Important Dates
February 20 Presidents Day - Schools and offices closed
February 21 7:00 PTA Meeting
February 24 FRES PTA Culture Fest. View the flyer.
February 28 FRES Paint Night
February 28 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Red Hot & Blue Restaurant Day. View the flyer.
March 9 Class Picture Day. View the announcement. View the flyer/order envelope.
March 16 FRES School-wide Reading Night
March 28 Chick-fil-A Spirit Day Fundraiser to benefit the 4th grade field trip
View the HCPSS Calendar in English
View the HCPSS Calendar in Spanish
View the HCPSS Calendar in Korean
View the HCPSS Calendar in Chinese
***Want to receive HCPSS text messages regarding weather-related closing info, late bus info, etc.? You must opt-in. Text "YES" to 67587 from the device on which you would like to receive messages.***
Class Picture Day is Thursday, March 9, 2023
Picture Day is coming soon! Class pictures and optional individual pictures will be taken. The flyer/order envelope will be coming home with your child the week before picture day. The flyer/picture envelope may be previewed here. To order spring individual photos, you must return the flyer/order envelope on Picture Day. Online pre-ordering is NOT available for spring photos – the envelope must be returned on Picture Day.
Class group photos will also be taken on Picture Day for all classes. For individual portraits, only students who bring in their envelopes on Picture Day will be photographed. Note: There is no make-up picture day for spring pictures. Please look for the flyer/order envelope that will be sent home with your child soon!
Red Hot & Blue Fundraiser to Benefit 4th Grade Field Trip!
Mark your calendars! 4th grade is planning a big field trip this spring to complement the 4th grade curriculum. To help bring down the price, we are holding a fundraiser at Red Hot & Blue in Laurel. Here's the information:
Tuesday, Feb. 28 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
677 Main Street, Laurel
301-953-1943
Carryout or dine in; Door Dash or Uber Eats is also an option.
No flyer needed, just mention Forest Ridge when ordering!
WatchDOGS
Hey DADS, BONUS DADS, UNCLES, GRANDPAS and MALE ROLE MODELS! Have you signed up for a day to volunteer?! Want another go?! Be sure to sign up for a day to help at school!!! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090a4ea8ab2caafc1-watch3#/"
From Mrs. Walls, our RECC Team Leader
The Forest Ridge Regional Early Childhood Center (RECC) preschool programs are making preparations for classes for the upcoming 2023-24 school year. These classes include children with and without disabilities. The program’s focus is helping all children develop communication, literacy, math, problem solving, motor, and social skills. Parents of children who will be 3 by September 1st, applications will be available and accepted in mid February.
In alignment with Maryland’s Blueprint for the Future, new applications for students turning 4 by September 1 will not be available or accepted. The Howard County Public School System continues to offer a prekindergarten program for income eligible children who will be four years old by September 1. For additional information contact the school or visit: https://www.hcpss.org/schools/pre-k-programs/
HCPSS is committed to providing instruction based on the statewide Early Learning Standards which are in alignment with Kindergarten Readiness. The fees listed in the application will be collected monthly regardless of the learning model determined by HCPSS throughout the upcoming school year (virtual, hybrid, in person, or class quarantine). If you have any additional questions , please contact Tricia Walls at tricia_walls@hcpss.org
From our Social Worker, Holly Flanagan
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR THOSE WITH MEDICAL ASSISTANCE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, medical assistance has been automatically renewed since March, 2020. However, automatic renewals will stop on April 30, 2023 so please call the Health Dept Insurance Line at (410) 313-5845 to renew. They will set up an appointment by phone for you to renew.
Weather Guidelines
Remember: Students go out for recess if the temperature including windchill is 20 degrees or higher. Also, if your student needs to stay inside during recess, you must provide a doctor's note. Thanks!
