FREEDOM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5626 Sykesville Road Sykesville, Maryland 21784 (410)751-3525 (410)795-4767 Freedom Web Site: http://www.carrollk12.org/fes

Allison Smith, Principal Jessica L. Smith Assistant Principal

APRIL 2017 NEWSLETTER

Dear Families,

Hopefully the cold weather has come to an end and we can enjoy the warmth of

Spring! As we move into springtime, many outside activities will be starting for students,

and it can be a challenge to remain focused on academics. It will be important to continue

to monitor homework and attitudes to ensure that students are continuing to show respect,

responsibility and are ready to learn! Students will received their third quarter report card

on April 11th. We have roughly nine weeks of instruction for the remainder of the school

year, but that is certainly time to set new goals for continued student growth. We want to

end the year just as successfully as we began!

During April, we will celebrate the truly outstanding group of volunteers we have

at Freedom Elementary. We are so fortunate to have such a supportive, talented, and car-

ing group of adults to support Freedom students. They complete countless tasks both at

home and at school. We are in the midst of planning a celebration to honor our volun-

teers. Stay tuned for additional information. We hope all of our dedicated volunteers will

be able to join us.

Whenever we start talking about Volunteer Appreciation, I know that the end of the

year is looming. While we have not received final staffing allocation numbers, we are

beginning to have conversations about student placement for 2017-18. We would like to

take this opportunity to share with you an overview of the process we use to determine

how your child will be grouped and how the classes will be organized for instruction:

In the spring, teachers give a variety of county assessments to take a final look at your

child’s instructional levels in math, reading and writing.

In June, all teachers from each grade level meet to organize students into academic

groupings so that instruction occurs at just the right level for your child to be successful,

yet challenged to grow. Many other factors are taken into consideration such as: the learn-

ing style of the student, the teaching style of the teacher, and how the student interacts

with certain other students. Both Resource teachers and Special Area teachers are consult-

ed because they see how each child performs and can share important information about

student strengths that may not be evident in the regular classroom. As you can see, the

needs of every student are carefully considered. Because our teachers know our students

so well, they do an incredible job analyzing all the information gathered and creating

groups of students who will be able to work well together in the coming year. (continued on page 2)

Freedom Elementary Respect, Responsibility,

and Ready to Learn

Discipline Philosophy

*All students have the right

to learn.

*A key factor in determining

children’s success is the envi-

ronment in which they learn.

*Students are expected to manage and accept responsibility for their own behavior.

Expectations for Behavior

1. BE RESPECTFUL

2. BE RESPONSIBLE

3. BE READY TO

LEARN

“Braggin Dragon” Awards

are distributed daily as a

way of recognizing stu-

dents displaying one or

more of the expected

behaviors. Students

receiving an award also

have their names entered

in a prize drawing. Prize

winners are announced

weekly. Please continue to

reinforce behavioral expec-

tations at home.

Freedom Elementary Mission Statement: In order to lay the foundation for students to become college and career

ready, Freedom Elementary will provide a rigorous learning environment where all students become innovative thinkers

and problem solvers.

Freedom is a community preparing adult and student learners for the demands of the 21st century.

Freedom Elementary

Guiding Question ~

How can I show

that I am respect-

ful, responsible &

ready to learn?

PAGE 2 From the Administrators (cont.)

In mid-August, class assignments will be available through the Home Access Center. While we do not accept spe-

cific teacher requests, if there is information you would like to have considered as a part of our decision, please

send it in writing prior to June 1st. Information provided will be shared with next year’s team to assist in place-

ment. We hope you will enjoy a restful and relaxing Spring Break with your families!!

Sincerely,

Allison Smith Jessica L. Smith

Principal Assistant Principal

IT’S COMING…

What: Freedom Elementary 14th Annual STEM Fair

When: Thursday, April 27th at 6:00 p.m.

Where: Freedom Elementary School

Who: All students in kindergarten through fifth grade, who are interested

Back in November our students brought in several pounds of Halloween candy to Mrs. Wunder.

Some of this candy was given to our local Veterans and some was sent overseas. Here is an

excerpt from a letter we received from Camp Buehring, Kuwait:

“The Soldiers of the 98th Medical Detachment (Combat Stress Control) and the 31st Combat

Support Hospital would like to thank the students and staff of Freedom Elementary for send-

ing a great number of very special and spirited holiday cards and snacks! Your words of encour-

agement and support combined with wonderful artwork and creativity will help unit morale,

leading to successful mission completion. Your support is greatly appreciated!”

STEM Fair

PAGE 3 From the World of Humanities and STEM

The Three Types of Writing

March Focus: Narrative Writing

Our curriculum focuses on the instruction of the three types of writing; narrative, informational and opinion writing.

Throughout each quarter students are taught the important elements of each type of writing through modeling, mentor

texts and guided practice. For the months of March, April and May, I will focus individually on the strategies we use to

teach each type of writing and how it is evaluated. This month we will focus on informational writing.

In the primary grades we begin teaching children to write on informational topics. Informational sources describe and

classify our world. Their purpose is to describe a place, thing or group of things, rather than retell a happening or series

of events. CCPS teachers utilize, Explorations in Nonfiction Writing by Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt to guide their teaching

of this type of writing. They suggest that students are most likely to encounter informational text in the form of nonfiction

books and reports, but informational text may also appear in other formats, including signs, posters, charts, lists, notes

and informative poetry. Within each writing unit, students complete a class writing project, then each individual child

will develop their own personal informational writing piece, including illustrations. Students K-5 learn through the lens of

an author and mentor texts to guide their understanding about informational writing. While primary learners are just be-

ginning to develop their informational writing skills, students in grades three to five are writing publications with scientific

descriptions, through multiple source research. They are learning to consolidate information with words, supporting ide-

as with strong details, content specific vocabulary and visuals. CCPS uses writing rubrics to measure student develop-

ment of ideas, organization of information, clarity of their ideas as well as language and conventions.

As students develop informational writing skills in the primary grades, they use the same skills to develop more ad-

vanced pieces like nonfiction documentaries, digital presentations using multi-media, travel guides and websites in the

intermediate grades.

Ann Marie Byrd, ELA Specialist

Problems without Numbers – Making Sense of Word Problems

Have you ever read a math word problem and been unsure where to begin? Word problems sometimes pose difficulty

to students as well as adults, because of the need to make sense of the numbers in context. One way to strengthen

comprehension of word problems is to take the numbers OUT (at least temporarily).

In school or at home, we can help children build understanding of problems by taking the numbers out initially and then

slowly reintroducing them. Take a look at this example:

Original problem: At the bake sale, there were 237 cookies on the table. There were 48 fewer brownies than cookies on

the table. How many treats were there for sale?

How can we break down the problem to make understanding easier?

1. Numberless problem:

At the bake sale, there were some

cookies on the table. There were

fewer brownies than cookies on the

table. How many treats were there

for sale?

2. Reintroduce one value:

At the bake sale, there were 237 cookies on

the table. There were fewer brownies than

cookies on the table. How many treats

were there for sale?

3. Reintroduce the other value:

At the bake sale, there were 237 cookies

on the table. There were 48 fewer brown-

ies than cookies on the table. How many

treats were there for sale?

Guiding Questions What facts can you share about the

problem? What do you know about the

amount of cookies and the

amount of brownies? What are you trying to find out and

how could you solve this? What other information would you

like to have?

Guiding Questions What do you know about the problem

now? How many brownies could there be?

What is a reasonable estimate? How

do you know? What operations could you use to solve

the problem? What other information would you like to

have?

Guiding Questions Now that you have made sense of the

relationship between the numbers

and understand what you need to

find out, what strategies and tools will

you use to solve the problem? How do you know if your answer makes

sense?

Not every problem needs to be deconstructed in this way. However, it is a great way to initiate a discussion about what

is really happening in a problem. By scaffolding in this way, children can attend better to the situation presented and

develop a reasonable strategy for solving the problem.

Caroline Chucko, Math Resource Teacher

PAGE 4

April 4—Spring Student/Group Picture Day

April 5—2 hr. 45 min. Early Dismissal

FREEDOM dismisses at 12:45 p.m.

End of Third Marking Period

April 6 — PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m. Media Center

April 10—PTA Restaurant Fundraiser

April 11—Report Cards Distributed

April 13—18 Schools/Offices Closed, Spring

Break

April 17-21—Public School Volunteer Week

April 19—Schools/Offices Reopen

April 20—Volunteer Break

fast 9:15-10:15 AM

April 21—Battle of the Books, Century High

School 6:30pm

April 22—PTA Family Fun Bingo Night

Century High School

April 24—Grade 5 Panoramic Photo

April 26—Administrative Professionals Day Thank you Miss Debbie, Miss Mary, and Miss Sharon!

April 27—PTA STEM Fair 6:00 p.m.

April 27— BOGO Book Fair 4:00– 7:00 p.m.

Mark Your Calendar...

TESTING DATES

PARCC

April 25th-May 8 — Grades 3, 4, and 5 (Note: On these dates there may be changes to lunch and specials schedules to accommodate testing.)

SPRING CONCERT DATES

Thursday, May 11th, 7:00 p.m. – Fifth Grade Chorus & Intermediate Instrumentalists

LOCATION: FREEDOM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Thursday, May 18th, 7:00 p.m. – Fourth Grade Chorus & Beginning Instrumentalists

LOCATION: ELDERSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PAGE 5

F.Y.I.

Gifted and Talented Program Information

When students are screened for gifted and talented intervention, outstanding academic ability and certain characteristics and thought processes are observed and documented. Teachers look for students who possess a wealth of information about selected topics and/or are able to grasp information quickly and remember it with little practice. They observe students who are able to understand gen-eral concepts and make abstractions and connections between seemingly unrelated topics and ideas. If a student possesses some or all of these abilities, he or she can be screened for identification.

Components of the Gifted and Talented Education Program Individual Student Profile

All data in each of the following areas are rated as strong, moderate or weak evidence that gifted and talented services are needed or ap-propriate.

Multiple Data Points

►Teacher Observation Checklist – includes characteristics of gifted students

►Parent/Guardian Observation Checklist – includes characteristics of gifted students as seen by parent

►Primary Thinking Skills (PTS) Individual Checklist – includes data from second grade thinking skills instruction

►Content Specific Checklist – observations from teachers on content specific behaviors of gifted students

►Production Data – work samples provided by teacher and/or parent

►Cognitive Ability Test – aptitude test given to all second grade students

►PARCC – achievement test taken by 3rd , 4th, and 5th grade students

►Academic Instructional Mathematics Level

►Report Card Grade and Work Habits

Once all of the data have been reviewed by the Gifted and Talented Referral and Review Team, one or more of the following recommen-dations are made in order to differentiate instruction:

• ELA/Math Enrichment Services

• Provisional Placement in ELA/Math Enrichment Services (reevaluation of placement to occur after each unit or mid-year)

• Differentiated Support Services (classroom teacher receives resources from GT resource teacher to help meet needs of student in regular classroom)

• Monitoring and annual review (student is reviewed again mid-year and end-of-year or when new data is available)

• No GT interventions needed at this time

The Referral and Review Team convenes 3 times a year – fall, winter, spring or as needed.

PAGE 6

GT Program Referral and Review Team

The Referral

and Review

Team consists

of school based

professionals,

which may

include an

administrator,

the GT teacher,

a school coun-

selor, and

classroom

teachers.

Evaluation for gifted and talented intervention begins in the spring of second grade and contin-ues throughout the school year for grades 3, 4, and 5. The chart above illustrates the sequence of steps involved in the screening process. Should you have any additional questions, please contact Kerrie Butler, GT Resource Teacher, Freedom Elementary at 410-751-3525 or kabutle@carrollk12.org.

Dress Code Reminders

As warmer weather approaches, please help your child to remember the CCPS dress code when choosing clothes to wear to school. The complete dress code can be found on page 12 of the CCPS information calendar and in the CCPS Student Hand-book on the CCPS home page at http://www.carrollk12.org.

Items we address most frequently with the students at FES are:

Shirts need to cover the entire back and midriff area. Undergarments must be covered (i.e., tank top undershirts and skin-tight compression shirts are considered undergar-

ments). Skirts/skorts/shorts should not be excessively short. The guideline for excessively short is clothing that does not reach

the student’s fingertips when the student is standing with arms extended at the side. Shoes that are not safe for recess, physical education, and/or stairs (i.e., flip-flops, clogs, strapless sandals).

PAGE 7

Celebrate School Library Media Month with Us!

Once again, we will be celebrating kindergarten, first, and second grade students who demonstrate respect,

responsibility, and readiness to learn in the media center with our Reading Pal Program. Each week in

Media, we will select one student per class to choose a Reading Pal stuffed animal and backpack to take

home for a week. The student may read to the Reading Pal, and then complete the journal entry in the

backpack. Then either draw a picture, or attach a photograph of the student reading to the Pal, and send it

in to the media center. Another option is for parents to send a digital photograph of the student and the

Pal reading to Mrs. Queen at ctqueen@carrollk12.org. The drawings, pictures, and journal entries will be

displayed in the hall on the Reading Pal Bulletin Board to showcase our wonderful students and readers.

We will also host a Book Exchange Table throughout the month in the media center during the morning

homeroom. With their parents’ permission, students may bring in one or more books that they are ready

to pass on to another reader. The books must be school appropriate. We operate on a one for one trade

basis. So your child may bring in one book and select another book to keep, or donate two books to the

table and select two books, etc. This is one way to share previously read books, and gather new reading

materials without spending any money.

In addition, our Freedom Lucky Reader Program will continue throughout the month of April. During

book exchange media days, we will randomly select one card from the basket of student cards of those

students who demonstrated responsibility by returning their media books. That lucky student will be able

to select a brand new magazine or book to take home and keep!

And one of our most popular celebration activities is the Trivia Question Contest once a week on the

news. The first teacher to call our news reporters with the correct answer to a trivia book question wins!

Each student in his or her class chooses a prize from our Treasure Box to keep.

We hope all of these special activities help us all remember how lucky we are to have such a wonderful

resource as a school library with thousands of popular books and curriculum support to help us all enjoy

reading and learning.

Save the Date Reminders: Our Battle of the Books is just two weeks away! Hope those teams are reading

and rereading their expert books. And I also hope everyone comes out to enjoy a fun and exciting evening

cheering for our nine Freedom teams on Friday, April 21 at 6:30PM at Century High School.

The Buy One Get One Free Scholastic Book Fair is the same night as our STEM Fair. We hope that

makes it more convenient for everyone to enjoy both the STEM Fair, and the BOGO Book Fair. Our fair

will begin at 4:00PM and end at 7:00PM so be sure to allow time to visit the media center before you begin

the Science Fair. This book fair is not a fundraiser for our school; it is an opportunity for us to thank the

school community for their support, and help families stock up on books at half price for summer reading

and birthday gifts! Thank you for everything you do to support Freedom Elementary!

PAGE 8

VOLUNTEERS

Carroll County Public Schools 2016—2017

Level II Volunteers (classroom helpers, tutors, chaperones, mentors, etc.) are required to attend

an annual training session at least seven (7) school days prior to volunteering. School days are defined as days when schools are open for students.

Safety & Security - Volunteer Training Requirement

Anyone planning to volunteer during the 2016-2017 school year must provide

valid photo identification at the conclusion of the volunteer training session.

