• 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.

Please plan to join us for Forest's Family Literacy Night on Wednesday, May 14 from 6:00-7:30 PM. Check out the flyer below for more details! The night will include various activities, lots of raffles, and even a book swap. The evening will culminate with everyone gathering together for a bedtime story shared by Ms. Soike and Reiner! You won't want to miss it!

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!

All K-5 Forest students participate in benchmark assessments three times per school year. Students in grades K-2 take the Fastbridge assessment in both reading and math. Students in grades 3-5 take the NWEA MAP assessment in both reading and math. Check below to see the upcoming assessment windows!

Grades K-2: Fastbridge Testing

• Kindergarten -- April 29, May 5-8
• 1st Grade -- April 28-30
• 2nd Grade -- May 6-7

Grades 3-5: NWEA MAP Testing

• 3rd Grade -- April 28-29
• 4th Grade -- April 28-29
• 5th Grade -- May 6-7

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. 🙂

Current Forest fifth graders and their families are invited to the AMS Open House event on May 6. See the flyer below for more details!

Dear Families,

We have three exciting events coming up next week. D62’s Special Education Advisory Council (SEPAC) is hosting a movie night on May 7th and a parent education event on May 8. District 62 Special Olympic athletes will compete on May 10th. See details below.

• Wednesday, May 7th at 6pm: Movie Night at the ELC - Disney’s Out of My Mind - Check out our flyer for more information and to RSVP.

• Thursday, May 8th at 6:30pm: Stronger Together: Inclusion, Partnership and Progress with Dr. Jenna Rufo. Participate in-person at the Forest Administration Center Board Room, or virtually via this Zoom link. See this flyer for more information and to RSVP to the event.

• Saturday, May 10th starting at 8am: Special Olympics will be held at Prospect High School, 801 W. Kensington Road, Mount Prospect. Come support our amazing athletes!

Learn more about SEPAC by visiting their website.

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!

Below is an upcoming educational opportunity offered by MaineStay Youth & Family Services. Click the title to learn more and/or to register!

Managing Big Feelings: A Guide to Emotional Regulation ⭐ Tuesday, May 6 from 7:00-8:30 PM

Big feelings are a normal part of growing up—and parenting. This engaging session will help attendees better understand the vital role parents play in modeling emotional regulation and navigating stress in healthy, connected ways, and will cover everything from toddler meltdowns to school-age storms.

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 coming up on Tuesday, May 13th at 7:00pm. 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!

Thank you families for coming out for the Capannari Scoop It Up Day! An extra special thank you to the Forest staff who came to scoop ice cream and greet students. It's was so fun to see their faces light up when they realized you were there.

Staff Appreciation Week is this week! Thank you to all of the families who made donations so we can celebrate the wonderful Forest staff. Those donations will be used to provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and gifts throughout the week.

Mark your calendars! Our BOGO book fair will take place May 13th-May 15th during the school day. Your child's teacher will let you know an exact time as we get closer to the fair. Flyers will go home in backpacks this week.

You can start setting 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

Interested in helping students shop for books? You can sign up to volunteer here.

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:

• 5/5-5/8: Erika's Lighthouse Lessons for 4th and 5th grade students
• 5/5-5/9: Staff Appreciation Week
• 5/6: 6th Grade Open House at Algonquin Middle School from 5:30-7:00 PM
• 5/7: School Nurse Day
• 5/7: Go Green Des Plaines Sustainability Fest at the Des Plaines Theater from 5:00-8:00 PM
• 5/7: D62 SEPAC Movie Night at the Westerhold ELC from 6:00-8:00 PM
• 5/8: D62 SEPAC Stronger Together with Dr. Rufo at the Westerhold ELC at 6:30-8:00 PM
• 5/9: NO SCHOOL - Professional Learning Day
• 5/10: D62 Special Olympics beginning at 8:00 AM at Prospect High School in Mt. Prospect
• 5/10: Wrestling Skills Clinic at Maine West High School from 9:00-11:00 AM - Email if interested!

Next 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!
• 5/16: 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

In Two Weeks:

• 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

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