January 2016 Principal: Laura Windham

Vice-Principal: Michelle McHugh

Forest Ridge Elementary School Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Jan 1—5Christmas Vacation

Jan 6 STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL

Jan 8 Career Day

Jan 14 PTA General Meeting

Jan 18 MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

HOLIDAY/NO SCHOOL

Jan 19 Honor Roll Ceremony 9:30am

Jan 21 SAEC Meeting 4:30pm

Jan 25-29 BOOK FAIR

Jan 28 Family Literacy Night

5:30-7:00pm

Jan 29 EARLY DISMISSAL

Principal’s News

Dear Parents,

Each year the Florida Department of Education designates a week to promote literacy. This year it runs from January 25-29 and the theme is Literacy Changes Our World. For more infor-mation please visit: http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/just-read-fl/celebrate-literacy-week. We will hold a special Literacy Night on Thurs., Jan. 28 from 5:30pm – 7:00pm. You should have received a flyer with the date, time, and an RSVP. Please return only one RSVP per family so that we can be sure to have enough pizza! We will have a variety of presentations made by our staff and some outside agencies. We hope that you will be able to join us. Intermediate grades (3-5) continue to prepare for the upcoming administration of the Florida Standards Assessment. Those students who are not meeting grade level expectations are receiv-ing interventions in their area of greatest need. Small group instruction and specialized pro-grams provide extra support. Fourth and fifth grade students will take the FSA ELA Writing exam on March 1. More infor-mation will be coming your way in the weeks to come. Information for students and families is provided at http://www.fsassessments.org/students-and-families/. Please be sure to check your child’s planner or calendar daily to stay informed about your child’s schoolwork, homework, and behavior. You are invited to join us for the annual Spell-A-Rama sponsored by the Central Citrus Rotary to benefit their scholarship program for Citrus graduating seniors. Forest Ridge is sponsoring this year’s competition. It will take place in our cafeteria. The event is scheduled for February 16. Doors open at 5:30 pm and the competition will begin at 6 pm. With the onset of cooler weather our “lost and found” jacket collection grows. It is helpful to put your child’s name (or their teacher’s name) in his/her jacket. Please have your child check the lost and found on our stage if they are missing articles.

We will celebrate our Honor Roll recipients on January 19 for grades 3-5 at 9:30 am. This is an exciting event where we recognize student achieve-ment. Congratulations to all of our Honor Roll students! Sincerely,

Laura Windham, Principal

GUIDANCE CORNER

With the holiday behind us, it can be

hard to get children re-focused on learn-

ing. Keep these simple ideas in mind

and you can make school a top priority

for your kids.

EMPHASIZE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Let your kids know that unless he or she

is sick, he or she must go to school. Try

to schedule routine dentist and doctor

appointments after school hours. It is

always best if you can schedule family

vacations during school breaks.

SHOW YOU CARE ABOUT SCHOOL

Let your children know that you are

interested in his or her learning by talk-

ing about his or her school activities and

projects, attending as many school

events as you can and by communi-

cating with the teacher.

STAY POSITIVE

Try to set a positive example for your

child, even when your own day has been

difficult. If you show a positive attitude

about your work, your child may feel

better about his or her own.

Thank you for being such a positive

partner in education. The Forest Ridge

family wishes all of you a happy, healthy

New Year.

Register today for the YMCA After School Program at

Forest Ridge Elementary School. Your child will enjoy many activities that we offer including sport, arts and crafts, homework time and much more! The YMCA also offers care over holiday breaks and in-service days. In-service days are $18 a day. Prices vary based on the plan you choose. Care is from 6:30 AM until 6:00 PM. Financial assis-tance is available. If you have any questions, please call 637-0132 or email ahall@suncoastymca.org.

Teachers from each school compete for the

“Central Citrus Spell-A-Rama”

Championship Trophy!

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2016

Show Starts at 6:00PM “Don’t Miss a WORD!”

Place: Forest Ridge Elementary

Come and cheer for our staff representatives: Abigail Hart

Brittney McBride Jessica Pardo

Thank you for supporting your local Elementary Schools and

Central Citrus Rotary!

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Parents, Please be aware of the days your child has P.E. class and

help them to dress accordingly.

Proper footwear/attire for P. E. class: · Tennis shoes/Sneakers (securely fas-

tened with laces or Velcro). · School appropriate Top · Shorts/Pants/Capri pants/Skorts · If girls choose to wear dresses/skirts;

they must wear shorts underneath For safety reasons, we discourage students from wearing: · Sandals, dress shoes, flip-flops, & any

footwear that may impede the ability for safe movement(s)

Jump Rope for Heart is Coming

K-5th grade students will bring home a

JRFH/AHA information letter and packet on the 1

st day of their PE week in February. Last year,

FRE students raised over $ 7,317.00 for the American Heart Association! Again this year, we are asking for student, parent, and community support as we strive to reach our goal of raising over $10,000.00! We appreciate any support you can give to this worthy cause. All students will be recognized for their con-

tributions. Be on the lookout for

our New Life Saving Puppies and their Pawsi-tive message about Heart health habits!

