Sept. 27, 2019 Forest Ridge Forerunner

Fri, 09/27/2019 - 3:04pm

Important Dates:

September
30  Rosh Hashanah (Schools and Offices Closed)
October
1    7:00 PTA Meeting – Media Center
4    6:00-7:00  Kindergarten Playdate
7    Joe Corbi’s Fundraiser Ends
9   Yom Kippur (Schools and Offices Closed)
10  6:30 Watch Dog Pizza Kickoff
16  Chick-fil-A Spirit Day (Johns Hopkins Road location)
18  Professional Work Day (No school for students)
18  7:00-9:00 PTA Skate Night, Laurel Roller Skating Center
24  Teacher Luncheon during all lunch periods
25  7:00 PTA Movie Night
26  7:00-9:00 PTA Halloween Dance
29  4:30 to 9 Red Hot and Blue PTA Restaurant Night

Student News...

Prize Patrol
Congratulations to our latest group of Eagle Egg winners:
Ivy M., Swatson A., Meerab K., Ahmed S., Cassandra A., Marie L.F.

Keep up the great work!
 

Howard County Summer Reading Program
Congratulations to the following students.  They completed the Howard County Library's Summer Reading program:

Kate D.,  Makayla G., Arhum M., Lucy R., Nicholas R.

From our Administrators...

Dear FRES Community,

It was so great seeing so many of our FRES families at our Wellness Walk and Ice Cream Social! It was a packed house and our staff loved scooping ice cream.  

Car loop Reminders: 
Drop off for students begins at 8:55 am. Students are not monitored by school staff prior to this time.  Please help us with safe car loop procedures and remember to practice civility. Below are a few reminders:

  • Drive slowly in the car loop.
  • If possible, have your child exit and/or enter on the passenger side of your vehicle.

  • Stay in your car while a staff member assists you and your student with exit and entry.

  • Please wait in line and do not drive around cars to exit the line.  This process takes only a few minutes and waiting in line will ensure safe traffic patterns.

Thank you in advance for your help in making our arrival and dismissal procedures safe for all.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)--Assessment Window Opens October 1
We will be administering MAP assessments in reading and mathematics to all FRES students in grades 1-5 starting next week. MAP is a computer adaptive assessment. In a computer adaptive assessment, as a student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting the difficulty of the questions presented to the student. This creates a personalized assessment for every student.

A score report will be sent home to our families a few weeks after the Fall administration of the assessment concludes on October 29th. This report shares your child’s overall score in reading and math, as well as scores in a variety of areas. MAP assessments measure a student’s growth over time in reading and mathematics. MAP assessments let teachers know where a student’s strengths are and if help is needed in any specific instructional area(s). Teachers use this information, along with the results of various other assessments and their own observation of student performance, to help guide instruction. 

Here is the schedule for our MAP Testing:

Grade 1:  10/21 & 10/22 @ 10:00 AM

Grade 2:  10/8 & 10/10 @ 9:30 AM

Grade 3:  10/16 & 10/17 @ 1:00 PM

Grade 4: 10/15 & 10/16 @ 9:30 AM

Grade 5: 10/11 & 10/14 @ 1:30 PM
If your child is absent on the day that his/her class tests, a make-up test will be given.  For more information regarding MAP testing, click here.

 
Ivye Pazornik
Assistant Principal
Forest Ridge Elementary School

 

Forest Ridge News...

From the Reading Team

Calling all FRES Families! That's right- grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings, too! The Reading Team is in search of family members, ages 21 and older, to volunteer! We have a range of activity options, from reading one-on-one with children or playing letter, sound, and sight word games, to helping with organizing and sorting books.
 
If you are interested, please follow this link to complete an interest survey, and a member of the Reading Team will be in touch soon!
 
Please send any additional questions to Ms. Darden at nikia_darden@hcpss.org.

From the Health Room
Flu vaccines coming to our school!  It's not too late to sign up online!  Our flu vaccine clinic at FRES will be held on Friday October 11th, and you can go to www.vaccineconsent.com to sign up before October 4.  Please contact the health room at 410-888-8811 with any questions.  Thank you and here's to a healthy school year!

