Defer Dragon's Burning News
March 22, 2019
From the Principal
Dear Parents,
It was great to see many families at parent-teacher conferences this week! Our Defer Dragons continue to grow as leaders and learners. Our goal each year is to have 100% of families participate in conferences. If you were unable to attend your conference this past week, please contact your child's teacher to set up a time to meet.
As you set goals for your children for the third marking period, begin with the end in mind. Many students shared their academic and personal goals during conferences, and you can help them write down an action plan to achieve their goals for the spring. Please let me know how I can support you and your children at Defer.
Have a great weekend,
Dr. Rheaume
Defer Upcoming Events
March 26 - Read My Shirt Day
April 1 - Spring Break
April 8 - Return from Spring Break, Late Start Monday
April 9 - PTO meeting @ 7 pm
One Book, One School - Frindle
- Tuesday, March 26 - Read My Shirt Day; Final Tuesday Trivia!
- Friday, March 29 - Movie at Pierce, Meet the Robinsons
KINDERGARTEN AND YOUNG FIVES PROGRAM
Have a Kindergarten or Young Five student next fall - establish/verify residency now
It is critical that families establish or verify residency if they have a student entering GPPSS next fall, particularly for kindergarten (May 1) and Young Fives (April 18). Click here to see the pre-enrollment process (step one) and the residency documents (step two) required by board policy. Call 313-432-3083 if you have questions or need an appointment outside the enrollment office hours 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Library News
Leader in Me Parent Survey
Defer Elementary is a Leader in Me School, we teach 21st century leadership and life skills to students to create a culture of student empowerment based on the idea that every child can be a leader. To learn more about our areas of strength and growth in our school we use a Leader in Me survey to collect data from families.
We need your help! We are asking for adults from every household to complete the survey to share feedback about our school. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.
If you complete the survey by March 29th, your family will be entered into a drawing to win a prize! Use the QR code or the link located in the newsletter to complete the survey. Please return the sheet for your family to be eligible to win!
Thanks for your feedback about Leader in Me!
Defer Elementary Staff
Learn to Lead. Lead to Inspire!
Blue Ribbon Facilities Committee Information
Safety/Service
In January, Defer Safety/Service ventured across Kercheval to the Pierce Pool to celebrate another great month of service. It was a beautiful day and perfect for a swim. Everyone enjoyed a relaxing swim, as well as drinks and snacks. Mr. Senska joined the team as Lifeguard to supervise the safety of the swimmers. Mrs. Fluitt was also there for support. It was great to reward the hard-working student volunteers for serving Defer on a daily basis.
The Safeties love drinking their hot cocoa on cold winter mornings to “Warm the Safeties.” Thank you to the PTO for this treat: it is greatly appreciated.
In February, Defer Safety/Service celebrated their volunteer work at Lakeshore Lanes for a bowling extravaganza. It was wonderful. Everyone bowled two games and enjoyed pizza and pop. We have some very good bowlers at Defer; our top bowlers were Julian Lancaster with 90 for the boys and Annabelle Kraydich with a 98 for the girls. Thank you to Mrs. Allen (Bester), Mrs. Fluitt, Mrs. Kotlarz, Ms. Kraydich, Mrs. Groebel, Mrs. Wass, and Mr. Martin for transporting us to Lakeshore Lanes. A special thanks to all of them for joining us and making sure everyone was on their best behavior to represent Defer Elementary School.
Thank you to the PTO for supporting “Warm the Safeties.” They love it!
If you see a Safety/Service doing a good job, please tell them.
Thank you,
Helen Srebernak
Safety/Service Member of the Month-January
Safety: Elena Martin
Service: Erin Simpson
Safety/Service Member of the Month-February
Safety: Cassandra Summerfield
Service: Elizabeth Savage
Safety Patrol Members check the weather before leaving their houses in the morning and if the weather is below 0’ F degrees with the wind-chill, then the Safety Patrol Members will not be at their posts.
Post Times Late Start Monday
Safety: 8:10-8:20a.m. Safety: 8:50-9:05a.m.
3:35-3:45 p.m. 3:35-3:45 p.m.
Service: 8:15-8:25a.m. Service: 8:55-9:10a.m.
3:35-3:45p.m. 3:35-3:45p.m.
Office News
Reminders Arrival and Departures
Our first interest is always the safety of all of our Defer families and students. We appreciate your cooperation with these procedures.
- There is No Parking on Kercheval in front of the building.
- There is No Parking along either side of Nottingham near Defer. Parking on the west side of Nottingham is allowed only during posted times and locations.
- Since there is no parking anywhere on the east side of Nottingham, parents can drop off students at any point along the full length of Nottingham from Vernor to Kercheval on the Defer side of the street. Students should be exiting the cars from the Defer side ONLY. You do not need to wait until you get in front of the Defer gate to drop off or pick up your child.
- Bottom line---Please Stop, Drop and Go! This will help the traffic to flow smoothly. Help us keep our Dragons safe!
BEGINNING OF THE DAY
Please remember to use our 24 hour attendance line at 313-432-4001 to report your child's absence. Thank you.
