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Hot Topics
Student Service Learning (SSL)
Montgomery County requires students to complete 60 SSL hours to meet the state requirement for high school graduation. Students may begin earning hours after fifth grade. At this time there are 30 hours that a student can earn during middle school if they successfully complete the requirements in three academic areas. Additionally, students may perform volunteer service for an agency on the approved list. The student is required to complete a SSL Activity Verification form and hand it in for processing during the semester in which the service is performed. Go to the SSL website, www.mcpssl.org, to get complete information and forms or contact the counseling office.
Remember:
- Students need 60 SSL hours in Montgomery County to graduate from high school.
- Make sure the organization and the service activity are listed as pre-approved on the SSL website.
- If the organization is not on the website, get the service pre-approved by the SSL Coordinator (contact the counseling office) before starting the SSL activity.
- SSL hours completed for organizations not on the pre-approved list and not pre-approved by the SSL Coordinator prior to beginning the SSL activity will not be accepted for SSL hours.
- Forms must be turned in within the semester that the service was performed.
- Students who earn 75 hours from the beginning of May to the end of April each year may apply for the Superintendent’s Student Service Learning Award in the spring.
- Keep copies of your SSL paperwork.
Standards-based Grading and Reporting
This school year is the second year of implementation of the revised grading and reporting policy in the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). Countywide standard procedures for reteaching/reassessment, homework, and grading have been developed in support of the revised policy. A complete copy of the procedures is available at mcps.k12.md.us/info/grading. These procedures will be applied consistently within and among schools.
Middle schools will continue to report grades based on individual student achievement – what students know and can do in relation to course expectations as outlined in the MCPS curriculum. Other important information about a student’s participation and assignment completion will continue to be reported separately from the grade as learning skills.
Excerpts from the grading policy are as follows:
Procedures for reteaching/reassessment, homework, and grading will be applied consistently within and among schools.
- Reteaching occurs when the teacher or student determines that students are not
meeting learning goals.
- Reassessment opportunities are identified by the teacher before the original
task/assignment occur within an instructional unit and only one opportunity is
offered per task/assignment.
- Reassessment grad replaces original grade.
- Teachers will only assign homework that is related to the curriculum. There are two categories of homework. Homework checked for completion may account for up to 10% of the marking period grade. Homework evaluated for learning may count toward the remaining portion of the marking period.
- Grades will reflect what a student knows and is able to do in relation to MCPS curriculum. Teachers will establish due dates and deadlines.
Work turned in after the due date and prior to the deadline is dropped no more
than one letter grade.
Work not attempted and submitted by the deadline will be recorded as a zero.
Again, a complete copy of these procedures is available at mcps.k12.md/info/grading.
Attendance Policy
The success of your child in school greatly depends on prompt and regular attendance. It is important for parents to make certain that their children attend school on a daily basis in order to receive the maximum benefits for instruction. We need your cooperation and support to provide the best possible education for your child.
Students should be at school before classes begin in order for them to have time to go to their locker and properly prepare for the school day. The first class of the day begins at 7:55 am.
In preparing your student for high school, we are guided by the attendance policies of the Montgomery County Public Schools and the attendance policies of the State of Maryland.
- Students not in their assigned seats at the beginning of the period are considered
tardy (late). First period begins at 7:55 am. Three unexcused tardies count as one
(1) unexcused absence. The consequence is detention with the possibility of
suspension if the student continues to be tardy (late).
- Missing or skipping class, unexcused, for more than 20 minutes is considered an unexcused absence.
- Any student who arrives at school after 7:55 am, whether the reason qualifies as excused or unexcused, will be considered tardy. Students arriving late should go to the security desk or the main office to obtain a signed pass before going to his/her locker and class.
Please be aware that many students in high school lose credit for their first period class due to arriving late to school, and that developing good habits now will help to ensure that students arrive on time in the morning.