Cell Phones
Students in elementary school do not need cell phones.  If students need to contact their parent during the school day, they may use the phone in the front office.  If a student brings a cell phone to school it must remain off in their back packs while on school property. 

Changes to the Elementary Report Card--Learning Behaviors
Beginning this school year, you will see changes to the Learning Behaviors section of the HCPSS report card. These changes are in alignment with the updated Elementary Grading and Reporting Policy.  Please use this link to learn more about Policy 8010: https://www.hcpss.org/policies/8000/8010-grading-reporting-pre-kindergarten-grade-five/.

Learning Behaviors are learned actions that enable students to access learning and interact with others productively in the community. These behaviors are developed in and outside of school. Additionally, Learning Behaviors help with understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and making responsible decisions that are essential life skills. The learning behaviors also complement the curriculum content taught in the elementary grades and are a natural part of learning about oneself while interacting with others.  These new learning behaviors were collaboratively developed with teachers, administrators, curriculum staff, and parent advisory committees.

Please use this link https://www.hcpss.org/academics/learning-behaviors/ to learn more about the Learning Behaviors.

Use this link for information in Spanish.

Free and Reduced Meals Program
HCPSS participates in the Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs) program.  Students (PreK-12) who meet the federal income guidelines are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals. Applications are available on-line or in paper forms. A new application needs to be submitted each year.  Please complete the application (Spanish and English) as soon as possible to avoid delays in your student receiving a meal. Go to http://www.hcpss.org/food-services/farms/

Items of interest:
  • New monthly school counseling newsletter: September ESC Newsletter [2019]FRES.pdf 
  • Check out the GT Department's Instructional Seminar information on our homepage.
  • Chick-fil-a Spirit Days this year will be on October 16, December 11, and March 18.  Proceeds will help to defray the cost of 4th and 5th grade field trips
Family File
We are now up to 90% of our families who have completed their Family File.  Parents must update their student’s Emergency Card via the Family File on the HCPSS Connect each year.  If you have not completed your Family File, please visit: https://www.hcpss.org/connect/

NOTE:  We have a number of field trips coming up this year.  If we do not have an updated family file for your child, he or she will not be permitted to attend since we won't have updated emergency information

PTA News...

Happy Friday FRES Families!

It was lovely getting to chat with so many families and staff at the Chipotle Restaurant Night and at the Wellness Walk/Ice Cream Social. While building community bonds, we also raised $686.54 from Chipotle!! We are off to an amazing start this year. Thank you so much for all your support so early in the school year!

Our Joe Corbi’s fundraiser is in full-swing! I know I’m excited to stock up some frozen pizzas, cookie dough, and pies. Share the online ordering code with friends and family for your convenience!

Our next PTA meeting is on Tuesday, October 1st in the Media Center at 7pm. We will have a Parent Information Session at the beginning of the meeting discussing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), what it is and how it’s being implemented at FRES. Childcare will be provided for your school-aged children. If you didn’t have a chance to come out to the first PTA meeting, definitely check out this one to see how you can get involved in the PTA.

Next Friday, October 4th we will also have our Kindergarten Play Date from 6-7pm on the playground! Kindergarten families, join us for snacks and for a chance to get to know other families in a smaller setting!

Have a great weekend!

Khaleda Hasan, FRES PTA President

More from the PTA:

PTA Sponsored After-School Activities in Danger of Being Cancelled Due to Low Enrollment

PTA sponsored after-school activities provide a wide range of options for children to enrich their educational experiences. I'm the Chef Too-S.T.E.A.M Edible Creations, Silver Knights Chess, Silver Knights Robotics, and Spanish are subject to cancellation if the enrollment is not increased, so encourage friends to sign up! There is still space available in Pongos Intro to Coding and KidzArt. Students in Howard County After School Care are also eligible to participate.

