November 8, 2024

Monday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. It is a day set aside by the federal government to honor those that have served or are currently serving in the United States Military.  Veterans Day is intended to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the armed forces during wartime and/or peacetime. It is also largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact all those who served have sacrificed and done their duty.

Is your student missing: clothing, jacket, water bottle, lunch box, items?  Parents, when you come for your student(s) parent teacher conference please check the "Lost & Found" for missing belongings.  Anything that is left after parent teacher conferences will be donated to a local clothing charity. 

The office staff keeps track of end of day transportation and attendance.  When there is a bus route cancellation please call the school office PH: 517-925-5940 to identify your students end of day mode of transportation.  This will aide staff in getting your student to the correct station, bus loop or parent pickup loop, at the end of the day. 

Reminder for Attendance:  Please be sure to notify the office when your student will not be in attendance.  You can call or email.  Please include Mrs. Johnson johnsont@glcomets.net and Mrs. Nichols nicholsd@glcomets.net in email notifications.  If you call PH: 517-925-5940 and we are unavailable you can leave a voice message.  If your student is ill it is important that we get the symptoms.  Please identify the student's first and last name, student's teacher, and symptoms.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 21 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Our virtual option is on Tuesday, December 3 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m..  You may use this link to schedule a conference for your child(ren).

https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Wacousta_Elementary_School

If you have difficulty scheduling a conference, please call the school office and we'll be happy to assist you.

Families, at the very bottom of this newsletter there is a link that says "view entire message".  Please be sure to click on this link to fully receive all of the information shared with you by the district.  This area of the newsletter provides information on community resources such as: Food Banks, Community Meals, GLEAP Christmas Food Baskets, Grand Ledge Emergency Assistance Program, The Grand Ledge Shopping Tour.

Mark your Calendars for Decmber 6th!  The Wacousta PTIA will be hosting Snack Shop Friday's again this year.  All items will cost $1.  Students may purchase up to 3 items.  Please send your students with exact change if possible.  For a complete list of dates for your calendar, please see PTIA below.

 Please click on the link for Mrs. Parsons October art updates to see what new creativity your students have been participating in:   Wacousta Art Monthly Newsletter.

The PTIA Fall Fund Raiser has been completed.  Thank You families, friends, and neighbors who participated in support of trying to reach our goal.  The total raised was $14,572.  YaY Team Wacousta!!

Two of the incentives put forth in achieving success in the fundraiser were a cider and donuts celebration from the PTIA, and a pizza party from Mr. Groves, for the classroom with the highest amount raised.  The highest class will get first choice of the two incentives.  Listed below are our winners!

Winning classes... 
1. Mrs. Allen - $1,841.45
2. Mrs. Watts - $1,565.00
3. Mrs. Dufresne - $1,305.00

Future forecast? Fall has arrived in Michigan and it's getting colder.  Please be sure your student comes to school prepared with a jacket/coat, hat, gloves. Students need to have proper clothing if the temp is below 50 degrees. Please also make sure to mark your students clothing with their name so they can be reunited with them when they have been misplaced.

EXTRA CLOTHING:  The colder temperatures will likely bring some sloshy days ahead. Please make sure your student also has an extra set of clothing so that they are prepared for those days when mishaps happen. 

We are also in need of stretchy style pants, underware, jackets, all sizes appropriate for elementary aged students, for boys and girls, for emergency clothing closet.  If your student comes home with borrowed clothing from the emergency clothing closet, please wash the items and return to the school so that they can be reused. Thank you for your cooperation.

Monday, Nov. 11 - French Toast Sticks
Tuesday, Nov. 12 - Galaxy Cheese Pizza
Wednesday, Nov. 13 - Chicken Patty Sandwich
Thursday, Nov. 14 - Macaroni & Cheese Bread Stick
Friday, Nov. 15 - 1/ Day no lunch served
Everyday Option:  Cereal Fun Lunch

Each year the Grand Ledge Shopping Tour works to provide some special elements of support to students and families at Christmas.  The Shopping Tour gifting barrel has arrived in the office. There are a couple of different ways that you can assist in this endeavor.
1. If you would like to make a monetary donation, please make your checks payable to      the Grand Ledge Shopping Tour and drop it off, or send it, to Fifth Third Bank at       
    900  Charlevoix Dr., Grand Ledge.
2. If you would like to donate a new, unwrapped toy you may drop it off in the barrel         located in the school office.
3.  If your family could use support from this program during the holidays please see
     information below in the District area of this newsletter.

Thank you to everyone who volunteers for our lunch time help!  You are so greatly appreciated during this busy time of the day.  If you haven't had a chance to volunteer previously, we are still in great need of support each day.  Please consider donating a few hours of time.  You can sign-up using this link:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B45A5A723AAF58-50015738-lunch

The Old Newsboys Association of Greater Lansing is a nonprofit charitable organization whose sole purpose is to provide footwear to needy school children. This includes well fitting school shoes, warm boots and socks. For, assistance and to obtain a request for footwear form, please contact our office.

Persons wishing to volunteer for Grand Ledge Public Schools are required to complete the Volunteer Registration Form and be approved prior to serving as a volunteer.  All volunteers MUST check in at the office to receive a BADGE prior to proceeding to any other area on school property.  Please visit District Volunteer Application to complete the process.

It is of great importance that we have current contact information in order to reach you during emergency situations, school closures, for important updates on changes to a daily school schedule, and for communications such as our "Weekly Newsletter". Have you moved?  Do you have a new cell phone number or email address?  Please use this link for directions on how to update your information.  School Messenger Settings Guide.

For security purposes, if you need to enter the building during school hours, i.e. late drop off, early pick-up, etc., please use the office entrance located at 9325 Herbison.  The gym door access will be locked during school hours.

