April 14-18 - Autism Acceptance Spirit Week (see below)
April 14 - Willow Ridge Featured at the School Board Meeting 6:00
April 15 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm
April 16 - Talent Show Permission Slips Due
April 22 - Talent Show Tryouts 4:00-5:30
April 23 - Hanging Basket Order Forms and Money Due
April 25 - Popcorn Day
May 2 - Block Party 6:00-8:00
May 8 - Hanging Basket Fundraiser Delivery
May 16 - All Library Books Due
May 16 - Mother Son Bowling 6:00-8:00
May 20 - Talent Show Dress Rehearsal 4:00-5:30
May 22 - Talent Show 5:30-7:00
May 23 - No School - Teacher PD Day
May 26 - No School - Memorial Day
June 6 - Last Half Day of School - Dismissal at 12:10
The Principal's Pen
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.
Although it was colder than we would've preferred, Mileage Club started off great! Once again, this event can't happen without volunteers. Thank you to those that helped out this week! If interested, here are links to get you all set up to help.
Don’t forget to get a background check in advance and let me know if you have any questions!
We are excited to announce our upcoming School Talent Show! This flyer lists all the key dates and details for participation. Please print and complete this form or click here: https://forms.gle/TRxBw2qrTKdyVgYF7
PTA News
This month’s PTA meeting is April 15th. During the meeting we will be taking nominations for next year’s PTA Officers. Voting for next year’s officers will take place in May. If you are unable to attend the meeting, but are interested in running for a position, please email Julie Douglas at douglasj@glcomets.net. If you have any questions, please email ptawillowridge@gmail.com.
Our annual Hanging Flower Basket fundraiser order forms are due back on April 23rd. Please share with your friends and family. Baskets will be delivered May 8th just in time for Mother’s Day!
The Willow Ridge Block Party is May 2nd from 6-8pm. We will be having a silent auction, food trucks, yard games, bounce houses, music and more! Please send in items for your child’s classroom basket. You should have received the theme for your basket last week. Classrooms also did the classroom fingerprint plates again this year. They will be available to bid on during the silent auction. We will also have a Signup Genius that will go out soon for volunteers. This is a free event sponsored by the PTA.
Mother son bowling is Friday, May 16th from 6-8pm at Royal Scot. Please return the registration slip by April 28th.
Mileage Club
Mileage Club started this week!
Physical activity is an important part of childhood development, which is why MSU Health Care Sports Medicine is sponsoring the Fitness Finders Mileage Club®. This running and walking program is designed to help kids get fit and discover that fitness can be fun. Mileage Club® is an opportunity for children to participate in noncompetitive physical activity. The program will run 3 days each week during the lunchtime recess.
No one needs special equipment or shoes to participate. Each child is free to run or walk as little or as much as they like within the designated time. Participants will earn rewards - Toe Tokens® - for their achievements. This is all free and sponsored by Willow Ridge PTA.
We are confident that your child will enjoy Mileage Club®! Please click the link below to volunteer. We cannot do this without you!
If your student would like to create and bring in a drawing representing one of their favorite books, I would love to display it in our library! Drawings for display must follow school guidelines regarding language and content: school appropriate, no depictions of violence or gore, please! Book related art will be accepted and displayed through the end of the school year, not just next week!
You can support your local public library by visiting, checking out books, and attending library programs. Several students were excited to tell me about times they have visited our local libraries and participated in programs like Summer Reading Program, art contests, MarioKart tournaments and more!
LAST WEEK TO CHECK OUT BOOKS: MAY 5-9
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
Grand Ledge District Library Art Show
Congratulations to the following students whose artwork will be on display at the Grand Ledge District Library through April 30th.
Jace Adams
Thea Wright
Henrik Marr
Kinsley Sweet
Sydney Patterson
Theo Kingery
Ava Thompson
Sydney Brown
AddiLynn Decker
Oaklyn Suchecki
Isabella Than
Lily Browning
Josephine Duskaluk
Ava Kahl
Madison Toomey
Tanner Ulrich
Westley Bock
Beatrice Cleveland
Keegan Schutt
Avery Onan
Willow Patsey
Olivia Kahl
Henry Whitten
Sylvia Brokstad-Franks
Patrick O'Keefe
Michael Organek
Jayna Buzun
Daniella Ferreyra
~ Mrs. Snyder, Willow Ridge Art Educator
Occupational Therapy Month
We are very lucky to have Mrs. Shari Burg as our occupational therapist at Willow Ridge. She is the best!!
In schools, occupational therapy (OT) supports students' participation in learning and daily activities by addressing physical, cognitive, and sensory challenges that might hinder their ability to succeed in an educational environment.
Visit our Occupational Therapy website at ERESA to learn
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.
Changes to Next Year's School Calendar!
The days students come to school and do not come are still the same – those did not change.So what did change?
Conferences – the most significant change is to the conference schedule; dates, times, and type (in-person or virtual) were changed as part of a recent letter of agreement between the district and the teachers.
A few other items were added as well:
• Kindergarten Launch on August 18 & 19, 2025
• Kindergarten Open Houses on August 21, 2025
• May 21, 2026 will be the Seniors (Class of 2026) Last Day; other students continue to June 5, 2026
REMINDER: The first day of school is Tuesday, August 26, 2025. It will have a regular start time, and students will be dismissed 60 minutes early on the first day.This should ease the transition from summer break and assist with transportation logistics.
May is Teacher Appreciation Month! Share About Your Favorite GLPS Teacher!
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!
New Updates to MI Car Seat Laws for Child Passenger Safety
GLPS Supervisor of Student Safety Chris Chester is sharing information from the Michigan State Police regarding the recent updates to Michigan’s child passenger safety laws.