Your child can receive half-price or free tuition if you (or a guardian/grandparent) can volunteer to help with the classes. Visit https://frespta.org/about-us/after-school-activities/ for registration information or email Monaca Noble at kojothecat@gmail.com with questions or to volunteer.

Box Tops Fall Incentive Contest Deadline: October 25
Students will earn a small incentive prize for any Box Tops turned in by Friday, October 25. For every 5 Box Tops, your child's name will be placed in a drawing for one of six gift cards to Five Below. (One winner per grade.) Please send unexpired Box Tops in a baggie or envelope clearly labeled with your child's name, grade, and teacher's name, or use any collection sheet. Any Box Tops sent in so far this school year count toward the contest! Each is worth 10 cents for FRES, and they add up fast! Visit http://www.btfe.com/ to see products where you can find Box Tops.

New: Download and use the Box Tops app and have it count toward our FRES contests too! Buy Box Tops products and scan your store receipt within 14 days. To let us know about your digital earnings for our FRES contests, you can now "Give Credit" within the app upon scanning (please include name, teacher, and grade when prompted). Or you can take a screen shot or forward the email(s) showing earnings to our brand new email account: BoxTops@frespta.org. Earnings from earlier this school year will count (summer too), so send that information! Please email us with any questions. Thank you for your support!

Upcoming Events and Dates
Kindergarten Play Date is Friday, Oct 4th from 6-7pm on the FRES playground

Our Kindergarten Play Date, which was rained out last month has been rescheduled!  We will invite all Kindergarten families to come and meet the PTA and network with each other while their children play with their new friends.

We need volunteers to help with the event!  We need people to (1) hand out toys, (2) hand out snacks, (3) apply temporary tattoos, (4) greet families.

Our committee head is also looking for a co-chair because next year will be her daughter's last year at FRES so we will need to someone to take over in 2021.  If interested, please contact Heidi James at heidi_L_james@outlook.com.

NEW After School STEAM Lab Cooking Class at FRES
I'm the Chef Too will  transform the classroom into a tinker lab to cook up some Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math at FRES this fall. Children are inspired to build like an engineer, question like a scientist, create like an artist, and deduce like a mathematician all through the world of cooking!  Watch their excitement as they develop all of their creations in the kitchen and then dig in with a spoon and enjoy.

Class starts October 15th, Tuesdays from 3:50-5:05 p.m. (10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/05, 11/12, 11/19) for Grades K-5. $135 for 6 classes.

To register, visit https://imthecheftoo.com/ then click "Enroll Now" and select The STEAM Lab at Forest Ridge.

A parent volunteer is still needed for this class.

Coca-Cola Rewards
The My Coke Rewards for Schools program will donate cash to FRES for Coke points, found inside cartons of 12 packs and on the lids of bottles of Coke products. The codes can be entered and donated to FRES https://us.coca-cola.com/give/schools/. Or turn caps and codes into your teacher in a baggie or envelope.

Community News...

Howard County families can get free coats, gloves, hats and scarves on two dates:
 
1.  OCTOBER 26, 2019 AT THE NORTH LAUREL COMMUNITY CENTER, 9411 WHISKEY BOTTOM ROAD, LAUREL MD 20723. 9:00-11:00 AM.
2.   NOVEMBER 16, 2019 AT WILDE LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL. 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
 

Community Conversation on Restorative Justice
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in sponsorship with the Howard County Education Association and the Restorative Justice Partnership, will be hosting a community conversation on restorative justice. The event will take place October 7 from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm in Rouse Theater. Refreshments will be served from 6-6:30 pm. Please see the attached flyer for details.

 What is restorative justice HOCO flier.pdf 

Need help finding daycare? 
LOCATE: Child Care is here to help.  LOCATE: Child Care at Maryland Family Network is a free service funded through a grant by The Maryland State Department of Education which is provided to people seeking child care in Maryland.  Visit marylandfamilynetwork.org for more information.

Food Truck Friday Flyers
Attached are the flyers for Food Truck Fridays for October and November:
Emerson Food Truck Fridays -October 2019 Schedule-1.png 
Emerson Food Truck Fridays -November 2019 Schedule.png