August 23, 2024

Welcome to the Comet Family! We are glad that you have chosen Grand Ledge Public Schools, and we are excited for the opportunity to learn and grow with your child and your family over the next year and beyond. Here at Wacousta Elementary School, we are proud of our amazing staff and programs, and we have no doubt that your child will have a wonderful experience here. To help prepare for the 2024-2025 school year, we want to share some important information with you:

We have new staffing in the office! To help us become familiar with everyone, 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: Please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

August: 26:  Open House for BK/KDG, August 26 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. - Please see flyer below from our PTIA

August 27:   First day of school - FULL DAY - School starts at 8:55 a.m.  and ends at 3:55 p.m.

September 10:  School Pictures

Adventure Club:   if you have any questions please follow this link:  Adventure Club

Transportation:  If you requested transportation upon enrollment, you will be contacted by our transportation department in mid August with information about routes and times. Our team stays busy all summer ensuring that our routes are efficient and will get your child to school safely and on time.  You can go to the District Transportation web page: Transportation Department, or you can reach them by phone at:  517-925-5300. 

School Supply Lists:  School supply lists for each grade level can be found on our district web site at: www.glcomets.net.  Click on the OUR SCHOOLS tab and select "Wacousta". The items on the list are recommended, but are not required.  

New Address:  Did you move over the summer?  If you have had a change of address over the summer please contact our office.  We will need 2 proofs of residency in order to update your information for transportation purposes.  (see link above)

School Calendar:  A full school calendar can be found on the Grand Ledge Public Schools homepage at:  www.glcomets.net.

Weekly Newsletter:  The Wacousta Weekly Newsletter is sent out each Friday via email to our Wacousta families.  You can also access it via the Grand Ledge Public Schools Districts web site at:  www.glcomets.net  Go to the website>OUR SCHOOLS>Wacousta, scroll down to the bottom right hand of the page for newsletter archives.

STUDENT DROP-OFF/PICK-UP PROCEDURES:  We are unable to provide supervision prior to 8:40 a.m. and after 4:05 p.m. unless your child is enrolled in Adventure Club. To maintain our security and safety, all doors will remain locked until 8:40 a.m. each morning. Please keep this in mind if you are dropping your child off or they walk to school. If you’re picking your student up after school they must be picked up by no later than 4:05 p.m. If you change your student(s) mode of transportation for the day the office must be notified no later than 2:00 p.m. Changes after that time cannot be accommodated.

Please click on this link if you intend to pick up your child each day. Every Day Pick Up. We will maintain a list so the teachers know who our EveryDay Pick Up students are. All students should be picked up near the gym entrance unless being picked up early. Please see the attached Drop Off - Pick Up Route below. We greatly appreciate your cooperation with this procedure to ensure the safety of all of our students and staf

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

School Motto:   Wacousta is OPEN (Observant, Protective, Engaged and Neighborly) for All!  

We look forward to meeting you very soon!

 

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.

We are asking that you include both Mrs. Nichols (nicholsd@glcomets.net) and Mrs. Johnson (johnsont@glcomets.net) on all email communications to ensure one of them gets your message.  It is very helpful in case one of them are out of the office.  Thank you for helping us keep the lines of communication open!

Tuesday, Aug. 27 - Cheeseburger

Wednesday, Aug. 28 - Chicken Nuggets

Thursday, Aug. 29 - Confetti Pancakes w/Chicken Sausage Patty

Friday, Aug. 30 - NO SCHOOL

Everyday Option: Muffin Fun Lunch

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

You can follow the Wacousta Elementary School PTIA on Facebook and email us at ptiawacousta@gmail.com

The PTIA is working on stocking the staff lounge.  If you are interested in making a contribution to this project please use the following link to sign up:  Stock the Staff Lounge

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

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

We have new staffing in the office. To help us become familiar with everyone, 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 8:35 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.

Late Arrivals:  If you know your child is going to be arriving late, please call the school office at: 517-925-5940.  You can leave a voice mail, or you may send an email to both Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Nichols to ensure one of them gets your message. When leaving a message please include your students first and last name, grade, and classroom teacher's name. If your student will need a school lunch let us know which option they'd prefer 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 continue to move up in the drive thru line and we'll get your student(s) to you.

If you are picking up your child and want to walk up to the parent pick up line to get them, please do not get in the parent pick up drive thru lane.  We ask that you park in a parking spot and walk to meet your child.  ALSO, PLEASE DO NOT GO PAST THE CONES TO COLLECT YOUR CHILD.  WE HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE STUDENTS.

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 2:30 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 by 3:30 to avoid end of day traffic and office congestion.

 ~Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Absences:  If your student will be absent or 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.

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!

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 reunited 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.

Future forecast? Fall is just around the corner in Michigan. 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.