Forest Family News

Dear Forest Families,

Welcome to another great week at Forest! We have many exciting events, including the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Scholastic Book Fair (Tuesday-Thursday), the initial 3rd Grade Sports Club session, and the start of annual safety drills.

Safety is our top priority. Each year, District 62 schools conduct safety drills, including building evacuation drills, bus evacuation drills, law enforcement drills, and severe weather drills. Forest will complete these drills in the coming weeks. Watch for a separate communication later today regarding the upcoming law enforcement drill.

To ensure the safety of our students, families, and staff during arrival and dismissal times, we ask that everyone follow procedures and expectations. Please park in designated areas, use crosswalks, and follow staff directions to ensure everyone's safety. Additionally, we appreciate everyone modeling respect for our students as we interact with one another while entering and exiting the vehicle lane. Your cooperation helps to keep our arrival and dismissal procedures safe, efficient, and respectful! See below for arrival and dismissal reminders and a new map.

As always, please reach out with any questions, ideas, concerns, celebrations, and more!

Sincerely,

Ms. Soike & Ms. Reiner

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.

Blacktop Use at Dismissal

We love to see so many students and families connecting after school at the playground! Forest has an incredible community. To increase student and family safety at dismissal, please refrain from using the blacktop area while there are still one or more buses in the bus lane. Once all of the buses have left, families are welcome to use the entire blacktop area in addition to the playground and field.

News from the Forest PTC

PTC Meetings: Thank you to everyone who came out to our first PTC meeting of this year! Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 8th at 7pm at Forest School. Hope to see you there!

Scholastic Book Fair: The Scholastic Book Fair will be September 17th-19th! Students will shop with their classrooms during the school day. Don't want to send cash with your student? You can load an ewallet here.

Parents' Night Out: Deadline extended!! There is still time to purchase your tickets to the Friends of Forest Parents' Night Out on Friday, September 20th at Club Casa in Des Plaines! Ticket sales have been extended until Tuesday, September 17th. Book a sitter and come meet other Forest families and relax! See the flyer or our website for details.

Classroom Party Room Helpers: Twice a year the Hospitality Team organizes classroom parties. Room Helpers plan activities with other volunteers and coordinate with the classroom teacher. The PTC has a variety of different ideas for games and activities to share! If you would like to sign up to volunteer in your child's classroom or you would like more information, you can email Kristin Vana at vanakristin@gmail.com or Jami Kolonski at jamikolonski@gmail.com. Please include your name, your child's name, and their classroom teacher.

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

D62 Education Foundation Update

The D62 Education Foundation is hosting a fundraiser. Everyone is invited to join in on the fun - including families! You can participate by playing in the pickleball tournament (seriously, any level) or by being a spectator! See the poster below for more details.

OrganicLife & Food Service

Free & Reduced Lunch Applications

If interested, there is an application in Infinite Campus' Parent Portal to apply for free and reduced lunch. The application must be submitted within 30 days of school, so if you are interested, please apply now. This must be re-submitted at the beginning of each school year. Only one application is needed per household. Click here for more information