The Tiger Times
October 2023
From the Principal
Hello Mohawk Families!
During the first week in October, we will practice our lockdown drill. Unfortunately, our changing world requires us to prepare for emergencies differently than we have in the past. We need to prepare our students without causing fear. The ALICE training and activity book, I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared by Julia Cook, is a way for students to learn about staying safe.
The purpose of this book is to enhance the concepts taught by the ALICE Training Institute and make them applicable to children of all ages in a non-fearful way. By using this book, children can develop a better understanding of what needs to be done if they ever encounter a “dangerous someone.” The story uses the experiences of “ant” students attending school. The students know that their teacher is always trying to keep them safe and has already taught them about fire drills and bad weather drills. The ant teacher shows the students a drill called the Sheep (the students), the Shepherd (teacher) and the Wolf (someone dangerous). The teacher shows the students how to stay safe if someone dangerous is inside the building.
Our drills are based on the concepts that the “ant” teacher shows her students. The drills will include BOTH a lesson from the book, “I’m NOT Scared, I’m Prepared!” and an opportunity to practice. Keeping your child safe is our top priority. I have included some information below for you to review.
If you have any concerns, please contact me or your child’s teacher.
Educationally Yours,
Ms. Andrea Verellen
October Calendar
Wed., October 4th
Count Day
Thurs., October 5th
4th Grade Field Drip-Lansing
Fri., October 6th
PTO Build A Buddy Money Due (See Below)
Mon., October 9th
Last day to donate for Tiger Trek
PTO Little Caesars Pizza Kit Sale Begins
Wed., October 11th
PTO Tiger Trek
Fri., October 13th
PTO Tiger Trek Bowling Trip
Mon., October 16th
Book Fair Begins
Wed., October 18th
1/2 Day-11:50am Dismissal
Parent Teacher Conferences (Evening Only)
PTO Restaurant Night-Bubba's 33 (see flyer below)
Thurs., October 19
1/2 Day-11:50am Dismissal
Parent Teacher Conferences (Afternoon & Evening)
Last day for PTO Fall Fest Tickets (See Below)
Fri., October 20
1/2 Day-11:50am Dismissal
October 23rd-27th
Red Ribbon Week
Tues., October 24th
PTO Meeting-7pm
Tues., October 31st
Halloween Parties 10:00-11:00am
Outside Parade at 11:00am (No parade if it's raining)
Parent Information
10 ALICE Training Concepts
ALICE Training for the elementary aged child is age and ability appropriate. ALICE Training Institute always leaves the grade level of implementation up to the local school district.
1. Children should be taught to follow direction the first time they are given in an emergency. We don’t want teachers to give directions to Evacuate or Lockdown and have students standing around asking, “But why?”
2. Students should be trained to STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN to announcements at the time they are given. If the PA system serves as the main information source in a school, students must be trained to STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN every time it comes on.
3. In a Lockdown, be quiet, listen to directions, stay out of the line of sight from the door, but DO NOT hide in a closet. Be ready to move or evacuate if the intruder comes into the room.
4. In a Counter situation when the secured location has been breached by an intruder, and evacuation is not possible, the best line of defense is to have kids up, moving, making noise, gaining distance and throwing items at the intruder.
5. Evacuation is always the best defense, if the information indicates it is safe to do so. Parents, staff and students must know where the RALLY/REUNIFICATION point is located. This location is usually away and separate from the school. Students should know how to get to the RALLY/REUNIFICATION point from every part of the school, and how to move quickly with OR without the teacher. It should be emphasized to parents that the RALLY/REUNIFICATION point is the place to go in case of an emergency.
6. Upper elementary students have more developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills and should take a much more active role in ALICE than children in the lower elementary grades.
7. We teach all aspects of ALICE EXCEPT the “swarm technique” (grabbing onto the appendages of an intruder and using your body weight to immobilize him) to elementary students.
8. Special needs students are planned for ahead of time, given their individualized situations. If a student cannot evacuate, plans must be made to fortify his/her location. When students with special needs are included in the general education class, teachers need to decide what is in the child’s best interest and plans should be made ahead of time. We cannot give a one-size-fits-all answer to the situations involving a student with special needs. The school must consider each case individually.
9. Education and empowerment are the keys to preparation and relieving fear.
10. Kids are taught in realistic terms what to do in case of danger. ALICE is much like a fire drill or a tornado drill. Its purpose is to prepare students for life inside and out of the classroom. The ALICE concepts are the same at school, home, the mall, the afterschool program, restaurants, church or any other place the child goes. We are teaching a lifelong safety skill.
Walk To School
Parent Portal
School Messenger
Accessing Report Cards in Parent Portal
After you log in to Parent Portal, click on the student whose report card you want to see.
Click on the App Switcher button in the top right hand corner.
Once the Application window opens, click on "District Report Card"
After clicking on the "District Report Card", it will download in the lower left hand corner.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
You are invited to attend parent/teacher conferences on Oct. 18th or 19th. Parents will receive their child's progress report during their 15 minute conference with the teacher. Use the Sign-Up Genius link below to choose your time(s). Be sure to choose the correct grade level and teacher.
- Wednesday, October 18th in the evening only
- Thursday, October 19th in the afternoon and evening
PaySchools Central
Chippewa Valley Schools has adopted PaySchools Central as an online payment resource for the parents in our district. PaySchools Central is a secure payment system which simplifies school payments in an easy-to-use online portal. This online service provides an easy and efficient method to collect fees and electronic payments for field trips, registrations, t-shirts, and any other school-related fees. We no longer accept cash or checks. See the directions below for how to set up your child's account.
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week is celebrated every year in October from the 23rd till the end of the month. It is a drug prevention awareness campaign and is considered one of the nation’s largest programs of such sort. It reaches millions of people annually, and throughout school districts. Awareness is raised during this week every year regarding the benefits of building a strong community by making good choices, i.e., living positive and drug-free.
Red Ribbon Week® (October 23rd-27th), is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in
the nation. It is your opportunity to get the ongoing conversation started. Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don’t; yet, only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.
This year’s theme is "Be Kind To Your Mind. Live Drug Free™ Visit www.redribbon.org to learn more about Red Ribbon Week® and get tips for talking to your kids about drugs. The life you save may be that of your own child or a dear friend.
Mohawk celebrates this week each year by having fun spirit days, and announcement messages that are geared toward elementary students. Below are the spirits days for this year.
Drop Off Lane
23-24 YEARBOOKS
FOOD SERVICE
Free & Reduced Application
Please fill out a Free and Reduced School Meals application . While the Free and Reduced forms help with student eligibility for school meals, they are more important for other school programs. If the number of Free and Reduced applications decline, funding for some programs can be lost since the overall funding for schools is based on the number of Free and Reduced forms turned back into Food Service. Everyone can fill out a form, even if you may not qualify. This will ensure federal funding that will benefit ALL students.
Lunch Doubles
MOHAWK POLICIES
Birthdays
- Students are welcome to celebrate their birthdays by bringing in treat bags with small items such as pencils, stickers, pop-its, etc..
- Edible birthday treats are NOT allowed to be brought to school for the health and safety of all students.
- If you are having a birthday party, please note, that invitations are NOT to be distributed in class.
Attendance
Tardies
The school day officially begins at 8:55am. Students arriving after 8:55am will be marked tardy and must be signed in at the office by a parent.
Early Dismissal
If you need to pick up your child early from school. Please do so BEFORE 3:30pm.
Attendance
It is very important your child arrive on time every day when school is in session. Research shows when students regularly attend school they perform better academically and experience more success.
Students who arrive late but before 9:55am are marked tardy. Arrivals after 9:55am but before the PM session, 12:32pm, will be marked absent for the AM only.
A student will be marked absent in the PM only if they leave before 2:45pm. Dismissals after 2:45pm are recorded as a tardy/leave early.
Attendance Letters
Attendance Reports are run every 2 weeks. Below are the guidelines we follow for referring families to truancy.
