Roadrunner's Digest

Good evening Farquhar Families,

I hope you've all been able to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend. We have some exciting things happening this week at Farquhar, including picture day and our PTA showing of the movie "Angst" at Sherwood HS coming up on Tuesday.

This week I'm asking for your support and partnership to do a wellness check-in with your student at home. There has been a recent uptick in incidents between students struggling with peer-to-peer conflicts. I am noticing a pattern that students at every grade level are (1) not sharing peer/classmate concerns with a trusted adult, allowing conflicts to escalate, and (2) making interpersonal conflicts public among large friend groups via texts or social media.

We continue to advise our students to seek out the support of a trusted adult when they have a concern. When you're together, remind your student of the support they have at home and at school. Monitor their social media and text messaging as you see fit, and continue to reach out to us when anything arises. The staff at FMS are committed to your students' safety and wellbeing, and our upcoming advisory lessons will be tailored to our students' current needs. We are fortunate to have such a supportive parent community, and I know when we work together, our students thrive.

In this week's newsletter you will find:

• This week's bell schedules
  
• This week's Roadrunner Shout Outs
• TIMELY: Picture Day is this week!
• NEW: Outdoor Ed Forms Deadline
• NEW: Virtual Hackathon Event
• NEW: Sherwood Cheer Clinic
• Student Punctuality Incentive Round 2!
• Hearing and Vision Screening
• MCPS to Host Girls’ Summit
• NEW: PTA Corner Updates on upcoming events

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/.

We will operate with regular bell schedules from October 2 - 6.

• Monday: Open ROCK
• Tuesday: Academic ROCK
• Wednesday: Advisory
• Thursday: Academic ROCK
• Friday: Open ROCK

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

• Horatio Funches
• Annaliese Crosetto
• Ms. Savage
• Ms. Rose
• Ms. Bruns
• Mr. Davis
• Mr. Brennan

Would you like to recognize a student or staff member?

Submit a SHOUT-OUT!

Order your student's photo online at mylifetouch.com with the student ID or the FMS picture day ID, which is EVT27MRNN. There is no need to return the picture day order form you place the order online.

If you choose to submit the picture day order form on October 3rd, it must be filled out completely, with EXACT payment. Your student will hand directly to photographer.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding orders (either before or after student photos are received), please contact Lifetouch directly at 800-736-4753.

Outdoor Ed forms went home on Wednesday 9/27. All forms are due to Mr. Lichvar by November 8, 2023.

Required:

• Parent/Guardian Approval for MCPS Transportation (Form 555-6)
• Outdoor Environmental Education Program Parent/Guardian Permission

If applicable:

• Anaphylaxis Form (Form 525-14)
• Authorization to Administer Prescribed Medication (Form 525-13)

All Online payments can be complete here https://schoolcashonline.com/

Any questions? Please email Mr. Eisenhower at mark_a_eisenhower@mcpsmd.org.

Brook Codes Hackathon is a VIRTUAL hackathon through October 14th-15th. You can register here at bit.ly/bc23Register (use your home account)!

It is a 2-day long VIRTUAL hackathon intended for middle and high school students in MCPS. You will have a choice between beginner and advanced challenges (2 of each to choose from) on the weekend of the event. You will also be able to win prizes such as Sony Headphones, Amazon Echo Dots, or high quality Keyboards (many of each are up for grabs)!

You are not required to have ANY coding experience to participate. There will be fun workshops about various computer science/technology/career topics, mentors to assist you with your projects, movies/activities throughout the event, and more! It is a very inclusive event (whether you have programming experience or not)!

This year we not only have various workshops such as

• Java Foundations
• Ethical Hacking and How to Do It
• Cybersecurity
• Website Development
• Becoming an Electrical Engineer
• Girls in Physics

and more, but also more mentors to assist with projects! If you have any questions or concerns refer to our website: brookcodes.org or email us at brookcodes@gmail.com! Again, you can sign up for the event here at bit.ly/bc23Register. Brook Codes is a great time to spark your interest in coding/computer science so come out and have a good time in a tech environment :)

If your student did not earn the incentive on Friday, great news! September 26 will kick off ROUND 2. All students who earn no more than 5 unexcused tardies between September 26 and October 12 will earn the opportunity to purchase an icy treat on Friday, October 13.

You can support the incentive at home by monitoring your student's attendance in ParentVUE! The attendance code for an unexcused tardy is "TU". You can find period-by-period attendance records in ParentVUE by clicking the attendance tab from the left menu, then select the date. Attendance for each period will appear at the bottom of the screen when you scroll down.

If your student has earned the incentive, you will receive an email after school on October 12. Thank you for supporting our efforts to celebrate student responsibility.

MCPS is conducting hearing and vision screenings for all 8th grade students as well as those new to MCPS. At Farquhar, students will participate in their screening during their World Studies class on either Friday, September 29, or Monday, October 2. Screening will take place in the main office suite. Please direct questions to Mrs. Pignone at Trisha_N_Pignone@mcpsmd.org.

The district is inviting all MCPS families to the Girls’ Summit on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Clarksburg High School. This event will provide informative workshops geared towards middle and high school girls on a variety of current topics. Join us for a chance to network, participate in fun activities, learn valuable skills and enjoy a fashion show presented by White House Black Market celebrating diverse body types!

Sessions will be provided in English and Spanish, and will be organized by grade level. Student Service Learning (SSL) hours will be available for students. Topics and activities will include:

• Healthy relationships/dating violence

• Social media use and mental health, including cyberbullying

• Self-esteem

• Identifying symptoms of depression and anxiety

• Healthy eating and body image

• Music therapy, Zumba and Kaiser Permanente spin bikes for art therapy

• Narcan kits will be distributed and training will also be available.

RSVP

We have 143 PTA members—a big thanks to all those who have joined. It is not too late to join and donate to the PTA.

Our PTA budget is primarily based on donations from families. If each family donates $20 above the membership cost it will help us meet our budget goal and enable us to support our student activities and staff appreciation. We have 133 members so far and would like to reach at least 200 PTA members!

Join AND Donate to the PTA at: https://fmspta.memberhub.com/store

Tuesday, October 3, 2023: In collaboration with the Sherwood High School PTA, the PTA is hosting a showing of the movie “Angst”.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, all Farquhar students and their families are invited for a free viewing of the movie Angst on Tuesday, October 3rd in the Ertzman Theater, sponsored by the Mia Fontana Foundation and the Sherwood Cluster PTAs. A community discussion about addressing anxiety will follow. Free popcorn! Chick fil-A sandwiches, drinks, and other snacks will be available for purchase. Please rsvp here. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., program is from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, October 11: Join in the fun at the first Restaurant Night FMS fundraiser to kick off the annual Battle of the Classes. Participate and your grade can win a year end party!!

• Who: All FMS students and families
• What: Restaurant Night Battle of the Classes! Grade with the highest participation wins the Year End Party!!!
• When: Wed, Oct 11th, 2023 Time: 10 AM – 9 PM
• Where: Jersey Mike’s 3494 Olney Laytonsville Rd, Olney

How:

1. Present this linked flyer (dine in, take out) for sales to count.
2. Online order: Make sure you state your order is for the FMS PTA fundraiser.
3. Keep your Receipt, Label it with Grade
4. Next day: Drop receipt in Grade Level Bucket in FMS office!!

Why: Proceeds of this event support the FMS PTA budget and the class with the most participation will win an end of the year party!

MCPS recently shared information about the upcoming options for 8th graders who are considering regional, countywide, or consortia high schools. Please check out this site to learn more about the open houses that will be held this month.

On Friday, September 29, 2023, the PTA hosted a school bus driver appreciation breakfast. Thank you all for your support of this event to celebrate the driver’s hard work.

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

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