From the Principal's Desk...
December was a fun and busy month at the school. Thank you to all of the families who attended the Christmas concerts and the Grandparent's Tea. The kids work so hard and really enjoy these special events. It's great to see a packed house! Please check out the teacher Twitter accounts (shown below) for classroom highlights.

Looking into the month of January, we will be scheduling our next round of FAST reading assessments for grades K-5. Students were accessed at the beginning of the year and if student's reading scores were below the recommended threshold, we check their progress weekly.This is a quick assessment that the State requires us to complete to determine reading needs of our students.

We work hard to ensure the kids are not nervous about these assessments. If you sense your child is nervous about testing, please reassure them that I just want the students to try their best so we can get a better picture of their areas of strength or areas of improvement in reading. 

Another January event at the school is the North Iowa Community Action Organization (NICAO) Dental days. This will take place January 23rd and 24th for those students that have been signed up to take part in this opportunity. We sent home information and do need a "yes" or "no" response from parents. Contact Jan Rauk for more information. 

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I'm excited to begin 2017!
Technology Corner 
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It is increasing difficult for parents and educators to keep up with the ways our children are using new and ever changing technologies. In each newsletter issue, Forest City Schools Technology Director, Mike Van Oort, will share information on important digital citizenship topics. Contact Mike with any questions at 585-2324 or mvanoort@forestcity.k12.ia.us.
Excerpt from www.commonsensemedia.org

How much screen time is OK for my kids?

Kids are spending more time with screen media -- and at younger ages -- than ever before.  But there really is no magic number that's "just right." What's more important is the quality of kids' media, how it fits into your family's lifestyle, and how you engage your kids with it.



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Thanks to the efforts and generous hearts of many, the FCEA Giving Tree committee delivered clothing and toys to 168 children! 
December Photo Highlights 
Santa Claus visited the classrooms and read to the children
Day of coding highlights from Mrs. Taft' class. Top (left to right): Programming Beebot to move to the letter that they spun. Using the iPads to work on the Kodable app. Coding the Code-a-pillar to get from the green disk to the red disk. Bottom: Doing paired programming to solve coding puzzles.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones displaying their most festive sweaters
Mr. Aidan Kelly spoke to the 4th graders about Ireland
Upcoming Events 
  • January 13: No School Day 
  • January 23/24: NIACO Dental Days

Check out the school calendar on www. forestcity.k12.ia.us for all of the upcoming activities!
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Snow boots and snow pants are required for the children to go outside to play. If you have a need for those items for your child, please contact the elementary. 
Stay Connected 
 
  • SchoolWay: Text or email alerts for school cancellations, postponements or activity/sports announcements. Free Apple or Android app or can be viewed from any web browser http://myschoolway.com/forestcity
  • Facebook: Find the school by searching for "Forest City Community School District" 
  • Twitter Accounts: General: @FCElementary, Mr. Clarey (PE) @FCElemPE, Mrs. Egesdal: @4BEgesdal, Mrs. Walker: @_mrswalker, Mrs. Pins: @ PinsClass, Mrs. Reece: @elpfc, Mrs. Jerome/Mrs. Beenken/Mrs. Hall: @FC4C2016, Mrs. Lillquist: @CariLillquist, Mrs. Mollenhauer: @kmollenhauerfc, Ms. Bartlett: @sam_bartlett12. Mrs. Bunger @michelle_bunger
  • Web site: www.forestcity.k12.ia.us has the school calendar, lunch menus, and more... 
Forest City Elementary School  | 1405 West I Street 
641-585-2670| www.forestcity.k12.ia.us |