Pleasant Lake Pleasantries
October 2019
Together We Learn, Together We Lead!
EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY!
Every Child, Every Day is our intentional commitment to creating a safe and inclusive culture and community where we:
- Prioritize instruction
- Foster meaningful relationships
- Value and empower each learner
- Create growth opportunities for all
Principal and PTA Welcome Video
SAVE THE DATES
PTA SPONSORED HALLOWEEN FAMILY FUN NIGHT AND TRUNK OR TREAT THE EVENING OF FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25TH.
September 17th Professional Development Day
Dear Pleasant Lake Elementary Parents,
On September 17th, we had our first half day of the 2019-2020 school year. After students were dismissed, our staff engaged in professional learning (PL) throughout the district. We recognize that half days can be inconvenient for families. However, half days also provide our staff with ongoing professional learning opportunities to ensure we are continuously improving as a district. Our goal is to provide an exemplary education for your child and ongoing staff PL (or PD) is essential in achieving this goal.
On the 17th, schools throughout our district focused on providing tiers of support for our learners’ social-emotional and academic needs. This is referred to as a multi-tiered system of support or MTSS. We also analyzed relevant assessment data and created action plans to address areas of need. This work is directly connected to our district goals, as well as, our school improvement plan.
We are grateful that our staff is continuously striving to improve and for our community’s support. If you have questions about our professional learning plans and/or our school improvement goals, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Nayal Maktari
Principal
SCHOOL RAFFLE
Dear Pleasant Lake Elementary Families,
Great news! We've extended our fundraising deadline to Friday, October 11th. The raffle drawing will take place on Monday, October 14th. Our goal is for each child to sell five or more raffles tickets. The price of each ticket is $5. We are asking you to help your child sell the tickets. Make sure you complete the smaller section with the name and phone number of the person who bought the ticket. We will need to be able to read the name and phone number.
Once you have sold your tickets, please return the stubs and money to your child’s teacher in the envelope provided. If your child would like more tickets, the teachers can provide them. Please return any unsold tickets to your child’s teacher.
We are really counting on you to help in raising money for our school community and to ensure it gets back to school.
PLE RAFFLE
Support our school
Sell tickets
Win prizes
The Winning Ticket Prizes:
1st Prize - $500
2nd Prize - $250
3rd Prize - $100
4th Prize - $50
Sell Tickets and Win
Top Ticket Seller
$100 Amazon Gift Card
Top 15 Ticket Sellers
Spray a teacher with color from color run
Top Selling Class
Ice Cream Sundae PARTY!!!
5 Top Selling 5th Graders
Front row seats to the 5th grade graduation
All Ticket Sellers Will Be Entered To Win:
$10 to spend at the Spring Book Fair
A free pizza at Bingo night
5 Free raffle tickets for the Bowling Night Auction
Thank you,
Nayal Maktari, Principal
Dan Monkman, Pleasant Lake Elementary PTA President
Find out what your child is doing in Art, Music, Media and Physical Education (FAPES)
PARENTING EDUCATION FAIR
The Western Oakland County Parenting Education Fair is back. This excellent parenting opportunity will be taking place on Saturday, November 2, 2019 at Walled Lake Northern High School. Registration is open now and costs $15 per person or $25 at the door on the day of the event.
We value our partnership with our families and believe that a home-school connection is key to a child’s success. We are continuing our partnership between Farmington Public Schools, Novi Community Schools, Oakland Schools, Oakland County Youth Assistance, Walled Lake Consolidated School District, and West Bloomfield Schools. Together we are hosting the Western Oakland County Parenting Education Fair on Saturday, November 2, 2019 at Walled Lake Northern High School. We are very excited to have Brooks Gibbs joining us this year as our keynote speaker! Learn more about Brooks Gibbs by watching: The Resilent Parenting Style.
The Parenting Fair’s purpose is to educate, inform, and provide resources for parents and caregivers. Topics include managing social media with your child, reducing stress and anxiety, strategies to help you with a child with ADHD, nutrition, character building, planning for college, and more. Child care is available for a reasonable cost ($3 for one child, $5 per family) and includes entertainment and lunch. Lunch for conference participants will be available for purchase from local food trucks during the event.
Below are helpful links regarding the Parenting Education Fair.
· Website
I hope to see you at the Western Oakland County Parenting Education Fair Walled Lake Northern High School on Saturday November 2, 2019. Spread the word and bring a friend!
