Pleasant Lake Pleasantries
September 14, 2020
Together We Learn, Together We Lead!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Please know that we care about and think of you and your children often. We have a special school community because of all the wonderful adults and children that make it up. Don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher, our main office or myself if you have any questions and/or concerns.
Respectfully,
Nayal Maktari
Principal
Parent Tech Support Submission Form
Chromebook Pickup
Our IT Department is available next week at Educational Services Center at 950 Ladd Road in Walled Lake from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. for additional Chromebook pickups.
School Supply Needs Request
Curriculum Nights
Please be sure to mark your calendars and join us for our annual Pleasant Lake Elementary Curriculum Nights. Teachers have been working hard preparing for the new school year. There are many new and exciting curricular programs and materials being implemented in the coming school year, and we are excited to share these with you. We are focused and ready to increase student achievement at our school.
Our Curriculum Nights will be VIRTUAL and online this year, and will take place on three separate nights to discuss the curriculum at each grade level.
Curriculum Night is designed for parents only. Parents will learn about the curriculum, program, meet classroom teachers and other staff members, and view materials for each grade level.
LINKS AND MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION WILL BE COMING TO JOIN THESE IMPORTANT MEETINGS ONLINE!
Upcoming Important Events
September 2020
September 14th Kindergarten 5:30 p.m. and 1st Grade Virtual Curriculum Night 6:30 p.m.
- September 15th 2nd Grade 5:30 p.m. and 3rd Grade Virtual Curriculum Night at 6:30 p.m.
- September 16th 4th Grade 5:30 p.m. and 5th Grade Virtual Curriculum Night at 6:30 p.m.
- September 17 Virtual Middle School Curriculum Night (6:30-8:00 PM)
- September 21 Virtual High School Curriculum Night (6:30-8:00 PM)
- September 23 PTA Meeting at 6:00 p.m.
- September 25 Half Day-Staff Professional Development
- September 28 No School for Students and Staff (Yom Kippur)
Our Path Attendance Information
Despite the fact that we are starting the 2020 - 2021 school year remotely, attendance must continue to be a priority. It is extremely important for students to log in on time, be present in the remote setting, and remain engaged throughout the entirety of the school day.
Please be reminded that our teachers will take AM and PM attendance as well as record tardies. If your child will be absent or late, or will need to end the remote day early due to illness or a scheduled appointment, you must call the attendance phone line and leave us a message to tell us.
Every teaching and learning moment is crucial and we appreciate your partnership to ensure good attendance and participation.
We recognize that there will be a learning curve during these first few weeks and we promise to be flexible and understanding as we all become comfortable with the digital platforms of Google and Zoom.
Attendance Line: 248-956-2800
TIPS FOR LEARNING FROM HOME
SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE
EVERYTHING GOOGLE!
Technology Updates
Our Instructional Technology (IT) Team has been working diligently to support the issues that have come with Zoom for Chromebooks including the inability to see gallery view and the sound distortions. Yesterday afternoon we were able to get the Zoom App to install on the Chromebooks, which was previously not possible. We are hopeful that this will allow for students to see their entire class (gallery view) and will support a more positive audio and visual experience. When your child selects their Zoom link in the Google Classroom, they will automatically launch the Zoom App, eliminating the need to “join with browser."
Should your child continue to experience audio/visual issues, as an interim work around, please try having them turn off their camera unless they need to be working directly with the teacher or speaking to their class. They should not need to do this for the whole meeting, but muting their cameras will allow the Chromebook resources to focus on the audio, potentially cleaning up the student’s experience. Here is an easy to follow tutorial for parents!
Should you continue to have technical difficulties, please submit a tech support form (also found on the FOR PARENTS tab on our school website). Our IT Team will continue to support issues as they arise.
Family Chromebook/Device Troubleshooting
Thank you everyone for being patient as we embark on this new, unchartered “adventure”. We have been working through many beginning of the year bugs, glitches, and other tech issues. Below we have compiled some suggestions for families to try when their school chromebook and/or personal device is experiencing problems. We are also including several tips for teachers as well. Please share the Family portion with your community. These tips can also be found at https://sites.google.com/teachers.wlcsd.org/virtual-classroom-resources/chromebook-resources
Google Login Information
Families - You can now access your child’s Google login information via Skyward Family Access. It can be found on the Report Cards tab as the very top report. If you still do not see it, please use the emails below to contact our school. If you are a parent of a new Kindergarten student and don’t see your student login, please check back on Skyward in a day as we are continuing to process enrollments. Thank you!
WLCSD FOOD SERVICE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH
We are pleased to inform you that meals will be available to all Walled Lake Consolidated School District Students for the upcoming school year.
