Building Towards Rigor
As always, here at Forest Hills and across District 101, we are deeply committed to creating healthy, effective, thriving classroom communities as the number one priority to start the year. Classroom teachers and specialists work hard to front-load specific, explicit learning about what success looks like, sounds like, and feels like in the classroom, so that our students know what is expected of them and how to thrive within their classroom. We focus on social skills, the value of relationships, and the importance of respectful, responsible, and safe behaviors; our goal is to map out the expectations, purpose, and value of the communities we create. More than anything, we want our students to start the year feeling safe, comfortable, connected, and confident that they can thrive.
With this priority in mind, we intentionally go SLOW with our focus on academics in these first weeks of school, such that we can create successful environments and experiences for our students, and then go FAST as we get into the realm of academic rigor. Your child might report feeling like they are spending quite a bit of time on procedures and routines, team-building and getting-to-know-you activities, games and structured play activities; that is spot-on, and exactly our goal. You (and your child!) can expect that the pace with academic learning goals will ramp up as we move towards the end of September and into October; at that point, they will be ready for all that we bring to them, and will be ready to excel!
You will hear quite a lot more about the curriculum, pacing, and classroom expectations in our Curriculum Night presentations on Thursday, August 29, we look forward to sharing more with you then!
Respect, Responsibility and Safety
As we begin a new school year, it is always important to establish and reinforce expectations for demonstrating Respectful, Responsible and Safe behavior at school. Here are some salient points for parents to know:
Respect, Responsibility and Safety are the core tenets of our expectations for school.
Classroom teachers and students have or will co-construct norms/expectations regarding behavior within the classroom.
As is our usual practice at the start of the year, all students in grades 1-5 participated in our "School-wide Expectations Traveling Assembly" earlier today. During this event, they rotated through stations where staff overviewed the specific expected behaviors in common locations (hallways, washrooms, recess, arrival/dismissal) with students. They modeled these behaviors and when possible, had students practice these expected behaviors. Posters of these expectations can be found displayed around Forest Hills, and are attached as a PDF below.
When students have a misstep and don't follow our school-wide norms, progressive consequences will be in place. These practices will consist of: reminders, reteaching skills, conversations with staff, reflection sheets, loss of privileges, reflection sheets, communication home to families, and perhaps a chat with Mrs. Corrough or time in the lunchtime Reflection Room.
Classroom teachers and students set goals around demonstrating expected behaviors and celebrate accordingly as those goals are met. You'll hear more from classroom teachers when these celebrations occur and perhaps we'll even have some school-wide celebrations for working together when we're being especially Respectful, Responsible and Safe! :)
Fall NWEA MAP Testing
The window for Fall MAP testing (for students in grades 2-5 only) opens on Monday, September 9. Please click HERE if you would like to learn more about the NWEA MAP assessment.
Additionally, teachers will have some conversation with students about the assessment, in an effort to help them better understand what it is and why it shouldn't elicit stress from them. HERE are the talking points that teachers will use with students.
Western Springs Parks Grant for North Park
The Western Springs Park District is currently in the process of writing an Open Space and Land Acquisition Development (OSLAD) grant to fund the replacement of the NORTH PARK at Forest Hills. One component of the grant is community support. You can show your support by signing the letter that is attached as a PDF below. Please feel free to send it back to school and we can get them to the Park District.
Should the grant be approved and the park replacement a go, we will definitely seek student input in the design and equipment!
IMPORTANT: Updated D101 Elementary Handbook
This summer, the administrative team spent considerable time updating the Elementary School Handbook. Please do spend some time reviewing some of the important information regarding attendance, academics, behavior/discipline, technology, etc. The handbook can be found via the link above or as a PDF below.
IMPORTANT: Updated Personal Electronic Device Policy
One of the D101 Handbook updates worth a separate call-out and additional information is that of the Personal Electronic Device Policy. Please read THIS detailed message on the policy change or via the PDF below.
Additionally, please find the updated D101 Acceptable Use Policy HERE or attached as a PDF below. We will send a hard copy of this policy home with students in Friday Folders on Friday, August 23, which will need to be signed both both the parent and student, and returned to school.
We deeply appreciate your partnership and support of this policy change as we strive to keep our classrooms safe and focused on learning.
Also, hopefully everyone received this morning's stand alone message regarding the Parent Technology Guidebook and takes some time to review it. It really is never too early to start thinking about screen time, cyber safety and all things technology usage.
Arrival/Dismissal
South East Entrance (Door #2): Kindergarten and Grade 1
Main Entrance (Door #1): Grades 2 and 3
North East Entrance (Door #6): Grades 4 and 5
ALL students will enter through doors on Central Avenue.
A few important reminders about the arrival/dismissal process:
- Central Ave. is ONE WAY (north to south)
- Please take arrival/dismissal with a "Kiss 'n Go" approach. Parents/caregivers should remain in the vehicle at all times during the process. Should you wish to park and wait at the doors, please do so NORTH of the building on Central or Fair Elms or on 51st Street.
Please find a map HERE for a visual of arrival/dismissal. I appreciate your cooperation with these procedures with the hope of creating the safest experience possible for everyone (especially kids!).
***There may be some parking/traffic changes from the Village of Western Springs around the Forest Hills perimeter that won't be finalized until the week of August 19. Please watch for a stand alone message detailing those changes.
Safety Reminders
School safety is ALWAYS at the forefront of our minds. As such, please note the following safety procedures and expectations.
Entrances: You will notice clear signage on all external doors indicating that ALL visitors (any person who is not a current Forest Hills student or active staff member with a key) MUST enter and check in through the main office. Even if your child spots YOU knocking at the Forest Hills doorway, we explicitly teach all students and reinforce with our staff the need to point to the signage, point to the main office, and NOT open any external doors, even for known/trusted adults, unless they are staff members.
Staff Identification: All District 101 staff members wear lanyards, clearly indicating for students, staff, and all that they are registered members of our D101 staff and thus able to enter/exit buildings and supervise students. All visitors (including parent volunteers in classrooms, in the library, etc.) will need to wear our visitor lanyards at all times within the building.
Visitor Procedures: All visitors will be required to enter through the main office, check in with our Administrative Assistant (Mrs. Erin McLaughlin), and trade their government-issued ID card (Driver’s License) for a “Visitor” lanyard; they will be required to check out again, as well, to return the lanyard and retrieve their ID. This will serve as a visual marker of safety and purpose for any adults not within our D101 staff, so that our students, staff, and community have a clear understanding that any “other” adults are safe and authorized to be within our space.
Visitor Purpose and Destination: We will also ask that visitors to the building remain only in the spaces for which their entry is authorized, without wandering through the building or entering any additional spaces. This will help all of us understand the purpose, role, and need for our volunteers, and to maintain safe entry/exit procedures for all “other” adults.
Again, we appreciate you following these established procedures as we work to ensure our buildings are as safe as possible.
Right At School
If you would like more information about the Right At School before and after care program, please see the included flyer or visit their website at https://rightatschool.com/.
Currently, the enrollment for RAS is low. (Just a handful of students in both the AM and PM.) RAS needs a minimum of ten (10) students in each session to run the program at Forest Hills. If you are planning to enroll, but haven't done so yet, please do soon. The current plan is to run the program for two weeks and if more students don't enroll, it will be canceled at Forest Hills.
2024-25 School Calendar
Rachel Corrough
Email: rcorrough@d101.org
Website: www.d101.org
Location: 5020 Central Avenue, Western Springs, IL, USA
Phone: (708)485-5184
Twitter: @corrough
