Pleasant Lake Pleasantries
April 2019
Together We Learn, Together We Lead!
Pleasant Lake Pleasantries School Newsletter
Please sign up for Remind texts. The sign up information can be found at that bottom of this newsletter. Also please be sure to check out the 2018-2019 School Calendar of Events. I developed the calendar in August and it contains events for the entire school year and is regularly updated.
Thank you,
Nayal Maktari
Leader in Me Symposium
2018-2019 PLE Calendar of Events
2019-2020 Calendar Now Available!
Please click here: 2019-20 calendar to view next year’s school calendar. Please Note:
-
We will start the school year prior to Labor Day again.
-
Late starts (middle school) and early release (high schools) have been eliminated.
-
There are several half-days throughout the school year. As we have in the past, we will offer a reduced rate Prime Time Care service on each of these half days.
You might be wondering...Why are there so many half days?
Throughout the school year, there are eight half days that will be used for staff professional development. We recognize that half days can be inconvenient for families. That said, research has shown that when teachers receive ongoing, job-embedded professional development, they can increase student achievement by as much as 21 percentile points (Source).
As a school and district, we are committed to continuous improvement and these eight half days are an essential part of that commitment. Although they may seem inconvenient, staff development opportunities are crucial to ensure we provide an exemplary education for our children.
Nominations Wanted For “Kindness Matters” Award
The Walled Lake Schools Diversity Committee is seeking nominations for the “Kindness Matters Award”. We are celebrating the “Season for Nonviolence” in the Walled Lake Schools. The “Season for Nonviolence” is observed from January 30 when Gandhi was assassinated until April 4 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The “Kindness Matters Award” is another aspect of our school district’s celebration of the “Season for Nonviolence.”
The “Kindness Matters Award” is intended to honor and recognize those individuals and organizations who promote peaceful and nonviolent ways to solve problems. Students, staff members, parents, community members, or organizations who are working toward the peaceful resolution of problems and/or teach about peace and harmony to others may be nominated for this award. Individuals or organizations receiving this award will be honored at the Walled Lake Schools Board of Education meeting on May 2, 2019.
Nomination forms for the “Kindness Matters Award” are available in your school office or they can be obtained by calling Nayal Maktari, Principal of Pleasant Lake Elementary, at 248-956-2802.
Nominations are due by Friday, April 12, 2019.
Origami Storyteller Visit
March is Reading Month
Dr. Seus's Birthday
Guest Readers
Door Decoration Contest
3rd-5th Grade M-STEP
Dear 3rd-5th Grade Parents,
Pleasant Lake Elementary will administer the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) this Spring to students in Grades 3-5. The M-STEP will be given online again and will measure student knowledge of the State of Michigan’s academic standards in English Language arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.
MSTEP Parent and Student Video
(Google Chrome works best)
Remember to please have your child utilize iReady at home for a minimum of 45 minutes in reading and math each week. Thank you for your support and Together We Learn, Together We Lead!
Respectfully,
Nayal A. Maktari
Principal
Your Child's Self-Esteem by Dr. D'Arcy Lyness
Sometimes it's easy to notice when kids seem to feel good about themselves — and when they don't. We often describe this idea of feeling good about ourselves as "self-esteem."
Kids with self-esteem:
- feel liked and accepted
- feel confident
- feel proud of what they can do
- think good things about themselves
- believe in themselves
Kids with low self-esteem:
- are self-critical and hard on themselves
- feel they're not as good as other kids
- think of the times they fail rather than when they succeed
- lack confidence
- doubt they can do things well
Why Self-Esteem Matters
Kids who feel good about themselves have the confidence to try new things. They are more likely to try their best. They feel proud of what they can do. Self-esteem helps kids cope with mistakes. It helps kids try again, even if they fail at first. As a result, self-esteem helps kids do better at school, at home, and with friends.
Kids with low self-esteem feel unsure of themselves. If they think others won't accept them, they may not join in. They may let others treat them poorly. They may have a hard time standing up for themselves. They may give up easily, or not try at all. Kids with low self-esteem find it hard to cope when they make a mistake, lose, or fail. As a result, they may not do as well as they could.
How Self-Esteem Develops
Self-esteem can start as early as babyhood. It develops slowly over time. It can start just because a child feels safe, loved, and accepted. It can start when a baby gets positive attention and loving care.
As babies become toddlers and young children, they're able to do some things all by themselves. They feel good about themselves when they can use their new skills. Their self-esteem grows when parents pay attention, let a child try, give smiles, and show they're proud.
As kids grow, self-esteem can grow too. Any time kids try things, do things, and learn things can be a chance for self-esteem to grow. This can happen when kids:
- make progress toward a goal
- learn things at school
- make friends and get along
- learn skills — music, sports, art, cooking, tech skills
- practice favorite activities
- help, give, or be kind
- get praise for good behaviors
- try hard at something
- do things they're good at and enjoy
- are included by others
- feel understood and accepted
- get a prize or a good grade they know they've earned
When kids have self-esteem, they feel confident, capable, and accepted for who they are.
How Parents Can Build Self-Esteem
Every child is different. Self-esteem may come easier to some kids than others. And some kids face things that can lower their self-esteem. But even if a child's self-esteem is low, it can be raised.
Here are things parents can do to help kids feel good about themselves:
Help your child learn to do things. At every age, there are new things for kids to learn. Even during babyhood, learning to hold a cup or take first steps sparks a sense of mastery and delight. As your child grows, things like learning to dress, read, or ride a bike are chances for self-esteem to grow.
When teaching kids how to do things, show and help them at first. Then let them do what they can, even if they make mistakes. Be sure your child gets a chance to learn, try, and feel proud. Don't make new challenges too easy — or too hard.
Praise your child, but do it wisely. Of course, it's good to praise kids. Your praise is a way to show that you're proud. But some ways of praising kids can actually backfire.
Here's how to do it right:
- Don't overpraise. Praise that doesn't feel earned doesn't ring true. For example, telling a child he played a great game when he knows he didn't feels hollow and fake. It's better to say, "I know that wasn't your best game, but we all have off days. I'm proud of you for not giving up." Add a vote of confidence: "Tomorrow, you'll be back on your game."
- Praise effort. Avoid focusing praise only on results (such as getting an A) or fixed qualities (such as being smart or athletic). Instead, offer most of your praise for effort, progress, and attitude. For example: "You're working hard on that project," "You're getting better and better at these spelling tests," or, "I'm proud of you for practicing piano — you've really stuck with it." With this kind of praise, kids put effort into things, work toward goals, and try. When kids do that, they're more likely to succeed.
Be a good role model.
When you put effort into everyday tasks (like raking the leaves, making a meal, cleaning up the dishes, or washing the car), you're setting a good example. Your child learns to put effort into doing homework, cleaning up toys, or making the bed.
Modeling the right attitude counts too. When you do tasks cheerfully (or at least without grumbling or complaining), you teach your child to do the same. When you avoid rushing through chores and take pride in a job well done, you teach your child to do that too.
Ban harsh criticism.
The messages kids hear about themselves from others easily translate into how they feel about themselves. Harsh words ("You're so lazy!") are harmful, not motivating. When kids hear negative messages about themselves, it harms their self-esteem. Correct kids with patience. Focus on what you want them to do next time. When needed, show them how.
Focus on strengths.
Pay attention to what your child does well and enjoys. Make sure your child has chances to develop these strengths. Focus more on strengths than weaknesses if you want to help kids feel good about themselves. This improves behavior too.
Let kids help and give.
Self-esteem grows when kids get to see that what they do matters to others. Kids can help out at home, do a service project at school, or do a favor for a sibling. Helping and kind acts build self-esteem and other good feelings.
Congratulations to our PLE Division II Math Pentathlon Team and Coach Lian Shouneyia on a successful season!
Division II Math Pentathlon Tournament
Division II (2nd and 3rd Grade) had a great Math Pentathlon Tournament.
We are proud of the entire team. All of our children showed great leadership skills and sportsmanship. Below are our medal winners.
Hall of Fame Gold Medal
Johnathon Laz
Silver Medal
Jacob Ben
Alex Forest
Yusei Tanabe
Bronze Medal
Johnathon Matthews
Supporting Your Child with iReady
Speak with your child about how using i-Ready will help him or her grow in school.
i-Ready shows where your child is doing well and where your child needs some more review. It helps teachers understand how to give your child the best support, and it lets your child see the gains they will make throughout the school year.
- Help your child prepare for the Diagnostic by explaining that some questions on the Diagnostic test will be hard and that it’s okay not to know the answer to every question.Questions on the Diagnostic get a little harder each time a question is answered correctly, and a little easier when answered incorrectly. The goal is to figure out the math or reading level that is “just right” for your child, so your child should expect to see some questions that are too hard—and that’s okay! It means the test is working correctly.
