Dates: July 9th- July 11th

Sign up here to visit Farquhar. Please only select 1 session to attend.  Should you have any questions please contact Mrs. Julie Lazaris. 

Are you ready to learn cyber skills in just a few hours from home?  Join us for our Free Week-Long Virtual Summer Cybersecurity Camp.  Open to all rising 7th, 8th, and 9th grade MCPS Students.  The camp is one week, Monday - Thursday for 3 hours each day.  There is a morning option and an afternoon option, and three different week options.    

Registration Link

Camp Sessions

Camp consists of a daily 3 hour class for 4 days.  Open to all rising 7th, 8th and 9th grade MCPS Students.  Campers can choose between morning and afternoon sessions.

• Week 1: June 17 - June 20 (Monday thru Thursday)

• Week 2: June 24 - June 27 (Monday thru Thursday)

• Week 3: July 8 - July 11 (Monday thru Thursday)

• Two sessions offered each day, Morning 9:00 AM to 1200:  PM and Afternoon 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

• All content delivered via MCPS Zoom. 

• Be sure to tell all your friends about the camp!

Click the following link to register: https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/cybercamp/home

This family-friendly event will include a talent show, games, DJ and dancing, crafts, storytime, food trucks and prizes. There will also be a resource fair and workshops geared toward caregivers and staff.

The keynote speaker is artist Hill Werth, former pro athlete, and internationally recognized trans non-binary mixed media artist and activist, using their art and voice to spread visibility, awareness, and representation to their community. Werth will speak to queer and trans joy and resilience.

Resource tables will include organizations, such as the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA), MoCo Pride Youth, Montgomery County Public Health Services, MCPS Athletics, MCPS School Libraries & Media Programs, and SMYAL. Workshops will be offered on a variety of topics, including allyship, gender-affirming support, parent perspectives on affirming LGBTQIA+ kids, creating and sustaining an elementary Rainbow Club, and findings from the University of Maryland's Lavender Lab.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase is located at 4301 East-West Highway in Bethesda.

Montgomery Can Code’s summer camp is a free, weeklong camp open to MCPS rising 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. Participants in the camp will learn to code with Swift, Apple’s easy-to-understand programming language used by professional developers to create world-class apps. Students will complete creative projects with an established curriculum to learn Swift from coding experts.

Families have the choice to participate in full-day, in-person camps during the weeks of July 15–19 or July 22–26. A third week, available from July 29–Aug. 2, will be offered virtually.

This initiative is made possible through a partnership with MCPS, Montgomery College, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, Montgomery County Government and Apple.

Learn more.

Register here or students can contact their school counselor.

Montgomery Can Code, English

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We can all work together to increase awareness and acceptance, and reduce prejudice and discrimination about mental illness. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that more than one in five U.S. adults experienced a mental illness in the past year.

Join NAMI for NAMIWalks Montgomery County, dedicated to Mental Health for All. The walk is from 9 a.m.–noon on Saturday, May 18, at Rio Lakefront, 9811 Washingtonian Blvd. in Gaithersburg. Learn more and register here.

Learn more about different types of Mental Health Conditions from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). How we talk about mental health matters. Check out these resources to learn more:

• Say This, Not This: Speaking About Mental Health (NAMI California)

• How to Start (and Continue!) a Conversation about Mental Health (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

• Tips for Talking with a Health Care Provider About Your Mental Health (National Institute of Mental Health)

May 5, 2024 | 11 am – 1 pm

Join us for our annual With Parks in Mind: Mental Health Awareness event, a public outdoor celebration of wellness and nature, brought to you by Montgomery Parks in collaboration with EveryMind. This free event aims to promote mental health awareness and well-being through engaging activities amidst the beauty of nature.

We are honored to have Councilmember Balcombe and Councilmember Friedson in attendance, highlighting the importance of mental health initiatives within our community. This event is a testament to the power of collaboration between local government and community organizations in addressing mental health challenges.

Activities Include:

PetConnect Rescue: Meet their compassionate team and adoptable dogs looking for a loving home! Learn about their mission and how you can help.

Gentle Yoga: Join Clarksburg Yoga and Wellness for a slow and mindful practice using postures that promote stability and openness, while creating calmness. Session at 12:10pm.

