September 15, 2024

IMPORTANT: First Quarter Progress Notes to be sent home Friday with your student.

It was a day of celebration! Thank you to all who attended today's groundbreaking ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School. We’re excited to bring this amazing new school to life for our Forrestal staff, students, and families!

Forrestal’s special choir performance of How Can I Keep from Singing and a parody of Can't Touch This (Hammer Time) was the day's highlight!

Thank you, Mrs. Kelsey!

Watch our WGN news segments!

Groundbreaking ceremony marks start of Forrestal School rebuild at Naval Station Great Lakes

$57M funding going to help rebuild elementary school at Naval Station Great Lakes

Calling all 3rd Graders: On Friday, 3rd-grade teachers sent home a permission slip for the Lego Robotics Club, an after-school program that teaches skills in engineering, programming, and problem-solving. The club will meet on Mondays from 3:00 - 4:00 at Forrestal. This program is open to third-grade students only, and a limited number of spaces are available. If you would like your child to participate, please fill out the form and have your child return it to their teacher asap. If you have questions, please get in touch with the club sponsor, Mr. Conley, bconley@d187.org

As a reminder, all family members are expected to follow the Parent Code of Conduct. We are committed to maintaining a safe climate of respect and trust at Forrestal, and in each conversation and will not tolerate any person or action that disrupts the peaceful and orderly conduct of our school.

School begins daily at 8:00am - Tardies are disruptive and should be avoided to support the teacher

Door 7 opens at 7:30am early arrival/breakfast

2:45pm dismissal on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday/ 1:45pm dismissal each Wednesday

Arrival

Students arriving via car or walking enter Door 7 located Wisconsin Avenue. Door 7 opens at 7:30am

If you plan to utilize school bus transportation, your pick-up/drop-off location and time will be provided to you before the start of school.

Dismissal

It is important to pick-up your student on time (dismissal starts M,T,Th,F @ 2:35/W @ 1:35). If you plan to come to the school for your student, please see the locations on the map below. If you have more than one student, you can arrange with the teachers to be at the door of the youngest student.

Kindergarten: Door 7 (Wisconsin Avenue)

First Grade: Door 6 (Wisconsin Avenue)

Second/Third Grade: Door 9 (on the side of the building facing New Mexico Drive)

Please follow all signage posted in the neighborhood. Due to construction, safety is paramount for arrival and dismissal.

Breakfast and lunch are free to all students. Snacks will be arranged by the classroom teacher.

Please send a filled water bottle with your child each and every day as water fountains are not available at Forrestal.

Communications: Your teacher has access to a new communication tool called ParentSquare that allows the teacher to post and chat/text with parents/guardians.

Having accurate information is critical to a successful school year. Please make sure you download the D187 app on your phone from your app store. Select Forrestal, and change settings to allow push notifications. “Like” us on Facebook. Emails are sent directly once a week during the school year, so keep an eye out for important information.

Apple Link & Android Link

Important Information

• Map of Arrival/Dismissal

• 2024/2025 D187 Calendar of Events

• Wednesday, September 25th - PICTURE DAY!

Your child's school picture day at:

Forrestal

will be

September 25th

Please use the link below to pre-order your portraits:

http://edclarkschoolphoto.hhimagehost.com/Fall2024Forrestal

Picture Ordering will close at 8am on picture day.

Forrestal office staff are available from 8am-3pm at the school office.

Principal Kranz can be reached via email ckranz@d187.org or direct 847-775-7607.

This past week water retention work was in progress.

Check out our new Construction Dashboard to explore real-time insights, achievements, and progress in one click.

SCAN TO ORDER SPIRIT WEAR or visit forrestalspiritwear.com

Welcome to Week 4!