Nudge Letters
A nudge letter will be sent to families if their child has 5 or more absences parent-teacher conferences.
Attendance Letters
Attendance letters are sent to students according to the number of days they are absence:
10+ absences=Letter #1
15+ absences=Letter #2
20+ absences=Letter #3
Having a documented medical excuse will determine whether the absence is excused or not excused.
Truancy
School administration will decide when it is an appropriate time to file for truancy. This is traditional done after there have been at least two parent contacts made by the building.
Visiting Mohawk
All visitors including parents/guardians dropping off or picking up children are only permitted to enter the building through the main office doors. Before entry, guests will need to show ID and state the reason for their visit while outside the building.
All volunteers must have a current CRC on file, sign in and wear a Visitor Badge. Any non-staff member in the building must be here for a specific reason such as volunteer work, PTO, or another approved purpose.
Volunteers
Student Health
Illness
Children may be excluded from school if an illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in school activities or if there is risk of spread of harmful disease to others. The district follows local health department guidelines for all health-related concerns.
Abdominal Pain: A child with abdominal pain that continues for more than two hours, or intermittent pain associated with fever or other symptoms.
Diarrhea: A child has two loose bowel movements, even if there are no other signs of illness. The child should have no loose stools for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Exception: A healthcare provider has determined it is not infectious. Diarrhea may occasionally be caused by antibiotics, new foods a child has eaten, or teething. Call the parent to find out if there is a non-medical reason for the loose bowel movements.
Fever: A child who is feverish (chills, sweating) or has a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. The child should not return until 24 hours of no fever without the use of fever reducing medications. A child with strep throat/scarlet fever should be treated with antibiotics for 12 hours (at least 2 doses) before returning to school.
Ill appearance: This could include a child that is not himself or herself, lethargic, persistently crying, has difficulty breathing or has a rapidly spreading rash
Injury: Whenever an injury is serious enough to need a health care provider’s attention, a parent should be contacted to take the child home.
Rash: A child with a rash AND a fever or a change in behavior. Any rash illness and fever should be checked by a healthcare provider. There are different rules for returning to school depending on the cause of the rash. Note: Rapidly spreading bruising or small blood spots under the skin need immediate medical attention.
Skin Sores: A child with weeping sores on an exposed area that cannot be covered with waterproof dressing.
Vomiting: A child that has vomited two or more times. The child should have no vomiting for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Exception: A healthcare provider has determined it is not infectious.
Certain Communicable Diseases: Children and staff diagnosed with certain communicable diseases, including COVID-19, may have to be excluded for a certain period.
While not an emergency, children with the following diseases should remain at home until successfully treated: impetigo, lice, ringworm, and scabies. Michigan Head Lice Manual
Health Forms
Student health and medication forms must be properly filled out and returned before any medication can be dispersed to your child during the school day.
ClassLink Directions
PTO EVENTS
Executive Board Members 2023-24
President-Katie Ruszala
Vice President-Katie Fohey
Treasurer-Michelle Schmidberger
Co-Treasurer-Marie Laskowski
Secretary-Jill Talent
Co-Room Parent Coordinators-Ashleigh Balsamo & Cortney Hanna
Co-Social Committee Chairs-Ashley Fruciano & Nicole Milam
Publicity-Stephanie Burkhart
Historian-Julie Hasse
Contact
PTO Website
PTO Facebook Page
September 19, 2023
PTO Meetings
Meetings will take place in the media center at 7:00pm
Tues., November 28th
Tues., January 16th
Tues., February 6th
Tues., March 19th
Tues., April 23rd
Tues., May 14th
PTO Events
Build A Buddy-Due October 6th
Little Caesar PIzza Kits-October 9th
TigerTrek-October 11th
Bubba's 33-October 18th
Fall Fest-October 27th
DISTICT ACTIVITIES
Mohawk Jobs Available
- 1 crossing guard 8:20-9:20am & 3:20-4:20pm
- Aides for our School Aged Child Care Program (SACC) 6:45-8:55am and /or 3:39-6:00pm