MCPS Community Updates

Additional Bus Stop Locations Added to Meal Service Program

MCPS is expanding the number of meal service sites for the community. In addition to the 74 school sites, students and families can pick up meals on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at several bus stop locations throughout the county from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. More information is available at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/meals/.

 

Student Engagement Website Features Information on Leadership, Service, and Extracurricular Activities

MCPS students can engage and access several different experiences through leadership, service, and extracurricular activities. Students are encouraged to participate at the school level. The new student engagement website includes information for additional learning experiences and information, which often are student-led. Be sure to check

www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-engagement/  frequently as content and information will be updated throughout the school year.

 

Parent Academy Holding To-Go Virtual Webinars, Chats, and Workshops

Families and students can stay engaged throughout the school year with Parent Academy TO GO. Parent Academy TO GO is a series of virtual webinars for families to watch at home. In addition, there are several virtual chats and workshops coming up that may be helpful for families. Among them:

Monday, October 12, Mental Health Monday Virtual Chat: Minimizing Meltdowns at Home, 6:00 to 6:45 p.m.

Join us for a virtual chat focused on compassion and grace. We will discuss crisis prevention and intervention strategies to help minimize meltdowns and support your child’s social/emotional needs during a dual pandemic. Recommended for families of elementary, middle, and high school students. Facilitated by a nationally certified school psychologist.

 

Tuesday, October 13, Virtual Chat, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

(Facilitated in English, Spanish, Amharic, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean)

Online learning is very challenging for some of our MCPS families. This virtual chat is a collaborative, community event built on the five primary languages in MCPS and created to listen to the technology needs of parents/guardians. It will create solutions with parents/guardians in real time so they can learn more about how to help their children online and how to solve problems when the technology stops. Presented by MCPS staff and recommended for families of elementary, middle, and high school students.

Monday, October 19, Mental Health Monday Virtual Workshop: An Overview of Social-Emotional Learning, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Join us for an overview of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL is a process through which adults and children deepen their expertise in understanding and managing emotions and learning how they impact a person’s choices, relationships, and outlook in life. MCPS staff will discuss and answer questions regarding SEL and how it impacts your child. Recommended for families of elementary, middle, and high school students and presented by MCPS staff.

You can find the complete list of virtual workshops, chats, and webinars on the Parent Academy website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/parentacademy/.

Townhall on Preventing Sexual Harassment and Assault Set for October 13

Let’s Talk Respect: Preventing Sexual Harassment and Assault, a student-led town hall, will be held via Zoom webinar at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13. MCPS is collaborating with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Victim Assistance Sexual Assault Program, Choose Respect Montgomery, Coaching Boys Into Men, EveryMind, and Identity, Inc. to provide a forum for students and the community. For more information and to register bit.ly/RespectRSVP.

Board Committee to Host Community Conversation on Virtual Learning

The Board of Education’s Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Committee is hosting a community conversation about virtual learning on Monday, October 19 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

You can watch at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org, youtube.com/mcpstv or on MCPS-TV (Comcast 33, Verizon 36 and RCN 88). You can submit questions in advance at www.mcpssubmitquestion.org.

 

Student Service Learning Opportunities

Student Service Learning (SSL) hours remain a state graduation requirement for the 2020-2021 school year. MCPS students must earn 75 SSL hours to graduate. Students may continue to engage in MCPS SSL opportunities, including traditional in-person opportunities and select virtual/remote opportunities that follow the temporarily amended guidelines posted on the MCPS SSL webpage (www.mcps-ssl.org). All nonprofit-hosted SSL opportunities can be found on the Montgomery County Volunteer Center (MCVC) website (www.montgomeryserves.org); these opportunities will be tagged with the blue MCPS SSL banner and graduation cap icon. Students may also directly access nonprofit-hosted MCPS SSL opportunities at bit.ly/SSLOpportunities and bit.ly/VirtualSSL2020.

Black and Brown Coalition to Host Virtual Conversation

The Black and Brown Coalition for Education Equity and Excellence is hosting a virtual forum at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 15.


The forum, Seeking Accountability on Promises Made to Black and Brown Children, will discuss what progress has been made on the pledge to achieve educational and racial equity for Black and Brown students. The event will also address the impact of virtual learning and challenges regarding the recovery of learning loss.


You can register for the free event here.