SLCS District Update
1.27.2022
Superintendent's Update
Good evening SLCS Families and Staff Members,
Like the beginning of a new school year, a new semester can serve as a fresh start. Over the course of the next few days, take time to reflect on the things that have gone well for you this semester and how you can keep that momentum going. In addition, reflect on the things that maybe haven’t gone as well. Identify the things within your control that can help bring about the desired result and make good things happen for yourself.
As a District, we have begun a process that you may have heard about titled “Snapshot of our Learners”. The purpose of this work is to collaboratively develop a timeless set of inclusive, universal skills and ways of being that unify and define South Lyon Community Schools. In other words, we are developing the compelling “why” that drives all of our work and interactions with students.
Focus groups representing all stakeholders in SLCS have been providing input and will help create our final vision for our learners. Hearing from parents, students, staff members and members of the local business community has been an exciting and energizing process. We look forward to using their collective input along with the survey data to develop the SLCS “Snapshot of our Learners” profile that will help ensure our students have the experiences and develop the skills necessary to be successful in their endeavors beyond SLCS.
SLCS Hopeful!
Steven Archibald
Superintendent
2022-2023 School Calendar
The 2022-2023 school calendar is included as part of the South Lyon Education Association MEA/NEA negotiation process. The calendar will be shared with the community upon completion of negotiations which are tentatively scheduled to begin in late February.
Covid 19 Reporting
Thank you to those who have reported positive COVID-19 cases using our new reporting process. Each building has provided an unique link that allows us to streamline our reporting practices. When the COVID form is submitted, our nurse shares the required information with the Oakland County Health Division. Our buildings also use the information to communicate absences to staff and to schedule additional disinfecting.
Continue to monitor your students for symptoms of COVID-19 and keep them home when they are sick. There are extra test kits from the MI Backpack program that families can have. If you would like to receive a free COVID test kit and or need the COVID reporting form, please contact your building.
Kindergarten Enrollment for 2022-2023
Welcome to the graduating classes of 2035 and 2036!
Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten enrollment packets are now available on the district’s website. Students must be five years old by September 1st to be eligible for kindergarten. Students turning five between September 2nd and December 1st of 2022 may enroll in either Junior Kindergarten or Kindergarten with a signed waiver.
For planning and staffing purposes, it is important to the district that families enroll their students for kindergarten as soon as possible. Enrollment forms can be completed and submitted electronically. If you are unable to complete the packet electronically, please contact your child’s future elementary school for a paper packet. If you are unsure about which elementary school your child would attend, contact the Transportation Department at 248-573-8900 or check your home’s address on our district map.
A Kindergarten welcome event for parents/guardians and students will be held in August.
Junior Kindergarten is a free, optional first year of school designed for students who turn five
between September 2nd and December 1st of 2022. Junior Kindergarten is intended for students who would only qualify for Kindergarten enrollment with a waiver. Students who attend Junior Kindergarten go on to attend a full year of traditional Kindergarten the following school year. When space permits, students who turn five between June 1, 2022 and September 1, 2022 may be considered for the Junior Kindergarten program. Priority is given to students with birth dates closest to the start of the waiver window.
The deadline for Junior Kindergarten registration is Friday, February 18, 2022 at 4:00 PM, as space in the Junior Kindergarten program is limited. After this deadline, families can request to be added to a waitlist. Only completed enrollments will be considered for the Junior Kindergarten program. The sites for Junior Kindergarten for 2022-23 have not yet been determined but the program is currently housed at Bartlett, Dolsen, Kent Lake, Salem and Sayre Elementary Schools.
See our website for additional information about our Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten programs.
Students who turn five after December 1, 2022, are NOT eligible for Kindergarten or Junior Kindergarten for the 2022-23 school year. Students in this group may be eligible for the Great Start Readiness free preschool program coordinated by the district’s Early Childhood Center, depending on your family’s income. Children in this age group can enroll in the tuition preschool programs at the Early Childhood Center as well. Call the Early Childhood Center at 248-573-8330 or visit their page on the district website for additional information.
Please share this information regarding Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten registration with your family members, friends and neighbors who have children who are 5 or will be turning 5!
Resident Open Enrollment (Elementary Only)
Our Resident Open Enrollment program allows families who live within the district to elect to send their child to an elementary school other than their boundary school, if room permits. Parents who would like their elementary-aged child(ren) to participate in the Resident Open Enrollment Program must apply by completing an application form for each child. Parents are responsible for providing transportation for students choosing to participate in Resident Open Enrollment. Every student who participates in the Program needs to re-apply and be accepted each year.
Applications for the Resident Open Enrollment Program are now available on the district website.
Hardy Elementary will continue to be closed for Resident Open Enrollment for families who do not currently have a student at Hardy in grades K-4. Families who do currently have a student at Hardy in grades K-4 under Resident Open Enrollment would be allowed to continue to submit Resident Open Enrollment applications for new incoming students in their family. This will allow a family who already has current Hardy students in grades K-4 to continue at the school as a family and will allow them to be phased out, rather than be denied placement immediately. In addition, siblings of students placed in Hardy’s EI or CI classrooms will continue to be able to attend Hardy, along with the children of full-time district staff members.
Completed applications must be returned to South Lyon Community Schools Administration Building, Attention: Pupil Services, 345 South Warren Street, South Lyon 48178, by February 25, 2022.
The district’s Resident Open Enrollment program is not available at the middle or high school levels.
Affordable Connectivity Program
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a benefit program now open for enrollment that helps households afford broadband.
Community Resources
Persons who are struggling to pay rent or utilities can receive emergency financial assistance. Review the links for more information:
Resources to Support Families through the Michigan Winter
Resources to Support Families through the Michigan Winter Website