Flickinger Elementary Nancy Brunetz, Principal

45400 Vanker, Utica, MI 48317 Flickinger E-mail:flickingerinfo@ucs.misd.net

586-797-4900 Phone / 586-797-4999 Attendance Line / 586-797-4901 Fax Flickinger Website: www.flickinger.uticak12.org

Utica Community Schools Website: http://www.uticak12.org

Table of Contents

Career Focus Luncheon-2

Blood Drive-2

Smencils-3

Water Conservation-4

Living Museum-5 & 6

March is Reading Month-7 & 8

Read To a Dog-9

UCS Board Meeting-10 & 11

Paws photo contest-12

Mindset & ATG-13

Principal’s All stars-14

District Math –15

Easter Eggs-16

Weathering & Erosion-17

Author Assembly-18

Science Fair-19,20 & 21

Parent Group-22

Academic Placement-23

ATG-23

Head Lice-24 & 25

April Calendar-26

Dates to Remember 3/30-4/6 No School

4/9 School Resumes

4/13 Half day 11:29

4/17 1st&3rd Music concert

4/24 Blood Drive 2-8pm

5/16 Science /Book Fair

A Blue Ribbon School of Excellence

Dear Flickinger Families,

Thank you to all of the support you provided for our school’s showcase at the UCS School Board

Meeting. It was a wonderful celebration of our students’ academic talents.

March was filled with creative and motivating ways to increase our students’ time reading. Thank you

for your continued support at home encouraging and praising your child as they strive to reach higher

levels of achievement through reading. The student body exceeded one of our school goals of reading

100,000 minutes by the third week of March.

One skill we are working on across all curriculum areas is incorporating elaboration of evidence in our

written responses. This means the topic is developed and supported with evidence such as relevant facts,

definitions and quotes or examples from the text. A few tips for strong elaboration include organizing

your facts into topics then organizing your topics into subtopics. The writer can use things the subtopics

have in common to tie them together so it doesn’t seem like a string of facts.

During the months of April and May, our students in grades 3 through 6 will be given the Michigan

Department of Education’s summative assessment called Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress

(M-STEP). This assessment will measure student knowledge in the specified content area through the

grade level they are in. All grades will be evaluated in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Fifth

graders will have additional assessments in Science and Social Studies. We ask that you help us by

seeing that your child has enough sleep each night, a good breakfast and arrive to school on time. Your

support has a tremendous impact on your child’s overall experience.

The last quarter of the school year contains off-site learning experiences for many grade levels, music

concerts and Parent Group activities. If you are planning on attending a field trip with your child, please

make sure you have a UCS Volunteer Background Check completed at least 2 weeks prior to the activity.

This is something you only need to complete once.

I hope everyone enjoys the time off from school during Spring Break. I look forward to hearing stories

from the boys and girls when we return on April 9th.

Sincerely,

Nancy Brunetz, Proud Flickinger Elementary Principal

Pint Size Hero Blood Drive

Tuesday, April 24th from 2:00-8:00 pm Flickinger Elementary will be holding a community

service project developed by the

American Red Cross to introduce children to the importance of donating blood. The program

encourages the students to invite parents, guardians, and other adults to give blood on their

behalf.

Register: www.redcrossblood.org (sponsor code-Flickinger) OR pick up a form in the school office. To

donate blood, you must be 17 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health, and have a

valid photo ID upon donation.

Each student who invites an adult who presents to donate will be recognized as a Pint Size Hero and will

receive an American Red Cross thank-you gift. If a parent has more than one child in the school, each student

will be recognized. Tomorrow’s life-saving blood donations will be made by today’s children who are taught

the importance of blood donation. Please consider donating blood to help your student and help save a life.

The 25th Annual Career Focus Luncheon… Continuing to shape our future leaders!

Join community and business leaders on Wednesday, May 2nd and/or Thursday, May 3rd, 2018

to make an impact on the lives of more than 2,000 Utica Community Schools sixth grade students

at The Palazzo Grande, 54660 Van Dyke, Shelby Township.

The Career Focus Luncheon is sponsored by the UCS Foundation for Educational Excellence in

partnership with Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce and in cooperation with Utica

Community Schools. Its purpose is to introduce 6th grade UCS students to a variety of career

options. Through your involvement, students will learn valuable skills needed to succeed in life

after high school graduation.

