Another Chapter Ends.
It’s hard to believe this is our final edition of The Knoll News. These past 10 months
have been filled with unexpected world events, national/local affairs, and ever-changing
weather conditions. None the less, we here at 18820 Strawberry
Knoll Road, continued our journey with you. This year’s primarygrade student reading data reflect measurable growth and yearend benchmark attainment among our kindergarten through third
grade Noble Knights as follows: Kindergarten– 98 percent, First
Grade– 91 percent, Second Grade– 90 percent, and Third Grade–
85 percent. Indeed, all of our students Kindergarten through
Fifth Grade have progressed from learning to read to reading to
learn. Thanks to our generous P.T.A., each of our students selected a brand new book at this past Tuesday’s give away. To further
promote the love of reading our Mrs. Forman will, once again sponsor this summer’s reading challenge for our students. She looks
forward to receiving student’s “Reading Postcards,” that can be
either dropped off at school or sent in the mail.
Strawberry Knoll
News
STRAWBERRY KNOLL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
June 6, 2015
18820 Strawberry Knoll Road
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879
E. Frank Kaplan, Principal
Elise Burgess, Principal Intern
School Number: 301-840-7112 , Fax Number: 301-840-7114
Web Site Address—http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/
strawberryknolles/
Mathematics remained an instructional focus for us, particularly as our Mrs. Burgess,
principal-intern collaborated with staff to develop school-wide protocols for assessing
students. Teachers reviewed the monthly “math formatives,” and subsequently planned
for small-group mathematics instruction. As a result of Mrs. Burgess’s leadership and
feedback from those staff that visited classrooms during math instruction, we will
delve deeper in the coming school year to check for student math understanding beyond
the paper-pencil math formative assessments.
Our students’ social-emotional well-being and development is key to each student’s success. Members of our school’s “Equity Committee” met and identified two survey questions we posed to our students. The two questions are as follows: “Does your teacher
encourage you to do your best?” and “Do you feel your teacher cares about each student in your class?” We will review student-voice data from these two questions and
those we asked students pertaining to small-group math instruction when our leadership
team, Instructional Council, meets this summer.
We certainly showcased our students’ creativity and their many talents, some of which
are spotlighted in our 2014-2015 Strawberry Knoll yearbook. Thanks to those parent
volunteers who assisted Mr. Diehl in arranging this year’s “SKES family album.” We
acknowledge our P.T.A. for their generosity throughout this year and sponsoring a host
of fun-filled family-oriented activities.
Indeed the Knoll is a place for leading and learning. We were most fortunate to have
Mrs. Burgess serve as our principal-intern. As anticipated, she exhibited leadership
skills and interpersonal qualities that contributed to our school’s reputation and culture.
Most importantly, the children connected with Mrs. Burgess. Mrs. Burgess is more than
qualified to lead her school. Until that time, Mrs. Burgess will remain with us as our
school’s assistant principal in the coming school year!
Next week marks the last week of our 27th chapter. It is with bittersweet sadness we
say good-bye to our fifth grade students and those families that will not return when
school resumes. My goodness, it has been our pleasure to serve your children!
Finally, take time to read with your children this summer. Help them explore the world
in which they live. As always, encourage your children to eat nutritious meals and exercise regularly. We look forward to seeing our returning families and those new to the
Knoll at our annual Open House on Friday, August 28, 2015at 11:00 a.m.
Happy Summer!
E. Frank Kaplan
2015-2016 Homeroom Organizational Plan
Can you believe our first day of school for the next year is Monday, August 31, 2015? Based upon projected student enrollment,
the coming year’s classroom teacher assignments are as follows:
Kindergarten
First Grade
Mrs. Cyrus
Mrs. Ado, Team Leader
Mrs. Gagnon
Mrs. McGuire
Ms. Lehrer
Mrs. Rix
Mrs. Serafini, Team Leader
Ms. L Thomas
Mr. Smith
Mrs. R. Thomas
Second Grade
Ms. Abernethy
Ms. Griffin
Mr. Henry, Team Leader
Mrs. Kitts
Mrs. Owen
Third Grade
Mrs. Doyle
Mrs. Jorden
Mrs. Parker, Team Leader
Mrs. Rizza
Fourth Grade
Ms. Aaron
Mrs. Dolan
Ms. Philbin, Team Leader
Mrs. Murphy
Fifth Grade
Ms. Polk,
Mrs. Row, Team Leader
Mrs. Shafie
Mrs. Williams
If you recently moved from our attendance area and wish for
your child to remain at the Knoll, please contact Mr. Kaplan. It is critical that our enrollment figures are accurate.
