December 2012/ January 2013 - Forest Hills Public Schools

Preschools Start 2013-2014 Registration
Applications for Forest Hills tuition-based
preschool programs (traditional and Spanish
Immersion) will be accepted with a nonrefundable
$100 deposit. Registration for
the traditional preschool begins on Monday,
January 7, 2013. Registration for the Spanish
Immersion preschool begins on Tuesday,
January 8, 2013. Both registrations begin at
7:00 a.m., at the Child Care Office, 150 Alta
Dale SE. Registrations are taken on a firstcome-first-served
basis. Placements of all
FHPS students will be made by April 15,
2013. Non-resident registrations will be
taken after April 15, 2013, if there are openings.
Registrations will continue to be
accepted until classes are full.
Traditional Preschool
This program is housed at Ada Elementary,
731 Ada Drive SE, for children who will be
four by December 1, 2013. Child care is
also available at this site. Classes are held
Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 8:55 a.m.
to 11:25 a.m. or 12:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., and
Tuesday/Thursday from 8:55 a.m. to 11:25
a.m. For questions about registrations, call
Sharon Stiles at the Child Care Office, 493-8787.
Spanish Immersion Preschool
The Spanish Immersion (SI) Preschool
three-year-old program is open to students
who will be three by the time school starts.
Applicants for the four-year-old program
must be four by December 1, 2013. The
Spanish Immersion Preschool (SI) will be
held at Ada Vista Elementary, 7192 Bradfield
SE. The three-year-old program will run
Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to
10:45 am. The four-year-old program runs
Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to
10:45 a.m. or 11:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. For
questions about the program or registrations,
call the Child Care Office at 493-8787.
Please note: Participation in this preschool
does not guarantee admission to Spanish
Immersion Kindergarten.
Application Information for 2013-2014
Immersion Kindergartens
• Spanish Immersion Kindergarten, Fall 2013 at Ada Vista
• Chinese Immersion Kindergarten, Fall 2013 at Meadow Brook
The Spanish Immersion Kindergarten program
at Ada Vista Elementary School and the
Chinese Immersion Kindergarten at Meadow
Brook Elementary School are open to children
who will be five years old by November 1,
2013. Spanish Immersion Kindergarten is an
all-day/every day program at Ada Vista, and
Chinese Immersion Kindergarten is an all
day/every day program at Meadow Brook.
For more information about either program,
please check the district website at
www.fhps.net or call Jesús Santillán, principal
of Ada Vista (493-8970), or Tim Shaw,
principal of Meadow Brook (493-8740).
Families of current Spanish Immersion or
Chinese Immersion students will receive a
letter inviting them to pre-register siblings
who will be entering kindergarten. (This
sibling preference policy fosters the benefits
of siblings having the same second language
and using it in conversation at home.)
Applications will be available at Ada Vista
(7192 Bradfield SE, Ada) and Meadow
Brook (1450 Forest Hill SE, Grand Rapids)
beginning Monday, December 3, 2012.
Completed pre-registration materials must
be returned to Ada Vista for Spanish
Immersion siblings or Meadow Brook for
Chinese Immersion siblings no later than
Friday, December 21, 2012.
Applications for Forest Hills resident families
who are new to the immersion programs
and have children who will be entering
kindergarten next fall will be available
at Ada Vista and Meadow Brook beginning
Monday, January 7, 2013. Completed applications
must be returned by Friday,
January 18, 2013. Ada Vista’s office
opens at 7:30 a.m. and Meadow Brook's
opens at 8:00 a.m. Both schools are
open until 4:00 p.m. Parents must show two
proofs of residency along with the original
birth certificate with raised seal (from the
county clerk where the child was born) of
their incoming kindergarten child when
they turn in their completed application.
A lottery drawing for the kindergarten
spaces available in the Spanish Immersion
and Chinese Immersion programs will be
held by January 28, 2013. Students not
selected will be placed on a waiting list in
the order they are drawn from the lottery. A
letter will be sent to families on or about
January 31, 2013, to inform them if their
child's name was drawn for admission and
if not, his/her position on the waiting list.
4
Child Care for 2012-
2013 School Year
Kindergarten Kids Care
A half-day, fee-based Kindergarten Kids Care
is available for all kindergarteners and Young
Fives children who are five years old by
December 1, 2012, and is available at Ada,
Knapp Forest, Meadow Brook, Orchard View,
and Pine Ridge schools with sufficient enrollment.
Ada Elementary also includes preschool
children who are four years old by
December 1, 2013. Flexible scheduling
allows you to customize the number of child
care days you need.
Before- and/or After-School Child Care
Fee-based, before- and/or after-school child
care is available at all Forest Hills elementary
schools (with the exception of Ada Vista
Elementary), Central Woodlands, and
Northern Trails. This program runs from 6:45
a.m. to the start of school and from school
dismissal until 6:15 p.m. A supervised school
study group also is available for middle school
students who are bused to the 5/6 grade
schools when their middle schools dismiss.
Registration in any child care program
guarantees full- or half-day child care if
needed, on non-school days. Please call the
Child Care Office at 493-8787 for current fees,
availability, and information on the programs.
Information and registration forms are
available at the Child Care Office in the
Operations Building at 150 Alta Dale SE, at
all elementary schools, and on the district’s
website, fhps.net, under “Families.” To register,
please complete all four forms and
fax them to the Child Care Office at 493-
8789. A $25 registration fee will be applied
to your first bill.
In Service to Our Country
Mark Sweeney Jr. is a 2011
graduate of Forest Hills
Central High School. Mark
graduated from infantry basic
training and advanced individual
training (Fort Benning,
GA), in December 2011. He graduated from
airborne school in January and is stationed
at Fort Stewart, GA. He has recently
deployed with the 3rd ID to Afghanistan.
Mark is the son of Mark and Mary Sweeney
and has five siblings, four of whom are FHC
graduates. His youngest brother, Josh, is
attending Central Middle School. Mark’s
older brother, Patrick, is currently serving
in the Army since graduating in 2005.