Dolphin Dispatch
November 6, 2023
I hope November brings you all a sense of gratitude! Our Character Strong curriculum focuses on GRATITUDE this month, and Friendship is the focus of our November Graebner Gatherings. I am thankful for a wonderful learning community here at Graebner, our families and students, and the friendships I make every year. I encourage you to consider putting gratitude on your daily to do list.
"When we take the time to record what we are grateful for, we prime our brains to seek out even more reasons to be grateful. - Shawn Achor "The Happiness Advantage".
Ms. Noechel will host our annual fall bookfair November 6-10. The book fair will also be open the evening of November 9 for parents who might want to shop.
Due to conferences, students will have a half day dismissal (11:29) on Nov. 9
Our fall conference dates and times are as follows:
- November 9 (Half Day Students)
- Conference times will be available from 12:30-3:30 and then 4:30-7:30
- November 15
- Conference times will be available from 4:30-7:30
**BIG SHOUT OUT to our wonderful PTO for bringing teachers dinner on November 15 conference night. It is very much appreciated by everyone.
November 6-10 - BOOK FAIR
November 7 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher DPPD
November 8 - NO PTO Meeting - due to conference week
November 9 - Half Day Dismissal 11:29 /Conferences
November 14 - Picture Retake Day
November 22-26 NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break
November 28 - PTO 6 pm media center
If you have not signed up for a conference with your child's teacher, please see the conference sign up directions below.
Graebner Gatherings
November we will be focusing on friendship and making friendship bracelets.
The Word for November is Gratitude.
We are looking forward to focusing on Gratitude this month! One way to think about Gratitude is “choosing to appreciate the people and things in our lives.” We are always grateful for our community of FRIENDS at Graebner.
Practicing Gratitude can increase our well-being and our happiness. Gratitude is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Well.
Throughout the school year, students will be developing skills like emotion regulation, positive self-talk, and stress management.
Book Fair Info & Volunteers Needed
Book Fair Homepage (scholastic.com)
Visit our school's homepage to get the latest Book Fair news, shop our Online Fair, and more!
bookfairs.scholastic.com
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F44A8AA28A0F58-45219268-book
Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!
Graebner Student Council News
Congratulations to the Graebner Student Council members. There was a lot of interest in the Student Council and sixty students applied for the fifteen Student Council positions. The following students make up our Student Council Committee this year.
6th Grade - Logan M., Juno S., Lola J., Jacob G.
5th Grade - Hailey J., Lucy L.
4th Grade - Emma D., Bennet W., Grace K., Jenna R. Noah R. Ella W.
3rd Grade – Zara P., Natalie B., Aubrey B.
We are looking forward to planning some fun events and community service projects for the Graebner Students this year.
There are two events planned in November, Fall Spirit Week, and participation in the Kiwanis Food Drive. The details of each are listed below.
Fall Spirit Week, November 13th - 17th
Monday, November 13th - Fall Color Day – Wear red, yellow, orange, brown or green
Tuesday, November 14th – Crazy Sock Day – Wear socks with designs on them or mismatch your socks.
Wednesday, November 15th – Sports Team Day! Wear a shirt that represents your favorite sport or team!
Thursday – Class Color Day! Wear a shirt in your grade level color.
6th Grade Dark Blue
5th Grade Orange
4th Grade Yellow
3rd Grade Green
2nd Grade Light Blue
1st Grade Red
Kindergarten - Violet
Friday – Graebner Spirit Day! - Wear your favorite Graebner Shirt or blue and white.
Kiwanis Food Drive – November 10th-30th
As a community service project, we will be collecting nonperishable food items for the Kiwanis Club Food Drive, to help those in need. Students can bring in canned food items between Friday, November 10th and Thursday, November 30th and place them in boxes located in or near their classrooms.
School Safety and Practice Drills
Safety remains a priority for our school. Graebner is once again providing training to our students on our safety protocols. The protocols identify actions that students may be asked to take in the event of a potential incident: hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter.
The training is provided through a short, animated video. In the video, the teacher – Mrs. Appleton – and her students walk through the different responses in a very relaxed and engaging way for younger children. The script was written by our staff.
The protocols will continue to be part of the training while practicing our regular school safety drills, such as fire drills, security drills, tornado drills, evacuation procedures, etc.)
The video is available for you to review at this link: UCS School Safety: Standard Response Protocol - Elementary - YouTube If you have any questions, please contact our office.
Update – Heritage Junior High/Gene L. Klida Utica Academy for International Studies Building Study
Parents, please see the following update from Mr. Monroe:
Utica Community Schools is committed, in partnership with the community, to empower students to positively transform their future and the world. We strive to prepare students for success beyond UCS, focusing on their education and safety today, and ensuring our schools are meeting student needs both now and in the future.
This commitment requires us to constantly review the use of our physical resources, to make certain our buildings are functioning safely and effectively and meeting the needs of the students and families in our community.
As we shared during last year’s Safety and Success Bond election, we are taking a long term approach to our facility needs. This study is based on:
- Safety
- Age of the Facility
- Enrollment Patterns and Trends
This study includes a comprehensive look at the future of the shared site for Heritage Junior High School and the Gene L. Klida for International Studies. This was a need identified during both our strategic planning process and community surveys about future facility improvements. Heritage Junior High School and GLK-UAIS have been sharing a facility for the past 16 years. During that time, enrollment and building needs at Heritage and GLK-UAIS have experienced significant changes.
The district’s long-standing citizens’ committee – the Enrollment Distribution Advisory Committee – began to look at this issue in the spring. Their input will be considered along with enrollment projections, building needs assessments from our auxiliary services department, the efficient use of district resources, and making sure our students have access to programs and experiences that will empower their future.
Additional information is available through a Fact Sheet on this website: https://www.uticak12.org/buildingforthefuture. You can also share your thoughts and questions here: http://www.uticak12.org/feedback. A final determination on the future of this site is expected in November.
Safe, secure, and educationally vibrant schools remain a priority. We also recognize that change can be difficult. By working in partnership, we can position our district to continue supporting student success for today’s students and our future generations.
Graebner Elementary
Website: graebner.uticak12.org
Location: 41875 Saal Road, Sterling Heights, MI 48313
Phone: 586-797-5000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraebnerElementary/
Media Center Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraebnerMediaCenter