September 13, 2024

We are seeing an increase in illness reporting a little early for this time of year.  We have Covid tests available upon request.  Please continue to report positive testing by going to our district web site for Covid 19 Health Reporting . If your student will be absent please remember to call the absence into the office.  Include the students full name, grade, teacher, and if ill the symptoms.  Thank you.

If your student was absent during picture day, please mark your calendar with the above date. Here is the direct link to online ordering: //store.geskusphoto.com/search/718WMVSKDTYFG

Mrs Parsons, our ART teacher, is looking for "Dad" shirts- used button down shirts that we can use as paint shirts for the school year.  She will take any and all so we can have several in the art room for student use.   Thank you! 

Gymnasium Entrance (pictured above) The gymnasium entrance is located at the back of the building and is accessed via the old Wacousta building entrance at 9125 Herbison Rd. This entrance is used for dropping your student(s) off in the morning and picking them up at the end of the day for parent pick up.  It is not to be used for late arrivals or early pick-ups.  Please use the office entrance at 9325 Herbison for late arrivals and early pick ups.  Please remember to bring in your Drivers License in case we have to update your credentials for taking your student out of school.

Late Drop Off/Early Pick Up:  Please do no use the gymnasium entrance.  Instead please use the new office entrance if you are dropping your student off late, picking your student up early, or need to drop something off.  

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.

Calling in an Absence:  Please provide your students first and last name, grade, classroom teacher, and the reason you are calling in for them.  If they are ill, please also include the symptoms. If we are unavailable to answer the phone, please leave a voicemail.  Both Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Nichols will receive the voicemails.  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 if the other one is absent.  Thank you for helping us get to know your student and your family!

Mrs. Johnson:  johnsont@glcomets.net
Mrs. Nichols:    nicholsd@glcomets.net

Office Phone: 517-925-5940: If we are away from our desk, please leave a message. 

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. 

~Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Monday, Sept. 16 - Cinnamon French Toast/syrup
Tuesday, Sept. 17 - Galaxy Cheese Pizza
Wednesday, Sept. 18 - Chicken Patty Sandwich
Thursday, Sept. 19 - Macaroni & Cheese Breadstick
Friday, Sept. 20 - Turkey Corndog on a Stick
Everyday Option: Cereal Fun Lunch

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.

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 find our district wide communication from Dr. Barnes here.

Chris Groves, Principal
Wacousta Elementary

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

From the staff at Wacousta....A huge thank you to the PTIA and families for the donations to stock the staff lounge.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

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

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.

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 8:40 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!

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.

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.