Forest School News (4.14.25)

I want to share a heartfelt thank you to the amazing Forest PTC volunteers and the staff members who poured their time, creativity, and care over several months into planning such a vibrant and meaningful Multicultural Night! I am so grateful to the families who showcased their cultures through beautiful displays, delicious food, and engaging performances. Your contributions and willingness to share your background with everyone created an unforgettable experience for our entire school community. Lastly, thank you to the families who attended and joined in celebrating the rich diversity that makes Forest such a special place. it was a joyful night of connection, learning, and pride! Please be on the lookout for a social media post highlighting some special moments captured during the event.

• 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.

• Who? Incoming kindergarten students and their families
• What? Kindergarten Information Night
• When? Tuesday, April 29th from 6:00-7:00 PM
• Where? Forest Elementary School
• Why? Come meet Forest's kindergarten teachers and learn about the kindergarten school year
• Childcare? Yes, childcare will be available!

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

How to Register

Online registration for all families, including incoming students, beginning Friday, March 7 fore the 2025-2026 school year. We ask that you register your child(ren) by Wednesday, April 30. District 62 will begin collecting next year's fees during registration. All of next year's fees remain unchanged.

Helpful Links for 2025-2026 Registration

• Kindergarten Registration
• New Student Enrollment
• Annual Online Registration (for existing families)

Upcoming D62 Registration Events

District 62 will host a series of events to support families with the registration process at Algonquin Middle School at the following dates and times:

• Thursday, May 22 from 5:30-7:30 PM
• Tuesday, August 5 from 5:30-7:30 PM

Join us at the next BPAC Meeting on April 17 from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Westerhold Early Learning Center. Check out the April BPAC Newsletter and the linked flyers to learn more!

District 62's Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) hosted a virtual session called Raising Resilient Children: Understanding & Responding to Stress and Anxiety last week. In case you missed it, please feel free to refer to..

• 📹 A recording of the event to watch the session at your convenience, and
• 📊 A set of the Google Slides used during the event.

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 current community flyers are for:

• Baby Talk Mini Star Program
• Des Plaines Youth Baseball - Registration is open!
• New Girl Scout Troop for Girls with Disabilities in D62
• Join Girl Scouts of America
• Fairy Fest at Arndt Park Fieldhouse
• Floating Egg Hunt at Prairie Lakes Aquatic Center
• Craft Fair at Orchard Place School
• H2O Middle School Pool Party
• Des Plaines Community Concert Band
• MaineStay Youth and Family Services - Counseling available for all ages!
• Maine Township Youth Pride Program

Thank you to everyone who came out for the April PTC meeting. Our last PTC meeting of this school year is Tuesday, May 13th. We hope you can join us!

Ms. Corcoran is our April Staff Spotlight winner! Her interview and picture will be up on the website and Facebook soon. Thanks for all you do, Ms. Corcoran! You can nominate a staff member anytime by emailing Kristin Vana at vanakristin@gmail.com explaining why that staff member deserves to be recognized. Winners are randomly chosen at PTC Meetings.

Our 2nd annual Multicultural Night was such an amazing night of community building at Forest. Thank you to everyone who attended, those who put together a table to highlight a country, all of the fantastic performers, and the staff and parent volunteers. A very special thank you to Susan Chavez for organizing this wonderful event. See you next year!

Yearbooks are on sale and can be purchased at this link!

The deadline to purchase Yearbooks is April 17th.

Our next Dine and Share will be at Brunch City Cafe on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stop by to dine in, or place an order to carry out, and 15% of sales from the Forest community will be donated back to the Forest PTC. See the flyer for all of the details.

Talent Show is coming soon! We can't wait to see the students shine!

• Tech Rehearsal: Tuesday, April 22nd
• Talent Show Day: Friday, April 25th

Talent is found in many places! We want to showcase student talent in art and writing during the Talent Show. Submit your artwork, short stories, and poems to the Student Art and Stories Show which will take place in conjunction with the Talent Show on April 25th.

For this exhibit:

• Please have students submit work we can hang up!
• Artwork should have the student name and teacher name somewhere so it can be returned in May.
• Submissions are due to the Main Office by Monday, April 21st.

Thanks for your participation, and we can't wait to see what the students do!

Save the date for the sweetest event of the year! The Capannari Scoop It Up Day for Forest is Thursday, May 1st from 3-9pm. We will have some celebrity scoopers and greeters there from 4-6pm. We hope to see you there!

Staff Appreciation Week is coming up May 5th - 9th! The PTC will be celebrating the wonderful Forest staff, and we need your help. The Hospitality team is looking for food, drinks, and other items to compliment the meals being catered. They are also looking for gift cards ($10 increments) to be used to distribute to each staff member in the building. If you are interested in donating you can see the list of items needed 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:

• 4/14-4/17: IAR Testing Make-ups
• 4/15: Planned Fire Drill in the afternoon for Forest and the Westerhold ELC
• 4/17: Bilingual Parent (BPAC) Meeting from 6:00-8:00 PM - Enter at Door 11
• 4/18: NO SCHOOL
• 4/18: School's Out Drop In Crafts at the Des Plaines Public Library at 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM

Next Week:

• 4/21-4/23: Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) Testing (Grade 5 only)
• 4/21: Board of Education Meeting at 7:00 PM
• 4/22: Hearing & Vision screenings during the school day
• 4/22: School Bus Driver Appreciation Day
• 4/22: AMS Representatives visit with 5th Graders at Forest in the afternoon
• 4/22: Talent Show Tech Rehearsal from 3:30-7:00 PM -- Students only please!
• 4/23: Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day
• 4/23: PTC Dine N Share at Brunch City Cafe from 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM
• 4/23: 5th Grade Sports Club begins
• 4/23: 5th Grade Band & Orchestra Concert from 6:30-7:30 PM at AMS
• 4/24-4/25: ISA Testing Make-ups
• 4/25: Trimester 3 Progress Reports sent home
• 4/25: Talent Show - Performance for students and staff from 9:30-10:30 AM
• 4/25: Talent Show - Performance for families from 6:30-7:30 PM
• 4/26: Earth Day Celebration at Arndt Park from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• 4/27: Grand Opening of The Canvas at Des Plaines Public Library from 2:00-4:00 PM

In Two Weeks:

• 4/28: Mental Health Club begins at 8:00 AM
• 4/29: Kindergarten Information Night from 6:00-7:00 PM at Forest for incoming students
• 4/30: 4th Grade Field Trip to the Des Plaines Theater
• 5/1: Capannari's Coolest School Event from 3:00-9:00 PM
• 5/2: School Lunch Hero Day
• 5/3: Pirates and Princesses Aquatic Event from 1:00-3:00 PM at Prairie Lakes Aquatic Center

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