Forest Free Press

Forest Families,

Welcome to a new school year! To our new families joining us for the first time — we are so glad you're here. Forest is a warm, welcoming community built on hard work, kindness, and Pirate pride. You can expect a newsletter from me at the start of each month, keeping you in the loop on everything happening in our classrooms and around the building.

Open House — Wednesday, September 2nd, 5:00–6:30 PM
Come explore the building, see your child's new classroom, and meet their teachers! Feel free to bring school supplies with you and drop them off in the classroom while you're here.

Before the First Day
A few quick things to take care of now so the year starts smoothly:

• Log in to PowerSchool and complete all required forms — valid emergency contact information is especially important.
• Immunizations must be up to date for all kindergarten and new students.
• Create a Schoology account. Schoology is our learning management system — simply log in to PowerSchool and click the Schoology tab for instructions and your child's access code. Ms. Annie in the office is always happy to help if you get stuck!

Teacher Assignments
Assignments will be posted in PowerSchool and on our front doors by 3:00 PM on Tuesday, September 1st.

Get Connected
Join our fantastic Forest Parent Club! Find them on Facebook by searching "Forest Parent Club."

Questions? Please don't hesitate to call Ms. Annie or myself in the office.

GO PIRATES!

(734) 479-2550, press #4

Ms. Meli has dedicated 24 years to education, beginning her career as a Special Education teacher in Grosse Ile, where she spent 12 formative years before transitioning into school administration with Riverview Schools. She launched her administrative career as Assistant Principal at Seitz Middle School, then became principal of Forest Elementary nine years ago — a role she has embraced wholeheartedly ever since.

At Forest, Ms. Meli has built lasting relationships with families and partnered closely with teachers to nurture the whole child. Her guiding mission is simple: to send every student off from Forest feeling confident, loved, and equipped to meet the academic and emotional challenges of middle school and beyond.

Outside of school, Ms. Meli is the proud mother of three: Marcello (19), who graduated high school in May 2026; Julian (14), entering his freshman year at Riverview Community High School this fall; and Gia (13), an eighth grader at Seitz Middle School.

Email: aprusakiewicz@riverviewschools.com
Website: riverviewschools.com/Forest
Location: 19400 Hampton Street, Riverview, MI, USA
Phone: (734) 479-2550, press #4

September:

1st - Teacher Class Lists posted on front doors and in Power School (by 3PM)

2nd - Open House/Meet the Teacher 5-6:30 PM

8th - First Day of School

15th - Picture Day // Picture Retake Day - November 10th

16th - First Parent Club Meeting (see flier below)

23rd - Watch D.O.G.S. Kick Off (6-7 PM)

October:

5th -97th - Homecoming Spirit Week

7th - Student Count Day

7th - Bike and Roll to School

9th - Homecoming Football game vs. SMCC

14th - Forest Parent Club Meeting 6PM

16th - FPC Boo Bash (5:30-7:30 PM) Forest School campus

19th - Mentoring

22nd - Early Release (12:40 PM Dismissal) Elementary Conferences

Classroom Teacher — Classroom concerns, peer-to-peer or friendship issues, classroom behavior, playground or hallway concerns, grading questions.

Office Staff — Attendance (absences, early releases), health needs (medications, illnesses), school events, volunteers and Watch DOGS, general school questions.
Annie Prusakiewicz | (734) 479-2550 | aprusakiewicz@riverviewschools.com

Transportation Department — Busing and transportation concerns.
Derek Campbell | (734) 285-3900, Option #1 | DCampbell@riverviewschools.com

Grounds/Maintenance — Building/facility concerns, cleanliness, grounds issues.
Sharon Mathews (secretary to Gary Kennedy) | (734) 285-3900, ext. 2 | gkennedy@riverviewschools.com

Student Services — Enrollment questions.
Julie Karl, Central Office | (734) 285-9660, Option #9 | jkarl@riverviewschools.com

Principal — Major safety concerns, policy concerns, or concerns already brought to the teacher that remain unresolved.
gmeli@riverviewschools.com

School Social Worker — Social/emotional support and concerns. Also, 504 service requests.
Stacey Woggon, SSW | swoggon@riverviewschools.com, or call the office to be connected.

