Want to know what’s going on at school? The latest monthly newsletter, the Forest Knolls Knotes, is available online at the school website. Highlights include a picture of Mrs. Davis and Mr. Masline getting slimed by students who met the school’s Book Fair challenge of reading more than 150,000 minutes.

Check it out here:

FKES Community,
We are proud to bring you text alerts for upcoming FKES events, reminders of days the school is closed, and news!

Send a text message “follow fkespta” to 40404.

You don’t have to sign up for anything to use this service. It uses Twitter’s Fast Follow capability, but you don’t have to sign up for a Twitter account to use it. Alerts are set up to be sent only between 9am and 10pm, never during nighttime hours. To turn messages on and off, send “on” or “off” to 40404. Standard text rates apply.

Please spread the word to fellow members of the FKES Community who may be fans of text messaging, particularly if they may not get FKES information from other sources such as this website.

I’d like to make a personal note, and say that one of the reasons I applied for the position of PTA Recording Secretary was to help get “the information” out to the community. First, we want everyone to know basic dates and times of PTA and school events. Second, we want to share news about all the great activities going on in our school. If folks want to participate, an inability to find out “where and when” should never be an impediment. The info should be readily available in a variety of formats.

According to a cell phone industry website, the number of cell phones in the United States and U.S. territories were 103.9% of the population in June 2011 — more than one per person. So we think this will be another good method to spread the word about what is going on at FKES.

The alerts will be managed through the FKES PTA Communications Committee. The technology has been set up with the intent of being easily transitioned to PTA volunteers in future school years.

Nate Conroy
Recording Secretary
recording.secretary@fkespta.org

Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,

The Forest Knolls Parent Teacher Association (PTA) would like to welcome you to the 2011-2012 school year!

The PTA supports all teachers, parents, and students at our school. Last school year, the PTA supported the learning of all students at Forest Knolls by:

• Successfully advocating with county leaders to keep our school from losing staff during county-wide budget cuts,
• Funding new technology for learning,
• Purchasing equipment to improve the school’s music and arts programs,
• Hosting more than thirty events and programs throughout the year to help students succeed, families participate in student learning, and our school community grow as a strong and diverse example of educational excellence,
• Volunteering over 13,000 hours to help our families, teachers and students succeed as a community of learners, the most parent volunteer hours of any elementary school in Montgomery County!

The PTA will continue this support and leadership for our school community during the 2011-2012 school year but we need your help.

Help build and protect the success of Forest Knolls Elementary School by taking three important steps:

Join: Complete and return the membership form to become a member of the Forest Knolls Elementary School PTA today.

Participate: Join us at the PTA meeting on the first Tuesday of every month. The first will be held on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at the school. Attend the programs and events the PTA sponsors throughout the year for all families.

Support: Make a tax-deductible contribution to the Direct Donation Campaign (DDC) to fund needed school equipment to help our students learn and grow. Encourage local businesses to contribute as well.

We look forward to working with all of you this year and wish you a happy and successful school year!

Bill McGrath
Forest Knolls PTA President
president@fkespta.org

Queridos Padres, Maestros y Estudiantes,

¡Una bienvenida al año escolar 2011-2012 desde La Asociación de Padres y Maestros de la Escuela Forest Knolls (PTA)!

El PTA apoya a todos los maestros, padres y estudiantes de nuestra escuela. El año pasado, el PTA apoyo el aprendizaje de los estudiantes de Forest Knolls de varias maneras:

• Junto con líderes del condado, impidió que Forest Knolls perdiera personal basado en cortes al presupuesto del condado de Montgomery,
• Financió nuevas tecnologías para el aprendizaje,
• Compró materiales para mejorar los programas escolares de música y arte,
• Proveyendo más de treinta eventos y programas durante todo el año escolar que ayudaron al éxito de los estudiantes, a la participación de familias en el aprendizaje del los estudiantes y al crecimiento de la comunidad escolar como un ejemplo sólido y diverso en la excelencia educativa,
• Proviniendo más de 13.000 horas de voluntad para ayudar a nuestras familias, maestros y estudiantes a tener éxito. ¡Fuimos la escuela primaria con mas horas donadas por padres del condado de Montgomery!

El PTA continuará este apoyo y liderazgo durante el año escolar 2011-2012, pero necesitamos su ayuda.

Ayude a construir y proteger el éxito de nuestra Escuela Primaria de Forest Knolls tomando estas tres medidas importantes:

Ingreso: llene y devuelva el formulario adjunto para membresía al PTA de Forest Knolls hoy
mismo.

Participe: Venga a la reunión de padres del PTA el primer martes de cada mes. La primera
reunión será el martes, 6 de septiembre 2011 a las 7:00 p.m. en la escuela. Asista a los
programas y eventos que el PTA patrocina durante todo el año para todas las familias.

Apoye: Haga una donación deducible de impuestos a la Campaña de Donación Directa
(DDC) para financiar programas necesario para el aprendizaje y crecimiento de nuestros
estudiantes. Alente a las empresas locales para que contribuyan también.

¡Esperamos trabajar con todos ustedes este año y les deseamos año escolar feliz y exitoso!

Bill McGrath
Presidente del PTA de Forest Knolls
president@fkespta.org

Dear PTA membership, FKES faculty and families,

As you read this, the 2010-2011 school year is within days of coming to an end. While for some this will be a welcome respite, for others it will be difficult to say good-bye to close friends as they leave FKES.

What a year we have had! As a PTA, we started with the goals of increasing membership that is reflective of our rich multicultural community, bringing technology to the classroom, funding a multi-phase enhancement of the Music and Arts programs and strongly advocating on behalf of our students and faculty. With your support, we were successful in these and many more endeavors. Your presence and participation resulted in record numbers during scheduled events. Your willingness to lobby on behalf of our students was noticed and encouraged Councilwoman Nancy Floreen to visit our school to witness the rich creative atmosphere at FKES.  Throughout the year your generous gifts of time and funding contributed to the success of our Volunteer Program, Silent Auction, Book Fair, Dine-out Nights, Spirit Wear, After School Activities, Direct Donation Campaign, Traffic Circle, Conservation Landscape, Family Fun Night and Community Fair, to name a few. Your incredible support and commitment have contributed greatly to the educational experience of our children.

The Executive Board and I wish a fond farewell to our 5^th grade students and encourage them to fully embrace every opportunity as you enter the next stage of learning. Your presence will be missed. To our amazing faculty, we thank you for inspiring our children. You continuously raise the bar and we appreciate the exceptional gift you bring to our community.  To our community leaders, thank you for your ongoing partnership. To you, our FKES families, it has been a rewarding honor to have served in the role of PTA President.

Lastly, to the Executive Board (Uli, Renee and Val), thank you for walking side by side with me and putting up with my demands. Thank you for all that you have done for our school!

Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Hugh Dennis
PTA President
2010-2011

Welcome FKES PTA newly elected Executive Board:
President: Bill McGrath
Vice President: John Acosta
Treasurer: Uli Nasshan
Recording Secretary: Nate Conroy
Scheduling Secretary: Alison Petersen