FOREST KNOLLS KNOTES
Message from the Administration
This year students will be
dismissed from school on Wednesday, November 25 at 12:35 to begin the
Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you for all of your support, and have a relaxing
and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanksgiving
Thank you for all my hands can hold,
apples red, and melons gold,
Yellow corn both ripe and sweet,
Peas and beans so good to eat!
Thank you for all my eyes can see,
Lovely sunlight, field and tree,
White cloud-boats in sea-deep sky,
Soaring birds and butterflies.
Thank you for all my ears can hear,
Birds’ song echoing far and near,
Songs of little stream, big sea,
Cricket, bullfrog, duck and bee!
From the entire Forest Knolls’ Staff, we wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The Forest Knolls teachers and staff would like to thank the PTA for providing dinner during parent-teacher conferences. It was such a nice treat to have a hot meal ready for teachers during a break between conferences. Thanks again!
October Peacekeepers
The Peacekeeper theme for October was Responsibility. The students listed below were recognized for being responsible.
Michael Ware, Ilse Eskelson, Will Laitinen, Erwin Ramirez, Daisy Vega-Vera, Ashley Fearon, Molly Kane, Seneca Simon, Sophia Geiger, Alyssa Utochkin, Bridget Kemper, Will Thorne, Will McGrath, Jenelle Alvarez-Paz, Kelly Frank, Kevin Amaya, Lorelei Stumphauzer, Anthony Pierzchula, Senys Ramirez-Cisneros, Ashley Villatoro, Dominic Soto, Abrianna Buonassisi, Michelle Bazie, Christopher Vu, Kasey Hammond, Grace Jacobs, Talli Basile, Nicolas Franco, Emily Neal, Kayla Newby, Alvin Huynh, Connor Nguyen, Raina Newsome, Cameron Bettis, Ben Namovicz, Ryan Gunnison, Jessica Diaz, Jissett Ruiz-Moore, Matthew Marti
Jr. Press Corps 2010
We welcome all of the students who applied to this year’s Jr. Press Corps. As mentioned in the application packet, the Jr. Press Corps is implemented during assigned marking periods. Fourth and fifth grade students meet for two assigned marking periods in the fall and early spring. Third grade students begin this week and meet through the end of January. First and second grade students will meet after winter break. Badges are being assembled for all of our new and returning students. We look forward to an exciting year of journalism which will be showcased at our annual Multi Media Night in May.
TV Production News
We are very proud of our 5th grade Kids News Network Radio and Television Team. Eighteen students have been trained to operate the broadcasting equipment and serve as news anchors and guest reporters. Each student is assigned a particular radio broadcast day for our morning announcements. The students are also divided into two television production news teams which alternate their broadcasts. In order to rotate talent and news positions, the students must rehearse at least twice per week during recess and practice their speaking parts at home. The results have been well worth the effort as these young broadcasters become proficient in all phases of news production. We are proud of them for their expertise and service to our school community.
Too many of our students are arriving after the last bell rings every morning. Essentially, this means they are not ready to learn when school begins. On the average, 20 students are late each morning. These students, in general, walk or come by private cars. If your child walks or rides in a private car, please be sure that he or she arrives at school by 8:40 a.m.
Lost and Found Growing
In the last few weeks, our lost and found has gained many items. The lost and found collection will be displayed in the atrium in the front of the building until Wednesday, November 25, 2009. If you think your child has left an article of clothing at school, please ask them to check the lost and found. Remember, items that are labeled with your child's name (ball point pen with name written on the label) can be easily returned to your child. Items not picked up will be donated to charity.
Destination Book Fair
One of the year’s most anticipated community events, the Forest Knolls Scholastic Book Fair, is coming Monday, November 30- Thursday, December 3! This year’s theme is Destination: Book Fair. Be sure to come join the fun as our media center takes you around the world with hundreds of quality books suitable for every interest and reading level. Just in time for gift shopping, your family will enjoy being together as you find picture books, reference books, chapter books and even a great selection of cook books and best-sellers for adults! We also offer exclusive editions of popular books with special low prices, Spanish language books, and other special interest sections.
Not only is the FKES Book Fair a fun way to help get our kids more involved in reading, but also it’s a terrific way to benefit our school, because all sales profits go directly to our Media Center.
The Book Fair will be open during school hours for student “browsing” (they’ll be brought in by class, and be given “wish lists” to fill out) Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1; then students will be brought back by class to “shop” during school hours Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 2-3 with money sent from home. Parents and guardians are welcome to come to shop during school hours on any day. The Book Fair will also be open for evening shopping hours on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 2-3 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – all are welcome to join the fun during those hours!
