Join us for an evening of reading adventures, creative activities, and family fun at Forest Elementary School! Students and families are encouraged to wear pajamas as they 'cozy up' to some literacy activities. Below is an outline of what you can expect:

From 6:00-7:00 PM

• 🔦 Flashlight Reading with the falcons
• 📖 Cozy Reading Room with bookmarks
• 📚 Book Swap -- Bring any gently used books to Ms. Casey's room to be included!
• 😜 Emoji Book Title Walk
• 💳 Des Plaines Public Library
• 📘 Journal Decorating & Creative Writing
• 🧸 Build Your Own Reading Kit
• 🔠 Making Words with Playdoh
• 👻 Ghost Writing
• 🎨 Responding to Artwork
• 📝 Collaborative Forest Narrative Stories
• 🎁🎉 LOTS of FREE raffle prizes including book sets, graphic novels, picture books, games, and more!

From 7:00-7:30 PM

• 😴 Bedtime Story with Ms. Soike & Ms. Reiner at 7:00 PM

For the Book Swap, please send any gently used books to school or bring them to the event to drop off at the Book Swap tables! We will have tote bags for participating families to fill up with books!

• 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 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.

As the weather is beginning to warm up, we love to see so many students and families connecting after school at the playground! We also need to make sure that everyone is safe. 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.

Just a reminder that D62 Board Policy states that all personal electronic devices must be kept powered off and out of sight during the regular school day. Students should not be texting or calling anyone, even parents, from school. This includes texting from a phone, watch or any other mobile device. Student can keep their devices in their lockers or wear them if they are turned off!

Information about this can be found on page 31 of the 24-25 Student Handbook under "Mobile Phones/Messaging Devices/Wearable Computing Devices" and states:

Board Policy 7:190, Student Behavior, provides that “All electronic devices must be kept powered-off and out of sight during the regular school day unless: (a) the supervising teacher grants permission; (b) use of the device is provided in a student’s individualized education program (IEP) or health plan; or (c) it is needed in an emergency that threatens the safety of students, staff, or other individuals.”

Parents are requested to use the main office to communicate with their child during the school day, not through personal electronic devices. In turn, when students need to contact families, they should use the main office or get permission to use their personal devices.

Our final musical performance of the school year is only a couple weeks away! Kindergarten students will be presenting their musical, A Day in the Life, to their families. For this event, we ask that only immediate family members attend the performance. Please read the flyer below for more information!

Come meet other bilingual families and get information to support you and your child. Please see the flyer pictured or click here to read in other languages.

Additionally, please take a few minutes to check out the May BPAC newsletter.

Did you know that May is Mental Health Month? Check out the calendar below for daily ideas of how to be kind to your mind. 🙂 Reminder, to wear GREEN on Thursday for Mental Health Day!

The D62 Parent University Program is a *free* summer program for multilingual (ML) families. Check out the flyers below to learn more about all this program has to offer!

Visit the Westerhold Early Learning Center on May 15 to register!

All incoming 6th graders for the 2025-2026 school year are invited to attend an orientation day at their middle school on August 12, 2025 from 7:45 AM - 12:00 PM. Algonquin will be hosting Panther Prep so that incoming students can learn more about daily life at AMS before the first day of school.

Please fill out the digital AMS Panther Prep 2025 form to register or to indicate that your child(ren) will not be able to attend. Check out the digital flyer below!

Did you know that the District 62 website has a Virtual Bulletin Board? Check out the community flyers that are updated regularly. When you go to the Virtual Bulletin Board, be sure to click the flyer or link to get more information about whichever community flyer(s) you're interested in!

The May PTC meeting is this Tuesday, May 13 at 7:00 PM. This is the last PTC meeting of this school year. Babysitting will be provided for children 3 years and older. We hope to see you there!

Mark your calendars! Our BOGO book fair will take place this week from May 13th-May 15th during the school day.

There is still time to set up an eWallet on the Scholastic website today. Any unused funds from the last fair can be transferred to a new ewallet. (We're using a new vendor in the fall so don't add too much!) https://www.scholastic.com/bf/forestelementaryschool4

It's already time to start thinking about school supplies for next year! We're using a school supply kit company again to help make your life easier. Please see the flyer for information on how to purchase a kit for your student(s), or click this link. The deadline to purchase supplies is June 1st.

This Week:

• 5/12: 4th Grade Field Trip to The Grove
• 5/13-5/15: Scholastic Book Fair (during the school day)
• 5/13: PTC Meeting at 7:00 PM
• 5/14: SNK Field Trip to Cosley Zoo
• 5/14: Meet the Principals Event at the ELC for incoming kindergarteners (during the school day)
• 5/14: Forest Family Literacy Night from 6:00-7:30 PM
• 5/15: Mental Health Day - WEAR GREEN TO SCHOOL!
• 5/15: D62 BPAC Dinner and Information Night from 6:00-8:00 PM
• 5/16: 5th Grade Field Trip to Feed My Starving Children
• 5/18: Des Plaines Community Concert Band from 3:00-5:00 PM at Prairie Lakes Theater
• 5/18: Speech Language Pathologist Appreciation Day

Next Week:

• 5/19: Board of Education Meeting in the Forest Boardroom at 7:00 PM
• 5/20: Des Plaines Food Truck Roundup from 5:00-8:00 PM at Friendship Park
• 5/21: Candor Health Visit to 5th Grade students (during the school day)
• 5/22: 3rd Grade Field Trip to Brookfield Zoo
• 5/22: Forest Volunteer Breakfast from 9:30-10:30 AM at Forest
• 5/22: District 62 Registration Event from 5:30-7:30 PM at Algonquin Middle School
• 5/22: Kindergarten Concert at 6:00 PM in the Forest Multipurpose Room
• 5/23: 2nd Grade Field Trip to Volkening Heritage Farm
• 5/23: 1st Grade Field Trip to Kohl's Children's Museum

In Two Weeks:

• 5/26: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day
• 5/28: Kindergarten Field Trip to Meineke Nature Center at Spring Valley
• 5/28: 5th Grade Patrol Field Trip to the Chicago Dogs game at Impact Field
• 5/31: Kiwanis Cup Race at Lakeview Center in Des Plaines from 8:00-9:30 AM
• 5/31: Family Day at Lake Park from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Website: http://forest.d62.org

Address: 1375 South 5th Avenue Des Plaines, IL 60018

Phone: (847) 824-1380

Facebook: Forest Facebook

Principal: Ms. Amber Soike

Assistant Principal: Ms. Traci Reiner