Message from Mrs. Burgess, Principal Intern
It has been an honor to serve as the principal intern during the 2014-2015
school year. I was welcomed with open arms and warm wishes. The children
greeted me with smiles and I have learned a great deal from them. Throughout
my journey, the staff and families of Strawberry Knoll have reminded me that
relationships build positive results in the progress of our students. A community of learners; learners of both social emotional growth and learners of academic content is what we have strived together to build. As a school we worked
diligently to increase our professional knowledge and expertise in delivering
rigorous small group math instruction. We studied the role that equity plays in
the school setting and we had conversation and shared student work samples
utilizing strategies that we learned about in a professional learning community. Our staff continually deliver the very best instruction, provide stellar opportunities for students to explore learning using manipulatives and assess children in a variety of ways to promote and exceed proficiency in learning. I am
happy to call the Knoll my home and enjoy every moment of every day. As I
have told the staff and students: Instruction will continue through to the last
minute of the last day of school. Our children truly have the very best at the
Knoll!
Olney Theatre for the 2015—2016 School Year
We are pleased to announce that we will partner with Olney Theatre for the 2015-2016 school year. This partnership will give our fifth grade students access to an eight month program designed to integrate the arts into
the school’s overall curriculum. Students will participate in four phases of learning. Beginning in October, the
educational team at the theatre will meet with students to introduce key concepts of theatrical and ensemble
language, while reinforcing concepts of science, math, and social studies. By stage four, our students will perform
their original productions on one of the theatre stages. This is an amazing opportunity for our students to have
the arts embedded into their daily learning in the reading and language arts. The fifth grade team will work collaboratively with Olney Theatre throughout the process. We very much look forward to giving this opportunity
to our students. We hope this is the beginning of a long lasting collaboration with Olney Theatre!
Town Hall Meeting
Our fourth Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for
Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. in the
gym. Students will be acknowledged. Classes
will also be recognized for the Red Knight, Fine
Dining, ESOL Awards and “AMP” (Art, Music,
P.E.) awards. Equally important, students from
each class will receive recognition for the
“Character Counts!” award. We will also be recognizing our wonderful volunteers.
We look forward to seeing our guests and families on Thursday, June 11, 2015.
Fifth Grade Promotion Celebration
All fifth grade families and friends are invited to attend this
year’s promotion celebration on Friday, June 12, 2015 starting
at 9:30 a.m. in the gym. This year’s guest speaker will be Mrs.
Carla Williams., former Strawberry Knoll guidance counselor.
Fifth grade students are asked to dress appropriately for
Thursday morning’s program.
We wish to thank our many fifth grade parents that served on
this year’s Promotion Celebration Committee. Our committee
members have worked hard to make sure this year’s event is
the best!
Summer Office Hours Our school will remain
open during the summer for business as usual.
If you wish to stop by and speak with
Mr. Kaplan, please call before you visit. Additionally there will be times when the Kare-ALot Office staff may be out of the building.
Summer Mailing
Our Strawberry Knoll ES website will be updated throughout the summer months with
important dates and information. We look forward to seeing you at our annual Sneak Peek
Open House on Friday, August 28, 2015
from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
Financial Obligations
As the school year comes to a close, please help your children locate any textbooks, reading books or library
books or school-owned materials in your homes. Also, please check with our the cafeteria manager, to inquire if
your child’s lunch account may be in the negative. Any financial obligations owed to Strawberry Knoll ES may result in the holding of your child’s report card at the end of June. Please contact your student’s teacher if you
have any questions about obligations to the school. Thank you.
Lost and Found
The Lost and Found rack is overflowing. All items not claimed by June 12, 2015 will be donated to a charitable
organization. Our Lost and Found rack is in the cafeteria.
Upcoming Dates and Events
June 11
9:30 a.m. Town Hall Meeting
June 12
9:30 a.m. Fifth Grade Promotion Celebration
June 23
Report Cards Mailed Home
August 28
Open House
August 31
First Day of School for Students
September 3 7:00 p.m. Back-To School Night
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 form next year’s classes, please complete the Student Information Profile form and have your child return the form to Mr. Kaplan by Friday, June 12, 2015.
Student Profile
Student’s Name _____________________________
Date __________
Current Homeroom Teacher ____________________
Grade _________
Please comment if applicable
1. Special Needs
2. Learning Environment
3. Other Issues//Concerns
Third Graders involved in Bread Making Made EZ
Splash Math-Free Online Summer Program Available
We are pleased to let you know our Noble Knights may participate in the Splash Math program. Splash
Math provides on-line lessons for elementary school students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Over 10 million students participated in last summer’s program to sharpen and improve their math
skills.
Visit https://www.splashmath.com/parent-summer-access-code. Copy and paste the
code OUFHJFFOQQ into the box marked ‘Access Code’ to register your child(ren.) Families with multiple children must use multiple email addresses. Once registered, children will participate in the program’s interactive games designed to help our Noble Knights practice their math skills.
For further information, please feel free to contact Mrs. Schoenfelder, our school’s staff development teacher.