2019-2020 calendar
Please click on the 2019-20 calendar to view this year’s school calendar. Please Note:
Late starts (middle school) and early release (high schools) have been eliminated.
There are several half-days throughout the school year. As we have in the past, we will offer a reduced rate Prime Time Care service on each of these half days.
You might be wondering...Why are there so many half days?
Throughout the school year, there are eight half days that will be used for staff professional development. We recognize that half days can be inconvenient for families. That said, research has shown that when teachers receive ongoing, job-embedded professional development, they can increase student achievement by as much as 21 percentile points (Source).
As a school and district, we are committed to continuous improvement and these eight half days are an essential part of that commitment. Although they may seem inconvenient, staff development opportunities are crucial to ensure we provide an exemplary education for our children.
Pleasant Lake Elementary Building Calendar
Welcome to PLE!
i-Ready
At this time our teachers are preparing your children for the first round of the i-Ready Diagnostic testing and some students have already taken this important assessment.
After your child has taken the assessment, your child's teacher will send home an iReady Parent Report which will describe how your child did on the assessment, and areas of strength and areas of improvement needed.
Parents can help by encouraging students to work on the iReady math and reading instructional modules at home for 45-60 minutes per week or more. These online instructional lessons will help students become more proficient in math and reading and better prepare them for the second diagnostic that will take place mid-year.
If you have questions about iReady, your parent report, or the instructional lessons, please reach out to your child's teacher for information. We are ready to assist you in helping your child at home to become a better reader, writer, and mathematician.
Third Grade Reading Retention Law
Please review the video on Michigan's Third Grade Retention Law and how we are addressing this in Walled Lake. Third Grade teachers shared this at Curriculum Night.
Being a good reader is critical for children to be successful in school. In 2017, the Michigan Legislature implemented the Third Grade Reading Law to ensure that students exit third-grade reading at or above grade level, which will impact the current 2017-2018 first-grade students by the time they are in third-grade.
In accordance with this law, and as a means of better informing classroom instruction, districts will be providing K-3 reading assessments to students across the state. These assessments will identify students who need intensive reading instruction and intervention, and will also provide useful information to help teachers tailor instruction to meet individual student needs.
- Letter from Walled Lake Schools on Reading Retention Law.
- The law also requires districts to provide early and regular written communication with parents of K-3 students with reading difficulties. Communication will include information about current services being provided, additional reading supports planned for your child, and a read-at-home plan for you to help your child at home.
- Reading Retention Michigan House Bill No. 4822
- I-Ready Reading Assessment that Walled Lake has been utilizing the past three years.
- K-3 literacy instruction in Walled Lake, includes this the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy booklet.
Art Room Help Needed
The art room is need of newspaper, egg cartons, plastic or paper bags, child friendly magazines, paper towel tubes and empty coffee containers. We are also in need of baby wipes, Lysol and Kleenex wipes. Thank you for thinking of the art department!
Shark's Den School Store Opening Soon!
“BUSTER THE BUS” COMING SOON TO PLEASANT LAKE ELEMENTARY!
The Michigan Department of Education recommends that: “every school bus driver conduct an emergency evacuation of pupils from the school bus at least three (3) times per year (front, rear, and front/rear combination).”
In compliance with this recommendation, keeping SAFETY as a top priority, the Walled Lake/Dean Transportation bus drivers and BUSTER THE BUS will be doing a skit about safe bus riding practices. Your child’s bus driver will explain and lead the children through a practice bus evacuation. This evacuation will be done on school property. They will also watch several short videos on bus and bus stop safety.
This program is for students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. There will a program for 3rd – 5th graders later in the school year.
If you have any questions, you may email Jill Segal: jillsegal@wlcsd.org
What to Do If Your School-Age Child Struggles With Separation Anxiety By Dr. Gail Saltz
It’s perfectly normal to have a fear of being separated from a parent starting at about 6 months of age and often resolving at about the time school starts. But many children continue to have separation anxiety after they begin school, some even into high school or college.
Separation anxiety often runs in families, as do many types of anxiety disorders. If you or your partner have memories of feeling nervous about leaving home for school or experienced intense homesickness, it should come as no surprise your child may as well.
Kids who were shy as babies around new things (initially looking away when presented with a new toy, for example) or around unfamiliar people are biologically more likely to experience separation anxiety. Parents who express discomfort of their own and exhibit anxiety about introducing their children to new things, worry that other places are dangerous in some way and expose their kids to limited novelty also increase the likelihood their children will have separation anxiety. Another factor that impacts separation anxiety for a child is a past history of trauma or a current stressor in the child’s life like divorce, moving homes or the loss of a family member or pet.
If your child, regardless of his age, expresses anxiety about going to school, or says he doesn’t want to go, he may be struggling with separation anxiety that began before school even started. If kids are younger, they may not even recognize that is the reason they feel anxious, and instead you may just see some regression in behavior, such as more clinginess than usual, reticence to play with others, a loss of some milestone like potty training, being more teary or having more tantrums than usual or expressing fears that harm will come to you or to themselves.
There are many ways to help your child through separation anxiety, to make it easier for them to leave home for school every day. First and foremost, check your own anxiety. If you feel nervous about your child going to school, being away from you, harm coming to them and the like, then your child will pick up on that, and it will keep their anxiety high. You will be providing evidence there is plenty to fear. This is often unwittingly the case, because once you have been a child with separation anxiety, it is not unusual to grow into an adult and parent with separation anxiety that gets expressed in the form of fear of being separated from your child. So first parent, heal thyself. Think about your fears and how you can either grapple with them to decrease them or seek help therapeutically to decrease them so you will be able to stop transmitting fear to your child.
The next step is to actively create familiarity in regards to new settings or changes ahead of time whenever possible so that they no longer seem so new or uncertain. It's uncertainty that is often the fuel of the anxiety, so the more familiarity you can create, the better. For example, if you move and your child must start a new school, ask the school to let you visit the classroom ahead of time. Show your child where they he or she will walk in, tell the child what will happen, see the halls, the classroom, the cafeteria. If you can meet the teacher before your child makes the switch to that school, even better.
If you haven’t already, create a goodbye ritual for when you will say goodbye in the morning. Having a routine and a ritual breeds certainty and comfort. Make the ritual short and sweet. Prolonged goodbyes increase anxiety. If you’re dropping your child off, don’t linger, as this makes your child have to keep deciding between being with you and getting engaged in the classroom, and your child will pick you.
Even if your child isn’t changing schools, they may still be struggling with the recent start to the new school year. If so, talk to the school about finding a staff member who will help your child after you drop her off and say goodbye to get engaged in the room. Identify a go-to person your child can be with if she is struggling, and make it clear to your child this person is someone you trust to stand in for you when you are not there.
Younger children often benefit from taking a comfort transitional object with them in their backpack or to have in their cubby. This should not be their most beloved stuffed animal or blanket, because it could get lost or damaged, but another one they like from home to be able to touch or cuddle if they are feeling anxious during the day.
If your child brings lunch, tuck in a note or something a little fun so he’s reminded you are thinking of him and so he feels connected to you. Make sure you, or whoever is retrieving your child after school is not late! Lateness or ever being left at school will increase his anxiety about going in the first place. Some children benefit from a watch to be able to see what time it is and know what time you will be coming for them. Once you do get them, be enthusiastic and curious about what they did during the day, and make it fun for them to tell you about what they have been doing.
Whenever possible, prepare in advance for the next day. Help them have everything laid out and ready, so the morning is relaxed, less rushed and less stressed. Have them pick out their outfit, pack their backpack, make their lunch choices and anything else they can easily do ahead of time. Get up early enough to be ready before them, so you can help them and leave with plenty of time to not be rushed.
Choose your spot to say goodbye, with your ritual and then cheerfully say goodbye. You can expect that separation anxiety can take some weeks to resolve. Do not let you child stay home from school to manage their anxiety. This can quickly turn into a school refusal problem. If the anxiety is making it difficult for your child to function at school or if your child is so withdrawn he or she can’t make friends, participate or speak up, then an evaluation from a child psychologist or psychiatrist may be needed. Treatment can be extremely effective, reasonably quick and is very important, because left untreated, other anxieties may develop, become more debilitating or lead to anxiety in adolescence or even adulthood.
OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTER 5TH GRADE CAMP
Dismissal Assistance Needed
I please need your assistance. There are times when emergencies will arise at dismissal time and your child may forget that you told them to take the bus home; traffic may be worse than it normally is, and other things may take place that result in your child(ren) not being picked up on time from school.
There is a proactive way to address if any of the before mentioned take place and it’s called our Prime Time Care Program. Prime Time Care is our after and before school program that offers inexpensive emergency packages that you can use whenever needed. If you have registered your child, all you need to do is contact the office and instruct us to send your child to Prime Time Care.
