February 18 - Wear Purple for Congenital Heart Defect Awareness
February 18 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm
February 28 - Daddy Daughter Dance
February 28 - Yearbook Order Deadline
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
The Principal's Pen
For many years, Willow Ridge has participated in wearing purple for Congenital Heart Defect Awareness and Ruby Jane Day. We are asking you again to wear purple on Tuesday, February 18th to honor Ruby and all of the heart warriors who bravely face this disease, and for those heart angels who have lost their fight. Ruby is a third grader here at Willow Ridge and is truly a brave and inspiring young lady.
As I mentioned last week, the teacher and I have been analyzing the data from our NWEA, Acadience, SEL screener, and IXL. In October, the grade-levels set goals to meet by this most recent data analysis. We were able to meet most of the goals, and for those that we didn't, we saw that we were extremely close in doing so.
Kindergarten
Behavior: By winter data analysis, kindergarten teachers will have a decreased score on the kindergarten teacher tier 1 SEL survey by 10%. MET
Reading: By winter data analysis, kindergarten students will maintain the 85% at or above benchmark as measured by Acadience. MET
Math: By winter data analysis, begindergarten and kindergarten will have at least 62% at core as measured by NWEA. MET
First Grade
Behavior: By winter data analysis, first grade will maintain 80% or higher of students following behavior expectations as measured by PowerSchool Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs). MET
Reading: By winter data analysis, first grade will achieve at least 65% of students at composite core in reading as measured by Acadience. MET
Math: By winter data analysis, first grade will achieve at least 65% of students at core in math as measured by NWEA. CLOSE!
Second Grade
Behavior: By winter data analysis, second graders will maintain 80% or greater in meeting classroom management and PBIS expectations as measured by PowerSchool Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs). MET
Reading: By winter data analysis, second graders will score at least 80% of students achieving composite core in reading as measured by Acadience. MET
Math: By winter data analysis, at least 50% of second graders will score at core in mathematics as measured by NWEA. CLOSE!
Third Grade
Behavior: By winter data analysis, third graders will maintain 80% or higher of students meeting behavior expectations as measured by PowerSchool Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs). MET
Reading: By winter data analysis, at least 59% of students will score at core in reading as measured by NWEA. CLOSE!
Math: By winter data analysis, at least 50% of students will score at core in mathematics as measured by NWEA. MET
Fourth Grade
Behavior: By winter data analysis, fourth grade will maintain 80% or higher of students following behavior expectations as measured by PowerSchool Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs). MET
Reading: By winter data analysis, 69% of fourth grade students will score at core in reading as measured by NWEA. CLOSE!
Math: By winter data analysis, 52% of fourth grade students will score at core in mathematics as measured by NWEA. MET
We did set new goals to tackle between now and the spring, which I will share next week.
Thank you to everyone who participated in Alfie's Birthday Penny War. We were able to raise over $2,700 to donate to Canines for Change to purchase dog beds for their new facility! Final results are:
1st Place - Mrs. Ford's Class
2nd Place - Mrs. Gribble's Class
3rd Place - Mrs. Bedard's Class
Main Entrance / Office
Any parents that need to come into the building during school hours should plan to enter through the southwest entrance, not the main entrance. The door camera, buzzer, and fob have been moved to that door. That is now the closest door to the new office location.
PTA News
The Daddy Daughter Dance is February 28th. The deadline for online registration is February 14th.
We still need volunteers for this event before, during, and after. Please help make this night fun and sign up to help!
Please join us on Tuesday, February 18th at 6:00 pm in the Willow Ridge Art room for our February PTA meeting. Dr. Barnes will be at this meeting to give district updates and answer any questions.
We are looking for volunteers for Maker Space. Please see the link below to sign up.
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.
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!!
This week, all grades read books with themes related to friendship.
Many of the books I ordered using funds earned from our November Scholastic Book Fair have begun to arrive and are being processed. Student requests included more cookbooks, science experiment books, and early reader non-fiction books. Some of these will be available for checkout as early as next week. We have already added additional copies of Dog Man books and more of the popular Who Would Win series. Thanks again for your support of your Willow Ridge Library.
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.
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.
Delta Township District Library
RELAX & RECHARGE EVENT » Relax and Recharge at the Resiliency Center every Monday from 7-9 p.m.
ProtectMIChild.com – FREE State of Michigan Resource
GLPS Supervisor of Student Safety Chris Chester is sharing this FREE State of Michigan resource with you. Visit ProtectMIChild.com to learn more about the program.
