March 7 - Half Day for Students - Dismissal at 12:10
March 11 - In Person Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 pm
March 13 - In Person Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 pm
March 14 - Yearbook Order Deadline
March 18 - Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:00 pm
March 19 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm (DATE CHANGE)
March 21-28 - No School - Spring Break
March 31 - No School - Teacher PD Day
April 1 - Classes Resume
April 15 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm
The Principal's Pen
This week we had Basketball Jones come to our school as part of an assembly. He did awesome basketball tricks with the kids, while talking through character development topics such as kindness, making mistakes, helping others, and taking responsibility. The kids and adults thoroughly enjoyed the assembly!
We have already started our March is Reading Month Book Bracket! This bracket is an homage to the March Madness basketball type of a bracket. There are 16 books that the students will be reading and then voting on which is their favorite. They are currently reading 4 titles each week until we get to the Elite Eight.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent Teacher Conferences will be held:
Tuesday, March 11 from 5:00 - 8:00 pm - IN PERSON
Thursday, March 13 from 5:00 - 8:00 pm - IN PERSON
Tuesday, March 18 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm - VIRTUAL
Here is the link, or you can click on Parent Teacher
Thank you to all the families at Willow Ridge for donating change during our Penny War. We were able to present a check today for $2,700 to Canines for Change in honor of Alfie's fifth birthday. This money will buy dog beds for their new facility that just opened in Dimondale. It will also go for other needed items as they train puppies to become facility dogs. Thank you again for your generous donations. Dogs make a difference in students' lives!
PTA News
Tuesday, March 11th, the PTA will be providing dinner for our amazing staff during conferences. Please consider signing up to bring in something using the link below.
Our next PTA meeting is on Wednesday, March 19th at 6:00 pm in the Willow Ridge Art room for our March PTA meeting.
Yearbook Order
Yearbook orders are being placed online with Geskus Photography. Please use the link below to place your order. Yearbooks were not included in the fall picture package. So if your child wants a yearbook, you must order now! The yearbooks will be printed and delivered to the school. They will be sent home with students who ordered them at the end of the school year. Order Deadline has been extended to 3/14/25.
DID YOU KNOW that Willow Ridge has an online store through Literati? You may remember the Literati Book Fair. We now have an online store where every purchase benefits our school library.
to order books, science kits, craft kits, toys and more for your family. 10% of all purchases go directly to our library in the form of rewards that can be used to make purchases of books and kits that benefit all our students.
Since we will not be having a Spring Book Fair during conference week due to the ongoing school improvement projects, the Literati online store is a great way to celebrate your student’s accomplishments and support your Willow Ridge Library!
Library Schedule:
Monday - BK and Kindergarten
Tuesday - First and Second grades
Wednesday - Third Grade
Thursday - Fourth Grade
~ Mrs Garnaat
Snow Day Menu Changes
It's that time of year for possible snow days. In the event of a snow day, the menu for the day students return will be what was planned for the snow day. The scheduled menu will resume the day after we return. This is done to have the least amount of waste.
Morning Drop Off Line
A couple of drop off notes:
Do not turn left into the parking lot when coming south on Nixon. Please follow the traffic pattern shown below to get in the loop.
The only exception to this is for employees who have a laminated sign in their window. Please allow these staff members to turn into the parking lot. Thank you for your cooperation!!
Spare Clothes in Lockers
While our office is under construction for the remainder of the school year, there will not be any extra clothing to offer in case of accidents. Please send in clothes (socks, underwear, pants and shirt) to keep in their lockers. Thank you for your support and patience as we all navigate through this construction phase to make our school even better!!
Possession of Cell Phones, Smart Watches, and Other Electronic/Recording Communication Devices
The use of cell phones, smart watches, or any other ECD are prohibited to be used during the school day. It is recognized that some students may need access to these devices for transportation purposes after school and are therefore permitted after dismissal. During school, however, cell phones, smart watches, and other ECDs shall be turned off and stored away out of sight. If you are concerned that an electronic device might be stolen, broken or inappropriately used, please do not allow your student to bring it to school.
Attendance / Absence Policy Update
All absences from school conflict with the continuity of learning and need to be avoided when possible. Regular school attendance is necessary to academic success and continuous and consecutive attendance in school is required by State law; 10-undocumented absences limit per school year. The 10-absence limit per school year includes both Explained Absence (AE) and Unexplained Absence (AU).