Our main office closes at 4:30 p.m. and many times, we have after school appointments for ourselves and our children, meetings and other events that requires us to leave right at 4:30 p.m.
I respectfully ask that if you have not already done so, to please register for Prime Time Care. Please click on the link below to learn how to register your child(ren).
Walled Lake Schools Prime Time Care Program
Respectfully,
Nayal Maktari
PTA REFLECTIONS 2019-2020
This year's PTA Reflections theme is Look Within
It’s a great time to start getting inspiration for our annual PTA Reflections Program projects! Review the current standing rules at the Michigan PTA Reflections website. More information to come! Get creative!
School Bell Schedule
Drop Off: 8:45 AM
School Begins: 8:55 AM (Tardy Bell)
Dismissal: 4:00 PM
Departure: 4:00-4:07 PM
Half-Day Dismissal: 12:25 PM
Pleasant Lake Elementary
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Prime Time Care Hours
Monday - Friday
6:30 AM-6:00 PM
Main Office:
248-956-2800
Fax Number:
248-956-2805
Attendance Hotline:
248-956-2890
School Times:
Drop off: 8:50 AM
Late Bell: 8:55 AM
Dismissal: 4:00 PM
Departure: 4:00-4:07 PM
Email: NayalMaktari@wlcsd.org
Website: www.wlcsd.org/pleasantlake
Location: 4900 Halsted Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI, United States
Phone: (248) 956-2800
Twitter: @PleasantLakeEl
PLE PTA Membership Forms
We need your support! Please click HERE and join our PTA. It's our goal to have each parent a member of our PTA. Your support is needed to continue the great things we provide our children.
You can also sign up now on our PTA Event Volunteer Sign Up Form.
Thank you again for supporting our children, families and staff!
Kroger Community Rewards Program
The PTA needs your help in providing our students and staff with as many resources as possible. One way the PTA helps is by contributing the funds earned through the Kroger Community Rewards program. If you shop at Kroger, we ask you to enroll your card to earn money for the PTA. This program does not take away your rewards earned toward gas or any other benefits. It is an additional way that Kroger gives back to the community. If you were enrolled in the past, please make sure to re-enroll and select Pleasant Lake Elementary PTA to earn the community rewards. You can follow the link provided here https://www.kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow
Also, if you have other family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) that shop at Kroger or Kroger affiliated stores encourage them to enroll their rewards card and select your student’s PTA for community rewards. Every little bit helps our students and staff.
Thank you,
Katarina Gasevski
PTA Co-V.P. and Scrips Coordinator
staples rewards program
Enroll now in the Staples Rewards Program and earn money for our children and school.
Box Tops Just Got Easier
Busch's Cash for Education
Don’t forget to re-enroll by January 1st to participate in the 2020 Cash for Education program. All participants must re-enroll annually. Once registered, simply shop, provide your Busch’s MyWay phone number or key tag at the register and receive credit for your schools. It’s that easy! Just be sure to follow the below steps to participate for the New Year.
Steps to Take:
- Sign into your MyWay account and select “Cash for Education” from the dropdown menu underneath your name to reselect your schools and/or organizations.
- If you haven’t done so already, you must include a valid email and opt-in to receive emails to participate in this program. You can check this under My Account > Account Holder when logged into MyWay. Busch’s will use this email to communicate any updates or changes to the Cash for Education Program. Email is also a great way to receive information regarding weekly specials, offers and Busch’s coupons, which are sent exclusively to MyWay members.
- Select up to four organizations that you would like to support for each quarter using the drop down menu. Purchases will be allocated equally between your chosen organizations.
- You may now also include the student you’re supporting.
- You may change your organizations and student at any time, but only those selected at the end of each quarter will receive credit.
Participants will be required to re-enroll on an annual basis.
If you have any questions please email us at welisten@buschs.com or refer to the FAQ, which can be found at buschs.com/community.
Absences and Notes to School
If you intend to keep your child home on a school day for any reason, please use our attendance hotline at 248-956-2890. You may leave a voicemail message 24 hours a day. If we do not receive a call from you, we will call you to make sure that your child is indeed absent.
The Transportation Department will not issue bus passes for after school study, play dates etc. Bus passes will be issued for shared custody, day care, babysitting, or other emergencies. The Transportation Department will also issue year-long passes for in-district transfer and school of choice students when there is room on the bus.
