Thursday, February 3: Meeting Night

The PTA Meeting is on Thursday, February 3 at 6:30-8pm

This is a virtual meeting on Zoom. Meeting ID: 899 9095 7158, Passcode: bres

Phone: 1-301-715-8592, Meeting ID: 899 9095 7158, Passcode: 498882

**Don’t forget to join Dr. Peter Moran, MCPS at 5:30pm on Zoom for a Community Meeting on the selection of the next principal of Bayard Rustin ES.
Login details: https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/3233545592?pwd=aTJhVTFncEEwZXNEaEZnOVcrTm5iZz09

Solving IEP Meeting Disagreements: Legal Paths for Resolving Special Education Issues

The MCCPTA Special Education Committee hosted a presentation with two special education attorneys, Brian Gruber and Kim Glassman.

Solving IEP Meeting Disagreements: Legal Paths for Resolving Special Education Issues:
The presentation addresses dispute resolution options including state complaints, mediation, due process, information on resolution processes within MCPS, and the ins and outs of bringing legal representation to an IEP meeting while preserving your school relationships.
Link: https://youtu.be/BB245YfPyas

PTA Family Trivia Night - January 13

Questions will be completed in several rounds and formats. The most cumulative correct at the end of the competition will win!

Teams can consist of several people but should include at least one adult. One zoom login per team. Staff are welcome to play too. There is absolutely no Googling the correct answers!

Check out the 1/11 email message from the PTA for the zoom link.

COVID-19 5-11 year-olds Vaccinations available this weekend Dec. 18 & 19

Several opportunities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are available this weekend for 5 to 11-year-olds. Some clinics will also offer adult vaccinations and boosters.  

Appointments are not necessary, but registration links are included below:

Links for Saturday, December 18th

12/18/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Banneker Middle School https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/6116340902 

12/18/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Gaithersburg Middle School https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/0924264101

12/18/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Neelsville Middle School https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/9810206241

12/18/21 10:00am - 6:00pm Clarksburg High School https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/0911362594

12/18/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Paint Branch High School
https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/9210276141

 

Links for Sunday, December 19th

12/19/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Briggs Chaney Middle School https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/1160725904

12/19/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/6110740922

12/19/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Takoma Park Middle School https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/1192406701

12/19/2021 10:00am - 6:00pm Montgomery College - Germantown https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/1092476101

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]