Alto All Star Gazette
April 23, 2021
From the desk of Principal Papes
Dear Alto Families,
Despite the challenges of this pandemic, it has been an outstanding school year thus far at Alto Elementary! We could not have achieved this success without the efforts of everyone in our school community. Thank you to all! With Teacher Appreciation Week coming up (May 3rd-May7th), I would like to give special thanks to our amazing staff. This challenging time has highlighted the commitment and perseverance of our dedicated Alto Staff. We hope you will help us recognize the staff and show your appreciation at this time.
Please consider sending in a treat that can be provided for staff during the week of May 3rd. Please send only store-bought, pre-packaged items or items from a restaurant. We have approx. 50 staff members. However, don’t feel obligated to send 50 of any item you’re providing. We’re hoping to have a smorgasbord of treats available throughout the week. Items can be dropped off in the office. Please contact us if you have questions regarding specific items.
Please consider sending a note that can be shared with staff. This could be from you as a parent and/or from your children. These can be e-mailed to Leslie Flickinger at lflickinger@lowellschools.com. We will share these throughout the week over the PA, via e-mail, etc.
Thank you for helping us recognize our incredible Alto Staff!
FROM (Flat River Outreach Ministries) Food Fight!
The FROM Food Fight will take place May 1st-21st. More information regarding donations will be sent out next week.
2021-2022 District Calendar
Next year’s district calendar has been finalized and can be found at https://www.lowellschools.com/downloads/calendar/district_calendar_2021-2022.pdf
COVID-19 Mitigating Measures
Kent County Health Department School Toolkit:
https://www.accesskent.com/Health/CommDisease/pdfs/SchoolChildcareToolkit.pdf
Thank you for continuing to follow the guidelines from the Kent County Health Dept.: keeping students home if they are exhibiting symptoms, getting tested when indicated, and staying home while test results are pending (page 21). We appreciate your cooperation in keeping students and staff safe!
Testing for Virtual Students
NWEA MAP Testing: It is time for Spring MAP testing. Please access the following link to sign your children up for testing: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b094eaaaa2ea2fd0-virtual1
Students will be completing the Reading and Math NWEA MAP tests. These will take place on separate days. If you have more than one student, you may sign them up on the same days. Testing will take place in our computer lab and will be limited to 17 students per session. All participants will wear masks and maintain appropriate social distancing. Work stations will be sanitized between users. Testing windows are scheduled for two hours, but the length of each test is typically closer to one hour. We ask that parents wait in their vehicles while their child completes the test. Please contact me at ppapes@lowellschools.com if you have any questions.
Acadience Testing: It is also time for our Spring Acadience testing. Please access the following link to sign your children up for testing: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A48AAA82CA5FB6-spring
The assessment will take place in a private room in the Cherry Creek Elementary office with a reading teacher. All participants will wear masks and maintain appropriate social distancing. All materials will be sanitized. The assessment will take 10-20 minutes depending on the grade level. If you have more than one virtual student, please make an appointment for each student. Contact Jaclyn Stouten jstouten@lowellschools.com with any questions.
M-Step, NWEA MAP, and Acadience (Formerly DIBELS) Testing
5th grade students will end with the Science M-Step on Tuesday, April 27th.
4th grade students will start with the ELA M-Step on April 28th and 29th. They will be taking the Math M-Step on May 4th
3rd grade students will start with the ELA M-Step on May 5th and 6th. They will also be taking the Math M-Step May 11th.
Spring NWEA MAP Test - All K-5 students will be taking the Spring MAP test. The testing window is 4/12-5/15.
Acadience Reading Test (Formerly DIBELS) - All K-5 students will complete the acadience reading assessment. This is a 1:1 reading test administered by our reading intervention staff. The testing window is 4/26-5/12.
We look forward to receiving meaningful data to reflect the outstanding learning that has occurred this school year!
Kindergarten Enrollment
Plans are being finalized for Kindergarten Round Up the week of May 17th. Stay tuned for more details soon. Please contact the school at 987.2600 as soon as possible if you have an incoming 2021-2022 kindergarten student and have not registered them yet. Kindergarten enrollment for next fall is open. If you have a student who will turn five years old by September 1st, 2021, they can start their school journey! You may also sign a waiver for your child to start school if they turn five by December 1st, 2021. Paperwork required includes proof of residency, original birth certificate, up to date immunizations and a health appraisal. Information can be found on our Lowell Area Schools website: https://www.lowellschools.com/our-district/enrollment/
Please contact our office at 987.2600 with any questions you may have.
Schools of Choice Parents
Internal and external schools of choice applications for the 2021-22 school year will be available from April 12-May 14. You must submit your internal choice application to the elementary building of residence. The district will not accept internal choice applications prior to or after these dates. If you applied and were approved, it is not necessary to re-apply. Applications and open grade levels will be available on our website, www.lowellschools.com, April 12, 2021.
Enjoy the weekend!
Sincerely,
Paul Papes
Principal
Alto Elementary
Lowell Area Schools
P.E. Happenings
It is nearly impossible to know what Michigan season we are currently in, but I do believe we may be entering into a warmer weather season with limited snowflakes. As we enter into this season, I encourage all my students to get outside as much as possible. Being physically active outside is not only fun, but also improves mental health and will certainly aid in getting a good night’s sleep.
Ever since getting back from Spring Break, we have been working on building our fitness and stamina. We have warmed up for most classes by running the quarter or half mile on the track. In the gym, we have been working on jumping. Students have been working on both the individual jump rope as well as the long jump rope. I highly encourage jumping rope at home if you have a jump rope. It is a great workout. Besides jumping rope, students have worked on the running long jump, stationary high jump and hurdling.
Next week we will be conducting our end of the year fitness tests. Students will be doing the pacer test, timed plank, and sit & reach. I’m excited to see what type of growth we’ve made from the beginning of the year. After our fitness testing, we are going to be breaking in our new pickleball equipment.
In honor of administrative assistant day, I would like to give a quick shout out to Amy, DeeAnn, and Leslie in the office. These ladies are integral to the success we achieve here at Alto.
Please make sure to send your student with appropriate athletic shoes on physical education days. Stay healthy, keep active, and go blue!
Logan McLeod
Physical Education Teacher
Alto Elementary
Alto Library is having a used book sale today and tomorrow! $3 to fill a bag full of books for all levels of reading!
Summer Athletic Sports Camps
Breakfast and Lunch Menu
4/26: Apple Cinnamon BeneFit Bar or mini cinnis
4/27: Apple Cinnamon BeneFit Bar or mini cinnis
4/28: Apple Frudel or fruity cheerios
4/29: Apple Frudel or fruity cheerios
4/30: Apple Frudel or fruity cheerios
*each breakfast served w/ fresh fruit and choice of milk.
Lunch:
4/26: Chicken nuggets w/mashed potatoes or muffin & goldfish fun lunch
4/27: Cheeseburger w/ fries or PB&J fun lunch
4/28: Macaroni and cheese or cereal fun lunch
4/29: Cheese pizza or strawberry parfait w/ granola
4/30: Cheese stuffed breadsticks or PB&J fun lunch
*each lunch served w/ fruit, veggies and choice of milk.
Alto Elementary
Website: lowellschools.com
Location: 6150 Bancroft Avenue Southeast, Alto, MI, USA
Phone: 616-987-2600
Facebook: facebook.com/altoelementary