The Tiger Times

Greetings Lewistown Elementary,

It is with pride and excited anticipation that I share with you that I have been named Principal of Lewistown Elementary. It has been such a valuable experience leading alongside Mrs. Fockler in recent months, and I am honored to continue to serve this school community in a new capacity. I look forward to continuing to build connections with each one of you in the coming weeks and months as we collectively champion the students of LES.

I've spent the entirety of my almost 25 year career in education with FCPS in the roles of classroom teacher, special educator, and administrator in four schools prior to Lewistown. My husband and I have three college aged students so our home both empties and fills all year long depending upon their academic calendars. It is an exciting time, yet one of change and a little more quiet than I'm used to. 😊I find I am especially thankful for the connections with our students and the joyful noise and energy they bring to school each day.

As I transition into this role at Lewistown, I am grateful for the opportunity to come alongside our outstanding teachers, staff, and family members to continue to strengthen our unique and remarkable school community. I am committed to carrying on the efforts to ensure we are providing our students with all they need to achieve and succeed now and in the future.

Your input and insight are always welcomed. You can most easily reach me via my email.

melissa.burton@fcps.org

With gratitude & yours in education,

Melissa Burton

February:

Friday, February 16- Two hour early dismissal, mid term

Monday, February 19- President's Day- School's Closed

Wednesday, February 28th - Spring Pictures/ Class and Individuals

March:

March 4th-7th - MISA Testing/5th Grade

March 14th - LES Math Night

FCPS 2023- 2024 Calendar Handbook

The Board of Education of Frederick County is looking forward to visiting the Catoctin Feeder Pattern for a listening session. All members of the community are welcome!

When: February 21, 2024 - 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Where: Catoctin High School Media Center, 14745 Sabillasville Road, Thurmont

The informal structure of a community listening session provides an opportunity for the community to highlight areas of celebration and areas of advocacy or concern to the Board and allow for dialogue and communication between the Board and the community. The dialogue can be specific to the Catoctin feeder or across all FCPS communities.

Save the date! LES Family Math Night is coming on PI DAY

March 14th from 5:00-6:45

More details to come!

Lewistown Elementary 5th graders will be taking the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA) on March 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th. Unless your child is sick, please make every effort to have them present and on time each day.

Students are not allowed to have the following during testing:

1. Cellphone

2. Smart Watches

3. Wireless earbuds

To prepare for success with the test, we ask that children get:

1. A full night of rest each night

2. A good breakfast each morning

Thank you for your support in ensuring that our 5th grade students are prepared for upcoming testing. If you have questions please contact your child’s teacher or the School Test Coordinator, Julie Chappell. Thank you!

Coming Soon!!!

Lewistown Elementary 3rd, 4th and 5th graders will be taking the MCAP State Assessments in Reading and Math from April 15th - 30th. Please try to avoid scheduling appointments during the school day for students on these days.

We CARE about YOU!

The next Thurmont Middle School Food Drop will be March 7th at 3:30. No application or questions asked. Just line up in your car at the back parking lot and the volunteers will put food in your car for you. This is a popular event, so line up early.

If you or your family is experiencing a hardship, reach out to our school counselor, Joan Musselman, to help you explore community resources. You can email her at joan.musselman@fcps.org or call 240-236-3750

Think Positive!

The counseling lesson for February focused on how to think positively. For grades Pre K to 2nd grade we read the story, "Be Brave Little Penguin" and created a Positive Penguin which will be on display for the month of March. For grades 3-5 we focused on identifying specific negative thoughts we may have and talked about ways to challenge them depending on if the thoughts were fast or slow. Students were given a pamphlet to color and will be getting supplementary coloring bookmarks and a coloring page to reinforce these skills.

If you catch your child saying something negative about themselves, often times the statement can be changed to the positive by adding the word, "Yet", at the end. Example, "I'm no good at math!", challenge it by saying back to them, "I'm no good at math, YET. ". You can also support you child when they are having negative thoughts by telling tthem that we are not our thoughts and our thougths are not the facts.

As you may know, Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) has been approved by the Maryland State Department of Education to implement up to three virtual instructional days in lieu of systemwide closure during inclement weather. While not necessarily the first option, the Learning @ Home days provide FCPS flexibility in responding to various weather emergencies. In developing the FCPS plan, our goal is to: mitigate disruption to learning mid-year; minimize additional days that often need to be added at the end of the school year; and keep students connected to learning in the event of an extended closure.

As a result, our school has been engaged in planning and preparation for this possibility, to ensure full readiness if a virtual instruction day were to be implemented.

Announcement of a Learning @ Home Day would be made 1-2 days in advance, based on a forecasted weather event. The first “snow day” of the year will always be a traditional closure.

A Lewistown Learn @ Home Newsletter will be shared soon!

As a feeder, we continue our commitment to attendance knowing that being at school each day opens opportunities for our students. In our newsletter, you will find our feeder attendance rates for the month of December and chronic absenteeism rates.

January 18 was the start of Semester 2. This is an opportunity for a fresh start - new year and increased attendance! For many, Semester 1 was highly successful and students had great attendance and outstanding grades! Great job Lewistown Tigers! The Catoctin Feeder believes that good attendance often correlates with academic progress, a sense of belonging and good grades.

At LES, let's make it our goal to come to school every day! Please let us know how we can support your good attendance and your academic success. Continue to send in notes for your student's absence. Families send all attendance notes: LEW.Attendance@fcps.org

The Lewistown Elementary School Learning Community will strive to promote academic success in order to reach our full potential and strengthen our future. Everyone’s unique qualities will be celebrated and valued, and together we will Learn, Excel, and Succeed.

Website: https://edu.fcps.org/les/home

Phone: 240 236 3750

Principal- Melissa Burton

Spec. Ed Coordinator- Hannah Zebroski

Secretary- Megan Doll

Counselor- Joan Musselman

Families send all attendance notes: LEW.Attendance@fcps.org