Strawberry Knoll News
STRAWBERRY KNOLL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
April 15, 2013
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/
Promethean Boards Replace Chalkboards!
We are pleased to announce the long-awaited Promethean Boards are here.
Promethean Boards, are interactive whiteboards. These boards are quite the
hit with staff, students, and those Strawberry Knoll parents that attended
last week’s P.T.A. meeting. Our first grade teacher, Mrs. Ado, along with instructional technology specialist, Mrs. Gaudino demonstrated to parents the
Promethean Board’s many capabilities. Used as instructional tools by teachers,
the Promethean Boards offer the wonderful opportunity to engage students
through technology. Additionally, the Promethean Boards enable teachers to
tailor instruction to students’ varied needs by tracking what students know and
need to know.
Needless to say, having Promethean Boards throughout our building has created an exciting buzz of collaboration among staff and students as we learn how
to use the boards. We are grateful to the Office of the Chief Technology Officer for providing us with a team of instructional technology specialists led by
Mrs. Gaudino. To date, our school’s installation of Promethean Boards is the
largest completed by the school system this year. Do stop by and see how our
staff is using the Promethean Boards to teach our 21st century learners!
We invite you to access online services for home use included in today’s newsletter. These services are excellent instructional resources, and will help you
to become actively involved in your child’s learning. If you should have any
questions about any of these services, feel free to contact our media specialist, Mrs. Gregory.
Students Gather for a Town Hall Meeting.
Each school has its unique culture. Our school remains as an elementary school
committed to providing students with a nurturing school environment. We are
a family. It is in this spirit we hosted our third Town Hall Meeting last Friday.
Thanks to those families and friends that braved Friday morning’s weather and
joined us for an hour of recognition and appreciation. As you know, talent
abounds among our Noble Knights. Our fourth grade students sang two selections they previously performed at February’s African American Wax Museum
to begin our meeting. Classes and students were then recognized for awards
as follows: Fine Dining, Red Knight, AMP (Art, Music, Physical Education) Honor Roll, and Character Counts! We will certainly continue to recognize all of
our students for making good choices and taking care of one another!
Join Us for Pancakes!
Our P.T.A. will host its annual pancake dinner tonight, Monday, April 15, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. until
8:00 p.m. Tonight’s dinner is for Strawberry Knoll students and their immediate families along with our school
staff. All must be present to enjoy this evening’s pancakes, fruit salad, yogurt, granola bars, juice or water.
The cost is $10.00 for a family of four or $3.00 per person. Children three years old and younger get to dine
for free!
Scholastic Book Fair Opened.
Our P.T.A. sponsored Scholastic Book Fair opened last Friday, April 12, 2013 and runs through this Friday, April
19, 2013 in our Media Center. Students always enjoy visiting the book fair. We invite you to do the same after
tonight’s pancake dinner. All money raised from this spring’s book fair will be used for the All for Books program to purchase new books for Strawberry Knoll. Thanks to those parents assisting with this week’s book fair!
Portland Comes to Gaithersburg.
Mrs. Brant, principal of Gaithersburg Elementary School and our Mr. Kaplan met with guests from the David
Douglas District in Portland, Oregon last Monday, April 8, 2013. Both Gaithersburg principals shared how
teachers are progressing with their implementation of Curriculum 2.0. Our Portland visitors including a principal,
third grade teacher, and central office staff began their morning at Gaithersburg Elementary. Mrs. Brant met
with the team and shared how she and her staff are using Curriculum 2.0 as a rich instructional resource.
Guests also visited classrooms. Visitors then drove up the road to our school where they had a chance to observe our third grade team collaborate in their planning for an upcoming writing unit (from Curriculum 2.0.) Our
friends spent the remainder of the day visiting classrooms. They were quite complimentary of the great work
witnessed at both Gaithersburg and Strawberry Knoll.
Cellphone Use- A Few Reminders
We live in a world today where students have access to an array of technology. Cellphones provide us with easy
access to communicate with one another. We certainly respect the need for parents/guardians to remain in
touch with their children. It’s important!
Please remember, if you wish for your child to have a cellphone at school, email Mr. Kaplan. This is an important
first step. Mr. Kaplan will then respond to your email (or letter.) Any student on file with a parent’s/guardian’s
request and Mr. Kaplan’s consent to have a cellphone at school must make sure his/her cellphone is turned off
during the school day. This also includes no vibrating for text messages. If there’s ever a need for you to
speak with your child during the school day, kindly contact the front office. Doing so will ensure that one of us
in the Kare-A-Lot Office is aware of changes in your child’s after school schedule, arrangements for after
school pick-up, etc. Many thanks for your help!
Gaithersburg Book Festival
The 4th annual Gaithersburg Book Festival is coming soon! On May 18th from 10am-6pm the city of
Gaithersburg will host some amazing authors for the day. Some of the children’s authors planning to attend
include Mac Barnett, Fred Bowen, Katy Kelly, and Jon Scieszka. Stay tuned for more developments on activities, writing workshops, and more in my weekly communication! To learn more information visit the website at
http://gaithersburgbookfestival.org/gbf-year/childrens-2013.
Upcoming Dates and Events
April 15 - 18
P.T.A Book Fair – Media Center
MSA Science – Fifth Grade
6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Pancake Dinner
April 16
PLC’s
MSA Science – Fifth Grade
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. - PEP Beginning to Sharp’s Farm
April 18
9:00 a.m. Bus Evacuation
April 19
10:00 a.m. Autism Parent Tour
April 23
8:00 a.m. – 8:40 a.m. Volunteer Tea – Media Center
April 25
Instructional Council Meeting
6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PTA Family Fun Night
April 29
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. 5th grade Family Life Meeting – Media Center
May 2, 3
Kindergarten Orientation
May 6 – 10
Staff Appreciation Week
May 9
7:30 a.m. Instructional Council Meeting – Media Center
May 10
10:00 a.m. Recorder Concert
May 15
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Fifth Grade Open House at GMS for Students and Parents
9:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M. Patrol Picnic
May 16
2nd Grade Poetry Party – in classrooms
May 20 – 24
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Family Life for 5th Grade
May 22
2nd Grade to Brookside Gardens
May 23
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Instrumental Music Concert- Grades 3,4,5
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Instrumental Music Concert – Evening Performance
May 27
Memorial Day – HOLIDAY
May 30
PLC’s
June 3
Field Day – Second Grade
June 4
Field Day – Third Grade
7:00 p.m. PTA Meeting
June 5
Field Day – Kindergarten (a.m.) first Grade (p.m.)
June 6
Field Day – PEP, HS, Autism
June 7
Field Day – Fourth and Fifth Grade
June 12
9:30 a.m. Town Hall Meeting
June 13
9:30 a.m. Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
Plans for Next Year
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 Thursday,
May 30, 2013.
Our Child(ren)
_________________________
________________________
New Address
Present
Present
Present
Present
Grade ___
Grade ___
Grade ___
Grade ___
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New School
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Address of
New School________________________________________________
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Approximate Date of Move ____________________________________