January 22, 2021 Forest Ridge Forerunner

Thu, 01/21/2021 - 2:31pm

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Important Dates

January 25-29  Savage Library and FRES Spirit Week (check your email for an announcement and Google Meet code)
January 28       Family Book Club
January 29       Staff Workday - schools closed for students
January 29       Math Conference Scheduling Opens for Parents - stay tuned for more information
February 3       Reading MAP for grades 1-5 (9-11a.m.)
February 3       PTA Restaurant Night:  Chipotle in Maple Lawn
February 10     Math MAP for grades 1-5 (9-11a.m.)
February 10     3-hour early dismissal for parent/teacher conferences
February 11     3-hour early dismissal for parent/teacher conferences
February 12     Staff Workday - schools closed for students
February 15     Presidents' Day Holiday - schools and offices closed

From our Administrators...

Dear FRES Community,

We had a busy week this week and were excited to see so many FRES Eagles at our first PTA Virtual Bingo Night!  Thanks to Mr. Robinson for being a great BINGO Caller and to Mrs. Sharp for organizing the event.  We’d also like to thank Ms. Taylor and Mrs. WIlliams who came out and played with our students.  

We are looking forward to our upcoming celebration with Savage Library this week.  We will be kicking off our Spirit Week on Monday evening at 6:00 with some guest readers. The event will continue each night at 6:00 with some other readers.  Be on the lookout for a Google Meet code.  

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Conroy and Ms. Pazornik

Forest Ridge News...

SAVAGE LIBRARY & FRES SPIRT WEEK
Our week-long celebration of reading and culture is this week, Jan. 25-29th with events nightly at 6 p.m.  FRES families should check email for the Google Meet code. Join us for teacher and HCPL library staff read-alouds (Monday), pinata making (Tuesday), guacamole cooking demo (Wednesday) and the 3-5 grade book club (Thursday). Look for emails/announcements from Mrs. E and Mrs.Tordella for a supply list. 
 
Did you know that all HCPSS students have HCPL library cards called A+ student library cards?  Use them during Spirit Week and our two reading competitions. There will be a competition to see which grade at FRES can checkout the most books from the SAVAGE LIBRARY. The grade level that wins will get no homework pass from Media.  The other competition will be FRES vs. Gorman Crossing ES to see who can checkout the most books. You can checkout books using contactless pick-up or through ebooks.  To learn how to access the card and how to get credit for checkout, visit your media teacher's page. 
 
If you have any questions, please contact Loreal_Edmondson@hcpss.

No Change to Quarter 3 Schedules
At the Thursday, Jan. 21 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Michael J. Martirano reversed the earlier announcement regarding schedules for the third quarter of the 2020-2021 school year and announced that no changes are being made to student schedules at this time. Sample student schedules for all grade levels is provided online.

Meal Service Adjustment for January 29th
Howard County public schools will not be in session Friday, January 29 for a professional work day. There will be no meal service on this day and additional meals may be picked up in advance of the closures. Click here to learn more.

Parent/Teacher Conferences
As we prepare for the end of the second quarter, we look forward to welcoming you for our winter parent/teacher conferences in February.  Conferences will be held on Wednesday, February 10 and Thursday, February 11.  Both days will be early dismissal days for students.  As in the fall, our parent/teacher conferences will be held virtually via Google Meet.  This time, the focus area of our conferences will be mathematics.

Beginning on January 29, parents may schedule 15 minute conferences with mathematics teachers through HCPSS Connect.  Families may sign up for conferences through Friday, February 5.  After February 5, any changes to the conference schedule will need to be communicated directly to math teachers.  If you are interested in meeting with one of our related arts teachers for a conference during the winter conference days, please contact that related arts teacher directly to set up an appointment.

If you need help, please refer to the Quick Reference Guide for more information and detailed steps to sign up for a conference.

Announcing:  Virtual Lunch Bunches!
We are excited to announce that we will begin virtual lunch bunches with each grade level.  We would like to provide time for the students to socialize and interact with each other weekly. So bring a lunch and/or just come visit with friends and teachers.  This will begin the week of January 25th.  

