Willow Ridge Elementary School
|
12840 Nixon Road, Grand Ledge, MI 48837
Phone: 517-925-5775 | Fax: 517-925-5811 | Attendance Line: 517-925-5812
Volume 29 | Issue 27 | March 20, 2025
|
|
|
School Hours
8:55 am -
3:55 pm
Do not drop
off before
8:35 am
Pick up no later
than 4:05 pm
|
|
March 21-28 - No School - Spring Break
March 31 - No School - Teacher PD Day
April 1 - Classes Resume
April 7 - Mileage Club Starts
April 11 - Popcorn Day
April 15 - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm
April 16 - Talent Show Permission Slips Due
April 22 - Talent Show Tryouts 4:00-5:30
April 25 - Popcorn Day
May 20 - Talent Show Dress Rehearsal 4:00-5:30
May 22 - Talent Show 5:30-7:00
May 23 - No School - Teacher PD Day
May 26 - No School - Memorial Day
June 6 - Last Half Day of School - Dismissal at 12:10
|
|
|
I once again want to thank those that had conferences this week for making the time to connect with your child's teacher.
Spring Break is here! I hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable break. As I mentioned last week, when we return from break, the third and fourth graders will be gearing up to take the state standardized test called the M-STEP. The M-STEP assesses students on their proficiency in math and literacy. Your child's teacher will be communicating with you when that will be given, so be on the lookout.
Also, after break we will be starting our Mileage Club. A special thank you to PTA and Erin Cobb for helping get that organized! Mrs. Lee sent a communication out about it earlier this week, but I wanted to include it here as well:
Hello Willow Ridge Families!
We welcome all parents, grandparents and friends of Willow Ridge students to join us for Mileage Club! We start soon after returning from Spring Break on April 7. We can’t do this awesome program without volunteers. We are looking for friendly volunteers from 12:00-1:30 pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until Memorial Day. Every week last year I heard how much fun the volunteers had! All you need to do is encourage and cheer on the kids and/or scan their QR cards so they can earn cool prizes! This year MSU has provided us with really cool toe tokens that will be earned when kids walk/run 1-3-5-8-12-15-18 and 20 miles (and more!)
We can’t wait to begin! Thanks for all your help! Don’t forget to get a background check in advance and let me know if you have any questions!
Click here to sign up on the schedule:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D48AAA82DA6FE3-55601543-mileage
Click here to complete the background check:
https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/NDIzNDplbi1VUw==
|
|
|
For everyone's safety, Heelys are not allowed at school.
|
|
|
|
We are excited to announce our upcoming School Talent Show! This flyer lists all the key dates and details for participation. Please print and complete this form or click here: https://forms.gle/TRxBw2qrTKdyVgYF7
|
|
|
We are excited to bring back Mileage Club this spring starting April 7!
Physical activity is an important part of childhood development, which is why MSU Health Care Sports Medicine is sponsoring the Fitness Finders Mileage Club®. This running and walking program is designed to help kids get fit and discover that fitness can be fun. Mileage Club® is an opportunity for children to participate in noncompetitive physical activity. The program will run 3 days each week during the lunchtime recess.
No one needs special equipment or shoes to participate. Each child is free to run or walk as little or as much as they like within the designated time. Participants will earn rewards - Toe Tokens® - for their achievements. This is all free and sponsored by Willow Ridge PTA.
We are confident that your child will enjoy Mileage Club®! Please click the link below to volunteer. We cannot do this without you!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D48AAA82DA6FE3-55601543-mileage
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Erin Cobb
erin.nh.cobb@gmail.com
|
|
|
If anyone who attended the Daddy Daughter Dance did not receive an email with the photo link, please email us.
ptawillowridge@gmail.com
Thank you Chloé for volunteering your time to take photos at the Daddy Daughter Dance. Don't forget to check out her website at Chloui.com for more of her work.
We are still looking for volunteers for MakerSpace. Please see the signup below if you are interested. Thanks!
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0E44ADA82FA3FFC43-54703475-willow
Thank you to everyone who donated towards the teachers' conference meal.
|
|
|
This week, the table displays in the library included books about spring, and several baskets of our new books which I was able to purchase with funds earned from our November book fair. Some of the new books featured this week were National Geographic Readers about animals and geographic features, cook books, and some new releases which completed popular series in our library.
|
|
|
I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break. Remember to rest, have fun and, of course, read!
|
|
|
Library Schedule:
Monday - BK and Kindergarten
Tuesday - First and Second grades
Wednesday - Third Grade
Thursday - Fourth Grade
~ Mrs Garnaat
|
|
|
|
|
Autism Acceptance Month
April 2, 2025 is World Autism Awareness Day
This day, designated by the United Nations, serves as a global initiative to raise
awareness and promote understanding of autism spectrum disorder.
Throughout the month of April, we will be wearing our autism shirts on Wednesdays.
Wednesdays will also be the day that classes have their lesson on ASD & inclusion.
We should be getting our new shirts either right before Spring Break or the day we get back.
|
|
|
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!!
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
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!
|
|
|
|
