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/
Strawberry Knoll News
STRAWBERRY KNOLL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
April 13, 2012
Next Year’s Staffing Allocation Includes Change
We received our preliminary staffing allocation for the coming school year. The good news
is we’ve retained our current classroom, academic intervention, focus, and resource allocations. The sad news is our current part-time media assistant allocation will remain the same
next year. Additionally, due to the enrollment of qualifying students, our total ESOL teacher
allocation was reduced by two-tenths. Needless to say we will use the resources provided to
ensure your children continue to receive a quality education.
Classroom teacher-changes are planned for the coming year. They are as follows: Ms. Lehrer, second grade, Mrs. Doyle, third grade, Ms. Abernethy, second grade, Mrs. Chilton, kindergarten, Mrs. Ado, first grade and Mrs. Litton, first grade. We will, next week, interview
candidates interested in the second grade teacher position currently held by Mrs. Rucker.
Mrs. Rucker will be on child-care leave next year. We will certainly keep you informed of
any other changes in our staffing allocation and/or classroom teacher assignments as they
occur.
Reflecting on the Report Card
Yesterday was report card day for our students. Clearly, hard work among our students remains essential to their continued learning. If your child received good grades, encourage
him/her to work equally hard this final quarter. When used in the correct manner, the report
card can provide students with the right attitude about learning at Strawberry Knoll!
Join Us for Our Next Town Hall Meeting
We invite you to join us for our next Town Hall meeting on Friday, April 20, 2012, starting
at 9:15 a.m. in the gym. Students/classes will receive awards for the following: Honor Roll,
Character Counts, Fine Dining, and Art-Music-Physical Education (AMP.) We also look
forward to spotlighting several musical performances by our students. –See you soon!
Congratulations, MSA Takers!
We commend our third, fourth, and fifth grade students for their diligence and perseverance
during last month’s testing. Our fifth grade students will take the science portion of the MSA
April 30th and may 1st. We will use this year’s MSA results to plan our instructional program for the coming school year. Stay tuned.
Volunteer Tea
We value our home-school partnership
with you and as such want to recognize
our dedicated volunteers with a complimentary breakfast next Friday, April
20, 2012 starting at 8:00 a.m. in the
Media Center. Volunteers will receive
invitations from their children’s teachers. As we know, many of our volunteers have current and future noble
knights. So, feel free to bring the children with you. We love our volunteers!
Lights! Camera!! Action!!!
Our school will, once again, serve as filming site
for an upcoming training video. Once completed
the video will spotlight how staff use the new
Curriculum 2.0 to make learning exciting and
meaningful for our students. Oh the places we go
with our teaching and learning at the Knoll!
Pennies for Patients
Throughout the month of March
Strawberry Knoll joined more than
25,000 schools nationwide in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies
for Patients program. This year Strawberry Knoll
raised $757.44. Thank you for your help and support!
Technology Safety
SKES uses technology to create valuable learning experiences, including teaching our students how to conduct research and the importance of practicing Internet safety. Also, our students learn about the dangers of using social media websites, such as Facebook,
without parent permission. Facebook was originally
designed for college students. According to its guidelines, children must be at least 13 years old in order
to use the site and have an account. There are many
dangers associated with using social media websites.
Children who are on this website unsupervised often
post pictures and personal information for their
friends. Once posted, they have no control on where
or how that information is used or shared. This is unsafe and could make them vulnerable to online predators. On occasion, students have posted their opinions
about a classmate or situation on Facebook. This information can spread among students and create conflicts and disruptions at school. Please closely monitor
your children’s computer use to keep them safe.
Listed below are two links that offer parental tips
about online safety for children.
http://www.internetsafety.com/internet-safety-tipsfor-parents.php
https://cyberexchange.isc2.org/Documents/top-tentips.
CELL PHONES at School
Just a reminder MCPS policy states that “Elementary
school students are not permitted to possess or use
portable communication devices on MCPS school campuses during the instructional day.” In order for a student to be able to carry a cell phone to school, the parent must submit a written request which must be approved by Mr. Kaplan. Waivers to this MCPS regulation
are only approved if there is a question of safety, a
student needs to communicate with the parent after
school, or if there is a medical concern. The truth is
some students are using cell phones inappropriately,
whether at school or at home. Cell phones and all of
their many features (games, cameras) are a distraction
to the business of school. As always, we appreciate
your support to keep your children thinking about academics while they are here at the Knoll!
Kindergarten Orientation
No School for Kindergarten
Students
Thursday and Friday,
May 10, and 11, 2012
IMPORTANT DATES
April 20, 2012
8:00—8:30 a.m. Volunteer Tea
9:15 a.m. Town Hall Meeting
April 20—27, 2012
P.T.A. Sponsored Book Fair
2/20/12
Day
April 23, 2012 HOLIDAY—President’s
8:30 a.m. Gaithersburg
Middle School Open House
for Parents
and Students
2/21/12
7:00—8:30 p.m.
Feasibility
Study —Media Center
April 25, 2012
7:00—8:30 p.m. PTA Sponsored Pancake Dinner
2/23/12
7:00—8:30 p.m.
P.T.A Science Fair—All-Purpose Room
May 1, 2012
7:00 p.m. PTA Meeting
2/28/12
May 7—11, 2012 Class PicturesTeacher Appreciation Week
May 8, 2012
a.m.—12:15
Third Grade Classes Philbin
and Wiles
2/29/12
9:00 a.m. 4th9:30
Grade
Waxp.m.
Museum—All-Purpose
Room
to Brookside Nature Center
May 9, 2012
9:30 a.m.—12:15 p.m. Third Grade Classes Parker and Litton
to Brookside Nature Center
May 10, 11, 2012
Kindergarten Orientation—No School for Kindergarten Students Only
IMPORTANT DATES