Keynote Speaker, Mrs. Tricia Morrow For over 20 years Mrs. Morrow has worked for General Motors within the Global Vehicle Safety,

Global Electrical Controls and Software, Global Product Planning, and Global Advanced Vehicle

Development Innovation organizations. Her roles have included various safety related roles such

as whiplash protection, safety and crashworthiness performance, and biomechanics. Miss Morrow

is responsible for safety strategy and in this role she is also responsible for the design and perfor-

mance of the industry first Rear Seat Re

How can you get involved? It’s easy and interesting! Be a sponsor and share your expertise

with a table of ten students. Be prepared to discuss what is great about your occupation. Our stu-

dents will be ready with questions for you. They will also be waiting to share their own dreams

and aspirations with you, their professional role model for the day.

Macomb County Conservation Program visited our second grade classrooms. This program was presented by MSU

extension staff. During this hands-on and interactive program, the students learned about water basics, the water

cycle, how water gets into our homes, and how we can conserve water.

Flickinger’s 5th Grade Living Museum

Flickinger’s 5th Grade Living Museum

March is Reading Month Fun

Eppler students

read to Flickinger

students

Guest Reader Michigan

Representative Diana Farrington

Guest Reader UCS School Board

Mrs. Klida

Flickinger Students Read to a Dog As part of March is Reading Month some Flickinger students kindergarten through 6th grade were able to read a story of

their choice to Lola the dog. What great fun our students had reading to Lola. She really enjoyed it and so did we!

A Big Thank You to Lola and her owner. Thank You to Ms. Slade for getting Lola to come to our School. Thank you

Chaney Family for bringing Lola a toy.

Flickinger Elementary hosted the UCS Board Meeting Monday , March 26 . The students

participation was fantastic. All of the teachers, staff ,students and parents hard work paid off.

Thank you to everyone who helped with this big job. A special Thank you to Mrs. Spiegel for

all the hard work. Mrs. Spiegel worked on all the beautiful decorations.

The Fun continues…..

Paws for Reading Photo Contest

Thank you to everyone who participated and sent in photos with their pets. We had an amazing turnout with every kind

of pet imaginable! Here are the winners….

Tyler S. 3rd Grade Mrs. Horwood, Alaina V. Kindergarten Mrs. Van, Lola D. 1st grade Mrs. Suszynski,

Lacey K. 1st grade Ms. Slade, and Dante S. 5th grade Mrs. DeCumen.

And staff:

Miss Minchin and her horse Jake

Flickinger ATG students master an escape room. Job well students! Great work!

Students showing Curiosity

Shila L. was top three at the District Math

24 competition for fourth grade.

Congrats Shila! Job well done!

Flickinger PROUD!

Decorative Eggs

Mr. DeMarti’s class with the help of his wife and Flickinger parents

made beautiful decorative Easter eggs. Beautiful and lots of fun to

make. Thank you to all !

The second graders completed a weathering and erosion

experiment with a cookie. They used the cookie to see how rocks

are broken down by wind, animals, and rain.

Today’s assembly March 29th featuring Author Ruth McNally Barshaw.

Flickinger students got to draw like the pros. Lots of fun. Thank you visiting

Author.

2018 Flickinger Science Fair

This year our school is hosting our third annual

Science Fair! Students in all grade levels can

participate. This event will be held on May 16th from

5:30 to 7:30 pm in our school gym. There will be a

Book Fair and a food truck. Come and enjoy the fun!

Donations Needed

The Research Center is requesting donations of

Anti-Bacterial Wipes. They use the wipes to

wipe down the books before they are put away.

Thank you for your help! Book Fair

Flickinger’s Final Scholastic Book Fair for the

school year will be held May 14th - May 18th

in the Media Center. If you are able to

volunteer, please contact Kathy Miskokomon.

Come join us at the Science Fair and the Book Fair .

Think like a proton

Always Positive

SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT PLANNER

When beginning a project, it is important to plan before you begin creating. Below is a suggested timeline to help you complete this project. On the back, you will find a couple generic examples of project boards. Have fun being scientists! ☺

v DUE DATE (Suggested Timeline

of Completion) TASK

March 30th

Choose a topic and write a project

question.

April 6th

Research your topic. Write a paragraph

describing the science behind your

project.

April 9th Write your hypothesis.

April 13th

Design your experiment; list variables and

write the procedure.

April 16th List and gather materials.

April 20th

Conduct the experiment multiple times.

Record your observations and data.

April 30th

Create a table, chart or graph of your

data.

May 7th

Draw conclusions. Explain how you would

improve your experiment.

May 9th Make the project display.

May 14th Turn in project to your classroom teacher.

May 16th Present your project at the science fair.

Project examples

Academic Placement for 2018-2019

As a staff, we work hard to meet our student’s individual needs and to facilitate successful learning in

every classroom. The make-up of the classroom is a time consuming process for our staff. Many factors are

considered while designing the optimum learning environment for each student. Our first priority is the best

instructional placement for all of our children and their needs.

