Dolphin Dispatch
November 9
Dear Graebner Parents,
I want to follow up with you regarding Mr. Monroe’s letter and our plans at Graebner. While we recognize that there may be disappointment over a return to full remote learning for our students, our entire district remains committed to the health and safety of our students, staff and families.
Graebner students currently attending in-person classes will return to remote learning beginning on Thursday, November 12. As previously scheduled, there will be no afternoon class work that day due to conferences. This will be similar to the remote learning that was in place in September.
We are hopeful that trends related to the spread of COVID-19 will reverse, and we will once again be able to return students back to school for in-person learning. Your child’s teacher will provide you a schedule prior to November 12.
As we transition to remote learning, our School Age Child Care program will provide care for district families. For currently enrolled SACC families, please follow this survey link which will help us to determine your needs. All other district families in need of care can go to our website at: http://ucscommunityeducation.org/school_age_child_care . They can complete the Pre-Registration link (near the bottom of the page) and families will be contacted as space becomes available.
In addition to making the current adjustment to the schedule, we are also making plans for the remainder of the school year. These plans include preparing schedules for the second semester, which begins January 4.
As we create schedules and allocate staff, we need to know how many students will be enrolled in in-person/remote instruction or in the UCS Virtual Academy for the second semester.
In person/remote learning option will allow your student to transition to in-person learning when health and safety factors permit us to return to our classrooms. Parents who make this choice are committing to having their students attend school under any of the following situations:
· Fully in-person at any time
· Hybrid model (half days)
· Fully remote
The UCS Virtual Academy is the district’s fully on-line option. Your student would remain in a virtual learning environment through the remainder of this school year.
Regardless of which option you choose, your student will be taught by qualified Utica Community Schools teachers with curriculum that will be parallel across the various learning environments.
Please take some time to discuss which option best works for your family. We are also here to assist should you have any questions. Again, your choice will remain in effect until the end of the school year.
As we engage the planning process, we are asking that you inform us of your choice by 11:59 p.m. on November 15. You can make your choice by clicking on this link. A Frequently Asked Question page regarding these choices is also available at this link. Again, your choice will remain in effect until the end of the school year. If you do not make a selection, you will be choosing your current learning plan.
Please feel free to contact our office if you have any questions.
Mrs. Jami Wood
Principal
Summary of this week face to face/hybrid to remote
Nov. 12th is a half day with ALL students having synchronous instruction for the morning and PM students have the regularly scheduled special at their regular morning time. This day is remote.
Nov. 12 is the first day that all students will be remote through Thanksgiving Break.
Nov. 11 Conferences 4:45-7:45
Nov. 12 Conferences
12:30-3:30 and 4:45-7:45
Nov. 18 PTO 6:30
Nov. 25, 26 and 27 NO School - Thanksgiving Break
Book Fair
Dear Parents and Families: We are working hard to keep kids reading and raise critical funds for our school library with our Scholastic Online Book Fair from November 9-22, 2020! The Fair will connect your kids to notable books and inspiring characters—helping them become lifelong readers. And you’ll love the new option to experience the magic of the shopping experience through a Virtual Book Fair! Plus, enjoy these special online shopping features: Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with online shopping: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/graebnerelementary Visit our school's homepage to hear the latest Book Fair news, RSVP for events, sign up to volunteer, and more! Thank you for continuing to support our school. Happy reading, Mrs. Wood
Graebner Elementary School
UCS Remote Food Distribution Updates
Due to the pause with in-person learning, Food and Nutritional Services is offering additional distribution opportunities for students as follows:
Monday, November 9, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Eisenhower High School
Henry Ford II High School
Stevenson High School
Wednesday, November 11, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (previously scheduled date)
Eisenhower High School
Henry Ford II High School
Stevenson High School
Thursday, November 12, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Davis Junior High
Eppler Junior High
Jeannette Junior High
Malow Junior High
Parent-Teacher Conferences
- November 11, 2020 4:45 -7:45 PM
- November 12, 2020 12:30-3:30 PM& 4:45-7:45 PM
It is now our opportunity to schedule Parent-Teacher Conferences. Conferences are an important part of our partnership to make sure students are meeting our shared expectations.
This year, we will be piloting a web-based process to schedule and virtually meet with your child’s teachers about their progress. The system we are using is called Conference Manager and will allow you to check our teachers’ conference schedules and book an appointment on-line. You will use the same system for you and your student’s teacher to have a virtual conversation about academic progress.
