Forest Road News 10/25/2024
School Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday:
8:15am to 3:15pm - Lunch 11:20am to 12:10pm
Wednesday: 8:15am to 2:30pm - Lunch 10:55am to 11:55am
To report absences, please contact the following:
Important Dates to Remember
October 28-November 1 - Red Ribbon Week
October 31 - Halloween Parade and Parties
November 4 - Parent/Teacher Conferences - NO SCHOOL
November 5 - Election Day - NO SCHOOL
November 19 - Music Concert 2nd & 4th Grade @ 7pm
November 25-29 - Thanksgiving Break
A Message from Mrs. Stamer & Mrs. Cavaliere
Celebrating Disability Awareness Month
Our 4th grade students had the opportunity to meet Jack, a Helping Hand Ambassador, his service dog, Pongo, and Jack’s Mom, Holly. Jack shared his story as a person with autism and bipolar disorder. Students were then able to ask questions and learn more about what it is like to be a person living with a disability.
Smart Watches and Phones
Reminder: Beginning last May, D102 moved to having students leave their smartwatches in their lockers or backpacks. We recognize that many families have made a significant investment in purchasing one of these devices to help provide connectivity and access between the family and their child. However, we started to see how this level of connectivity began to cause harm and became distracting to students during the school day. While D102 schools first tried to work with students to put all watches into "School Mode", various incidents persisted and required teachers to divert their time away from instruction to address these types of issues.
We are asking for support in helping our students and teachers minimize distractions and potential incidents of bullying for the safety of all students. D102 and Forest Road also has students keep their cell phones in lockers and backpacks during the school day and we extended that practice to smartwatches as well. Connectivity is here to stay and provides many benefits to us all. However, in the interest of keeping students safe and our primary focus on learning, we are putting this practice of keeping phones and smartwatches in lockers and backpacks in place.
Should a student wear a smartwatch to school they will be asked to remove the watch and put it in their locker or backpack. Should a student have out their phone during the day, they will be asked to put it in their locker or backpack. They can put their watch back on at the end of the day for dismissal. After one warning, the teacher will hold the watch or phone on their desk for the day and return it at the end of the day. The next time it will be sent to the office for a parent/guardian to pick up. Thank you for your cooperation.
Learning All About Fire Safety!
Students in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade got a chance to hear from the LaGrange Park Fire Fighters during our fire safety assembly. They had an opportunity to hear some safety tips while inside and enjoy the fire truck and other rescue vehicles outside.
Rocky and the Running Club!
Today was the final day of the fall running club and our special guest Rocky showed up to join in the fun!
Monday, October 28: Kickoff for Red Ribbon Week: Be Kind to Your Mind!
Wear red and ribbons
Tuesday, October 29: Do What You Like
Wear Forest Road gear
Wednesday, October 30: Be Positive, Don’t Get Down on Yourself
Wear Colorful/Tie Dye
Thursday, October 31: Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover
Orange and Black/Halloween
Friday, November 1: Have a calm body and mind
Wear comfy clothes and pjs
Halloween 2024
It is already that time to start getting ready for Halloween. As a reminder, students should not wear their costumes to school. They will have an opportunity to get dressed during lunch time or they can go home for lunch and get dressed. If your child is going home to get dressed, please let us know beforehand via this link:
(Please only fill this form out if your child is going home)
We want our students to be safe, especially during our Parade. Please be sure that a mask does not obstruct your child’s view and that costumes are not too long or difficult to manage staircases. Please know that we want this Halloween to be an enjoyable time for everyone. It is in this spirit that we ask you to make sure costumes are school appropriate - no weapons, celebrations of violence or gore. If any part of a costume is deemed inappropriate or unsafe, the teacher will keep it in their possession until the end of the day.
If you would prefer for your child to not participate in the Halloween parade or activities, please notify your child’s teacher. We will make alternate arrangements.
Our parade will begin at 12:30 (more details coming in the following weeks). Halloween parties will take place in the afternoon and will be organized by the room parents.
I am also linking a great article with tips for a healthy halloween experience. We’re looking forward to a great celebration and continuing this District 102 tradition! Halloween Tips
Park Jr. High Tutors
Information HERE
Renew D102
Curriculum Corner
In our classrooms, teachers may use a workshop model for math, reading, and writing instruction across all grade levels. This flexible structure allows students to engage in a variety of learning activities that are tailored to their individual needs. During a typical workshop, students participate in independent practice, work with partners, and spend time in small groups with the teacher. This small-group time is especially valuable, as it gives teachers the opportunity to focus on specific skills each student is working on, providing personalized guidance and support.
The workshop model fosters a balance between direct instruction and hands-on learning. Students get the chance to explore new concepts independently, collaborate with peers, and receive targeted feedback from their teacher. This approach helps ensure that all students can progress at their own pace while building the skills they need to succeed.
Forest Road Breakfast & Lunch Menu
Before & After School Care Info.
