June 4 - Bring a Special Person to Lunch (details to come)
June 6 - Last Half Day of School - Dismissal at 12:10
** IMPORTANT NOTE **
When reading through the newsletter, you may see a notice at the bottom that says
"[Message clipped] View entire message."
Please click on this link to view the rest of the information in the newsletter. This area of the
newsletter provides information on community happenings such as art shows, sports camps,
learning opportunities, and a lot more! The monthly lunch menu is the final item in the newsletter.
The Principal's Pen
This week was Staff Appreciation Week and I want to take a moment to thank all of the members of our Willow Ridge staff. It is very refreshing for me to see such a giving, kind, and dedicated staff. They are the best!
Our PTA went all out this week to spoil our staff. They provided us with a hydration station, breakfast, cookies, raffle prizes, lunch and a snack cart. We definitely felt loved and appreciated. Thank you PTA!
This week most of the third and fourth grade students wrapped up the M-STEP. Scores will be released to the public in the fall. All students will wrap up Acadience and NWEA testing next week.
If you have a new student to enroll in BK or Kindergarten for the 2025 - 2026 school year, please Enroll Today!. Once your child is registered you will be invited to attend ONE parent meeting. During the parent meeting, we will discuss our BK and K programs, kindergarten curriculum, expectations, preferred school supplies, and other important information to help you and your child prepare for their kindergarten year. Your child must be registered before attending a parent meeting; we ask that you attend only ONE parent meeting.
Field Day 2025
Field Day is scheduled for Monday, June 2 with a rain makeup day scheduled for Tuesday, June 3. Please use the link below to sign up if you would like to volunteer.
Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate our teachers and staff this week. The PTA enjoyed showing the teachers and staff how great they are each day this week. We provided meals, thank you notes, snacks, cookies, and a raffle.
Voting for next year’s PTA officers will take place at the May PTA meeting. If you are unable to attend and are interested in running for a position, please email Julie Douglas at douglasj@glcomets.net.
We added a mileage club day on May 28 for 3rd and 4th graders only as they missed a mileage club recess due to rain! This will be the last day! Please consider volunteering to help at our last one!
Congrats runners! As of Wednesday you have ran 3,253 miles!
In the lead for Kindergarten is Theo S. in Mrs. Toomey, followed by Autumn E. in Mrs. Toomey In the lead for 1st grade is Sawyer J. in Mrs. Grass followed by Ozias J. in Mrs. Grass In the lead for 2nd grade is Ethan H. in Mrs. Austin, followed by Harrison W. in Mrs. Austin In the lead for 3rd grade is Brennan C. in Mr. Terranova followed by Xavier S. in Mrs. Sweet In the lead for 4th grade is Reid D. in Mrs. Nelson followed by Drew F. in Mrs Nelson
Congrats Heroes! You make us proud!! Reid D. earned the first backpack provided by MSU this week! Congratulations!! They provide this at 30 miles of participation!
This was our last week to check out books from the library. We will continue to have read aloud time and activities as classroom schedules allow, but the time has come to start collecting all library materials for end of the school year inventory. Library books are due by Friday, May 16.
This week, Kindergarten classes read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dragon.
First grade classes read Pete the Cat’s Groovy Imagination.
Second grade classes continued reading the second book in the Big Foot and Little Foot series.
Third graders are getting so close to finishing our chapter book, Bob.
Fourth graders have nearly finished Wishtree. We are looking forward to finishing out the year with some favorite picture books.
ALL BOOKS DUE BACK: MAY 16
Library Schedule:
Monday - BK and Kindergarten
Tuesday - First and Second grades
Wednesday - Third Grade
Thursday - Fourth Grade
~ Mrs Garnaat
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.
Sign up started May 8th at 8:00am and will close at 3:00pm May 23rd. There will be no Late sign ups this year. The sign up will be through PowerSchool – you cannot use the app; you will need to use a computer. This will be on a first come first serve basis. If there are no sections to sign up for, that means that all sections for that week are full.
The GLPS summer learning program is open to all students enrolled at Grand Ledge Public Schools during the 24-25 school year. It is not available for students from other school districts or students who will be starting for the 25-26 school year. Incoming kindergarten students are not eligible unless they are GLPS current Begindergarten (BK) students.. Students will sign up based on the grade level in which they are currently enrolled (BK students, they will sign up for kindergarten.) Based on space and staffing, students will be placed on a first come, first served basis. All placements will be finalized and communicated via PowerSchool to families on or before June 20th.
SUMMER LEARNING CONTACT INFORMATION
The Summer Learning office can be contacted by email at GLPSsummerlearning@GLcomets.net. Please note this email address will be active now through July 31st.
Grand Ledge Public Schools Nominated for LSJ's Community Choice Awards
Grand Ledge Public Schools is nominated again for the LSJ Community Choice Award in the Kids & Education category for PUBLIC SCHOOL. Also in the Kids & Education category for CHILD CARE, the school district has two nominees: Adventure Club & Little Comets. Another noteworthy nomination is that Grand Ledge Public Schools was nominated in the Top Employers category for PLACE TO WORK.