Dance Yoga: Join Kathy Hankins and let the rhythm of nature guide your movements in this invigorating fusion of dance and yoga, designed to uplift the spirit and rejuvenate the mind. Session at 11:10am.

Laugh Yoga: Join Larissa Johnson and discover the therapeutic benefits of laughter as you engage in laughter yoga exercises, promoting stress relief and emotional well-being. Sessions at 11:50am and 12:40pm.

Guided Meditation and Sound Meditation: Join Cathy Shaw and focus your attention on the present moment, observe your thoughts, sensations, and emotions without judgment, foster a heightened awareness and self-acceptance. Sessions at 11:10am, 11:50am, 12:10pm, and 12:40pm.

Writing Letters Against Isolation: Spread kindness and combat isolation by crafting heartfelt letters to those who may need a supportive message, fostering connection and empathy.

Nature Scavenger Hunt: Embark on a self-guided adventure through the surroundings of the park, as you seek out mental health facts and natural elements.

Mindful Crafts: Engage your creativity and mindfulness through a variety of craft activities, designed to promote relaxation and self-expression.

Prizes and More!

Whether you’re seeking relaxation, inspiration, or simply a sense of community, “With Parks in Mind” offers something for everyone. Come together with friends, family, and neighbors to celebrate the beauty of nature and prioritize mental wellness in our lives. Mark your calendars and join us for a day of wellness, connection, and joy. See you there!

Families can stay engaged throughout the school year with Parent Academy TO GO. Parent Academy TO GO is designed to inform and empower families as advocates and partners in their children's education. Workshops provide families with useful information and resources to support their children's academic and emotional well-being, as well as help them to be college and career ready. 

The May and June webinars are listed below and are also available on the Parent Academy website. Registration is available here.

May

Active Parenting Now! (Part 1 of 6)
Thursday, May 2, 6:30-8 p.m.
This is Part 1 of a six-part series. Attendance to all six workshops is encouraged.

Positive Discipline
Tuesday, May 7, 6-7 p.m.

Active Parenting Now! (Part 2 of 6)
Thursday, May 9, 6:30-8 p.m.
This is Part 2 of a six-part series. Attendance to all six workshops is encouraged

Managing Morning Mayhem and Bedtime Battles
Wednesday, May 15, 6-7 p.m.

Active Parenting Now! (Part 3 of 6)
Thursday, May 16, 6:30-8 p.m.
This is Part 3 of a six-part series. Attendance to all six workshops is encouraged.

What’s Narcan?
Tuesday, May 21, 6-7:30 p.m.

Mindfulness: Managing Stress During Difficult Times
Wednesday, May 22, 6-7 p.m.

Active Parenting Now! (Part 4 of 6)
Thursday, May 23, 6:30-8 p.m.
This is Part 4 of a six-part series. Attendance to all six workshops is encouraged.

Summer Reading Challenge at Montgomery County Public Libraries
Wednesday, May 29, 6-7 p.m.

Active Parenting Now! (Part 5 of 6)
Thursday, May 30, 6:30-8 p.m.
This is Part 5 of a six-part series. Attendance to all six workshops is encouraged.

June

Sharpening Phonics Skills at Home
Wednesday, June 5, 6-7 p.m.

Active Parenting Now! (Part 6 of 6)
Thursday, June 6, 6:30-8 p.m.
This is Part 6 of a six-part series. Attendance to all six workshops is encouraged.

The Training Center assists the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) in planning, organizing and implementing conferences and training activities to support the continued growth and development of the public behavioral health system.

The Training Center (TC) represents a collaboration between BHA and the University’s Division of Services Research designed to serve the training and service development needs of Maryland’s behavioral health delivery system. Reflecting BHA’s commitment to education and training, the Training Center ensures that the University’s emphasis on research and implementing evidence-based treatment is closely interwoven with the needs and growth of the public behavioral health system.

 
Virtual Training
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
10:00 am - 11:30 am

Presenter:
Aaron Steven Barker Weiner, PhD, ABPP

Registration Required

Students in grades 1-8 are invited to a free coed football clinic on Tuesday, May 14 when they are off from school. The clinic will be hosted by the 480 Club in partnership with the MCPS Out-of-School Time program at Laytonia Turf Field in Gaithersburg between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Read more. 

