WATTLES EXPRESS Wattles Elementary School

2014 National Blue Ribbon School, Michigan Blue Ribbon School 2013 and 2014 State of Michigan Rewards School

NOVEMBER 10, 2016 VOLUME 3, NUMBER 1

MRS. JOYCE BRASINGTON – PRINCIPAL MRS. SHARON KREZA - SECRETARY MRS. DEBBIE HAZEN - SECRETARY

Mrs. Joyce Brasington

Principal

Main Office

248.823.3400

Attendance Office

248.823.3401 FAX: 248.823.3413

Our mission statement

is an acronym for

WATTLES.

Working

All

Together

To

Learn,

Ensures

Success

From the Principal

Dear Wattles Parents and Students:

We had wonderful Halloween celebrations at the end of October. We had hundreds of parents watch students parade around our school

and volunteer to help with their child’s classroom parties. The staff and I truly appreciate your contributions.

I spend a great deal of time working with staff in the area of school improvement. We are always looking for strategies to use in our

classrooms which will positively impact your child’s academic achievement. As a staff, we work together looking at student work and student thinking to gauge the progress of our students. Being

awarded the National Blue Ribbon in 2014 demonstrates our success as a school and a community.

There are several areas our staff investigates:

Assessments (Results and how we use assessment results)

Sharing Lessons Learned with Other Learning Communities

Engaging our Families and

Community Curriculum and Instructional

Practices Professional Development School Leadership

Our 2016-2017 building goals have been determined by our school

improvement leadership team. We have specific and targeted goals in literacy, science, and math to improve our instruction and students’ learning. To learn more about our school improvement

goals and how you can support your child’s learning at home, please plan on attending our Family Goal Night on Thursday, December 8 at

6:30 p.m. More information will be forthcoming. Joyce Brasington, Principal

Music Events – Save the Dates

We have a wonderful performing arts curriculum in the Troy School District. Your child will be involved in the following concerts.

Grade Day Date Site Location/Time

Group

5 Monday 1/30 Athens HS Auditorium/ 7:00 pm

All Students

5 Thursday 2/16 Athens HS Gym/7:00 pm 5th Grade Band and Strings

3 Wednesday 4/19 Wattles Stage/ 6:00 pm

All Students

5 Tuesday 4/25 Athens HS Gym/7:00 pm Band

5 Wednesday 5/10 Athens HS Aud/7:00 pm Strings

1 Wednesday 5/10 Wattles Stage/

6:00 pm

All

Students

Parent/Teacher Conferences Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17. Parents who have

signed up for a conference will receive an email reminding you of your scheduled conference.

Report Card Reminder All report cards will be available through Home Access Center on

November 14 for grades 1-5.

Kindergarten students only receive report cards twice a year, at the end of the second marking period and fourth marking period.

Logging into Home Access Center Home Access Center (HAC) is the parent portal for parents to access report cards for Troy School District parents. To access HAC, go to

https://trohac.troy.k12.mi.us/HomeAccess. Login with your HAC username and password. If you do not know your username or

password, you can use the Forgot my Username or Password feature.

If you have not yet registered for HAC, please send an email to hacsupport@troy.k12.mi.us that includes your name and the

name(s) of your student(s) along with their school name and grade. Within one business day you will receive information to set up your

HAC account.

Wattles Wolves

Your Help is Needed

Please consider volunteering in the office clinic. We are in need of parents to help out with bumps and falls, ice packs and band aids,

and an occasional hug. Contact Mrs. Kreza at 248.823.3400 to get on the clinic volunteer schedule as little as one day a week or as

often as your schedule permits! Help is needed Monday thru Friday, 11:15 am – 1:15 pm.

Fifth Grade Camp

We had a great three days at Camp Michindoh.

A very special thank you goes to Mrs. Garver, Mr. Martin, Mrs. Jajou, Ms. Porto, Mr. Gerstner and Mr. Sassack for chaperoning.

Mark Your Calendars

You can access important information about the events listed below

on the Wattles website. I am encouraging all parents to go the Wattles and TSD websites for all information this year.

11/11 – Brain Freeze Friday

Week of 11/14 – School Book Fair

Week of 11/14 – Food Drive

11/16- Half Day of School (School Dismissed at 12:17 pm)

11/16 - Parent Teacher Conferences By Appointment

11/17- Half Day of School (School Dismissed at 12:17 pm)

11/17 – Parent Teacher Conferences By Appointment

11/18 – Half Day of School (School Dismissed at 12:17 pm)

11/23- No School – Thanksgiving Break

11/24- No School – Thanksgiving Break

11/25- No School – Thanksgiving Break

11/29- PTO meeting – 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

(Babysitting Available)

Indoor Recess for Health Reasons Parents sometimes request that their child be allowed to remain indoors during a recess. Children may not be left in the classroom

unsupervised when other students are taken outside. The office cannot accommodate students that stay in.

