William H. Farquhar MS PTA

05/18/2025

In celebration of May Mental Health Awareness Month, the Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) is hosting two special movie screening events designed to foster mental health awareness, emotional literacy, and open conversations among Asian American youth.

We will be showcasing two culturally relevant, family-friendly films that highlight important mental health themes. Following the screenings, participants will engage in a guided discussion to reflect on the films and connect their themes with personal experiences in a safe and supportive space.

Both events are free and students can earn SSL Hours! Parents are welcome to stay and enjoy the films alongside their children. Registration is required to ensure adequate space is available - https://forms.office.com/g/42AzwXSVxe

Join us for a meaningful experience that supports mental health awareness within the Asian American community. We look forward to seeing you there!

05/15/2025

Only about half of middle schoolers in MCPS are reading at grade level — and outcomes are even worse for English learners. After feedback from families, teachers, and data from the Office of Shared Accountability, MCPS plans to replace StudySync with Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) next year.

CKLA offers:
✅ More consistent and rigorous instruction
✅ Printed materials and full texts (not just excerpts)

✅ Stronger supports for English learners
✅ Greater transparency for families
✅ Lower costs to reinvest in professional learning and school needs

The Board of Education delayed its vote due to concerns about the review process. While diverse representation matters, waiting another year means continuing with a curriculum that isn’t working.

🗓️ The BOE will revisit this on May 22.

📥 Share your thoughts: https://forms.gle/rnwUjAEzWdKCpBHU7

📄 Read the full update here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jbUzrbJRc89cthwCkWB1uI9LIrecx6zD/view?usp=sharing

📢 Make your voice heard — tell MCPS and the Board what you think. (emails in full update ⬆️)

04/26/2025

Save the date! Please join the MCCPTA on Tuesday, April 29, at 6:30 for a Tech Committee presentation on MCPS's revisions to the regulations on smartphones and other personal mobile devices (COG-RA).

Zoom link will be in comments once it is provided.

04/10/2025

Free Youth Mental Health First Aid Certification
Made Possible by EveryMind, Montgomery County DHHS & MCCPTA

Sign up using the Google Form linked 👇

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhiqSF4IpQM4MDLb354juwKiuF-zIzr44ANaMhEw8Ggm4wRA/viewform

04/10/2025

The Montgomery County Council is currently considering the Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget for the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The funding that the Council provides to our schools will impact our children’s personal growth into adulthood, their ability to succeed in college and careers, and the broader trajectory of their lives. It is imperative that the Council provide full funding for our schools, so that our children can receive a world-class education.

Please sign this petition to urge the Montgomery Count Council to Provide Full Funding to MCPS.

The Montgomery County Council is currently considering the Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget for the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The funding that the Council provides to our schools will impact our children’s personal growth into adulthood, their ability to succeed in college and care...

03/29/2025

MCCPTA Tech Corner (external links in comments)

SCREENS IN THE CLASSROOMS THREATEN ACTUAL LEARNING

FROM THE MCCPTA TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

“I was never focused,” he recently recalled of his ninth-grade year.
“I was always so zoned out. I felt so invested in the screen that it
didn’t feel like anything else was real.” - DCPS Student*

School-issued Chromebooks have been lauded as a victory for
equity, but in reality, computer use has been found to have a
negative effect on student achievement worldwide*, and those
negative effects are most concentrated among males and low
performing students*.

In this succinct opinion piece* on the peril of laptops in schools, businessman/politician Michael Bloomberg writes about how laptop use in schools jeopardizes “the three R’s” (Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic) - and a fourth, Relationships. As Bloomberg writes: “[M]astering the three R’s is the first step toward the true goal of education: critical thinking and problem solving.” Distractions in the classroom undermine students’ ability to hone these critical skills and develop the agency and independence necessary to counter rapidly increasing technological challenges to come - specifically, those posed by AI.

