Allyson Smith, Principal at Wacousta Elementary
November 14, 2025
Important Upcoming Dates
November 17: Second Trimester Begins
November 26-28: Thanksgiving Break - No School
December 1: Staff Professional Development - No School
December 22 - January 2: Winter Break - No School
January 5: Staff Professional Development - No School
January 6: School Resumes
Highlights and Happenings from Ms. Smith
It’s been a fantastic week filled with connection and community. Thank you to all the parents who came in for conferences. Your partnership makes such a difference in supporting student success at Wacousta. Our Book Fair was also a huge hit, and we appreciate everyone who stopped by and helped bring new books into your home! We wrapped up the week with our Wacousta WOW Day, celebrating student success and watching teachers and students connect in fun and meaningful ways. It was the perfect way to end a great week!
Community Survey - From Dr. Barnes on November 7
An important part of our learning process is also gathering data. We examine academic data, like tests and grades; behavior data, like attendance and discipline instances; and survey data. Through our partnership with an organization called Boldly Moving Education Ahead (BMEA), our district leadership team is sending surveys to staff to better understand climate and culture. In addition, we would like some feedback from you! Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey about how our schools support you and your family. The data we gather from you will help our leadership team better meet your family’s needs around relationships, communication, and support. Thank you for taking the time to tell us how we are doing!
PBIS Celebration - Wacousta WOW Day
Our students have worked hard this year at showing positive behavior expectations and earning a special building-wide PBIS reward — Wacousta WOW Day! To celebrate, students were able to choose up to three classrooms to visit, where they could participate in a variety of exciting activities. Options included Just Dance, Crochet, STEAM and Art projects, and even a challenging Escape Room!
It was wonderful to see students exploring new interests, collaborating with peers, and celebrating their hard work in such a fun and creative way. Way to go, Wacousta!
Door Decorating Contest
The Wacousta Staff is participating in a winter door decorating contest. Classroom teachers may be reaching out to you for help. However, we have a lot of other doors that can be your blank canvas if you are interested. Doors should be decorated by December 8. Reach out to Traci Johnson @ johnsont@glcomets.net to claim your door and schedule a time to decorate. More details here: Door Decorating Contest
LIBBY
Another great way to enjoy reading together as a family is by listening to audiobooks. My family loves turning on a book whenever we have a car ride longer than 30 minutes. It’s such a fun way to experience stories together. We enjoy hearing the characters’ voices come to life and guessing what might happen next. Audiobooks are a wonderful way to build listening and comprehension skills, and the best part is that they’re free to download from the Grand Ledge Public Library. I have the Libby App on my phone for an easy plug and play in the car. Give it a try on your next family drive!
GLPS Parent Guide for Standards-Based Learning
During parent conferences, I heard several conversations about standards-based grading, and I know there can be some confusion about what it means. Many of us grew up with the traditional A–F grading scale, so this approach can feel a bit different at first. However, standards-based grading actually provides a more accurate and detailed picture of what your student knows and can do in relation to specific learning goals. It helps teachers, students, and families clearly see areas of strength and where additional support may be needed. For more information, here is a link to the GLPS guidance on standards-based grading.
Thank you, PTIA!
A big thank you to our amazing PTIA for providing dinners for our teachers during parent conferences! These evenings are always long, and having a nice meal ready makes such a difference. Our teachers truly appreciated not having to rush home or worry about dinner so they could focus on meeting with families. We’re so grateful to all the parents who contributed. Your kindness and support mean so much!
Specials Spotlight - Notes from Mrs. Ries & Ms. Herson
Kindergarteners continue to work on their singing voices. We’ve finished our farm unit, which means we’ve played almost every unpitched percussion instrument in the music room! We’re starting to build our holiday music repertoire, as we only have five more music classes before the holiday break! See what's happening at your students' grade level below.
1st graders continue to work on keeping the steady beat and singing all the songs. We’ve moved from iconic notation to using popsicle sticks to write rhythms. We’ve started building our repertoire of holiday music also.
In second grade, we’ve been working on finding form in music. We know the difference between verses and a chorus in a song. We’re learning about dynamics in music and we’re excited to build our repertoire of holiday songs.
3rd graders have been working hard to perfect a song about the Mackinac Bridge. We’ll be recording that in the near future, and we’ll send it home for our families to enjoy. We’re always working on reading more complex rhythms, and we’re excited to build our repertoire of holiday songs. We’re also excited to be featured in a WILX-TV 10 Holiday special–watch for an email from Mrs. Ries with more details!
Fourth graders have finished their “candy corn composition” mini unit, and are excited to move on to building their holiday repertoire. As always, we’re looking to find ways to accompany ourselves as we become independent musicians!
November’s Lunch Menu
Check out November’s lunch menu at grandledge.nutrislice.com. This website is helpful to check the breakfast and lunch menu of any building in the district. You can check for nutritional information, filter allergens, and translate the menu into 50+ languages! It's a very helpful tool for parents and staff members.
Holiday Support Needs
Information for family supports during the holidays can be found in the Community Information section of the district news, linked below. If you would like to donate a toy for the Grand Ledge Shopping Tour, the barrel for receiving them has been placed in the vestibule by the office entrance.
Upcoming Events, District News, & Community Information
Please review what the school district shares in newsletters about events, news, and information, please visit http://glcomets.net/Upcoming
Allyson Smith
Principal, Wacousta Elementary School
9325 Herbison Rd., Eagle, MI 48822 (517) 925-5940 FAX (517) 925-5970
