November 15 - Half Day for Students - Dismissal at 12:10 pm
November 19 - Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 pm
November 21 - Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 pm
November 27-29 - No School - Thanksgiving Break
December 2 - No School - Teacher PD Day
December 3 - Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:00 pm
Dec. 23-Jan. 3 - No School - Winter Break
January 6 - No School - Teacher PD Day
The Principal's Pen
Today we had our Fun Run as part of the PTA's fundraiser for our school. As of writing this blurb, we have raised $20,389 towards our $20,000 goal. We hope that each student could raise $50 for the PTA. The top five classes will get a pizza party and the top class will get to slime me. Both of those events will take place on November 8th. Donations will be accepted until November 1 at 11:59 pm.
At the PTA meeting this week I shared our school improvement goal. This year we are in the last year of a three year achievement goal. We met the goals for the previous two school years. The goal is throughout the 2024-2025 school year, we will increase overall reading and math achievement by strengthening universal understanding of good core instruction, resulting in students having an increase in overall reading and math proficiency on M-STEP by 10% by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
During the 2024-2025 school year we will increase in overall reading and math proficiency by 10% from the 2021-2022 school year M-STEP results. This requires the following scores: 3rd & 4th Grade Reading >65%, 3rd & 4th Grade Math >60%
Part of the work we are doing to help with these goals is to send home math facts and games for you to work with your child at home. At school, we are teaching them the concept of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and we will be practicing facts here, too, but would love to partner with the extra 5-10 minutes that you all could do nightly to help in this.
Halloween is coming up. Classroom parties will be on October 31st and will be determined by your child's specific teacher, so be on the lookout for that information. We will have an all-school parade that same day around 3:00 that afternoon. Our intent is to parade outside around the building (weather permitting of course). If the weather is crummy, parents will be able to come to the gymnasium and we will parade through the inside of the building. We are timing the parade so that we will be done with it at the end of the school day. We ask that you do not plan on signing your child out after the parade, but rather take them home at the normal dismissal time.
To keep it fun for all, here are some guidelines that we would like you to consider when selecting an appropriate costume for the Halloween celebration.
Masks may be worn, but excessive make-up is discouraged due to the time and assistance needed to apply it
Costumes promoting violence, blood and gore, and indecency are not allowed. Specific examples are Zombie-like costumes.
Costumes depicting patriotism and/or patriotic characters are encouraged
Costumes promoting what children want to be when they grow up are encouraged
Be original, creative, and/or funny!
Willow Ridge PBIS H.E.R.O. Headquarters!
Last week we recognized our September Heroes of the Month!
These students were recognized for being a HERO by exhibiting Honesty, Encouragement, Respect and Ownership.
Judson Bodell Cylus Bouwens Penelope Smith Eliana Clayborn Theo Sommerlot Thea Wright
Henry Bielawski Birdie Bolhouse Kinsley Sweet
Tilly Byrens
Silas Nykamp
Avery Wilkins
Bryce Decker Alessia Saunders Sanay Watts
Shanti Goodwin Ozias Jones Hudson Lyons Kinsley Ybarra
Antonio Aguinaga
Ruth Sims
Harper Hall
Ava Thompson
Aiden Westfall Sydney Brown Christopher Ptaszynski
Piper Ference Michael Organek Francis Blixt Chelsea Xiong
Edward Bourgeois Ananya Gokhale
Raegan Bort Bennett Winter Jonas Algrim Vanessa Lusk Harshil Mahawar Laylonie Caraballo Pioquinto
Brody Miller
School Pictures
Picture retake day is next Friday, October 25. You must return the picture packet you received if you want your child's picture retaken. Picture packets should be brought to school on retake day. If your child did not have pictures taken in September, please request an order form from the office.
PTA News
The Fun Run is going great! Thanks to everyone that has registered and donated so far. Our school will be raising money to help our PTA continue to make Willow Ridge the best school we can be. The PTA uses our funds to help support assemblies, classroom supplies, staff appreciation, school t-shirts, fun events, and more. Sign up your student today, share their personalized webpage through Facebook or email. Everyone who registers gets a mini resin animal! Reach $50 get a smencil! Thanks for your support!! Our goal this year is $20,000! We have already raised $20,395! Donations will be accepted until November 1 at 11:59 pm.
This week was a mix of Fall themes in all grades, with books about leaves, squirrels, acorns, bears and birds.
We continue to work on being HEROs in the library.
Honesty - Putting books back where they belong, returning books on time
Encouragement - Sharing good book ideas, quietly helping others find books if needed
Respect - Listening and following directions, maintaining appropriate volume
Ownership - Choosing a Just Right book, taking care of books and materials
Save the Dates! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Willow Ridge from November 18 - November 21. If you are interested in volunteering to help with set up, shopping times or pack up, email Mrs. Garnaat at garnaatd@glcomets.net Volunteer opportunities will be available during school hours and some evening hours during Parent Teacher Conferences.
