Forest School News (12.2.24)

Forest Arrival & Dismissal Procedures

Vehicle Drop Off & Vehicle Pick Up Zones

Cars are expected to pull all the way up to the stop sign. 🛑
Students are expected to get in and out of the car independently on the curb (passenger) side.
Family members must stay inside the vehicle at all times. 🚗

Parking and No Parking Zones

✅ Parking is permitted/allowed on 5th Avenue between Forest School and Algonquin Middle School.
🚫 Parking is NOT permitted/NOT allowed in the Forest Staff Parking Lots or on 5th Avenue in front of Forest. The Des Plaines Police Department will begin ticketing those who are parked or idling in an area where parking is not permitted.

News from District 62

📱Now through 12/9: Community Purchase Program

Are you in the market to purchase an Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Macbook, etc.)? D62 has recently announced an opportunity for D62 staff, families, and community members to purchase devices through our technology partner. This is a limited time offer from now through December 9. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE! 😀

News & Reminders from Forest School

👍 December PBIS Goal: Being Respectful

During the month of December, Forest will be working toward the goal of being respectful to others throughout the school day. Students will be acknowledged for demonstrating respect and working toward the goal of earning a grade level reward at the end of December, voted on by students themselves!

🧤 Winter Weather & Outdoor Recess

With our first snow of the season before Thanksgiving break and cooler temperatures in the forecast, please be sure to send your child to school with winter weather gear!

Students should expect to have outdoor recess, unless it is deemed that the conditions are too cold or unsafe for students and staff. Please be sure to send your child to school with winter gear! If you are in need of winter accessories, please connect with Ms. Soike (Principal), Ms. Reiner (Assistant Principal), Ms. Biancalana (Social Worker), Ms. Corcoran (Social Worker), or Ms. McInerney (School Psychologist).
If there is snow on the ground, recess supervisors will require students to have a minimum set of winter accessories in order to play in the snow. Students will need to have a winter coat, snow pants, winter boots, and mittens or gloves.

📝 12/3: Winter Assessments Begin

Before we leave for the winter holiday in a few short weeks, Forest students will participate in the winter benchmark assessment window. Students take benchmark assessments three times each year (fall, winter, and spring) to measure their progress in both literacy and math. Information from the benchmark assessments provides teachers with additional information about what each student has learned and what they are ready to learn next! Students in grades K-2 will be taking the FastBridge assessment, whereas students in grades 3-5 will be taking the NWEA MAP assessment.

⛄ 12/5: Snowman Voting

With winter weather upon us, teams of Forest teachers accepted a challenge to build the best, most creative snowman they could! All of designs are fantastic, so we simply cannot choose a winner on our own -- we need the help of the Forest community!

Students: All students will have an opportunity to cast their vote for their favorite snowman at some point during the school day between December 6-13.
Families: We also would love to get families involved as they visit Forest this week and next week. Any student or family member who comes to our after school engagement events will get a ticket to vote each time they join us!

Family Events with Opportunities to Vote:

Thursday, December 5: PTC Ornament Decorating from 3:40-4:45 PM
Monday, December 9: SEL Parent Education Night from 6:00-7:00 PM ❗ *childcare provided*
Tuesday, December 10: PTC Meeting from 7:00-8:00 PM ❗ *childcare provided*

🏓 12/9: USA Pickleball Clinic for 5th Grade Students

Next Monday, Forest will be hosting its first ever pickleball clinic for our 5th grade students during the school day! During the clinic, representatives from USA Pickleball will be on site to teach pickleball fundamentals and play pickleball games with students. If you have a 5th grader at Forest, please be on the lookout for additional information this week!

News from the Forest SEL Team

💝 12/9: SEL Parent Night

Does your child ever experience BIG FEELINGS? Do those big feelings ever lead to a meltdown at home? Are you looking for some tips and tricks with how to support your children in managing their emotions better? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then we have just the thing for you!

Join us on Monday, December 9 from 6:00-7:00 PM at Forest for a Parent Education Night! You'll learn from our SEL staff about how to manage meltdowns and big feels and even have a chance to connect with other parents who may be experiencing the same at home.

Click here to RSVP!

🧤 In Need of Resources?

If you are experiencing financial hardship, food insecurity, looking for community resources, or exploring opportunities for parent learning, look no further. Our SEL team created a Google Form you can fill out so they can be notified to follow up with you about any/ all areas you are looking for support. The responses to this form are confidential, and will only be seen by the SEL team unless you specify otherwise.

You can contact them here:

Gina Biancalana, School Social Worker
McKenna Corcoran, School Social Worker
Mary McInerney, School Psychologist

News from the Forest PTC

🎄 12/5: Ornament Decorating

Ornament Decorating is happening Thursday, December 5th. Join us to make ornaments to decorate the Forest tree in Metropolitan Square. See the flyer for more details.

English

Polish

Spanish

🛒 12/10 - 12/12: Holiday Shop

We are so excited to bring back the Holiday Shop this year for students!! The Holiday Shop is a fun way for students to shop for family members and experience the spirit of giving while learning to earn, budget, and save! Our shop will be open on Tuesday, 12/10 and Wednesday, 12/11 during the school day (with Thursday morning as a make-up day for absent students only). Each class will have the opportunity to visit one time.

Your student will have a variety of delightful gifts to choose from, all ranging in price from $0.50 to $8 (the majority are $5 or less). Envelopes to plan spending will be coming home after Thanksgiving break (tax is included in all prices, cash only). Please do not send more than $20-$30 with your students to shop. This is an amazing opportunity to empower your student to choose, purchase, and give gifts to their loved ones!

We also need volunteers, so be on the look-out for your chance to sign up!

If you have any questions you can reach out to Stephanie Statema (stephanie.statema@gmail.com) or Christine Ashby (Soapsuds85@gmail.com).

🌏 4/10/25: Multicultural Night

We are excited to announce that our Multicultural Night will be taking place on Thursday, April 10, 2025, and we are looking for talented performers to help make this evening truly special! If you or your child would like to share a performance that highlights your culture or traditions, we invite you to sign up! Performances could include music, dance, storytelling, poetry, or any other form of cultural expression you’d like to showcase. You can sign up at this link.

💚 Forest Spirit Wear

Spirit Wear is a great way for your family to show their Forest pride. Spirit Wear is available to purchase on our website, and it will be delivered straight to your child's classroom.

👍 Join the PTC!

Do the events above sound fun but don't line up with your schedule? Or would you like to learn more about what we can do for our students? Please consider joining the PTC! Membership gives you our meeting minutes and the first opportunity to volunteer at school events! You can join us here: Membership Form You can also check out our website: https://forest-ptc.square.site

News from the Community

💕 MaineStay Youth & Family Services

Did you know that MaineStay has a variety of FREE or affordable programs for children ages 3-17? Programs range from cooking classes, to family fun nights, to play-based parenting programs. Check out the graphic below for more information and visit the MaineStay website!