Silver Creek Weekly Newsletter
April 5-April 9
Dear SCMS Parents/Guardians
I hope you all had a wonderful spring break with time to rest, rejuvenate, and renew. The weather is beautiful and spring is definitely in the air. We look forward to welcoming all our students back to school remotely and in-person! As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow, Monday, April 5. Students resume school on Tuesday, April 6th. The first day of in-person learning for Cohort A- 6th grade students is Thursday, April 8th (please review the adjusted schedule for the week below).
The end of the marking period is April 15th. Since the end of the quarter is fast approaching, it will be important for students to review their grades and complete any missing assignments and/or assessments in their classes. It is also important for students to take advantage of the Focused Student Intervention and the Wednesday check-in next week to receive support and to complete any outstanding work. We are here to support all students, and want to ensure they finish the marking period successfully.
Let’s make it a great week Huskies!
Hybrid Schedule
Please find the Adjusted Hybrid Schedule here for the remainder of the school year. Please review the schedule in great detail.
Please find the Rotation Weeks here. Please make sure students know the week they come for in-person learning.
Reopening of School
This week begins Reopening for our Cohort A -6th grade students. Please read carefully the information below.
A few reminders/highlights
- Tuesday, April 6th and Wednesday, April 7th are virtual days. The first day of in-person learning for Cohort A- 6th grade students will be Thursday, April 8th. The first day for Cohort B-6th grade students will be Monday, April 12th. Please make sure students are aware of their cohort group.
- All Cohort A-7th & 8th grade students return on April 19th and Cohort B- 7th & 8th grade students return Monday, April 26th.
- The adjusted schedule for Semester 2 including the cohort weeks and the schedule for April 5-April 9 can be found HERE.
- A letter with all information pertaining to reopening was sent via email to families who have requested in-person learning. The 6th grade letter was sent on March 12 & the 7th & 8th grade letter was sent on March 25. Please make sure to review this letter in its entirety as it has your child’s rotation, class schedule, and important reopening information.
- Please make sure all students returning to in-person learning view the reopening orientation video (must be logged into mcpsmd.net account).
- Lunch is available for all students at no charge. However, students can bring their own lunch.
- Materials to bring to school.
Students who remain virtual will not see any changes to their schedule except for the Focused Student Intervention (FSI) period is now also at the beginning of the day (8:15-9:00 am). However, on the first day of in-person learning, there will be no FSI in order to acclimate in-person students to the building. The virtual/hybrid schedule can be found here. Additionally, if there are any changes to the schedule, we will communicate these updates to you.
We are very excited to see our students return to school as we continue to provide an optimal learning experience for both virtual and in-person students.
Silver Creek News from March 26, 2021
Virtual Library Media Center
Beginning April 12, the Library Media Center will be offering "Holds to Go." In-person students may place up to five books on hold each week they are in the building. Books will be delivered to classes, or may be picked up from the LMC during wellness breaks or after school. Virtual students can pick up their books on Wednesdays. All information and instructions are in this video or printed here. We ask that all students return books they have at home so we can keep our books circulating to new readers! Ebooks and audiobooks are always available in SORA, and we're adding great new reads weekly!
We also invite all students to our weekly Book Bites programs, for games, socializing, new books and authors, and other book-related fun. Visit our library media website for more information. We ask all families to please return all library books to the bin inside the front doors, any school day from 9 am - 3 pm. The more returns, the more books we can loan out to our wonderful, voracious readers!
Husky Huddle Lesson
During Husky Huddle on Tuesday, April 6, students will revisit their Quarter 3 goal & action steps to finish out the quarter strong. On Friday, April 9, students will have a Fab Friday lesson. This is the opportunity for students to organize their assignments from the week, and email their teachers with questions/request for support in preparation for the end of the quarter.
Attendance Reminder: Students are expected to attend all 8 of their classes. Attendance is taken in all classes including Husky Huddle (8th period/Homeroom).
No Place for Hate Virtual Art Show
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.
Registration for the Fall Athletic Season is now open!
We CAN, We Will, We R.A.I.S.E - Welcome to the Silver Creek Middle School's Fall 2nd Semester Athletic Season! The fall season will begin on April 20 - May 6, 2021. The middle school interscholastic athletics program is available for all students in 7th and 8th grade only and will consist of the following sports: Coed Cross Country; Boys’ Softball; and Girls’ Softball
- The fall season at SCMS will remain virtual and will include three virtual engagement sessions per week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 pm. This will be a total of 9 engagement sessions over the course of three weeks. You may register at the following link: Silver Creek MS Fall Athletics Registration. Registration information will also be placed on the Silver Creek website, shared in PE/Health classes, and will go out in the Sunday community messages.
- The Winter (Basketball) and Spring (Soccer) sports will be held from May 11 - May 27, 2021 for 9 engagement sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We will keep you informed on what the winter and spring sports sessions will look like; no final decisions have been made yet on whether this will be virtual or in-person. More information about registering for these sports will be sent out to the community in the coming weeks.
If you have any questions, please email the Silver Creek Athletic Coordinator, Mr. Ryan Bingaman (Ryan_H_Bingaman@mcpsmd.org).
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 the March newsletter. You may also go to 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
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.
Wear Silver Creek Colors on Fridays!
Important Dates to Remember & Coming Attractions
April 8- Return to in-person learning for Cohort A - 6th grade students
April 12- Return to in-person learning for Cohort B- 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 Cohort A- 7th & 8th grade students. MP4 Begins
April 22- Thursday Tea Time, 4:30-5:00 pm.
April 26- Return to in-person learning for Cohort B- 7th & 8th 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
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