If your child's transportation/dismissal for the end of the day changes in any way, please send in a note at the beginning of the day to your child's teacher or the office. If this changes during the school day, please call our secretaries before 3:00 p.m. We will always make sure your child gets to the correct place at the end of the day, but we ask for your help with this by notifying us early in the day or with a note. Thank you!
Safety First at Pleasant Lake Elementary
- If your child needs to be picked up during the school day, he/she will only be released to a parent, custodial parent, person listed on the school emergency form or a person identified in a permission note from the parent. We will require a photo ID.
- Any legal documents containing custodial restrictions or court orders must be on file in our office.
- If you are visiting our school or dropping off a student, please park in our main parking and come through our main entrance doors to our office area to sign your child in. All doors are locked and will not be opened by staff members or students. This includes students who are tardy to school. Do not drop off students in the parking lot if they are tardy for school. Parents must come into the office to sign tardy students in. When using the main entrance, please buzz in and the main office staff will open the door for you.
- To maintain a safe and secure learning environment, parents and visitors may not go to any classroom unless they have made prior arrangements with the classroom teacher. Parent volunteers are welcome at Pleasant Lake, but must sign in each time they volunteer in a classroom or in the building. Please remember to sign out when you are finished. Parents may not visit classrooms unexpectedly when volunteering or visiting the school. Students walk to their classrooms on their own each day and will be called down to the office if leaving early. Students will be called down to the office for any forgotten items brought in to the office.
Lunch and Food Service Information
Walled Lake Consolidated School District offers healthy meals every school day. Breakfast costs $1.25 at the elementary level and $1.50 at the middle school and high school levels; lunch costs $2.75 at the elementary level and $3.00 at the middle and high school levels. Your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced-price meals. Reduced-price is $.30 for breakfast and $.40 for lunch.
Please click HERE for the October Elementary Lunch Menu.
You can always visit Walled Lake's Food Service Website for information by clicking HERE.
Invisible Dad Lunch Program
In Walled Lake Schools, the 12 WL elementary schools have adopted the Invisible Dad program which entitles all children to a school lunch, even if a student’s lunch account does not have money in it.
Invisible Dad accounts have been set up at our schools to cover lunch for children whose parents have forgotten, are unable, or for whatever reason have not kept their account up-to-date. Parents receive a confidential notification that their child has accessed the Invisible Dad account and they are given an opportunity to update the account, complete a Free and Reduced Lunch form or to talk to a school administrator.
For more information on the Invisible Dad Program, visit the program's webpage.
TO DONATE: Please make a check out to your Walled Lake School with Invisible Dad in the “memo” line. This money will keep the account for your school able to continue this important program.
8 habits homework menu
This summer enjoy some time with your child(ren) by paricipating in the activities listed in the Leader in Me 8 Habits Homework Menu.
Teach The Leader in Me Habits At Home!
Enjoy!
Cyberbullying Resources for Families
Below is some helpful information regarding Cyberbullying. Please take a moment to read the information and have a conversation with your child(ren).
Walled Lake Schools Cyberbullying Handout
Know What's Going On At Pleasant Lake Elementary!
SKYWARD FAMILY ACCESS
It is critical that parents keep an updated email address and let us know if it changes as soon as possible. Parents may update this information for us on Skyward Family Access. All teachers at Pleasant Lake utilize Skyward Family Access to communicate with parents. Report cards, lunch account information, progress reports, attendance and other important information will always be posted on Skyward Family Access. If you are a new family to Walled Lake Schools or have misplaced or lost your Family Access ID and password, please click HERE to get connected.
PLEASANT LAKE PLEASANTRIES AND SCHOOL WEBSITE
Our school newsletter will be sent electronically to parents once a month. An archive of newsletters is also posted to our school website under the For Parents tab. Our school website can be found HERE. Please visit this page often for information about our school. You will find links to important documents, websites from your child's classroom, PTA forms and information, and important updates and forms that you will need to access.
Please follow us on Twitter @PleasantLakeEl to be updated regularly on important events at our school and fun pictures of student events and learning!
REMIND 101
We also offer Remind 101 to all PLE parents. How does it work? If you would like to receive a quick text message on your cell phone or device, just sign up with us and you receive a quick text to remind you of important school events, deadlines, time frames, etc. at PLE. You can unsubscribe at any time.
To join, send a text to (586) 649-3482 and enter the message @mrmakt
You can opt-out of messages at anytime by replying, 'unsubscribe @mrmakt'.