Kerby Newsletter

We have reached the end of the 2022-2023 school year. It has been a great year! Our students have grown as students and as individuals. We are all proud of them and their successes!

As a school community, we raised over $130,000 for the purpose of purchasing and installing new playground equipment. Endeavors like this are usually a multi-year project. We at Kerby did it in 6 months. That is incredible! We are very thankful for the generosity and commitment of our families. The project is on schedule to be completed this summer and ready for the new school year.

Our students will be busy cleaning out their desks and lockers next week. All lockers and desks will be cleaned out by Thursday of next week. When coming to school on Friday, the students do not need to bring their backpacks.

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Walter Fitzpatrick
Principal
Kerby Elementary School
313-432-4204
fitzpaw@gpschools.org

June 15

• 4th Grade Promotion 8:45am
• 1/2 Day 11:36am dismissal

June 16

• 4th Grade clap out 10:00am
• 1/2 Day LAST DAY of school 11:36am dismissal

A lemonade stand during field day was the perfect Project-Based Learning assignment for Mrs. Van Tol’s class. As part of their social studies curriculum, the children discussed goods and services. They learned about how people need to work to earn money. Throughout their discussions, the children decided to use a lemonade stand to earn money for the classroom.

Project-Based Learning is taking an idea that the students have come up with and creating learning experiences out of it. This idea of a lemonade stand opened up several opportunities for the children to connect with various lessons and subjects covered this year. For example, the children wrote “How to Make Lemonade.” They identified coins and their value, and counted money. For science, they made lemonade and discussed how it is a “liquid,” then witnessed that it “dissolved” when powder was added. They also had fun with lessons on how to make people want to buy it by creating signs to advertise the stand, etc. Then, finally, they voted to decide what to do with their earnings.

The class earned a whopping $116.00 and decided to donate $100.00 of their earnings to a charity called “Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF).” Alex was a little girl that at the age of one was diagnosed with cancer. “When she was four, she told her parents she wanted to set up a front yard lemonade stand. Her plan: to give the money to doctors to help them find a cure. Her first ‘Alex’s Lemonade Stand,’ held with the help of her older brother Patrick, raised an astonishing $2,000 in one day. While bravely fighting her own cancer, Alex continued to set up lemonade stands every year. As news spread of the remarkable girl so dedicated to helping other sick children, people everywhere were inspired to start their own lemonade stands—donating the proceeds to her cause.” To learn more about this wonderful organization, please go to: https://www.alexslemonade.org/

The rest of the proceeds are being spent on a pizza reward party for the class! Thank you so much to everyone who supported this wonderful learning experience for Mrs. Van Tol’s kindergarten class!

After an amazing silent auction, we have officially raised enough money for the new playground to be installed this summer! Thank you to all the wonderful families and our community for making this all happen - it was an extraordinary year for fundraising! As a PTO, we want everybody to have a voice and we'd greatly appreciate any feedback you have about communication, fundraising and where the PTO spending goes. It will take about 3 minutes of your time and it is anonymous. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NKK2NZ7

LAST CALL!! Anyone who donated (including money raised at Fun Run) $1000.00 will get a spot on our Playground Plaque! If you think you’ve done that and want to confirm or want to see how much more you may have to go (some people are close!) please reach out to Melissa Palepu (melissapalepu@gmail.com or 517-331-0435). Last day to be included is July 1! Thank you everyone for an amazing year!

Please have your child stop by and look for their belongings. Everything will be donated at the end of this week.

One of the recommendations from this year’s Middle School Study is to continue to provide all 5th grade students the opportunity to attend camp. The camp experience helps to support a team atmosphere among students and staff and helps students to build skills that extend beyond the classroom. To make sure we are utilizing a camp and creating an experience that best supports all students, the district is putting together a committee of parents, teachers, and administrators to identify a camp and plan camp activities. The committee will begin meeting in the fall. We do not anticipate more than three meetings. If you are interested in being a part of this committee, please contact Dr. Dan Hartley, Director of Secondary Instruction, at hartled@gpschools.org.

Summer is almost here and we want to remind families that all medications that have been sent to the office need to be picked up by the end of the school year. Any medications that are not picked up will be properly disposed of by our staff. If your child needs medication for the upcoming school year, the appropriate forms need to be filled out by your child's physician. This includes all prescription and non-prescription medications. If your child has medications for Allergies, Asthma, Diabetes, or Seizures they will also need an emergency plan filled out by a physician. All medication forms and emergency plans are available on your school’s website under Families/Health Services and on the link below.

https://mi01000971.schoolwires.net/Domain/5015

Please let me know if you have any questions and have a wonderful summer!

Heather Muschong District Nurse

muschoh@gpschools.org

Attention parents and students! Keep your child's reading skills sharp this summer with our menu of reading resources. Our program offers an extensive collection of reading materials for elementary, middle, and high school students. We encourage all students to participate and explore the wide range of resources we have to offer. Click Here.

1st Day School Supplies converts your child’s Back-to-School Supply List into a customized kit with name-brand products delivered directly to the child’s home or school. Parents shop online from the convenience of their home or workplace!

Kits will be delivered directly to Kerby before school starts. Click the link below to order.

All orders must be placed by July 1. https://1stdayschoolsupplies.com/kits.php?sid=52862