R-PTLE Weekly Family Communication

Dear Families,

Short and sweet this week. Valentines Day on Tuesday!

Reminder for mid-winter break - NO SCHOOL Thursday, Friday, and Monday! Teachers will report for professional development around our core instruction.

Looking forward to a great (short) week at R-PTLE!

Sincerely,

Paul Siembida

Principal, Twin Lake Elementary

719-3190 Ext: 2225

Succeed Today!

Considering the ever changing family dynamics, I wanted to send another opportunity to fill out a free and reduced lunch application. If you have already filled one out, please ignore. If you have filled an application out, but your financial situation has deceased, please fill one out. If you have not filled out an application and/or are not sure you will qualify, please fill one out and our food service department can help you figure it out. See the link below.

Click this link. Search for Reeths-Puffer schools (start typing it in and it will pop up) and off you go.

A Note About School Meals:

There are a couple different ways that you can add money to your child’s school account to pay for their breakfast and/or lunch:

1. Go to https://www.familyportal.cloud and set up an online account, where you can add money for your child by putting in your debit/credit card information. Please see the attached letter for answers to frequently asked questions.

OR

1. Bring in/Send in an envelope with cash or a check enclosed. Please include the child’s first and last name, and write “Lunch Money”. If you are sending money for two students, please write how much each student will receive. The office will collect these envelopes and the kitchen staff will enter the funds into the correct account.

In the event that your child does not have money in their account, but they do not have a cold lunch, they will still be able to eat a hot lunch. We will not let your child go hungry! However, please note that this will bring the account to a negative balance until more money has been added to the account.

Students performed strongly as they presented their work during a gallery walk on Thursday. It was impressive work and each of them gave great presentations to the staff and students who walked through. They engaged in amazing teamwork and took complete ownership of their learning throughout this entire project.

Great Job!

RBK's are chosen for consistently displaying The Rocket Way ~ Respect, Pride, Integrity!

Layne Zant

Abigail Dexter

Lily Fitch

Henry Howard

Well done, crew! Thank you for leading by example!

Staff Affirmations for Mrs. Dunn:

• Mrs. Dunn is SUCH a positive presence in our building. She listens with care. She speaks with tenderness. Her smile warms the room. She has been there for various staff members through some very tough situations. She may be a small lady, but she's a mighty woman! We love having Mrs. Dunn in our building and never want to give her up!

• Christina is sweet and full of grace. She's reliable and so understanding of her students. She also goes above and beyond to help other teachers. I have benefited so much from her organizational skills too. She adds so much to our building!

• I am so very thankful for her everyday! She is so very, kind, patient and helpful no matter the situation and we have had some situations!!!! Blessed to have her in my room this year!

• From our kids: Mrs. Dunn is nice, sweet, caring, kind, pretty and cool! She helps kids when they need it and she is a good artist! She is the BEST!! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her!

• Mrs. Dunn is a ray of Sunshine and a glimmer of hope for all of us at Twin Lake Elementary. Mrs. Dunn has a calming demeanor about her and her compassion towards her students and the staff at Twin Lake Elementary School is felt by all. Those that work closely with Mrs. Dunn appreciate her willingness to always step in and help. Whether it's covering Mrs. Kolbe's frequent bathroom breaks or helping our team out during lunch and recess. We are beyond blessed to have Mrs. Dunn a part of our R-P TLE family.
  
• I have worked with Christina for a long time. She has worked with me in my classroom as a para-professional in the past. She puts the "professional" in para-professional! Christina's calm presence and respectful demeanor spread to the students with whom she works. When in a classroom, she has the teacher's back at all times and is willing to do whatever is needed, even well beyond the scope of her position. The staff and students at Twin Lake Elementary have been blessed to have her in our building for many years and hopefully more years to come.
  

Happy birthday to the following Rockets who celebrated this past week

Bryson Brown - 2/6 (as pictured by the coffee cup) Sorry we missed ya, Bryson!

Alysson Ganos - 2/8

Beau Dickey - 2/10

We hope that you had a FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY!

If you get a chance to "zoom in," take a look at our lost and found table and have your child claim what is theirs.

Thursday, February 16th: No School for Kids~Professional Development for Teachers

Friday, February 17th and Monday, February 20th: No School~Mid-Winter Break

Friday, February 24th: Last day for Pizza Kit Fundraiser

February 25th: Snow Much Fun

Respect ~ Pride ~ Integrity

Link to our Rocket Way Behavior Expectations. These are reviewed throughout the year, especially after long breaks from school.

Would you like to learn more about CKH? Click here

February's "Theme of the Month" is Kindness!

Princess Ball Planning

The Middle School PTO puts on the Princess Ball for all the elementary girls, and we would like your help with this event.

Saturday, March 18th, 6-8 pm - Princes Ball Flyer information - CLICK HERE

If you are willing to help organize and plan the big event. Please fill out the form below.

If you would like to help in other ways, we could use donations of decorations and/or cookies. Please fill out the form below. Note, We are not buying decorations, we simply thought we would ask if any folks have some fun things laying around the house they could donate.

Click here to access the form to volunteer.

Click here to access the form to donate.

Any questions please reach out to Jessica VanderLaan at jessvanderlaan11@gmail.com. Or, 231-750-7446

We are in need of boys and girls pants sizes 5 and up. If you are able to donate to our clothes pantry, we would greatly appreciate it!!

Click this link to get started

https://www.rpyouthsoccer.com/register2

Click link for RPHS athletic schedule.

https://5il.co/1ltt1

HAND2HAND IS HERE! FREE FOOD!

Thanks to a partnership with group of local volunteers, our school will be participating in the Hand2Hand program. The program helps to provide a student with food for the weekends and is intended for families who may be experiencing a financial burden. This program will be available to all of our kids and parents will give permission for their child to participate. We are grateful to the generosity of the volunteers in our community.

Food is discretely to children in the program each Friday.

CLICK HERE FOR LETTER

Are you raising your grandchild or children who are relatives? You are not alone. "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren" is a kinship care program that offers support. All services are free. For more information contact Callie Sierra at 231-733-6654, or email her at sierrac@hccc-health.org.

Calling in Absences:

When parents call in an absence for a sick child and leave a message, it would be helpful if they could let us know the symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, etc.) that the student is having or if they have been seen by a doctor and have a diagnosis (strep, flu, pink eye, etc). We ask these questions when we get a live person, but it is important for accurate health reporting each week.

Emergency Contact Information:

If you need help updating your child's contact information, please call our office and speak with Carly, or Heather. Thank you for your help with this.

Office Team Contact Information:

Please know that our office is willing to help answer any questions that you may have at any time during the school year. Ms. Carly Akins (akinsc@reeths-puffer.org) and Mrs. Heather Nicholson (nicholsonh@reeths-puffer.org) are amazing and happy to help! Our number is 719-3190.

School Hours:

School begins at 8:45 and dismisses at 3:45. If you would like more information about before and after school care, please contact, Dawn Lynn at Lighthouse Learning. The number is 638-2172, or you may call 719-3190 x 2206.

*Go to https://ps-rp.muskegonisd.org/public

(There will be a default username and password in both boxes. Delete and create your own.)

*If you are a first time user, you will need to click on the “Create Account” tab, and fill out the

information. You will create a new Username and Password. You can add your students at the

bottom of the page using their Access ID and Access Password.

NOTE: The Access ID and Password is NOT the same as the Student Number and their

birthdate.

*If you have an existing account, use the “Sign In” tab to log in using your Username and

Password that you already have. If you do not remember these, call the office and we can help

you.

*Once you are signed in, you can add new students to your account by following these

instructions:

1. On the start page, click on “Account Preferences” from the navigation menu on the left. The

“Account Preferences – Profile” page appears.

2. Click the “Students” tab

3. Click the “Add” Icon to add a student to your parent portal account. The “Add Student”

dialog appears. Fill out the information and you should see a new tab for the student appear at

the top of the page.

*Once all of your students are added to your account, update the demographics for all of

your students by clicking on the “Demographic Update” button on the left side of the page.

Please electronically sign the required forms. Print the Emergency Procedure Card, sign it, and

give it to your child’s teacher.

IIMPORTANT: You'll receive a specific ID and Password for access to the Parent Portal. If you are a returning family, you may follow the directions above. Please don't hesitate to contact Carly, or Heather in our office if you need help.

Mr. Paul Siembida

Principal, Twin Lake Elementary School

Email: siembidap@reeths-puffer.org

Phone: 231-719-3190

Location: Twin Lake Elementary School, 3175 5th Street, Twin Lake, MI, USA