Exceptions regarding this new requirement will not be granted.

Training for volunteers during the 2015-2016 school year was only valid through September 30, 2016. A schedule of training

sessions for the 2016-2017 school year is posted on the CCPS website, https://www.carrollk12.org under Students and Parents. Below is a listing of some of the sessions closest to Freedom. Please call the school prior to attending to confirm training date and time.

Thanks in advance for supporting student achievement by volunteering in our schools. Additional information about the

school system’s volunteer program can be obtained by contacting Jane Farver, CCPS Volunteer Program Coordinator, at

ejfarve@carrollk12.org or 410-386-1536.

DATE SCHOOL

+ precedes a school event/activity

^ follows a school event/activity

# part of a school event/activity

TIME CONTACT

Please call the num-ber provided to con-firm the scheduled training session.

April 11 Mechanicsville Elementary 10:00 AM 410-751-3510

April 11 + Eldersburg Elementary 6:15 PM 410-751-3520

April 11 + Mount Airy Middle 6:30 PM 410-751-3554

April 12 Spring Garden Elementary 7:45 AM 410-751-3433

April 19 Elmer Wolfe Elementary 8:00 PM 410-751-3307

May 2 Eldersburg Elementary 5:00 PM 410-751-3520

May 2 Manchester Elementary 7:00 PM 410-751-3410

May 4 + Carrolltowne Elementary 6:30 PM 410-751-3530

May 17 Mechanicsville Elementary 6:15 PM 410-751-3510

May 25 Mechanicsville Elementary 10:00 AM 410-751-3510

We encourage parents and guardians to ac-

company children on trips when possible. At

times the number of chaperones is limited by

available bus space or allocation from the

location we are visiting. Chaperones are to be

parents or legal guardians

over the age of 21. Please

be sure you have complet-

ed the required volunteer

training prior to signing

up to chaperone.

Carry ID, Please Whenever you come into

the office to pick up your child

early from school, remember to carry your

ID with you. Sometimes we don’t quite

remember everyone’s face and you might be

asked to produce identification. Please don’t

be offended. We just want to be sure that

your child is safe.

A driver’s license/ID card is also required

whenever you are visiting or volunteering.

PAGE 9

NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION

The Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,

ancestry or national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or age in its programs and

activities. The CCPS provides nondiscriminatory access to school facilities in accordance with its

policies and regulations regarding the community use of schools (including, but not limited to, the

Boy Scouts). The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-

discrimination policies:

Gregory J. Bricca Director of Research and Accountability

125 North Court Street

Westminster, Maryland 21157

ADA ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) does not discriminate on the basis of disability in employment or the provision of ser-

vices, programs or activities. Persons needing auxiliary aids and services for communication should contact the Office of Com-

munity and Media Relations at 410-751-3020 or publicinfo@carrollk12.org, or write to Carroll County Public Schools, 125 North

Court Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157. Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, may use Relay

or 7-1-1. Please contact the school system at least one (1) week in advance of the date the special accommodation is needed.

Information concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act is available from the Director of Facilities or the Supervisor of Com-

munity and Media Relations.

Raymond Prokop Carey Gaddis

Director of Facilities Management Supervisor of Community & Media Relations

125 North Court Street 125 North Court Street

Westminster, Maryland 21157 Westminster, Maryland 21157

Dear Freedom Families,

Hot Spots Open Enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year will begin for new families

starting Monday, April 24th. Hot Spots is the before and after school enrichment program locat-

ed on site at Freedom Elementary. As a non-profit organization, Hot Spots provides a high

quality, student-centered educational program with resources that support academics and

social growth. Our program promotes a safe, positive, caring environment. Join us for our

fourth year here at FES!

Visit www.hsecp.org to enroll starting April 24th!

Chelsea Barnett

Program Director HSECP Freedom Elementary School

pdhsfreedom@hsecp.com

443-504-9481