Forest Grove Gazette
Welcome Back August/September
Your Children are in Good Hands
The second week of school is coming to a close, and we could not be more pleased with the start of the year.
After being in each class several times, I am proud to report that your children are settling into a productive routine, and our teachers are busy helping the school work toward its goals for the upcoming year.
Last Spring, our staff working in conjunction with our School Site Council (an advisory group of teachers, parents, and classified staff) developed five goals designed to improve our school. We analyzed testing data, reviewed our school needs, and discussed what was important to our community.
This work led to these five goals:
Improve student writing at each grade level
Improve student problem solving in Math at each grade level
Include the use the visual and performing arts in teaching Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies
Implement the mindful schools program to increase student focus and make our campus more peaceful
Increase parent involvement
Our staff and School Site Council agreed that implementing the above goals would greatly benefit our students by increasing student learning and creating a learning environment built upon trust, respect, and a high level of student engagement.
Most importantly, you are sending your child to a school where all of the adults are passionate about serving your kids. Our teachers are building community in the classroom, our staff is working to run the school in a friendly manner, and I am here to support all of them in their work.
We realize that you have entrusted us with the care of your precious children, and we will do our best to provide them with an excellent school experience.
Enjoy the year,
Buck Roggeman
Be Kind Behind the Wheel
We have received volumes of positive feedback regarding the improved safety, traffic flow, and accessibility with the front of our school.
To keep everything flowing smoothly, please follow these simple guidelines.
In General
Be patient - give yourself plenty of time to get to school, so you are not rushed.
Be alert - our kids are excited to come to school, and all drivers need to be aware of students running to get to school.
Be kind - use friendly manners behind the wheel.
Parking and Walking Your Student to Class
If you would like to walk your student to class, the best place to park is in the back of school (there are 105 spaces available). When you enter the lot off of Forest Lodge Road, turn left immediately and use the parking stalls on the north end of the lot.
If you choose to park in front, you may use the parallel parking spaces on Congress, or open spaces in the parking area near Breaker Stadium. The spaces in back of Forest Grove should be reserved for staff.
Dropping off Your Student
In the drop off zones in front and in back, pull as far forward as possible to make room for other drivers to drop off students. Simply doing this will greatly increase efficient traffic flow.
Never block the entry. In front, pull forward to the green section.
Stay patient if you are waiting in line. Even though it seems like an eternity, the line usually begins moving in less than three minutes.
During Pick Up
If you are waiting for your child and the cars in back of you have their students, drive a loop and re-enter the pick up line from the rear, so cars behind you may exit.
If you park and walk to class to meet your student, please do not walk on campus until the bell rings to release students at 3:10 p.m. You may wait at either the gate on third level or the gate at the front of school.
We understand that this seems like a lot of rules and guidelines. All of them have one simple purpose - keeping our kids safe.
Finally, I would like to thank you parent volunteers who are helping direct traffic. These volunteers are the single most important factor in keeping our kids safe. If you have time before or after school, we welcome more parent volunteers who would like to cheerfully assist with drop off and pick up of our students. If you are able to help, contact me at broggeman@pgusd.org or call 831-646-6560 ext. 200.
By working together, we can ensure safe travel for our kids to and from school.
Thank you and be safe!Absent from School?
If we have not heard from the parents to report an absence, an automated system will call and send an e-mail to let you know your child is not in school.
Please make sure we have your current phone number and e-mail address on file.
Get Involved!
A school can not be great without great parent involvement. At Forest Grove, many of the memorable experiences that we provide for our students, simply would not exist without the efforts of our parents.
We have plenty of opportunities for parents to get involved beginning with our Parent Teacher Association. Many of you have already joined, but if you have not done so yet, here is a link to the PTA webpage:http://www.forestgrovepta.com/
We also welcome volunteers in classrooms and on field trips. At Back to School Night, teachers will explain how you can help in their classrooms. Many classes go on field trips and parent chaperones are always needed to assist.
To serve in either of these roles, parents must be fingerprinted through the Pacific Grove Unified School District office. You can pick up the fingerprinting packet at the Forest Grove office and make an appointment by calling 646-6510. We have been able to limit the cost of this process to $20. If you would like to volunteer, but the cost presents a hardship, contact me at broggeman@pgusd.org or 646-6560 ext. 200, and we will make arrangements to have the cost covered.
One of the best parts of my day is seeing our proud parents dropping off and picking up their children from school. I look forward to seeing more of you get involved!
PTA Fall Book Fair
Open to students and families before school, after school, Back to School Night (Aug. 24) and Ice Cream Social Friday evening (Aug 26), students will be able to shop during lunch and their class library time. Please send only reasonable amounts of cash with your child. Be sure to check the teacher wish bins if you want to purchase and donate a book to your child's teacher.
Interested in volunteering? Please visit the following link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aadad28a1f58-forest
Questions? Contact Dana Jones (jonesdana@gmail.com) or Cat Gibson (daneandcat@gmail.com)
Save the Date
August 24: Back to School Night 6:30-7:30 pm
August 26: Ice Cream Social 6:00-7:30 pm
September 5: Labor Day - no school
September 6: PTA meeting 6:30 -8:00 pm
September 17: Walk with PRIDE 10:00 am
September 28: School Pictures
http://www.forestgrovepta.com/#!events/cjz0