| FCS Weekly Bulletin |
09/11/09 |
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Friends Community School 
Greetings!
A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD. . .
Few days are as exciting to children as the first day of a new school year. At FCS, students and parents arrived early to renew old friendships and begin new ones. Teachers had prepared activities to help students explore the classroom and learn new procedures. After a morning of introductory activities, many students spent part of the lunch hour watching the Presidential address to school children, then enjoyed recess on our new playground. We are joined by five new teachers who bring fresh ideas and perspectives to our school: Jenny Goodman, 1 / 2 teacher; Sarah Evans, 5 / 6 teacher; Chris Hill, 7 / 8 English and Social Studies; Stacy Fitzwater, Music; and Sarah Ruggieri, Art. The excitement and positive energy evident on the first day have remained strong through the week as classes began their studies, scheduled community building days with parents, and made plans for Fall outings.
Upcoming Events This Week
Sept 15 - PTO Meeting
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| AIMS VISIT |
On Thursday, September 17, FCS will host a visiting committee from the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS). The committee will meet with representatives of the various constituencies of or community, with the expectation that the association will know more about our school's mission and practices. In the near future, we hope to fully benefit from the professional development and accreditation process that our state association provides. |
| Meet Our New Art Teacher |
Late in the summer, Johanna Janssens announced that she had pursues other art positions and she would be leaving FCS after only one year. Sarah, Ruggieri, a recent graduate of U.Md. and an instructor in our summer camps and Extended Day programs, quickly became our choice to fill this position. Sarah will be working closely with Donna Jonte on art curriculum and will teach the 3 / 4, 5 / 6 and some 7 / 8 art electives. Welcome, Sarah!
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Looking For A Carpool?
If you are looking for a ride or have a ride to offer, please write your need or offer, as well as your contact information, on the Carpool sheet posted on the bulletin board in the lobby. Don't forget to check back on the sheet periodically to see if there is a good match for you.
CARPOOL/PICK-UP PROTOCOLS
Morning Carpool (8:10 - 8:20 a.m.)
1. Prepare your children to leave the car before you pull up to the front of the school.
2. The first car in line should pull forward to the light post just past the front door. Others should follow, pulling up to within a few feet of the car ahead.
3. When the car is one of the first four in front of the school, children should exit the car quickly. Children in grades K-4 should wait until a greeter opens the door. Children in grades 5-8 may open their own doors.
4. All students must exit on the passenger side. No exceptions.
5. Cars should remain in line, and carefully follow the line of cars leaving campus.
6. If you would like to park, please do so after dropping off your child(ren).
Morning Walkers - If you need to walk your child(ren) into school, park and then carefully walk them through the parking lot. They may not walk alone. Do not walk through the traffic circle.
Morning X-Day - When dropping off children between 7:40 and 8:10 a.m., please be sure that an X-Day staffer is present. You may park briefly on the circle or in the lot. The staffer will check in the child.
Afternoon Carpool (2:35 - 2:45 p.m. and 3:05 - 3:15 p.m.)
1. Please arrive within 5 to 10 minutes before the dismissal time
(2:35 - 2:45 p.m. for grades K-4; 3:05 - 3:15 p.m. for grades 5-8, except Wednesdays, when all are dismissed at 2:00 p.m.).
If, on occasion, you arrive after 2:45 p.m. or 3:15 p.m., please proceed very slowly, with utmost caution, because children are in the driveway entering cars.
2. Drivers should line up single file in the right lane, with the first car pulling forward to half way around the circle.
3. Once the right lane is full - back to but not on the Westchester Park Circle - form a second lane, parallel to the first.
4. All must park and turn off engines. Please stay with your cars.
5. Teachers will walk children to their cars. If needed, they will help children into cars.
6. Once given the "go" sign from the school person in charge, start your engines and file
carefully out of the circle - right lane first.
If you need to go back to school, please park in the lot, and then walk carefully though the lot.
Afternoon X-Day -- Parents picking up students after 3:30 may park in the lot, walk to the X-Day room, retrieve and sign-out their children.
Thank you.
PARKING PROTOCOLS
General Guidelines
Drivers should park in the following areas, in the following order:
1. parking lot;
2. along the driveway, next to the railroad ties (that delineate the sidewalk);
3. on the grassy area between the driveway and the athletic field, except where cones are set;
4. along Westchester Park Drive, on the far side of the athletic field; and
5. along the park access road, to the right as you enter Westchester Park Drive from Kenilworth Avenue. (Staff will unlock the gate for large events.)
Always:
When parking in line, please pull up close to the car in front of you, to allow for maximum use of parking areas.
Exception:
Please do NOT park along the driveway during carpool times.
Thank you!
Your Kids' Creativity on Display
The popular mugs, calendars, magnets and more showcasing your kids' own artwork will once again be done in time for holiday gifts this year! An added benefit is that the proceeds benefit FCS' arts program. Donna and Sarah will be helping our students develop their "masterpieces" during art class over the next few weeks. A sample will be sent home and you will be able to order items later this fall, for yourselves or for gifts.
Meanwhile, this is a great opportunity to help out on something that doesn't take much time and can be done almost entirely from home during evening hours - and it helps you get to know the other parents in the class. We need one "Original Artworks" class coordinator for each teacher's class to collect and track the orders as they come in.
Interested? Send an email to Cheryl Martin at martclaa@gmail.com, or call 301-927-9015 if you want to know more.
Dates To Remember
September 21-22 Catoctin, 5-6
September 22-23 Jenny - Catoctin
September 23-24 Jenifer - Catoctin
September 24-25 Gerry - Catoctin
September 29 Picture Day
Parent Night K-4, 7pm
October 1-2 Catoctin, 7-8
October 6 Parent Night 5-8, 7pm
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