Vax Facts: Straight Up Answers to Your COVID-19 Vaccine Questions

How Dr. Sylvia embraced courage and released her COVID-19 vaccine fears

"I was afraid to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Yes, I admit it. I’m putting myself out there because I know there are people out there who are also afraid, and I want to talk to you..."

Panel moderator Dr. Sylvia Gonsahn-Bollie shares how she embraced courage and released her COVID-19 fears. Read more on her blog here:

https://bit.ly/3ENN6O0
Learn more at: Vax Facts: Straight Up Answers to Your COVID-19 Vaccine Questions. Monday, December 13th 7pm-8pm

Register in advance here: https://bit.ly/3IxfXbx



የ COVID-19 ክትባት ለመውሰድ ፈራሁ።"ዶ/ር ሲልቪያ ስለ ድፍረቷ እና የክትባቱን ፍራቻ እንዴት እንዳሸነፈች ትናገራለች። በብሎግዋ ላይ እዚህ የበለጠ ያንብቡhttps://bit.ly/3ENN6O0ስለ ** Vax Facts ለክትባት ጥያቄዎችዎ ቀጥተኛ መልሶች የበለጠ ይረዱ። ሰኞ ታኅሣሥ 13 ከቀኑ 7 ሰዓት - 8 ሰዓት ***እዚ https://bit.ly/3IxfXbx ይመዝገቡ


"Tenía miedo de ponerme la vacuna COVID-19. Sí, lo admito. Me estoy exponiendo porque sé que hay gente que también tiene miedo, y quiero hablar contigo ..."

La Dra. Sylvia Gonsahn-Bollie comparte cómo abrazó el coraje y liberó sus temores de COVID-19. Lea más en su blog aquí: https://bit.ly/3ENN6O0

Obtenga más información en: Vax Facts: Respuestas directas a sus preguntas sobre la vacuna COVID-19. Lunes 13 de diciembre a partir de las 19:00 h. hasta las 8:00 p.m.

Regístrese con anticipación aquí: https://bit.ly/3IxfXbx

Advocacy Alert: Email Montgomery County Leaders on BRES Overcrowding

Dear BRES caring adults,

As of November, our school has exceeded capacity. We have very large classes (28-29 students each) in kindergarten and third grade currently, which is over the 24 student limit set by MCPS. We would like to raise awareness among MCPS leaders that our school, opened just 4 years ago, is already experiencing overcrowding. We offer concrete suggestions for addressing them immediately and for the long term. Please see the template email below to help us raise awareness of our situation, which you may wish to customize to the leaders in Montgomery County and the City of Rockville.

Board of Education Emails

boe@mcpsmd.org
Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org
Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org
Judy_Docca@mcpsmd.org
Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org
Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org
Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org
Hana_O'Looney@mcpsmd.org

City of Rockville Mayor and Council

mayorcouncil@rockvillemd.gov

Montgomery County Council

Councilmember.Albornoz@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Hucker@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Katz@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Rice@montgomerycountymd.gov
Councilmember.Riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov

EMAIL TEMPLATE:

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I have student(s) in [GRADES] at Bayard Rustin Elementary School in Rockville.

Since last June, Bayard Rustin Elementary School in Rockville, has welcomed over 100 new students for a total of 768 as of Nov. 29. This is now 28 students (over 1 full class) over the school capacity of 740. Between Oct. 12 and Nov. 29, BRES added 38 new students alone (almost 1 new student a day). Additionally, we are experiencing continued growth in our boundaries. For example, a new development with 217 townhouses, 30 single family homes and 128 condominiums is opening. Another apartment community is under new management and is heavily marketing their apartments to families.

Immediately, we request:

-The addition of another FTE and/or more paraprofessional supports for each class to address class sizes over the recommended limit of 24 students across our kindergarten and third grades. We feel the recent hiring of one new FTE is not enough to address the needs in these grades.
-The PEP program should immediately be moved to a school with lower capacity to free up two BRES classrooms.

For the rest of this year, we request that MCPS:

-Examine the work of the International Office and how this is impacting capacity at BRES. Can the IO consider school capacity when selecting schools to enroll students, among other factors?
-Draft a concrete plan for more space in 2022-2023 and beyond. Temporarily, the addition of portable classrooms and/or for the long-term a fourth-floor at BRES may be needed. Since BRES may become a focus school next year, we would like a plan asap for space and staffing that currently would not be possible with the situation we have now.
-Revisit the BRES boundaries as part of the new Crown High School boundaries study. Given MCPS data projections used to finalize the BRES boundaries were incorrect, we need MCPS to revisit the BRES boundaries now. Particularly look at students who were at Ritchie Park and are now coming to BRES and students who were at Beall and now coming to BRES, who could be shifted back to these schools to more equitably distribute students in the cluster. 
-Continue to work County-wide to address the significant lack of staffing for qualified teachers and substitute teachers we are facing. Look at barriers to hiring in MCPS. For example, our most recent paraprofessional who transitioned to BRES from within the County was told he had to resign and be hired 30 days later. How does this make sense in today's staffing emergency? MCPS must simply work to change its policies and procedures to make it easier for teachers, substitutes and paraprofessionals to be hired and transition within its system.
-Work with the BRES PTA to install more sun protection for students outdoors. We are experiencing more and more hot days during the school year and there is no shade for students who are out in the hot sun not only for recess, but also for dismissal. Temperatures on our blacktop have reached 130 degrees, which is dangerous. MCPS should plan for more sun protection for students going forward when building new schools and work with the BRES PTA to install mitigation asap.

Thank you,

[YOUR NAME]

MCPS to Hold Community Session on Plans for New Crown HS

MCPS is building a new high school—Crown—near Shady Grove Road and Research Boulevard, with planned opening in Aug 2026. A new school boundary study (involving Richard Montgomery, Gaithersburg, Wootton, Quince Orchard, and Northwest clusters) will kick off Fall 2024.

Richard Montgomery’s boundaries are very likely to be affected by Crown. Planning meetings have started for the physical design of Crown, with three concepts presented to stakeholders via a series of virtual meetings.

The next meeting in the series is scheduled for Thursday, December 16, at 6:30pm. Meeting information and background on the broader project is available here.

Providing Enriched Learning in Elementary Mathematics - Parent Overview

From the MCCPTA GT Committee: Here’s a quick overview of the four tiered approach to math enrichment in elementary schools and what parents can expect from it.

Note that depending on a student's needs, enrichment can be assigned first (not last, as we so commonly see); Eureka content may be modified to offer more complexity; or students may be offered enriched materials in replacement to certain portions of standard Eureka curriculum. Tier IV also offers course acceleration, on an individual basis, when certain assessment and performance data indicate a need.

Ledo's Dine Out Night - Dec 14 - to Benefit BRES

December 14th is PIZZA TUESDAY at LEDO PIZZA

Tuesday December 14th 4-9pm

1319 H Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852

301-309-8484


Ledo Pizza Rockville has re-opened under new management and has partnered with Bayard Rustin Elementary. They will share 20% of all sales brought in by BRES families! Bring or show on your device this flyer when you are at the store. Enter online promo code 306-159-855 when ordering online.

BRES PTA is happy to invite you to the FAMILY FUN NIGHT - Dec 7

Join your friends in Rockville Town Center!

TUESDAY December 7 from 4-8 pm.

Dine-Out Fundraisers have been arranged at Lebanese Taverna (show flyer on your phone) and Marble Slab Creamery (no flyer needed, just mention BRES PTA).

Be sure to mention BRES PTA when ordering and proceeds come straight back to us for more school support!

Dawson's Market will be onsite at the ice rink selling exclusively to us. They will have Hot Chocolate, Coffee, and Homemade Cookies from 5-6 pm. Dawson's will also have some Happy Hour Specials on Adult Beverages inside the store at the Bar.

Rockville Outdoor Ice Skating
Adult Admission: $10, Child Admission: $9, Skate Rental: $5

50% of Rockville Town Center Ice Rink admission ticket sales from 5-7 pm will be donated back to the PTA. (No flyer needed, just mention BRES PTA). Only accepting credit cards (no Amex).

In addition to the Ice Skating, Dinner and Desserts the PTA is planning to have some photo stations.

Dress to Impress: Our helpful volunteers will be around to take pictures of your beautiful families and will send you the digital images for free!

And to top it all off, there will be a custom Rockville Town Center scavenger hunt to be completed for bragging rights. Come to our BRES tables to hang out or just say hi!

Be there at the Square!
Questions can be sent to Patti at: Programs@brespta.org

Want to learn more about enrichment or acceleration for your student?

The Montgomery County Council of PTAs Gifted & Talented Committee recently provided resources on what enrichment and acceleration looks like for elementary school students.

Click here to read what English Language Arts (ELA) enrichment looks like in MCPS. And here's a useful guide on what parents can ask teachers at conferences, regarding ELA and math enrichment and acceleration.

Questions? Please reach out to the BRES PTA (email membership@brespta.org). We welcome feedback and collaboration!

*Enrichment: Enrichment is defined as giving students the opportunity to learn in greater depth and breadth.

**Acceleration: Acceleration of instruction means that students are given a curriculum that is at a higher level than the regular curriculum; the information is more complex or more information is covered; the material is presented more rapidly than in typical instruction; and students are confronted by a greater challenge than is customary with on-grade level material.