THIS YEAR, we will be having and Author’s Night Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m., featuring Jennifer Keats Curtis, who will read from her latest book, Baby Owl's Rescue (Sylvan Dell, 2009), another realistic fiction book based on the remarkable work of regional expert Kathy Woods. The tale features a brother and sister duo and their wildlife rehabilitator mom who know just what to do when they find that a baby owl has fallen out of its nest. We’ll also have last year’s favorite, Turtles in My Sandbox. A perfect tie-in with FKES’ Green Kids program, it’s the story of a girl who lives near the Maryland shore and discovers that a mother diamondback turtle has laid eggs in her sandbox – and with the help of the Internet, she embarks on an adventure to learn how to protect the eggs. Come meet Ms. Curtis – and her live turtle!
The Book Fair is still looking for parent volunteers to help set up the Fair starting at 12:30 on Wednesday, Nov. 25 (the day before Thanksgiving), and “tear down” on Friday, Dec. 4, or during any of the Book Fair hours to help students select books, help cashier or restock books, etc. Please contact Melissa Reilly (melreilly@aol.com) – its lots of fun, and your help is appreciated!
Circle of Learning
This November an exciting, all
inclusive, art project will begin right here at Forest Knolls. We are very
excited to have Artist, Arturo Ho work with all of our students and art
teachers, Mrs. Bermudez and Ms. O'Neill Wood. Each year the PTA sets aside
money for a resident artist to come to our school. Finally this year, we have
saved enough to have a resident artist introduce his occupation, show his own
work, and create with our children. Mr. Ho, a community artist, will begin
working with all of the children in our school on November 3rd to create a
mosaic frieze that will be a permanent installation in the foyer of our
school. The residency will be three to four weeks long during student's visual
arts instructional time. This project meets and exceeds visual arts requirements
for the architecture unit in the Pre kindergarten-5th grade curriculum.
The following quote best
describes the thoughts behind this project.
“Art and art education build communities of shared meaning, and caring
communities are the foundation of joyous, just, and sustainable democratic life”
-Oliva Gude, Recipient of the 2009 Lowenfeld Award
The symbolizism behind the planned continuous circular mosaic frieze is
that life and learning (education) are eternal. The inside of this circle
represents the unity of life. The linear qualities to be planned in the design
will suggest movement, as we all are moving forward in order to grow and be
productive citizens of our community.
This will be an abstract work of art, meaning that it will be based on
real thoughts and ideas, but will not be a realistic portrayal of those thoughts
and ideas.
In addition, this project supports the Character Education Program in our
school. We will focus on cooperation, teamwork, and giving back to our
community.
The project supports our “Going Green” school movement too. We will use
community outreach to collect unwanted items to reuse in our mosaic. These
items might include wall tiles, mirrors, colored glass scraps, ceramic scraps,
shells, game pieces etc. If you have any of these items and would like
to donate, please send your donations to art room #38.
About the Artist
My work and inspiration as an artist comes from making artwork that embraces cultural pride, encourages a sense of social consciousness and gives the participants a sense of ownership and belonging. As a community artist I want to reach out to under-served populations; communities in need of the richness that the arts can provide; and the youth. Born in Maputo, Mozambique, and raised in the Washington, D.C. area in the 80’s, I moved to Philadelphia for my arts education. While in Philadelphia arts education came not only from the institutional but also from grass roots organizations and neighborhood communities. The best part of this education was that I had the opportunity to collaborate with seasoned artists and learn side by side with them on projects.
I continue to work collaboratively with community organizations, schools
and individual artists who seek to challenge the perceptions of what artists are
suppose to do. Finally, I believe that arts should be shared with and
experienced by all people, because art has no boundaries and limitations. Art
can be joyous, uplifting and empowering as well as healing.
A sample of one of Mr. Ho’s many community art projects can be found at
http://www.takomamosaic.org/. Mr. Ho is in the process of finishing a
residency at Bannaker Middle School in Burtonsville, Maryland. The opening for
that community art project was Saturday, October 24 from 10 am until 2 pm.
We are thinking about planning our own special celebration once the
installation is complete and in place. During the celebration we are hoping to
raise funds for those who are less fortunate in our community. The specific
cause is yet to be determined.
Winter Chorus Concerts
The FKES Chorus will present an interesting variety of music for the annual Winter Concert. The evening performance will be on Monday, December 7th at 7 pm.
