Dear Neelsville, families,
Welcome, new and returning students and families, to registration season at Neelsville Middle School! The planning of the coming school year starts early so students and families can make informed decisions that will ensure their personal success in the new school year.
In this website, you will find important dates related to articulation, registration, and meeting dates. Current fifth grade students and families will hear about middle school requirements, registration, and our programs during counselor school visits and parent information night. Current sixth and seventh grade students and families will learn about course options during advisory presentations, as well as the parent information night. Lastly, our current eighth grade students and families will learn about high school offerings during high school counselor visits and the upcoming parent meetings. Please call our Counseling department office at (240) 740-6640, or email your grade level counselor, with any questions.
Neelsville staff and I are excited to work with our students and families in a nurturing environment committed to developing global critical thinkers. I look forward to continuing the partnership with our current Nighthawks and meeting our rising sixth grade students and families.
Sincerely,
Barbara Escobar
Proud Principal
December 8, 2025
Seneca Valley HS Course Information Night
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Seneca Valley HS Auditorium
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January 5 - 9, 2026
Electives Information - Rising Grade 7 and Grade 8
Location: Advisory/Classrooms/Cafeteria (Lunch)
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January 7, 2026 at 7:00 pm
Parent Information Meeting (Virtual)
Rising Grade 7 and Grade 8 Course Registration
Zoom Meeting ID: 815 2638 8939 Passcode: 26NMS27
Join at bit.ly/26NMS27
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January 12, 2026
Student Registration - Rising Grade 7 and Grade 8
Science Classes
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January 15, 2026
Grade 8 Parent Night - Watkins Mill HS
6:00 pm
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January 21, 2026
Grade 8 High School Registration
Watkins Mill HS and Seneca Valley HS Counselors
Period 1
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January TBD, 2026
Elementary Teachers Complete Course Recommendations for Rising Grade 6 Students
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January 21, 2026 at 6:00pm
Rising Parent Information Meeting (In-Person)
Neelsville Cafeteria
Rising Grade 6 Course Registration
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January 27 - Feb 6, 2026
Incoming Grade 6 Student Course Registration
Cabin Branch Elementary - TBD
Gibbs Elementary - TBD
Southlake Elementary - TBD
Stedwick Elementary - TBD
Neelsville Middle School
11700 Neelsville Church Road
Germantown, MD 20876
Telephone Numbers:
Main Office: 240-740-6630
Counseling: 240-740-6640
Administration:
Mrs. Barbara Escobar, Principal Barbara_M_Escobar@mcpsmd.org
Mr. Matthew Bowerman, Assistant Principal Matthew_J_Bowerman@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Kristen Sullivan, Assistant Principal Kristen_M_Sullivan@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Rebecca Sutton, Assistant Priincipal Rebecca_J_Sutton@mcpsmd.org
Counseling:
Ms. Robin Greene, Resource Counselor Robin_M_Greene@mcpsmd.org
Mr. Todd Geary, Grade 6 Counselor Todd_J_Geary@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Nadine Allen, Grade 7 Counselor Nadine_Allen@mcpsmd.org
Ms. Sheri Snyder, Grade 8 Counselor Sheri_M_Snyder@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Alexandra Ortiz, EML Counselor Alexandra_E_Ortiz@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Delmy Martinez, Counseling Secretary Delmy_A_Martinez@mcpsmd.org
Instructional Leadership:
Accelerated and Enriched Instruction Support Teacher (AEIST)
Ms. Marnetta Buford................................Marnetta_Buford@mcpsmd.org
English/Reading/English Language Development (ELD)
Mrs. Nicolle Joshua .................................Nicolle_A_Joshua@mcpsmd.org
Mathematics
Mrs. Sara Hudson………………….........Sara_E_Hudson@mcpsmd.org
Physical Education/Electives
Mr. Daniel Skibicki…………………............Daniel_Skibicki@mcpsmd.org
Science
Mr. Josue Rentas……………...................Josue_Rentas@mcpsmd.org
Special Education
Mrs. Megan Overholtzer.............................Megan_D_Wahl@mcpsmd.org
World Languages
Mrs.Shilah Marks…………….......................Shilah_O_Marks@mcpsmd.org
World Studies
Mrs. Gisela Morales-Colon..........................Gisela_Morales-Colon@mcpsmd.org
VISION
We, the Neelsville community, strive to inspire students who think globally and critically, and who promote mutual respect and positive relationships in order to become highly productive leaders of society.
