Students Will Receive Free Meals During the Summer

Students in many summer school or recreation programs will be provided meals as part of the Montgomery County summer food program. The program ensures that children in low-income areas continue to receive nutritious meals during the summer months when school breakfasts and lunches are not available.

The free meals will be distributed at approximately 120 sites throughout the county every weekday starting June 17 (start dates vary by site). All children 18 and younger, as are persons with physical and mental disabilities up to 21 years old, are eligible to receive meals.

Lunch also will be provided on a walk-in basis at several locations throughout the county for those who are not enrolled in a specific county summer program. For specific information on locations and meal times, click here.

For more information, contact the Division of Food and Nutrition Services at 301-284-4900.

Board of Education Approves $2.68 Billion Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2020

The Montgomery County Board of Education unanimously adopted a final Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Operating Budget on June 11. The $2.68 billion budget represents a $80.14 million spending increase over the current fiscal year.

A majority of the $80.14 million spending increase will be used to maintain services for a growing student population; manage increasing operational costs; fund ongoing salaries and benefits; and invest in key areas of work to close opportunity gaps and improve academic excellence for all students.

The budget also includes funding for key areas that will strengthen the district’s efforts to improve programs; increase access to strong academic and career opportunities; extend learning; provide language opportunities; focus on physical, social and psychological well-being; hire and retain an effective and diverse workforce; and strengthen operational excellence. Visit https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/ to learn more.

Prekindergarten/Head Start to Host Free Summer Event for Families

Montgomery County families are invited to attend the Head Start Party in the Park on Saturday, July 13 at Wheaton Regional Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The event, at the park’s train station, is co-sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Community Action Agency, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Montgomery Parks, DHHS Early Childhood Services, and Montgomery County Public Libraries.  Wheaton Regional Park is located at 2000 Shorefield Road in Wheaton.

Parents of 4-year-olds are encouraged to attend this event, which will include information about the Pre-K/Head Start program, along with on-site registration.  Several community agencies and organizations will participate in the event, providing helpful resources to attendees.  This free event includes a DJ, food trucks, face painting, balloon animals, and other activities for children.  To learn more about this event, please click here for information in English and Spanish. 

Please click here to learn more about Head Start/Pre-K registration for the 2019-2020 school year or call 240-740-4530.

We’re Back! Don’t Miss the 2019 Back-to-School Fair

The 2018–2019 school year is coming to an end, and MCPS is already looking toward next year. Join us in a fun kickoff to the 2019–2020 school year! All MCPS students and their families are invited to Westfield Wheaton for an MCPS Back-to-School Fair on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The Back-to-School Fair is a great way to kick off the school year and learn about the school system’s programs and services, along with resources from government agencies and community partners. School system staff will be on hand to answer questions about MCPS curriculum and programs.

There will be free, fun entertainment for the whole family, including children’s activities, health screenings for adults and children, giveaways and more! Shuttle buses will be provided; locations are to be determined.

Mark your calendars and keep checking the Back-to-School Fair webpage over the summer. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates as well—in English and Spanish. Find the Spanish Facebook page here and Spanish Twitter here.

For more information about the fair, visit the Back-to-School Fair website or call the Department of Communications at 240-740-2837.

Immunization Requirements for the 2019-2020 School Year

All incoming seventh grade students must receive vaccination against Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) and Meningococcal meningitis (MCV4) prior to the start of the 2019–2020 school year. In addition, all students newly enrolled in MCPS in Grades 8 through 12 are required to have one Tdap and MCV4 vaccination. Students will be required to provide documentation of the required Tdap and MCV4 immunizations.

Parents should contact their doctor to make sure their child is properly immunized and submit a copy of the documentation to the child’s school health nurse as soon as possible, but no later than Tuesday, Sept. 3, the first day of the 2019–2020 school year.

Visit this webpage to view the full list of immunization requirements for students.

Summer is A Great Time to Read!

Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) invites all students to participate in this year’s Summer Reading Program, which will begin June 15 and run until August 31. This year’s theme is “A Universe of Stories,” encouraging children of all ages to dream big, believe in themselves, and create their own stories.  Space is featured in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Children from newborns to 12 years old and teens, 13-17 years of age, are invited to sign up online or at any branch June 15 through Aug. 31.

Participants who read and/or take part in fun learning activities can earn prizes (while supplies last); vouchers to a Friends of the Library, Montgomery County (FOLMC) bookstore; or raffle entries.

