September 10, 2021 Forest Ridge Forerunner

Fri, 09/10/2021 - 4:53pm
  • To opt-in to HCPSS Text messages, text "YES" to 67587 from the device on which you would like to receive messages.
  • Be sure to click on the "Calendar" link at the top of our website for important dates throughout the school year.

Important Dates

  • Monday, September 13, 2021 - 6:30 pm  Back to School Night RECC - Grade 2 (Parents only, please)
  • Tuesday, September 14, 2021 - 6:00 pm  Back to School Night GT (Parents only, please)
  • Tuesday, September 14, 2021 - 6:30 pm  Back to School Night Grades 3 - 5 (Parents only, please)
  • Thursday, September 16, 2021 - No School

From Our Administrators...

Dear Forest Ridge Community,

We have finished our second week and we are starting to get into our routines.  We want to continue to thank you for your patience as we work with the Office of Transportation to get our buses on a more consistent pick-up and drop-off schedule.  At this time we are still working on Bus 908 and Bus 217 and hope to see some improvements next week.  

We look forward to seeing you at Back To School Nights next week.  Our Back to School Nights will be in-person (with a virtual option) this Monday and Tuesday. Please ensure you wear a mask and sign-in once you enter your child’s homeroom. Due to COVID-19 and limited space in the classrooms, we are asking that only parents attend. You will have the opportunity to learn a little more about your child’s grade and teacher.  Teachers will be sending out Canvas announcements with the Google Meet code if you would like to attend virtually.  

​​We want to clarify an email that you may have gotten from your homeroom teacher about Chromebooks.  We encourage students to bring the Chromebooks back and forth to school fully charged each day. One of the reasons for students to bring it back and forth is to allow students access at home to the device to continue their learning. If you want the chromebook to be kept at school, please let your homeroom teacher know.

Please look in your child’s backpack for a Choice Board activity that was created by our county curriculum staff so that families have activities to complete in the event that their children have to quarantine.  Please look for this packet and keep it in a safe place.

Early Fall MCAP Testing for Grades 4 and 5
As part of continued COVID-19 recovery efforts, the Maryland State Department of Education is conducting an early fall student assessment.   The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is the overarching term used for all state assessments.

MSDE will administer assessments in the Early Fall for English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA/L) and Mathematics, as well as the Alternate Assessments in ELA and Mathematics for all 4th and 5th grade students.  

Students will participate in two 60 minute ELA/L units and two 30 minute Math units over the course of three school days.  Please see the schedule below: 

  • September 21st and 22nd 

    • Fall MCAP ELA/L Testing for 4th Graders, 9:30 am

    • Fall MCAP ELA/L Testing for 5th Graders 1:45 pm

  • September 29th and 30th

    • Fall MCAP Math Testing for 4th Graders, 9:30 am

    • Fall MCAP Math Testing for 5th Graders, 1:45 pm

For more information about the MCAP assessments, please refer to the following documents in English and Spanish. 

We hope everyone has a great weekend and is able to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Mr. Conroy and Ms. Pazornik

Forest Ridge News...

GT NEWS
Fall Seminars are here! Science Fair, Green Team, or Unheard Perspectives...what will you choose?
Please use THIS LINK to read about our Fall Seminar offerings and to sign up. Spring Seminar sign up will be available during second semester. We can't wait to see your children in seminars!

Family File - As we lived through our first Early Closing due to weather it was extremely difficult to make contact with so many families that have not completed their Family File.  It is a priority that every family complete their Family File this weekend.  Thank you for helping to make things run more smoothly.  See more below.

Student Belongings - We have already had several items that are lost.  Please label all backpacks, lunch boxes, jackets, etc. so that we can get them back to the correct student.  

