Pleasant Lake Pleasantries
March 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
Kindergarten Orientation on March 12th
Incoming Kindergarten parents for the 2019-2020 school year are cordially invited to attend the Kindergarten Orientation on Tuesday, March 12th at 6:30 p.m. at Pleasant Lake Elementary.
If you have a child who will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, please call our office at 248.956.2800 to provide information for our Kindergarten Orientation Mailing List.
The PLE Kindergarten Orientation is an informative meeting for incoming Kindergarten parents only. There are scheduled events this Spring for incoming Kindergartners to visit our school, ride on a school bus and meet our terrific Kindergarten teachers.
If you have neighbors and/or friends who have Kindergarten age children but do not have other children attending PLE, please ask them to call the school office to pre-register.
Kindergarten Information
Incoming kindergartners must be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2019.
Exception: According to Michigan Law, a child may be enrolled in kindergarten
if he/she is not five years of age on September 1, 2019, but will be five years of
age not later than December 1, 2019 and parent or legal guardian notifies the school
district in writing (Kindergarten Waiver Form) that he or she intends to enroll the
child in kindergarten.
Research indicates that developmentally appropriate full-day schedules benefit kindergarten children academically, socially and emotionally. Our principals and teachers understand this and are well equipped to meet the needs of our kindergarten students.
Our kindergarten students begin to learn a whole host of reading, writing and mathematics concepts and learning strategies that give them the foundation for a successful elementary school career in Walled Lake Schools.
Kindergarten Vision Screen Available
Please call the Oakland County Health Department at 248-424-7070 to schedule an appointment.
Enrollment Information Hotline: 248-956-5250
Kindergarten Resources
- Kindergarten Orientation Presentation
- Building Contact Information
- Criteria for Enrollment
- Enrollment Instructions
- Enrollment Instructions in Spanish
- Enrollment Instructions in Japanese
- Enrollment Instructions in Arabic
- Elementary School Contact Information
- Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) Immunization Action Plan(Video)
- Full Day Kindergarten (PowerPoint Presentation)
- Full-Day Kindergarten Research Article 1
- Full-Day Kindergarten Research Article 2
- Full-Day Kindergarten Research Article 3
PLE Daddy Daughter Dance Update
The Daddy Daughter Dance is just 2 weeks away. We are still accepting order forms for new couples and corsages. If you already registered for the dance that was canceled on February 6th, there is no need to send in another form, nor do you need to buy another corsage.
Your child(ren) brought home a registration form earlier this week. Simply fill out the registration form and return it to the to the main office. The last day to turn in forms to order a corsage is Monday, March 11th and the last day to turn in forms without ordering a corsage is Friday, March 15th.
March is Reading Month
Did you know that March is Reading month? We will be celebrating great things about reading all month long. Some of our activities this month will be celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday, setting up reading goals with incentives for our classrooms, classroom door decorating, Walled Lake Central High School football players reading to students, battle of the books and a book swap.
Look for more information to come home soon. Together We Learn, Together We Lead!
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:
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We will start the school year prior to Labor Day again.
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Late starts (middle school) and early release (high schools) have been eliminated.
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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.
Professional Development Day-HALF DAY on Friday March 22nd
Our next Professional Development Day will take place in the afternoon on Friday, March 22nd. Students will dismissed at 12:09 p.m. that afternoon. Prime Time Care will be available that afternoon and evening as usual.
Thank you for marking your calendars and making arrangements for this half day of school.
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.
PLE Parents-We Need Your Support At Home
Math Course Skipping Information
In planning for the 2019-2020 school year, our Walled Lake Math Department is planning ahead for those students and their families that may be interested in skipping a course/grade level in the math sequence.
In order to skip a course in the math sequence, students must demonstrate proficiency in the content and skills of the course they would be skipping. Please complete this form to make arrangements to have your student take an assessment to determine if they are prepared to skip the next math course in their sequence.
The course-skipping test is open to current 2nd-7th grade students only. Please click on the Course Skipping Information Letter for more details.
In order to prepare materials to accommodate your student, this form must be completed by Thursday, March 28th. Students that sign up from Pleasant Lake will be tested on Thursday, April 11th from 4:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m. in the Pleasant Lake Elementary Media Center.
If you have questions about this process, please contact Mr. John Gregg at johngregg@wlcsd.org
UM and MSU Raffle
The week of March 18th our Student Lighthouse Team will be selling Michigan and Michigan State bracelets and doing a raffle.
It will be $2.00 for a bracelet and a raffle ticket. We have 1 UM Stuffed Bear, 1 MSU Stuffed Bear and 2 Basketballs to raffle off. The drawing will take place on Friday, March 22nd. Students may also purchase raffle tickets for $1.00.
The raffle items are on display in the lower elementary showcase .
Important-Front Parking Lot
Thank you in advance for your support.
Nayal Maktari
Principal
Walnut Creek MS Incoming 6th Grade Parent Meeting
Pleasant Lake Elementary "CREWS"
Take a moment to speak to your child and learn a little bit more about our Leader in Me CREW!
Social Media Alert
Social Media is such a hard topic to navigate these days as it is changing so rapidly. In an effort to always keep our kids safe, we wanted to alert parents to the following application.
The latest social media concern is around something titled the MoMo Challenge. A short video below is for parents.
MoMo Challenge is being shared through WhatsApp Messenger and possibly Facebook.
The basics of the challenge include MoMo telling the child to do a challenge and then requiring photo evidence. If a person refuses or fails to complete the challenge, they are threatened with harm and/or death. This challenge is dangerous and has been associated with the death of at least one child internationally.
Please view the video below so you are aware. Thank you for continuing to monitor your child's online behavior to keep them safe.
For the viewing of adults ONLY - VIDEO CLIP
Super Car Wash Fundraiser
The Foundation for Excellence Tuition Expedition
Tuition Expedition 50/50 Scholarship Raffle tickets are on sale.
Purchase your tickets securely online or contact the FFE office: Phone 248.956.2116.
LINK to Tuition Expedition 50/50 Raffle - Announcement MI Raffle license # R49794
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!
PLE FAPES Newsletter
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 March 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'.