May 22, 2022
In this Edition:
• Girl Scout Community Service Project
• Spirit Days Coming May 23-27
• Friends of Forest Park News
• Fifth Grade Party Flier
Dear Forest Park Families,
I just returned from the Forest Park Elementary Auction - Rebuilding our Rainbow, Together! - a few hours ago, and it was truly a lovely event. Many families and staff members were on hand to support the school's fund-raising efforts. The generosity of our families means we will have two highly-skilled, dedicated, and caring EAs at school serving your children every day next year. Thank you! Please join me in sending extra appreciation to the FOFPE board members, who made it all possible, and especially to Sarah Shively, FOFPE's president, who was the impeccable MC for the gala. What a fabulous venue, and what an incredible community!
News about Next Year
PRINCIPAL SELECTION
A panel of staff and community members interviewed principal candidates last week. They made a recommendation to the district and the person they chose will advance to the next round of interviews. The panel is, appropriately, maintaining confidentiality about the person they selected, so we will not find out more until the person is formally announced by PPS. I am hoping that will be before the end of the school year.
STAFFING
In other staffing news, we have two new staff members to welcome aboard. Audryana Knippert, who student taught at Forest Park, is joining our second grade team. Wendi Williams will be our new full-time counselor. Wendi comes to us from Chapman, where she served as an EA and as their school counselor. We are still interviewing candidates for several other openings.
CLASS PLACEMENTS
Once we have all of our staffing for our classrooms, I will announce who will be teaching which grade next year. I know it's hard to wait. It is a long process. Families will receive word of their children's class assignments a few days before school starts in August. There are always many changes to enrollment over the summer, so we need to wait to announce placements until we know which children are coming and which are leaving.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
You do not need to buy any school supplies for your children this fall (except backpacks). We will be asking for donations to cover the cost of the supplies purchased for students to use in the new year, but all donations are optional, as public school should be free for everyone.
MEALS for NEXT YEAR
We don't know yet if breakfast and lunch will be available for all without cost next year. PPS is working with state and federal agencies to continue this popular and much-appreciated program. It has been wonderful seeing so many children go through the lunch line every day and not have to deal with putting in their lunch numbers! I've heard from many families how nice it is to not have to pack lunches or remember to put money in lunch accounts! Let's hope for the best.
MORNING MUG
We'll have our last Morning Mug on Friday from 9:00 - 10:00 in the cafeteria. Stop by if you want to say hello, tour the school, and/or meet some other Forest Park parents.
Thank you for reading this. I know it was pretty long!
As always, please feel free to call me or email me any time.
Respectfully,
Cindi
503 880-1282
cswingen@pps.net
Girl Scout Troop 11224
Art Supply Donation Drive Continues - Please Donate
To complete our Bronze Award project, we are working on a community action project. We decided to focus on education and children's issues, so we are partnering with a local food pantry to create summer busy bags, so kids won’t be bored over the summer. Our goal is to create 120 bags for pre-k and kindergarten students to be distributed at a local school. We are having a short donation drive to collect a list of summer art and fun supplies.
If you would like to help, you can drop off new items in our donation box in the school lobby, or purchase items from our on our Amazon Wish List here:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FKDAKBNT4C7T?ref_=wl_share
Here are the items we are collecting:
- Regular Crayons (24 pks)
- Chunky Crayons (for little fingers, 8 pks)
- Sidewalk Chalk (packaged)
- Washable Markers (Pks of 8 or 10)
- Drawing Pads
- Glue Stick
- Bubbles
- Jump Ropes
- Coloring Books
SPIRIT WEEK, May 23- May 27
Forest Park students and staff will show school spirit and community, by having a week of dress up days. These dress up days are always optional, but a great opportunity to get creative. No need to purchase anything.
Monday, May 23- Rainbow Day (Wear anything rainbow, mix of colors, or your favorite color)
Tuesday, May 24- Dress as your favorite character/person day. Students can dress up as their favorite book, tv, or movie character. Historical figures, superheroes, and overall favorite people are also ideas to consider. We ask that students don’t wear costume masks or bring any fake weapons to school.
Wednesday, May 25- Sports Day. Students can wear anything related to their favorite sport. This might be a sport that they are a fan of or a sport they themselves play (even if they aren’t on a team).
Thursday, May 26- Formal/Fancy Day. Students can dress up in their favorite fancy clothes, wear top hats, and crowns. Get creative! Homemade crowns could be a fun family project.
Friday, May 27- Pajama & Stuffie Day. Students can wear pajamas and bring a favorite stuffed animal to school.
Lizzie O'Leary
School Counselor
Pronouns: She/Her/ Hers
ext. 73355