Defer Dragon's Burning News
May 25, 2018
Dear Defer Families,
It was an amazing week at Defer! It was great to see so many families at the Defer Spring Social and Art Show! The artwork on display was outstanding! Thank you to Mrs. Makowski and the volunteers for organizing student artwork displays.
Today was a beautiful day for the Defer Field Day! The students had a wonderful day of games, sports, and other field day activities. Thank you to Mr. Kochan, Mr. Ciaravino, and all the volunteers for helping create a fun-filled Field Day.
With Memorial Day this weekend, we know that summer is just around the corner, and it is time to start thinking about summer learning. To help students maintain their learning from the school year, summer is a great opportunity to practice reading, writing, and math skills each day. Just 20 minutes of reading each day can make a difference in student reading skills and prevent summer slide. The summer goal should be to maintain skills learned throughout the school year with daily practice. You can also check out our district summer learning opportunities:
https://mi01000971.schoolwires.net/Domain/152
Enjoy the weekend!
Dr. Rheaume
Follow Defer on Twitter (@GPDefer) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/GPDefer/)
Defer Diversity Group
The Defer Diversity Meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 4 from 6:30 - 8:00 pm at Defer Elementary School. Ginni Winters, Educational Consultant, will facilitate the conversation during the meeting. Ginni Winters has led several of our Unity in Diversity meetings throughout the district. There will childcare available for kids 3 and up. Please RSVP to Susan Sutorka at susan_sutorka@yahoo.com for childcare.
Defer Volunteer Tea Party
Volunteer Forms for Parents and Guests
Upcoming Events at Defer
May 28 - Monday, Memorial Day. No school
May 29 - Grade 3 Field Trip- St Clair Metro Park 9:15 am - 2:30 pm
May 30 - 5th Graders to Camp Howell (Wednesday - Friday)
May 30 - Real Life Farm Field Trip (Kindergarten) 8:40 am
May 30 - Greenfield Village- Grades 2/3, all Grade 2) 8:30 am
May 31 - Young 5's Spring Concert at 10:30 am in the Gym
June 1 - 5th Graders return from Camp Howell at noon
June 4 - Defer Diversity Meeting 6:30 - 8pm
June 5 - Volunteer Tea 8:00 am- 8:20 am; Talent Show - Tuesday - 2:15 - 3:15 pm
June 11- 1st Grade Picnic, 10:30 am - 1:00 pm, Patterson Park
June 12 - 2nd Grade Picnic (not Magnet), 9:00 am - 2:30 PM Windmill Pointe Park
June 12 - 5th Grade, 4/5 Magnet Picnic 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Windmill Pointe Park
June 13 - Young 5 & Kindergarten Picnic- 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm, Patterson Park
June 13 - Grades 2/3, 3/4, 3, 4, - 10:30 am - 3:15 pm, Windmill Pointe Park
Camp Invention is back!
Check out the flyer for more information.
Leader in Me Family Information - May Edition
Welcome to the May 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
Notes from the Office
Arrival and Departure Reminders:
Our first interest is always the safety of all of our Defer families and staff members and we know it is your interest as well. We appreciate your cooperation with these procedures.
- The Defer Parking Lot is not a student drop off or pick-up location.
- 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.
Attendance Line
We have a 24 hour attendance line for your convenience. If your child will not be at school, please call 313-432-4001 to report the absence by 8:00 am. This will avoid an unexcused absence phone call.
Library News
Spring has finally arrived and with May, the school year will be winding down as we get excited for summer! The Summer Reading Club will start in June at the public library and the Youth Librarian will be visiting Defer to get our students excited about participating. Kindergartners and Young 5's are researching sea turtles, and Second graders are learning about Caldecott Medal books this month in the library with Mrs. Quinlan.
Mrs. Quinlan and Mrs. Martin
Defer Library Specialists
Please click on the link below for information relating to end of the year Library dates:
Service & Safety
Spanish News
Señora Grattan’s Spanish Classes:
All of our classes have been very active, with no shortage of charades, songs, and dances! Our third grade class has been learning about animals. Students are able to describe them, talk about their favorites, and listen to Spanish stories about animals! They have been participating in several storytelling activities, including Spanish “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” with alebrijes and a story about Edi Elefante. We’ll be discussing more favorites soon – FOOD!
Our fourth grade class has been working on counting to 100 in Spanish and telling time. These are the basis for our next unit over our daily schedule. Students will be talking about what they like to do, what they have to do, and how that compares to kids in Spanish speaking countries. Our daily lives will lead us into our final topic and what our days really center around – family and friends! Students will be working on describing their family and friends, and will talk about the value of doing a homestay with a family in our country of the year – Peru!
Our fifth grade class started the year with an introduction to Spain. We are continuing along that route as we study community, homes, and now family. Students learned how to describe their home and listened to a Spanish story, and are now learning how to talk about their family members through the use of the Spanish royal family and the game “Guess Who!” We will end the year by talking about festivals of Spain. We’re making imaginary travel plans with our friends and family, and comparing our family and community traditions with those of Spain. They should have some interesting festivals to share with you very soon!
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
Defer Elementary School
Email: rheauml@gpschools.org
Website: www.gpschools.org/defer
Location: 15425 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe Park, MI, United States
Phone: 313-432-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GPDefer/
Twitter: @GPDefer