Silver Creek Weekly Newsletter
March 15-March 19
Dear SCMS Parents/Guardians
We are halfway through marking period three. MP3 interims will be available on StudentVue and Parent Vue on March 18, 2021. The end of the marking period is April 15, 2021. As always, in an effort to provide support to our students, a message to attend Wednesday check-ins and FSI will be sent out each Monday to parents of students who currently have a D or E in one or more of their classes. We will continue to encourage and support our students' efforts. They are doing a great job.
We have a regular schedule this week. Let's make it a great week Huskies!
Weekly Assignments at a Glance
Regular Schedule this week: March 15-March 19
Please find the Adjusted Schedules based on half days, professional days, & holidays for 2nd semester linked below. We will be sure to communicate any changes to schedules, as needed.
Reopening of School Updates
Please find MCPS information and resource videos about the Reopening Plan located HERE.
The phases for reopening are below. Please note: Based on the Board meeting from March 11, 2021, the start date for Phase 1.2 has been changed from April 6th to April 8, 2021. Tuesday, April 6th and Wednesday, April 7th will now be virtual days. For more information about the change, please read the community update here.
March 15 Phase 1.1- Special education programs for 6th Grade students.
April 8- Phase 1.2- 6th grade students
April 19- Phase 2.1- 8th grade students
April 26- Phase 2.2- 7th grade students
In addition, Special Education programs for 7th and 8th grade students will return April 8th- Phase 1.2.
On Friday, March 12, letters were sent via email to all 6th grade families who have requested in-person learning. This communication was sent to all emails on file for each student. The letters provide information specific to students' rotation, teacher schedule/room numbers, and other important logistics. We plan to email student specific schedules to families of 7th & 8th grade students the week of March 22. We greatly appreciate your patience as we work diligently to schedule an optimal learning experience for our students.
Students who remain virtual will not see any changes to their schedule, except for the Focused Student Intervention (FSI) period now being at the beginning of the day (8:15-9:00 am). The virtual/hybrid schedule can be found here. Additionally, if there are any schedule modifications, we will communicate these updates to you.
If you were not able to attend the community meeting for reopening, you can find the following below:
I know many of our parents & students might be feeling anxious about this process. Please know, we are working to the best of our ability to make this a safe return for our students and staff while providing students with a valuable learning experience. Please remain encouraged, hopeful, and strong. We will get through this together!
Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention Program
The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) remains committed to sharing information and resources about mental health topics that could potentially impact students.
All students in Grade 6 through 12 will participate in the Signs of Suicide® (SOS®) Prevention Program. The program will be implemented between March 1 and March 26. The SOS lessons will go through your child’s English class beginning March 1. Here is the schedule.
Students will also receive handouts that include the Act to Save a Life student newsletter and a list of school, local, and national resources that are available on mental health needs. Please find the parent letter located HERE:
Resources can be found here:
Silver Creek News ( Latest news from 3/5)
Virtual Library Media Center
Check our website for more information about our next contactless holds pickup soon. In the meantime, head over to SORA for thousands of great digital books. Not sure WHAT to read? This recommendations page on our Library Media Center website can help!
No Place for Hate Virtual Art Show
There is no limit to ideas, but some common topics might be: cultural diversity or celebrating a particular culture or cultures, celebrating one's identity or identities, confronting racism, sexism, homophobia, and all other forms of racial, cultural, and other bias, standing up to marginalization and discrimination, promoting equity, or taking a stand on current issues on any of these themes. Be creative! If you are interested in submitting artwork, please use THIS GOOGLE FORM and submit your work by March 15.
We are so excited to see what our Husky artists will come up with! If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Diskin at trayce.r.diskin@mcpsmd.net.
Husky Huddle & Attendance
During Husky Huddle, students will have a NPFH lesson on Tuesday, March 16 and a Friday Fab Lesson on Friday, March 19. You may view the NPFH lesson below:
Attendance Reminder: Students are expected to attend all 8 of their classes. Attendance is taken in all classes including Husky Huddle (8th period/Homeroom).
PARENT RESOURCES
Save the date for the next Tea Time with Dr. Awkard
The next Thursday Tea is scheduled for Thursday, April 22, 2021 from 4:30-5:00 pm. Topic: TBA.
The zoom information will be forthcoming.
You may find the google slides for each month's "Thursday Tea" on our website.
