- 8:40 am- First bell- Students welcome to enter building
- 8:50 am- Classroom bell- Students allowed to enter their classrooms
- 9:00 am- Instructional bell- students arriving to their classrooms after this bell are considered tardy;
- 3:20 pm- Patrol bell-
- 3:25 pm- Dismissal bell- students will be escorted to designated dismissal location; Parents are expected to wait outside during the dismissal process.
Early Dismissalβ On scheduled Early Dismissal dates, we will begin our dismissal routines at 12:55 pm.
2-Hour Delay- When schools have a 2-hour delayed opening due to inclement weather, arrival routines will being at 10:40 am. Breakfast will not be served.
Each classroom teacher will share their instructional schedule directly with students and parents.
Student Arrival/Dismissalπππ²
Students may enter the building at 8:40 am. Please do NOT drop your child off before 8:40, as there is no adult supervision available. Students will wait outside of their classroom, or in their designated location, between 8:40 and 8:50. Supervision will be provided by Beall staff during this time. School starts at 9:00 am. Parents should accompany students arriving after this time into the main office to sign in and receive a late pass.
We ask that parents who are dropping off students at our supervised location on Luckett Street please remain in your car, pull forward all the way, adhere to the posted traffic signs, and avoid βleap froggingβ other cars. We want every child to have a safe opportunity to exit their vehicle.
Dismissal will begin at 3:25 pm. If there is a change in your childβs after school plans, please send a note to the teacher in advance. Prior to the start of the school day, we recommend that you take a moment to review with your child all changes to their dismissal routine, including after-school activities. If you need to pick up your child during the school day, please send a note to your childβs teacher. Office staff will call your child out of class once you have arrived to pick them up. Following these procedures will minimize disruptions to instruction. In case of emergency, please call the school as early as possible to ensure that messages are received in a timely manner.
Transportation π UPDATED 8/10/23β οΈ
Please click on the links below!
LETTER FROM TRANSPORTATION (en Espanol)
What You Should Know About Riding the Bus (en Espanol)
Assessments/Grading & Reporting β
Assessments/Grading & Reporting
All public schools in Maryland will participate in the statewide assessment program. Students in grades 3-5 will participate in this assessment in May or early June. The assessments will be administered electronically. Additional information can be found on the MCPS website and will be provided in future Beall Newsletters. All schools routinely use a variety of assessments to measure student learning and guide teacher planning. This may include formal assessments that students complete using the computer or informal assessments, such as reading directly to the teacher. Teachers will also provide feedback to students on assignments that are submitted for review. The feedback may be oral or written. Please remember that many assignments are reviewed by staff to monitor progress and identify points of confusion, but may not be graded or scored. Please ask your childβs teacher for more information.
Report Cards
Report cards for Kindergarten--Grade 5 are available four (4) times a year in nine week cycles β November, February, April and June. In November, Parent-Teacher Conferences will be scheduled to review student progress from the first marking period for each student in grades K-5. Additional conferences may be requested with staff as needed. Although the MCPS calendar only identifies one specific time for formal parent-teacher conferences, we encourage you to meet with your childβs teacher/staff as necessary if you have concerns about your childβs academic or social progress.
Bella's Best π€
Bellaβs Best is a schoolwide, positive behavior recognition system. Simply stated, we want to recognize the outstanding behaviors that our students exhibit each and every day. The program, called Bellaβs Best, has two main components. The individual component allows each child to be recognized throughout the day, in the classroom, hallway, cafeteria, etc. for being responsible and/or respectful. Teachers will discuss what this looks like in the various locations around the building. Bellaβs Tickets can be exchanged for rewards, which may be tangible (e.g. a prize box item) or non-tangible (e.g. lunch with the teacher). The second component of the program is group recognition, known as Bragginβ Dragons. Adults, throughout the building, are encouraged to offer praise to whole classes or larger groups of students who display respectful and responsible behaviors. This may include moving through the hall in a quiet and orderly line, whole class participation during instruction, appropriate lunchroom behaviors such as clean tables or lining up after recess. Compliments, or βBrags,β will be recorded in the classroom. Each week, we will collect and calculate the total number of Brags earned as a school. A schoolwide celebration, such as a spirit day, will be planned once our goal has been reached. We believe that recognizing Bellaβs Best has a positive impact on what we are all doing every day.
