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Congratulations Ms. Jill Jones!
Forestwood's Teacher of the Year!
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Deodorant
Drive
to benefit the Dressed to Learn programJanuary
14- February 1
Toiletries are items really needed by Communities In Schools of North Texas for
distribution to LISD kids in need. While
deodorant seems like such a simple and inexpensive item for most of us, it can be
hard to come by if your family is struggling financially and it becomes a
decision between an extra gallon of milk or that stick of deodorant. The FMS Cheerleaders are spearheading the
effort for us to collect as many sticks as possible. There will be a collection place in the foyer
at FMS and at all home basketball games through 2/1. They will really make their case at the Pep
Rally this Thursday and are promising many laughs. If you can help with this effort, send in a
stick or two! We will leave the
collection box in the foyer throughout the dance the night of February 1st.
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 From the Principal's desk . . . It is hard to believe that
half of our school year is already completed!
The students of Forestwood continue to excel in both their academic work
and extracurricular activities. Academically
our students are posting record results for their performance in the
classroom! In terms of extracurricular
activities, parents, students and staff alike beamed with pride after
witnessing the amazing holiday performances of the Choirs, Orchestras and Bands;
we have been perched at the edge of our seats as our basketball teams continue
to pour their hearts into regular season games and tournament competition. The Christmas Angel drive was a heart-warming
event for our entire community as we provided Christmas for 42 students, all in
L.I.S.D. schools. Students, staff and
parents provided gifts, monetary support, and time wrapping presents. We could not be more proud of every facet of
Forestwood!
It is with great pride that
we announce our Teacher of the Year, Ms. Jill Jones. Ms. Jones is a professional educator working
with Special Education from the outset of her career. She models dedication, care for her students,
and selfless commitment to the profession to so many young teachers and
students. It is clear that Ms. Jones finds
education not only a vocation, but a mission.
We are proud she will represent our school!
Speaking of our successes, recent
activities are focused on our accountability rating and the "public perception"
of our school. Our staff in all
departments has been working diligently to implement a clear and effective
strategy for preparing our students to build on the successes that we have
experienced in the recent past. Your
children came home prior to the holidays talking about "benchmark" testing,
tutorials, and peer tutoring. Benchmark
testing is a "practice" test we conduct during school and the results are used
to determine what types of support and/or remediation may be necessary to have
students fully prepared for the TAKS test.
We have designed a comprehensive plan to ensure the TAKS test is an
opportunity for your children to shine and earn the successes and associated
recognition they so richly deserve. The 7th
grade writing and 8th grade reading TAKS tests will be administered
on Wednesday, March 5th, the 8th grade math TAKS will be
conducted on Tuesday, April 8th, 6th and 7th
graders will take the math TAKS on Tuesday, April 29th and reading
on Wednesday, April 30th, and the testing season concludes with 8th
grade science on Thursday, May 1st and 8th grade social
studies on Friday May 2nd. Attendance
on the days of testing is recorded and used as an area on which we are measured,
so we ask that any foreseeable event that might cause a student to miss school be
scheduled on "non-test" days. In
addition, the school's schedule is altered for test days causing lunch times to
be altered.
Important points of
information:
- The ForestwoodMiddle
School website
is recently revamped and updated; visit it when you have just a minute to
experience its improved appearance and usability.
- We are embarking on an energy
conservation initiative with both educational and fiscal goals. The most obvious to students is that we have
turned off every television in the school (which displayed a clock) and have
begun to ring bells to signal the beginning and end of each class period. We will involve students in our efforts
through the "Watt Watchers" program as we attempt to teach our students about
being more energy efficient as one way to impact our natural resources. Of
course the savings to the school and the district will be very meaningful in
the stewardship of our tax dollars.
- A reminder to all parents
about delivering lunch to students; you are more than welcome to deliver lunch
and/or join your child for lunch. In
order to comply with regulations set by the Texas Department of Agriculture we
ask that you only provide lunch for your child; although a thoughtful gesture
to treat your child's friends to a special meal, it violates policies from the
Agriculture Department, may not be consistent with other family practices and
leaves you in an awkward position if there are allergic or other types of food
reactions. Also, please do not forget to
check in with our office as you arrive.
In each edition of this
newsletter we thank the parents for their support; we could not be as
successful as we are without that backing and we are grateful. Please do not hesitate to make contact with
your child's teachers, the counselors or an administrator if you are in need of
information, support or assistance; we are here for that purpose and we welcome
your involvement.
David Tickner
Principal
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 Dear parents and students,
It's hard
to believe that by the time you read this the school year will be half
over. As a PTA we accomplished much in
the first semester including Book Fairs, distribution of the Student Directory,
sponsorship of the 180 Degrees and Aim for Success parent and student programs,
a great dance, Falcon Fiesta, the PTA Reflections Contest, and fulfillment of
the Teacher Wish List. We are looking
forward to the second semester's activities including the Environmental
Contest, granting two scholarships to graduating Flower Mound students who were
former FMS students, a presentation from the Teen Court program at the February
26th PTA meeting, a Spirit
Wear T-Shirt design contest, two more dances and a continuation of many
programs that go on throughout the year.