RSVP here for elementary school students.

RSVP here for middle school students.

The Gaithersburg Book Festival, a celebration of books, writers and literary excellence, will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at Bohrer Park, 506 S. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg.  Read more. 

Don’t miss this year’s Special Education Family Resource Fair on Saturday, May 11 at Montgomery Blair High School. The free event will be held from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., and is open to MCPS parents, staff and community members. The fair will include valuable resources from a variety of community resources and vendors and fun children’s activities, including moon bounces, music, arts and crafts, and balloon artists.

The Montgomery Department of Transportation invites all MCPS families to Safety Day on Saturday, May 11 in the Carver Educational Services Center (CESC) parking lot in Rockville. Safety Day brings the community together to learn more about traffic safety in a fun and festive environment. CESC is located at 850 Hungerford Drive.

Read more / en español 

Our last Family Night of the school year taking place on Thursday, May 9th at 6 pm on Zoom. This event is for grieving families. This Family Night is focused on Mother's Day, Father's Day, and other special days. Grieving families must register in advance. There is no charge for attending. Deadline to sign up is May 1, 2024. 

Flyer in English     Flyer in Spanish

Join us for a week dedicated to addressing the pressing mental health challenges facing teenagers in Montgomery County, Maryland, as they navigate the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. At Montgomery County Public Libraries, we understand the importance of supporting our youth through serious challenges, which is why we are working to provide teens and their support networks with important information regarding Teen Mental Health Resources in our county.

From the April 6 kickoff with Grammy-nominated Queen Sheba — made possible with support from Friends of the Library, Montgomery County — through April 13, we invite teenagers, parents, educators, and community members to come together for a series of informative and empowering events designed to shed light on mental health issues and provide resources for support.

We aim to create a safe and welcoming space where teens can openly discuss their struggles and find solidarity in knowing they are not alone.

The full schedule of Teen Mental Health Week events is available on our dedicated website, in list format, and day-by-day. Click over and make your plan for the events you won’t want to miss! 

The Kick-Off to Teen Mental Health Week on Saturday, April 6, from 1-4 pm at Wheaton Library with a performance from Grammy-nominated performer Queen Sheba, author of From Foster to Fame. 

Teens and tweens can enjoy snacks, the performance, and a workshop with the artist, followed by a Teen Poetry Open Mic session with poet Simply Sherri. There will also be a mental health resource fair for parents and teens. 

Learn the difference between stress and anxiety, discover the causes of stress and how your body responds to stress, and learn at least 3 ways to increase relaxation and reduce stress.

This Program is for Teens, ages 13-18, and registration is required.

Date/Time: Friday, April 12, 3:30pm - 5:00 pm 

Location: Marilyn J. Praisner Library

Click Here for more information.

For 6th - 12th graders, parents, and youth-serving providers!

In Person on April 7, 2024, from 1:00 - 4:00 pm

at the Wheaton Community Recreation Center

* Park at Einstein High School  (11135 Newport Mill Rd, Kensington) and take the free shuttle *

Registration on-site

Earn up to 3 SSL Hours!

To View the Schedule for Day Click Here

**  If you need support, therapists will be available (in English and Spanish).

Choose Respect 2024 RespectFest SSL Form 

After participation in the Choose Respect RespectFest sessions and activities, please complete the following SSL form by 11:59 PM on Sunday, April 14, 2024. All sessions/activities may be found at https://tinyurl.com/mocorespectfest 

JOIN THE HEALTH EXPLOSION. 

Enjoy Fun Interactive Activities for All Ages | Workshops | Screenings and Exhibitors| STEM Activities

for Youth | Fitness Exercises | Food Demos | Book Signings| Snacks | Door Prizes | Music by DJ One Luv |

Event is Open to All at No Charge.

Saturday, April 6, 2024, 9:30 AM - 2 PM

Montgomery College, Bioscience Education Center

20200 Observation Dr, Germantown, Maryland

Contact pvsncnwzoom@gmail.com for additional information about youth wellness session.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE DAY’S INTERACTIVE EVENTS AT EVENTBRITE.