There will also be dress rehearsal performances on Thursday afternoon, December 3rd beginning at 1:45. Members of the chorus will need to wear their chorus uniforms (black dress pants or skirts, black shoes, socks and the chorus t- shirt) to school on Thursday, December 3rd.
If you will join us, you will be treated to 45 minutes of beautiful sounds. Fifth grader Adia Hansen will play harp when the chorus sings the Italian carol, “Dormi, Dormi”. The carol will also be played on an instrument from Bolivia by Andrea Antezana. The fifth graders will sing and play a canon by Henry Purcell () accompanying their voices with xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, tone chimes with Sherri Li at the piano. There will be songs from the tropics to winter snow and as always, you the audience, will join in the music making with the finale piece from Polynesia. Why not bring the family for an early evening December musical treat? It’s free and it’s delightful.
Kwanzaa Celebration’09
Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland is hosting its 20th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration for school aged children in grades K-12 on Saturday, December 5, 2009. The Kwanzaa Celebration will begin at 11am and end at 4pm. This is a Free event and will be held on the Campus of Morgan State University in the New Student Center, located on Hillen Road between Argonne Drive and East Cold Spring Lane. For more information contact, 444.885.4328.
School Closings Due to Weather
The school system uses a variety of sources of information to determine whether to close schools, delay opening of schools, or dismiss early. These sources include actual physical inspection of road and school conditions by transportation officials and other staff at areas throughout the county and an analysis of independent reports from the National Weather Service, Accu-Weather, and the news media. The most severe weather conditions within the county are used as the basis for decision-making. Consistent procedures are maintained in order to respond quickly to emergency weather conditions and protect the safety and well-being of students. All public schools within Montgomery County adhere to the same schedule concerning emergency weather conditions. The decision to change school operations is made by the superintendent of schools or his designee and affects all schools within the school system.
Winter Weather Procedures
Winter weather emergencies, such as snow and ice, may cause disruptions in school operations, including the closure of school, a delayed opening, or an early dismissal. This letter provides information about the procedures used when such disruptions occur. Information also is provided about the weather contingency plan that would add student instructional days to the end of the scheduled school year if schools are closed for more than four days due to excessive weather emergencies.
Closure of School
When schools are closed system-wide, all instructional programs and extracurricular activities in schools are canceled. Private day-care providers in school buildings may elect to stay open if the schools are closed but the administrative offices are open. In extreme conditions, administrative offices also may be closed. If this occurs, private day-care programs located in school buildings are closed as well.
Delayed Opening
A delayed opening means that schools open two hours later than scheduled. All buses operate on the same delayed schedule and, therefore, the pick-up times are two hours later than normal. When elementary schools open on a delayed schedule, the following programs are canceled—Head Start, pre-kindergarten and other specialized programs or field trips scheduled before 10:30 a.m. However, afternoon sessions of Head Start and pre-kindergarten begin at the regular time. Parents should continue to check for radio, television, or Web announcements in the event a decision to delay the opening of schools is reconsidered and a decision to close schools for the day is made (by 7:00 a.m.).
Early Dismissal
An early dismissal means that schools will close 2.5 hours earlier than scheduled. All buses operate on that same early schedule and, therefore, drop-off times are 2.5 hours earlier than normal. When elementary schools close early, afternoon Head Start, pre-kindergarten, and other early childhood programs are canceled, as well as any special programs or field trips scheduled after 10:30 a.m. Morning pre-kindergarten and morning half-day Head Start students will be dismissed at 10:30 a.m. Full day Head Start classes will dismiss with regular kindergarten through Grade 5 students.
Information about school operations is announced publicly as soon as possible on area radio and television stations, Montgomery County Cable Channel 6 or Cable Channel 34—MCPS TV, on the Internet at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org, and on a taped telephone message service at 301-279-3673. Emergency e-mail announcements are available by signing up for MCPS Quick Notes on the school system’s home page. If schools are closed or delayed, the announcement is made no later than 6:00 a.m. (or the night before if possible). If schools are closing early, the announcement is made by 11:00 a.m.
1. If schools are closed for five days, the school year will be extended by one day to June 17, 2010.
2. If schools are closed for six days, the school year will be extended by two days to June 17 and June 18, 2010.
3.If schools are closed seven days, the school year will be extended by three days to June 17, June 18, and June 21, 2010.
4. If schools are closed for eight days, the school year will be extended by four days to June 17, June 18, June 21, and June 22, 2010.
5. If schools are closed nine days, the school year will be extended by five days to June 17, June 18, June 21, June 22, and June 23, 2010.
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