Forest Knolls Mustang Message

Email: Jennifer_Taylor-Cox@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/forestknollses
Location: 10830 Eastwood Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20901, USA
Phone: 240-740-1640

• Message from Dr. Taylor-Cox

• Message from Mrs. Mabe about Literacy Night

• Kindergarten Registration

• Vision and Hearing Screening for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Referrals

• Pre-Kindergarten Inclusion

• FKES Town Hall for Fifth Grade Students

• Sustainability Poster Contest

• MCPS Math Curriculum Nights Scheduled for March

• FKES Yearbooks

• Family Resources

• This is How We Do It Night Is Coming!

• Message from our Forest Knolls PTA

• Important Dates

"A heartfelt thank you to our amazing PTA and generous parents for contributing delicious pies in celebration of Pi Day! Your kindness and support made the day extra special for our staff, and we truly appreciate your efforts. We are grateful for this wonderful community!"

We enjoyed seeing so many families at Literacy Night last week! Families engaged in literacy activities together including a story walk, making bookmarks and comprehension foldables, and working with words. If you attended the event, we would love your feedback. Please take a minute to fill out this quick survey. We have extra materials and would love to send them home with students.

Let us know if you want us to send materials home with your child: Materials Request Form

Online registration for Kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year is open!. Children who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1, 2025 are eligible to register. Registration will be online through the ParentVUE portal. If your family is new to MCPS, you will need to create a ParentVue account here. For more information about eligibility and the registration process, visit the MCPS Kindergarten Enrollment webpage or contact your local elementary school. In-person registration begins March 17, 2025. Sign-up for a tour of Forest Knolls ES.

In accordance with Maryland State Law students in Montgomery County Public Schools are screened for possible vision and hearing problems. Trained hearing and vision screeners will be screening students new to MCPS, students in Grade (s) Kindergarten and 1st, and students referred by teachers because of possible signs of hearing or vision problems. The screeners will be at Forest Knolls ES on March 14- 18, 2025.

Children who do not see clearly or are unable to hear what their teacher and classmates are saying have a harder time learning at school. You will receive a referral form, via US mail, to take to your child’s doctor if your child fails the screening. If your child is already under care for a hearing or vision problem, or you do not wish your child to be screened at school because of conflicts with your religious beliefs, please notify the school nurse in writing. If your child wears glasses or contacts, they should wear them every day and bring them to the screening.

School based vision screenings may not detect every vision problem. To learn more about possible vision problems and symptoms or health conditions that may require additional evaluation go to Montgomery County Government’s website at this link:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/PHS/SchoolHealth/HearingVision.html

Contact your school’s nurse if you have questions about your child’s screening.

We are pleased to announce enrollment opportunities for community peers in the Inclusive preschool classes for the 2025-26 school year. Children need to be 3 years old by September 1, 2025 to qualify for the morning program and children need to be 4 years old by September 1, 2025 to qualify for the afternoon program.

The classes meet Monday-Friday. The 3 year old morning class meets from 9:00am-11:30am and the 4 year old afternoon class meets from 12:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Please note that no bus transportation is available. There is a quarterly fee for community peers to attend.

If you are interested, want to learn more, or have any questions, please contact Marcia Munoz via email at Marcia_V_Munoz@mcpsmd.org

Forest Knolls ES Administrators facilitated a recent Town Hall for Fifth Grade students. The focus was on confronting hate-bias and bullying. The content and resources were developed by MCPS and are available on the MCPS website. FKES Grade 5 Town Hall

The focus of this annual contest is to increase awareness and demonstrate your school’s commitment to environmental sustainability and sustainable actions related to energy conservation, waste reduction, and responsible recycling.

All art must be a student or staff member's original work and not contain copyrighted elements. Posters should be no smaller than 8.5 inches by 11 inches and must not exceed 18 inches by 24 inches in size.

Please submit posters to DSC, 45 W. Gude Drive, Suite 4000, Rockville, by Friday, April 4, 2025. For more information, email or call 240-740-3210.

More information: Contest Flyer

To enter, complete the Contest Entry Form

Read about Contest Guidelines

The Elementary and Secondary Mathematics teams are hosting two Curriculum Nights, which will include information on math curricular resources, course programming for Grades K–12 and upcoming changes from the Maryland State Department of Education regarding Integrated Math. Attendees will also participate in learning experiences from the Eureka Math and Illustrative Math curricula.

The in-person sessions will be held:

• Tuesday, March 18, 6:30–8 p.m., Wheaton High School, 12401 Dalewood Drive, Silver Spring

• Wednesday, March 26, 6:30–8 p.m., Watkins Mill High School, 10301 Apple Ridge Road, Gaithersburg

Recordings will be available on the mathematics website on Monday, April 7, in English and Spanish.

Math Curriculum Nights, 2025

As a reminder, the Elementary and Secondary Literacy teams are also hosting Curriculum Nights to introduce families to the new elementary literacy curriculum, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts. Upcoming sessions are:

• Wednesday, March 5, 6:30–8:30 p.m., John F. Kennedy High School, 1901 Randolph Road, Wheaton

• Thursday, March 6, Virtual session via Zoom, 6:30–8:10 p.m.

RSVP.

Ordering an elementary school yearbook can be a great way to capture and preserve memories of your child's school year, offering a tangible keepsake of their accomplishments, friendships, and experiences. Order your FKES Yearbook by April 18, 2025.

Please contact Mrs. Gonzalez with questions, needs, or ideas at 240-740-4620 (office), 240-550-3254 (cell), veronica_gonzalez@mcpsmd.org (email).

As a reminder please join our Parent Whatsapp group with this link to follow any valuable information our community is sharing regarding events and resources in the community and county-wide.

This is the night the FKES community comes together to share fellowship, information about their families/cultures and most importantly - some good food!

Join us in the APR on Thursday, March 27th at 6:30 PM

Text questions to: 202.556.0398

• Help us celebrate the beautiful, diverse cultures represented at FKES! This is How We Do It Night (formerly International Night) will be on Thursday, March 27. We need your help and hope you'll join us to share fellowship, information about your family/culture, and most importantly taste great food! Sign up to participate here.

• FKES PTA Run Club is back! It is spring and time for running. The club will meet on Mondays at 430pm at the front of the school. The dates for the Run Club are: 3/17, 3/24, 4/7, 4/28, 5/5, 5/12, and 5/19. As a reminder, this club is for running, we want to keep it fun and play games, but participants are expected to (and should want to) RUN. Everyone is welcome. Email coach Doug at fkesrunclub@gmail.com to sign up. See flyer for details.

The FKES Bike Bus starts rolling again on Friday, March 28th! The bike bus is an adult led weekly bike ride that rolls out on Fridays and leads students to FKES via routes from Sligo Woods and Northwood-Forest Knolls Neighborhood. See flyer for QR code and contact information to sign up.

March 14-18 Vision & Hearing Screening for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Referrals

March 27 PTA sponsored This is How We Do It Night 6:30

March 28 Marking Period 3 Ends

March 31 No School for Students

April is Autism Acceptance Month

April is Math Month

April 3 & 4 Tours for new Kindergarten Families

April 7-11 Math Spirit week

April 8 Chorus Concert 7:00

April 14-21 Spring Break