Technology/Chromebooks π»
Although teachers will continue to use technology to support their instructional delivery, technology will not be the primary tool for delivering instruction. Staff often use technology to enrich a studentβs learning experience. This may include opportunities for research or simulated experiences, collaboration, problem solving, accessing resources, and digital experiences or tools.
All students will be assigned a Chromebook for instructional use. Students are expected to use the devices safely and appropriately, while handling with care at all times. Families are expected to be financially responsible for damages to the device that are a result of misuse or intentional actions.
MCPS revised and updated the policy that regulates the use of Personal Mobile Devices (PMD) that include cell phones, Apple Watches, iPads, headphones, etc. The major change is that students may possess PMDs on MCPS property and at MCPS-sponsored activities; but may not turn them on until the end of the school day for independent use with a few exceptions. At the elementary level, these types of devices are allowed before or after the student day, but are prohibited for instructional use, during lunch periods, and between classes/transitional time. As a reminder, MCPS will assume no responsibility or liability for loss, damage, or theft to a device or for the unauthorized use of any personal device.
Click here to view the Regulation at a glance. Click here to view full regulation.
Cafeteria News π
For more information and How-To videos visit the Food Services website: www.montgomeryschools.org/departments/food-and-nutrition/meal-payments/#FARMS
Please contact the school or the Division of Food and Nutrition Services at 301-284-4900, Ms. Geary, Beall cafeteria manager, or the main office if you need more information.
School Cash Online π²
Montgomery County Public Schools has transitioned to an online payment system called SchoolCash Online as its preferred method of payment for school-related fees such as fundraisers, field trips, obligations, etc. (Please note that the new payment system is NOT related to school cafeteria accounts.) SchoolCash Online helps parents/guardians and community members pay school-related fees safely, quickly, and easily. SchoolCash Online will help increase efficiency and security at schools by making payments directly into schoolsβ bank accounts and eliminating the need for teachers to handle money. In addition, once registered, you will be immediately informed about school activities! Powered by KEV Group, SchoolCash Online is the industry leader in the management of school fees. The new system puts all of the school-related fees online for purchase so users can make purchases online using a credit card or e-check. A processing fee will be included on all items available for purchase, regardless of the type of payment used on SchoolCash Online or at the school. Parents/guardians can register now at https://mcpsmd.schoolcashonline.com/
We are very appreciative of the efforts of our PTA. The many roles of the PTA include fundraising to support instructional programs and student needs, planning social events, advocating for our students and community at county or school system functions, and offering parents a chance to be involved throughout the school year. The PTA is also instrumental in providing enrichment activities available to students beyond the school day. We encourage you to join the PTA and become a part of our partnership in which parents and teachers work together to ensure whole-school success! Check out their website: www.beallpta.org.
Message from Tina Giustiniani (PTA President):
On behalf of Beallβs PTA Board, welcome back to a new school year! We have worked over the summer to identify and eliminate barriers to joining our group in the hopes that we grow our association to represent our entire school community. We have also worked to ensure we continue to provide robust programs and events; that these activities are spread out throughout the school year; and that we advance programs, practices, and policies that empower every parent to make their childβs potential a reality through sharing family resources, celebrating with PTA events, influencing policy, and advocating for children. Please join the PTA to receive ongoing communication on these topics. Please be on the lookout for information about our Back to School Picnic. We hope to see you there!
- Go to https://beallpta.ptboard.com.
