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/strawberryknolles/

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Strawberry Knoll Celebrates the Arts!

The Knoll was transformed into a performing arts center last Friday evening as

noble knights and their families gathered for ―Arts Night.‖ The evening began

with time for children and adults to stroll through the Knoll and admire student

artwork. Our art teachers, Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Ringer, made sure each of our

students had a piece of artwork displayed, quite an awesome task when you have

560 students!

The evening concluded with our P.T.A.’s annual ―Talent Show.‖ The Knoll rocked

as our 65 performers entertained a full house. Please join us in acknowledging

last Friday’s entertainers as follows:

Announcers- Daniel, Kaley, Dodi, Grace, Leslie, Alicia

A big THANK YOU to Mrs. Serafini for organizing the 2011 talent show!

and a special thanks to our wonderful Building Services team. Thank you to

the following volunteers that helped Mrs. Serafini with the Talent Show:

Mrs. Reba, Mrs. Brogden, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Rosenberg, and Mrs. Thomas as

well as the many parents that made last Friday a ―knight‖ to remember!

May 13, 2011

Makayla, Malachi, Jabari, & Omar – Dynamite*

Sophia – Best of Both Worlds

Morgan & Jamila - Let it Go*

Lina - Gymnastics

Cassie - Piano

Chandra - Cheerleading

Matheo - Flute

Makayla & Carina- Guitar

Natalie & Aaron – Karate

Anna – Part of World

Suhani – Dance-Pe-Chance

Jasmine – Piano

Shepherd, Zachary, & Roell – Kids Bop

Kaella – Reflections

Jeremy – Magic

Roberto – Dynamite

Layla – Hula Hoop to The Climb

Anjali & Vedha – Indian Music*

Leul – Fire

Corinne – Piano

Shakeela – Who’s Lovin’ You

Deja – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

William and Dad – West African Instruments

Chynna – Dancing Crazy

Adam – Karate to Never Say Never

Ashna – The Climb

Adriana, Leli, Katelyn, & Estehani – Alejandro*

Patricia – Butterfly Fly Away

Benita & Hope – Kids Bop*

Sumayyah, Jaida, Jada, & Genesis – Tik Toc

Yasmine & Aminder – Poem

Tracy, Jackie, & Kayla – Whip My Hair*

Katie – Last Christmas

Markus & Dario – Trumpet & Clarinet

Chloe – My Heart Will Go

Rosetta & Antonio – Karate

Erica – Jar of Hearts

Gloria, Victoria & Lydia – Like OMG Baby*

Melanie – The Climb

Kimberly & Dzidzornu – Half Way There*

Emily – Crazy Feet*

Mitchell, Micah, & Brendan – Don’t Stop Believin

Congratulations Mrs. Williams

Our congratulations go out to our counselor, Mrs. Williams and her husband Art on the birth of their new son,

Caleb who was born April 14, 2011.

Happy Retirement, Mrs. Frederick!

Our Mrs. Frederick, Media Specialist, will retire at the end of this year. We certainly wish Mrs. Frederick our

very best as she looks forward to spending more time with family, friends, and traveling! Congratulations, Mrs.

Frederick for your 32 years of service to MCPS. Happy trails!!

Best Wishes, Mr. Dowell!

Our Mr. Dowell, kindergarten teacher will leave our school at the end of this year. Mr. Dowell will teach kinder-

garten at Ashburton Elementary School next year. Thank you, Mr. Dowell for your seven years of teaching at

the Knoll. We will miss you!

Welcome Future Noble Knights.

Seventy future noble knights and their families attended last week’s Kindergarten Orientation. How wonderful it

was to hear so many of our incoming kindergarten students refer to the Knoll as, ―my school!‖ Join us as we wel-

come the class of 2017!

Plans Underway for Next School Year

Can you believe our first day of school for next year is Monday, August 29, 2011? As you may have already

heard, we will have one additional classroom teacher position when the new year begins. Based upon projected

student enrollment, the coming year’s classroom teacher assignments are as follows:

Kindergarten First Grade

Mrs. Cyrus Mrs. Abernethy

Mrs. Gagnon Mrs. Doyle

Ms. Lehrer Mrs. O’Leary, Team Leader

Mrs. Serafini Ms. Thomas

Mr. Smith, Team Leader Mrs. Marzano

Second Grade Third Grade

Mrs. Ado Mrs. Litton

Mrs. Chilton Mrs. Parker

Ms. Griffin Mrs. Philbin, Team Leader

Ms. Polk, Team Leader Mrs. Wiles

Mrs. Rucker

Fourth Grade Fifth Grade

Mrs. Doherty, Team Leader Mr. Larson

Mrs. Owen Mrs. Row, Team Leader

Mrs. Riley Mrs. Shafie

Included in today’s ―Knoll News‖ is a form that will certainly help as we continue to monitor enrollment figures. If you know

that your child will attend another elementary school next year, please complete the form included in today’s newsletter, and

have your child return the form to his/her teacher. Additionally, if you recently moved from our attendance area, and wish

for your child to remain at the Knoll, please contact Mr. Kaplan. It’s critical our enrollment numbers are accurate.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are in the process of creating next year’s classroom assignments. As we plan for the com-

ing school year we need to know if any of our students, other than fifth graders, will be leav-

ing 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 Friday, May 27, 2011.