Counselor News & Updates
Please check out this month's newsletter. Please check out the Counseling Website periodically for upcoming parent drop in sessions that focus on providing academic, social and emotional support strategies/practices for parents during virtual learning.
https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/scmsmcpscounseling/parent-resources
Parent/Guardian Resource Handbook
Please locate the parent handbook on our website. All the information you need is located here for your convenience.
https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/silver-creek-parent-handbook/home
Career Cafe: A Tale of Small Stars and their Planets
The STEAM Committee and SCMS are super happy to announce our next Career Cafe Speaker Dr. Alycia Weinberger, who will be talking to us this Friday, March 19 at 12PM on "A tale of small stars and their planets"
- Are you interested in learning about what "Small Stars" are?
- Are you curious to find out why "Small Stars" are newsworthy?
- Did you know that Proxima Centauri is the closest Small Star to our Sun?
- As Dr. Weinberger put it "although Proxima Centauri is an adult star, its behavior may make you think it acts more like a toddler"!
Dr. Alycia Weinberger is a Staff Scientist at the Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
She is an observational astronomer interested in planet formation and exoplanets. -
This speech proves to be VERY interesting! Do Not Miss It!
To sign up please ask your students to visit this Google Form: https://forms.gle/Vv3fMUubx6A6fX52A
As usual, a link to the event will be shared directly with students on their MCPS Accounts by Dr. Awkard the morning of the event. Unfortunately we cannot send these email reminders to students directly - therefore if you think your child/children will be interested in participating, make sure to share this information directly with them and remind them to use their school email to sign up!
SSL Information at Silver Creek
Online Homework Help
MCPS has announced a new, free student online tutoring and homework help service. Tutorme.com is a secure, online resource that will be easily accessible through MCPS student Canvas and StudentVUE accounts and will offer on-demand assistance on any subject from grade 3 through grade 12. More information is available here.
Social Media
We know that many students use social media applications such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. It is imperative that students use these social media applications appropriately. Technology should be not be misused for the purpose of bullying, harassment, or intimidation. I will address any acts of misuse accordingly. The MCPS Policy can be found here.
Thank you for being vigilant and monitoring your child's social media use. Here is a resource for parents on social media.
Important Dates to Remember & Coming Attractions
March 19- Career Cafe: 12PM
March 22-March 26- Student specific letters emailed to families of 7th & 8th grade students who have requested in-person learning.
March 29-April 2- Spring Break
April 8- Return to in-person learning for Phase 1.2- 6th grade students
April 15- End of Marking Period 3
April 16- No School for students; Teacher Professional Day
April 19- Return to in-person learning for Phase 2.1- 8th grade students; Marking Period 4 Begins
April 22- Thursday Tea
April 26- Return to in-person learning for Phase 2.2- 7th grade students
Student Absence & Class Recordings
If a student is going to be absent, the parent/guardian is asked to call the attendance line at 240-740-2201 in the morning of the absence. In your message, please include the information listed below:
1. Parent/Guardian name
2. Full name of your student (First & Last); student ID#
3. Date(s)of absence
4. Reason for absence
You can also email Ms. Rachel Distelhorst, attendance secretary, at Rachel_Distelhorst@mcpsmd.org.
Students are expected to attend the live meetings for all classes listed on their schedules. If students are not able to attend one or more live class meetings on a given day, they should access the recording of the class that is posted in myMCPS Classroom. These recordings will only be available for 72 hours after the live class meeting. After watching the recording, please complete the Live Virtual Lesson Absence Form found here. After the form has been submitted and processed, the absence will be removed from the student’s record. (Please note that it may take several days to process the form after it has been submitted.) If a student is absent from a live class meeting and not able to access the recording within 72 hours due to an extenuating circumstance (e.g., hospitalization, death in the family, etc.) or has questions regarding attendance procedures, a parent or guardian may email a note to Ms. Rachel Distelhorst, attendance secretary, at Rachel_Distelhorst@mcpsmd.org
Important Contacts
https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/silvercreekms/staff/directory/
Silver Creek Middle School
Acting Principal: Dr. Tiffany Awkard
Assistant Principal: Mrs. Kimberly Heidler
Acting Assistant Principal: Mr. David O'Shell
School Hours: 8:15 am-3:45 pm
Main Office: 240-740-2200
Registration & Counseling: 240-740-2211
Attendance Line: 240-740-2201
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/silvercreekms/
Location: 3701 Saul Road, Kensington, MD, USA
Phone: 240 740 2200
Twitter: @SCMSDrAwkard