Falcon Family Flyer
September 9, 2024
We're Back!
Greetings, Forestdale families!
Happy September! 5 days of school have flown right by. We welcomed our staff back on August 26, our grades 1-8 students on August 28, and our Kindergarten students just had their first full day on Friday, September 6! It feels like summer break was just a minute ago, but at the same time, it feels great to be back into our school routines.
In just a few short days, we’re already seeing great things happening in classrooms all across the building. Relationships are being developed, students are thinking critically, reading texts, solving equations, and so much more. I’m not surprised, because this is something our staff does exceptionally well, but students are already feeling connected to their teachers, their classrooms, and their learning. At the end of the first day, I was walking through our three 4th grade classrooms and really got a kick out of hearing the kids complain that they had to start packing up because the day was over - for so many of them, it flew right by!
As the year goes on, please remember that anything you need, our team is here for you. It might be small, it might be big, but between myself, Mrs. Carpenito, Mr. Foster, and Mrs. LoPilato, our main office is available and able to help in any way we can. If you have questions, concerns, ideas, etc….when in doubt - please reach out!
See you soon!
Mr. Weldai
Meet Mrs. Sullivan!
Mrs. Diana Sullivan is joining the leadership team of Forestdale School as our new Special Education Team Chair this year! Diana has been at the Forestdale School since 2011, starting as a Special Education ESP and then becoming a middle school Special Education teacher. She's excited to take on the challenge of learning this new role, helping our families navigate the Special Education process, and working with and supporting the staff at the Forestdale. We're excited to have Diana as our Team Chair!
Parent Workshop: What is Title 1?
The Malden Public Schools has a strong and thriving Title 1 department, and that will be on display again on Tuesday, September 17th when they hold their introductory breakfast and workshop for families at 8:15am in the cafeteria! Our Title 1 director Martha Jancaitis, and our family coordinators Patti Amirault and Lisa Hammersley will outline what Title 1 is, how it is utilized in the Malden Public Schools, and where the resources allocated to our district and school go. The family engagement event dates for the year are outlined in the link below!
PTO Meeting 9/11!
The first PTO meeting of the year will be Wednesday, September 11th at 7pm! Come join this great group and hear about the upcoming events, ways to get involved, and more. The meeting will be held virtually on google meet, and link can be found here (meet.google.com/hce-rqyk-xcj) and on the Forestdale PTO Facebook page.
School Committee Meeting
Welcoming Week Kickoff
Bird Walks
SeptemberFest
Community Connection Day
To get involved or to learn more about the event, please click this link: https://forms.gle/tSoKrFxgzpdPLCSW6
Town Hall with Superintendent Sippel!
Superintendent Tim Sippel will be coming to Forestdale on Wednesday, October 16th at 6:00pm for his first event at our school with families - Listening to Learn: A Town Hall Meeting. We are looking forward to welcoming him into our building to engage with our families and community as he learns more about Malden, and solicits more feedback about your hopes and dreams for the Malden Public Schools. Stay tuned for more information!
Safety Trainings with MPD!
The Forestdale School will be working with the Malden Police Department to facilitate a safety training for all students on Friday, September 20. This is a 2 part training to ensure students and staff have a strong understanding of what is required during a shelter-in-place, a lockdown, or an evacuation.
Part 1 will be done in the auditorium by grade level, where the trained MPD staff will review proper terminology, procedure, and protocols in an emergency situation. Grades K-4 students will remain in the auditorium while classroom staff practice barricading the classroom doors.
Part 2 will involve a practical training on shelter-in-place and lockdown procedures where MPD and the Forestdale leadership team will walk the building and test the lockdown procedures of classrooms to ensure optimal protection is in place in case of an emergency.
Both trainings will be led by Lieutenant Rich Correale, who is the safety training coordinator for the MPD. Everything covered during this training is a review of what was shared at the district-wide meeting for families and caregivers in September. We unfortunately live in a world that requires us to train all of our students on sensitive topics like these, but the experienced staff will handle these sensitive topics with care. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Before School Program!
The Malden Public Schools is able to offer a before school program this year (7am drop off), as soon as we have enough students registered to run the program. The link for the paid Before School Program for grades K-6 is now posted on the homepage of the district website as well as the Malden Out-of-School Time (MOST) page. Please register if you want to take advantage of this program. Forestdale still does not have enough students, we need 10 total, but we're getting closer! The cost to families is $50 per child, per week. If you have questions about the Before School program, please call the Malden Out-of-School Time office at 781-870-7684 or reach out via email at mpsafterschool@maldenps.org.
After School Programming!
There are a few options available to Malden Public Schools families for after school care.
1) The Malden Out-of-School Time (MOST) program runs at the Forestdale School every day. There is currently a waitlist running, but more information can be found here: https://maldenps.org/mpsbeforeafterschoolprograms/
2) The MAP Family Learning Center is an after school program that runs at a site directly across from the Beebe School every day. They do have transportation available to their site from Forestdale! They offer care, but also have daily enrichment activities for the kids in music, art, and programming, as well as STEM. All the activities are led by specialists in those respective fields. For more information and availability, please reach out to info@maldenlearning.com or register at https://online.mapflc.com/product/map-afterschool-classes-spring-and-fall/.
3) The Malden YWCA offers an after school program at their Washington Street location each day until 6pm. For more information, please visit https://www.ywcamalden.org
4) The Malden YMCA offers an after school program at their Mountain Ave location, with transportation available from the Forestdale School. To inquire about the program or availability, please visit https://mv-ymca.org
Excused Absences!
The main office has received a number of questions last year about excused vs. unexcused absences. If you are keeping your student home sick, have an appointment, etc. and would like to have the absence excused, please make sure to write a physical absent note and send it in, or write an email to your student's teacher. The phone call to the office line does not excuse your student's absence, it does however stop the automated absent phone call that comes home based on Aspen/X2. Any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Pick Up Time - Afternoon Challenges!
As we start the new year, please be aware that pick-up time in the afternoon outside in the circle was one of our biggest challenges last year and this year we are still looking for some ways to improve it for our grades 2, 3, and 4 students and families. Forestdale Park will continue to block the driveway so families can not cut through, and we would again request that people do not double park in front of parked cars, block handicap spaces, and/or stop in middle of the road to drop off or pick up children for the safety of all our kids. We are seeking parent volunteers to help with traffic during pick-up time, so if you are interested, please let us know!
Check Your Backpacks!
Please make sure to check backpacks regularly for important notices from the nurse, and from your teachers. While most things are done electronically, a regular backpack check is always a good idea.
**Speaking of backpacks, if anyone still needs one for their student we have extras to give away in the main office. Please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know!**
Forestdale Main Office Team
If there's anything that we can do, please don't hesitate to reach out to any member of our main office team. Our phone number is (781) 397-7326, and each of our email addresses are listed below.
- Mr. Adam Weldai, Principal: aweldai@maldenps.org
- Mrs. Karie Carpenito, Assistant Principal: kcarpenito@maldenps.org
- Mr. Kenji Foster, Assistant Principal: kfoster@maldenps.org
- Mrs. Megan LoPilato, Administrative Assistant: mlopilato@maldenps.org