Library reminders are being sent to the first email on file for each student with materials checked out, the evening before their library day.
When does your child’s class visit the library?
Begindergarten and Kindergarten - Monday
First and Second Grade - Tuesday
Third Grade - Wednesday
Fourth Grade - Thursday
~ Mrs. Garnaat
Safeties of the Week:
Ceian Riley
Kaide Anderson
Cali Kimmey
Raegan Bort
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.
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!
Oct. is National Bullying Prevention Month
Oct. is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month
Oct. is National Principals Month
Oct. is Down Syndrome Awareness Month
Oct. is National ADHD Awareness Month
Oct. is Crime Prevention Month
Oct. is Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Oct. is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Oct. is Down Syndrome Awareness Month
Oct. 19 » Sweetest Day
Oct. 20-26 » America’s Safe Schools Week
Oct. 20-26 » Invisible Disabilities Week
Oct. 21-25 » National School Bus Safety Week
Oct. 21-25 » National Health Education Week
Oct. 23-25 » Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah
Oct. 23-31 » Red Ribbon Week
Oct. 26 » Make a Difference Day
Oct. 27 » World Occupational Therapy Day
Oct. 31 » Halloween
Oct. 31 » Samhain
Nov. is National Native American Heritage Month
Nov. is National Youth Homeless Awareness Month
Nov. 1 » All Saints’ Day
Nov. 1 » Diwali
Nov. 1 - 2 » Day of the Dead
Nov. 2 » Birth of the Bab
Nov. 3 » Birth of Bahá'u'lláh
Nov. 3 » Standard Time begins; Daylight Savings Time ends
Nov. 5 » Election Day
Nov. 5 » National Redhead Day
Nov. 11 » Veterans Day
Nov. 18-22 » American Education Week
Nov. 13-17 » Geography Awareness Week
Nov. 13 » World Kindness Day
Nov. 15 » America Recycles Day
Nov. 15 » Guru Nanak Dev Sahib’s Birthday Festival
Nov. 20 » Education Support Professionals Day
Nov. 21 » National Parental Involvement Day
Nov. 22 » Substitute Educators Day
Nov. 20 » Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution
Nov. 28 » Thanksgiving Day
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.
SCHOOL MILLAGES ON NOV. 5 BALLOT
The Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to place the Operating Millage Proposal and the Sinking Fund Millage Proposal on the Nov. 5 ballot. This information also at GLcomets.net/Millages.
Operating Millage Proposal
This proposal will allow the school district to continue to levy the statutory rate of not to exceed 18 mills on all property (except principal residence and other property exempted by law) required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance. Voters will decide whether the limitation on the amount of taxes that may be assessed against all property in Grand Ledge Public Schools (except principal residence and other property exempted by law) shall be increased by 18.8899 mills for a period of 10 years – replacing an 18.8899 mill operating millage that expired with the 2024 tax levy. The proposal’s estimated revenue is approximately $12,485,000, about 16% of the general fund budget.
Sinking Fund Millage Proposal
Voters will decide whether to increase the sinking fund millage to the rate of 0.7921 mills for ten years – replacing a 0.7921 mill sinking fund millage that expired with the 2024 tax levy.
The Sinking Fund is a capital improvement fund that was first approved by the voters in 2002 at a rate of 1.000 mills, and previous voters approved renewals in 2011 and 2021. Headlee reductions have lowered the tax rate over time to the current rate of 0.7921 mills. In the past, it has paid for school building improvements, roof replacements, HVAC upgrades, parking lot work, athletic facility upgrades, and more. If approved this November, the Sinking Fund could also be used to pay for school buses, security improvements, student technology, maintenance vehicles, and all other purposes authorized by law.
Here are some Sinking Fund projects completed and/or in progress from the last three years:
Parking lot asphalt & lighting
LED light fixtures within multiple buildings
Neff sidewalk extension
Wacousta kindergarten playground
Elevator upgrades at GLHS & Sawdon
Climate control upgrades in Sawdon's technology infrastructure spaces
Pressbox windows & doors
Track storage barn
This Publication is Paid for by Grand Ledge Public Schools, 220 Lamson Street, Grand Ledge, MI 48837
Toy bins are in EACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL for the Grand Ledge Shopping Tour and other locations: Flour Child Bakery, Ledges chiropractic, 5th/3rd bank, A&W, Clinton Street Place Apartments, & Dart Bank All donations are for Grand Ledge Public Schools children (K-4th grades) that may otherwise not have presents. We appreciate your donations! Wondering what to donate? Here's some ideas: baby dolls, big trucks/cars, craft kits, puzzles, games, Lego sets, Nerf-like sporting items, stuffed animals, remote control cars, and personal items for kids in grades K-4 (jewelry, lotions, fingernail polish, etc.)
