As unbelievable as it seems, we're at the end of another school year.  Many look at this as a mixed blessing.  On the one hand, no more early morning band sectionals, rehearsals, sports practices or last minute efforts to finish projects and homework.  For parents it's the carpooling, study sessions and volunteering, all of which we do with love but still look forward to the break. 

Our PTA year is gearing down from a busy month.  Our Hospitality chair, Cindy Garrison, honored the hard working Forestwood staff the week of May 5 - 9 with goodies during the week and a great down home BBQ for lunch on Friday.  We have had the last Falcon Fiesta and in April, the last dance of the year, both a great success.  In the past couple of months behind the scenes, we have worked on a design for the FMS Spirit Shirt for next year and arranged for school supplies to be available in the fall.

With the end of the school year comes the end of being pulled in so many directions, which is generally welcome by most of us- until the end of that first week of the summer break when parents, working and stay at home, hear those dreaded two words, "I'm bored."  And I guess when you been multitasking at the level of a CEO and suddenly the biggest decision of the day is when to get up or should I clean up my room now or wait until mom's head starts spinning, you would be bored.  Even endless video gaming loses its appeal when it becomes so readily available and not just something to look forward to after all of the academics are covered.

So take a break, do nothing for awhile, and then get a plan.  I admire the families that have it all figured out even before school gets out.  For some it's a camp here or there, a couple of local trips around the area and maybe a vacation.  At our house we fly by the seat of our pants which is what we do best in the summer.  Before you know it, you'll be gearing up to start a new school year.

We hope you will be able to join us for the final PTA Regular meeting of the school year on May 22nd at 9:00 am in the FMS Cafeteria.  In addition to honoring our volunteers we will be approving Bylaws and Standing Rules Amendments (previously presented at the April Regular Meeting) and approving the 2008-09 PTA Budget.

Have a great and safe summer!

 Julie Rael
PTA President

 

Congratulations to the following choir students for earning
SUPERIOR ratings on their vocal solo at a contest on April 5. 
They also received blue ribbon medals:

Jessica Lassberg
Meredith Payne
Allyson Phillips
Brianne Robbins
Cassie Walker
Morgan MacGregor
Genie Na
Katelyn Schmitz
Marlee Snyder
Rachel Toney
Ben Hladky
Jordy Sloan
Tommy Urrutia
ChandlerO'Hara
Daniel Stephens

And these students received superior ratings on their ensembles:

Meredith Payne
Allyson Phillips
Brianne Robbins
Allison Janak
Jessica Lassberg
Genie Na
Annah Hoffman
Veena Devaraju
Tommy Urrutia
Jordy Sloan
Ben Hladky
Chandler O'Hara
Daniel Stevens

 
Cleaning up the Community

Congratulations to the Forestwood Choir for cleaning up our community!  A group of 21 kids and 4 parents picked up over 20 bags of trash (and one mattress) from the creek that runs behind Forestwood all the way to Forest Vista.  This was done in conjunction with Keep Flower Mound Beautiful - in 27 degree weather!  Way to go!

DI State Results       

3 Forestwood Destination Imagination teams competed at the state tournament in Round Rock on April 5th.  Earning 5th place medals were the team who took on Switch! - the balsa wood weight bearing challenge.  The Improv team placed 8th and the Obstacles, Of Course team came in 11th.  Congratulations to the teams and their Team Managers for a tremendous year!

The Sixth Grade Silver team has made their mark on Forestwood Middle School. Thanks to Schmitz Garden  Center we have a stunning entrance to our school that will help improve the environment, make our school a more beautiful place and create a 'room with a view' from the library which was the wish of the late Cynda Mast, our school librarian.

Joe Schmitz generously offered to donate all the supplies, time, labor, trees, plants, flowers and patio from his company, Schmitz Gardening Center. He and his crew were out most of the rainy day taking out the remaining plants and installing the new landscape. PLEASE STOP BY THEIR BUSINESS, ACROSS FROM FLOWER MOUND HIGH SCHOOL TO TELL THEM THANK YOU AND TO MAKE YOUR SUMMER GARDENING PURCHASES! 

Donations were graciously given from many people in the community and from two fund raisers that the sixth graders planned. We'd like to thank Katie B.'s father, of SPACEWALK OF FLOWER MOUND, for donating the awesome dinosaur for our Green Fling. Alyssa J.'s uncle, Isabella's grandfather, and the Forestwood Middle School Student Council for making cash donations that will go to the upkeep and continued improvement of the garden for years to come. Local businesses like Walmart in HighlandVillage, Home Depot in Flower Mound, Calloway's and Yard Art in Lewisville all donated gift cards to their stores for additional purchases.

Finally, this project could not have been started or completed without the help of 'Grumpy', Samantha's grandfather who is a master gardener, and his gardening friend Vivian Hicks. He spent time educating some of our sixth graders about gardening; he drew the original plan, to scale, of the area to be improved and was outside with the students for two days leading the students in removing the existing plants and groundcover. Most importantly, he was a source of encouragement and praise to Ms. Moss, who tried desperately to keep up with her students' and their adventurous plans.

This has been a great experience for all involved and we thank everyone who gave their time and support to help our sixth graders realize that they can make positive changes in the world with a lot of planning, hard work and the generosity of others!

Deborah Moss
6^th Grade English Teacher

7^th and 8^th Grade
Athletic Information for 2008-09

Physicals:

Get your child's physical completed and all paperwork turned in before summer begins!

All students at Forestwood that need a physical next year, including swimming and tennis, may get a physical completed at Flower Mound High School on Saturday, May 31.  Forestwood students are scheduled at 1:30 PM, please get there early.

Please go on to Coach Gibson's web site and print off a physical and medical history form.  Fill out the medical history and take the physical form to the high school.  Once the physical is completed, turn it and all the remaining paperwork into either Coach Gibson or Coach Jensen and you will be ready to go for the next school year.

Check the flyer for more information or contact Coach Gibson at gibsonl@lisd.net or Coach Jensen at jensenmd@lisd.net .

Uniform Orders:

Pre-orders are being taken until May 30.  If you order early, you will save money and be able to pick up your uniform before school starts.  

All 6^th graders may pick up pre-ordered uniforms on August 12^th from 5 - 7 PM.
All 8^th graders may pick up pre-ordered uniforms on August 13^th from 5 - 7 PM. 
All 7^th graders may pick up pre-ordered uniforms on August 14^th from 5 - 7 PM. 

August 15^th will be the final early day for pre-order pick up and that will be open to all students from 5 - 6 PM.