The safety of staff and students is our highest priority. We practice emergency and crisis response procedures by having drills to ensure our readiness for any emergency. Students have been learning the routines of level zero during the drills so that they can always hear directions from an adult, and that following those directions is essential for safety. Last week, we practiced our bus evacuation drill and shelter-in-place / severe weather drill (we called them tornado drills when I was a student). This week, we will continue with practicing our shelter-in-place stay safe in school (otherwise known as an intruder drill). Per the Illinois School Code, simulations are to be age and developmentally appropriate. If you have any concerns about your child’s participation, please get in touch with me at ckranz@d187.org.

Also, last week, we gave our benchmark NWEA assessments. Three times a year, we give the NWEA assessments to help us know where students are academically compared to their peers both locally and nationally. The benchmark results are shared during the first Quarter progress note distribution process on 9/20/24. This week, we will provide make-up tests as needed.

Academic Expectations. In week 4, we are in full swing with academic expectations. If interested, please check out this presentation on Forrestal’s Curriculum. I apologize for my dog interrupting several times (recorded at home)!

Just to remind you, all family members are expected to follow the Parent Code of Conduct. We are committed to maintaining a safe climate of respect and trust at Forrestal, and in each conversation and will not tolerate any person or action that disrupts the peaceful and orderly conduct of our school.

School begins daily at 8:00 am - Tardies are disruptive and should be avoided to support the teacher.

Door 7 opens at 7:30 am early arrival/breakfast

2:45 pm dismissal on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday/1:45 pm dismissal each Wednesday

Arrival

Students arriving via car or walking enter Door 7, located on Wisconsin Avenue. Door 7 opens at 7:30 am

If you plan to use school bus transportation, you will be provided with your pick-up/drop-off location and time before the start of school.

Dismissal

It is important to pick up your student on time (dismissal starts M,T,Th,F @ 2:35/W @ 1:35). If you plan to come to school for your student, please see the locations on the map below. If you have more than one student, you can arrange with the teachers to be at the door of the youngest student.

Kindergarten: Door 7 (Wisconsin Avenue)

First Grade: Door 6 (Wisconsin Avenue)

Second/Third Grade: Door 9 (on the side of the building facing New Mexico Drive)

Please follow all signage posted in the neighborhood. Due to construction, safety is paramount for arrival and dismissal.

Breakfast and lunch are free to all students. Snacks will be arranged by the classroom teacher.

Please send a filled water bottle with your child each and every day as water fountains are not available at Forrestal.

Communications: Your teacher has access to a new communication tool called ParentSquare that allows the teacher to post and chat/text with parents/guardians.

Having accurate information is critical to a successful school year. Please make sure you download the D187 app on your phone from your app store. Select Forrestal, and change settings to allow push notifications. “Like” us on Facebook. Emails are sent directly once a week during the school year, so keep an eye out for important information.

Apple Link & Android Link

Important Information

• Map of Arrival/Dismissal

• 2024/2025 D187 Calendar of Events

Forrestal office staff are available from 8am-3pm at the school office.

Principal Kranz can be reached via email ckranz@d187.org or direct 847-775-7607.

This is a big week for New Forrestal! There will be a District sponsored groundbreaking ceremony on Friday! We also had an important meeting last week with the team to ensure we are on track! Please attend a monthly meeting if you are interested in updates!

Check out our new Construction Dashboard to explore real-time insights, achievements, and progress in one click.

SCAN TO ORDER SPIRIT WEAR or visit forrestalspiritwear.com

While this week is shorter due to Labor Day, Week 3 will be busy for students and staff at Forrestal. This week we will be:

• Practicing our safety drills. Practicing how to be safe at school is paramount, and we developmentally practice our procedures to ensure everyone knows what to do in an emergency. On Tuesday, we will have six buses visit Forrestal, and every class will receive a safety overview after boarding the bus. We will also conduct a severe weather/shelter-in-place drill on Thursday, where we will learn what to do should ever severe weather require us to move away from windows and seek safety in the hallway. Friday, we will be practicing Stay Safe in School / Shelter in Place, where we learn what to do if ever there is a reason to be in our classrooms with the doors locked.

