Defer Dragon's Burning News
March 15, 2019
From the Principal
Dear Parents,
The winter freeze seems to be lifting, signs of spring can be found everywhere! We look forward to seeing everyone at parent-teacher conferences next week. Conferences are a great time to ask questions about your child's progress, share concerns, and celebrate learning from the beginning of the school year. Our Defer Dragons continue to grow socially, emotionally, and academically. We want to partner with you to create the best learning environment for your child. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to support you or your family to finish the school year strong!
Have a great weekend,
Dr. Rheaume
Defer Upcoming Events
March 15 - PTO Family Bingo 6:45 pm
March 20 -Evening Parent Teacher Conferences
March 21 - 1/2 Day for Students; Afternoon and Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences
March 22 - 8 am Donuts with your Dragon; 1/2 Day of School for Students
March 26 - Read My Shirt Day
April 1 - Spring Break
April 8 - Return from Spring Break
April 9 - PTO meeting @ 7 pm
One Book, One School - Frindle
- Tuesday, March 29 - Tuesday Trivia Chapter 6 -10
- Friday, March 22 - Makerspace Day
- Tuesday, March 26 - Read My Shirt Day
KINDERGARTEN AND YOUNG FIVES PROGRAM
Have a Kindergarten or Young Five student next fall - establish/verify residency now
It is critical that families establish or verify residency if they have a student entering GPPSS next fall, particularly for kindergarten (May 1) and Young Fives (April 18). Click here to see the pre-enrollment process (step one) and the residency documents (step two) required by board policy. Call 313-432-3083 if you have questions or need an appointment outside the enrollment office hours 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Library News
Leader in Me Parent Survey
Defer Elementary is a Leader in Me School, we teach 21st century leadership and life skills to students to create a culture of student empowerment based on the idea that every child can be a leader. To learn more about our areas of strength and growth in our school we use a Leader in Me survey to collect data from families.
We need your help! We are asking for adults from every household to complete the survey to share feedback about our school. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.
If you complete the survey by March 29th, your family will be entered into a drawing to win a prize! Use the QR code or the link located in the newsletter to complete the survey. Please return the sheet for your family to be eligible to win!
Thanks for your feedback about Leader in Me!
Defer Elementary Staff
Learn to Lead. Lead to Inspire!
Blue Ribbon Facilities Committee Information
Safety/Service
In January, Defer Safety/Service ventured across Kercheval to the Pierce Pool to celebrate another great month of service. It was a beautiful day and perfect for a swim. Everyone enjoyed a relaxing swim, as well as drinks and snacks. Mr. Senska joined the team as Lifeguard to supervise the safety of the swimmers. Mrs. Fluitt was also there for support. It was great to reward the hard-working student volunteers for serving Defer on a daily basis.
The Safeties love drinking their hot cocoa on cold winter mornings to “Warm the Safeties.” Thank you to the PTO for this treat: it is greatly appreciated.
In February, Defer Safety/Service celebrated their volunteer work at Lakeshore Lanes for a bowling extravaganza. It was wonderful. Everyone bowled two games and enjoyed pizza and pop. We have some very good bowlers at Defer; our top bowlers were Julian Lancaster with 90 for the boys and Annabelle Kraydich with a 98 for the girls. Thank you to Mrs. Allen (Bester), Mrs. Fluitt, Mrs. Kotlarz, Ms. Kraydich, Mrs. Groebel, Mrs. Wass, and Mr. Martin for transporting us to Lakeshore Lanes. A special thanks to all of them for joining us and making sure everyone was on their best behavior to represent Defer Elementary School.
Thank you to the PTO for supporting “Warm the Safeties.” They love it!
If you see a Safety/Service doing a good job, please tell them.
Thank you,
Helen Srebernak
Safety/Service Member of the Month-January
Safety: Elena Martin
Service: Erin Simpson
Safety/Service Member of the Month-February
Safety: Cassandra Summerfield
Service: Elizabeth Savage
Safety Patrol Members check the weather before leaving their houses in the morning and if the weather is below 0’ F degrees with the wind-chill, then the Safety Patrol Members will not be at their posts.
Post Times Late Start Monday
Safety: 8:10-8:20a.m. Safety: 8:50-9:05a.m.
3:35-3:45 p.m. 3:35-3:45 p.m.
Service: 8:15-8:25a.m. Service: 8:55-9:10a.m.
3:35-3:45p.m. 3:35-3:45p.m.
Office News
Reminders Arrival and Departures
Our first interest is always the safety of all of our Defer families and students. We appreciate your cooperation with these procedures.
- There is No Parking on Kercheval in front of the building.
- There is No Parking along either side of Nottingham near Defer. Parking on the west side of Nottingham is allowed only during posted times and locations.
- Since there is no parking anywhere on the east side of Nottingham, parents can drop off students at any point along the full length of Nottingham from Vernor to Kercheval on the Defer side of the street. Students should be exiting the cars from the Defer side ONLY. You do not need to wait until you get in front of the Defer gate to drop off or pick up your child.
- Bottom line---Please Stop, Drop and Go! This will help the traffic to flow smoothly. Help us keep our Dragons safe!
BEGINNING OF THE DAY
Please remember to use our 24 hour attendance line at 313-432-4001 to report your child's absence. Thank you.
Cold Weather Reminder
Defer students go outdoors for recess two times each day throughout the school year, unless it's raining hard or the windchill is below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Please be sure that your child leaves for school dressed properly for the weather. It might also be helpful to keep an extra set of clothes in your child's locker in case clothes get wet during recess fun.
Please dress your child with a hat and gloves and a winter coat and snowpants when the weather is cold. We also ask that you write your child's name on his or her gloves, hats, boots, coat and snowpants. Our Lost and Found is filling up quickly!