Summer Read and Learn also includes many different programs and events generously sponsored by Friends of the Library Montgomery County and local Friends of the Library chapters. Schedules of programs are on the Library’s calendar of events.

For more information about the program, visit the MCPL website.

Also, MCPS students now have access to two great resources for reading this summer: Capstone Interactive Library eBooks and OverDrive Summer Read using Sora.

These two programs offer the ability to continue reading over the summer using any device with free access to fiction and nonfiction titles they can enjoy anywhere, anytime.

Capstone Interactive Library provides free access to thousands of eBooks for elementary and middle school students that can be read from school, home or on-the-go. These eBooks can be used with a laptop, desktop or tablet. Best of all, Capstone Interactive eBooks provide critical supports like text highlighting and read-aloud audio, recorded by professional voiceover artists. The easy navigation makes it inviting for students to find their Capstone favorites: like the spunky Katie Woo or the spirited Yasmin, stunning photography from PebblePlus books, and thrilling reads like Library of Doom by Michael Dahl.

Check out all the titles available using this login information:

www.mycapstonelibrary.com
Login: capstonesummer

Password: interactive19

OverDrive Summer Read is an annual program for schools in the U.S. and Canada designed to encourage students to keep reading all year long. This year’s 10-week program runs from June 6 to August 15. OverDrive is offering more titles than ever before. Thirty free and simultaneous use juvenile and young adult eBooks (and select audiobook and Read-Along options) will be available to MCPS students. These titles will be prominently displayed in the Sora app, so it’s easy for students to find their next book and chill out and read. If students read them all, they can always check out more books from their school library without ever leaving Sora. There are also 100 professional titles available for staff.

To check out the Summer Read titles from OverDrive, just log onto Sora at:

https://soraapp.com
Login: MCPS username
Password: MCPS password

Hear the Voices of MCPS Grads

More than 11,000 MCPS students received diplomas in commencement ceremonies that began on May 24 and will end on June 13.

MCPS has created a webpage that features video stories and pictures of members of the Class of 2019. Visit the page to hear from some graduates as they reflect on their time with MCPS and share their plans for the future. Congratulations, Class of 2019!

Voices of MCPS Grads

Support the Give BACKpacks Campaign

Join MCPS as it kicks off the 7th annual MCPS GIVE BACKpacks campaign to raise funds, and coordinate the distribution of backpacks and school supplies to students in MCPS schools.
For as little as $10, you can provide a student with a backpack filled with school supplies. MCPS places orders throughout the summer with a goal of providing as many students as possible with a backpack and school supplies at the start of the school year.  June, July and August are critical months to place orders.
Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of people in our community during the 2018-2019 campaign, the district provided more than 18,500 backpacks to students in need. This year, MCPS wants to increase its efforts with a goal of raising $200,000 to distribute 20,000 backpacks and school supplies to students across our school system.
Help spread the word about this campaign by sharing the campaign flyer with your colleagues, family, friends and community members. Every donation helps a student in need.
To learn more about GIVE BACKpacks, please visit www.mcpsgivebackpacks.org.

We’re Back! Don’t Miss the 2019 Back-to-School Fair

The 2018–2019 school year is coming to an end, and MCPS is already looking toward next year. Join us in a fun kickoff to the 2019–2020 school year! All MCPS students and their families are invited to Westfield Wheaton for an MCPS Back-to-School Fair on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The Back-to-School Fair is a great way to kick off the school year and learn about the school system’s programs and services, along with resources from government agencies and community partners. School system staff will be on hand to answer questions about MCPS curriculum and programs.

There will be free, fun entertainment for the whole family, including children’s activities, health screenings for adults and children, giveaways and more! Shuttle buses will be provided; locations are to be determined.

Mark your calendars and keep checking the Back-to-School Fair webpage over the summer. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates as well—in English and Spanish. Find the Spanish Facebook page here and Spanish Twitter here.

For more information about the fair, visit the webpage or call the Department of Communications at 240-740-2837.

Hear the Voices of MCPS Grads

More than 11,000 MCPS students received diplomas in commencement ceremonies that began on May 29 and ended on June 8.

MCPS has created a webpage that features video stories and pictures of members of the Class of 2018. Visit the page to hear from some graduates as they reflect on their time with MCPS and share their plans for the future. Congratulations, Class of 2018!

Voice of MCPS Grads