June 6 - Last Half Day of School - Dismissal at 12:10
~ SUMMER ~
August 21 - Kindergarten Open House 4:30-6:30
August 21 - First-Fourth Grade Open House 5:30-7:00
August 26 - First Day of School - Dismissal one hour early (first day only)
August 29 & September 1 - No School - Labor Day Weekend
The Principal's Pen
Every year I do a Principal Slip 'N Slide Kickball with students that have been recognized as a HERO of the month for this school year. I will randomly pick two HERO Reward students from each class to participate. For the lucky winners, I will be reaching out to families regarding the details.
Willow Ridge PBIS H.E.R.O. Headquarters!
Today we recognized our May H.E.R.O.'s of the Month!
These students were recognized for being a HERO by exhibiting Honesty, Encouragement, Respect and Ownership
Ameiah Augustus
Elleanna Ayen Arthur Beaty Theodore Bedwell Kingston Bond
Jack Bort
Caroline Bowers
Samuel Brock
Arlo Brzycki
Liam Cashion
Mena Daggett
Oliver Dann
Noah Davis
Easton Fisher
Benjamin Floate
Gabriel Gatea
Oliver Greer
Landon Hastings
Caroline Hoffman
Isabel Hughes
Aislynn Huhn
Julian Hyslop
Jacob Jensen
Flynn Johnson
Alexander Keller
Persephone Kemmer
Briella Kessler
Steven Lockhart
Ana'Lycia Loveless
Mateo Marez
James McAndrew
Micheal Moore
Vincent Munoz
Blake Nearhood
Sydney Patterson
Carter Pearson
Nikolas Peeper
Libby Phillips
Hendrick Pittsley
Josiah Salazar
Cecilia Schneider
Reese Sinclair
Gabriel Smethurst
Aaliyah Taylor
Gabriel Tyson
Braxton VanLancker
Zoe Vulgaris
Ethan Waweru
Henry Whitten
Luke Wright
Special Person Lunch Day
On Wednesday, June 4, we are having "Special Person Lunch Day" at Willow Ridge. Each student can invite ONE special person to come eat lunch with them. The student can order a school lunch or the adult can bring fast food, pizza, cold lunch, etc. Space in the lunchroom will be at a premium so bring blankets and chairs and hopefully enjoy your lunch outside. We also have parking constraints to keep in mind. Our 1st and 2nd graders eat lunch at 12:07, our BK/K students eat at 12:27 and our 3rd and 4th graders eat at 12:43.
Due to security issues and for everyone's safety, we will need to have all guests check in at the office and be issued a visitor badge. Please fill out the attached Google Form so we can have badges ready for those people who have already been cleared in our system. We are trying to streamline the process as we anticipate many guests that day. If you have not visited or volunteered at the school this year, you are welcome to stop by between now and June 4 to have your ID scanned so we can have a visitor badge pre-printed to save you some time in line. Everyone who attends must bring their state issued ID or license. If you don't have it, you will be turned away. PLEASE REMEMBER - only one guest is permitted per student.
All students who ordered a yearbook will receive it on the last day of school - Friday, June 6. There will be a yearbook signing time that morning. We have some extra yearbooks for sale if you did not order one. They will be available (first come, first serve) for $10 – CASH ONLY – in the office. To check if you purchased a yearbook, please email Mrs. Lee at leel@glcomets.net. If your child does not have a yearbook, we will have some autograph pages available for them to use for the signing time on the 6th.
Field Day 2025
Field Day is scheduled for Monday, June 2 with a rain makeup day scheduled for Tuesday, June 3. Please use the link below to sign up if you would like to volunteer.
Congratulations to all the heroes who participated in mileage club! We ran 4,693 miles in 6 weeks! Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who made this happen! We are incredibly grateful for every one of you.
The final totals for 3rd and 4th grade are as follows! Eleven kids earned MSU sports packs at 30 miles! These kids earned them this week: Dominic D, Drew F and Claire P! So proud of you!
3rd grade: 1. Brennan C in Mr. Terranova with 48.6 miles 2. Elias B in Mr. Terranova with 46.2 miles 3. Xavier S in Mrs. Sweet with 45.2 miles
4th grade (all in Mrs. Nelson) 1. Reid D with 53.2 miles 2. Drew F with 31 miles 3. Claire P with 30 miles
See you next spring! Mileage Club Committee
PTA News
As the school year ends, the Willow Ridge PTA wants to take a moment to say a huge thank you to each of you. Thank you volunteers for giving your time, energy, and talent throughout the year.
Whether you helped plan events, supported our teachers, cheered from the sidelines, or worked behind the scenes, your time and dedication have meant the world. You've helped create a fun, welcoming, and supportive environment for our students and staff and we couldn’t have done it without you.
We are so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for helping make Willow Ridge such an amazing community!
Next School Year
We are planning for next year. If you know your student(s) will not be attending Willow Ridge next year, please contact our office at 925-5775.
Medication Pick Up
Your child’s medication(s) must be picked up at school on or before June 6. If your student is attending summer learning, contact Mrs. Douglas to make arrangements for summer medication.
We are down to just 30 books checked out to students! Thank you for helping your child locate and return library books. If you are still looking, here are some places that library books have been left or turned up in past years:
*at the public library (they contact us when this happens)
*between the bed and the wall
*in Grandma’s car
*at the babysitter’s house
*at the track/baseball field/hockey rink/dance studio/gym
*on the bookcase at home
*in the toybox
*in a friend’s desk
*in a classroom
Replacing lost books: If you’ve lost your library book, here are some ways you can help replace it:
*send in a new copy of the same title
*send in a donation to the library (cash or check made out to GLPS) to help offset the cost of a new book
*donate gently used, elementary appropriate books to the Willow Ridge Library
-Mrs Garnaat
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, 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.