After School programs:
BASE Program - Leanna Hartung - Manager
Right At School
Chelsey Mazariegos -Area Manager
C: 224-706-7283
O: 855-AT-SCHOOL
Car Line - Drop Off and Pick Up Instructions
Forest Road Bus Routes
Student Climate Survey Administration - Fall 2024
In D102, we know that a strong school climate has positive impacts on student achievement, attendance rates, and school safety, as well as creating conditions for developing healthy social and emotional skills. We also feel it is critical to hear the voices of our students. To
help facilitate that communication we provide a Student Climate Survey twice annually, once in September/October and again in February/March.
D102 will gather student perceptions of their school climate in the following ways:
K-2nd grade students will orally provide their input during a classroom meeting conversation with their teacher.
3rd-8th grade students will individually complete an online survey in Google Forms.
Results of the 3rd-8th grade survey are confidential and will not be used to identify individual students. Rather, the data will be used to gather an overarching sense of students’ perceptions. Each building’s leadership team will use the survey results to inform school-wide planning while grade level teachers will use the data to help plan proactive classroom-based morning circles.
Themes identified during the K-2nd grade classroom conversations will be collected by the teacher and used to plan proactive classroom-based morning circles. Individual student information will not be collected during these classroom conversations.
For more information see:
Families that wish to opt out of the survey should either contact their elementary child’s classroom teacher or their junior high child’s advisory teacher.
Free & Reduced Online Application
Forest Road Clubs
New to Forest Road - Belonging Club (Grades 1-4)
Read all about it and express interest HERE!
5 & 6th Grade Chorus
The Forest Road Chorus is open to all students in grades 5-6. Rehearsals are split between 5th and 6th grade, and each grade-level Chorus practices once a week: 6th Grade on Tuesday and 5th Grade on Wednesday. Both groups practice during Lunch Recess.
Some musical skills we practice in Chorus include, but are not limited to, vocal warmup techniques, vocal tone production and projection, singing vocal exercises, singing harmonized exercises, music score sight-reading, and learning new repertoire.
The Forest Road Chorus performs at all school concerts (usually 3 concerts) and will sometimes perform outside of school as opportunities arise.
Sign Up HERE
Student Council (Grades 4-6)
Attention all 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students: Student Council is starting soon! Student Council plans many activities for the school, including Red Ribbon Week, Smencil Sales, Teacher Appreciation Week, a Food Drive, Valenkind's Week, and IAR Testing Encouragement. If you are interested in participating in Student Council, please fill out the attached application and return it to Mrs. Duffy or Miss London. Please return your completed application to Ms. London or Mrs. Duffy.
PTO Corner
Halloween Classroom Parties
The Halloween Parade is planned for 12:30pm.
Class parties will immediately follow the parade at approximately 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Student Directory is LIVE!
The District 102 Student Directory is now live. It can be found at www.directoryspot.net, or you can download the free app for your phone:
- iPhone - http://goo.gl/5U2Tzq
- Android - http://goo.gl/iBK9lY
Your username is the email address provided to the district when registering your student with the district. To set up your account for the first time or if you've forgotten your password, please go to the Login screen, type in your username, and select "Forgot Password".
Once logged in, families should be able to edit their information through the website. If you are having trouble logging in or have any questions, please email Erin at directoryspot@dist102.k12.il.us for help.
Art Enrichment Volunteers Needed
We are looking for Art Enrichment Volunteers. Please sign up below if you are interested.
Community Corner
The Westchester Food Pantry
The Westchester Food Pantry is in desperate need of brown paper bags (with handles) as the holiday season approaches. If you have any bags (ex. Mariano's, Trader Joes) please send them in with your child to the main office. We appreciate your help!
Pack 66 Trunk or Treat
Boot & Shoe Community Share
D102 Cheri's Closet
District 102 Survey for Families with IEPs
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!
The following survey is presented by the Special Needs Advisory Panel (SNAP). The goal of SNAP is to bridge collaboration between parents, staff members, and the district. As we plan for the school year we would love some feedback. This is a short survey to see how our district can best support our families of students with IEPs. This survey should only take a minute or two. We greatly appreciate your input.
D102 Survey for Families of Students with IEPs
¡Bienvenidos al año escolar 2024-2025!
La siguiente encuesta es presentada por el Panel Asesor de Necesidades Especiales (SNAP). La meta de SNAP (Special Needs Advisory Panel) es crear un puente de colaboración entre los padres, los miembros del personal y el distrito. Mientras planeamos para el año escolar nos gustaría recibir sus comentarios. Esta es una breve encuesta para ver cómo nuestro distrito puede apoyar mejor a nuestras familias de estudiantes con IEPs. Esta encuesta sólo debe tomar un minuto o dos. Apreciamos mucho su opinión.
Free English Tutoring & Citizen Test Prep for District Families
Information HERE
Parent Outreach Team