Our Child(ren) _______________________________ Present Grade ___

Present Grade ___

Present Grade ___

_______________________________ Present Grade ___

New Address ______________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

New School ________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Address of ________________________________________________

New School ________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Approximate Date of Move ____________________________________

IMPORTANT DATES

May Dates

5/16 2:00 p.m. Fifth Grade Picture

5/17 First Grade to Recycling Center

5/19 Fifth Grade Chorus ―Make a Difference‖

9:15 a.m. K, Gr. 1 and 5

10:15 a.m. PEP, Autism, Gr. 2, 3 and 4

Pre-K to Recycling Center

11:30 a.m.—1:30 p.m.

5/20 7:00—9:00 p.m. PTA Sock Hop

5/23 K, and First Grade Field Day

9:15 a.m.—11:15 a.m.

(Fourth Grade Helpers

5/24 Second and Third Grade Field Day

9:15—11:15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.

(Fifth Grade Helpers)

5/26 PEP, Pre– K Field Day (Normal Schedule)

5/27 Fourth and Fifth Grade Field Day

9:15—11;15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.

5/30 HOLIDAY—No School for Students and Staff

5/31 RAINDATE: Second and Third Grade Field Day

9:15—11:15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.

(Fifth Grade Helpers)

IMPORTANT DATES

June Dates

6/1 First Grade Assembly ―What I Learned in First

Grade Music‖

9:00 a.m. K, Grades 2 and 4;

10:00 a.m. PEP, Autism, Grades 3 and 5

6/2 4th Annual Fun/Run Walk

6/3 RAIN DATE: Fourth and Fifth Grade Field Day

6/6 Spring Instrumental Music Assembly

2:00 p.m. Grades 3,4, and 5

7:30 p.m. Evening Performance for parents of 4

and 5th grade students

6/7 7:00 p.m. PTA Meeting

6/8 Second Grade ―Going Buggy‖

9:00 a.m. Grades 1 and 4, Kindergarten,

and Autism

10:00 a.m. Grades 3, 5 and PEP

6/9 Second Grade to Brookside Gardens

6/13 Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony

6/14 9:30 a.m. Town Hall Meeting

5th Grade Pool Party

6/16 Last Day of School for Students

12:35 p.m. Dismissal

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 create

next year’s classes, please complete the Student Information Profile form and have your child return the form to Mr.

Kaplan by Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

Student Profile

Student’s Name _____________________________

Date __________

Current Homeroom Teacher ____________________

Grade _________

Please comment if applicable

1. Special Needs

2. Learning Environment

3. Other Issues//Concerns

STUDENT PROFILE

Student’s Name_________________________________ Date ___________________

Current Homeroom Teacher _______________________ Grade __________________

Please indicate any areas that are special strengths or particular weaknesses for your child.

Strength Weakness

________ reading ________

________ spelling ________

________ handwriting ________

________ written expression ________

________ oral communication ________

________ mathematics ________

________ working independently ________

________ organizational skills ________

________ completing tasks ________

________ study skills ________

________ attention span ________

________ handles change in routine ________

________ flexible ________

________ athletic ________

________ artistic ________

________ musical ________

________ self-motivated ________

________ well-behaved ________

________ outgoing ________

________ intuitive thinker ________

(picks up ideas quickly; makes quick connections)

____________ visual learner

Field Days!

Field days are scheduled as follows:

Monday, May 23 K, and First Grade Field Day

9:15 a.m.—11;15 a.m.

(Fourth grade helpers)

Tuesday, May 24 Second and Third grade Field Day

9:15 —11:15 a.m. and 1:45 —2:45 p.m.

(Fifth grade helpers)

Thursday, May 26 PEP, Pre-K Field Day (Normal P.E. schedule)

Friday, May 27 Fourth and Fifth Grade

9:15—11;15 a.m. and 1:45—2:45 p.m.

Volunteers are needed. If you would like to volunteer your time to help with any/all of our

Field Day activities, please call Mr. Matesa or Mr. Palmer at (301) 840-7112 and/or email at:

Nicholas _J_matesa@mcpsmd.org. Please leave your name and phone number. Students are

encouraged to bring water bottles, dress appropriately and wear sunscreen. As always,

Mr. Matesa , Mr. Palmer, and Ms. Robinson remind our Strawberry Knoll families to enjoy the

spring weather and engage in healthy outdoor fun!