Strawberry Knoll News
STRAWBERRY KNOLL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
May 13, 2011
18820 Strawberry Knoll Road
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879
E. Frank Kaplan, Principal
Rosemary Ford, Assistant Principal
Web Site Address—
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/strawberryknolles/
Strawberry Knoll Celebrates the Arts!
The Knoll was transformed into a performing arts center last Friday evening as
noble knights and their families gathered for ―Arts Night.‖ The evening began
with time for children and adults to stroll through the Knoll and admire student
artwork. Our art teachers, Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Ringer, made sure each of our
students had a piece of artwork displayed, quite an awesome task when you have
560 students!
The evening concluded with our P.T.A.’s annual ―Talent Show.‖ The Knoll rocked
as our 65 performers entertained a full house. Please join us in acknowledging
last Friday’s entertainers as follows:
Makayla, Malachi, Jabari, & Omar –
Dynamite*
Sophia – Best of Both Worlds
Morgan & Jamila - Let it Go*
Lina - Gymnastics
Cassie - Piano
Chandra - Cheerleading
Matheo - Flute
Makayla & Carina- Guitar
Deja – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
William and Dad – West African Instruments
Chynna – Dancing Crazy
Adam – Karate to Never Say Never
Ashna – The Climb
Adriana, Leli, Katelyn, & Estehani – Alejandro*
Patricia – Butterfly Fly Away
Benita & Hope – Kids Bop*
Natalie & Aaron – Karate
Sumayyah, Jaida, Jada, & Genesis – Tik Toc
Anna – Part of World
Yasmine & Aminder – Poem
Suhani – Dance-Pe-Chance
Tracy, Jackie, & Kayla – Whip My Hair*
Jasmine – Piano
Katie – Last Christmas
Shepherd, Zachary, & Roell – Kids Bop
Markus & Dario – Trumpet & Clarinet
Kaella – Reflections
Chloe – My Heart Will Go
Jeremy – Magic
Rosetta & Antonio – Karate
Roberto – Dynamite
Erica – Jar of Hearts
Layla – Hula Hoop to The Climb
Gloria, Victoria & Lydia – Like OMG Baby*
Anjali & Vedha – Indian Music*
Melanie – The Climb
Leul – Fire
Kimberly & Dzidzornu – Half Way There*
Corinne – Piano
Emily – Crazy Feet*
Shakeela – Who’s Lovin’ You
Mitchell, Micah, & Brendan – Don’t Stop Believin
Announcers- Daniel, Kaley, Dodi, Grace, Leslie, Alicia
A big THANK YOU to Mrs. Serafini for organizing the 2011 talent show!
and a special thanks to our wonderful Building Services team. Thank you to
the following volunteers that helped Mrs. Serafini with the Talent Show:
Mrs. Reba, Mrs. Brogden, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Rosenberg, and Mrs. Thomas as
well as the many parents that made last Friday a ―knight‖ to remember!
Congratulations Mrs. Williams
Our congratulations go out to our counselor, Mrs. Williams and her husband Art on the birth of their new son,
Caleb who was born April 14, 2011.
Happy Retirement, Mrs. Frederick!
Our Mrs. Frederick, Media Specialist, will retire at the end of this year. We certainly wish Mrs. Frederick our
very best as she looks forward to spending more time with family, friends, and traveling! Congratulations, Mrs.
Frederick for your 32 years of service to MCPS. Happy trails!!
Best Wishes, Mr. Dowell!
Our Mr. Dowell, kindergarten teacher will leave our school at the end of this year. Mr. Dowell will teach kindergarten at Ashburton Elementary School next year. Thank you, Mr. Dowell for your seven years of teaching at
the Knoll. We will miss you!
Welcome Future Noble Knights.
Seventy future noble knights and their families attended last week’s Kindergarten Orientation. How wonderful it
was to hear so many of our incoming kindergarten students refer to the Knoll as, ―my school!‖ Join us as we welcome the class of 2017!
Plans Underway for Next School Year
Can you believe our first day of school for next year is Monday, August 29, 2011? As you may have already
heard, we will have one additional classroom teacher position when the new year begins. Based upon projected
student enrollment, the coming year’s classroom teacher assignments are as follows:
Kindergarten
Mrs. Cyrus
Mrs. Gagnon
Ms. Lehrer
Mrs. Serafini
Mr. Smith, Team Leader
First Grade
Mrs. Abernethy
Mrs. Doyle
Mrs. O’Leary, Team Leader
Ms. Thomas
Mrs. Marzano
Second Grade
Mrs. Ado
Mrs. Chilton
Ms. Griffin
Third Grade
Mrs. Litton
Mrs. Parker
Mrs. Philbin, Team Leader
Ms. Polk, Team Leader
Mrs. Rucker
Mrs. Wiles
Fourth Grade
Mrs. Doherty, Team Leader
Mrs. Owen
Mrs. Riley
Fifth Grade
Mr. Larson
Mrs. Row, Team Leader
Mrs. Shafie
Included in today’s ―Knoll News‖ is a form that will certainly help as we continue to monitor enrollment figures. If you know
that your child will attend another elementary school next year, please complete the form included in today’s newsletter, and
have your child return the form to his/her teacher. Additionally, if you recently moved from our attendance area, and wish
for your child to remain at the Knoll, please contact Mr. Kaplan. It’s critical our enrollment numbers are accurate.