Nosotros, la comunidad de Neelsville, nos esforzamos por inspirar a los estudiantes que piensan global y críticamente, y que promueven el respeto mutuo y las relaciones positivas para convertirse en líderes altamente productivos de la sociedad.
Mission
At Neelsville Middle School, through an equity lens, we:
Nurture the well-being of our community
Hold each other accountable
Encourage positive risk-taking
Value healthy relationships
Embrace the contributions of all our students' rich backgrounds and cultures
En la Escuela Intermedia Neelsville, a través de una lente de equidad, nosotros:
Fomentar el bienestar de nuestra comunidad
Responsabilizarse unos a otros
Fomentar la asunción de riesgos positiva
Valora las relaciones saludables
Abrazar las contribuciones de todos los ricos orígenes y culturas de nuestros estudiantes.
Program Information
Gifted and talented (GT), honors and advanced courses provide opportunities for academically talented and motivated students to accelerate and enhance their learning experiences through exposure to advanced content, differentiated instruction, and on-going assessment. These courses follow the approved grade level curriculum using instructional and assessment strategies that cover course objectives with more depth and require greater use of abstract and higher level thinking skills. Neelsvile offers GT, honors or advanced courses in the following content areas at all three grade levels: English, world languages, mathematics, social studies and technology. For more information regarding advance course offerings, contact Ms. Buford, the Accelerated and Enriched Instruction Support Teacher at Marnetta_Buford@mcpsmd.org.
Neelsville Middle School offers after school activities based on student interests. Nighthawk Activities run from 3:00pm to 4:30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Activities are open to students from all grade levels. Click the link - After School Activities Bulletin - for more information.
For questions regarding Neelsville After School Activities:
Ms. Garner, After School Activity Coordinator at Sarah_A_Garner@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Sullivan, After School Activties Supervising Administrator at Kristen_M_Sullivan@mcpsmd.org.
For questions regarding the Identity After School Program, contact falfaro@identity-youth.org.
Students at Neelsville are also able to take part in Excel Beyond the Bell (EBB) activities (cooking, art, sports, robotics, etc) from 3:00pm to 5:30pm. These activities are sponsored by the Montgomery County Recreation Center and run two times during the year - Semester 1 and Semester 2.
For questions regarding Excel Beyond the Bell (EBB) contact Ms. Blagmon, Neelsville EBB Coordinator at vanessa.blagmon@montgomerycountymd.gov.
Neelsville Middle School offers team sports during the Fall (Cross Country and Softball), Winter (Basketball and Volleyball) and Spring (Soccer) seasons for 7th and 8th grade students. Though sixth grade students cannot play on team sports there are opportunities for intramurals. For more information, please contact Ms. Marnetta Buford, Athletic Coordinator.
Resources:
The ELD program provides support for non-native English speakers as they improve their American English speaking, listening, reading, writing and viewing skills. The program is broken into four sequential levels with the goal of becoming proficient in the English language. For more information about the Neelsville English Language Development program please contact Mrs. Joshua the English Language Development Team Leader at Nicolle_A_Joshua@mcpsmd.org.
Credit and grades for middle school students taking a high school course are awarded by earning a passing grade each semester. Students who meet this criteria, by earning an A, B, C, or D, will receive high school credit. For students who entered Grade 6 during or after the 2016-2017 school year, the final grade and credit earned for high school courses successfully completed while in middle school will be reported on the high school transcript, but will not be calculated into the cumulative GPA, unless the grade earned improves the student's cumulative GPA. If the course grade for the high school course taken in middle school improves the student student's cumulative GPA, it will be applied automatically by MCPS. Parents/guardians may opt out of the automatic calculation by contacting the school counselor. If your child is not satisfied with the grade earned, he or she may retake the course in grade 7 or grade 8 if it is available, or they may retake the course in high school. High school credit courses offered at Neelsville may include: Algebra 1, Honors Geometry, Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Honors Spanish 3, Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1, Spanish for Spanish Speakers 2, French 1, French 2, Honors French 3, and Introduction to Engineering Design.
