Dragon's Tale
8/29/19
Keith Purpose
Keith Beliefs
Dragons believe...
...in welcoming and trusting one another;
...in learning beyond the school day and for the future;
...in empowering every member of our community to be helpful, respectful, and kind;
...learning is engaging, purposeful, and fun.
Keith Announcements
Bell Schedule Changes for 2019-2020
We want to call your attention to the School Bell Times, as they were not recalculated after we eliminated the late start and early release times and then added half-days for staff professional development. This also affected the bus drop off times and the dismissal times by two minutes daily for elementary schools ONLY.
School Bell Schedule
Drop Off: 8:40 AM
School Begins: 8:55 AM (Tardy Bell)
Dismissal: 4:00 PM
Departure: 4:07 PM
Half-Day Dismissal: 12:25 PM
Back to School Registration Packet
Using a Parent ID and the Walled Lake Family Access system, you will need to complete all necessary forms for the online Back-to-School packet for the new school year.
Please use the directions HERE to assist with the online Back-to-School packet.
- The annual paperless Back-to-School Packet must be completed by ALL parents online, using Family Access, prior to the start of school.
- This process must also be completed in order for parents to view their child's placement for the 19-20 school year. Class placements will be available online on Skyward Family Access after 5:00 PM on Friday, August 16th.
Beginning August 1st, parents are to login to Family Access, using your alphanumeric parent account code, to complete the Back-to-School Packet.
Parents may contact Family Access to acquire a new or lost parent account code at FamilyAccess@wlcsd.org | 248-956-2190.
Mileage Club Parent Volunteers Needed!
WLCSD 2019-2020 Calendar
For the Walled Lake District Calendar, please click HERE
For a Yearly List of Major Religious and Other Holidays, please click HERE
For the 2019-20 Marking Period Dates please click HERE
For the 2019-20 School Bell Times please click HERE
Authorization to Administer Medication Form
VOLUNTARY SCHOOL ACCIDENT INSURANCE
Kroger Rewards - $$$ For Keith!
Amazon Smile Gives Back!
When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of your AmazonSmile purchase price to the charitable organization of your choice. Sign up to Support Keith Elementary and support your favorite charity every time you shop. Learn more Please see http://smile.amazon.com/about for complete program details.
5th Grade Camp Open House
September Lunch Menu
Peanut Free Practices, Birthdays, and Snacks PEANUT FREE PRACTICES, BIRTHDAYS, AND SNACKS
Peanut Free Classrooms
Please be aware that we have students at Keith Elementary that may have a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and/or tree nuts. Some students may not eat, touch, or even inhale the aroma of peanuts or tree nuts without having life-threatening consequences. As a result, it is imperative that we all keep this in mind when planning for any food brought into school. This year, your child’s classroom may be designated as a nut free classroom. If your child's classroom is designated as a nut free classroom, please do not send in food items that contain peanuts, tree nuts, or nutmeg. ANY non-labeled foods (home baked items included) for class parties cannot be ingested, either. This also includes food that is manufactured in facilities that process peanuts/tree nuts. Many food items are safe for consumption, but may require a different brand if the product is manufactured in a facility that processes tree nuts. Your child's teacher will notify you if your child's classroom is a nut free classroom, and will give you a suggested snack and party list of foods to help guide you with food choices. There are also nut free areas designated in our cafeteria.
Birthday Treats
With concerns for food allergies, parents may not send in food items for birthday treats. Other items such as pencils, erasers, stickers, a book for the class, etc. are excellent choices for honoring birthdays.
Snacks and Water
Time will be allotted in your child's classroom for a snack each day. We encourage students to eat healthy snacks-preferably fruit, vegetables or a source of protein if possible. Parents and students should read labels carefully to avoid snacks that may have been manufactured in non-nut free environment or contain products that some students may be allergic to. To help with recycling, it would be best to have a reusable water bottle for your child to use for water if needed.
As always, the health, safety and well-being of each and every child at our school is of the utmost importance to all of us. Thank you for your continued support .
Upcoming Community Events
Scouts - Pack 36 Information
Lakes Area Community Coalition - Prevention Summit - October 19, 2019
Taste of the Lakes - October 1, 2019
Open Door Family Assistance for Back to School
Any families in need of assistance with backpacks and back to school supplies, please feel free to visit Open Door.
Announcements From our Keith PTA:
The Next Keith PTA Meeting is Tuesday, September 3rd at 6pm in the Keith Media Center
PTA President's Corner - A Note from Kate Tomasik
Now a word (way too many) from the PTA Gallery, President’s corner:
“I think the rain definitely did…something to them,” said DJ Jamez, looking at me earnestly. He was soaking wet, and grinning. He was referencing the children had just spent the last 2 hours dancing in the rain next to where the DJ station had been set up in the parking lot of Keith Elementary.