- Encourage your child to take each lesson and test question seriously.Emphasize “thinking before clicking,” because just clicking through answers will not give teachers an accurate picture of what is understood and what requires further instruction.
- Help your child identify and become familiar with the different parts of the student dashboard. Log in to your child’s account with them and ask them to give you a “tour” of what they see.
- Encourage your child to use the tools that will appear at the bottom of the screen in some lessons. Your child will sometimes see tools, like a calculator or dictionary, that will be helpful for completing an activity or answering a question on a quiz.
- Discuss your child’s results by looking at “My Progress” together. First, look at the number of lessons shown as completed in i-Ready and celebrate that number with your child, who should feel good about this achievement alone. Then, take a look at the percentage of questions your child answered correctly in the quiz at the end of each lesson. In discussing these results, you might say
“Let’s look at how well you’ve been doing on your i-Ready lessons!”
“What do you notice when you look at this data?”
“Can you identify strengths from this report?”
“What is something you feel like you are doing well?”
“What areas are challenging to you?”
“Let’s look at your data to see where and how we can work together to improve in those more challenging areas.”
- If you are unsure about the expectations your child’s teacher has for the use of i-Ready at home, and which lessons your child should be completing, contact the teacher to clarify them.
Important-Front Parking Lot
Thank you in advance for your support.
Nayal Maktari
Principal
Pleasant Lake Elementary "CREWS"
Take a moment to speak to your child and learn a little bit more about our Leader in Me CREW!
PLE PTA Membership and Volunteer Sign Up
We need your support! It's our goal to have each parent a member of our PTA. Please join our PTA. Your support is needed to continue the great things we provide our children. Membership Forms can be found in our main office and under the PTA Tab on our school website.
We also need volunteers. Please sign up for PTA volunteer opportunities. Help others and have an opportunity to spend time with your child at fun PTA Events, it's a Win Win!
Thank you again for supporting our children, families and staff!
School Bell Schedule
Drop Off: 8:45 AM
School Begins: 8:55 AM (Tardy Bell)
Dismissal: 3:58 PM
Departure: 4:05 PM
Half-Day Dismissal: 12:00-12:09 PM
Pleasant Lake Elementary
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Prime Time Care Hours
Monday - Friday
6:30 AM-6:00 PM
Main Office:
248-956-2800
Fax Number:
248-956-2805
Attendance Hotline:
248-956-2890
School Times:
Drop off: 8:50 AM
Late Bell: 8:55 AM
Dismissal: 3:58 PM
Departure: 4:05 PM
Email: NayalMaktari@wlcsd.org
Website: www.wlcsd.org/pleasantlake
Location: 4900 Halsted Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI, United States
Phone: (248) 956-2800
Twitter: @PleasantLakeEl
Absences and Notes to School
If you intend to keep your child home on a school day for any reason, please use our attendance hotline at 248-956-2890. You may leave a voicemail message 24 hours a day. If we do not receive a call from you, we will call you to make sure that your child is indeed absent.
The Transportation Department will not issue bus passes for after school study, play dates etc. Bus passes will be issued for shared custody, day care, babysitting, or other emergencies. The Transportation Department will also issue year-long passes for in-district transfer and school of choice students when there is room on the bus.
If your child's transportation/dismissal for the end of the day changes in any way, please send in a note at the beginning of the day to your child's teacher or the office. If this changes during the school day, please call our secretaries before 3:00 p.m. We will always make sure your child gets to the correct place at the end of the day, but we ask for your help with this by notifying us early in the day or with a note. Thank you!
Safety First at Pleasant Lake Elementary
- If your child needs to be picked up during the school day, he/she will only be released to a parent, custodial parent, person listed on the school emergency form or a person identified in a permission note from the parent. We will require a photo ID.
- Any legal documents containing custodial restrictions or court orders must be on file in our office.
- If you are visiting our school or dropping off a student, please park in our main parking and come through our main entrance doors to our office area to sign your child in. All doors are locked and will not be opened by staff members or students. This includes students who are tardy to school. Do not drop off students in the parking lot if they are tardy for school. Parents must come into the office to sign tardy students in. When using the main entrance, please buzz in and the main office staff will open the door for you.