- Click "Sign Up" link to sign up (For mobile phone, click top right menu, then "Sign Up" link)
- After signing in to https://beallpta.ptboard.com, enter code DVHR3F to join
Helpful Information to Get You Started π
Visitors and Volunteers
Please make sure the office is your FIRST stop when you come to Beall Elementary School. Ms. Astrid Paz, Attendance Secretary, and Mrs. Gina Gill, Administrative Secretary, would like to help make your visit a productive experience and will be able to assist in answering many of your questions. Due to the need to maintain a safe environment, please do not be surprised if you are asked to show identification when coming into the building.
All parents, visitors, and volunteers must first stop in the main office. Visitors are not allowed in the classroom unless a visit has been pre-arranged with the teacher. We respectfully request that you make an appointment in advance if you would like to speak with a teacher, administrator or other staff member. We want to be responsive to your needs, and we must be respectful of instructional time. All parents, visitors and volunteers must wear nametags or visitor stickers. This is for the safety of all of our children! Volunteer information will come home during the first week of school. In order to volunteer, MCPS requires individuals to complete their mandatory volunteer training. NOTE: We typically do not have visitors over the first several weeks of school to establish routines, procedures, and relationships. We appreciate your patience.
Medication and Health Room
Ms. April Medillin (School Nurse) and Ms. Angelia Davis (Healthroom Technician) are wonderful resources for health related questions.
Medication will not be administered in the health room unless:
The parent/guardian hand delivers the medication to school. Medication must be properly labeled by a pharmacist and MCPS Form # 525-13 (Authorization to Prescribe Medicine) must be filled out by a Physician and given to the health technician. Form # 525-13 is available in the health room or online. Our health room staff (240-740-1222) will be happy to assist you if you have any questions.
Emergency Information
It is important for parents to update emergency information in ParentVue. If you change your home phone number or cell phone number, please make sure that those changes are reflected in your contact information. Additionally, you should review the individuals who you have identified as emergency contacts to ensure that your child(ren) would feel comfortable with them if a situation arose that would require Beall staff to contact those individuals.
Cell Phones, Tablets, Apple Watches, and e-Readers
Students are not permitted to use cell phones or other personal electronic devices in school without staff permission. E-readers, such as Kindles and Nooks, also need to be approved to be used during the school day. Students will not be allowed to use any electronic device for gaming purposes during school hours. (This includes on MCPS school buses.) It is the studentβs responsibility to ensure that devices are turned off and out of sight during the instructional day. Students must adhere to the Student Code of Conduct, especially as it relates to the communication of information related to student privacy, jeopardizes the health or safety of students, is obscene or libelous, causes disruption of school activities, plagiarizes the work of others, or is a commercial advertisement. If a student brings an electronic device to school, parents should be aware that we try to provide a safe environment, but there is always a chance of the device breaking or being stolen. According to MCPS Policy, MCPS and Beall staff cannot assume responsibility or liability for loss, theft, or damage to a device or for the unauthorized use of any such device.
Birthday Celebrations
Birthdays will be recognized on Beallβs daily WBEL television broadcast and posted on the birthday board located in the main hallway. Children will receive a birthday pencil from the main office. In order to encourage healthy eating habits, birthday treats are not permitted at school. Students will not be allowed to distribute birthday invitations in school. Please use the school directory and outside avenues to invite friends to parties.
Breakfast and Lunch
Breakfast will begin on Monday, August 28. It is recommended that families complete the 2023-2024 FARMS application that is now available online using this link: www.MySchoolApps.com. If you need assistance completing the online form, please contact the main office or cafeteria. We will continue to implement the SNAP (Student Nutrition Accountability Program) lunch program. It is recommended that each family pay a minimum of $10.00 into his/her child's account. It is important to do this because the school does not loan money for lunch or breakfast. Checks should be made payable to Beall Elementary School Cafeteria. Low balance letters will be sent home with students who have less than $6.00 in their account. More information, including menus and managing student accounts, can be found on the Division of Food Services Website: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/foodserv/menus/cafemenus.shtm