Sadly, we
also said goodbye to our phenomenal librarian, Cynda Mast. Again, I would like to thank the PTA Board
Members and parents of Forestwood for their help in providing refreshments
following the memorial service and the library volunteers who have helped to
keep things going in the library during this time. I would also like to thank Cynda's friends
and the staff of Forestwood for creating such a beautiful memorial service. That is one duty that I hope we will not see
repeated in the future.
Thank you
for your support of PTA,
Julie
Rael
PTA President
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 Scoliosis Screening for 8th Graders
On Thursday, January 31, 2008, all 8th graders will be screened for scoliosis. This is
an annual screening required by Texas. Please review the LISD Health Services Notice on the FMS website for details. The
screening will be done during athletic/PE/elective periods and take only a few
minutes. If for religious reasons you
do not want your child screened at school, please submit a notarized Affidavit of Religious Exemption (also on the FMS website) to Nurse DeGiulio prior to
the day of screening. If your child has
been screened by a physician or you would prefer this, please review the Health
Services Notice for the specific documentation that is required prior to the
day of screening. If you have questions,
please feel free to contact Jane DeGiulio, RN, at 972-350-2712 or degiulioj@lisd.net.
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 Environmental Awareness Contest
Each
year, the Texas PTA holds an Environmental Awareness Contest. Students can
submit various artwork, articles, newsletters and photos relating to a
particular theme. This year's theme will be "What Can I Do?" The
deadline will be February
15, 2008.
Students can pick-up a packet of information (with a bright pink cover)
at the information rack at the school entrance, and you're welcome to go to http://www.txpta.org/enviro.html to
get more information... including specific criteria for each category, along
with entry forms. Don't forget to look at the FAQs for valuable tips. Students
are welcome to submit as many different entries as they'd like, as long as they
meet the criteria for each category.
Entries will be collected in the lobby at the school entrance on the
morning of Friday, February 15th. Good
Luck!
Michaelanne
Cangelosi
fcangel@verizon.net
817-996-8172
Environmental
Chairperson
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 Special Needs PTSA
LISD Special Needs PTSA provides programs, support, friendship groups,
and referrals for students and families with special needs in the
Greater Lewisville area. For more information visit www.lisdseptsa.txpta.org or contact Amy Turner at 469-293-6343 or amy@texasturners.net. |
 Teen Court Presentation
Do you have a student between the ages of 13 and 17? Are
they looking for volunteer hours? On Tuesday, Feb 26, come to the Forestwood
PTA General Meeting at 7pm in the cafeteria and be introduced to Teen Court.
Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 or are still in high
school, who attend LISD schools or reside in the greater Lewisville area are
eligible to become volunteers in the program.
Volunteer positions available at Teen Court are: prosecuting and defense
attorney, judge (requires special training), juror, bailiff, and court clerk.
Most volunteers begin by serving as a juror and, if desired, can move on to
other duties at their own pace.
It's a great chance to develop leadership skills. For
further information, please contact Carol Kyer, Programs Chair at carolkyer@consultant.com.
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 Scholarships are Available!
Flower Mound High School Seniors who graduated from
Forestwood Middle School are eligible to apply for one of two scholarships
being offered by the Forestwood PTA. Scholarship applications are
available in the counselors office at FMHS or will be online at the Forestwood Middle
School website soon.
Deadline for submission is March 7th, 2008. For questions, please feel free to
contact Patti Pollok at 972-539-5177 or pattiptah@aol.com.
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Items Needed for Athletics
The
Forestwood Athletic Department is in need of some donated items for our
program. If you could donate the
following items, we would greatly appreciate it.
An adult bike - to keep up with all the
cross country runners on our runs (I'm not as young as I used to be and not
able to keep up with the faster athletes).
A rototiller - to till up the sandpit
for track practice.
If
anyone has one, sees one at a garage sale or knows of someone that wants to get
rid of theirs, please contact Coach Gibson at gibsonl@lisd.net. Thank you!
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 Falcon Fiesta
We had another great Falcon Fiesta on December 7th. The students really seemed
to enjoy the opportunity to have a few snacks and socialize with their
friends. The next Fiesta will be held on Friday, February 1st. Falcon
Fiesta is a PTA sponsored student recognition and reward program during which
selected students have an opportunity to attend a short reception in their
honor.Students are selected by the teachers at the end of teach six week
grading period. This is a program every student has an opportunity to attain
and should work toward. Go for it Falcons and make it hard for the teachers to
choose. Once selected, the student is invited to the library for snacks
during teaming at which time they may socialize and just have fun!! This is a
reward for a job well done.If you would like to help by donating snacks
for one or more of the Falcon Fiesta's, and are not already on my Falcon Fiesta
Volunteer list, please contact Melanie McCoy (972) 355-9092 or
JoMelKel@aol.com.
