MCPS IT Wire
May 2025
Division of Technology Services
Embedded Files
Professional Development
Canva Dropped New Features on May 20!
Canva Dropped New Features on May 20!
All Canva users will have access to some amazing new design types and features, including spreadsheets, photo editing, and Canva Code! View more information here.
Tools and Resources
Tips for Line Managers and How to View Pay Statements on Your Phone
Check out MCPS Hub+ Updates to learn how to view your pay statement on your phone. Plus, we have some “Do’s and Don’ts” for Line Managers in Hub+.
Student Asset Inventory Report
Student Asset Inventory Report
New and updated student asset reports have been published on the ServiceNow Assets Page to support the End-of-Year device collection. These reports detail all student (active) assigned devices, including Chromebooks, MiFi’s, and iPads. View reports here.
Canva Designs Export
Canva Designs Export
For Students
Students who want to take their designs to the next chapter of their lives after they graduate or are leaving MCPS, will need to download their designs individually or in bulk and re-upload to a personal Canva account. This downloading step is required for students, as they are usually prevented by our Restricted Sharing feature from sharing a design with their personal email address.
For Teachers
Teachers who are leaving MCPS and changing their email address may either follow the downloading instructions above, or
may in some cases transfer designs by following these instructions and sharing them to a personal account.
Additional Synergy Modules Available for Schools
Additional Synergy Modules Available for Schools
These Synergy modules are available for schools that would like to add them:
Elementary:
KioskVUE Tardy Check-In/Early Dismissal
Secondary:
Digital Hall Pass
KioskVUE Tardy Check-In/Early Dismissal
Locker Management
For details, please contact Emily Cole Bayer via email at Emily_L_ColeBayer@mcpsmd.org.
Enhanced Synergy Reports
Enhanced Synergy Reports
U-GRD514: Student Graduation Status Summary
This report was enhanced to provide a "Credit Recovery Eligible" flag for selected students (based on active filters).
U-ATT506: Secondary Student Tardy and Absence Counts by Class New
This report provides a student’s total number of absences and a tardy count by reason type for each period and class section for the selected school year. It was recently enhanced to also include student interventions (MTSS).
Google Takeout Procedures
Google Takeout Procedures
If you are retiring, resigning, or changing roles, you may need to utilize Google Takeout to retain your files from your MCPS Drive account.
Seniors will also use the same procedure to retain their files.
End-of-Year Canvas Classes
End-of-Year Canvas Classes
If you would like to reuse the content from your 2024-2025 myMCPS Classroom courses, take a look at the End-of-Year Course Information below for details and information you need to know before this school year ends so you can start the next year strong!
Dates, Tips, and Reminders
Busting Common Cybersecurity Myths
Think cybersecurity is too hard or that you don’t have anything worth protecting? Think again! The National Cybersecurity Alliance recently published an article titled 6 Cybersecurity Myths Debunked which reminds us that staying safe online is simpler — and more essential — than many people believe.
Key takeaways:
You don’t need to be a tech expert to make a difference — small steps like using multi-factor authentication (MFA) and not reusing passwords go a long way.
Every account matters — even “unimportant” ones can be exploited by hackers.
Password managers are safer than sticky notes or saved documents, especially when paired with a strong master password and MFA.
Don’t rely only on grammar mistakes to spot phishing — today’s scams look polished and professional.
VPNs are helpful, but they’re just one layer of defense.
Bottom line: Building better online habits doesn’t have to be overwhelming — and it’s worth the effort!
Marking Period 4 (MP4) Report Cards
The MP4 report card schedule was revised to reflect changes based on the recent extension of the school year to Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
The report card posting window for MP4 is Wednesday, June 11, 2025 through Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
Synergy Updates & Reminders
SGGCR and Transcript Timeline
A SGGCR and Transcript Timeline is now available for the 2024-2025 school year. View the timeline here.
Spring/Summer Synergy Dates and Deadlines- Revised
The Spring/Summer Synergy Dates and Deadlines document was revised to reflect changes based on the recent extension of the school year to Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Check it out here!
Synergy Outage for End-of-Year Process Scheduled for June 24, beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Synergy will be unavailable on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 beginning at 3:00 p.m. for the end-of-year process and next school year rollover.
Synergy will return to normal operation on Thursday, June 26, 2025 by 6:00 a.m.
During this window of time, Synergy SIS, StudentVUE, TeacherVUE, and ParentVUE will not be available.
StudentVUE & ParentVUE Clear Browsing Data
If staff, students, or parents are not able to see data on screens as they did prior to the end of school year flip, please advise them to follow these steps to clear the browsing data in the browser they use to access Synergy:
Clear Browsing Data in Google Chrome (Quick Guide)
Click the 3 dots in the top right corner of the screen
Select menu item: Clear Browsing Data
Dashboard Updates & Reminders
New District K-8 Monitoring Summary Dashboard Launches June 6th
This interactive dashboard allows users to compare selected cluster(s) and school(s) Reading and Math achievement data with MCPS system-wide achievement. Data is available in graph form and in exportable table form.
Featured comparable data points include:
Reading and Math assessment data
Prior school year MCAP results
Prior school year MSDE Report Card data (percentile ranks, earned percentage and star rating)
New K-9 Monitoring Dashboard Features Available
Beginning on Friday, June 6, this dashboard will provide interactive real-time literacy and math data for the current (2024-2025) and prior (2023-2024) school years.
New features include:
MSDE Report Card data including percentile ranks, earned percentage and star rating.
Provides Math and Reading growth summary for 50th percentile or above (based on selected assessment)
Additional Resources:
Student Data Resource Reminder
The 2024-2025 School Leadership Resources document includes links to many of the new MCPS dashboards. All dashboard links are also available in the MCPS Resources folder of your Chrome browser.
School Profile Dashboard Update
School Profile Dashboards have been refreshed with 2023-2024 data in 7 other languages and can be found on the MCPS website.
High School Graduation Validation Dashboard and Checklist
High School principals, registrars, counselors, and Graduation Validation Teams must complete all Graduation Validation Checklist tasks and submit the Checklist Completion Attestation Form. These tasks are critical to verifying that all eligible students meet the necessary graduation requirements.
Additional Resources:
Elementary Sectioning and Articulation Reminders
Elementary Sectioning:
June 18: (Traditional) Homeroom sectioning is due
June 18: (Innovative) ALL sectioning is due
June 20: Schools that may need additional 2025-2026 staff must have homeroom sectioning completed by this date. (changes may continue after this date)
There are 2 remaining elementary sectioning open lab sessions available in June. Sign up in PDO or drop in as needed. See training schedule for details.
Elementary Articulation:
Elementary Articulation Training sessions have started. Please refer to the Elementary Sectioning Timeline for details about training sessions and resources.
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