Lunchbox Tips for a Smooth Lunchtime! 🍎

We love seeing our students enjoy their lunches, and a few small adjustments at home can make a big difference in their experience at school. Here are some helpful tips from our cafeteria team:

Practice Makes Perfect
Before you pack it, make sure your child can open it! Items like Go-Gurts and Lunchables pizza sauce packets can be tricky to open — even grown-ups struggle sometimes. Try practicing at home, and only pack what your child can independently open.

Keep It Simple
There's no need to pack a huge lunch — 2-3 items plus a drink is plenty! Remember, students also have snack time during the day.

Beat the Clock (Gently!)
For our younger students especially, it helps to practice eating within a time limit at home. Try setting a 20-minute timer when your child sits down to eat, then chat with them afterward about how much they finished. We never want to rush our kids, but between the lunch line, eating, and clean-up, students have about 30 minutes total. Since many families take much longer at home meals, a practice timer can help your child get comfortable with their allotted time.

Lunchroom Manners Matter
A quick reminder at home goes a long way! Encourage your child to keep hands and feet to themselves (especially in line), face forward so they're ready to move along, and save chatting for after they've eaten the important parts of their meal.

Fuel for Focus
Try to avoid sugar-heavy lunches — they often lead to an energy crash later in the afternoon, which can make the rest of the school day tougher.

A Helping Hand
If your child packs their own lunch, a little supervision goes a long way to make sure it's balanced and ready to go!

Thanks for partnering with us to make lunchtime a positive experience for every student! 💛

• Pod Doors:

• Each morning, children will be greeted by their teacher and enter through their grade level's assigned "pod" door. Pod doors are located around the building and will be labeled in chalk during the first week of school (see diagram below).

  • Pod doors open at 8:30 AM.
  • Students eating breakfast should use the front doors between 8:10–8:30 AM.

  Getting to the Building

  • Non-busing students may be walked to the door or dropped off in the drop-off lane, where parent club volunteers and staff will assist.
  • Parents should not walk their child into the building.
  • From the parking lot, use the crosswalk in front of the flagpole — never walk between cars in the drop-off lane.
  • Please help younger students cross the crosswalk safely.

  Using the Drop-Off Lane

  • Pull all the way up to the STOP sign to the left of the front office.
  • Your child should be able to exit the car quickly and independently. If not, please park instead.
  • Children must exit from the curb side only — never the driver's side.
  • Do not let children out across the side street to cross on their own; use the crosswalk and crossing guards.
  • Drivers should not exit their vehicle in the drop-off lane. If you need to get out, please park.
  • Do not use the staff parking lot — staff need those spots close by so they're ready to teach on time.

  Bell Times & Tardiness

  • Warning bell: 8:30 AM
  • Students should be inside and ready to learn by 8:35 AM.
  • At 8:35 AM, pod doors are locked for safety. Late arrivals should follow the tardy procedure below.
  • Students who are consistently tardy or picked up late should be enrolled in Champions before/after-school care (see below).

  Morning intervention classes, classroom circles, and breakfast all happen first thing — consistent, on-time arrival is important for your child's academic and emotional support.

  
  

Students are dismissed at 3:25 PM from their pod doors. Please help us keep dismissal safe and smooth by keeping the following in mind:

• Be on time. We understand that occasional delays happen, but if you find you're unable to arrive promptly on a regular basis, please consider enrolling your child in Champions, our before- and after-school care program (details below).
• K-2 pickup: Kindergarten through 2nd grade students may only be picked up by an adult listed on their emergency contact list. Need to add or update a contact? Just give the office a call.
• K-2 students must be walked to and from the pod doors by the adult picking them up — they're not permitted to walk out to cars alone.
• Fire lane parking is not permitted, for any reason. Vehicles parked in the fire lane may be ticketed.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep dismissal safe for every student!

You will find a poster on the front doors (next to buzzer)- see pic below. If you are signing your child in to school late (after 8:35 AM) or you are picking your child up early, please use this QR code. You can do so by going to your camera on your phone, as if you are getting ready to take a picture. A "website or code" yellow box will pop up on your screen. Click on that box to access the sign in/out form. Once form is completed, ring the buzzer to alert our secretary. You would also use this process when bringing your child (back) to school from an appointment.

Busses to and from Forest will be available for Riverview residents. Please visit our website for bus routes and times (please note: schedules may not be updated yet)

https://www.riverviewschools.com/departments/transportation

If you have a transportation question, please contact our bus garage at (734)285-3900.