I hope that students and families have enjoyed the summer and are as excited to return to school as I am to open the doors to welcome our wonderful students back to Folger!  This building just isn’t the same without them! 

A new school year means new things for everyone – new friends to make, new teachers, new things to learn, as well as some new policies and procedures from AACPS.  Rest assured that amid the many changes, you can always count on the dedication of the entire Folger staff to be focused on helping and supporting all students, easing them through these transitions and fostering an engaging learning environment!

Another consistent marker is my appreciation for the support, cooperation, and generosity of the PTO, volunteers, parents/guardians, and the entire Folger community! Your partnership makes all the difference in establishing the positive learning place and culture our students deserve. On behalf of our staff, THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking time to read through this back-to-school edition of our newsletter to best prepare your students so we can all make the most of what I know will be another fantastic year here at Folger!

Mr. Jason Otte, Principal 

Health Issues & Concerns:

Please call the Health Room as soon as possible to inform them of any health concerns such as food allergies, asthma, or any conditions that require your student to take medication.

Medications at School:

All medication given by the HR requires a doctor’s order via the AACPS - PARENT’S REQUEST TO ADMINISTER MEDICATION form. This includes over-the-counter meds such as Ibuprofen and cough drops, as well as any prescribed medication to be given during the school day. Only adults can bring medication to school. Never put any medication in a student backpack or lunchbox. Over the counter medication must be received as new (sealed, unopened). Please contact the health room team directly to make arrangements to deliver your student's medicine by email: Mrs. Guenther- nurse or Mrs. Kajs - health room assistant or call the health room directly at 410-222-0902.

Illness & Injuries:

Please call to inform the Health Room if your child is diagnosed with a contagious illness such as Covid, flu, Fifth’s Disease, Chickenpox, etc. Please call the Health Room if your child has suffered any serious injuries while outside of school. Injured students need a doctor’s note for any cast, crutches, brace or splint regarding any PE and recess restrictions.

When to Stay Home:

Students should stay home from school due to serious illness, injury or a condition that may be passed to other children. Please review this guidance which details conditions that may be considered appropriate reasons to keep a student home from school including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, earache, cough, sore throat, and undiagnosed rash to name a few. A student with a fever of 100°F must stay home until the student is fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.

Immunizations and other Requirements:

All kindergartners/new students need to submit a copy of their current immunizations before attending school in the Fall. Please contact your pediatrician to obtain a copy for school if you have not already done so. No Shots = No School. In addition, if you have not already turned in a Physical Exam form and Blood Lead Certificate completed by both the Parent and the Physician, please do so as soon as possible.

Bathroom/Recess incidents:

We highly recommend that you send a complete change of clothes, or two, to store in your child’s locker at all times.

Please call the Health Room directly at 410-222-0902 with any questions or concerns or email Mrs. Guenther, RN or Mrs. Kajs, Health Assistant.

Information from AACPS Food & Nutrition is available here. School Meal Prices:

Breakfast, (Full Price, All Schools) $1.50

Lunch, (Full Price, Elementary Schools) $2.75

Only full meals will be available for sale; no a la cart items, including milk.

Meal Benefit Applications are available for SY 2024-25 Log onto www.aacps.org/mealapplication, which result in free or reduced pricing. Applications must be submitted each year and for each eligible student (not by family).

If you have any questions regarding the school meals program, please email jrisse@aacps.org or call 410-222-5900.

Visit the AACPS Food & Nutrition homepage to set up your student's payment account.

Students are welcome to bring their own lunch from home. As a green school, we encourage lunchboxes and re-usable containers.

We are grateful for the support of volunteers who are called upon as needed to support instructional purposes and other school-based needs. Folger has always valued and benefitted from an active volunteer community. We are grateful!

IF/WHEN there is a classroom or school need for a volunteer, you will receive an email or post to participate. NOT every class will have volunteer needs.

ALL volunteers must complete the volunteer background check process. No exceptions will be granted. Again, even if you volunteered in the past, this is required. If you are not sure if you completed this process in the past, email Mrs. Ignacio in the main office. Background checks are good for two years. If you have completed the AACPS fingerprint process, then you do not need to take the above step. Fingerprinting includes the background check process and does not require renewal.

If you need to complete the background check, follow this link. After completing the initial application, you will then receive an email directly from the security firm with the link to the required second portion of the application. (You may need to check your spam/junk folder if you proceed with this process.) There is no fee and both components of the online application do not require much time but BOTH pieces are needed.

ALL VOLUNTEERS are required to complete volunteer orientation, which consists of three components:

1. AACPS volunteer training video. After viewing, complete the required completion form and return to the school with your student or email to Mrs. Ignacio. If you think you want to volunteer in the future and have not previously completed this step, go ahead and do so now.

2. Folger volunteer orientation presentation

3. Folger volunteer training video - this video, presented by Mr. Kahn , Folger School Counselor, corresponds to the orientation presentation.

The office will have a list of approved volunteers for the day as part of the check-in process. This will be based upon classroom and building needs.

Whenever you volunteer, please be prepared with your license. Again, even if your license was scanned in past years, it is important to be prepared with your identification.

Whenever you volunteer or attend a school event, please be mindful of phone and camera use. Volunteers should not be taking photos of students. Pictures from school that include students other than your own should not be posted on social media, unless you have the permissions from each parent. We have MANY students who do not have such permissions. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

We are grateful for the support of our volunteer community!

Keep informed of Maryland's Blueprint for Education from MSDE. AACPS resources and information are here as well. This landmark legislation is driving needed change across the state and district, and of course, Folger classrooms as well.

AACPS adopted new curriculum and while not a directive of Blueprint, these decisions are certainly impacted and driven by the goals of the Blueprint initiative. We are excited to continue with the new math curriculum, Reveal, that was adopted last year with much success. This year, we anticipate equal success and positivity with the implementation of our new language arts program, CKLA. This curriculum is based on the science of learning. With these tools we will continue to advance the incredible academic achievement of our students. To successfully implement these robust and engaging programs, there will be a shift in our approach to scheduling our learning blocks to maximize the learning objectives. In some grades, we will be moving away from the departmentalization model of years’ past, using district criteria for scheduling. Instead, we will provide targeted group instruction within our classrooms to maximize learning and support. Students will continue to be regrouped for ALPs/GT (Advanced Learner Programs).

Here is specific information from AACPS for Blueprint as it relates specifically to our District. This information was discussed at the spring PTO meeting. Blueprint does impact how resources are allocated across the district. Here at Folger, it means, in some grades, larger class sizes than in recent years. Our teachers are fantastic and completely capable of teaching large classes and garnering impressive results and enriching experiences!

Mark your calendars for Back to School Night on September 12 to learn more about curriculum, objectives, learning blocks, schedules, and goals this year. Folger teachers are incredibly talented and dedicated! They are excited and ready to begin the year and make the most of it for our awesome students! Thank you for your support and trust in the process and our staff to give your students the best possible learning experience here at Folger!