Students at Meadowbrook will begin taking the 2nd iReady diagnostic this week to measure their growth in both math and reading. During this time period, you can support your student at home by ensuring adequate sleep each night, a good breakfast each morning and provide our little Mustangs with a big hug on their way out the door. This is a great opportunity for our students to shine and show the Walled Lake community how much we have grown in such a short time! Please help us to stress the importance of taking this assessment seriously. As always, do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your support and partnership.

Diagnostic window dates are as follows:

Window #1 Sept 12-Oct 14 (Completed)

Window #2 Jan 9-Feb 17

Window #3 April 24-May 26

We would like to congratulate the following Hawks who participated in the PTSA Reflections program this year AND won at the district level over the break and will be having their entries advancing to the state level competition.

• Dance: Emerson K.
• Film: Rosaleigh V.
• Literature: Gaberilla A., Sanjukta T., & Aviella W.
• Music: Tyson Z.
• Photography: Suzu K., Koneta B., & Daniel K.

Congratulations! We look forward to celebrating all of our Reflections participants and wish them good luck as their pieces will be judged next month at the Michigan PTA level.

Unfortunately, we are still short staffed on the playground. This position has been posted for quite some time, and we still do not have any applicants. Luckily, a playground substitute will be helping us until further notice. In addition, we have created a Sign-Up Genius to offer parents and community members the opportunity to help out should they be available. All volunteers will be entered into a bi-weekly random drawing to win a $25 Amazon gift card. A huge THANK YOU to those who have already served and congratulations to Janice Barringer and Heather Noocha whose names were drawn recently!

Checkout the signup to see if you are able to help in any way. Even filling one spot makes a big difference.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4aaaa928a6f8c61-playground#/

January

1/24: Junior Kindergarten Orientation @ the ECC, 6:30 PM

1/26: Happy Birthday Michigan! Wear MI Themed Clothes to School

1/25: 5th Grade Introduction to Instruments Program @ WLW

1/30: Happiest of Birthdays to Michelle Covert!

1/31: Half Day for Students, Staff Professional Development (Special Services in Building)

Meadowbrook Elementary PTA is looking for gently used items to create indoor recess carts for the students.

Items needed:

• Boards Games (Connect 4, Chutes & Ladders, Checkers, etc.)

• Card Games (Uno, Go Fish, Spot It, Apples to Apples, etc.)

• Building Toys (Building Blocks, Magna-Tiles, Lincoln Logs)

• Coloring/Activity Books (Markers, Coloring Books, etc.)

If you have any you are able to donate, please drop off in the main office by January 31st.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Nichole Keppen - nkeppen@gmail.com.

We are SO grateful to our PTA for their support and generous donation! These carts will be a great addition to Meadowbrook!

Outdoor play is an important of every child's day. Students will go outside when the temperature is zero degrees and above, with the wind-chill factored in. We continue to see students not prepared for outdoor recess. Please take a look at the guideline graphic below to make sure your student(s) is dressed appropriately. It's always better to send your student "overdressed" than "underdressed" for recess. Even if there's no snow on the ground, it can be wet and muddy and snow pants help keep clothes dry. Please make sure your child has the following items for recess and refer to the infographic below for further information:

Winter Coat

Snow pants

Snow boots

Hat/Earmuffs

Mittens/Gloves

Please label all of these items and place them in a bag. Students will remain on the blacktop if they do not have the appropriate outdoor gear. If you need help providing winter wear for your child, please reach out to us! We want all of our Mustangs to have the items they need!

Donations will gladly be accepted and can be dropped off to the Meadowbrook office anytime between 9am-4pm. Thank you for your support!

New for the 2022-2023, families can only access iReady lessons at home through the Classlink website. If connecting with iReady has been a challenge, please check out the one minute video tutorial below.

i-Ready is an online program for reading and mathematics that diagnoses the just right next steps for students. It is one tool that your student’s teacher will use to guide class and small group instruction. iReady lessons support classroom instruction and are designed to meet your student’s specific needs, personalize their learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year. It is a great tool to fill gaps and support classroom learning.

Your child's teacher can provide his/her login information if your child chooses to practice iReady at home.

The third grade classes are celebrating our great state of Michigan. We will be raising money for the Michigan Humane Society. Please bring in $1.00 to wear anything to do with Michigan. (Red Wings, U of M, MSU, Tigers, Lions, Pistons, vacation spots,… etc.) Feel free to wear sweatshirts, jerseys, hats, or pants. Thanks for helping us celebrate and raise funds for this great cause!

Hearing screenings will be for the following grades – Junior Kindergarten, KDG, 2nd and 4th. Hearing screenings will take place on 1/23/2023 - 1/26/2023.

In an effort to find additional ways to celebrate our staff, the WLCSD Community Relations department requests that families fill out the information below for staff who are rock stars in their classrooms and school communities. Please complete the form below and contact Dan Durkin (danieldurkin@wlcsd.org) with any questions you may have.

A sample of what these shout outs will look like on social media and in our District newsletters can be found below.

The district is currently surveying families in preparation for next school year to better guide our planning. If you have children that are of preschool age, please complete the survey to better help us serve you. Any extra input we can gather would be very helpful.

Look for registration information in late February/early March on our website, https://wlcsd.org/programs/preschool/.

Not receiving district and/or building communications?

If you are not receiving emails from Mrs. VanWagnen, including the Mustang Express, District Weekly Updates, please use the link below to double-check your preferences are correct.

Signing Up for SMS Messages via Skylert

In addition to receiving phone calls and email notifications from the school district in the event of a school closing or emergency, parents can also sign up to receive SMS Text messages.

Please find the helpful step-by-step instructions linked below as well as the video tutorial on signing up for SMS messages.

• Signing Up for SMS Messages via Skylert

Principal: jennifervanwagnen@wlcsd.org

Kellan Watkins

Principal's Secretary: kellanwatkins@wlcsd.org

Jennifer Schloegl

Building Secretary: jenniferschloegl@wlcsd.org

Important Phone Numbers:

Main Line: 248-956-2700

Attendance: 248-956-2790

It is very important that you take time to review the Meadowbrook Handbook which is filled with important information, policies and procedures.