03/12/2025

Read and consider Signing Letter of Support for Away All Day Cell Phone Policy at MCPS

Sign the letter -> https://forms.gle/LxrvEq1iZHCxB1Zt5

An Away All Day policy requires smartphones and other devices to be turned off during the entire school day. Currently*, MCPS allows smartphones to be used during lunch for middle schools, and during lunch and transition times for high schools. This school year, the MCPS Office of Strategic Initiatives implemented an “away all day” pilot at 11 middle schools and 1 high school to test out a bell-to-bell ban on personal devices. Schools that participated have reported positive results*: fewer distractions, fewer fights, and more student engagement and attention on instruction. MCPS presented preliminary results* to the Board of Education on Feb 20, and will present its final report in March. MCPS will consider revising the policy on cell phones in schools, to be finalized in May.

*Links in the comments

If you support a consistent Away All Day policy to be implemented across MCPS, please review the Q&A and letter below and fill out the form to add your name as a signatory. We (a group of MCPS parents) will be submitting this letter and names to Superintendent Taylor, MCPS Office of Strategic Initia...

03/10/2025

📢 Farquhar Middle School PTA Needs You! 📢

The FMS PTA Nominating Committee would love for you to consider joining the PTA Board for the 2025-26 school year! They welcome newcomers into roles large and small—no experience needed.

Joining the PTA Board is a great opportunity for your voice to be heard on the issues and needs that impact our students, as well as to help plan activities and events for our school.

📝 Nominations are now open for next year’s PTA officers!
All positions are up for election every year, but the ones marked below currently have no candidates:

📝 PTA Board positions:
🔹 President ⬅️ No candidate
🔹 Recording Secretary
🔹 Treasurer
🔹 Communications Secretary ⬅️ No candidate
🔹 Education VP ⬅️ No candidate
🔹 Executive VP ⬅️ No candidate
🔹 Fundraising VP
🔹 Programs VP ⬅️ No candidate
🔹 FMS Teacher/Staff Representative ⬅️ No candidate

🚨 The Farquhar Middle School PTA cannot exist without parent involvement. We MUST have new members join the board next year in order to keep the PTA running!

📅 Interested? Contact the FMS Nominating Committee by Friday, April 19:

📩 Jessica Ryan – [email protected]
📩 Denise Roux – [email protected]
📩 Aline Logbo – [email protected]
📩 Jenn Davis – [email protected]

02/19/2025

Support our local HS Girls Basketball!!

Sherwood vs. Magruder this Friday, Feb 21 6 PM

Middle School Students get in for free with a paying parent.

02/05/2025

SSL Hours Opportunity!!!

Blake High School PTSA Book Sale Fundraiser

Help set up the Storefront Feb 2 - Feb 7

Signup
👇
https://m.signupgenius.com/ #!/showSignUp/10C0B4CA4AB28A0FEC07-54381900-volunteer

For more information email [email protected] or visit their page, Blake PTSA Book Sale.

02/05/2025

🍽 FMS PTA Restaurant night! 🥂

Wednesday, February 19th - Save the Date!

El Andariego
5 Olney - Sandy Spring Road
Ashton, MD 20861

Mention the Farquhar Fundraiser when you call in or dine in and 15% of the proceeds will go to FMS!

https://elandariegorestaurant.com

301-260-8199

A neighborhood, family-run restaurant that specializes in authentic Mexican & Salvadoran food in Montgomery County, MD., and in making everyone who joins us feel welcome, no matter the occasion.

02/04/2025

MCCPTA Tech Corner:

Phone-Free Policies Sweeping Across the U.S. … and Worldwide (2/1)

An increasing number of jurisdictions are enacting fully phone-free school policies at all levels of governance, from Governors and legislatures through school districts and individual schools. Locally, Howard County’s Board of Education just voted to prohibit the use of cell phones during the school day for students at all grade levels starting March 3. Just this month, Governor Hochul in New York proposed legislation that would restrict smartphone use throughout the entire school day for K-12 in order to create a distraction-free learning environment. In Maryland, legislators are currently considering different bills that address the restriction of phone usage in schools in 2025 (e.g. HB630, HB0057, HB0192, SB0130, SB0368, and SB0029). You can find the text of these bills here. This live map tracks the states taking action to reduce phone use in schools.

The trend of restricting smartphone use in schools extends beyond the U.S. Just in the past year countries such as Brazil, Greece, and Australia have passed legislation or enacted policies to limit or eliminate cell phone usage by students.

See links in the comments