The Eagle's Nest

March 16, 2026

Hello Eagle Families,

Flossmoor Hills will be a polling place on Tuesday, March 17th. School will be in session. Voters will have access to the front lobby area only. A security guard will be present in the school for the day. As an added layer of safety, we will reroute student entry and exit to Door C on Elm Street for the day. All breakfast students, bus arrival and dismissal, private transportation and afterschool activities dismissal will dismiss from Door C on Elm Street.

Thank you to Mr. Wheeler and Dad Force One for hosting our basketball competition on Friday! We appreciate the Flossmoor Hills dads for hosting the shootout and our parents for showing support. It was an amazing time that raised money to support our school programs. We are also proud of our 5th grade Operation Snowflake students. Students participated in a full day of team building with other students from the area at Homewood Flossmoor High School. They made new friends, learned about teen peer pressure and communication.

Thank you to all our parents for helping us reach our 5Essentials goal of 20%. We will announce the winners of the raffle this week.

We are continuing to prepare our 3rd - 5th graders to take the Illinois Assessment of Readiness beginning on March 24th. Parents can visit the website below to view the practice items for students and support at home.

IAR Practice Website

Please take a look at the updates in this week's newsletter. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Let's connect.....

Email address: emcneil@sd161.org

Office number: 708-647-7100

Voting day at Flossmoor Hills on March 17th - School is in session
IAR Pep Rally with Staley Da Bear (grades 3-5)- March 23rd - Wear Bears Apparel to School
IAR ELA testing begins for 3rd -5th grades - March 24th
IAR Math testing begins for 3rd - 5th grades - April 7th
ISA testing begins for 5th grade - April 13th
Spring Break begins - March 30th
School Resumes from Spring Break - April 6th

The IAR Pep Rally for 3rd - 5th grade students will be held on Monday, March 23rd. We will have a visit from the Bears mascot, Staley. To help students get into testing mode, we will offer face painting for the pep rally day. If you do not want your student's face to be painted, please complete the face painting opt out form below.

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The Illinois State Board of Education requires all Illinois public school students in Grades 3-8 to participate in state-administered testing in reading and math. The current Illinois state achievement test is called the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). The IAR test measures a student’s general Math and English/Language Arts skills.

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

What is the Illinois Assessment of Readiness?

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is the Illinois state achievement test. All public school students in grades 3 to 8 must take the IAR. The IAR is given every spring as posted on the District’s Assessment schedule. The IAR is taken on a computer and is designed to provide information about student progress toward the long-term goal of college and career readiness.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has a section of its website devoted to the IAR. You can access the ISBE website at ISBE IAR Resources.

Is IAR testing mandated? Yes. School districts must administer the IAR assessments and low participation rates may affect a school’s overall accountability score on the Illinois School Report Card.

How can parents help to prepare their children for the IAR test? The IAR website offers some suggestions to parents:

Read a combination of fiction and non-fiction aloud or with your child. Look for subjects of interest—from sports heroes to dinosaurs.
Discuss and “do” real-life math with your child. Help him/her know basic math facts.
Discuss the tests with your child to reduce your child’s anxiety. Above all, be positive and encouraging about the tests.
After the test, review the results with your child. Bring the teacher into the discussion as needed.
Provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home and make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and a nutritious breakfast before a test.

During testing, please make sure students bring their chromebooks charged and leave any SMART watches or other electronic devices at home. A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and a positive mindset can all help!

Nominate a Staff Member for District Recognition

Parents can access the SD 161 Learning and Instruction webpage for detailed information specific to Standards Based Grading and Year Long Plans for every grade level content.

Flossmoor School District 161 - Standards Based Learning Page

Cell Phones & Smart Watches:

Cell phones and smart watches should be kept in a safe place—such as a locker (devices should be neither seen nor heard)—and are not to be used during the school day or during on-campus school activities during school hours.

Parent / Student Handbook

All K-5 students enter the building at 8:30 a.m. daily. The school day begins at 8:40 a.m. and students are dismissed at 3:15 p.m. Students may arrive on campus at 8:25 a.m. and line up on their playground areas. There is no supervision before 8:25 a.m. Students that arrive before 8:25 a.m. will have to wait on their playgrounds unsupervised. Breakfast will be available in the gym room at 8:25 a.m.

Pre-K Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Pre-K Afternoon Session: 12:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Bus Routes

Student bus routes are available in Skyward. Log into your Skyward account to check where your child's bus stop is located. If you have any questions regarding bus routes, call Wanda Alexander at 708-546-7072.

If your child is routed for a bus and will not ride the bus due to you dropping them off or picking them up daily, email Rose Spotora at rspotora@sd161.org.

If your child will not ride the bus everyday, the front office needs a schedule for your child. Please email Rose Spotora at rspotora@sd161.org AND your child's classroom teacher.

Sign up to receive bus bulletins. You can learn more here.

Dismissal Changes

Parents must call the office or email the administrative assistants by 2:15 p.m. if you need to make a change to your child's dismissal procedure (i.e., not riding the bus, not attending an after school program, etc.). The procedure helps to ensure the safe dismissal for all students.

The office number is 708-647-7100. Our administrative assistants can be contacted at rspotora@sd161.org and nfonseca@sd161.org.

Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. Students eating breakfast should enter the main entry doors (Door A) upon arrival to school.

Grade Level Lunch Times

Kindergarten and 5th Grade - 11:30 a.m. - recess begins at 11:50 a.m.
1st Grade and 3rd Grade - 12:10 p.m. - recess begins at 12:30 p.m.
2nd Grade and 4th Grade - 11:50 a.m. - recess begins at 12:10 p.m.

If you need to drop off lunch to your student after the school day has started, you may utilize the grade level bins on the cart in the foyer. Please label your child's lunch bag.

Reminder: Lunches sent to the school by food delivery services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash, etc. are not allowed.

Please do not pull or park vehicles in the bus lane. These lanes are for school buses only.
Parents and guardians should never board a school bus. The bus company is instructed to call the police if any adult other than school personnel boards the bus. If you have an issue with the bus or driver contact Mrs. McNeil - Dobson.
It is illegal to pass a stopped school bus.
Cell phone usage in a school zone is prohibited.
Students will learn bus expectations during the first days of school. Please reinforce at home that students should be seated at all times to be safe.

All visitors staying in the school building must be scanned in by our administrative assistants using the raptor. You will have to present your driver's license as proof of i.d. Once you have been cleared through the system, you will receive a name badge to wear. No visitors or volunteers will be allowed in the school without being cleared by the system.

If you would like to celebrate your child's birthday in school, please send non edible items to share (i.e., pencils, bubbles, stickers, etc.). We cannot allow students to share outside food/treats in school. Food items will be returned to you.

Congratulations to Malcolm Johnson and James Newell! They both competed at the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation (IKWF) Sectionals this weekend and placed second and first of their respective weight classes, in the central area of Chicago. Now, as IKWF State Qualifiers, they will be going to Peoria, IL to wrestle at a shot to be the overall champion of their respective weight classes.

If you would like to share good news happening in the FH neighborhood or share an achievement for your child outside of school, please email me a photo and blurb detailing the event. I will be sure to include it in the weekly newsletter.