Welcome to the 2019 – 2020 school year!
Welcome back to our students, parents & guardians, and community members!
On Tuesday, Sept 3, Urbana Middle opened our doors to over 1000 students!
During the first two weeks, our students will be reviewing expectations, setting goals, participating in safety drills, and participating in targeted school wide lessons, team building exercises, and grade level town hall meetings.
Our opening week with staff was outstanding! Special thanks to our PTSA for supporting our opening luncheon; this was a HUGE success with our staff! Our teachers collaborated on instructional planning, completed Safe School modules, and attended multiple professional learning sessions during the teacher week to prepare for our students.
Our “Open House” and “Back To School” events were well attended; it was so nice to meet everyone and hear how excited our students are for the new school year! At each event, students & families located their new classrooms, spoke with friends, and the presentations allowed everyone to review expectations.
Many students expressed “I’m ready to come back.” The energy of the first week of school is always exciting as staff return and students arrive to our campus, meet new friends & teachers, and catch up from the summer. Classroom routines and expectations have been reviewed and our rigorous instruction has begun! Students are already engaged in classes and enthusiastically participating in a variety of lessons.
Students have been meeting in Advisory/HawkTalk groups this week to receive school handouts, learn routines for and practice safety drills, and discuss other school related topics such as care/responsibility for chromebooks. This week our staff and students practiced our first Fire Evacuation Drill. (see additional info in the Safety section below). Additionally, our students reviewed Avoid, Defend, Deny protocol and procedures.
Our Town Hall meetings for each grade level will begin next week; these meetings are conducted with Administration to review goals and expectations for the school year so students can strive to “SOAR” to Success. UMS staff and Administration is looking forward to a very successful year!
Important information & Updates: Responsible Use of Digital Devices & Bookbags
Our students have done an excellent job complying with our expectations for cell phones and bookbags. UMS utilizes the “Electronic devices are off and away” unless given teacher permission for instruction. Our focus is on instruction during the day and this expectation assists us in reducing the amount of disruption in the building. There may be times where staff members will permit students to use personal devices/cell phones for educational purposes; UMS will clearly communicate this information in advance for students.
UMS Expectations:
As UMS is a 1:1 school, the same exact technology that students use on their phones for educational/instructional purposes can also be accessed via the chromebooks.
All students are expected to have the technology User Agreement completed to permit usage of electronic devices in the building. This includes students who may elect to “bring their own device” including a cell phone. Students are not permitted to use cell phones or personal devices for non-instructional purposes once on property and throughout the school day. If a student violates this expectation, the device will be confiscated, stored securely in the front office, and students will be permitted to sign for it at the end of the school day. For repeated offenses, disciplinary action will be issued and parents/guardians will be contacted.
Bookbags: Bookbags are to be placed in lockers during the school day. Students are permitted to carry a small drawstring bag to secure personal belongings, but all book bags, even small ones, must be secured in lockers during the day. With increased enrollment and lack of storage space in classrooms and other locations, book bags were causing safety issues as they were being placed on the floor, creating a tripping hazard. All belongings are stored in lockers during lunch. Students also have the option of dropping off materials in the class scheduled after lunch.
PTSA membership: Our PTSA membership is growing and we still need you as a member! Our PTSA provides incredible support to our families and feeder throughout the school year. Please consider joining the UMS PTSA this school year!
LOU REDISTRICTING
Our School Is in the Redistricting Study Area
IMPORTANT! A school redistricting study, begun in January 2019, includes ALL Linganore-Oakdale-Urbana area schools. The BOE must establish attendance areas and feeder patterns for new schools in response to FCPS enrollment growth*.
As the decision-making phase begins for the redistricting study, this is a reminder of important dates:
Wednesday, September 11, 6 PM, BOE Meeting, 191 S. East St., Frederick
Superintendent Dr. Terry Alban presents recommendations to the Board.
Community members continue to play an important role through opportunities to provide feedback to BOE members, attending public hearings, and/or sharing feedback via email to LOURedistrict@fcps.org.
Board of Education Public Hearings, 7 PM-9 PM (Signup sheets available 6:30 PM)
Tuesday, September 17, Urbana High
Thursday, September 19, Linganore High
Tuesday, September 24, Oakdale High
Wednesday, September 25, BOE Meeting, 191 S. East St., Frederick
Discussion of Superintendent recommendation and public comments
The BOE will make the final decision, expected in October.
*The new schools are Sugarloaf Elementary (housing Urbana Elementary students until the Urbana Elementary replacement opens for the 2020-2021 school year) and Blue Heron Elementary, opening for the 2021-2022 school year. Middle and high school attendance areas are included in the study. Details are online: www.fcps.org/louredistrict.
Our next newsletter will be published on Thursday, September 12. Please look for required notices and other information, including our calendar of events.
We thank you for your partnership in education!