Family Newsletter

Hello Lakers!

I would be remiss if I did not begin by saying a massive THANK YOU to all of our families for your incredibly generous donations for FunD Run. We raised $32,145! These funds create wonderful experiences for our students that enhance their educational experience--field trips, guest speakers, seasonal parties, and more. Truly, thank you for all you do. As a celebration of the students' fundraising efforts, they will get to attend a glow party in the gym next week, and today, the whole school watched as our top three fundraisers in each grade silly-stringed me! Check out the video below!

And although it is hard to believe, we have another super fun event right around the corner: Spooktacular is Friday, October 18th from 5:30-8:30pm. This annual family event is a time to dress up in costume, dance, play Halloween-inspired games, and hang out with friends old and new. We hope to see you there! Additionally, on October 31st, we will have our fall parties and a costume parade. Teachers will be sharing out more detail in the coming weeks. For your planning purposes, the parade will be at 2:30pm, and class parties will all be at 3:00pm.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Jen Teal, Principal

All the Way to America by Dan Yaccarino

Dan Yaccarino’s great-grandfather arrived at Ellis Island with a small shovel and his parents’ good advice: “Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family.” With simple text and warm, colorful illustrations, Yaccarino recounts how the little shovel was passed down through four generations of this Italian-American family—along with the good advice. It’s a story that will have kids asking their parents and grandparents: Where did we come from? How did our family make the journey all the way to America?

Here at Gretchko, we love recognizing students who are following our classroom social contracts and demonstrating responsibility, respect, safety, and kindness. This week, we have been on the lookout for students who are setting a great example and have been handing out Rockin' Croc tickets. Half goes home so you can celebrate them as well, and the other half gets entered into our Friday drawing. This week's winners are: A’Nyla Henry, Cash Kimball, Jerney Singleton, Darius Scott, Blake Kaleniecki, Theo Hughes, Ria Gupte, Landry Rivet, Aubree Threets, Vivian Winowiecki, Grayson Starling, Ny’laa Roberts, Niles Stelkic, Kennedy Markarian, Lucas Gartside, and Ava Bird.

During the month of September we have been working on building relationships, routines and setting expectations in music class. We have been playing a series of games to help reinforce these goals plus we are beginning to introduce and review music concepts.
The 2nd & 4th grade have been learning about Dynamics. Dynamics are how loud or soft a piece of music is performed. The Kdg. and 1st graders have been working on using their different voices. We have explored the speaking, whispering, calling, thinking and singing voices.

This week in music, Ms. Tracz's kindergarteners explored that some sounds have a beat but not all do. We practiced moving and playing the beat with rhythm sticks to different tempos. We also focused on using our best singing voices. Ms. Geottes and Ms. Kirk's 4th graders learned bucket drumming routines to "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire and "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors.

Come learn more about our English Language Development Services and Technology Resources your child is using and how you can support them at home. Child Care and snacks provided. Kindergarten through 5th grade families are invited.

Please click on the link here if you need a language translation.

Math Pentathlon teaches and reinforces basic math concepts and skills, stimulates creative thinking, develops problem-solving skills, develops spatial computational and logical reasoning, and good sportsmanship. Registration is OPEN! Practice Dates and More Info, Click Here

Division 1: K-1st Grade

Division 2: 2nd & 3rd Grade

Division 3: 4th & 5th Grade

Division 4: 6th & 7th Grade

Multiple positions are available working with students of all ages from preschool through post-secondary.

• Competitive pay and excellent benefits
• Four-day per week and five-day per week positions available
• Additional pay if you have a degree (associate's degree or higher)

Support children who need caring adults!

Contact:

Eric Whitney at West Bloomfield School District

5810 Commerce Road

West Bloomfield, MI 48324

Phone: (248) 865-6426

Fund Run was fantastic last week! We raised our stretch goal of 30k so we will have inflatables at Field Day!!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Prizes will be distributed by the end of next week.

We had 17 Superstars that earned a Pizza Party with Mrs. Teal! Anyone that earned $250 or above will be receiving their spirit wear order form DUE BACK BY OCTOBER 11th.

Spooktacular is 2 weeks away. Each class will have a pumpkin or basket they are working on for auction. If you have not received info for your class, please follow up with the Head Room Parent or us. The highest selling basket or pumpkin winning class gets $20 Zap Zone gift cards for the kids and lunch for the teacher!

If you also want to help at Spooktacular (Oct. 18, 5:30-8:30pm), sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094AA4AC29A6F8C61-50974124-spooktacular#/

Next Wednesday- Pizza Party for those who raised $500 for Fund Run

Next Wednesday- PTO meeting at 7pm in the iCenter

Next Thursday- Glow Party for the school reaching 25k!!

Next Friday- Bagel Day

If you have time to spare on a Wednesday during the school day OR at home throughout the week, sign up HERE.

We're a team of parent volunteers who are ready to tackle the time consuming jobs that bog down our wonderful teachers! From copies to display boards to anything in between, we're here to fill in the gaps! We'll have 3 groups, 9-12 for our K-2 teachers, 1-4 for our 3-5 teachers & a special 'take home team' who will be managing projects from the comfort of home for anyone who can't make it in during the school day!

“Dads of Great Students” is a nationally recognized program that has brought over a million fathers and father figures into the school classrooms and hallways across the country, creating millions of hours of “in school” volunteer time and having a tremendously positive impact on the educational process. Have an hour, half a day, or a whole day when you'd like to volunteer? Click HERE to sign up.

If approved by voters, library millage funds would be used for:

• replacement of aging building components
• updates to IT Infrastructure, including 24/7 holds pickup lockers
• improvements to programming areas, including the Meeting Room and outdoor spaces
• expanded digital collections (eBooks, eAudiobooks, etc.)

Learn more at wblib.org/millage.

School pictures are ready! To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's school ID number. All families can also log on and order a FREE Digital SmileSafe card. More about the Smilesafe program here.

If you missed the September 5th picture day at Gretchko, retakes will be taken October 30th.

WBSD Community Education offers an array of enrichment and recreation classes. For more information and online registration, click here. Use the search feature to type in the program.
Stay tuned for Math Pentathlon, FIRST Lego League info, and more!

Fall elementary programming at Gretchko includes:

• Sunset Theatre on Mondays starting 9/23 for 1st-5th
• Soccer on Tuesdays starting 9/24 for 3rd-5th
• Karate on Wednesdays starting 11/13 for 1st-5th

WBSD has partnered with ParentGuidance.org to give parents free access to resources and helpful information. We have shared this information with our families. We hope that it will be useful for some of you as well!

ParentGuidance.org is an online service by licensed therapists that provides trusted and specialized courses, professional support, and a safe community for parents to learn how to support their children and get answers to mental health questions.

There are many community resources available to families in need. See the Oakland County Community Resource Guide, which includes resources about topics including Abuse & Protective Services; Food Pantries, Clothing & Household Support; Healthcare Services; Housing Assistance; and Parenting & Pregnancy Resources.

211 (United Way) offers resources/connections for family support as well. Parents/adults can call, text, or email. Here is the link to the 211 website, which is searchable by topic. Additionally, see these 211 flyers in English, Spanish, and Arabic.

Finally, here are some resources for Food Pantry/Supplies near WB/Oakland County.

Phone:

• Main Office Phone: (248)865-6570
• SAFELINE to report absences: (248) 865-6572. This is a 24 hour answering machine.