The first time you use the Conference Manager you will be required to register and create a parent account. This only takes a minute or two. You will continue to use this same account for the duration of the time you have children in the school, so please record your password where you can reference it later.
Please note while you can register at any time, the appointment window will not open until 6 p.m. on October 28, 2020. The appointment window will close on November 10, 2020 at 10 a.m.
To create an account, please use the following steps (a tutorial is available at this link):
1. Go to the following website https://utica.schoolsoft.com.
2. Register for a parent account. To register click the REGISTER NOW button and complete the registration page. Once registered you will be able to immediately log in to the Conference Manager. An email will also be sent to the address you specified. This email restates your username and password and should be saved, as you will use the same username and password when booking future rounds of Parent-Teacher Conferences. If you forget your password, you can reset it using the FORGOT PASSWORD link under the login button.
When registering, if you have multiple students, you should enter all of them at the same time. If you have a student at more than one school (for example CSI and the Virtual High School), you will need to register the student more than once.
Once registered you can log in to the Conference Manager any time.
3. Click the BOOK NOW button and select a conference date in the date drop-down that appears. Then, select the teacher(s) you wish to meet with and click the NEXT button. To coordinate bookings involving multiple teachers select all the teachers applicable to your child(ren) with whom you wish to meet.
4. Click on an available time slot for each teacher you selected and complete the booking form that appears. You should see the booking appear in the summary list on the right-hand side of the screen. A confirmation email is sent for each booking you made or subsequently cancel. You will also receive a reminder and conference itinerary by email.
5. Confirm your appointments have been booked by looking at the “CURRENTLY BOOKED CONFERENCES” box on the right of the screen or click on the MY CONFERENCES tab. Only appointments that appear in the CURRENTLY BOOKED CONFERENCES box or on the MY CONFERENCES page are confirmed bookings.
6. When finished booking, click the log off button located at the top right of the browser window. You will have the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the use of the Conference Manager to the school administration through a user survey before completely exiting. We appreciate you completing the survey as this helps guide our decision-making regarding how conferences are booked in the future.
7. Just prior to your scheduled conference time, you will receive a link to your video conference. At the appropriate time, click on the link and the teacher will admit you to the room.
If you are unable to book your own appointment using this system, please contact us at 586-797-5000.
Title I Parent Meeting Video
Meals at School Age Child Care (SACC) Provided by UCS Food Service
UCS Food Service is now able to provide your student(s) with either breakfast or lunch while they are at SACC. To ensure your student receives their meals please fill out the Meal Order Form (12A) and return it to your SACC teacher. If you choose to receive meals at SACC, please notify your child’s homeschool teacher that you would like to cancel the meal going home with them daily.
PTO News/Meetings
Check out the GPTO page this week for more exciting content on activities, volunteering and fundraising. New content will be added weekly, so please do not forget to click the link below, sign up to be notified of website changes and also follow us on facebook at facebook.com/graebnerpto
POWERSCHOOL/UNIFIED CLASSROOM
PowerSchool is Now More Powerful!
PowerSchool has resources for UCS parents that are accessible through its Unified Classroom. PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom has replaced the traditional Parent Portal. It is the district's student information system used for scheduling, attendance, grades, and delivery of report cards.
Helpful instructional guides are listed below.
PARENT
Unified Classroom account for a New Parent
Click here for detailed instructions
Use: Parent Access - NEW PARENT
Unified Classroom account for a parent who has an original Parent Portal Account
Click here for detailed instructions
Use: Parent Access - EXISTING PARENT
STUDENT
Unified Classroom account for a student
Click here for detailed instructions
Use: Student Access
Unified Classroom login URL: https://classroom.powerschool.com
If you are experiencing issues with the PowerSchool Mobile App, please see the appropriate Frequently Asked Questions document below:
For all users:
Click here for detailed instructions and FAQ
To login to PowerSchool:
Click here or paste link into browser: ps.ucs.misd.net/public/Welcome Back from the Graebner Teachers and Staff
Attendance
Graebner Elementary
Email: jami.wood@uticak12.org
Website: https://graebner.uticak12.org/
Location: 41875 Saal Road, Sterling Heights, MI, USA
Phone: 586-797-5000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraebnerElementary/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARDsR_-4kGzgvlqWmJUIFTXBZ2ARhGqT38EYQxk39ZxwrsAP2VrbppfOMt-qp_NTcjy4LH_z5lAQk7gv