Pleasant Lake Pleasantries
Week of September 24, 2018
Together We Learn, Together We Lead!
Tomorrow is School Picture Day!
Picture Day is Monday, September 24th. Please make sure everyone comes to school ready for their photo! To order pictures, you can return the Lifetouch packet on Picture Day or you can save time and order online! Just go to mylifetouch.com, enter the Picture Day ID listed below, and choose your photos. It really is that easy! Sales from these pictures directly benefit the students and staff of Pleasant Lake. Own a lifelong memory and support our school community by purchasing some wonderful photos. We appreciate your support!
Website: www.mylifetouch.com
Picture Day ID: LM728067Y0 (type in this code once you get to the website)
Color Run 2018!
Color Run Volunteer Sign Up
2018-2019 PLE Calendar of Events
5th Graders Invited to Walnut Creek Middle School on Wednesday!
Our 5th graders are invited to a Walnut Creek Volleyball and Football Game on Wednesday, September 26th. 5th graders can be dropped off at 4:45 p.m. at the Gymnasium Entrance. They will have pizza and pop until 5:00 p.m. and then watch the Creek Football Team until 5:30 p.m. Following the game, they will watch the Creek Volleyball Team play until 6:00 p.m. Entry into both games is entirely free for our 5th graders.
Please call Laurel Rachiele at (248) 956-2410 with any questions you may have and we hope to see your child at Walnut Creek Middle School next Wednesday.
Go Hawks!
PLE PTA Membership and Volunteer Sign Up
We need your support! It's our goal to have each parent a member of our PTA. Please join our PTA. Your support is needed to continue the great things we provide our children. Membership Forms can be found in our main office and you'll have an opportunity to join our PTA at our upcoming Curriculum Nights.
We also need volunteers. Please sign up for PTA volunteer opportunities. Help others and have an opportunity to spend time with your child at fun PTA Events, it's a Win Win!
Thank you again for supporting our children, families and staff!
Welcome to PLE!
Anna Bitzinger is very excited to join Pleasant Lake Elementary as the new art teacher. Ms. Bitzinger attended Wayne State University where she received a B.A. in Art Education (K-12). She has taught elementary and middle school students art for the past 7 years. In her spare time, Ms. Bitzinger loves to paint and collage. She also enjoys singing, playing guitar and spending time with her pet rabbit, Pickles.
Ms. Bitzinger believes there are multiple ways to expand your mind within the arts, no matter your artistic ability. She looks forward to meeting her students and getting to know them as the year progresses.
Her first day at PLE will be Monday, October 1st. Please take a moment to reach out and welcome Ms. Bitzinger to our school community!
Congratulations PLE Teacher, Mrs. Brenda Raymond!
For years, the Japanese Business Society of Metro Detroit has sponsored area educators to make a journey to Japan. This past school year, five metro Detroit area educators were selected for this elite and prestigious honor. Applicants are selected via an essay and recommendation process.
We are very privileged at Pleasant Lake to have one of our staff members selected, 1st Grade Teacher Brenda Raymond. Mrs. Raymond represented Walled Lake Schools and the State of Michigan. She was humbled be selected for such an honor.
Mrs. Raymond departed Detroit for Tokyo on a 12 day journey that began on June 23rd and traveled with a group of educators from across the United States, Germany and Belgium. She visited Japanese treasured sites, schools and even taught a story telling lesson to Japanese first graders.
Congratulations again Mrs. Brenda Raymond!
PTA REFLECTIONS 2018-19
This year's PTA Reflections theme is Heroes Around Me.
It’s a great time to start getting inspiration for our annual PTA Reflections Program projects! Start thinking about the people in your world who are heroes. Are they someone whose job is to help people? Are they someone who volunteers in the community? Are they kids helping grown-ups? Or grown-ups helping kids? Are they people helping animals? Or animals helping people?
We can’t wait to see how those heroes inspire you through the arts! Review the current standing rules at the Michigan PTA Reflections website. More information to come! Get creative!
The Potential Harms of Social Media by Dr. Zaid, PLE Parent.
Prior to 1794, farms across the world could only pick cotton as fast as humanly possible. In the late 18th century, Eli Whitney discovered the cotton gin and a simple process done since 500 AD was instantly improved upon. This invention took 1200 years and a lot of hard labor before it was discovered. Once this invention was created it caused efficiencies but also caused concern for a decreased need for labor.
Now days we are on a logarithmic scale of technological advancement, leaving us with much less time to evaluate the benefits and risks of new products. As new inventions are created, they are often able to be used instantly without fully understanding the downside.
Social media is an arena that is expanding daily and allowing immediate communication like we have not experienced before. There are a lot of benefits to social media and the adoption rates are unprecedented. Information is capable of being instantly disseminated, allowing businesses and individuals to be more informed and efficient. This new media has also allowed friends and family to stay connected and for new ideas to be formed.