Out of Field Notification

We appreciate Stephanie Crosier who will be teaching a subject outside of her primary certifica-tion and is currently taking ESOL classes to obtain certification in that area.

SCHOOL DAY

Please remember that

students may arrive at

8:50, our first bell rings

at 8:50 and the tardy bell

rings at 9:20.

Our morning TV Show

airs from 9:10-9:20

CAFETERIA NEWS

D i d y ou k n ow t h a t y o u

c a n p r e p a y f or y ou r

c h i l d ’ s l un c h on l i n e ?

Y ou w i l l n e e d y o ur

c h i l d ’ s C i t rus Coun t y

S t ude n t n u mb e r a n d

h i s / h e r l un c h n u mb e r t o

s e t u p t h e a c c oun t on

l i n e ( b ot h a re a v a i l a b l e

f rom y ou r c h i l d ’ s

t e a c h e r) .

S i mp l y l o g on t o t h e s e -

c ure w e b s i t e :

h t tps : / /

www.mypaymen tsp lus .com/

de fau l t . a spx

L un c h me n us a re

a v a i l a b l e on l i n e a t :

h t t p : / / c a f e . c i t r u s. k 1 2 . f l . u s

Forest Ridge Elementary

2927 N Forest Ridge Blvd

Hernando, FL 34442

Phone: (352) 527-1808

Admin Fax: (352) 249-2128

Guidance Fax: (352) 249-2129

E-mail: Heltk3@citrus.k12.fl.us

We’re on the Web!

Citrus.k12.fl.us/fre

ACCOMMODATION

STATEMENT

If you, or anyone you

know, requires

reasonable accommo-

dations at any of our

school events because

of a disability or

physical impairment,

please contact Karen

Helt at 527-1808

Ext. 5004.

FRE PTA

Upcoming PTA Events:

January 25-29 — BOOK FAIR. We need volunteers! February 2—Donuts for Dad February 11—Sweets for Staff

We need treat donations for our February events and are always looking for volunteers. Please contact us on our facebook page if you are interested in helping.

Like Us on FACEOOK.COM.FORESTRIDGEELEMENTARYSCHOOLPTA

Success Club Congratulations to all of our students who were chosen by their teacher to be in

“The SUCCESS Club”.

Each month we have a monthly theme and for December it was “Empathy”. Students that

earned this reward received a certificate, were on the morning show with either Mrs. Windham

or Ms. McHugh, and they had their picture displayed on the bulletin board in the cafeteria.

For the month of January teachers will be looking for “Hard Work”.

The Physically Fit Owls

The Fitness Owls participated in the annual Jingle Bell Run last month. We had ap-proximately 45 runners – Fitness Owls, parents, staff, siblings, and alumni – for For-est Ridge Elementary participate in this race. We had the following runners place: Girls 8 – 9: 3rd place - Julia Hurtado; Adults that placed I their age groups: Mrs. Pulley – 2nd place; Mr. Hurtado – 3rd place; Miss Susie (our volunteer) – 1st place; Mrs. Barnes (1st grade teacher @ FRE) 3rd place; Mrs. Williams – 3rd place; and one alumni – Aaron Zapf – Boys – 13 – 14 – 2nd place. WOW – what a turn out!! This year our adults cleaned up with the “bling”. We all had a fantastic

time! Way to go place winners and all the runners! This month: The Fitness Owls will be giving back to the Citrus Road Runners on Sunday, January 17th at the Ocala Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5k race. Some families have graciously volun-teered their Sunday morning to work a water station at this event. Thank you to the following families for donating your time: McVae/Shaw, Pate, Badolato, Schaak, and Marcic. Our next race is the Florida Manatee Festival 10k, 5k, and 1 mile walk on Saturday, January 23rd in Crystal River. Race applications are due now to Mrs. Mullen. Race time is 8:00 and all Fitness Owls participating need to meet Mrs. Mullen at 7:00 for check-in, packet pick-up, warm-ups, and photos. Kids Marathon race applications are due now. Mrs. Mullen will be turning them in on Friday, Jan. 29th. Please get them in to her as soon as possible .

Make sure your student doesn’t miss out on this opportunity!

Don’t forget to order your yearbook! Yearbook orders at the discounted price ($12) and dedication pages are due by January 13, 2016. Yearbooks ordered

after then are $15.

**Note: All 5th grade students will receive a FREE yearbook compliments

of Forest Ridge Elementary.

Please Join Us for :

FRE Family Literacy Night

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Time: 5:30-7:30

Celebrity readers, free food,

drinks & BOOKS!

FRE students & family members only -must RSVP

Sign-ups for the spring cho-

rus have begun. Mrs. Mosley

is auditioning soloist during

January. Rehearsals for soloist and

speaking parts are primarily held on Mon-

days and Wednesdays after school. Cho-

rus will rehearse during the school

day. See Mrs. Mosley if you are interested

in the spring show the Granny Awards.

THANK YOU to all who

have been donating pull tabs

for the Ronald McDonald

House! Please be sure to put

your name on your bags so

Ms. Millie is able to give you

a BUG award!

COMING SOON!

We will be collecting non-perishable food for

our local food banks from February 1- February 11th. Please

have your child bring in can foods between these dates and put them in the collection box in

the classroom.