Help for FRES Families in Need
We are starting a community support group at school, called Feathers for Families! Here are ways you can help ALL YEAR ‘ROUND:
Reflections Winner – Aidyn P
The County-level judging for this year's Reflections Arts Entries has been completed and Forest Ridge Student, Aidyn P, won Outstanding Interpretation, 1st Place, in the Intermediate Division of Film Production for Howard County! Aidyn's film, "Speaking Out to Save Our Planet," will now go on to review for the Maryland Free State PTA competition. Congratulations to Aidyn! And a big thank you and praise to all the Forest Ridge students that participated in this year's theme, "Show Your Voice!" There were over 200 entries from 25 schools to the Howard County competition.
PTA Meeting – February 21st – 7 pm
Join us in the cafeteria to learn more about all the wonderful upcoming events we have planned this spring. We will have a sitter available for this meeting.
CultureFest – February 24th 6:30 pm
Join us in the Cafeteria at 6:30pm to learn more about the different cultures that represent FRES.
We currently have the following performances and activities confirmed:
The following food dishes, and poster displays are confirmed from the following countries:
If you have a flag that we can borrow to hang up, want to make a poster board with information about a country, or have a cultural craft you would want to share please sign up today. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at contact@frespta.org or kbhschools@gmail.com.
To sign up to participate click here: https://frespta.ptboard.com/sgnvw?group=&signup=8Gsir6O-SDSAUlO1BS2rZnN___59WFs5tX___noYt6Om
To volunteer during the event, please click here. https://frespta.ptboard.com/sgnvw?group=&signup=8Gsir6O-SDSAUlO1BS2rZnN___59WFs5tX___noYwhXj
Please email Khaleda Hasan at kbhschools@gmail.com to join our committee or to share your ideas!
Family Paint Night – February 28th 6:30pm
Join Ms. Allen from the Art Department and the FRES PTA for a family paint night. Each canvas is $12 and the proceeds from this event will go directly to the Art Department. Each attendee will be painting a snowy penguin scene. To register for this event please click here https://frespta.ptboard.com/formvw?store=3253&form=5 Registration deadline is Friday, February 17th.
To help prepare for this event, if anyone has an old newspapers they would like to donate please drop them off at a PTA event or the front office before 2/17.
Red Hot & Blue Laurel – 4th Grade Restaurant Fundraiser – February 28th
Come out and support our local Laurel Red Hot & Blue location with an ALL DAY (11am – 9pm) Restaurant Fundraiser. Carryout, and dine in orders will qualify for a percentage back to our 4th graders. This will help fund their upcoming spring field trip. Mention FRES when you place your order.
AmazonSmile
Amazon will be terminating their AmazonSmile Program on February 20th. It is NOW even more important to register for grocery rewards.
Weis Rewards:
https://weis4school.com/index.php?vica=ctl_schools&vicb=showSchoolPdf&vicc=h&id=86331
Harris Teeter:
https://tie.harristeeter.com/together-in-education#/app/cms
Other ways to help, you can donate to My Coke Rewards – If you send in your bottle caps and codes to school we will even enter them in for you. Don’t forget your Box Tops, those can be submitted via your receipt and their app.
These rewards help the PTA organize family events, and other activities throughout the school year. Thank you for your support.
Media Production Summer Camp at River HS
HCPSS Community News and Programs Site:
In response to community requests for resources, HCPSS’ new Community News and Programs website makes it easy for families to find educational and recreational resources, events and after-school programs beyond the school day by non-profit organizations. Community organizations requesting their announcements be shared in school newsletters should visit community-programs.hcpss.org for more information. Questions should be directed to the Public Information Office at publicinfo@hcpss.org.
HC Drug Free Events
Receive HC DrugFree's Free Newsletter: To receive HC DrugFree's free electronic newsletter packed with information for parents and opportunities for students, go to https://hcdrugfree.org/enews-signup/
Stay Informed about What’s Happening in Howard County: Sign up for HC DrugFree’s newsletter at https://hcdrugfree.org/enews-signup/ to get updates on events as well as information to keep your family safe and informed.