• Benchmark NWEA assessments. Three times a year, we give the NWEA assessment to help us determine where students are academically compared to their peers both locally and nationally. The results of the benchmark are shared during the first-quarter progress note distribution process on 9/20/24.

• Academic Expectations. Week 3 is when we fully use our curriculum and schedule to meet our daily curriculum expectations. If you’d like to learn more about the curriculum at Forrestal, please join a remote presentation with Principal Kranz on Friday at 3:30 (more information is provided on the next page) in case you missed the presentation at the Meet & Greet.

*Remote* Forrestal Curriculum Overview for Parents by Principal Kranz:

Friday, September 6 · 3:30 – 4:00 pm

Time zone: America/Chicago

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/jur-efcb-dst

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 570-989-0147‬ PIN: ‪514 755 132‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/jur-efcb-dst?pin=1338553452933

Just to remind you, all family members are expected to follow the Parent Code of Conduct. We are committed to maintaining a safe climate of respect and trust at Forrestal. In each conversation, we will not tolerate any person or action that disrupts our school's peaceful and orderly conduct.

School begins daily at 8:00 am - Tardies are disruptive and should be avoided to support the teacher

Door 7 opens at 7:30 am early arrival/breakfast

2:45 pm dismissal on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday/1:45 pm dismissal each Wednesday

Arrival

Students arriving via car or walking enter Door 7, located on Wisconsin Avenue. Door 7 opens at 7:30 am

If you plan to use school bus transportation, you will be provided with your pick-up/drop-off location and time before the start of school.

Dismissal

It is important to pick up your student on time (dismissal starts M,T,Th,F @ 2:35/W @ 1:35). If you plan to come to school for your student, please see the locations on the map below. If you have more than one student, you can arrange with the teachers to be at the door of the youngest student.

Kindergarten: Door 7 (Wisconsin Avenue)

First Grade: Door 6 (Wisconsin Avenue)

Second/Third Grade: Door 9 (on the side of the building facing New Mexico Drive)

Please follow all signage posted in the neighborhood. Due to construction, safety is paramount for arrival and dismissal.

Breakfast and lunch are accessible to all students. The classroom teacher will arrange snacks.

Please send your child a filled water bottle daily, as water fountains are not available at Forrestal.

Communications: Your teacher has access to a new communication tool called ParentSquare that allows the teacher to post and chat/text with parents/guardians.

Having accurate information is critical to a successful school year. Please make sure you download the D187 app on your phone from your app store. Select Forrestal, and change settings to allow push notifications. “Like” us on Facebook. Emails are sent directly once a week during the school year, so keep an eye out for important information.

Apple Link & Android Link

Join the Chorus! The Falcon Chorus meets every Tuesday and Thursday after school throughout the year and is open to all third graders. We perform a variety of music styles and in school concerts. Students learn to sing in parts and work on correct singing techniques. If you have questions about chorus participation, please take a look at the permission slip link below for details.

Permission Slip (Spanish)

Permission Slip (English)

Forrestal Music Website

Important Information

• Map of Arrival/Dismissal

• 2024/2025 D187 Calendar of Events

Forrestal office staff are available from 8 am-3 pm at the school office.

Principal Kranz can be reached via email at ckranz@d187.org or direct at 847-775-7607.

Construction Corner

Check out our new Construction Dashboard to explore real-time insights, achievements, and progress in one click.

We had an amazing first week of school last week where we investigated how to interact with our classroom communities, learned school expectations & routines, as well as starting a year of amazing learning! The newest members of our learning community (kindergarteners) joined us on Thursday. Even amidst two unexpected gas pipe events, school started as though we’ve been doing it together for years. That’s what happens when you have a community of people all committed to making Forrestal the best it can be! Thank you to everyone for such a strong start.

Now about those gas pipe events…this sneaky little pipe is a private line that was unmarked. On Friday, all construction was halted until the pipe can be mapped/located to avoid future incidents. Our team handled each incident with emergency preparedness and action. I found it helpful to remind myself that the reason this is happening is that we’re getting a brand new school…so, even though construction adds a layer of difficulty now, our lives will be so much better in just two short school years! Because I want to continually improve our responsiveness to your needs, please fill out this SURVEY so I know how we can better respond in the future. Thank you.

Lastly, remember the current Forrestal has lead in the pipes making our water undrinkable (add that to the list of why we are getting a new building). We provide water bottles to students who do not bring water, but please send a water bottle with your child daily. Warm weather is forecasted and not all rooms have air conditioning. On days where heat impacts our comfort, we move to a cooling plan (listed below) for classrooms to go to air-conditioned spaces.

• 1st grade rooms have window units
• Several classrooms have window units and will be buddies to other classrooms so that additional time in air conditioning is provided-
• 3 kinder rooms have air conditioning and will be buddies to the 3 other kinder rooms for additional time provided
• 2/3rd special education has a window unit and will be a buddy room to the k-1 special education classroom for the day
• Specials classes may use the PD room as needed

As a reminder, all family members are expected to follow the Parent Code of Conduct. We are committed to maintaining a safe climate of respect and trust at Forrestal, and in each conversation and will not tolerate any person or action that disrupts the peaceful and orderly conduct of our school.

The first two weeks of school allow our students and staff to focus on creating a positive, safe and collaborative environment. Students will be focused on learning both school and classroom expectations and routines. Our goal is to set students up for success environmentally before we begin our strong academic expectations on September 4th, 2024 for each and every student.

School begins daily at 8:00am - Tardies are disruptive and should be avoided to support the teacher.

-Door 7 opens at 7:30am early arrival/breakfast

-2:45pm dismissal on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday/ 1:45pm dismissal each Wednesday

Arrival

Students arriving via car or walking enter Door 7 located Wisconsin Avenue. Door 7 opens at 7:30am

If you plan to utilize school bus transportation, your pick-up/drop-off location and time will be provided to you before the start of school.

Dismissal

It is important to pick-up your student on time (dismissal starts M,T,Th,F @ 2:35/W @ 1:35). If you plan to come to the school for your student, please see the locations on the map below. If you have more than one student, you can arrange with the teachers to be at the door of the youngest student.

Kindergarten: Door 7 (Wisconsin Avenue)

First Grade: Door 6 (Wisconsin Avenue)

Second/Third Grade: Door 9 (on the side of the building facing New Mexico Drive)

Please follow all signage posted in the neighborhood. Due to construction, safety is paramount for arrival and dismissal.

Breakfast and lunch are free to all students. Snacks will be arranged by the classroom teacher.

Please send a filled water bottle with your child each and every day as water fountains are not available at Forrestal.

Welcome Checklist

Map of Arrival/Dismissal

Kindergarten Letter

Supply List

Registration Link

2024/2025 D187 Calendar of Events

Forrestal office staff are available from 8am-3pm at the school office.

Principal Kranz can be reached via email ckranz@d187.org or direct 847-775-7607.

Expect a Wisconsin Avenue road closure between 8:05am-2:30 due to construction needs to a sanitation line. This should not impact arrival/dismissal, but will impact families who live near Wisconsin Ave in Forrestal Village.

Check out our new Construction Dashboard to explore real-time insights, achievements, and progress in one click.

forrestalspiritwear.com

ParentSquare: Your teacher has access to a new communication tool called ParentSquare that allows the teacher to post and chat/text with parents/guardians. Please visit www.parentsquare.com on a browser or download the mobile application to receive updates from your student's teacher.

D187 Website & Mobile Application: Having accurate information is critical to a successful school year. Please make sure you download the D187 app on your phone from your app store. Select Forrestal, and change settings to allow push notifications. “Like” us on Facebook. Emails are sent directly once a week during the school year, so keep an eye out for important information. Apple Link & Android Link