- To maintain a safe and secure learning environment, parents and visitors may not go to any classroom unless they have made prior arrangements with the classroom teacher. Parent volunteers are welcome at Pleasant Lake, but must sign in each time they volunteer in a classroom or in the building. Please remember to sign out when you are finished. Parents may not visit classrooms unexpectedly when volunteering or visiting the school. Students walk to their classrooms on their own each day and will be called down to the office if leaving early. Students will be called down to the office for any forgotten items brought in to the office.
Lunch and Food Service Information
The cost for a hot lunch will be $2.75 this year. The cost for a reduced lunch will be $.40. Breakfast will be available every day and will also begin the first day of school. The cost for breakfast will be $1.25. Breakfast is $.30 for eligible free and reduced lunch students. .
Please click HERE for the April Elementary Lunch Menu.
You can always visit Walled Lake's Food Service Website for information by clicking HERE.
Teach The Leader in Me Habits At Home!
Enjoy!
Kroger Community Rewards Program
The PTA needs your help in providing our students and staff with as many resources as possible. One way the PTA helps is by contributing the funds earned through the Kroger Community Rewards program. If you shop at Kroger, we ask you to enroll your card to earn money for the PTA. This program does not take away your rewards earned toward gas or any other benefits. It is an additional way that Kroger gives back to the community. If you were enrolled in the past, please make sure to re-enroll and select Pleasant Lake Elementary PTA to earn the community rewards. You can follow the link provided here https://www.kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow
Also, if you have other family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) that shop at Kroger or Kroger affiliated stores encourage them to enroll their rewards card and select your student’s PTA for community rewards. Every little bit helps our students and staff.
Thank you,
Katarina Gasevski
PTA Co-V.P. and Scrips Coordinator
Busch's Cash For Education
Don’t forget to re-enroll by January 1st to participate in the 2019 Cash for Education program. All participants must re-enroll annually. Once registered, simply shop, provide your Busch’s MyWay phone number or key tag at the register and receive credit for your schools. It’s that easy! Just be sure to follow the below steps to participate for the New Year.
Steps to Take:
- Sign into your MyWay account and select “Cash for Education” from the dropdown menu underneath your name to reselect your schools and/or organizations.
- If you haven’t done so already, you must include a valid email and opt-in to receive emails to participate in this program. You can check this under My Account > Account Holder when logged into MyWay. Busch’s will use this email to communicate any updates or changes to the Cash for Education Program. Email is also a great way to receive information regarding weekly specials, offers and Busch’s coupons, which are sent exclusively to MyWay members.
- Select up to four organizations that you would like to support for each quarter using the drop down menu. Purchases will be allocated equally between your chosen organizations.
- You may now also include the student you’re supporting.
- You may change your organizations and student at any time, but only those selected at the end of each quarter will receive credit.
Participants will be required to re-enroll on an annual basis.
If you have any questions please email us at welisten@buschs.com or refer to the FAQ, which can be found at buschs.com/community.
Know What's Going On At Pleasant Lake Elementary!
SKYWARD FAMILY ACCESS
It is critical that parents keep an updated email address and let us know if it changes as soon as possible. Parents may update this information for us on Skyward Family Access. All teachers at Pleasant Lake utilize Skyward Family Access to communicate with parents. Report cards, lunch account information, progress reports, attendance and other important information will always be posted on Skyward Family Access. If you are a new family to Walled Lake Schools or have misplaced or lost your Family Access ID and password, please click HERE to get connected.
PLEASANT LAKE PLEASANTRIES AND SCHOOL WEBSITE
Our school newsletter will be sent electronically to parents once a month. An archive of newsletters is also posted to our school website under the For Parents tab. Our school website can be found HERE. Please visit this page often for information about our school. You will find links to important documents, websites from your child's classroom, PTA forms and information, and important updates and forms that you will need to access.
Please follow us on Twitter @PleasantLakeEl to be updated regularly on important events at our school and fun pictures of student events and learning!
REMIND 101
We also offer Remind 101 to all PLE parents. How does it work? If you would like to receive a quick text message on your cell phone or device, just sign up with us and you receive a quick text to remind you of important school events, deadlines, time frames, etc. at PLE. You can unsubscribe at any time.
To join, send a text to (586) 649-3482 and enter the message @mrmakt
You can opt-out of messages at anytime by replying, 'unsubscribe @mrmakt'.