Click to view the Youth Summit Flyer and Waiver Forms

Game Changer Conference Set for April 20; Essay Contest Deadline: April 10

Calling all parents/caregivers of young male students in Grades 4-12! Register your student for the spring 2024 Game Changer conference and help empower and ignite their path to success. The conference will be held on Saturday, April 20 at the Universities at Shady Grove, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Registration closes Wednesday, April 3. Spaces are limited.

Register here. Read more. 

KID Museum invites your school community to join us this Sunday, March 24, 2024, for a FREE Verizon Family Day!

We hope that students, staff, and families can attend. It will be a wonderful day to engage in fun hands-on STEM experiences! 

Families planning to attend are encouraged to pre-register for FREE tickets. 

Click Here to see the flyer.

Montgomery County teens and tweens can take animation classes during spring break this year.

Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) announced that it will be hosting several animation workshops for kids between the ages of 10 and 15 from March 25-29.

There will be a total of five workshops, one on each day. You’ll have to register your child for a workshop, but doing so is free.

Any participants will also get art supplies to use during the workshops.

Below is a list of the workshops, their locations, and links to register:

• Monday, March 25 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
  Connie Morella Library, 7400 Arlington Rd., Bethesda — Register

• Tuesday, March 26 | 2-3 p.m.
  Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg — Register

• Wednesday, March 27 | 2-3 p.m.
  Twinbrook Library, 202 Meadow Hall Dr., Rockville — Register

• Thursday, March 28 | 10:30-11:30 a.m.
  Rockville Memorial Library, 21 Maryland Ave., Rockville — Register

• Friday, March 29 | 2-3 p.m.
  Aspen Hill Library, 4407 Aspen Hill Rd., Rockville — Register

A full-day conference designed to educate MCPS students about climate change and equip them with the tools to create climate action projects in their communities

In-person at Tilden Middle School on Saturday, April 13, 2024

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/YouthClimateSummit/ 

The Washington Wizards would like to invite back middle and high school students, with an interest in learning more about working in professional sports, to our annual Sports Career Day! Sports Career Day with the Wizards consists of an educational sports business breakout session hosted by members of the Wizards management team, a college fair with schools from around the country, and a Wizards basketball game after the daytime activities. This season, Sports Career Day will take place on Tuesday, March 19th, at 12:30 PM before the Wizards take on the visiting Houston Rockets. The event is open to all interested students, teachers, administrators, and chaperones, but we especially encourage members of organizations like DECA, FBLA, AVID, FCCLA, and Business Professionals of America to participate.

For more information and to register for this year’s event, please fill out the form in the link below, and a representative from the Wizards will be in touch shortly.

Thank you for your interest in joining the Wizards for our Sports Career Day and we hope to see you at Capital One Arena this March.

Interest Form: https://app.info.monumentalsports.com/

Hundreds of students and their families packed this year’s HBCU Fair. The fair provided students in Grades 8–12 an opportunity to meet representatives from more than 40 HBCUs. Representatives shared information and answered questions from students and parents about admissions, financial aid, testing, majors and much more. If you missed it, be sure to watch a recap of tips shared with students who attended.  

Join the Springbrook High School PTSA Saturday, Feb. 24 for a family forum on maintaining strong mental health and preventing substance use. Attendees will learn about the dangers of fentanyl, alcohol and other substances; information to keep students safe; school and community-based substance use prevention, harm reduction and treatment initiatives and what insurance is required to cover 

RSVP HERE

On behalf of the Keeping It Safe Coalition, we wanted to remind you to encourage your students to participate in this year’s Keeping It Safe Student Video Contest! Each student that enters will receive 5 SSL hours.

Students create a 30-second PSA to increase the awareness of under-21 alcohol consumption. The videos for this year would be under the following categories:

• Topic 1: Standing Your Ground: Fighting Peer Pressure from Friends to Drink

• Topic 2: Ways to Help/Support Friends Who are Misusing Alcohol

• Topic 3: How Alcoholic Drinks Affect Mental Health

The last day to submit entries is March 31, 2024 by 4 pm.

For more information and to submit your videos, see the attached flyer or visit our page below:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ABS/education/kis/