In the event your child has a cold, and is healthy enough to attend school, they will participate in recess- playing outside with their peers twice a day. Exceptions will only be made with a doctor's note stating they are healthy enough to attend school, with reason and number of days they are required not to participate in recess play. Thank you for your understanding concerning this matter.
Student Leadership Team Happenings
We are selling T-shirts for Leader in Me! Attached is the order form. Please return order sheets to the office by March 20th.
PTO News
Friday March 15--Defer Family Bingo Night
Defer families are invited for an evening of bingo in the gymnasium. Bingo games will be free for all students. Bingo cards will be available for parents and others for additional game play. Winners receive prizes (TCBY gift cards, science & craft kits, and more!). Pizza and bingo daubers will be available for purchase during the event. EVERYTHING will cost $1. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and the first game begins promptly at 7:15 p.m. See flyer below for more information. We still need volunteers. Please consider helping for a small portion of the evening: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acae2babf49-bingo2
Friday March 22--Donuts with your Dragon
Join your Defer dragon in the gymnasium before school from 8-8:20 a.m. to enjoy donuts, including an allergy-friendly table of options, coffee, tea and camaraderie. Treats will be purchased from Motown Freedom Bakery & Tim Horton's. See attached flyer for additional information. We need a few volunteers to help with this event. Check out some opportunities here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aaba62ea6f94-donuts1
Open PTO Board Positions for 2019/20 School Year
There are two Defer PTO board positions currently open for next school year. The incoming PTO President Dani Raether is currently looking for a parent to fulfill the following positions:
1--Volunteer Coordinator. This position gathers all of the information about who wants to volunteer for what event, creates SignUp Geniuses for events and follows up with event chairs to ensure volunteers are sought out and at events. This is a position the current board member says is very easy to deal with as a working parent and does not require attendance at events. All of the work is behind the scenes from your home.
2--Hospitality Coordinator. This position is in charge of heading up all of the Hospitality events throughout the school year including Welcome Back coffee for parents, back to school picnic, Donuts with your dragon, etc. There is a binder with a lot of information about each event, previous vendors used and the current board member is still a Defer parent taking on a different role, so she'll be available for questions.
Interested in one or the other, please email Dani Raether at: raetherd@gmail.com
Tuesday Teacher Treats!
We love to spoil all of the teachers and staff at Defer! We are looking for more volunteers to sign up for bringing in treats/snacks for the teachers on Tuesdays this spring. Check out available dates here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4dabae2ea4f58-tuesday
Defer Diversity Parent Group
District Diversity Meetings (GPPUD)Upcoming Meetings: GPPUD
Share Your Culture! We want to hear more about your family’s cultural background and traditions. New in 2019 we will be creating a bulletin board that will be changed monthly. We are looking for families to decorate the board to help us learn more about diverse cultures and families. Bulletin boards could include family photos, traditional customs, recipes, suggested reading and any additional information you would like to share. Please email Sarah skswanson@gmail.com or Heather hbendure@gmail.com for more information and to let us know you are interested in participating!
Please contact Dr. Rheaume or one of our parent organizers Susan Sutorka at susansuto@yahoo.com or Janice Fox at jcfcreative@gmail.com for more information about our Diversity Parent Group.
Cold and Flu Season
For more information on the importance of hand washing with non-antibacterial soap, please see the links below:
- Arlington Public Schools Hand Washing Policy: https://apsshab.weebly.com/hand-washing-policy.html
- CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html
Grosse Pointe Little League and Softball Information
Please see the link below if you are interested in signing up for Little League and Softball.
LEADER IN ME - Defer Family Learning Team
Dear Defer Families,
We are happy to announce the we have a parent lending library with books that align with The Leader in Me habits. The bookshelf is in the main hallway near the main office. Please feel free to sign out a book relating to the habits and enjoy with your family. Once you’ve read the book, please return it to school for others to borrow. Thank you for supporting The Leader in Me and growing our parent lending library through Fun Run fundraising.
Habit 6 - Synergize
Welcome to the March edition of our Leader in Me newsletter!
Published by the Defer Family Learning Team
The 7 Habits are reviewed, practiced and integrated daily at Defer. We will review the 7 Habits with you monthly. Thank you for your partnership in reinforcing your child’s leadership skills.
We are learning about Habit 6: Synergize.
Together Is Better-Creativity, cooperation, diversity, and humility
This habit is achieved when two or more people work together to create a better solution than either would have thought of alone. It’s not your way or my way, but a better way. Think of 1 + 1 = 3 (or more). How is that possible? Well, 1 person + another person = 2 ideas + many, many more that neither of them would have thought of alone. It’s taking good ideas and making them better by working together and looking for a third alternative.
Books that reinforce Habit 6:
Boxes by Katje by Candace Fleming, Energy Island by Allan Drummond, A Wrinkle in Time
Novel by Madeleine L'Engle, The City of Ember by Joanne DePrau, Imagination According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney, Game Changers Playmakers by Mike Lupica
Leader in me at home:
Expect your child to use words and phrases like synergy, working together, 1 + 1 = 3 (or more), and “better idea than we could come up with alone” in their conversations, You can encourage your child by using some of these words at home. Synergy is a great tool for families. We’d love to hear your synergy experiences!
Video link about synergy:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43I5pN3nlxg
7 Habits of Happy Kids
Grosse Pointe Public Schools
Our Vision: One GP → where everyone learns, every day
Our Mission: Promote Innovation → Maximize Potential → Embrace Community
Email: rheauml@gpschools.org
Website: https://mi01000971.schoolwires.net/Domain/1099
Location: 15425 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA
Phone: 313-432-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GPDefer/
Twitter: @GPDefer