From Dr. Varlack, Our Principal

Greetings FRES Community,

As we get closer to the end of the 2018 calendar year, we cannot help but reflect on all that has taken place in our world at large, our school lives, and the lives of our students.  We really have much to be thankful for. May you be present with your family and loved ones, enjoy them and create new, delicious memories to end the year.  

We wanted to share a few items with you that you may not be aware of:

Did you know that: Recently we have begun strategy group instruction. On Fridays during the ELA block, each grade will group students according to specific skills they may need additional practice with. This is another way to work with our students during reading. Your child’s teacher may or may not change for that group instruction but it is only for Friday. Should you have questions, your child’s homeroom teacher can provide details.

Did you know that: our students have really put forth their best in preparing for the Winter concert?  We have a total of 114 students involved in Band, 150 in Orchestra, and 66 in Chorus. Pretty impressive, eh?

Finally, did you know that: there is a policy for Emergency Preparedness and Response (Policy 3010)? After reviewing the policy, please let us know if you have any questions. The policy is below.  The purpose of this policy is to define the process and establish criteria by which the school system responds to situations that threaten the safety or health of students and staff or are disruptive to the operation of a school, multiple schools, or the school system.

IV. Standards

In times of emergency, the first priority of the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) will be the safety of all students, staff, and other individuals in a school system facility or on school system property.

HCPSS will develop an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for each school and school system facility in consultation with other health and safety officials within the community. Copies of each school EOP will be kept on file at the school site and in the Office of Safety, Environment and Risk Management.

HCPSS EOPs will align with the Howard County Emergency Operations Plan.

HCPSS will participate with the Howard County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) if the nature of the emergency demands such participation.

Emergency communications to staff, students, parents, and the community will be coordinated through the HCPSS EOC and through the Howard County EOC when the Howard County EOC is in operation.

Staff will receive annual emergency training commensurate with their level of responsibility under their Emergency Operations Plan (EOP).

School or building administration will assume their responsibility as incident commander and will work jointly within the command system established by first responders.

Each school will have a School-Based Crisis Intervention Team that includes administrators, Student Services staff, and other members as identified by the school administrator, which will address the social-emotional needs of students and staff that result from an emergency situation or crisis.

School staff will ensure that students are reunited with their parents as soon as it can be safely accomplished.

When schools or the school system are closed for the day or dismiss early due to emergency situations such as inclement weather, all after-school and evening activities and all school and non-school-sponsored activities scheduled in school facilities are canceled. This does not apply to early dismissals that are scheduled as part of the academic calendar.

At times when inclement weather threatens the safety of students and staff, the Superintendent/Designee may close or delay the opening of schools or the school system or dismiss early and will notify the Board of the decision.

In the event that schools are closed for more days than those allocated on the academic calendar, the Superintendent may seek a waiver of the 180-day requirement by applying to the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).

The Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) will be used to ensure continuation of essential system operations in an extended emergency situation.

Genée A. Varlack, Ed.D.