Please pre-order breakfasts and lunches by completing this Food Service Order Form. Forms must be submitted prior to midnight on Thursday, September 3rd for the week of September 8th.
This is available for all scheduled school days for registered Walled Lake Consolidated School District Students only. Anyone may pick up meals for your student(s).
Pick up locations will be at the three high schools on Monday August 31st between the hours of 12 P.M. and 1:30 P.M.
Breakfast Pricing
$1.25 Full Pay
$0.30 Reduced
$0.00 Free
Lunch Pricing
$2.85 Full Pay
$0.40 Reduced
$0.00 Free
- Breakfast is free for students who received a free meal approval letter, $0.30 per day for those who received a reduced meal approval letter and $1.25 per day for those who are full pay.
- Lunch is free for students who received a free meal approval letter, $0.40 per day for those who received a reduced meal approval letter, and $2.85 per day for those who are full pay.
We would like to limit cash transactions. It is preferred that you place money on your students account via family access through e-funds. We are unable to make change for cash transactions but we will apply change to your student's account.
Please direct questions you may have to our Food Services Department.
ALL K-12 FAMILIES MUST COMPLETE
Walled Lake Schools has streamlined the annual registration/first-day packet process for ALL K-12 families. The District will be using the Family Access/Skyward system to automate the process for updating and completing documents such as the emergency card, Food Service application, FERPA form, fee payments, Code of Conduct, and other important annual school forms that require parent approval.
A Skyward Family Access parent account is required in order to complete the Online Back-to-School Packet process for all schools. (A parent account username is alphanumeric - SMITHMAD000; a student account username is the student's ID number - 1234567.) To obtain a Family Access account, email familyaccess@wlcsd.org from your email account on file with the district or call 248-956-2190 (email is best). Please include ALL of the following information in the body of your message. You will be contacted within 3 business days.
- Guardian Name
- Your student name(s) and name of schools they attend in Walled Lake Schools
- Guardian's email address currently on file with the district
- Daytime phone number
Questions and Support
If you are having trouble with Back-to-School packet, please visit the Troubleshooting & FAQ page. If you are still having issues, please contact familyaccess@wlcsd.org. Be sure to include your name, the student's name, and the specific question you may have.
Support our School!
We all shop on Amazon, why not give back to Pleasant Lake while we shop?!
Pleasant Lake is set up on the Amazon Smile program, which
donates 0.5% of eligible purchases straight to our school!
Here's what to do:
1) Log on to http://smile.amazon.com/
2) Select Pleasant Lake Elementary PTA as the organization you are supporting.
3) Shop away!
Kroger Rewards
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
See below for important steps to follow:
#1: Reminder to clip and use the digital app.
Please continue to send clipped box tops into school as usual.
Additionally, Box Tops for Education is moving towards digital submissions.
How can you help?
1. Download the free app.
2. Create an account (choose Pleasant Lake Elementary as your school).
3. Scan receipts as you make purchases (and within 14 days).
** Back by popular demand... Want to designate a classroom for box top counts to help your child's classroom win contests? Start by scanning your receipt. Once the photo is taken, new options will show up across the bottom. Choose the star "Credit" button and enter the last name of your child's teacher. Hit done, then submit. **
#2: Do you shop for groceries online?
You can submit your email receipts from select retailers to earn Box Tops for your school too. Here's how...
Option A
1. Make sure you have a Box Tops for Education account
(create one via the Box Tops app or website).
2. Forward your email receipt to receipts@boxtops4education.com using the same email that’s associated with your BTFE account. Box Tops will be credited within 10 business days – view your earnings detail in the MY EARNINGS section of the app or website
The following email receipts are currently eligible (as of July 17, 2019):
Instacart, jet.com, SamsClub.com, Shipt, Target.com, Target Pick-Up/Drive-Up,
Walmart Grocery, Walmart.com
Option B
For purchases from online retailers not listed above, please follow the process below.
1. Take a screen shot (or multiple) of your entire receipt from your online purchase, including retailer name, all items, transaction total, and date of purchase
2. Open the Box Tops Contact Us form
3. In the Comments field, please include: Your email address, name, school's name, the amount of Box Tops earned with the purchases from that receipt.
4. Use the “Upload Image Files” feature (at the bottom of the form to add the screen shot(s) of your receipt. Your receipt will be processed within 2 weeks.
Teach The Leader in Me Habits At Home!
Enjoy!
PLEASANT LAKE ELEMENTARY CONTACT INFORMATION
MAIN OFFICE PHONE NUMBER
248.956.2800
Nayal Maktari
Principal nayalmaktari@wlcsd.org
Missy Mergner
Principal's Secretary melissamergner@wlcsd.org
Julie Smith
Building Secretary juliesmith@wlcsd.org
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 week. 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'.