Dolphin Tales
School Update 5/13/2022
Principal Update- Mr. Spitzley
Important Dates
- May 25th New Student Orientation
- May 26th: 2nd Grade Move Up Visit to Sheiko
- May 30th: NO SCHOOL
- May 31st: 2nd Grade Field Trip, Detroit Zoo
- June 1st: Kindergarten Field Trip Gymnastics
- June 3rd: 1st Grade Field Trip Upland Farms
- June 6th & 7th Orchard Lake Historical Museum
- June 15th Half Day dismissal 11:27
- June 16th Half Day LAST DAY OF SCHOOL Dismissal 11:27
Thank you PTO!
Thanks to our fantastic PTO for organizing our Multicultural Night this past week! Those who were in attendance enjoyed African Drummers and Dancers, as well cuisine from all around the world. Thank you again for all of your efforts putting this evening together.
New parent and volunteering opportunities! 22-23 SY
A new school year on the horizon means that parent volunteer opportunities are available. The Doherty PTO is hoping to welcome a new round of Doherty parents into PTO board leadership. DohertyPTO@Gmail.com if you'd like to learn more. For just a few hours a month you can make a huge impact on our school community and enhance your relationship with the school and other families.
Attendance Reminders
Every minute of time at school is an opportunity for your child to be learning and practicing social skills with peers. Please take a moment to review our the district's elementary attendance policy below.
From the iCenter
Doherty Families,
Our Scholastic Book Fair was a HUGE success! Thank you to all families who were able to attend the Family Shopping Event, we had over 60 families come out to shop.
Our Piggie & Elephant contest was a tremendous hit... the kids unanimously voted for Mr. Spitzley to dress up as Piggy! The final tally for votes was Piggy 148 to Elephant 43. With those voted, we collected $502 in additional funds to purchase books for kids in need.
We sold 150 copies of the Principal Pick book. As soon as the final shipment of books arrives, those will be delivered to classrooms & we will be able to announce the read aloud event. All families are welcome to join us for the principal read aloud. Stay tuned for the details. Thank you to our Doherty PTO for supporting the classroom teachers & support staff, with the purchase of just over $1600 worth of books for our school. Our final sales totaled just over $14,000! I'm happy to report, this was by far, one of our best book fair events in the history of Doherty School.
Thank you for supporting your young reader. Enjoy all your books & happy reading!
Mrs. Carson
Character Trait of the Month- Integrity
Please take a minute to check out this months parent newsletter that addresses integrity.
May Lunch Menu
Doherty's Junior Literary Garden
Springtime in Doherty's Literary Garden
The Doherty Elementary Literary Garden Project was awarded a generous grant this year by the Wildflower Association of Michigan to expand our Junior Literary garden in partnership with the WBHS Literary Garden participants and spearheaded by West Bloomfield Community member Sally Wenczel.
This spring we'll see improvements to the Jr. Literary Garden. Students and volunteers will work on the garden adding native plantings that we are able to purchase thanks to the grant from the Wildflower Association of Michigan. Below, you'll see some plans for this year as well as some previous work done on the garden located at the rear of the school.
Last year 2nd graders from Mrs. Romano's class participated in a lesson about turnips! We are so thankful for all of the volunteers and coordinators who share their time and passion with the school and make this experience available to the Doherty Students.
Join PTO meetings Via ZOOM!
PTO Meeting Dates
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Meeting time is 7:30 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://wbsd-org.zoom.us/j/96935283381?pwd=WUw0VlNieTFqWXV3TnZtVVF0L0dKUT09
Meeting ID: 969 3528 3381
Passcode: uKAu8g
Mrs. Hanifi's Doherty Art Class Blog
Tech Talk
Keeping an eye on content that kids are consuming on these types of mediums can be pretty overwhelming. Review content and games and reviews on CommonSenseMedia.org and find out if it's age appropriate and something you're child should have access to.
Doherty/Sheiko Tiger's Game Outing!
IT’S BACK!!!!!
Announcing our
Sheiko/Doherty Elementaries'
Detroit Tigers Outing!!!
