The Eagle's Nest

January 12, 2026

Hello Families,

Happy New Year Eagles! I hope that you all had an enjoyable and restful holiday break! It was great to welcome back all of our families on Monday. I enjoyed hearing about all the family fun activities and trips. We are excited to begin the second half of the school year! Thank you to our PTO and parent volunteers for helping us to end the year on a high note with our Winter WonderFest Activities.

Student NWEA and AIMSweb family reports will be mailed home on Friday, January 29th. These reports will detail the growth that your child has experienced from fall to winter in reading and math. If you would like to discuss your child's report in further detail, please contact Amy Gehrt at agehrt@sd161.org or emcneil@sd161.org.

Lastly, thank you to the PTO for hosting Dr. Smith at the general PTO meeting on Tuesday. Thank you to Dr. Smith for providing us with an update on the humidity construction plans for spring break and the summer, as well as updates from the learning and instruction committee.

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

Flossmoor SD 161 School Board Meeting at district office - 6:00 p.m. - January 12th
IAR tutoring for grades 3-5 begins - January 12th
4th and 5th Grade Orchestra Concert at Parker at 6:30 p.m. - January 13th
End of 2nd Quarter - January 16th
MLK Day of Service at FH - 9:00 a.m - 10:30 a.m.
Pre-k Family Night in FH gym at 6:00 p.m. - January 22nd
Report cards posted in Skyward at 4:00 p.m. - January 23rd
District spelling bee at Parker at 6:00 p.m. - January 29th
Institute Day / No school for students - February 6th
Lincoln's Birthday / No school for students - February 9th
Black History Program at PJH at 6:00 p.m. - February 17th

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.

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.