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We are in the process of creating next year’s classroom assignments. As we plan for the coming school year we need to know if any of our students, other than fifth graders, will be leaving Strawberry Knoll. Additionally, if you have recently moved or plan to relocate out of our
attendance area we need to know.
Please complete the form below and return it to the school office by Friday, May 27, 2011.
Our Child(ren)
_______________________________
Present Grade ___
Present Grade ___
Present Grade ___
_______________________________
New Address
Present Grade ___
______________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
New School
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Address of
________________________________________________
New School
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Approximate Date of Move
____________________________________
IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
May Dates
June Dates
5/16
2:00 p.m. Fifth Grade Picture
6/1
5/17
First Grade to Recycling Center
5/19
Fifth Grade Chorus ―Make a Difference‖
9:00 a.m. K, Grades 2 and 4;
10:00 a.m. PEP, Autism, Grades 3 and 5
9:15 a.m. K, Gr. 1 and 5
10:15 a.m. PEP, Autism, Gr. 2, 3 and 4
Pre-K to Recycling Center
11:30 a.m.—1:30 p.m.
5/20
7:00—9:00 p.m. PTA Sock Hop
5/23
K, and First Grade Field Day
9:15 a.m.—11:15 a.m.
(Fourth Grade Helpers
5/24
Second and Third Grade Field Day
6/2
4th Annual Fun/Run Walk
6/3
RAIN DATE: Fourth and Fifth Grade Field Day
6/6
Spring Instrumental Music Assembly
2:00 p.m. Grades 3,4, and 5
7:30 p.m. Evening Performance for parents of 4
and 5th grade students
6/7
7:00 p.m. PTA Meeting
6/8
Second Grade ―Going Buggy‖
9:00 a.m. Grades 1 and 4, Kindergarten,
9:15—11:15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.
and Autism
(Fifth Grade Helpers)
5/26
PEP, Pre– K Field Day (Normal Schedule)
5/27
Fourth and Fifth Grade Field Day
9:15—11;15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.
5/30
HOLIDAY—No School for Students and Staff
5/31
RAINDATE: Second and Third Grade Field Day
9:15—11:15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.
(Fifth Grade Helpers)
First Grade Assembly ―What I Learned in First
Grade Music‖
10:00 a.m. Grades 3, 5 and PEP
6/9
Second Grade to Brookside Gardens
6/13
Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
6/14
9:30 a.m. Town Hall Meeting
5th Grade Pool Party
6/16
Last Day of School for Students
12:35 p.m. Dismissal
Student Informational Profile
As the school year comes to an end, we are in the process of creating class groupings for next year. We use as much
information as possible in the creation of classes. If there is information you would like to share with us as we create
next year’s classes, please complete the Student Information Profile form and have your child return the form to Mr.
Kaplan by Tuesday, June 14, 2011.
Student Profile
Student’s Name _____________________________
Date __________
Current Homeroom Teacher ____________________
Grade _________
Please comment if applicable
1. Special Needs
2. Learning Environment
3. Other Issues//Concerns
STUDENT PROFILE
Student’s Name_________________________________
Date ___________________
Current Homeroom Teacher _______________________ Grade __________________
Please indicate any areas that are special strengths or particular weaknesses for your child.
Strength
Weakness
________
reading
________
________
spelling
________
________
handwriting
________
________
written expression
________
________
oral communication
________
________
mathematics
________
________
working independently
________
________
organizational skills
________
________
completing tasks
________
________
study skills
________
________
attention span
________
________
handles change in routine
________
________
flexible
________
________
athletic
________
________
artistic
________
________
musical
________
________
self-motivated
________
________
well-behaved
________
________
outgoing
________
________
intuitive thinker
________
(picks up ideas quickly; makes quick connections)
____________
visual learner
Field Days!
Field days are scheduled as follows:
Monday, May 23
K, and First Grade Field Day
9:15 a.m.—11;15 a.m.
(Fourth grade helpers)
Tuesday, May 24
Second and Third grade Field Day
9:15 —11:15 a.m. and 1:45 —2:45 p.m.
(Fifth grade helpers)
Thursday, May 26
PEP, Pre-K Field Day (Normal P.E. schedule)
Friday, May 27
Fourth and Fifth Grade
9:15—11;15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.
Volunteers are needed. If you would like to volunteer your time to help with any/all of our
Field Day activities, please call Mr. Matesa or Mr. Palmer at (301) 840-7112 and/or email at:
Nicholas [email protected]. Please leave your name and phone number. Students are
encouraged to bring water bottles, dress appropriately and wear sunscreen. As always,
Mr. Matesa , Mr. Palmer, and Ms. Robinson remind our Strawberry Knoll families to enjoy the
spring weather and engage in healthy outdoor fun!