From the Health Room

  • The Health Room is looking for a few volunteers to help with Vision & Hearing Screenings on 9/28/21 and 10/4/21.  We are just looking for a few volunteers to help bring students to and from their classrooms and help with crowd control.  All volunteers must show proof of Covid-19 Vaccination or a negative PCR Covid test within 7 days prior to volunteering.  If interested, please contact the Health Room at 410-888-8811 or email our Cluster Nurse at Kerri_Lewis@HCPSS.org.
  • Covid-19 Self Screenings:  All parents/guardians are to perform a COVID-19 health check every day before your student leaves home. Students are not to come to school if they are experiencing any symptom(s) associated with COVID-19 or other communicable disease.

Picture Info
Individual pictures were taken on Thursday, September 9.  All students present were photographed, whether parents placed an order or not. They will have a blue background because they will be used in the yearbook.

  • You can still place a pre-order for pictures until noon on Saturday, 9/11.  Go to www.schoolpix.com, click on "Preorder Portraits Online Here," then type in the pre-order code FRESF21. See the flyer here.
  •  If your child did not bring the money to school on Thursday, you can still turn it in Monday, 9/13.  See the sample order form here, or use the envelope that came home. 
  • You will also have a chance to order pictures after they are distributed to the students.  You will get a wallet size photo with a unique code that can be used to place an order through www.schoolpix.com.
  •  If your child was absent or you don't like the picture, there will be a make-up day to be scheduled after the photos are shipped.  We will let you know the date after it is scheduled. 

Family File
Thank you to everyone who has updated their student’s 2021-2022 emergency information using the Family File.  Currently we have 70% of our students completed. This needs to be done each year, even if nothing has changed. The following video walks you through the process of completing the Family File. 

You can access the Family File by logging in to the HCPSS Connect at www.hcpss.org/connect/. Once you have logged into the HCPSS Connect, select the Family File tab on the left-hand side, and then select the blue underlined "Family File" towards the center of your screen. Once logged in, parents/guardians will be asked to provide, update, or confirm the following information:

  • Student Information
  • Parent/guardian Contact Information
  • Emergency Contacts
  • Medical Information
  • Media Release (photo approval)
  • Data Confidentiality
  • PTA/PTSA Directory
  • Unscheduled Early Closing Procedures

Please note, if the section you are looking at is not allowing you to move forward, then there is a question/checkbox on that page that may still need to be addressed. Please make sure to read the prompts at the top of each tab, and click to expand each section. To access our quick help guides, CLICK HERE.

Parents who have forgotten their login credentials may click the “Forgot Password” link on the sign-in page.  Your user name is your email address.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: A change of address may not be made through the Family File. If you have recently moved, please contact Mrs. Jackson at rebecca_jackson@hcpss.org, Ms. Traini at christin_traini@hcpss.org, or Ms. Williams at chantel_williams@hcpss.org for further assistance.

SuperSquads Cheerleading is Back!
Who:  Students in Grades 2-5
Where: Forest Ridge Elementary School
When:  Mondays, starting on 9/27
Cost:  $168.00
To register, please visit www.supersquads.org
View the flyer here

Girls on the Run for Girls in Grades 3, 4, and 5 is Back!
Registration opened on August 22.  The 9-week season starts the week of September 19 and extends through the week of November 14, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00-5:15 p.m. at FRES.  For registration, please visit www.gotrcentralmd.org.

Are you interested in joining Girl Scouts?
Please join us at the North Laurel Community Center Pavillion on September 23rd at 6:30pm.  Check out the flyer here.

From the PTA...

Here's the link to news from the FRES PTA.

In the Community...

New HCPSS Community News and Programs Site: 
In response to community requests for resources, HCPSS’ new Community News and Programs website makes it easy for families to find educational and recreational resources, events and after-school programs beyond the school day by non-profit organizations.

Community organizations requesting their announcements be shared in school newsletters should visit community-programs.hcpss.org for more information. Questions should be directed to the Public Information Office at publicinfo@hcpss.org.

Receive HC DrugFree's Free Newsletter: To receive HC DrugFree's free electronic newsletter packed with information for parents and opportunities for students, go to https://hcdrugfree.org/enews-signup/