From the "Virtual" Media Center
Mrs. E and Mrs. Tordella will be hosting a Virtual Book Club for Families of grades 3-5 on Wed, May 13th @ 6:30 PM via Google Meet. We will be discussing the book El Deafo.  Check your Media Canvas Page for more information! Send Mrs. Tordella or Mrs. E a message letting us know you plan to attend. You can do this using the canvas inbox on the left side of your Canvas screen.

Services from our School Counselor and Psychologist

• Mrs. Schuck, our school counselor, will have office hours every week day from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and then from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.  You can schedule an appointment by emailing Mrs. Schuck at (alyssa_schuck@hcpss.org) or completing the following request form.  
   
• Our school psychologist, Dr. Eng, will be holding office hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 2:00-3:30 p.m.  If you need to reach him, please email him directly at William_eng@hcpss.org, and include the following:
• Your name:
• Student’s name:
• Phone number:
• Email:
• A brief description of your concern:

PTA News...

From the PTA President

Dear FRES families,

I hope you and your families are all safe and healthy.  This is certainly not the spring that anyone had planned, but we are adjusting to this new normal while we shelter in place.  The Hasan girls have had LOTS of free play (literally days of LEGOs!), extra snack breaks, some Bengali language lessons, and lax screen time – but importantly, they are healthy and are feeling safe and loved.  As of this week, we have two kids at different grade levels and are figuring out those online learning schedules while making sure they (and we!) are not overwhelmed.

As we enter this distance learning phase for elementary schools, the PTA would like to be here to support our parents and our teachers.  We’re sad that many of our activities have been cancelled for this year, but the PTA will still be offering yearbooks for sale, continuing the tradition of gifting class T-shirts for the 5th graders, holding a virtual PTA meeting, and also celebrating Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week next week!  Read below for more details.

And for those observing – Have a blessed Ramadan!

Wishing you peace and good health,

Khaleda Hasan

FRES PTA President

Virtual PTA Meeting – Tuesday, May 5th – 7pm
Next week, we will host a virtual PTA meeting in an effort to reconnect with the FRES community.  Mr. Conroy will be on hand to present information on our distance learning schedules and expectations and will be able to answer questions.  A link will be sent out next week through another school message.  Mark your calendar!

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week

Teacher Appreciation Video
Let’s virtually show our appreciation to the amazing FRES staff and teachers. We are putting together a video of your children’s lovely faces and messages of appreciation. 

Here’s how it will work. Choose ONE option below! 

1. Snap a pic of your child with a sign they created showing appreciation for our staff. Something like “Thank You” or “You’re the Best” is perfect. Feel free to use paper for your greeting, or write it on your sidewalk with chalk!
2. Record a video of 10 seconds or less sharing a short message of appreciation. (A smartphone video works fine! Horizontal orientation works best.) 
3. Find a photo you already have of your child with his or teacher this year. 

Email your photo or short video by Saturday, May 2 to Tangie Smith at tangelats@gmail.com. 

Teacher Appreciation Wordle (Word Cloud)
FRES families, the FRES PTA needs your help!  We want to show our teachers and staff at FRES just how much we appreciate everything they do for us and how special they make us feel.  We are asking your families to share the top three kind words that come to mind when you think about your teachers and staff at FRES.  We will be making a wordle (word cloud) for each team for Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week for next week.

Fill out this Google form by Tuesday, May 5th: https://forms.gle/MUJT9PdYX2utNiR2A

Select a team and fill out the form with kind descriptions.  You can fill this form out multiple times to describe as many teams as you like!

FRES Yearbooks – Online ordering is now open!
Due to the school closures from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are NOT able to collect paper order forms or cash/check payments.  Yearbooks must be pre-ordered online this year by Friday, May 15, 2020.  Each yearbook this year costs $27.49 (price includes tax and shipping/handling vendor charges).  Additional yearbooks sent to the same address will incur smaller shipping costs (i.e., two yearbooks shipped to the same address is $49.80).  They will be shipped to your home in June.

There will be NO additional yearbooks for sale in June this year.  Contact president@frespta.org if you have questions.

PLACE ORDERS HERE: http://reorders.schoolpix.com/login_shoot

Be sure to enter key code: N5WE7VYW.

From there, follow the online instructions to place your order.

5th Grade Baby Photos and Dedications – Deadline May 1
Attention 5th grade students and parents!  Yearbook dedications orders are due by Friday, May 1.

Please submit a special shout out in the yearbook to your 5th grader from you or another loved one.  Additionally, you can send in a baby photo of your child for the collage of baby pictures page.  Please submit a picture so your “baby” is included. 

FRES Yearbook Photos
Send your favorite pictures from school events to fresyearbook@hcpss.org so we can include some of them in the yearbook!  Please include some information (student, grade, event, etc.) to help identify which section of the yearbook it’ll go in.  Thank you!

From the Howard County Library...

From HCPSS...

New Continuity of Learning Website and Help Function.

Want to Receive Text Messages from HCPSS?
To receive text messages from HCPSS, please text the word "YES" to 67587 from the cell phone number on file in HCPSS Connect.

Canvas and Canvas Announcements
Teachers have and will continue to send messages to students using Canvas. Visit https://www.hcpss.org/connect/faq/#notify to ensure that your child is set up to receive notifications. This page is also a great resource to make sure that you understand Canvas and Synergy.  Parents/guardians unfamiliar with Canvas may find it helpful to review the features in this Canvas Orientation.

Setting Canvas Notifications to receive emails of all Canvas notifications.

Account Self-Service for Students
Students now have the ability to retrieve their usernames and reset passwords, independent of teachers and staff. Directions on using self-service can be found online.

Internet Access
Comcast has opened free access to its Xfinity WiFi network, making hotspots across the country available to anyone, including non-subscribers, at no cost. Search by zip code or city to find a hotspot near you at wifi.xfinity.com. Comcast is also providing low cost internet access to eligible families through its Comcast Internet Essentials program.

3rd Quarter Report Cards
Third-quarter grading was previously scheduled to end on April 3. For all students, HCPSS will base third-quarter grades on work assigned on and prior to March 13, the last day schools were in session, as the majority of the quarter had already taken place when schools were closed. The new end to the 3rd quarter is April 24th and the 4th quarter will begin April 27th.  Teachers will be completing report cards and they will be available to parents at the beginning of May. Additional details can be found here.

Kindergarten Registration
Parents/guardians of new incoming students and those entering kindergarten in the 2020-2021 school year (who are not already enrolled) are able to begin the enrollment process online, followed by completion of the registration process when schools reopen. Online registration is not required and parents may elect to complete the full registration in person at the time of reopening.

Once school buildings reopen, parents will be contacted to complete the registration at the child’s school. Parents or legal guardians must visit their child’s school and provide proof of parental relationship and any other documents not provided during the online registration process.

2020 Census
Several HCPSS programs rely on funding based on accurate census information, so all families are encouraged to participate in the 2020 census, which may be completed online. Learn more.

Supporting Language Needs

Find information on the ways that HCPSS is supporting the language needs of families through in-person and online resources.

Special Education Continuity of Learning
This new webpage provides an overview of special education services for continuity of learning, timeline for service delivery and links to online resources for family use at home.

SECAC Awards
The Special Education Citizens Advisory Council (SECAC) annual awards  have been postponed until October. Families can continue to nominate their child's fabulous educators, related service providers, administrators, inclusive programs and student leaders at  https://forms.gle/DD6phamcmPhGxzU79