Effective July 1, 2005, a student is counted present for a full day if a student is absent no more than one hour of the school day. A student is counted absent for a full day if the student is present for one hour or less to the school day. A student is credited with ½ day attendance if the student is present more than one hour of the school day and is absent more than one hour of the school day.
The following changes in recording attendance in Montgomery County Public Schools are being implemented in accordance with the Maryland Student Records System Manuel revised effective July 1, 20054, by the Maryland State Department of Education.
- Students will now be recorded as A.M. Absent if they arrive at school more than one hour late
- Students will now be recorded as P.M. Absent if they leave school more than one hour early.
- Students will now be recorded as either A.M. Absent or P.M Absent if they are absent from school for more than one hour during the school day.
- Students will now be recorded as Absent for a full day if they are present for one hour of less of the school day.
Ten Tips For Getting the Most Out of a Parent Conference
Realize that you have about 20 minutes. Prioritize what is most important to you
during the limited time. The teacher will have areas they will want to address that
may or may not answer your questions.
Send in questions to the teacher in advance so the teacher will have had some time to think about or research your question.
Have the teacher identify specific areas that your child needs to improve in.
Have the teacher identify specific areas that your child is excelling in.
Find out about your child’s work habits. Specifically are they getting their work done?
Is your child participating in class and what is the level and quality of participation?
Find out how your child is grouped in instructional groups in major curriculum areas of reading and mathematics.
If not offered, ask if you can look at class work samples, especially writing.’
Ask what is the relationship between your child and the teacher. What is their expectation?
How can you be helpful and reinforce areas the teacher feels need improvement or reinforce areas that are going well.
After-School Activities
After-school activities are held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday every week throughout the school year. No activities are held on early release days of holidays. All activities, except for interscholastic games, start at 2:55 pm and end at 4:15pm. Activity buses are available for students to ride home.
All students interested in taking part in after-school activities must meet the county eligibility requirements. Eligibility for participation in all after-school activities is based on two criteria: payment of the county activity fee and academic success. All students participation in after-school activities must maintain a 2.0 grade point average on the 4.0 scale and with not more than one “E” per quarter. Participation is based on the previous quarter’s results.
The county activity fee must be paid prior to participation in any activity. The annual activity fee is $20, but there is a sliding scale based on income.
Students who are required to participate in an after-school activity as part of the class requirement to receive course credit do not need to pay the county fee. Students do not need to pay the fee to attend homework club, nor do they have to maintain the minimum grade point average.
For more information on the specific after-school activities offered, bus information and parent permission slip, pick up and After-School Activities packet from the school.
I’m a Young Adolescent!
Your son of daughter is undergoing rapid and unsettling personal change. Many parents report these years to be the most difficult of all ages during which to raise children. These youngsters are establishing their sense of self-worth and individual identity. While it’s appropriate to have high-expectations, it pays to remember that they still have both feet planted in childhood. They need clear family rules and lots of guidance from their parents.
The guidelines below may help you, as a parent, better understand what to expect at these ages. Remember, however, these are generalizations that may or may not exactly fit your son or daughter.
- My changing hormones cause me to move from the stable growth of childhood to
the rapid physical, mental and emotional growth of adolescence.
- My rapid body changes have great social significance and jolt my self-esteem.
I am very preoccupied with how I look. I may spend a lot of time in front of the
mirror!
- The influence of my friends has increased because I seek their approval for my self-image.
- I tend toward conformity because my friends make fun of me if I make mistakes.
- A lot of what I do may seem silly to you, and I make lots of misjudgements, but that’s how I learn, by my trials and errors.
- I’m growing up, but I still tend to think like a child, and have quickly shifting emotions.
- My family life is still central to me, and I may unload on you because you provide the safest place for me to release my fears.
- I need structure in my life. Please establish clear family rules and help me to understand why the rules are for my benefit.
Your teenager needs lots of praise and plenty of encouragement. While you need to hold your son or daughter accountable for misbehaviors, you can be certain his or her friends are supplying more than enough criticism!
Family And Relationship Center, La Jolla, California
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