P.T.I.A.:  Watch our newsletter for updates, upcoming events, and how you can get involved with P.T.I.A.  Our parent teacher organization always has plenty of opportunities for you to participate with your student(s) school and to support our teaching staff and building needs.  You can reach out directly by emailing:  ptiawacousta@gmail.com. You can also follow the Wacousta Elementary School PTIA on Facebook and email us at 

Please continue to collect Box Tops for Education! This program is completely online now. To get the app please go to www.Boxtops4education.com

Absences:  If your student will be absent and cannot attend school it is your responsibility to notify the school office, whether it is for illness, vacation, or personal reasons. Please call: 517-925-5940 with your students first and last name, teacher name, and if the student is ill please also include the symptoms, such as: fever, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, cough, congestion, pink eye, etc.  The detailed information is needed for our weekly health report.

If we are unavailable to answer the phone, please leave a voice mail. You may also email the notification. Please include both Mrs. Johnson (johnsont@glcomets.net) and Mrs. Nichols (nicholsd@glcomets.net) in all email communication to ensure one of them gets the message.  Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!

Absence Due to Illness: Student's must be 24 hours fever, vomiting or diarrhea free before returning to school.  If they are diagnosed with a contagious illness, such as pink eye, they must be on antibiotics for 24 hours before they can return to school.

Absence Due to Dr. Visit:  If your student is absent due to a dr. visit, or illness that involved a dr. visit, please send in a copy of the dr. note indicating the dr. excused absence with included dates. Dr. excused absences do not go against the student's attendance record. Thank you for your cooperation.

Truancy:  How many days of school can you miss before truancy in Michigan?  Truant means a child who has ten (10) or more unexcused absences per school year.  Once a student is deemed truant, a child shall be monitored throughout the school year by the county until improved attendance is consistent.  

Studies have shown that students who are  chronically absent, missing 10 or more days in a school year, may experience low success rates in math and reading by grade 3. Many absences are excused due to illness., but they still add up to lost time in the classroom.  Please be conscientious of your student(s) attendance.

School Start Time:  8:55 a.m.
School Dismissal Time:  3:55 p.m.
Half-Day Dismissal Time:  12:10

When calling in for any reason for your student, please identify the student by first and last name, grade, classroom teacher, and the reason you are calling.  Please leave a voicemail if we are unavailable.  If you are communicating via email, please send the message to both Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Nichols to ensure one of them gets your message.  Thank you for helping us get to know you and your family!

Mrs. Johnson:      johnsont@glcomets.net
Mrs. Nichols:  nicholsd@glcomets.net Office Phone:        517-925-5940

School Arrival: Class starts at 8:55 a.m.
Students may not be dropped off prior to 8:40 a.m. since we do not have supervision available. If your student will be getting breakfast it is important that they arrive at the drop off time and go directly to the cafeteria.  Arriving late causes a disruption to the classroom schedule for the other students.  Please be courteous.

Lunch Late Arrivals:  If you know your child is going to be arriving late and will need a school lunch please call the school office at: 517-925-5940 by 9:15 a.m. Lunch count gets submitted to our food service staff for preparation at 9:30 a.m.

School Dismissal:  School ends at 3:55 p.m.   All students should be picked up no later than 4:05 p.m.

Half-day Dismissal:  Is at 12:10 p.m.

Bus Riders: Will be escorted to their busses. 

Parent Pick Up Drive Thru Lane: If you are using the parent pick up drive thru to pick up your student(s), please remember to post your students name in your car window.  Staff will get your student(s) to you.

Parent Pick-Up/Bus Changes:  If your student is an everyday bus rider and you are planning to  pick-up your child after school, or change from parent pick-up to riding the bus, please call the school office no later than 2:00 p.m.  We distribute the pick-up lists to teachers and staff at this time and are unable to accommodate last minute changes after the cut off time.

Early Pick-Up:  If you need to pick your student up early for an appt. etc. please call the office when you are about 10 minutes out from arriving at the school so we can try to have them in the office and ready to go.  Please also be aware that it gets very busy at the end of the school day.  If you're going to be picking your student up early please plan to do that before 3:30 to avoid end of day traffic and office congestion.

 ~Thank you very much for your cooperation!

To report a positive Covid case, please complete the Covid Reporting Form.

All medication needs to be brought to school by a parent/guardian.  This includes all over the counter medication (cough drops, Tylenol, etc).  Prescription and over the counter medications require a doctors order for the school to administer them, that includes creams or lotions. You will find medication documents at this link: medication and health information Click on School Health Information and Forms.

Due to the number of life-threatening allergies we have in our building, we respectfully request that you do not send in any type of food for birthday treats.  Mr. Groves celebrates each child by announcing their name during the morning announcements and he personally presents them with a birthday pencil.

You are welcome to bring in a non-edible treat for your child's classmates such as a pencil or sticker, but they may not include any type of gum or candy attached to them. Out of respect for individual circumstances please note that not all families may be able to do something like this.

We also request that you do not send birthday invitations to school.  If you would like an address list, please request a classroom directory.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Future forecast? Fall has arrived in Michigan.  The weather has gotten colder and will likely bring some sloshy days ahead. Please make sure your student has appropriate outerwear so that they are prepared for the weather. Please also check your students backpack for appropriate extra clothing.

If you are in need of assistance with clothing and outwear,  please contact the office. 

Thanks for your support and cooperation in keeping our kiddos prepared for the seasons.

Please mark your student(s) clothing and keep an eye out for missing clothing and personal items:  jacket, hat, gloves, water bottle, lunch box.  Marking items helps us to reunite students with their items. Our lost and found area fills up quickly.  Stop in to reclaim items your student may have misplaced as soon as possible. Items that are not claimed after a few months will be donated to a local clothing bank.