May 29, 2020 Forest Ridge Forerunner - Stay at Home Edition

Thu, 05/28/2020 - 1:33pm

Dates to Remember

May 
Mental Health Awareness Month

June
14  Flag Day
19 Half Day
22 Half Day
23 Half Day - Last Day of School!!            

From Mr. Conroy...

Greetings, FRES Community!
We recognize that when students left school on March 13, many personal items were left behind.  We have received emails from families inquiring about how these items can be retrieved.  HCPSS has developed protocols for school staff, families, and students to follow to retrieve high priority items from our schools.  If, after reviewing the information below, you would like to request to pick up a high priority item from Forest Ridge, or you will need to return school system property due to your child(ren) not attending any HCPSS school for the 2020-21 school year, please complete the form hyperlinked below.  We kindly request that you complete the form by the end of the day on Tuesday, June 2.  Once we have received all requests, we will be in touch with families who have placed requests regarding next steps.  As always, please do not hesitate to contact me at scott_conroy@hcpss.org  with any questions regarding this process.

Pick Up of Items
To ensure the safety and well-being of students and families, we will not be allowing entry into the building for any reason during our pick up process.  This process will be contactless and will require all students and families to remain in their cars at all times and adhere to social distancing protocols.  Students and families will be required to wear masks.  School staff will retrieve requested items ahead of time, and families will be assigned a date and time slot for drive-through pickup at Forest Ridge by last name.  

Because school staff will have to individually retrieve each requested item from within the building, we are only able to accommodate requests to pick up high priority items at this time.  Please be assured that other items will be returned to students once school resumes in school buildings, even if your child transfers to a different HCPSS school in the fall.

Examples of high priority items that can be picked up during this time include:

  • ADA or assistive technology devices

  • Personal instruments

  • Medication

Collection of School System Property
Students with school system property such as Chromebooks, band and orchestra instruments, textbooks, media books, or other materials and supplies belonging to HCPSS are being asked to hold onto the materials until school resumes in school buildings.

If your child will remain enrolled in an HCPSS school for the 2020-21 school year: Once school resumes in school buildings, students will bring their school system property to whatever school they attend and it will be collected and redistributed to its original location. There is nothing that families need to do, even if your student is moving on to middle school or your student is moving to a new school within HCPSS.

If your child will not be attending any HCPSS school for the 2020-21 school year: Students leaving HCPSS, regardless of grade, will need to return HCPSS property during their designated time provided.

Please complete the FRES Student Item Pick Up/Drop Off Request form if you have school system property that needs to be returned or picked up.

Sincerely,

Scott Conroy, Principal

FRES News and Events...

From Nurse Kay in the Health Room
Important health room information for 5th Grade Parents:

PVMS has a Wellness Clinic that works with both the health room and your pediatrician!
ALL students attending Patuxent Valley Middle School are eligible to enroll in the Wellness Center Program.

Our Nurse Practitioner can provide the following services:

  • Assessment, diagnosis and treatment of acute illness and injuries, including prescriptions if needed.
  • Preventive care including physical exams, immunizations, health screenings and education.
Advantages to enrolling your child in the Wellness Center Program:
  • Our staff works directly with the school nurse, guidance staff and administration to limit the amount of time your child misses from class.
  • Children can receive health care during the school day and if ill, the provider will determine if they are well enough to remain in school, which also means parents don't have to leave work unnecessarily.
  • lf a staff member is unable to reach you, your student will be given the care normally provided by school health staff instead of school-based wellness services, unless you have provided additional consent on the enrollment form for your child to receive health care from the school-based wellness center without the staff talking to you.
  • The child's primary care provider in the community is always notified by a letter or phone call of visits to the Wellness Center to ensure continuity of care.
Cost for School-Based Wellness Center Services:
  • You will not be charged by the Health Department or your insurance company.
  • There is no co-pay or deductible.
  • lf your child has Medical Assistance, it will be billed directly. 
  • lf your child is uninsured, families will be assisted in applying for Maryland's Children's Health Program (MCHP), if eligible. MCHP provides health care coverage to low-income children up to age 19 and pregnant women of any age.
This is a terrific service and I encourage you to enroll when schools return.

Congratulations fifth graders.  Ms. Nowell and I will miss you!

Nurse Kay

Need Help with Technology?
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 online. Learn 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.