Forest Park Flyer
Forest Park, a place to dream, believe and achieve!
December 2018
The character trait for the month of December is Kindness.
From the Principal...
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed the time with your families. We look forward to sharing the holiday season together as a school community. Please be sure to check your child's back pack and the Forest Page webpage and Facebook page to learn more about the exciting activities planned this month.
In the upcoming weeks, we will be sending letters home to the families of those students who have had a significant number of later arrivals, early dismissals or illegal absences from school. At the elementary level, one of our main goals is to help the students develop good habits that will enable them to experience success throughout their academic careers. Regular attendance at school is one of the most important indicators of future success. Additionally, arrived at school on time, 9:11am, and remaining at school until the end of the school day, 3:20pm, also has a significant impact on achievement. As you are aware, the academic expectations for our students at all levels have increased since we were in school, and our teachers work hard to make every minute with your students count so they can meet these increased demands. By attending school regularly at the elementary level, your student(s) will be less likely to suffer negative consequences, such as the loss of credit and failing classes, in future years. As always, we are available to work with you to help resolve the issues impacting your child's ability to attend school on a regular basis.
We have also been working diligently to ensure our dismissal process is as safe and efficient as possible. If you are planning to pick your child up from school at dismissal, please send a note in to school with your child or contact the office as early in the day as possible. Due to our proximity to the mall, the traffic at dismissal is increased during the holiday season. Please plan accordingly to ensure you are at school no later than 3:30pm to pick up your child at the end of the day. Our staff day does end at 3:30pm, so there is no one available to supervise the students if they are here after dismissal. As always, we appreciate your help to ensure we can keep your children safe while here with us at school.
Mrs. Penn
Inclement Weather
When school is delayed, the Before School Program will not be held. Please do not drop your children off at school in advance of the start time on days when we are delayed because staff will not be available to supervise them.On those days when school is closed due to inclement weather, the Before and After School programs are also cancelled.
If school is dismissed early (more than 15 minutes before regular dismissal), the After School Program will not be held. Children who normally attend the After School Program should plan to take the bus home or meet their parents at the dismissal area near the library.
If the weather deteriorates while we are at school, the district may decide to dismiss the children early. In the case of an early dismissal, parents and guardians will be notified via the School News Notifier or SNN. If you have not already signed up for this service, please visit the South Colonie School website and click on SNN in the "Quick Links" section.
Using Aspen
Once you have established an account, you will go to the Family View when you are attempting to locate information about your child. On that page, you can access tabs that will provide you with bus information, state test scores and, on the date that grades are posted, your child's report card. If you have an account but are unable to access it, you can contact our Aspen administrator clicking on the help link on the Aspen portal.
Library News from Mrs. Kuno
http://forestparklibrary.weebly.com/
Hour of Code Throughout the month of December, students will be participating in an Hour of Code. This global event includes tens of millions of students from over 180 countries. The Hour of Code is an introduction to computer programing and involves breaking coding down to its most basic form. Participating in an Hour of Code gives students a chance to explore the dynamic field of computer programming and building life long learning skills like problem solving, strategic thinking, and creativity. Visit the link below to explore more about coding and try it at home.
News from Nurse Criscione
With flu season upon us, it is important to keep our children healthy. Children are two to three times more likely than adults to get sick with the flu. On average, one in three children in the U.S. is affected by the virus each year. Usually, the flu is spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing. Occasionally, people get the flu from touching a germ-infested surface.
It is important to know the difference between a cold and the flu. Common symptoms of the flu include high fever, severe headache, muscle and body aches, chills, sore throat, exhaustion and dry cough. Children may also have nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Cold symptoms often come on gradually, and they include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat and hacking cough.
Simple steps for keeping your child healthy:
- get a flu vaccine
- wash hands frequently
- cover mouth and nose when sneezing & coughing - preferably into the inside of the elbow
- avoid sharing drinks
- avoid touching eyes, nose & mouth
- disinfect at home
- keep your sick child home from school until they are fever free for 24 hours
Shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats --- all festive attire welcome! We look forward to this fun and festive day!
School Banking
Winter Break
Dec. 24th - Jan. 2nd
School Reopens: Jan. 3rd
Pajama Day
Kids' Corner - Mrs. Myers
Our class has been learning about what an engineer is and how an engineer and a scientist are different. The kids have enjoyed learning more about engineering through our S.T.E.M. lessons and activities with Courtney Hynes. Courtney is a S.T.E.M. teacher at Lisha Kill Middle School and has been working with all three second grade classes at Forest Park!
This month, the students will be learning about circuits. Courtney will show the students how a makey makey works. They will use a makey makey to interact with the characters in the book There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! If you'd like to learn more about what a makey makey is, you can use the following link to watch a quick video about it on YouTube:
Supporting Our Community
Toys for Tots (Nov. 19-Dec. 5) South Colonie is once again partnering with the Marine Corps. and Village of Colonie to provide holiday gifts to families in need right here in our own community. A new, unwrapped toy may be donated at Forest Park through Dec. 5th to support this important program. We will have a special assembly to "Stuff the Bus" with our South Colonie Bus Drivers on December 7th.
Movie Night
A Look Ahead
December
14th - Festive Friday
14th - Grade 4 Music Recruitment Assembly at Sand Creek
21st - Pajama Day
24th - January 2nd - Winter Break
January
3rd - Students return to school
8th - PTA Meeting 6:30pm in the Forest Park Library
9th - Report cards sent home with students
21st - Martin Luther King Day, No School
25th - Lifetouch Candid Picture Day
PTA News and Notes
Thank you to everyone who supported the Yankee Candle Fundraiser and joined us at our annual Cocoa, Carols, and Crafts. The PTA would also like to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Mr. Lubbers, and Mr. Ryan for their help in making the evening enjoyable for our community! It’s teachers like you who make Forest Park GREAT!
Also, please remember that the Silver Graphics order forms must be sent to school with your child by Monday, December 3rd. If you are placing your order on-line, orders will be accepted until the 5th.
There are no school spirit days in December, however, on the 14th the 6th annual Festive Friday will be held. Be sure to wear your most festive gear on that day. On the 21st, there is a school wide pajama day so wear your jammies to school!
We will not hold a PTA meeting this month. We wish all of our families a wonderful holiday season, and a happy New Year! Our next meeting will be January 8th at 6:30 and will be held in the school library.
2018-2019 PTA Board
President: Chelsea Lattanzio- chealsealattanzio1130@gmail.com
Vice President: Kristina Lampariello- serendipitousbyk@yahoo.com
Vice President: Angela Futia- angelinaz1104@aol.com
Vice President: Teresa Pizzigati- clilly720@yahoo.com
Treasurer: Kristen Donnellan- kristenfall02@yahoo.com
Secretary: Carolyn Parisi- cparisi226@gmail.comPTA Meeting
MEETING AGENDA
• Welcome & Meet and Greet
• Principal's Report (Jill Penn)
• Treasurer's Report (Kristen Donnellan)
• Approve minutes from November meeting
Tuesday, Jan 8, 2019, 06:30 PM
100 Forest Drive, Albany, NY, USA
There is no SEPTA meeting in December.
We will be rescheduling the workshop with PNCR that was cancelled due to the weather in November.
Also, please be sure to watch for information about the Chili Cook-Off in January. All funds from the event will be used to help support iCare and SEPTA.
Lost and Found
About us...
Email: fpattendance@scolonie.org
Website: http://www.southcolonieschools.org/forest-park-elementary-school/
Location: 100 Forest Drive, Albany, NY, USA
Phone: (518) 869-3006
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForestParkElementarySchool