Weekly Update
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Good evening, Farmland Families, Wishing a very Happy Mother's Day to all the incredible mothers, grandmothers, and caregivers in our community! We hope your day was filled with love, appreciation, and a time to relax. We have another very busy week ahead. Monday will begin with a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony with Senator Zucker, Delegate Wolek, and Delegate Korman, who provided the grant that funded our new playground. Our students have already been enjoying this new space, and we're excited to welcome our guests to see firsthand how their support has expanded access and opportunities for our children. One of my favorite events of the year, Farmland's annual International Night was once again a huge success! The weather was perfect, and the evening was filled with delicious food, cultural dances, and vibrant displays that highlighted and celebrated the incredible diversity of our school community. A big thank you to everyone who hosted a booth, brought food, and helped make the night so special. A very special thank you to Megha Rajaram Shaffer for organizing the event, our amazing PTA for their support, and our fantastic emcee, Mr. Zhou, for keeping the evening flowing smoothly. We also want to thank all the staff who came out to support the event—your presence means so much to our families and students. We're proud to share that the fifth grade raised $1,250 toward their end-of-year activities. Thank you to everyone who came out, and to those who stayed to help clean up. It was an amazing night, and we're already looking forward to next year! A heartfelt thank you to our community for the generous gifts and kind gestures during Staff Appreciation Week. A special thank you to the PTA for the delicious breakfast! Please read below for this week's update. This week in the Farmland Weekly Update:
Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Updates Click here to access last week's Farmland Weekly Update. Warm regards, April April D. Longest Principal Farmland Elementary School Unity Circle Event Our goal is to reflect on what unites us as a school and to celebrate the rich diversity that makes our community so special. Let's stand together as ONE! Each homeroom class will be creating a poster designed by the class to hold, display, and present during the event. The posters will reflect signs and symbols that represent a variety of topics that include peace, kindness, unity, culture, language, country, and speak up strategies. We look forward to this fun new opportunity for our school to come together as one. 2025-2026 Kindergarten Playdate We're excited to invite all enrolled Kindergarten students to a special Kindergarten Playdate for the 2025-2026 school year! Join us THIS THURSDAY, May 15, at 5:30 p.m. on the Farmland Elementary School Playground to meet your future classmates and have some fun. This event is sponsored by Kids After Hours and will include a chance to meet Farmland Kindergarten teachers and school administrators. We can't wait to welcome our newest Sparkies to the Farmland family! All children must be accompanied by an adult. Repairing Harm Through Restorative Practices When harm occurs, offering an apology is one way to begin repairing relationships—but only when it's genuine. Restorative practices go beyond a simple "I'm sorry," focusing instead on accountability and meaningful action. A more thoughtful apology might sound like: We also teach students to respond in ways that match how they feel:
Restorative conversations help create agreements tied directly to the impact of a behavior, rather than imposing unrelated punishments. This builds empathy, responsibility, and real-life problem-solving skills. Ideas for Making Repairs at Home:
These repairs are most effective when your child helps create the solution. This builds autonomy, accountability, and connection. Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Updates PTA Spring Festival is THIS FRIDAY, 5-7 PM Get ready for an evening of games, music, inflatables, face painting, playground time, and fun. Pizza, snacks, and treats are available for purchase. The event is planned for outside, but will be inside if it rains. To cover the costs of the DJ, prizes, and face paint, please give a suggested donation of $5 per person if you can. Donations accepted online in advance or on-site at the event: https://farmland-pta.membershiptoolkit.com/store/6736 To ensure a fun, successful event, we also need some help! If you can spare a few minutes of your time to help, please sign up here. Slots are also available for middle- and high-schoolers for SSL hours. Thank you! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044AABAA2FA0F85-56493441-farmland Harmony Hills Clothing Drive This Week From May 12-18, the PTA is collecting new or gently used summer clothing for our sister school (Harmony Hills Elementary) families. Please donate shorts, shirts, swimsuits, sandals, sneakers, lightweight pants, etc., for all ages (babies, children, and adults). Drop-off boxes will be outside of the Farmland main entrance and also at 992 Farm Haven Drive in the North Farm neighborhood. Thank you! If you are interested in helping with these donation drives for our sister school next school year, please reach out to FarmlandPTAPresident@gmail.com. Woodward High School Boundary Study Updates The boundary study and reopening of Woodward High School (which is just 2 miles from our school) will affect where Farmland families will attend middle and high school. MCPS has posted resources and upcoming meeting dates. Please attend an upcoming meeting to see initial proposed boundary options (maps), ask questions, and give feedback. For more info and to register for a virtual meeting, see the MCPS website. Virtual/Zoom session options:
In-person session options:
Resources:
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