Defer Dragon's Burning News
February 9, 2018
From the Principal
Dear Defer Families,
Happy snow day! What a great day to "sharpen the saw" by reading, playing games, having fun in the snow, or enjoying other activities at home. I look forward to hearing the snow day stories from all the students next week. Have fun and stay safe outside today!
Lunchtime Enrichment classes started on Monday, February 5th. The students were very excited to craft, code, color, create, play games, or explore new learning opportunities during lunch. Thank you to all the parent volunteers and coordinators for our lunchtime enrichment activities.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rheaume
Follow Defer on Twitter (@GPDefer) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/GPDefer/)
Office News
ILLNESSES
Students need to be fever/symptom free for 24 hours (without the aid of medication) before returning to school.
Thank you for helping us keep everyone healthy!
Mary had a little cold, but didn't stay at home.
Everywhere that Mary went the cold was sure to roam.
It wandered into Molly's eyes and filled them full of tears.
It jumped from there to Bobby's nose, and then to Jimmy's ears.
It painted Annie's throat bright red and swelled poor Jenny's head.
Dora had a fever and a cough put Jack to bed.
The moral of this little tale is very quickly said.
Mary could have saved a lot of pain with just one day in bed!
MICHIGAN WEATHER
We go out for recess unless the temperature is below 0 with the wind chill. Please make sure your child brings a winter coat, gloves/mittens, hat, boots and snowpants. We no longer have extra gear in our clinic.
Drop Off and Pick Up Reminders
Please help us keep all the students safe during drop off and pick up at Defer!
- 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. You do not need to wait until you get in front of the Defer gate to drop off or pick up your child.
- Please remind your students to look both ways before crossing the street.
- Bottom line---Please Stop, Drop and Go! This will help the traffic to flow smoothly.
The Grosse Pointe Park police are aware of our safety concerns with drivers not following the posted signs. Failure to follow the posted signs may result in a written violation. Our goal is to keep all the students safe arriving and departing from school.
Upcoming Events at Defer
February 13 - PTO Meeting at 7:00 pm in our Library
February 19 - 23 Mid Winter Break No School
February 26 - One Book, One School Kick Off Assembly
March 6 - AM School Only/TownHall Meeting 10:40 am/End of Second Marking Period
March 14 - PM Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 15 - Afternoon & Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 16 - 1/2 Day AM school Only
March 30 - NO SCHOOL
Great Kindness Challenge
Dear Defer Community,
Thank you for all your support with the Great Kindness Challenge. I wish you could have been at Brownell to witness the collective efforts of all 9 elementary schools and Barnes. The generosity of Defer and the entire Grosse Pointe learning community in the collection of items was just ASTOUNDING! It was great to have all levels participate from pre-kindergarten to secondary (MS and HS) students. Several GPPSS operations staff delivered the items to Crossroads on Friday, 2/2/2018. Crossroads was amazed at the contributions and so very grateful. Thanks for your kindness!. It really matters!
Kindness always-
Dona Johnson-Beach, Trish Gout, and Jane Nugent
Camp Invention is back!
Check out the flyer for more information.
Defer Diversity Group
We're excited to begin a Defer Diversity Group! We hope to gather parents and school staff to celebrate and engage in topics surrounding diversity and inclusion. There currently is a school system-wide committee that discusses many important topics. Many of the elementary schools have also begun their own school-specific groups to engage in issues and opportunities specifically related to their schools, and we are excited to do the same!
The first meeting will be March 1st from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. During this meeting, we plan to have an open discussion on future topics the group would like to discuss. We will have childcare available for kids 3 and up. Please RSVP to Susan Sutorka at susan_sutorka@yahoo.com for childcare.
Leader in Me Family Information - February Edition
Welcome to the February 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. We thank you for your partnership in reinforcing your child’s leadership skills.
Would you start a trip without knowing where you are going? Knowing what you are trying to accomplish directs the choices on the way.
Habit 2 - Begin with the end in mind
When we use Habit 2, we think about how we’d want something to turn out before starting it. Goal setting is an important skill for success. Therefore in Habit 2- start with setting a goal. Then, break it down into small manageable pieces.
Home practice Habit 2
Doing puzzles is a great example to put Habit 2 in action. First, demonstrate how to study the picture. Then, sort pieces. Perhaps the edge is the first area of focus. Next, it may be finding all the pieces of one color, and so on -step by-step until it is complete.
To further model Habit 2, point out real life examples: Share stories from your life, or even your day at work, where you had a goal or task that you accomplished. Talk about the steps taken to accomplish your goal. Discuss how breaking it down made it easier. Point out examples from your child’s life such as riding a bike, tying shoes, or another Habit 2 skill.
Making it child specific
Ways to have your child incorporate Habit 2 at home-
There are practical ways to reinforce the importance of Habit 2 at home.
Is there something your child wants that he/she can work for? Better reading skills, learning a sport, playing an instrument, hobby or game? Help your child set the goal and define steps they can take to achieve it. Make sure the goal is realistic so the practice is a positive experience.
This video helps demonstrate student understanding of Habit 2!
VIDEO LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARkKyXMCPgE
Begin with the end in mind by participating in this speech contest from LIM!
The Leader in Me Speech Contest encourages students to submit a two minute video addressing their graduating class. All students, kindergarten to fifth grade, can participate in the contest. Entries are due by March 31st. The link includes sample entries and more information about the contest: Contest Entry Rules 2018
Library News
Library rotation has started again for grades 3-5. Third graders are starting a dictionary unit and will become Dictionary Detectives! Grade 4 will soon begin research on Planets and Space; and 5th graders are starting off with research for Black History Month and will turn their research into a cool Word Cloud Project. Look for them by the library! Kindergarten finished learning about Penguins, First graders learned about Arctic Animals in nonfiction books, and grade 2 has been studying Story Elements. We're off to an exciting new semester!
Defer PTO
Save the Date!
The Spring Social is May 24. This family friendly outdoor event features entertainment (think bounce houses, challenges, etc.), music and other activities. Pizza slices & ice cream are available for purchase throughout the event. Plan to attend--it's a fun gathering of Defer families and potential future Defer families.
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