Cold and Rainy Weather Reminder
Defer students go outdoors for recess two times each day throughout the school year, unless it's raining hard or the windchill is below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Please be sure that your child leaves for school dressed properly for the weather. It might also be helpful to keep an extra set of clothes in your child's locker in case clothes get wet during recess fun.
Please dress your child with a hat and gloves and appropriate coat when the weather is cold. We also ask that you write your child's name on his or her gloves, hats, boots, coat and
snowpants (let’s hope we do not need snowpants, but this is MI).
Thank you to everyone who checked the Lost and Found tables during conferences. We will be donating remaining, unclaimed items soon.
In the event your child has a cold, and is healthy enough to attend school event, they will participate in recess- playing outside with their peers twice a day. Exceptions will only be made with a doctor's note stating they are healthy enough to attend school, with reason and number of days they are required not to participate in recess play. Thank you for your understanding concerning this matter.
Student Leadership Team Happenings
Student Leadership Team thanks you for all your support! We will let you know when the t-shirts arrive.
PTO News
Open PTO Board Positions for 2019/20 School Year
There are two Defer PTO board positions currently open for next school year. The incoming PTO President Dani Raether is currently looking for a parent to fulfill the following positions:
1--Volunteer Coordinator. This position gathers all of the information about who wants to volunteer for what event, creates SignUp Geniuses for events and follows up with event chairs to ensure volunteers are sought out and at events. This is a position the current board member says is very easy to deal with as a working parent and does not require attendance at events. All of the work is behind the scenes from your home.
2--Hospitality Coordinator. This position is in charge of heading up all of the Hospitality events throughout the school year including Welcome Back coffee for parents, back to school picnic, Donuts with your dragon, etc. There is a binder with a lot of information about each event, previous vendors used and the current board member is still a Defer parent taking on a different role, so she'll be available for questions.
Interested in one or the other, please email Dani Raether at: raetherd@gmail.com
Tuesday Teacher Treats!
We love to spoil all of the teachers and staff at Defer! We are looking for more volunteers to sign up for bringing in treats/snacks for the teachers on Tuesdays this spring. Check out available dates here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4dabae2ea4f58-tuesday
Defer Diversity Parent Group
District Diversity Meetings (GPPUD)Upcoming Meetings: GPPUD
Share Your Culture! We want to hear more about your family’s cultural background and traditions. New in 2019 we will be creating a bulletin board that will be changed monthly. We are looking for families to decorate the board to help us learn more about diverse cultures and families. Bulletin boards could include family photos, traditional customs, recipes, suggested reading and any additional information you would like to share. Please email Sarah skswanson@gmail.com or Heather hbendure@gmail.com for more information and to let us know you are interested in participating!
Please contact Dr. Rheaume or one of our parent organizers Susan Sutorka at susansuto@yahoo.com or Janice Fox at jcfcreative@gmail.com for more information about our Diversity Parent Group.
Cold and Flu Season
For more information on the importance of hand washing with non-antibacterial soap, please see the links below:
- Arlington Public Schools Hand Washing Policy: https://apsshab.weebly.com/hand-washing-policy.html
- CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html
LEADER IN ME - Defer Family Learning Team
Dear Defer Families,
We are happy to announce the we have a parent lending library with books that align with The Leader in Me habits. The bookshelf is in the main hallway near the main office. Please feel free to sign out a book relating to the habits and enjoy with your family. Once you’ve read the book, please return it to school for others to borrow. Thank you for supporting The Leader in Me and growing our parent lending library through Fun Run fundraising.
Habit 7- Sharpen the Saw
Welcome to the April edition of our Leader in Me newsletter!
Published by the Defer Family Learning Team
The 7 Habits are reviewed, practiced and integrated daily at Defer. We will review the 7 Habits with you monthly. Thank you for your partnership in reinforcing your child’s leadership skills.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.
We are learning about Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw. Once there was a man who was sawing down a tree and not making much progress. When asked why he didn’t stop sawing to sharpen his saw, he answered that he was too busy sawing.
Habit 7 reminds us that we are more productive when we are in balance; body, brain, heart, and soul. If one area is being ignored or overused, the remaining three areas will feel the results. A good analogy for children is: a car needs all four tires and as leaders of themselves, they need to take care of all four parts.
Books that reinforce Habit 7:
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D. B. Johnson, Me I Am! by Jack Prelutsky, Uncle Willie and Soup Kitchen by DyAnne DiSalvo Ryan
Sharpen the Saw at home: Expect your child to use words and phrases like Sharpen the Saw, 4 parts of myself; body, mind, heart, and soul, “it’s like 4 tires of a car”, taking care of myself, and balance. You can encourage your child by using some of these words at home. Take time to talk about and practice sharpening the saw at home.
7 Habits of Happy Kids
Grosse Pointe Public Schools
Our Vision: One GP → where everyone learns, every day
Our Mission: Promote Innovation → Maximize Potential → Embrace Community
Email: rheauml@gpschools.org
Website: https://mi01000971.schoolwires.net/Domain/1099
Location: 15425 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA
Phone: 313-432-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GPDefer/
Twitter: @GPDefer