November 6, 2020 Forest Ridge Forerunner

Thu, 11/05/2020 - 10:01am

To opt-in to receive HCPSS text messges, text "YES" to 67587.
 

Important Dates

November 6            End of Marking Period - Schools close 3 hours early

November 13          Parent Conferences Sign-up begins in the Parent Portal

November 16          Quarter 1 Report Cards Issued

November 23          Parent Conferences, schools close 3 hours early

November 24          Parent Conferences, schools close 3 hours early

November 25          Parent Conferences- schools closed for students

From our Administration...

Dear FRES Community,

We did it - we all completed our first quarter of Virtual Learning!  We know this has been challenging for everyone but we made it!  We want to thank everyone for the support as we navigated this new road together.  Due to the negative impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and transition to virtual learning, the Howard County Public School System has made some changes to 1st quarter grading that you may see reflected on your child’s report card.

Students in primary grades will earn an I (Independent) or W (With assistance) if they have engaged in synchronous instruction.  Students in intermediate grades will receive A, B or C grades if they have engaged in synchronous instruction. As a result, Canvas grades may not align with quarter 1 report card grades. 

These changes are in place for 1st quarter report card grades only. Asynchronous assignments complement and support synchronous learning; please support your child with task completion and with attending support sessions as needed in the second quarter.

Conferences
Sign up for Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences--Begins November 13th

Fall Parent Teacher Conferences will take place on November 23rd - 25th. November 23rd and 24th are half days for students and conferences will take place in the afternoon. Many teachers will also host conferences on the evenings of the 23rd and 24th.  Teachers who do not host evening conferences will offer conferences on the 25th. There is no school for students on the 25th.

This fall, you may sign up for a conference with your child's ELA teacher. The conference window opens up on Wednesday, November 13th and will be open through Thursday, November 19th.  The conferences will be 15 minutes each. 

To sign up for a conference, please login to HCPSS Connect and click on "Conferences" in the navigation pane. Refer to the Quick Reference Guide for more information and detailed steps to sign up for a conference.

Forest Ridge News...

Don't forget to check out the latest news from Mrs. Schuck, our School Counselor

Great Job, Tola!
Tola L. in Mrs. Porter's 3rd grade class has been working so hard! She is on time, participates, and tries her best every day.  Woohoo, Tola!!

Media Matters and Tech Tidbits

  • Google Meet backgrounds FYI-Google Meet is now offering varied backgrounds and the ability to blur your background. Students are welcomed to do this, but it should not be a distraction to themselves or the class. Also, this option seems to be causing video and audio glitches on the Chromebook. We encourage you to talk about this with your student. 

  • Profile Pictures: As a part of the technology lesson this week, students in grades 4 and 5 were shown how to change their profile pictures in Canvas and G-Suite, and the importance of using a school-appropriate image for HCPSS accounts. This picture will be displayed when their camera is off during Google Meets. Having a profile picture allows teachers and students to identify them. 

  • If you are in need of assistance with your Chromebook after visiting Student Technology Resources and reviewing the Chromebook self-help information, complete the FRES Community: Tech Support Form for assistance from the FRES Tech Team.  This form is also available on the FRES School Website.

GT News

New lessons have been posted for students in grades K and 1. Students can find these lessons on the Team page. These enrichment lessons are optional, and they are quite fun! We hope many of our young students will choose to participate.  Please send any student work to Mrs. Clawson (Team 1) or Mrs. Hogan (Team K). We look forward to seeing the creative work!

 
School Meals
A stopgap U.S. government funding bill signed into law last Thursday, which includes almost $8 billion in nutrition assistance, allows USDA to extend the meal waivers, previously due to expire at the end of December, through the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Thus, HCPSS will be able to provide meals at no cost to any HCPSS student, and all children 18 and under, through the entire school year, assuming continued availability of USDA funding.  
 
Beginning Monday, October 12, HCPSS will add a snack and dinner to each weekday meal, in addition to breakfast and lunch already being served. Additionally, weekend meals will be included with meals provided on Fridays, and in pre-ordered meals picked up on Thursdays.
 
HCPSS also has adjusted the pre-order process. Meals for multiple days need to be pre-ordered at least two days in advance for pickup on Mondays and Thursdays. Pre-order meal pickups will be offered only on those two days, to enable Food and Nutrition Services to improve service and efficiency while balancing staffing and food resources.
 

From the PTA...

We had a great turnout at the drive through Halloween night and passed out 160 treat bags to FRES families. The pumpkins looked beautiful. Thanks to all the volunteers and pumpkin carvers who helped make it possible! This event was sponsored by the PTA Wellness Committee. We also distributed another 22 of the Wellness Kits. If your child hasn't received one yet, it is still possible to arrange a time to pick one up at the school during free breakfast or lunch pick up. Please send an email to Ms. Schuck to coordinate a time. 
 
The FRES PTA also hosted a wonderful staff appreciation lunch pick up catered by Olive on Main. This event was organized by Kisme Williams and the Staff Appreciation Committee with 55 delicious lunches safely provided to staff. 
 
Our next PTA meeting is this Monday at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Please join us! http://tiny.cc/FRESNov9   Meeting ID 983 0999 7211 Password: frespta
Mr. Conroy and Ms. Pazornik will be discussing the proposed hybrid schedule for spring and we will also roll out the new Reflections art competition.

Upcoming PTA Meetings: (Via Zoom): December 14, January 11, February 8, March 8, April 12, May 10, June 14

Membership Update: We are now up to 71 members! FRES families, staff, and community members can join at www.frespta.org/join Only $10 per year for an individual or $16 for a pair.

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!