Brightwell Crossing - Poolesville Montgomery County, Maryland

On Friday, December 2, 2011, Whalen Commons will be hosting a Holiday Lighting Ceremony to help celebrate the holiday season.  You are encouraged to join this event which will be filled with visits with Santa, holiday sing-alongs, twinkling lights and local choir performances.  You can even embark upon a trip around the park with Santa!

A few key aspects you won’t want to miss:

-Bring a new, unwrapped toy and/or non-perishable food to support WUMCO.

-The Town Hall Foyer’s Children’s Tree.

-The Poolesville High School Music Department’s singing of “Sounds of the Season”.

-Early holiday shopping thanks to local vendors who will be set up in Town Hall.

-Refreshments, including funnel cakes, hot chocolate and homemade soups, that will be available for purchase.

For details on location, time and specifics, please visit here!  We hope to see you there and everyone from Brightwell Crossing wishes you a happy holiday season!

A new housing design trend has been popping up over the past several years that we’ve found extremely important to our customers.  That trend is multigenerational living.   Designing homes with separate entrances, kitchens and owners’ suites is becoming the necessity now that parents are moving back in with their children and children are staying at home longer due to the economy.

CNBC has captured Kettler Forlines’ Managing Partner, Richard Kettler on camera discussing the increased demand for these flexible living spaces and what we’re doing to accommodate families who are choosing this new trend!

View the video here!

Montgomery Magazine
by Pamela Schipper

In this period of challenging home sales, stories abound of corners cut in new home construction.  And really, would the average home buyer know the difference?
One local, family-owned builder and developer is determined to do things right, and the U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) has vouched for that.  This spring, Kettler Forlines Homes’ Brightwell Crossing partnered with the EPA as one of a select number of communities in the nation where all homes carry the new EPA Indoor airPLUS label and are 100 percent EPA Energy Star for Homes certified.
It’s quite a distinction.
As homes have become more energy efficient, the downside has been that indoor air can be unhealthy.  In fact, the EPA suggests that the pollution inside of many homes is two to five times as high as what we breathe outdoors.  This is because the most energy-efficient homes today are sealed tight.  Any moisture, humidity, radon, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or combustion pollutants that may build up inside the home tend to stay there, trapped indoors.
BUILD IT TIGHT, VENTILATE IT RIGHT
That’s the EPA’s motto and answer to today’s homebuilding dilemma:  Use smart ventilation and design while building with the best low-VOC materials.  In Brightwell Crossing, homes are built to improve indoor air quality, incorporating steps like installing a high-quality Merv 8 HVAC filters.  Many building materials are third-party certified to reduce emissions.  These include cabinetry, carpet and carpet padding, flooring products, shelving material and low-VOC paints.
The result of these measures lowers the impact of environmental pollution on human health.  Lowering allergens, including mold, reduces suffering and medication use.  Decreasing VOCs and radon inside the home limits exposure to carcinogenic substances.  According to the EPA, each year approximately 20,000 lung cancer deaths are attributed not to cigarettes, but to the invisible killer, radon.
THEN GO THE DISTANCE
Kettler Forlines didn’t stop there in its commitment to building green.  Outside of some homes, a wrap porch on the front reduces solar gain.  A rain barrel collects a portion of roof rain-off.  And lawns are fed with a 100 percent organic lawn fertilization program, thereby decreasing toxic pesticide runoff into the local watershed.
Whenever possible, Brightwell Crossing, Kettler Forlines has hired local contractors and suppliers.  Twelve are located in Poolesville or nearby Dickerson, reducing carbon emissions from driving to and from the site and giving a boost to the local economy.
For more information, visit www.brightwellcrossing.com or www.epa.gov/indoorairplus.  Brightwell Crossing is a single-family home development in Poolesville that opened in May 2010.  Kettler Forlines’ Brightwell Crossing is one of only 16 building partners in Maryland to comply with EPA Indoor airPLUS construction specifcations.

Ranked First in the Maryland, Poolesville
Falcons Ace NEWSWEEK’s America’s Best
High Schools Rankings

In the 2011 Best American High Schools rankings conducted by NEWSWEEK*, Poolesville High is ranked first in the state and 64th overall among the top 500 high schools across the country. As one of the oldest high schools in Montgomery County, it is also the only “whole school magnet,” which was created in 2006.  This close-knit, Western Montgomery County community offers diverse global perspectives, while challenging its students through real-world and tangible learning experience.

“The information released in NEWSWEEK is based off of data from 2010 – our first graduating class from the magnet program,” says Billie Bradshaw, Magnet Coordinator at Poolesville High School. “The information and rankings will continuously increase in the years to come, not only in the County and State, but also nationwide.”

With four areas of concentration, Poolesville High School is much like a college campus; students take general classes the first two years and focus on areas of interest the second two years.  They have the option to choose between Global Ecology, Humanities, Independent Studies, or Science, Math and Computer Science.  The whole school model engages and challenges students selected through an application process, as well as local school students interested in a magnet focus area.  One student notes, “It’s not a competitive environment; people are competitive with themselves- not each other.”

“We tap into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory; first is a need of food and shelter; and second is a sense for belonging,” says Bradshaw. “
he difference here from the other schools in County and State is a sense of belonging for all students. The bottom line is, we set out to make sure that there are opportunities for all students.”

Principal Deena Levine explains that the programs and coursework are challenging, authentic and rigorous at every grade level.  Using real world examples and problems, students are constantly engaged and stimulated.  Whether it’s setting the crime scene for a forensics class or developing a new product and sales pitch for a technical education class, teachers at Poolesville H.S. work with students to teach them how to become creative and enjoy the challenge of problem-solving through these real world assignments. Levine explains, “It’s very welcoming, very open and encouraging for new students. Building relationships and building friendships are key components to success of what we offer at Poolesville.”

Among the smaller schools in Montgomery County, teachers are able to focus on helping each student succeed in whatever area of study they are passionate about.  The unique types of course work and programs help students prepare for entry-level college classes.

“There is a very contagious enthusiastic energy that these students exhibit for the school,” says Emily Sigman, head of the Humanities magnet program at Poolesville H.S. “They love it here.” Earlier in 2011, Poolesville H.S. was ranked 69th out of more than 27,000 schools in the National High School Challenge Rankings conducted by the Washington Post. In addition, the school ranks 4th out of more than 170 Washington, DC-area public high schools.

For more information, contact Chris Pikus at 301-208-2588  or at chrispikus@kettlerforlineshomes.com