If your child is healthy enough to attend school, he/she should be healthy enough to be outdoors for a brief time.

If a child has a medical reason to remain indoors during recess, a note from your doctor is required. When to Keep Your Child Home Schools bring children into close physical contact, thus giving

communicable diseases an opportunity to spread quickly. Keep your child home if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

Fever

Pain and stiffness of neck and headache

Sore throat

Swelling/tenderness of neck glands

Cough, if persistent and productive

Nausea and vomiting

Diarrhea and persistent abdominal pain

Jaundice (yellowing of eyes or skin)

Rash

Any skin eruptions, if red, swollen and draining

Red or runny eyes

Sneezing or discharge from nose

Following the above guidelines will help prevent a child from

developing possible complications and will keep the school environment a healthy one. More information about communicable

disease can be found at www.oakgov.com/health or by contacting the nurse at (248) 858-1406 or 1-800-848-5533.

Wattles SpiritWear

Items will also be displayed at parent teacher conferences. All orders are due by November 30. An order form is at the end of the newsletter and will be available at parent teacher conferences.

Severe Weather and School Closings

During the winter months, extremely bad weather conditions may make it necessary to close school. Troy School District policy is that school will not close unless weather and road conditions are such

that the possible hazards to the children’s safety out-weigh the educational value of being in school that day.

During severe weather or other emergencies, residents are requested to stay tuned to major radio and television stations for

information about school closings: WJR (760 AM), WWJ (950 AM) and WXYT (1270 AM); Channels 2, 4, 5, 6 & 7; or access the

internet at the Troy School District web-site at www.troy.k12.mi.us. Notification will also be sent via School Messenger. If Troy is NOT

listed as one of the schools closed in Oakland County, you should assume that Troy Schools will be open and Troy buses, although they

may be running late, will be covering their routes. If school closes you will be notified via School Messenger.

Visit the Troy School Website to register and/or update your School Messenger contact information. Please discuss with your children the

possibility of an early dismissal to insure that they know where to go if no one is home.

LOST and FOUND

Is your child missing a coat, shoes, backpack, or lunch box? If you label all of your child’s belongings, there is a very good chance the item will find its way back to its owner.

Items that are found without a child’s name on it are put on the coat

rack outside the main office. Please look through our Lost and Found when you are parent teacher conferences next week.

Being Responsible

Whether it's remembering to turn in homework, brushing their teeth, or keeping track of backpacks and books, teachers and parents need children to be responsible.

The best way to teach your child responsibility is to give them

responsibilities. Now is the perfect time to sit down with your child and decide on a

few tasks he/she is ready to handle on their own. Then make a checklist of everything you expect them to do. Agree on rewards for

a job well done, and consequences for times your child shirks responsibility.

Here is a starter checklist of responsibilities you can adapt:

Getting up on time

Fixing breakfast

Selecting an outfit

Packing lunch

Completing homework

Returning signed forms

Maintaining grades

Getting along with siblings

Keeping room clean

Completing assigned chores

Getting to bed on time

Taking care of personal hygiene

Feeding/caring for pets

Reprinted with permission from the September 2014 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition)

newsletter. Copyright © 2014 The Parent Institute®, a division

Social Media Organization on Facebook: Wattles Elementary PTO (public group) Follow Wattles on Twitter: @OneWattles

Follow Troy School District: @troyschools Find many of our teachers on Twitter. Use the hashtags

#onewattles or #onetroy or #tsdthinkers

C.A.T. Awards – Caught Acting Terrific The following students were recognized for caught acting terrific.