In order to help provide supports for students and families, GLPS closely monitors explained and unexplained absences. We also work with families to ensure that as many absences as possible are documented, because undocumented absences can trigger truancy considerations.
Documented Absence (AD) - Absence that includes a note from a professional (ie. doctor, dentist, lawyer, etc.) to explain the absence. Absences are only considered documented for the days identified in the note. For example, if a doctor excuses a student for Monday and Tuesday, but the student is absent on Wednesday and Thursday as well, only Monday and Tuesday’s absences are considered documented. Any absence that does not include a note from a professional is considered undocumented.
Explained Absence (AE) - Undocumented absence in which a parent/guardian calls the office or sends a note to alert the school their child will not be in attendance, but does not include a note from a professional (ie. doctor, dentist, lawyer, etc.). This is important because explained absences are necessary for schools to meet pupil accounting requirements.
Unexplained Absence (AU) - Undocumented absence in which a parent/guardian does not call the office to alert the school their child will not be in attendance.
Attendance Policy - Undocumented Absences
A student's school will send a letter after 6 undocumented absences and after 10 undocumented absences in a school year, providing you with notice of the absences and outlining steps to help your child attend school regularly.
A student's school will communicate with families if the student has undocumented absences on more than 10% of the first 30 days.
Ten (10) or more days of undocumented absences in a school year can be sent to court. However, GLPS will make every effort to work with you and your student before it gets to that point.
Please note that school related absences, such as field trips or athletic events, are not factored into any truancy related processes.
Extra Clothes
PLEASE send your child to school with an extra set of clothes to keep in their locker for emergencies. This could mean they wet their pants, fell in the mud, spilled their lunch, etc. If they use those clothes, please send in another set to keep in their locker.
BREAKFAST IS ONLY SERVED UNTIL 8:55
If you arrive after 8:55, you will not be able to get breakfast
Background Checks
If you are interested in working with students during the school day or chaperoning field trips, you need to complete the volunteer application here. This process will run a thorough criminal background check. Once approved, you will need to check in at the office using our new Raptor system that will run your state issued ID and print you out a badge to wear. You will need to check in at the office and run your ID each time you volunteer. The approval is good for one calendar year. After that year is up, you will need to reapply.
Birthday Treats
Our classes do not have students bring in birthday treats. We have a number of food related allergies across the building so that is a practice we have not done for quite a number of years now. If your child wants to bring something for the class, it can be non-edible items like bookmarks, pencils, stickers, etc.
Absent Students
The office needs to be notified if your child will be absent or tardy. You can leave a voice message on the attendance line at 517-925-5812. In that message, please leave the following information:
* Student Name
* Teacher
* Reason for Absence (out of town, funeral, car trouble, sick, etc. If your child is sick, please leave
the nature of the illness – fever, vomiting, pink eye, cough, respiratory trouble, head lice, etc.
PLEASE NOTE: Teachers can only mark students unexcused. The office has to change those to excused absences after you call in or bring your child to school. This can take some time to get all the absences updated. If your child is still marked unexcused after 11:00, please feel free to contact the office.
Illness Reminders
We ask that your child be 24 hours free of fever, vomiting or diarrhea before you send them back to school after they have been out sick. We appreciate your cooperation with this!
Is something missing? Please share with John Ellsworth, GLPS Director of Communications, any additional Recognitions & Acknowledgments you think we should include on this list or upcoming lists – email him at EllsworthJ@GLcomets.net.
Delta Township District Library
The Michigan Department of Education wants to provide students the opportunity to say positive things about their teachers, so they know they’re appreciated. We’ll feature the videos on MDE platforms during May for Teacher Appreciation Month! Help students submit their videos to us!
Wireless Emergency Alert & Statewide Tornado Drill, Mar 19
ALERT! This is a reminder. GLPS Supervisor of Student Safety Chris Chester is reminding you that on Wednesday. March 19, 2025, there will be a wireless emergency alert test and a statewide tornado drill that GLPS is participating in. ALERT! This is a reminder.
BE PREPARED, part of Severe Weather Week, Mar 17-23
