the Forest Hills Flyer

December 2024

A Note from the Principal

Forest Hills Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now that December is upon us, I wanted to remind each of you the importance of your child's attendance. During the 10 days we are at school during December, we have several mid-year assessments we administer to measure students' academic growth and guage their learning needs. Please ensure your child is at school every day unless sick.

Our lost & found is overflowing! Please remember to label your child's coats, hoodies, sweaters, etc. If you believe your child lost an item, please sign in at the office and visit our lost & found in the breezeway.

I am happy to report that our 3rd/4th/5th playground upgrade is complete! This major project yielded new swing sets, new edging, new mulch, and a new multi-funcitonal retaining wall. The wall will help prevent soil erosion while also offering educational ampitheater seating for our students! The students are LOVING the upgrades!

Finally, I'm pleased to let you know that 76 thuja evergreen trees were planted during the week of Thanksgiving. The Tree Grove will serve as a safety barrier between our playground and Chisholm Road. Each tree was purchased in honor or memory of a loved one! Honorees’ names will be displayed in our breezeway. Thank you to the following for planning & installing our beautiful Tree Grove! Jennia Russell Cary Williams Beau Tanner The Grounds Guys of Northwest Alabama Craig Thompson & City of Florence Urban Forestry & Horticulture Department Brad Johnson Longrider Supply

If I can ever be of assistance to you, please call, email, or stop by! GO FALCONS!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Fowler, Principal

#WeAreFalcons

Digital Device Policy

Test security measures & FCS Code of Conduct ban any electronic devices or smart devices during the school day. Such devices include smart watches, cellphones, tablets, etc. Any violation of this policy will be considered an FCS Code of Conduct offense and warrants disciplinary action. Thank you for ensuring your child does not bring a digital device to school!

The 4th Grade Show Choir will perform at 5:00pm after the lighting of the park.

HEY PARENTS!! Does your child need healthcare coverage? You may be surprised by how much you can earn and still qualify for ALL Kids. Check out the ALL Kids Income Guidelines and APPLY TODAY!!

The Counselors' Corner

Each month Mr. Bradford & Ms. Tittle (better known as "Mr. B & Ms. T") create an awesome newsletter for students and families focusing on our virtue of the month. Families will also hear from students about what's going on at The Hill!

Counselor Information

Please scan the QR code below to learn about all of the support services our counselors offer to students at Forest Hills.

Happenings on The Hill

Kindergarten

Kindergarten loves December! We have so much to do & lots of fun learning. For reading we will continue our unit study on "how things move-pushes & pulls." In this unit we have a lot of great stories & informational texts about the way things move. We will also continue learning to read & write words with the letters we have learned. In math we will continue learning about 2D (flat) & 3D (solid) shapes, seeing shapes in different positions in the world. comparing them, & composing shapes (putting them together to make different or bigger shapes). In our Unit Study we will be learning about Christmas around the world & how everyone celebrates the holidays, including here in the USA. We are looking forward to all of the fun festivities!

1st Grade

Welcome back, first graders, from a much needed and well-earned Thanksgiving break! Before we took a week off, students learned so much about why we celebrate Thanksgiving and even participated in our own version of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Students were encouraged to show off their creative skills by making their very own parade balloon. They did a wonderful job! First graders are learning about r-controlled vowels and digraph sounds in reading. In math, we are using addition strategies to find totals greater than 10. We look forward to participating in our upcoming holiday activities this December!

2nd Grade

Second graders have begun a new reading unit entitled, My Community at Work. This is such a wonderful time for students to learn their responsibilities and roles in our community. They are learning that not only can they learn from others, they can be teachers as well. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and it is amazing to help one another. In math, we are beginning 3 digit addition and subtraction. The students are so eager to learn.

Through the month of December, we will be taking diagnostics and benchmarks. We are excited to see how much your child has grown. We hope you have a wonderful Holiday break.

3rd Grade

The month of December will be festive and fun!! In reading we will be continuing our focus on “A Changing Nation”. Students will continue to learn how the United States has grown and changed throughout its over-200-year history. Students will read stories of our nation’s people to find out what makes Americans alike and different. In math students will focus on solving multiple step word problems and continue working towards mastering their multiplication facts.

Lots of festive holiday activities will take place in December. Students will learn about “Christmas Around the World” by traveling to different classrooms to learn about different holiday traditions and customs in other places. We will also have several Christmas crafts and fun activities happening in our classrooms throughout the month of December. Students will end the semester by having a special Christmas breakfast on Thursday, December 12th.

We would like to thank parents for the support you have given your child this first semester. We hope everyone has a healthy and happy holiday season.

4th Grade

In math, students have been dividing numbers with 3 and 4-digit dividends using area models. This is a very challenging process, but the students have shown a lot of perseverance! Remember parents, knowledge of basic multiplication facts is key to your child's math success when problem solving larger equations.

Reading Unit 3, Our Heritage, Our History, is helping us dive deep into our family's history and how we came to be. We are reading about different cultures, traditions, and the importance of staying true to oneself. We are building our knowledge of narratives and what makes a story worth reading. We cannot wait to become the authors of our own narrative pieces- full of exciting characters, one-of-a-kind plots, and finding our own creative voices.

*The first Montgomery trip deposit is due December 2nd to reserve your child’s spot.

5th Grade

In the month of December, students will have multiple opportunities to show all they have learned this year in both ELA and math. Students will take their 2nd diagnostic tests and will be able to show the growth they have made since the beginning of the year. In math class, we will wrap up adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. Teachers have lots of fun review activities planned before Winter Break. In ELA, students are continuing to progress through Unit 3. We continue to focus on text dependent writing. We are learning about world communities. Please be on the lookout for information regarding holiday parties from your child's teacher. We hope you have a restful and enjoyable Winter Break.

Dental Care Resource for Lauderdale County

The Alabama Department Public Health (ADPH) is excited to announce that we have entered into an oral health partnership with Singing River Dentistry-Russellville, AL. Singing River will be providing in-kind preventive dental visits for expectant mothers and children ages 1-17 who are uninsured and/or underinsured. The services provided include radiographs, "cleanings," exams, and treatment plans. Children are also eligible for sealants. There is no cost to the patient.

All the patients have to do is call to make an appointment with the Singing River Dentistry, Russellville office, (256) 460-4191, mention they were referred by ADPH (WIC Dept, etc.), and have the attached dental brochure (flyer) in hand with them at their scheduled appointment.

pdf

insert_drive_file

NW AL Free Dental, English.pdf

NW AL Free Dental, Spanish.pdf

Download

504.5 KB

UPDATE! Falcon Hub App

Did you know that you have access to our school calendar with all scheduled school events through the Falcon Hub App?! All you need to do is go to settings, follow Forest Hills, navigate to the home screen and tap Calendar!

Falcon Hub App Video