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 18 - Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:00 pm
March 18 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm
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
As I mentioned last week, we set short term goals between now and the spring at our most recent data analysis. Below are the new goals set by each grade level. Remember, you play an integral role in your child's learning as well. Continue to partner with your child's teacher on ways to support their day-to-day learning.
Kindergarten
Behavior: By Spring Data Analysis, more begindergarten and kindergarten students will feel connected to 2 or more people in the school.
Reading: By Spring Data Analysis, begindergarten and kindergarten students will go from 62% core to 70% at core as measured by NWEA.
Math: By Spring Data Analysis, begindergarten and kindergarten students will go from 69% core to 77% at core as measured by NWEA.
First Grade
Behavior: By Spring Data Analysis, we will have 95% of students feel that they can learn new things as measured by SEL screener.
Reading: By Spring Data Analysis, we will have 73% of students at composite core as measured by Acadience.
Math: By Spring Data Analysis, we will have 70% of students at core as measured by NWEA.
Second Grade
Behavior: By Spring Data Analysis, second graders will maintain 80% or greater in meeting classroom management and PBIS expectations as measured by PowerSchool Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs).
Reading: By Spring Data Analysis, 57% of students will score core or above as measured by NWEA.
Math: By Spring Data Analysis, 50% of students will score at core or above as measured by NWEA.
Third Grade
Behavior: By Spring Data Analysis, third graders will maintain 80% or higher of students meeting behavior expectations as measured by PowerSchool Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs).
Reading: By Spring Data Analysis, students will achieve 65% proficient or higher as measured by M-STEP.
Math: By Spring Data Analysis, students will achieve 60% proficient or higher as measured by M-STEP.
Fourth Grade
Behavior: By Spring Data Analysis, fourth grade will maintain 80% or higher of students following behavior expectations as measured by PowerSchool Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs).
Reading: By Spring Data Analysis, at least 65% of students will score proficient or higher as measured by the M-STEP.
Math: By Spring Data Analysis, at least 60% of students will score proficient or higher as measured by the M-STEP.
Thank you to all who participated in wearing purple on Tuesday in recognition for Ruby and all the kids that live with Congenital Heart Defects. This community is the best!
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
The sign up email will go out on Monday at noon. Please sign up for an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher when you receive the email.
PTA News
The Daddy Daughter Dance is February 28th. The online registration is closed. You can come the night of the dance and pay at the door.
We still need volunteers for this event before, during, and after. Please help make this night fun and sign up to help!
We are looking for donations to help with Makerspace. Please see the below graphic with ideas. The kids make creations out of assorted materials. They use paper plates, cotton balls, cardboard, glue, beads, cups, straws, pipe cleaners, paper, and much more!
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 is 2/28/25.
This week I began reading chapter books with second, third and fourth grade classes. We will continue reading a chapter or two a week until we’ve finished the books.
Reminder emails/printed reminders: For a variety of reasons, not the least of which has been all of our days off and schedule changes, I have put a pause on sending the weekly reminder emails detailing which books are checked out and when they are due. While there has been a slight increase in forgotten library books, overall the students have done a great job of remembering their library day and bringing back books. I have printed some reminders to send home for books that have been out for a month or more. Reminder emails are scheduled to begin again next week.
Replacing lost or damaged books: If a library book is damaged while in your possession, I ask that you still return it to the library. In many cases, I can repair the damage and the book can be put back into circulation. If a book is lost or damaged beyond repair, please contact me at garnaatd@glcomets.net so we can discuss the best next steps.
Looking ahead: The last week to check out books is tentatively scheduled for the week of May 5th, with all books due back by Friday, May 16.
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, 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.
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!
RELAX & RECHARGE EVENT » Relax and Recharge at the Resiliency Center every Monday from 7-9 p.m.