For more information regarding high school credit for mathematics courses, contact Mrs. Hudson, Mathematics Content Specialist at Sara_E_Hudson@mcpsmd.org.
For more information regarding high school credit for world language courses, contact Mrs. Shilah Marks, World Language Content Specialist at Shilah_O_Marks@mcpsmd.org.
For more information regarding high school credit technology courses, contact Mr. Daniel Skibicki, Electives Content Specialist at Daniel_Skibicki@mcpsmd.org.
The International Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
IB learners are:
Encouraged to think critically and solve complex problems
Drive their own learning
A core part in educational programmes that can lead them to some of the highest-ranking universities around the world
More culturally aware through the development of a second language
Able to engage with people in an increasingly globalized, rapidly changing world.
The IB Learner Profile
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) learner profile describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success.The IB Learner Profile aims to develop learners who are:
Inquirers Knowledgeable Thinkers Communicators Principled Open-minded
Caring Risk-takers Balanced Reflective
Approaches to Learning
Approaches to learning (ATL) are skills designed to enable students in the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) to “learn how to learn.” They are intended to apply across curriculum requirements and provide a common language for teachers and students to use when reflecting and building on the process of learning.
For more information regarding the Neelsville Middle School Middle Years Programme, contact Mr. Lorenzo Deloatch , MYP Coordinator at Lorenzo_Deloatch@mcpsmd.org.
Students in middle school take a number of assessments that provide information to educators, parents and students on the students progress towards proficiency of the Maryland state content standards.
Link to description of middle school assessments.
For more information regarding the Neelsville Middle School comprehensive testing program, please contact:
Mrs. Sullivan, School Testing Coordinator at Kristen_M_Sullivan@mcpsmd.org.
Mrs. Quiroz, Instructional Assessment Coach at Raquel_E_Quiroz@mcpsmd.org
Neelsville MS has various special education services through our Learning Academic Disabilities (LAD) Program. Students that receive these services have varied Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) that provide specialized instruction to address their academic needs. General and special education teachers collaborate to ensure students have meaningful opportunities to access the general education curriculum. Instruction is designed to incorporate strategies that will enable students to make progress on their IEP goals and manage the rigor of content across all subject areas. A continuum of services is offered, including consultation, full inclusion, self-contained classes, and a combination of inclusion and self-contained classes.
For questions regarding Special Education, please contact Mrs. Overholtzer the Resource Teacher for Special Education at Megan_D_Wahl@mcpsmd.org.
Student Service Learning helps students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtful, organized service that meets a recognized community need. Students are required to complete 75 SSL hours to earn a Maryland high school diploma. Students can earn 10 hours per year while in middle school for a total of 30 hours by successfully completing the service-learning components of designated courses. These courses include Investigations in Science 6, English 7 and Advanced US History. Teachers will provide information about the service learning projects available in their courses. The remaining required 45 SSL hours may be earned throughout their middle and high school career by involvement in approved, unpaid activities within the school and community. A list of approved non-profit organizations is available on the following website: www.montgomeryserves.org. Students who accrue more than 260 hours receive an MCPS Certificate of Meritorious Service. Students who accrue all 75 hours before April of their 8th grade year will receive the Superintendent’s Student Service Learning Award.
In order to receive credit, students must keep in mind the following requirements:
For an activity not on the approved list, the Individual SSL Activity Request Form must be completed and approved prior to community service being performed.
Activities that further or promote a student’s religion, faith or faith community are not eligible for SSL hours. SSL activities can be conducted by a faith based group but must serve the greater community outside their religious organization.
The Verification Form must be filled out completely, with particular attention given to the Student Reflection statement. The deadline for turning in this form is the first Friday in June.
For questions regarding SSL hours, please contact Mrs. Parikh at Jignasha_U_Parikh@mcpsmd.org.
Helpful links:
Student Introduction to Student Service Learning