Parents have a wealth of information about their children and their insights are important to the process. As we plan for

next year, if you have specific educational concerns about your child that you would like our professional team to consider

during the assignment process, please ask the office for an “Additional Educational Information Form.” Do not include an

individual teacher’s name. These forms need to be turned into the office by Wednesday, May 2, 2018, at 4:00 pm.

The staff will take your concerns into consideration for next year’s placement. I can assure you that we will make every

effort to provide your child with an outstanding 2018-19 school year. While parental input will be considered, specific

placement can not be guaranteed as we work to establish a balanced environment in each of our classrooms. Please place

your trust in our professional judgment for the best overall placement of your children and all children at

Flickinger Elementary. If you have any questions, please contact the school office at 586-797-4900.

ATG Program

Utica Community Schools is committed to an educational program that recognizes the unique value, needs and talents of

each student. Instructional programs for the gifted and talented are an integral part of this commitment. The Academically

Talented and Gifted (ATG) program supports unique opportunities for students who are identified as

gifted and talented. ATG students possess a capacity for excellence far beyond that of their

chronological peers. This capacity includes many and varied characteristics that require curriculum and

instruction directed to their particular talents.

Program Goals

• To provide for differentiation of instruction to address the needs of ATG students in order to

create life-long learners

• To foster creativity, talent development and problem-solving skills to expand each student's awareness of choices

for satisfying contributions to society

• To support the social and emotional needs of gifted students in order to help students develop healthy self-esteem,

increase commitment to personal responsibility and responsibility towards others

• To foster participation in challenging enrichment opportunities for students in their areas of talent and interests

• To provide professional development opportunities related to gifted education to teachers to support and improve

educational opportunities for gifted students.

Utica Community Schools identifies students at the end of third grade for the ATG Program. Students in fourth through

12th grades are given various opportunities to develop their talents and skills.

ATG Enrichment Program for Grades 4 - 6 The ATG Enrichment Program has been designed for academically talented and gifted fourth through sixth grade students.

The curriculum is built upon student interest, using community resources. It stresses creative thinking skills at the highest

levels, problem-solving activities, competitions and in-depth studies beyond the regular classroom experience. Our diverse

coaching staff is made up of teachers or parents.

Gifted Resources at M.I.S.D The Macomb Intermediate School District's website for gifted and talented children includes resources that will guide you

in finding out about gifted children and the education of gifted children: http://www.misd.net/gifted

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

2

SPRING BREAK

NO SCHOOL

3

NO SCHOOL

4

NO SCHOOL

5

NO SCHOOL

6

NO SCHOOL

9

Math O. 3:15-4:15

S.O 3:15-4:15 /4:30-5:30

10

Chess Club 7:30

DARE

SO 3:15-4:15 & 6-7

4:30-5:30

11 SO. 7:30-8:25am

7:30am Girls who Code

SO 11:30-12:10

SO 6:00-7:00

12

SO - 3:15-4:15

SO 3:30-4:30/6-7

SO 4:30-5:30

Cub Scouts

6:30-8:30

13

Bagel Day

SO. 7:30-8:25am

Half Day 11:29

16

Math O. 3:15-4:15

S.O 3:15-4:15 /4:30-5:30

Cadetts 6-7:30pm

Rink Night 6-8pm

17 Chess Club 7:30

SO 3:15-4:15 & 6-7

4:30-5:30

1st gr. Music concert

6:30

3rd gr. Music concert

7:30

18

SO. 7:30-8:25am

SO 11:30-12:10

ATG 3:15-5:15

SO 6-7

19

SO - 3:15-4:15

SO 4:30-5:30/6-7

SO 5:30-6:45

Cub Scouts

6:30-8:30

20

SO. 7:30-8:25am

23

Volunteer Appreciation

Week

Math O. 3:15-4:15

SO 3:15-4:15/ 4:30-5:30

24 Chess Club 7:30

Blood Drive 2-8pm 1st Gr. Sharing Assembly

10:30am

DARE

SO 3:15-4:15 & 6-7

4:30-5:30

Parent Group meeting

6:30pm

25

SO. 7:30-8:25am

7:30am Girls who Code

SO 11:30-12:10

SO 3:15-4:14/6-7 &

6-6:45

Junior scouts 6:30-8

26

SO - 3:15-4:15

SO 4:30-5:30/6-7

SO 5:30-6:45

Cub Scouts

6:30-8:30

27

SO. 7:30-8:25am

Bagel Day

30

Cadetts 6-7:30pm

Math O. 3:15-4:15

SO 3:15-4:15/ 4:30-5:30

Saturday ,April 21

Parent Group 5K run

Outside grounds

8:30-11:30am

Sunday, April 22

6th Gr. Bowling

Fundraiser 12-4:30

Imperial Lanes