There is no doubt in my mind that social media has positively impacted our society, however, I worry more about our tendency not to focus on the harms social media may bring.
Addiction to instant feedback
One of the largest segments of our population that regularly use social media is our children. As a child develops their personality, they are making decisions about how they will react to every situation. As they progress through school, they will make decisions and actions that affect the way they are perceived.
With social media, the feedback is instant and after posting a picture or a simple statement, they can receive gratitude and excitement from messages that are sent to them following the post. This can create such a positive response that often times leaves a child with an increased urge to do it again. If the video or picture that was posted generated a great response, they often want to find something more spectacular the next time they post.
A desire for acceptance and popularity has existed since the beginning of time, though, now with the ability to communicate with friends for 24 hours a day, the scene is changing. The ability to update a status or post a picture from a phone allows kids to instantly react without thinking. Usually these actions are benign, but can at times cause irreversible harm.
Recently, social media has been in the press relating to adolescents who got hospitalized after being dared on social media. As a child growing up, many kids will dare others or try something because their friends challenge them. Online, you can become infamous throughout the world instantly and this has a draw for many kids.
Just recently a child was hospitalized after putting a bottle rocket in his pants and others were hospitalized after holding cinnamon in their mouth for a minute. The danger is that these kids may or may not know that these stunts are dangerous. It may not be evident that a video seen online is not a credible source
Bullying online
Cyber bullying is another harmful product of social media. The internet is the new playground that our children live in and it is an unregulated often unsupervised place. Most parents would not let their children play in a park that they have not visited, though, many of us are not aware of what are children are doing online.
As I mentioned above, social media can be a place where children can find acceptance and popularity. It also can be a place that is feared and causes psychological harm. If most children are using social media and another child who tries is left out, this could cause that child to feel alone. On a more extreme level, what might have been contained at school now may be non-stop 24 hours a day. There are many instances that have resulted in fatal outcomes that were caused by cyber bullying. Most recently, a college kid from Rutgers committed suicide after parts of his social life were exposed on social media. This is becoming a larger problem and we need to be more aware of it.
I don’t have a solution for cyber bullying but strongly feel that we should be aware of it and open to discussing it with our community and children.
Communication
As a child growing up in Commerce Township,Michigan, I was outside playing sports all day and night and would spend time with family on the weekends engaging in conversation. Now, when I attend family events, I see many of my family members glued to their phones. It worries me that we are being accustomed to quick messages and short hand typing that we will soon become a society of less social individuals and poor communication skills.
As we move forward, I think it is imperative that we understand there are many benefits to social media, but also acknowledge the downside. I am striving to promote a balance between electronic and verbal communication so we don’t diminish our personal contact.
In addition, I believe it is prudent for us to gather as a family, community and a country to sort out the role social media has in our lives. Our children need us to discuss that there are more things important than achieving notoriety and also that we are there if they need us. It may be difficult to eliminate a dangerous dare or cyber bullying, but we should do our best to minimize the damage and help our children become adults without harm.
Robert R. Zaid is a family physician who practices at PrimeCare of Novi.
Pleasant Lake Elementary 2018-2019 Directory
Dear Pleasant Lake Elementary School Community,
We are excited to once again bring to you our very own Pleasant Lake Elementary 2018-2019! Our directory is an important part of our school year, connecting each of our families, kids and staff to each other.Our exclusive directory once again will give local businesses visibility to our entire school population.
Here is where you as a Pleasant Lake Elementary family come in…we ALWAYS give our families priority ad placement in the directory. If you have a business or work for a company that would like to be a part of helping our school fund many of our current and future programs throughout the year, then this is the place for your advertising message. Placement is on a first come first serve basis and spaces go fast!
In an era of digital, the important information gets lost in the clutter of your inbox. By providing a full color printed FREE directory, we know you will be extremely engaged and informed throughout the year!
If you or anyone you know would like to place an ad in the Pleasant Lake Elementary School 2018-19 Directory that will be distributed for free to every family and teacher in our school, please email Jodi Rankin at jodi@fun2raise.com or you may reach her directly at 952-641-7100 x 101. She will walk you through the process and help you choose a message or an offer that will generate business for you and money for our school.
We look forward to providing our school with the highest level of tools and communication.
School Bell Schedule
Drop Off: 8:45 AM
School Begins: 8:55 AM (Tardy Bell)
Dismissal: 3:58 PM
Departure: 4:05 PM
Half-Day Dismissal: 12:00-12:09 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: 3:58 PM
Departure: 4:05 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
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
The cost for a hot lunch will be $2.75 this year. The cost for a reduced lunch will be $.40. Breakfast will be available every day and will also begin the first day of school. The cost for breakfast will be $1.25. Breakfast is $.30 for eligible free and reduced lunch students. .
Please click HERE for the October Elementary Lunch Menu.
You can always visit Walled Lake's Food Service Website for information by clicking HERE.
Teach The Leader in Me Habits At Home!
Enjoy!
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
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'.