Kindergarten - Sophonias Anamo, Mao Ando, Corbin Christie, Loralei Drouin, Christian Guilbault, Ella Heinzman, Dean Nowak, Madelyn Odgers, Santiago Laredo, Selena Matta, Krithi Rachakonda, Josephine Tull Grade 1 - Dyuthi Annigeri, Dominik Blackwell, Laasya Chindam, Sahasra Chode, Christopher Ishak, Everett Lowrie, Brahm Oza, Sawyer Fuller, Seth Fuller, Sayf Maiteh, Vanesa Malushi, Alexander Wingblad, Andrew Zheng Grade 2 - Addison Brown, Sofia Cekaj, Emma Guilbault, Anish Hari, Lillian Heron, Dylan Horne, Gabriel LaPado, Darius Mitchell, Emily Noh, Nathen Sidelko, Ben Thompson Grade 3 - Aubrianna Cox, Briana Dalziel, Erin Konwinski, Diego Laredo, Yara Louis, Alvin Noble, Wiktor Otwinowski, Ioanna Partali, Hannah Roy, Mia Sadowski, Nivika Sangamreddy, Allen Savage, Anthony Szczepanek, Morgan Valle Grade 4 - Yousif Awni, Nicholas Cho, Caleb Dominguez, Mackenna Doyle, Mariam Ebada, Alyssa Eppers, Brody Gibb, Elyse Lazrado, Jalen Ma, Joana Mathews, Maya Nowak, Addison Pokley, Mackenzie Weber, Lily Wingblad Grade 5 - Antoun Attia, Ian Babcock, Raven Buck, Selina Chen, Nicolas Elizarov, Rishi Golla, Tuba Malik, Andrew Miklush, Ethan Obidzinski Aditi Sakorikar, Peyton Savage, Jacob Vincent, Rebekah Williamson

Point of Sale Lunch

You are encouraged to prepay for your child’s lunch. By prepaying, you will assure that money is always in your child’s lunch account on any day he/she chooses to buy lunch. You may send in cash or

checks made payable to “Troy Food Services” and should be sent or brought to school in an envelope marked with your child’s name and

the words, “Lunch Money.” If you are sending for multiple children, please indicate how the

money should be divided. This will ensure each child gets the appropriate credit. There is no set amount to pay; however, many

parents find $30-40 is a good starting point. You will receive notification when your child’s account runs below $8.

Box Tops for Education Please keep saving your Box Tops from General Mills, Betty Crocker,

Pillsbury, Kleenex and Ziploc products. Grandparents and extended family can even join in by collecting these

items that result in money and items for our school programs!

Your participation and assistance are greatly appreciated!

Boxes are located in the front lobby for collection or your child can turn them in to the classroom teacher.

Reminder to Parents When using the curb side drop off, please remember this is for a

quick drop off only. Pull up as far as possible. If you need to get out of the car, or need to assist your child in getting out of the car, please park in a parking place and walk your child to the sidewalk.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Reminder from the Office

Running late to school? Please walk your child into the office to sign in and be given a tardy pass for class. School begins at 8:40 a.m.

Change in After School Pick-Ups It is extremely important when changes in the normal after school

routine need to take place, that your son/daughter bring a note to school. You may also send an email to your child’s teacher and to

the office (skreza@troy.k12.mi.us) by noon indicating a change in his/her after school arrangements. The notes are signed in the office and returned to the child as a reminder to the child, teacher and

office staff. Changes include anything that varies from the normal routine; i.e. taking the bus, being driven, visiting a friend, scout

meeting or walking home with a friend. Please note: if a child does not have a note indicating a change in plans or the teacher did not receive an email, we WILL have the child proceed with their normal

arrangements.

Also, we request that any changes in after school plans NOT be phoned in and given verbally, unless it is an emergency. Again, we need the information in the form a note written and signed by a

parent and/or an email sent to the teacher and office by noon.

Late Parent Pick-Ups

School is dismissed at 3:37. Please make every effort to pick your child up at 3:37. Children whose parents have not arrived

to pick them up will be taken to the after school CARE Program. A copy of the child’s emergency card will accompany

the child. CARE personnel will be informed of the situation and

the child will stay at CARE until he or she can be released to a parent, guardian, or person listed on the emergency card.

CARE Company will charge the following to be collected when you pick your child up.

1st occasion: $10 per hour per child

Repeat occurrences: $20 per hour per child

Call In Late/Sick When your child does not come to school (due to illness, a doctor’s appointment, missing the bus, etc.), please call

248.823.3401. This number is answered by voice mail 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please do not call the main line to report

an absence.

If we have not received a phone call from a parent by 9:15 am, we do our “safety check” to find out where our “missing” child

is. If a parent cannot be contacted at home, we will call the parent’s place of employment or the people listed on the

emergency card.

To ensure the safety of your child, we account for each child

every day. You can help us by making sure you call the sick line whenever your child does not come to school. Many

activities take place in the classroom early in the morning, including lunch count and announcements.

Please make every effort to get your child to school on time.

Punctuality creates good habits and helps develop a sense of responsibility in each student. Students may be dropped off at

8:30 a.m. and the first bell rings at 8:35 a.m. and school starts at 8:40 a.m.