When: Sunday, June 12, 2022
Who: Sheiko/Doherty families, students and staff
Time: 1:10 pm
Opponent: The Toronto Blue Jays
Special promotions for this game: It’s Kids Day at Comerica Park! All kids can enjoy FREE carousel and ferris wheel rides, FREE face painting, and all kids can run the bases after the game!! At this time, there is no promotional giveaway, but that may change. In the past, they have given a plastic bat and ball set. I will update everyone once I know for sure if they will add a giveaway.
Cost per ticket: $31 Tickets are LIMITED, so buy them early.
How to order tickets:
Visit this link:
All orders must be in by May 27, 2022!!
Mrs. Grinnell, Physical Education teacher at Doherty, is organizing this event, so please direct all questions to:
Hope to see you there!!!
Important Links and School Information
SCHOOL TIMES
Start Time: 8:25 AM
End Time: 3:17 PM
Half-Day Dismissal: 11:27 AM
** If you drop your child off in the morning, please know that the earliest you can drop off is 8:05 AM. Our doors do not open until 8:10AM.
** If you pick up your child in the afternoon, please know that our carline closes at 3:40 PM. After 3:40 PM, if your child is not picked up, he/she will be sent to Kids Klub. Kids Klub will charge their drop-in rate under these circumstances.
Doherty Safeline
Save the Doherty Safeline # in your phone: 248-865-6002
Leave a message on the Doherty Safeline if you're child will not be attending school.
student conduct and to help answer your questions. It is expected
that students and families will become familiar with its contents.
Keeping Everyone Safe
Please review these important tips to keep our students and staff safe during arrivals and dismissals. It would also be very helpful to screenshot or share this information with anyone else who might be dropping your student off or picking them up. With nearly 500 students arriving and dismissing in short periods of time it's important that everyone commit to a safe and orderly process.
Parking Lot Safety Reminders
Each day 200+ students use the car line for arrival and dismissal. In order to keep all students and staff members safe, everyone who uses the parking lot must adhere to the processes in place and make safe decisions. With nearly 500 students at Doherty, the logistics of bussing and car line are a big part of daily operations and a continual focus of the Doherty Team. Refer to diagram above.
Remember:
- Do not walk your child through the lot or the carline, it is extremely dangerous.
- Parking and standing with your child behind your vehicle is an unnecessary distraction for cars navigating the carline and merge point and also very unsafe.
- Using the bus loop to cut around the waiting cars requires driving against directional parking lot arrows/traffic flow to park is not permitted. There are extremely rare occasions where that is acceptable.
- Some people have driven the parking lot for years, some just a few days. Please be patient and considerate of each other.
District News
Tools and Support
Tools for Immediate Help with Crisis and Reporting
If you or a loved one is struggling, please utilize the support services listed below:
Common Ground - Helps community members in crisis. Call -1-800-231-1127; Or Text “Hello”; to Chat with a crisis counselor.
Oakland County Crisis/Suicide Line - 1-800-231-1127
OK2SAY - We encourage students to talk to a trusted adult if they see or hear something that doesn't seem right. They can also report information anonymously using OK2SAY. Call 855-565-2729; text 652729; or email OK2SAY@mi.gov. For emergencies, dial 911.
Talk to Us - The WBSD anonymous communication tool. Tell us what’s on your mind. Ask a question, share a concern, make a comment.
Emotional Support/Mental Health - WBSD has several trained social workers, psychologists, restorative practices coaches, and mental health consultants here to support students and families.
Tools for Families to Talk to Their Children
For families seeking a way to talk with their children about recent events, you may access the following resources as a starting point:
Non-specific safety conversations may be more appropriate for younger students and may begin with presentations like the following on the Johns Hopkins site: “Talking to Your Children About Safety” for children in grades K-2 and children in grades 3-5. Using children’s books that use the power of narrative to teach valuable lessons is also a developmentally appropriate method to help our young one's process information. Some examples include the following:
The Rabbit Listened. A child has their castle wrecked and animals come and talk to her to give her advice. The rabbit comes to listen to her and she shares her feelings and gets brave to build the castle again.
After the Fall. Humpty Dumpty gets the courage to climb the wall again.
Doherty Elementary Information
Email: daniel.spitzley@wbsd.org
Website: www.wbsd.org/doherty
Location: 3575 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI, USA
Phone: (248) 865-6020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DohertyFamilies/
Twitter: @SpitzleyDoherty
Doherty Elementary Office Staff