We had just wrapped up the 2019-2020 Popsicles on the Playground Back to School Event. It was…soggy. The kids seemed to the think the rain made the party better. They didn’t seem to notice the mess.
(Hopefully, neither did our amazing custodial staff.)
It was August 26, 2019, and despite how sunny and nice the day had been from the start, she had turned south on us in a big way, and conveniently (sarcastically), just in time for the Popsicle event to begin. Three hours earlier, I was standing at the sheds outside with Alison Link, VP of operations. We had arrived early to set up outside, but by then, grey skies had rolled in, wind picked up, and the green storm blobs were skirting across my phone’s doppler radar ap. Both of stood squinting into the sky, trying to read the clouds like tea leaves to divine our next move. Do we set up outside, or do we go ALL IN, stuff ourselves into the narrow hallways where it would be sheltered, but crowded?
This was not looking lucky. In the past, it was always lucky. Keith PTA simply set out a multitude of tables and canopies on the blacktop outside, where parents and children could breeze around enjoying a fine day of sun within the luxurious the expanse of the parking lot. In my memory, (as I choose it), it was always picture perfect. People in seersucker suits rode around on unicycles selling balloons to impeccably dressed children. Puppies frolicked in the daisies. Someone was always juggling baseballs. That’s how it used to be (for the sake of the story, people).
But not now. Not this time. No, for 2019’s event, the crowd of families waiting outside for the doors to open were greeted with sloppy drizzle in their faces. The wind whipped their hair around. Incredibly, 5 minutes before the start time, violent gusts toppled our canopies into an undignified heap just outside of Ms. Hutchins’ classroom. Yes, that happened. I could see Ms. Hutchins looking out her window in alarm at the mangled wreckage piled up.
Michigan weather is cray, her eyes seemed to say to me through the glass. Yes, indeed, Ms. Hutchins, I replied nonverbally with a solid “rock n roll” hand gesture. “Help me,” I mouthed, desperate. Ms. Hutchins stared back blankly, holding my gaze as she slowly twisted the blinds closed. Somebody screamed in the distance. (Ok, none of this last part happened at all…except for the “rock n roll” thingy.)
The truth is, is that this crazy Michigan weather was going to throw down on the Keith Elementary PTA, try to hijack proceedings, upend the event, and command its own attention.
But instead, the amazing and resourceful volunteers of Keith Elementary PTA banded together and mobilized without haste to transplant the bulk of the cargo into the halls of the school. And just as the doors opened and the corridors flooded with parents and students the PTA folks were lifting tables, packing boxes, and setting up chrome books. Within minutes, they created a whole new landscape for the event to continue indoors, pushing through. No matter what.
The membership station was abuzz with activity as families signed on for $10. Visitors browsed by other hosted by the garden club, the Boy Scouts, the Walled Lake Northern dance team. Keith Spirit wear and school supply kits were sold. These guys rocked it.
Was it a bit crowded? Yes.
But, did anyone really mind it? Also yes.
(Well, c’est la vie.)
People still braved the outdoors anyway. They lined up for their popsicles, their spirits lifted by the party beats pounding out at the DJ station. They stood out in the rain under umbrellas, (or boldly without). The kids who delighted in the deluge, hoopla-hooped to Miley Cyrus and did the limbo to Lil’ Nas. Their enthusiasm amplified, not dampened.
My mental Scoreboard lit up. Michigan Weather: 0 / Keith Elementary School Community: 1
“Can I have my check now? Please?” The sound of DJ Jamez’s voice snapped me out of my creepy daydream face. I handed him the check. He thanked me profusely and I had assured him that, no, D.J. Jamez, the gratitude was ours.
In truth this is a great community, and a great school, and it takes a tremendous amount of volunteers and hands to make it happen. The people who show up are the ones “bringing into closer relation the home and the school” (straight from the bylaws), and the creative space is limitless. We all belong. Let’s make it a great school year. Rain or shine.
Hope you enjoyed this rare look within. By the way, “Look Within” is this year’s theme for the PTA Reflections Art Contest. We still need a parent volunteer… “Amanda” (if that’s your real name) told me at Popsicles that she might do it…
NEXT MEETING: SEPTEMBER 3, 2019, 6pm. Childcare will be available
Kate Tomasik
Keith PTA President, 2019-20
Keith Elementary School
Diana Tyrrell - Principal's Secretary
Kelly Smith - Head Teacher
Marci Augenstein, Ph.D. - Principal, Keith Elementary
Email: DianaTyrrell@wlcsd.org
Website: http://wlcsd.org/schools/elementary/keith/
Location: 2800 Keith Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI, United States
Phone: (248)956-3700
Twitter: @KeithElementary