Allyson Smith, Principal at Wacousta Elementary
February 27, 2026
Important Upcoming Dates
March 3: Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00 - 8:00 pm
March 5: Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00 - 8:00 pm
March 6: Half Day for Students - Dismissal at 12:10 pm
March 6: Parent Teacher Conferences 1:00 - 3:00 pm Virtual Only
March 13: Snack Shop 9:00-11:00 am
March 27 - April 3: Spring Break
April 6: No Students - Staff Professional Development
April 7: School Resumes
Highlights and Happenings from Ms. Smith
We are excited to share recent updates on the Original Wacousta project. I encourage you to take a few moments to view the Fox 47 news coverage and review the slides from our recent board presentation. Both resources provide helpful insight and context into the planning and work surrounding this important initiative. News Story & Slides
Morning Arrival
To help ensure a smooth and successful start each morning, we are asking for your support with arrival procedures. Students should be inside the building by 8:55 a.m. If you arrive after 8:55, please park in the front lot by the office entrance and walk your student inside and sign them in so we can ensure attendance is marked accurately.
With the exception of days when bus routes are canceled, and we extend our arrival time, our carpool line runs smoothly and we are able to have all students inside by 8:55. Thank you for helping us keep our mornings safe, efficient, and focused on learning.
Parent Teacher Conferences - Registration
Please click HERE to sign up. You’ll need to check your email after completing the first step to select a time slot and finalize registration.
Our specials team of teachers for art, music, physical education, and STEAM, will be meeting parents in the art room during conferences. You can sign up for a time slot, or just stop by to check-in with all of our specials teachers. To sign up, go into the PTC Registration site and select “Specials”.
Specials Spotlight
We have so much going on in the Music Room!
4th graders have started their recorder unit. So far we have learned 3 notes and 1 song. Recorders can go home when students know 8 notes and 20 songs! We are also beginning a bucket drumming unit.
3rd graders are beginning a unit about brass instruments, and we are also bucket drumming!
2nd graders are working diligently on note and rhythm reading, and have been learning loads of music games. We're also learning bucket drumming basics.
1st graders can read music! We know 3 notes on a simplified music staff, and we’re starting to play barred instruments while using those note reading skills.
BK & Kindergarten, we’ve been exploring fast and slow sounds, and high and low sounds. We're working on improvising movement and melodies. We’ve spent time playing barred instruments and we know that glockenspiels are tiny instruments with metal bars, metallophones come in different sizes but we can recognize them by their metal bars, and xylophones are different sizes, but all have wooden bars.
Mark your calendars now for our upcoming Fine Arts Night at Wacousta: May 15, 6-8 pm. More information is coming soon!
Congratulations!
We had 30 Wacousta families come to the art reception at the IQ Hub on Thursday, February 26 and out of over 120 artworks from 5 different elementary schools our own Lincoln Harris won the People’s Choice Award for his printmaking piece! Congratulations Lincoln!
March Book Madness
As part of our March Book Madness celebration and Reading Month, we are teaming up to support our local Believers Food Pantry with a schoolwide food drive March 2–6. While our students cheer on their favorite books in tournament-style fun, we’ll also be building community by collecting much-needed items for local families. Please see our themed flier here for suggested daily donations. Items may be sent in throughout the week or brought with you to Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Wacousta Spirit Wear
Looking for some Wacousta Spirit Wear? Check out our Wacousta Spirit Wear page for some new gear!
Save the date: Wacousta Family Fun Night - Friday, May 1
Click here for more detail.
March Lunch Menu
Check out the March lunch menu at grandledge.nutrislice.com. This website is helpful to check the breakfast and lunch menus 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.
At the top of the menu they have highlighted a few new breakfast items that they are making for National School Breakfast Week! Grand Ledge always celebrates school breakfast in the first week of March. On Tuesday, they will be featuring Homemade Muffin Tops, baked with chocolate chips! On Thursday we will have a yummy Fruit Smoothie with Graham Crackers.
Attendance Reminders
In following standard practices across the district, we notify parents by letter when their student has reached the 6 and 10 whole-day thresholds of undocumented absences.
A documented absence consists of a physician's note of excusal. Physician excused absences do not count towards truancy days. Also note that only the dates listed in the excusal will be recorded as documented absences. Please always request a doctor’s note from your student’s physician that covers all the dates of the student’s illness related absence. File a copy of the physician’s note with our office staff so that we can update your student’s attendance record. Documented absences will be identified in your student’s attendance as AD - Absence Documented.
The district acknowledges that a student may be sick and may not need to be seen by a physician for an illness related absence. We respect that parents make choices based on the best health outcome for their student, as well as for the general student population. We also recognize that there may be life events impacting a student's attendance. In these instances when you call your student’s absence in with an explanation for the absence it will be identified as AE - Explained Absence in your student’s attendance record. AE dates will count towards truancy days, but the explanation provided by the parents for the absences will be highly considered before a 15-day truancy referral would take place. If you have any questions about our attendance policy, feel free to reach out to the front office.
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
