the Forest Hills Flyer

A Note from the Principal

Forest Hills Families,

Happy February! If you know of anyone with a student entering kindergarten in August, please share the information below about Kindergarten Tours.

Please mark your calendars with all ACAP testing dates. Students in grades 2nd-6th will participate in ACAP tests. Please recall that digital devices (phones & smart watches) are not permitted at school at anytime.

We hope to see our 2nd & 3rd graders at the Skate Center for the fun event our PTO has planned!

If I can ever be of assistance to you, please call, email, or stop by! GO FALCONS! 💙

Sincerely,

Mrs. Fowler, Principal

#WeAreFalcons

All students are encouraged to participate in our FREE breakfast program in our cafeteria each morning from 7:00-7:30 am. You can find the January menu above. Other breakfast items from home should not be brought into the school.

Use the link below to add money to your child's lunch account. While breakfast and lunch are free for all students, this money can be used to buy extra food at lunch or ice cream. Your child will have the opportunity to purchase ice cream for $1.00 one day each week.

Add money to your child's lunch account!

Parents are encouraged to make sure their children are on time for school each day. Instruction begins at 7:30 am and students are counted as tardy after 7:35 am. Please note that Class I tardy offenses are cumulative for one semester only (meaning all students begin the second semester with zero tardies). Please review the chart below.

Purchase the 25-26 yearbook using the website above or by returning the order form that was sent home with your child!

6th grade parents - please send a baby picture of your child for Awards Day to ktittle@florencek12.org ASAP!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is so excited to kick off the month of February! In Reading, we are reading and writing CVC words with the vowels a, e, i, and o. In Math, we are focusing big on addition and subtraction. Our units this month include: Black History Month, Groundhogs/ Shadows, Valentines, Presidents, and Dental Hygiene. Students are encouraged to take AR tests to be able to reach their goal for the end of the 9 weeks. If you have questions about this, please ask your child's teacher!

1st Grade

February will be a busy and exciting month in 1st grade! In math, students are working with base ten and learning all about tens and ones as they strengthen their number sense. In reading, we are continuing to stretch our fluency and have begun using our first reader books—an exciting step that’s helping take our reading to the next level. We’ve also been practicing standing when called on to answer questions, which has been a wonderful way to build confidence, promote ownership of learning, and share our thinking with classmates. We are so proud of the growth we’re seeing!

2nd Grade

Second grade is starting a brand new unit in reading. We are so excited to learn about the relationship between plants and animals. In math, we are beginning to learn all about units of measurement and how they can help us in the real world. The students are absolutely loving using different measurement tools around our classrooms and the school. We are loving the growth we are seeing in the second graders each day!

3rd Grade

Happy February from Third Grade!
This month in Math students are continuing to learn about fractions. Fractions are all around us! There are so many ways you can use fractions at home to reinforce taught skills. Try reading a recipe or cutting a pizza! Use the word equivalent at home to help students see how different fractions can be equal.

In reading we starting Unit 4: Animals and Their Habitats. In this unit students will read selections about animals in a variety of habitats. They will learn how these animals interact, how they spend their days, and how they adapt, or change their behavior, to live in certain environments. Remember to listen to your child read their fluency passage three times each week.
Each class will have a Valentine’s Day snack on Thursday, February 12th. Look for more information from your child’s teacher.

4th Grade

Reading and Science go hand in hand in our upcoming reading unit. We will be reading tales, informational texts, and poems about animal and plant adaptations.

In Math, students have become fluent in finding equivalent fractions, comparing fractions, and adding/subtracting fractions. Students are now working on adding and subtracting mixed numbers. Please continue to work with your student on multiplication facts. Being immediate on these facts is a building block that students will continue to need for the rest of the year!

Be on the lookout for a note about our upcoming Montgomery Trip Chaperone meeting towards the end of this month.

5th Grade

5th Grade is currently finishing up our unit on fractions. We have learned to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions. We are moving into metric and customary conversions for the month of February. In ELA, we are continuing to strengthen our narrative writing skills. To start February, we will be taking the practice ELA ACAP. This will allow our students to get a feel for the test before taking the real thing in April. This will also provide us with meaningful data to plan further instruction for the coming weeks. We are planning intentional ACAP skills practice over the next nine weeks. Remember that our students can work toward the second semester AR Reading goal to attend the celebration. We thank you for your continued support and partnership in our students’ education.

Don't forget the deadline for field trip money to the Space and Rocket Center is due February 27th! We are looking forward to a fun trip in March!

6th Grade

Welcome to February! This month, our sixth graders are diving into some of the most impactful and complex topics of the year. Here is a snapshot of what’s happening in our core classrooms:

📐 Math: Navigating the Number Line

Students are moving beyond zero to explore the world of integers. We are learning how to use positive and negative numbers to represent real-world scenarios, such as expressing monetary gains and losses, tracking fluctuations in temperature, and plotting exact positions on a horizontal and vertical number line.

🌋 Science: Earth in Motion

It’s a big month for Earth and Space science! We are looking upward to study the alignment of eclipses before shifting our focus back down to the crust. Students will review plate tectonics to better understand the "why" behind natural disasters, specifically focusing on:

Volcano Hazards: Identifying types of eruptions and their local impacts.
Earthquake Hazards: Studying seismic waves and how to prepare for ground-shaking events.

🌍 Social Studies: A Turning Point in History

Our journey through the 20th century continues with an in-depth look at World War II. This unit covers the heavy realities of the era, including:

The causes and major turning points of the war.
Domestic issues like segregation and Japanese internment.
The profound history of the Holocaust and the liberation of concentration camps.

📚 ELA: Decoding Information

In English Language Arts, we are sharpening our "detective skills" for non-fiction. Students are working on:

Text Analysis: Identifying the central idea and recognizing various text structures (like cause/effect or comparison).
Word Mastery: Building vocabulary by breaking down word structures (roots, prefixes, and suffixes) to unlock the meaning of unfamiliar terms.

Walkers!

Beginning Wednesday, September 10th, we will have a staff member on duty as a crossing guard from 7:00-7:30 am at the intersection by the school parking lot entrance and Forest Hills Baptist Church. The crossing guard will hold traffic so that students can safely walk onto campus. We will also have a crossing guard help students across the intersection shortly after dismissal each afternoon (estimated time between 2:35 & 2:40). Parents are encouraged to meet their walkers at the Forest Hills Baptist Church parking lot. Please know that if you choose to let your child walk home after being released to the church parking lot, dismissal traffic will still be flowing, so parents should advise their students to use caution if walking home. We will also have a staff member continue to release other walkers to the track area, but this will now be occuring between 2:35 & 2:40. Please remember that parents MUST sign the waiver below before a child is permitted to be a walker.

Permission & Waiver to Walk Home

If you live within 2 miles of the school and would like for your student to walk home in the afternoon, please contact your child's teacher and request a waiver be sent home. Students will not be allowed to walk home without a signed waiver on file in our office.

Counselor Information

Please scan the QR code below to learn about all of the support services our counselors offer to students at Forest Hills.

CLICK HERE FOR THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER

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