May 22, 2020 Forest Ridge Forerunner - Stay at Home Edition

Fri, 05/22/2020 - 2:44pm

Dates to Remember

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May 25  Memorial Day                

From the FRES Administration...

Dear FRES Community,

We hope everyone had a wonderful week and is ready for the Memorial Day Weekend! Let’s hope for some nice weather so we can all enjoy some time outside.

Just a reminder, schools and offices will be closed on Monday, May 25, 2020 in observance of Memorial Day.  The following adjustments have been made to the distance learning schedules to accommodate this school closure:

  • All teachers will publish required weekly assignments by 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

  • Students will be expected to engage in Dreambox and Lexia Core four days this week.

  • Students should still continue to complete and submit the other assigned tasks.

The regular distance learning weekly schedule will resume Monday, June 1, 2020.

Student/Family Item Pick-Up and Drop-Off
Plans are being made for students and their families to drop off important items from home to school, as well as for the pick-up of very important items that were left at school.  Please note that there were many non-essential items left at school, and these will be given to students when schools re-open. 

The date for picking-up and dropping off important items will be shared as soon as it is available.

HCPSS Elementary School Counseling Connection Newsletter
The HCPSS Elementary School Counseling Connection Newsletter is a great resource for students and parents to read together. Included in this latest issue of the School Counseling Connection newsletter are self-care ideas and fun activities for home.

Kindergarten and New Student Registration
Parents/guardians of new incoming students and those entering kindergarten in the 2020-2021 school year (who are not already enrolled) are able to begin the enrollment process online.

HCPSS Online registration directions
HCPSS Online registration link

In order to be prepared, please have the following information.  You may upload the documents during the registration process.

  • parent picture ID

  • a signed original lease or deed with signatures

  • one of the following with parent’s name and address on it –current gas and electric bill, current cable bill, or current telephone bill (land line)

  • student(s) proof of birth (birth certificate, baptismal certificate, hospital certificate, passport, or military identification)

  • proof of custody (divorce settlement papers, court papers, adoption papers)

  • student(s) current proof of immunization

Any questions regarding registration, please contact rebecca_jackson@hcpss.org

Google Meet Privacy Expectations
To assure confidentiality for students and teachers during virtual check-in sessions, we remind parents/guardians and students that Google Meet sessions should not be recorded, screen captured or transmitted in any other way, including not posting on social media platforms. Please review these Google Meet privacy guidelines.

DreamBox Resources for Parents (English and español)
These resources will assist you in understanding and monitoring your child's progress in DreamBox.

DreamBox Best Practices and Tips--English and Espanol

DreamBox Insight Dashboard

Attendance and Grading
In case you missed the information shared in last week's Forerunner regarding grading and attendance, the information can be found here.

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend,

Mr. Conroy and Ms. Pazornik

FRES News and Events...

We have a number of videos that we put together for you to reference if you are having difficulty.  

  • If you need to recover your username or password, click here.

  • If you need assistance with Google Meet, click here.

  • This document can be used as a resource for Google Meet as well.  ​

Birthdays!
We are still wishing happy birthday to our FRES students during this new distance learning phase! Select this link for this past week's celebrations!

Services from our School Counselor and Psychologist

  • Mrs. Schuck, our school counselor, will have office hours every week day from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and then from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.  You can schedule an appointment by emailing Mrs. Schuck at (alyssa_schuck@hcpss.org) or completing the following request form.  
     
  • Our school psychologist, Dr. Eng, will be holding office hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 2:00-3:30 p.m.  If you need to reach him, please email him directly at William_eng@hcpss.org, and include the following:
  • Your name:
  • Student’s name:
  • Phone number:
  • Email:
  • A brief description of your concern:

From the Howard County Library...

Howard County Library Resources
  • Created While Isolated: Students ages 13 and up and adults are invited to share photographs, art, music, creative writing, and personal stories from this unprecedented time in a collaborative creativity journal. 

  • TumbleMath is a fun and engaging way to learn math concepts through stories. Students can access this and many other learning resources with their A+ student accounts through hcpss.me by selecting HC Library. 


From HCPSS...

New Continuity of Learning Website and Help Function.
The HCPSS' Continuity of Learning website has been restructured to give you an even more user-friendly and easily navigated resource, providing information essential for ensuring students continue to learn and thrive. The new site features pages with schedules and information dedicated to high school seniors and students at each level. All of our previous content remains online and can be accessed via the new Continuity of Learning site. 

There is also a new HCPSS Help site, which is grouped by subject to allow quicker and easier navigation, and includes a convenient new keyword search function. This new Help site will make it easier for parents, students, staff and community members to quickly find answers to their most frequently-asked questions.

Food Assistance

Food Access Resources  - Please see the following links for resources that you and your family can access as we continue through this time.

SNAP Benefits-Emergency Allotments Flyer-English

Apply for SNAP Benefits today-Flyer-English

Apply for SNAP Benefits Today-Flyer-Spanish

Grocery Delivery Flyer-English

Grocery Delivery Flyer-Korean

Grocery Delivery Flyer-Spanish

Food Pantries:

Community Action Council Pantry

Open Doors Food Pantry

Free Grab N Go Meals 
Free Grab-N-Go meals are served weekdays from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. to anyone age 18 and under and/or any HCPSS student at Forest Ridge Elementary. Participants are encouraged to bring bags to carry meals home. Please note that parents/guardians may pick up meals for their children, who do not need to be present. Social distancing is in place during meal distribution.

Want to Receive Text Messages from HCPSS?
To receive text messages from HCPSS, please text the word "YES" to 67587 from the cell phone number on file in HCPSS Connect.

Canvas and Canvas Announcements
Teachers have and will continue to send messages to students using Canvas. Visit https://www.hcpss.org/connect/faq/#notify to ensure that your child is set up to receive notifications. This page is also a great resource to make sure that you understand Canvas and Synergy.  Parents/guardians unfamiliar with Canvas may find it helpful to review the features in this Canvas Orientation.

Setting Canvas Notifications to receive emails of all Canvas notifications.

Account Self-Service for Students
Students now have the ability to retrieve their usernames and reset passwords, independent of teachers and staff. Directions on using self-service can be found online.

Internet Access
Comcast has opened free access to its Xfinity WiFi network, making hotspots across the country available to anyone, including non-subscribers, at no cost. Search by zip code or city to find a hotspot near you at wifi.xfinity.com. Comcast is also providing low cost internet access to eligible families through its Comcast Internet Essentials program.

2020 Census
Several HCPSS programs rely on funding based on accurate census information, so all families are encouraged to participate in the 2020 census, which may be completed onlineLearn more.

Supporting Language Needs

Find information on the ways that HCPSS is supporting the language needs of families through in-person and online resources.

There are four call centers families can use for language support:
  • Chinese 410-313-5920
  • Korean 410-313-1592
  • Spanish 410-313-1591
  • Chin 410-313-5968

Special Education Continuity of Learning
This new webpage provides an overview of special education services for continuity of learning, timeline for service delivery and links to online resources for family use at home.