October 7, 8 & 9 - Vision and Hearing Screenings by BEDHD
October 21 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm
October 24 - Picture Retake Day
November 7 - No School - Staff PD Day
November 11 - Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 pm (In Person)
November 13 - Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 pm (In Person)
November 14 - Half Day for Students - Dismissal at 12:10 pm
November 14 - Parent Teacher Conferences 1:00-3:00 pm (Virtual)
November 18 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm
November 26-28 - No School - Thanksgiving Break
December 1 - No School - Staff PD Day
Just a reminder that school starts at 8:55. Students who are not in
their seats at 8:55 will be marked tardy. If your child arrives after
8:55, you need to come into the office to sign them in.
The Principal's Pen
Now that the DIBELS and NWEA data is in, I'd like to share with you some of our baseline results. These graphs show this year's baseline for where students are scoring in regards to proficiency. Next week you will get your child's specific beginning of the year scores.
NWEA: The key is at the bottom which indicates percentiles, which are statistically normed with over 14 million students that take this assessment nationwide. The green oval indicates what percentile the median (middle) score lands. The higher the median score, the better.
NWEA Math
NWEA Reading
DIBELS
I am including our school scores compared to the district and national scores. Also, I will show each individual grade.
Over the next few weeks the teachers and I will be creating goals around this data and I will be sharing those out in future newsletters.
Food Service News
GLPS will offer free meals to students at least through September 30, 2025, as part of the Michigan School Meals program, which was funded through the last state budget. GLPS will have a better idea about the future of the Michigan School Meals program and whether free meals will be provided to students once the state government agrees on a new budget (for the state fiscal year 2026). GLPS will communicate more about school meals as we learn more.
In the meantime, you can DO YOUR PART, CHECK THE CHART – your family might qualify for education and meal benefits. The Education & Meals Benefit Application helps our schools get state and federal funding for education programs. This application must be completed annually in order to qualify for the education and meal benefits that help both your family and the school district. The Application for the Michigan School Meals Program collects information needed to ensure the school receives state and federal funding for education programs. Without this information, Grand Ledge Public Schools could lose critical state funding for educational programs that our students are entitled to.
What else might my student or household be eligible for? By filling out the School Meals Application, your child may qualify for other programs such as:
Summer EBT money
School sports fees waived
Programs that provide food support
Programs that assist with school fees
Potential household support for cable and internet
Paper applications are also available in all school offices or by calling the food service office at (517) 925-5733.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with Darrin Gyurich at 517-925-5733.
PTA News
Free School T-Shirts for New Students & HERO Wear Sale
Free Willow Ridge T-shirt order forms will be sent home next week with all new students. Every student new to Willow Ridge this year will receive a free school T-shirt!
In addition, an online HERO wear order form is coming home today. All families are encouraged to take part in the online HERO wear sale. This is a great opportunity to purchase Willow Ridge gear for the whole family!
We’re excited to announce that Popcorn Friday will begin on October 10th!
Popcorn Pricing:
$1.00 per month, or
$10.00 for the entire school year (This $10 is a nonrefundable donation.)
Families may choose to pay monthly or for the full year. Please send the money with your child, and have them turn it in to their teacher.
Why Popcorn? All money raised from Popcorn Fridays will go directly toward funding a new playground for Willow Ridge!
Thank you for supporting our school and helping build something great for our students!
We had a great first week of regular library visits! This week we revisited library expectations, learned a little about book care and welcomed Autumn with our picture book read alouds. Students checked out books for the first time this school year. Books are due back on or before their next library day. Reminder emails will be sent weekly.
Thursday: Sweet, Weidenbach, Rozycki, Oetting, Nelson
Friday: Ford
“Reading is a passport to countless adventures.”
Mary Pope Osborne, author of The Magic Treehouse series
~ Mrs Garnaat
News from the Artroom!
We have been having so much fun in the artroom! We have learned about abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky! Students had so much fun celebrating abstract art using many different materials and exploring with Creation Stations. Beginning the school year with abstract art helps students set a growth mindset for the artroom. “We don’t make mistakes in art, just happy little accidents.” ~ Bob Ross
I also wanted to share that I will continue to use Artsonia and all families have received an email to get connected to view your child's digital portfolio. If you are new to Artsonia, it will provide you with an online gallery filled with your child's marvelous artwork. All you need to do is create an account after receiving your initial Artsonia email. This account will save their Artwork until they exit Willow Ridge. You don’t need to purchase anything but can still enjoy watching your child use their artistic process and creativity in the art room. However, if you wanted to make some notecards or purchase gifts for grandparents with your child's artwork on it, Artsonia can work like a fundraiser and supply art materials we can use in our classroom. All artwork created at Willow Ridge will eventually make it home. There are three art shows throughout the school year so sometimes artwork stays at school until the end of the year.
Here is some information about Artsonia!
Artsonia Mobile App
Our mobile app is FREE to all teachers and parents who want an easy way to upload their students' or children's artwork to Artsonia.
Teachers This app enables teachers to take photos of their student artwork and upload it to their online art gallery on Artsonia.com. Teachers can also view and update their student roster and school projects. This is a free educational service. Join the thousands of art teachers using our service today!
Parents No more worrying about throwing away your child's artwork. Publish it into a permanent archive of your child's artwork on this free kids online art museum. This app enables parents to take photos of their child's artwork and upload it to their child's online art gallery on Artsonia.com. Once the artwork is published on Artsonia, child artists can enter contests, family members can leave comments for the artist and order keepsakes with their child's artwork on it. Prior to using this app, parents must create an account at www.artsonia.com.
Attendance / Absence Policy
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 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
Illness Reminders
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.
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.
This is an informational email – the annual notices regarding The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). No action is required on your part, but Grand Ledge Public Schools (GLPS) is legally required to provide you the information annually. This email also serves as a reminder about the "Photography, Video, and Media Coverage" section of the student handbook. ..."
