Focus Respect Effort Safety

Dear FRES Families,
The following is a review of our school routines and procedures with regard to arrival, dismissal and school security. Procedures are in place, focused on the safety of your child first and foremost. Please keep in mind our doors open at 9:00 am and dismissal begins at 3:35 pm. Doors lock at 9:15 am and will be opened when the first students are dismissed.

The HCPSS transportation office assigns each student a transportation designation: bus rider or walker. 

A bus designation tells us who is assigned and allowed to ride a SPECIFIC bus identified by the transportation office. Parents are not allowed to assign their child to a bus of their own choosing.  The office has a form you must complete to change your child's bus. You must complete this form if you want your child to ride a different bus.  We need to know which bus your child is riding.  The reason is that if the bus has an accident, we pull a report from our student database that lists children who should be on that bus.  If you have taken it upon yourself to change the bus without letting us know, there will be a delay in contacting you. 

• WALKER - Students designated as a walker live within the 1-mile distance from school (or reside in an area with no sidewalk) and therefore are assigned as a walker.  Our school demographics is comprised of a majority of walkers.
  • We have two separate designations, ‘A’ or ‘B’.
  • Students who reside in the Stone Lake or Emerson community are ‘B’ walkers.
  • All other walkers are ‘A’ walkers.
• Car rider? - Being a car rider is a parent choice; it is not a designation assigned by the transportation office. Please read the instructions below for each designation of our arrival and dismissal procedures.

       ARRIVAL:All students who arrive after 9:15 MUST be signed in by an adult.
        DO NOT simply drop your children off after 9:15. 

• Bus rider - All our busses arrive at our bus loop parking area.  Students are dismissed from the bus at 9:00 am and enter through our bus door.  If they will get breakfast, they will proceed to the cafeteria.  Otherwise they should head straight to class.
• Car rider - PLEASE use the car pool lane to drop off your child at the designated area of drop off. Car riders will enter through our main front door.
• Walker - We have 2 entrances for our walkers. Walkers may enter the building at 9:00 am. ‘A’ walkers enter through our main front door and ‘B’ walkers enter through our bus door.

  DISMISSAL:

• Car rider - Car rider dismissal begins at 3:35 pm. PLEASE use the car pool lane to pick up your child. For student and staff safety we ask that you do not park and pick up your child. This helps to avoid the foot traffic between and among moving vehicles and ensures the safety of you and your child.
• Bus - 3:41 pm for students in grades 1, 2, & 3. Bus riders are dismissed through our bus doors.  At 3:43, students in grades 4 & 5 are dismissed.
• Walker - At 3:45 pm all ‘A’ and ‘B’ walkers are dismissed. ‘A’ walkers are dismissed through the door that leads to the walkway that meets the sidewalk next to the front pond. The walkway is for exits only. ‘B’ walkers are dismissed through our rear gymnasium doors. This also is for exits only.

***Any change in a student’s dismissal must be submitted in writing. Phone call changes are not permitted due to safety concerns. We ask that any change be made prior to 3:00 pm.***

Visiting FRES- School Security:
The Office of School Security has implemented guidelines to ensure the safety of students, employees and visitors while on Howard County School Property. All visitors must enter through our main doors. Our doors are locked from 9:15 am to 3:45 pm.  Please press the intercom button to our front office and state the purpose for your visit.  Upon entering please proceed to the front office and sign in.  Visitors to our building MUST provide a state-issued identification and sign in through our LOBBYGUARD system. Please make sure to have your identification with you prior to entering.  Visitors without identification will need to have their identity verified by the front office or administration and this may cause a delay in your visit.
Reminder:  All volunteers must have completed yearly volunteer training and have their completion certificate on file before they will be allowed to volunteer.

We look forward to a great partnership with our FRES Community!

Hearing and Vision Screening
Hearing and Vision Screenings will be held for kindergarten, 1st grade, and new students on Tuesday October 10, 2017.  Hearing and vision re-screening will take place on Tuesday, October 17, 2017.

HAVE YOU UPDATED THE FAMILY FILE? - Even if the info has not changed!  This is for your child's safety.  Please take the time to update the file.
Number of children whose parents haven't updated: 244
Follow this link for more information. 
Please note, your child will not be permitted to attend a field trip until you have completed this information.  In addition, it's possible that your child's interim progress report or report card will be withheld until you have completed the information.

Family Fit Night - Save the Date
Mark your calendars for a FREE FAMILY FOREST RIDGE Wellness event….FIT2Order’s FIT Family Night!
When: October 26, 2017
Time:   6 - 8 pm
Highlighted Stations To Include Kid Friendly Boot Camp, Martial Arts, Zumba, Yoga, Dance Party Finale, Parent Nutrition Workshop, and Wellness Tables.  Click on the links below for more information.
FIT_family_itinerary_Forest_Ridge.2017.txt 
FAM_savethedateflyer_Forest_Ridge_2017-1.pdf

Daycare Providers in Our District
As a service to our parents, we advertise daycare providers who are located in the Forest Ridge district: