Turrill Family Newsletter
November 3, 2023
A Message from the Principal
Dear Turrill Families,
Our students are learning about being thankful and showing gratitude during the month of November. Practicing gratitude has benefits that go beyond the few listed here. We hope you will join us in openly practicing gratitude and teaching our children about being thankful.
Warmly,
Kelly Vangel
Mark Your Calendars
Important Upcoming Dates
- 11/2/23 Picture Retakes
- 11/3/23 Popcorn/Spirit Day
- 11/6-16/23 Penny Wars
- 11/9/23 PTC Meeting
- 11/17-24/23 Thanksgiving Break
Important Information
Student Transportation Reminders
Turrill has a large number of students who are car riders on a daily basis. If we all follow the car rider protocols and work together with patience, families will be able to move through the area more safely and efficiently.
Student Drop-off: Drop-off begins at 8:45. We have three points of entrance. Door 12 is the E-5, Kindergarten and 1st grade entrance. Main office is the 2nd/3rd grade entrance and door 3 is the 4th/5th grade entrance. See Map below.
When dropping off your child/ren select the appropriate entrance. If you are dropping off more than one child, we suggest that you select one drop area and let all your children exit the vehicle at one spot. A red line is painted on the sidewalk for students’ safety. Students can exit their vehicles and walk behind the painted red line until they get to their particular entrance. Staff will encourage students to stay behind the red line but it’s always helpful to remind them of this before they exit your vehicle.
If you need to leave your vehicle please pull into one of the parking spaces. Do not leave your vehicle in the drop lane. This causes large back-ups and becomes a safety issue for students and parents.
If you park your car, please walk your child to the curb using one of the cross walks: We do not want students crossing the parking lot and car lanes unaccompanied by an adult.
Only use the lane closest to the curb for drop-off: Do not drop students off unless you are in the lane next to the curb.
Student Pick-Up Reminders
Transportation Deviations
If you have a change in transportation for the end of the day, please contact the school prior to 3:00. This allows us time to get the messages to all the rooms.
There are two ways you can pick up your children. The first and probably the quickest is to park your car in one of the designated parking areas and walk up to entrance 12 using the crosswalk. At 3:50 we open door 12, and you are allowed to come in to the gym and pick up your children. A staff member will be there to check students out. For the safety of our students, parents who enter the building to pick up their child/ren in the cafeteria at the end of the day will be asked to produce a photo ID if our staff does not recognize you. Once you get your child/ren exit through door 12. Please use the crosswalk when returning to your vehicle.
The second way to pick up your child/ren is to wait in the pick-up line. Each car will get a sign to hang in your window identifying the last name of your student. Staff will call out the name in the gym and the student/s will come to your vehicle exiting out door 11. Please pull forward to the placed outlined on the map. This allows several students to be picked up at once.
Patience is the name of the game! Please show patience. We realize waiting in line can be frustrating at times but we will get quicker at dismissal as time progresses. Last year we averaged getting those who walked up to pick up their children in 5 minutes while it took about 12 minutes to get through the entire car queue.
Please move through the parking lot at a slow rate of speed: Regardless of all the protocols driving slow and alert is the best way to keep our students and parents safe.
Thank you again for all your support to make our drop-off and pick-up routines run smooth, safe and efficient for our students, families, and staff!!
Multi-Purpose Addition Construction Beginning Soon
Construction on Turrill's new multi-purpose room has begun. The multi-purpose room will be located behind the cafeteria, taking up some of our playground space. During construction, which will last throughout the 23-24 school year, the construction site will be fenced off to keep our students, staff, and families safe. You will notice that some of our fence line along the main parking lot will also be utilized as a construction entrance. While we hope that this construction won't impact our daily school lives, we are asking for extra patience as we travel on this new adventure together. By they way, out kiddos LOVE watching the progress!
Cold Weather Gear Reminder
As the weather gets colder (and the playground gets muddier), please remember to send your child to school with two pair of shoes (indoor shoes and outdoor boots), as well as a warm coat, hat, gloves, snow pants, and extra clothing.
Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports
Positivity Project
I am beyond excited to announce that we are partnering with The Positivity Project at Turrill this year for character trait building. The Positivity Project is currently used at both Rolland Warner and Zemmer campuses, as well as Schickler for 2023-2024. Expenses for this amazing program were covered through scholarship from The Positivity Project and by our own Turrill PTC. To learn more about The Positivity Project, click here to watch Of This, I'm Positive, as well as The Positivity Project's Founding Story You can check out the character traits we work on below.
BOLT Bucks Have Replaced BOLT Tickets
Students can earn BOLT Bucks from adults throughout the school day for exhibiting positive behavior. Students save their own BOLT Bucks to purchase items from the Prize Patrol cart that comes around the school once per month. If you would like to donate PBIS prizes to Turrill, we would really appreciate it. Prize examples include: pencils, erasers, fidgets, small games, small toys, etc. Students REALLY enjoyed the Prize Patrol last month. We'll be coming around again on November 15th.
Students of the Month
Each month, teachers nominate one student from their class to be Student of the Month based on who exemplifies what it means to be #bettertgether. Students will celebrate their accomplishments this month with a root beer or orange creamsicle float on November 15th.
October Student of the Month winners include:
- Keegan Goff
- Carly Touchette
- Neeko Harper
- Callie Goff
- Owen VanDenBerg
- Julianna Coates
- Hazel Rajewski
- Bryson Knowlton
- Frank Haudek
- Kylan-Jay Northrop
- Amber Schatzberg
- Brynlee Pettit
- Aubrey Glasgow
- Grady Bourn
- Rosemary Francek
- Lincoln Chesney
- Aiden Dulle
Academics
November Reading Fun
Be on the lookout for November Reading Logs! Students have a goal of reading at home for at least 20 minutes every day and completing a reading log throughout the month. Reading at home with your child is part of Read-by-Grade Three Law.
Click here for a list of books about gratitude to read with your child.
Math Facts
Click here for some Thanksgiving math fun
Click here for some more math at home activities
For more information on math skills by age level, click here
Student Activities & Fun for All!
Halloween Spook-tac-ular!
Turrill PTC hosted its annual Halloween event at Turrill on October 19th from 6:00-8:00. Families walked the haunted hallways of Turrill for some spooky fun, including cider, donuts, popcorn, and much more. Thank you PTC for such an amazing night!
Get Involved
PTC News
Calling all volunteers! Turrill has an amazing PTC that needs your help. Check out the newsletter below to find out more. Our next meeting is October 12th at 9:30 at Turrill or on Facebook Live. Hope to see you there!
Please make sure to fill out the LCS Volunteer Application below if you plan to volunteer in your child's classroom, attend parties, chaperone field trips, or volunteer in other capacities.
Turrill 2023-2024 Family Engagement Plan
Each year we need to seek input on our Family Engagement Plan. Below is a link to our plan. Please take some time to review it. If you see anything that needs revision or have any recommendations please email me at kelly.vangel@lapeerschools.org .
LEAF Deposit Days
LEAF, the Lapeer County Education Attainment Fund, promotes fiscal responsibility in children and encourages them to save money for college. LEAF deposit days are listed below:
- November 9
- February 29
- April 18
- May 23
For more information on the LEAF program, please CLICK HERE.
Coaches' Corner
Reading and Writing Tips for Parents
- Yes, we're Learning Coaches, so we LOVE to read, but did you know that reading to your child has lasting benefits? Here are just a few:
Mrs. Schuett
Mrs. Christian
Mrs. Weidinger
Calendar & Daily Schedule
Bell Schedule:
8:00 Office Opens
8:45 Student Drop off Begins
8:50 Students Allowed to Rooms
8:54 Classes Begin
2023-2024 Recess Schedule:
11:15-11:45 E5/KDG - 1st Grade
11:45-12:15 2nd - 3rd Grade, 2/3 Split, and CI Classrooms
12:15-12:45 4th - 5th Grade
2023-2024 Lunch Schedule:
11:45-12:05 E5/KDG - 1st Grade
12:15-12:35 2nd, 3rd Grade, and CI Classrooms
12:45-1:05 E5-4th - 5th Grade
3:50 Dismissal
4:30 Office Closes
School Intersessions
As in years past, we plan on offering programs during our intersession weeks; however, it is based on parent interest. More information will be coming out shortly regarding the programming and intersession themes. The dates for intersession are as follows:
1st Intersession: October 23-27 - No on-site programming
2nd Intersession: February 19-23
3rd Intersession: March 18-22
Email: kelly.vangel@lapeerschools.org
Website: http://turrill.lapeerschools.org/
Location: 785 S Elm St, Lapeer, MI 48446
Phone: (810) 667-2438
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Turrill-Elementary-1415374235385217/
Turrill Vision: We are a kind family built on trust.
Turrill Motto: Better together!