Here is the schedule and codes:

Kindergarten:    Mondays 11:45-12:05pm            fres-lunch-grk

3rd grade:          Mondays 11:45-12:05pm            fres-lunch-gr3

1st grade:            Tuesdays 11:45-12:05pm           fres-lunch-gr1

4th grade:          Tuesdays 11:45-12:05pm           fres-lunch-gr4

2nd grade:         Thursdays 11:45-12:05pm         fres-lunch-gr2

5th grade:          Thursdays 11:45-12:05pm         fres-lunch-gr5

We hope to see your child there!  Thank you for your support.

Kindergarten and PreK Registration Coming Soon
Kindergarten Registration kicks off the week of March 8-12, 2021.

Families are encouraged to visit the Grade K Family and Community Resources page for more information about the kindergarten instructional program and ways families can support their children at home.

Pre-K Registration begins the week of March 15, 2021.

The Prekindergarten Family and Community Resources page also contains resources for families and providers for children currently in their prekindergarten year.

From Mrs. Schuck, School Counselor
Free Zoom Program hosted by
Pam Blackwell, M.Ed., LCPC
and Carolyn Wohnsigl, M/Ed., LCPC
National Family Resiliency Center, Inc.

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Time:  7 pm – 8 pm 

Over the last ten months, many families have struggled and experienced stress that may be related to the pandemic.  Your family may have had many challenges due to the impact of COVID-19 that may have affected your physical and mental health, as well as the well-being of your children.  
 
In this FREE Zoom “mental health wellness presentation”, counselors from the National Family Resiliency Center will share information with you, as parents, grandparents and caregivers, on what you can do for yourself and for your children to build your family’s level of resilience and cope with the many stressors that these challenging times may be causing.  Becoming more resilient will not only help you through tough times, it also empowers you, and your family, to grow and may improve you and your children’s lives along the way.  

To register, please email ask@nfrchelp.org 
For questions, please call 410-740-9553 x 208

Thank you to the Horizon Foundation 2020 Mental Health Community Engagement Grant for their support for this program.

MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessment - Please save the dates!

The winter at home MAP administration will be delivered to grades 1-5 on: 

  • February 3 - Reading (9-11am)

  • February 10 - Math (9-11am)

First graders will also be included in this administration. Detailed information will be shared in the upcoming weeks for all participating grades.

From Our GT Teachers and the Green Team
The FRES Green Team is working hard to learn about our environment and what we can do to become good stewards of our environment. Check out the Green Team Newsletter here.

Inclement Weather Policy for 2020-21 School Year
As the weather gets colder, we begin to think about how inclement weather will be handled this year.  Please take a look here to get familiar with this school year's inclement weather procedures.

From the Health Room
Check out this flyer about pediatric eye exams with one year of follow-up for uninsured or under-insured children.

From the PTA...

We had 87 people registered for yesterday's Virtual Bingo Night and 43 people won fun prizes. If one of your Bingo cards was a lucky winner, look for an email with pickup info. The feedback has been good, so we hope to have another one later in the year. A special thanks to Marcus Robinson, VP1, for being our Bingo caller. 
 
Valentine's Day Event: We are seeking input from FRES families in order to plan a safe activity for Valentine's Day. Please email president@frespta.org if you would like to take part in the discussion.
 
Grant Update: The FRES PTA has been awarded a $1,000 "Smart Talk" grant from National PTA, sponsored by TikTok, to help empower families to have honest conversations about digital wellbeing and device usage. Look for more details for a February program during Safer Internet Week. If you would like to work on planning this virtual event, please email president@frespta.org.

Membership: We are now at 78 members. If you have not yet joined, you can do so at www.frespta.org/membership and it's only one $10 payment for the entire year!

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. Please send an email to Ms. Schuck to coordinate a time. We still have 200+ kits to distribute.

Green Committee: Christmas lights can be recycled at MOM's Market until January 31. 

Save the Date:
Upcoming PTA Meetings: February 8, March 8, April 12, May 10, June 14. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. and have the passcode frespta. 

The next virtual PTA Board Meeting will be held Monday, Jan. 25th at 7 p.m. Please contact Korin if you wish to attend. 

PTA Spirit Nights
Feb. 3 - Chipotle Maple Lawn

Feedback: Please let us know if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions either by email or via our suggestion box. Suggestions are anonymous, so if you would like a reply, please include your email address. 

Thanks and have a great weekend!

In the Community...

Community News and Programs
Be sure to check out the Howard County Community News and Programs page here!