Greetings Forest Ridge Families,

Our week was filled with many accomplishments! Thank you for the part you played in helping us achieve these successes Below are some FRES updates:

• Back-to-School Primary & Intermediate Nights - We had a great parent presence! The messages shared were well received! Thank you for joining us. The presentations from that evening may be viewed by following the links below:
  • GT BTSN Presentation.pptx
  • RA BTSN Presentation.pptx
  • K BTSN Presentation.pptx
  • First Grade BTSN Presentation.pptx
  • 2nd Grade BTSN Presentation.pptx
  • 3rd Grade 3 BTSN Presentation.pptx
  • Fourth Grade BTSN.pptx
  • 5th Grade ELA_SS BTSN Presentation.pptx
  • 5th Grade Math BTSN Presentation.pptx
• Staffing Changes:
  • A member of our Custodial Team, Ms.Beverly Matthews, has left the Eagle's nest to pursue full-time employment. We wish her well in her endeavors.
  • Our Teachers' Secretary, Ms. Parris Muse is now serving in the role of Special Education Paraeducator! Following her professional path in education, this is a switch she elected to make. We love that she will still touch and affect the lives of FRES students!
  • Our Grade 4 general education paraeducator, Mrs. Rebecca Jackson, will be joining us in the front office in her new role as Teachers' Secretary! We also love that she will still touch and affect the lives of FRES students!
     
• On Friday morning, the fire alarm was triggered a few minutes prior to student arrival. As was expected,  staff members, along with students in the Before Care program evacuated to the appropriate locations just as we would for a fire drill.  There was not a fire and students were not in danger. The alarm has been serviced. We learned many things from this unplanned event. We thank the many parents who saw a need and jumped in to assist. Friday's event signals the NEED to remind the 185remaining students to complete their child's Family file. We cannot schedule emergencies, but we do have to respond in them. Without updated family contact, emergency response can occur later than what is necessary placing your child at risk. Please complete your Family File today. The FRES front office staff is available to assist you. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the front office.

Student News…

Howard County Library’s Summer Reading Program: Congratulations to the following students, who completed the Howard County Library’s Summer Reading Program:
Lily Aspinwall, Eli Murphy, Hafsa Naseer, Munefa Naseer, Ashley Park, Caleb Park, and Noelle Warner.
If your child has completed the program and his/her name has not appeared yet, please send an email to let us know.

Recess Coaches: The following students have been chosen to be recess coaches for October, beginning on 10/4:

5th Grade (Johnston)	4th Grade (Jones)	3rd Grade (Chrzanowski)	2nd Grade (Robinson)
Delaney Lortz	Nathan Amihere	Gavin Gindlesperger	Demi Adeyemi
Sahil Khan	Jasmine Carino	Ava Karbacka	Tavia Gregory
Amanda Giles	Gurtej Mann	Haider Naveed	Natalie Rawlings
Travis Wells	Julia Neidermyer	Sitabelle Nkeh	Wendell Stepp
Munefa Naseer	Annika Vallurupalli	Austin Walton	Jocelyn Taylor

Emergency Operation Plan - Parent Request

Parents, we need your participation. In the case of an emergency in our school  community, your skillset may prove critical. Can we call on you? May we include your skills or your access to specific materials in our plan? Please take a moment and complete our Parent Inventory. Help us be prepared in the event of an emergency!

Did You Know? ~A Synopsis of the Bullying/Harassment Policy ~ 1060~

Bullying is conduct that has the following components:

Purposeful ~ Imbalance of power ~ Continuous

Bullying behavior may exist between /amongst any age group of children or adults. At FRES, we are committed to TEACH our students about socially acceptable behaviors and counsel them about behaviors that may be present that do not support our commitment. We teach our students the difference between conflict and bullying and work to support a safe and nurturing school environment wherein students can advocate for themselves knowledgeably.  

