Feb. 22, 2019 Forest Ridge Forerunner

Fri, 02/22/2019 - 10:07am

For PTA News, Upcoming Event Dates, Counselor's Corner, and Community News, click here.

Forest Ridge Forerunner - School News...

From Dr. Varlack, Our Principal

Greetings FRES Community,

It has been a short week but a great week. We celebrated our 100th Day of school by hosting our Science Fair. We had student participants from grades 2 – 5 and it was terrific. During our day time fair students had the opportunity to visit the fair and give feedback to their peers who presented. It was great to see our students taking ownership of their work and investigations.

Did you know that: there is a Student Records Policy *(Policy 9050)? After reviewing the policy, please let us know if you have any questions. The policy is below:
The purpose of this policy is to establish standards and procedures for maintenance of confidentiality, disclosure of information, and security of all records related to students, in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. This policy also assures compliance with the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regarding individual student’s education records.

IV. Standards

  1. All HCPSS Board members and school system officials will adhere to federal, state, and local laws and regulations as well as HCPSS policies, procedures, and guidelines for maintaining the accuracy, integrity, quality, and confidentiality of all records related to students in any format and location.
  2. The storage, retention, and destruction of all records related to students will adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Maryland State Department of Education Student Records Manual, Policy 3050 - Records Management, and HCPSS procedures.
  3. The HCPSS will notify parents and students annually of the rights of parents and students regarding the inspection, review, amendment, and disclosure of students’ education records, rights regarding directory information, as well as their right to file complaints related to these rights with the Family Policy Compliance Office of the U.S. Department of Education.
  4. Individual student’s education records that are maintained by teachers and other HCPSS school system officials are confidential by law. Access to such student education records may be granted only for the purpose of serving legitimate educational interest as specifically permitted under FERPA.
Important Things to Know:
  • The PVMS meeting for parents of incoming 6th graders has been re-scheduled to February 27 @ 6:30 p.m.  Please note NEW date.
  • The office phones are answered 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
  • Students should arrive to school by 9:10 a.m. so that they are able to put their things away and be ready to start the day when the bell rings at 9:15.
  • Students go out for recess when the temperature with wind chill is 20 degrees or more.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather.
  • To get text alerts from FRES or HCPSS, you must opt in to receive those alerts. Text "YES" to 67587 from the cell number that is on file in HCPSS/Connect.
  • If your child's dismissal changes, due to a change in transportation, an after school class, etc., please email the teacher, and copy Dr. Varlack, Ms. Pazornik, Ms. Traini, Mrs. Jackson, and Mrs. Farrell.  All the emails can be found in the "Our Staff" section of our website.  We want to make sure the message is received!
  • If you recieved a Federal Impact Aid form, please return it ASAP.  Thanks!

Attention Parents - Please take a moment to participate in these surveys:

  • We have already begun planning for next year and are looking to schedule some events based on the needs and wants of our community.  Please help us by completing the following brief survey.  
  • Attention: Parents of Students Receiving Special  Education Services
    It is the goal of the Department of Special Education to provide high quality special education services in a consistent and collaborative manner.  As a department, we are always looking for ways to improve our services and we value your voice. One way you can support our work is to complete The Maryland Special Education Parent Involvement Survey.  We will utilize the results of this survey to develop action steps toward continuous improvement.  You are valued partners and we look forward to receiving your input. Surveys were mailed to families around February 4th.  They must be returned by mail or online by May 17th.  To complete the survey online use the following link: https://www.mdparentsurvey.com
Winter FRES Parent CRASH Course is Coming...
Here at Forest Ridge, parents are essential to "Cultivating Reading At School and Home."  Come join us to learn ways to keep reading fun at home!  We will host our winter literacy parent workshops on Tuesday, March 12th from 6pm-7pm.  The PTA meeting for the month is immediately following.  Daycare and light refreshments will be provided.  Keep an eye out for the full invite with the RSVP for session options coming next week.  You may contact Ms. Nikia Darden at nikia_darden@hcpss.org or Mr. Matthew Vaughn-Smith at matthew_vaughn-smith@hcpss.org with any questions.

Change Matters
Thank you for your generosity as our school proudly participates in Change Matters – to benefit Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center – Howard County’s only 24-hour homeless shelter and crisis center.  Collection of donations will run until Tuesday, February 26.

Did you know that Howard County is one of the richest counties in the United States?
But even in Howard County, many adults and children are homeless.

How do some people become homeless?

  • People may lose their job.
  • Some get sick and can’t work.
  • People have problems and need help to get better.
  • They can't pay their bills and end up without a place to live.

You can help the homeless by contributing your small change to Change Matters. Your change will be used to improve the lives of homeless children and families at Grassroots. If you can donate, please bring in your change through February 26 and become a Change Matters Superhero!  Remember that you are never too young to show kindness and make a difference in the lives of people who need help in our community!

How Girls Code:  Rocking Robots
Students gain hands-on experience building and programming various models of robots. Students will explore how robots are used in the real world, and what classifies models as robots. Using coding Apps, they will build Lego WeDo models and will write programs to animate them. Dash robots and Ozobots are some of the other models we will be using in this engaging session. Visit www.HowGirlsCode.com for more information and registration.

School:   Forest Ridge Elementary School

Grades: 2nd-4th

Dates and Times:  Mondays 3:45-5:15 pm, March 4-May 6, 2019 (8 Sessions) 
Instructor(s): Mrs. Kim Carey and Ms. Clair Wise
INCLEMENT WEATHER:  If after school activities are cancelled for HCPSS, HowGirlsCode classes will be cancelled as well. Scholarships available!

Watch DOGS
Our Watch DOGS dads this week were Mr. Fisher and Mr. Smith.  Thank you so much!

If you are interested in supporting this awesome program by signing up for a day, or even part of a day, we are looking for YOU!! Simply copy the links included and paste them into your browser.   Keep in mind, you will also need to complete the Howard County child abuse and confidentiality training online, complete the certificate for each, and turn it in. Those links are also provided below.  Finally, to help make the Watch DOGS stand out while you are here, we encourage you to purchase a Watch DOGS t-shirt.  When you arrive at the school, you will be able to purchase one for $12 sizes S-XL, $14 for 2XL and $16 for 3XL  If we are out of that size we will order and and it will be sent home with your child as soon as it comes in.   You are also welcome to send in your money ahead of time and we will send your shirt home with your child right away.  Send your payment in an envelope with your name, child's name, teacher, and your shirt size.  If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact Craig Dorsey at dorseypremier@gmail.com or Jen Renkevens at trenkev@juno.com.

For Child Abuse- https://www.hcpss.org/f/employees/childabuse_ppt.pdf

From Howard County Recreation and Parks:
For Complete information on Before & After School classes, including how to Register, please go to  www.howardcountymd.gov/afterschool

For Parents of Incoming Kindergarteners (2019-2020 School Year)
Click here to learn how to get ready for kindergarten, including enrollment procedures.