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A Career Conference for Girls Grades 6 - 8
Saturday, February 16, 2008
8:15 am - 12:30 pm
Texas Woman's
University, Denton, MCL Building
A fun way to learn about exciting careers
through hands-on activities. Reinforce
student learning and motivation through real life examples of careers in
science, mathematics and technology!
Parents and teachers welcome.
Registration Fee: $10(must be received by February 2, 2008)
Includes:
Backsack, refreshments, materials and lots of door prizes!
The school with the most girls attending will
receive $100 for its mathematics department and $100 for its science
department. Also school names will be
entered for a drawing for $300 to attend a Math/Science conference for
professional development.
For more information about
the Expanding Your Horizons TM conference, please contact Patsy Roe
at (972) 436-0932 or email: pdroe@verizon.net or contact Jimmie Lyn Harris at (940) 566-0967
or email jimmie.harris@hotmail.com. You
can also visit
http://www.aauweyh.org. Brochures and registration forms are
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| Destination Imagination
LISD participates in a
wonderful creative problem-solving program, Destination Imagination. Each year, student teams choose from one of
five challenges, offering their unique solution at a regional tournament. These challenges focus on different
concepts: theatrical, technical, structural,
improvisation, etc.
Our regional tournament
this year is at RL Turner HS in Carrollton. We need
appraisers! This requires a half-day
training on 2/9/08
OR 2/23/08 from 8:30-1:00 and a full day judging competition on 3/8/08. There are
different capacities in which to serve - team check-in, announcers, number
crunchers and specific judging aspects of the competitions. Classifications are Primary (Kindergarten-2nd
grade, non-competitive) and Elementary, Middle School, and High School.
If you enjoy watching the
creative process in action, please contact myself or Robin Napier, LISD DI
Facilitator. We hope that you might wish
to spend a day with some of our creative and enthusiastic young problem
solvers!
Carolyn Ditsworth
Forestwood PTA DI Coordinator
 c.dits@verizon.net
972-355-1801
Robin Napier
LISD DI
Facilitator
napierr@lisd.net
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 Science Olympiad This Week!
Forestwood
will be holding its Science Olympiad on Friday, January 25,
2008, from
8:00 am
- 12:00 pm.
All Pre-AP students are required to participate.
Other students are welcome to participate.
There will
be 3 categories:
1) Do It
Ahead (individual)
2) Write
It/Do It (3 person team)
3) Do It
There (2 person team)
ALL
students will participate in 2 events. One event MUST be the Do It
Ahead project. The second event will be either the Write It/Do It or the Do It
There.
The Do It
Ahead project guidelines were given to students the week of November 26 -
30. The other events will be done on the day of the event and no
information will be given before that time.
If a
student places at the Forestwood Olympiad, they will move on to the District
Olympiad. The District Olympiad is scheduled in February. Specific information with time, map, driving directions, etc. will be
provided to those students advancing at least two weeks prior to the District
Event.
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Volunteers Always Needed
 Our
first semester is over and we wish to thank everyone for your volunteer efforts so far
this year. The second semester continues
with another dance, book fair, math tutoring, the famous TAKS Snacks assembly
line, Falcon Fiesta and more!
If you
have not yet had an opportunity to help out, please contact me and we will find
something for you!
Carolyn
Ditsworth
FMS
PTA Volunteer Coordinator
c.dits@verizon.net
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 The Super Bowl Boogie!
Are you ready to make some noise and show your end-zone
celebration moves? Then buy your ticket
to the next Forestwood School Dance held on Friday, February 1, 2008! Get Super Bowl weekend off to a fun start
with your friends while enjoying the sounds of your favorite DJ!
This well Chaperoned Event will be held from 7:00PM to 9:30PM.
No students will be allowed to leave the
dance early unless checked out by their parent. Please do not ask your child to meet you
outside before 9:30PM.
The tickets will be sold the week before the dance and the
cost is $5.00. We urge students to buy
their tickets in advance so we know if we have enough money to cover the cost
of the dance as well as how much PIZZA to buy.
Parents are encouraged to help with donations of candy for
the Concession Stand and we would appreciate you strictly adhering to the list
of approved items.
**All donations need to be delivered to the front office by Friday, January 25th**
Approved concession items:
- Airheads
 - Sour
Punch Straws
- Bungee
Fruit
- Sucker
Rings
- Starburst
Packages
- Tootsie
Pops
- Chocolate
Candy Bars
(No nuts please)
- Sweet
Tarts
- Red
Licorice Ropes
- Little
Debbie Rolls
Please contact Kat Jackson-Reddell
at (972) 724-5444 or TexasKat@verizon.net
with any questions. Thank you for your support!!
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Design Next Year's Spirit Wear Shirt!
Think your
student would like to design the Spirit Wear T-shirt for next year? We will be having a contest and the student
body will vote on the best design. Start
thinking of what you would like the t-shirts to look like next year. Watch for more information in February.
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 Dallas Stars Hockey
If you like the Dallas Stars, check out this deal! Monday, February 11 and Wednesday, March 19 are Lewisville ISD Family Nights. You can get discounted tickets AND receive a Stars hat with every ticket! Click here for order form and details: Lewisville ISD Family Night
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