Willow Ridge Elementary School
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12840 Nixon Road, Grand Ledge, MI 48837
Phone: 517-925-5775 | Fax: 517-925-5811 | Attendance Line: 517-925-5812
Volume 30 | Issue 29 | April 10, 2026
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School Hours
8:55 am - 3:55 pm
Do not drop off
before 8:35 am
Pick up no later
than 4:05 pm
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April 13-17 - Autism Acceptance Spirit Week (See below)
April 17 - Author Visit Order Forms Due
April 21 - PTA Meeting 6 pm
April 24 - Talent Show Permission Slips Due
April 30 - Talent Show Tryouts 4-5:30 pm
May 1 - Mother Son Bowling 6-8 pm
May 8 - Block Party
May 11 - Talent Show Dress Rehearsal 4-5:30 pm
May 14 - Talent Show - 5:30-7 pm
May 19 - PTA Meeting 6 pm
May 22 - Teacher PD Day - No Students
May 25 - No School - Memorial Day
June 5 - Last Day of School (Half Day) - Dismissal at 12:10
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I hope you and your family enjoyed the time together over Spring Break.
We are in the final eight weeks of school and it is jam packed! During this time of year we have various testing, field trips, assemblies, and events happening so it is imperative that you read all of the communications from your child's teacher and the office. You don't want to miss out!
As I mentioned, we are just a couple of week's away from the spring testing window. Here is an overall breakdown of the testing:
Week of:
4/27-5/1: 3rd & 4th Grade M-STEP
5/4-5/8: 3rd & 4th Grade M-STEP; Kindergarten & 2nd Grade NWEA; Kindergarten-4th Grade DIBELS
5/11-5/14: 1st, 3rd, and 4th Grade NWEA
Your child's teacher will reach out to you for specific dates of the testing, as I am providing the week they would be happening. So be on the lookout!
Earlier in the school year we asked families to share two vocabulary words that are significant to each family as a way to learn about each other. We have enjoyed watching our Family Word Wall take shape over the last several months. We would still love more families to participate!
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Willow Ridge PBIS H.E.R.O. Headquarters!
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This week we recognized our March H.E.R.O.'s of the Month!
These students were recognized for being a HERO by exhibiting Honesty, Encouragement, Respect and Ownership
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Shane Betz
Easton Schellhammer
Dominick Brown
Landon Hart
Enzley Martinez
Felix Oosterhoff
Isabelle Russell
Liam Williams
Trey Gibbs
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Rakshan Senthil-Pandian
Braxton Wedell
Owen Watters
Harper Ellis
Henry Bielawski
Violeta Boone
Jacob Jensen
Charlie Mulvaney
Avery Wilkins
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Riley Heerema
Oliver Lee
Birdie Schopmeyer
Gus Traore
William Wotring
A'Melia Davis
Calvin Black
Lincoln Roth
Selena Nassery
Ava Thompson
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Marshall Urbina
Charlie Hall
Lennon Shevlin
Arlo Brzycki
Walker Cook
Asher Edgley
Sydney Brown
Harper Wedell
Jackson Lee
Keaghan Howland
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Harlee McDonald
Ashlyn Stowell
Libby Phillips
Luke Wright
Alice Nelson
Liam Richardson
Gracelyn Shaw
Jillian Williams
Charlotte Alward
Baran Ahmed
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David Perry
Maddock Zoller
Abbie Chambers
Broderick Steward
Isabel Hughes
Elijah Rosas
Ceci Schneider
Zayn Manson
Flynn Johnson
Levi Clayborn
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It’s April and that means it is Autism Acceptance Month! We are going to be celebrating inclusion throughout the whole month at Willow Ridge, which means inclusion not only for Autism but for all our students that are neurodivergent! Next week is Autism Acceptance Spirit Week - see the flyer below.
The most exciting thing to announce is that we have a full special education teacher team at Willow Ridge. Kyla Chamberlain is our newest addition!
Things we are doing this month…
*A Coins VS Bills War the week of April 20th (similar to the Penny War but with pennies not being made there is a little bit of a change to it, more information will be sent home next week)
*There will be a Unified Event at Grand Ledge High School for some of our students on
April 21st
*There will be an inclusion lesson for each class at some point during this month
*This is for next month but some of our students will be going to the Special Olympics at MSU
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We have two more Popcorn Fridays left this year and we
need volunteers to help pop, bag and deliver to classrooms.
If you are available on April 24 or May 8,
please click the popcorn graphic to sign up!
Please make sure you have completed the volunteer registration and have been approved to volunteer at the school.
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It was great to be back together in the library this week! With just a couple of exceptions, we should have a full month of regular library times in April. If your child’s class is affected by an event or field trip this month, alternate library times will be scheduled and communicated in advance.
This week we received many of the books that were ordered using funds earned from our Discovery Fair. Students were excited to see new cookbooks, basketball and hockey nonfiction books and books about animals of the rainforest. We are looking forward to receiving more new titles as shipments arrive from the vendors.
Next week, we will read some books by author Maria Dismondy to prepare for her visit to Willow Ridge later this month. If your family is interested in prepurchasing any of Maria Dismondy’s books, an order form was sent home in Friday folders. Orders are due by Friday, April 17. Ms. Dismondy will visit Willow Ridge on Thursday, April 23.
Library Schedule:
Monday: Barnes, Shier, Ellis, Meeder, Baker
Tuesday: Bedard, Terranova, Grass, Sampson, Toomey, Gribble
Wednesday: Walker, Smith, Austin, Patterson, Price,
Thursday: Sweet, Weidenbach, Rozycki, Oetting, Nelson
Friday: Ford
“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.” - Dr. Seuss
~ Mrs Garnaat
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Attendance / Absence Policy
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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.
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- 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.
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Attendance Policy - Undocumented Absences
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- 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.
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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.
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BREAKFAST IS ONLY SERVED UNTIL 8:55
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If students arrive after
8:55, they will not be
able to get breakfast
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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 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.
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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.
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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.
* Lunch choice, if arriving later than 9:30
If you email the teacher, please copy douglasj@glcomets.net and leel@glcomets.net.
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.
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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!
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