The Bullying/Harrassment Policy (1060) defines BULLYING as:
 Intentional conduct, including verbal, physical, or written conduct, or an intentional electronic communication that creates a hostile educational environment by substantially interfering with a student’s or staff member’s educational benefits, opportunities, or performance, or with their physical or psychological well-being and is:

• motivated by an actual or a perceived personal characteristic including race, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic status, familial status, or physical or mental ability or disability; or,
• threatening or seriously intimidating; and,
• occurs on school property, at a school activity or event, or on a school bus; or,
• substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a school or workplace.

If you feel your child is experiencing a problem with Bullying, you may elect to do any or all of the following: contact your child’s teacher; contact an administrator; submit a reporting form (Follow Link)

A note from the School Counselors:

Greetings! This week we began our Guidance lessons. Next month is National Bullying Prevention Month, so in September and October’s Guidance lessons we will discuss bullying. We will talk about what bullying is and how to handle it using the DeBug steps (Decide to ignore, Exit or move away, Be friendly, Use firm words, Get adult help). We will also explore the importance of being an Active Bystander or “Upstander.” We encourage you to ask your child(ren): how can you be an Active Bystander?

As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns. ~ Mrs. Coppi & Mrs. Schwartz~

From Mrs. DeOrio, our Orchestra Teacher:

Our orchestra program is in need of more instruments, so Mrs. De Orio has started a Donors Choose page. Below is a link the first project, which will help our school acquire two violas. If you are able to donate anything, even $1, it is greatly appreciated!!!! Please use the code "LIFTOFF" at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $50 for the next 7 days.

If you are not able to donate, no worries at all. Please help by SHARING the link with co-workers, family members, friends, and even on social media. This will not be the only Donors Choose project this year, it's just the first step towards continuing to make our music program florish.

Here's the link https://secure.donorschoose.org/project/violas-for-young-violists/2173506/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=proposal_submit&rf=page-siteshare-2016-09-ifproject-teacher_3811953&challengeid=20828015  and don't forget to use the code LIFTOFF at checkout. Thanks in advance for your support!!!!

Save-the-Dates

• The walk to school is Tuesday, October 11th.
• The Family FIT night is Thursday November 3rd from 6-8 PM.

In the Community…

Fundraiser Against Stomach Cancer
Mrs. Stockstill, one of our parents, is holding a fundraiser to help fight stomach cancer.  To donate or participate, please follow this link:
https://www.crowdrise.com/rachelstockstill-2016nostomachforcancerwalk/fundraiser/rachelstockstill

From the PTA President

Happy Fall Everyone!  Fall began this week and the leaves have already started changing.  I can't wait for them to change even more and add the pumpkins, apples, and cool air- AWESOME!  Another thing that is AWESOME was to see and meet so many great people at Back to School night this week.  So many new faces stopped by our table and introduced themselves and reached out to us with ideas.  Keep them coming.  Not to forget our veteran FRESers!  Thanks for stopping by, saying "Hi", and renewing your membership as well. 

Our very first FRES Restaurant Spirit Night is coming up this Monday, the 26th.  Fall is a GREAT time to eat BBQ and Red, Hot & Blue is an awesome place to get it.  Bring the family and meet up with other FRES families from 4-9 p.m.  Remember to say you are with FRES and a percentage of the proceeds come back to our PTA. They also have yummy salads as well as chicken and pork BBQ, to name just a few. 

Finally, keep those KidStuff books or money coming in. The sale has technically ended but we still need to get as many books back or money as possible before the unused ones get shipped back.  If you still have yours, leaf through it to see the great family places to go like Sky Zone, Monster Mini Golf and much, much more.  Or, perhaps you've changed your mind and would like one.  Simply send in $25 in an envelope with your child's name on it and teacher and you will receive one the next day. 

Have a great weekend!

Jennifer

president@frespta.org

 

FRES PTA Newsletter

Have you signed up for the FRES PTA Newsletter? Visit our website at www.frespta.org to sign up. FRES PTA News will be emailed bi-monthly to PTA members and anyone who signs up. Read last week’s issue here: http://eepurl.com/cf_0Gf.

After school Program information may be found by following this LINK