Family Newsletter

Hello Laker Nation!

Well, winter has definitely arrived! As a reminder, students go outside for recess as long as the "real feel" is above zero. This means it is time for snow pants, winter coats, hats, and gloves. If your family is in need of winter clothing for your kiddos, please email me (jennifer.teal@wbsd.org) so I can connect you with local resources to help!

Additionally, it is at this time of year that we remind students that throwing snowballs is not allowed. While it certainly seems like innocent fun, rocks, sticks, and ice often get caught up in the snow piles when they are cleared, which can lead to injury. Thank you for reminding students of the reason for this rule at home.

As we look ahead to the start of 2025, we are excited to share that we will be hosting a READING CHALLENGE from January to March, and we need your help!

As part of our commitment to supporting each student’s academic growth, we encourage all students to read for at least 20 minutes at home each night. Regular reading has a direct impact on student success! Check out what reading 20 minutes a day can do for your child:

On January 6th, each student will begin bringing home a reading challenge calendar in their backpack. For the month of January, each student who reads for 60 minutes per week will earn a raffle ticket. At the end of the month, 5 tickets will be drawn per grade for a prize. In February, students will have to up their reading to 75 minutes per week to earn their ticket, and in March, we’ll shoot for 100 minutes a week!

To kick off this fun challenge, each classroom will have a 60-minute read-a-thon on January 6th so each student can earn their first raffle ticket right off the bat!

How can you help?

• Remind your child to read every day for 20 minutes or more. You can read to them or with them, or they can read on their own!

• Help your child find a good reading spot in your home.

• Initial your child’s reading calendar each night and make sure it goes back in their backpack each day.

Thank you for your partnership in growing great readers, and have a terrific weekend,

Jen Teal

Principal

The Leaping Ladoo

Bhago, Bhago as fast as you can! Follow the leaping laddoo (luh-DOO), an Indian dessert, as it flees from the hands of its maker and eludes children, a tea seller, a groom on an elephant, and more. Can anyone end this crazy chase?

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 we have been handing out many Rockin' Croc tickets. A copy of the ticket goes home so you can celebrate with your student as well, and the other half is entered into our Friday drawing. This week's winners are: Maya Mourtada, Jermaine McCray, Juliette Lubaway, Jonah Manley,Julieta Strohschneider, Grayson Attisha, Aaron Petracich, Savannah Sawica, Kenny Williams, Kanei Johnson, Ethan Gagniuk, Emilia Harmala, Frances Palomino, Rhythm White, Alfredo Contreras Martinez, and Oliver Korzin

Congratulations to CJ Kimball for being nominated and selected as our November Laker Leader of the Month! Mrs. Magill nominated CJ saying, "CJ is such an awesome kid and takes his safety job very seriously. He takes such pride in his job raising and lowering the flag everyday as well as maintaining the fish tank. He is also always very friendly and polite to staff and offers to help. He is great with younger students and asks them to follow directions in a kind manner. CJ is a great example of a true Laker Leader!" Great job CJ!

Gretchko Spirit Week

December 16-20

• Monday, 12/16 is Career Day: Dress up as what you want to be when you grow up.
• Tuesday, 12/17 is Favorite Movie/Character Day: For example you can dress up as your favorite movie.
• Wednesday, 12/18 is Backwards/Mismatch Day: You wear clothes backwards or maybe colors/patterns that don’t usually go together.
• Thursday, 12/19 is Pirate vs Alien Day: For example, you could have an extra eye or an eye patch
• FRIDAY, 12/20 IT IS PJ DAY!!!!

Planned by Kaley Wheeler and 5th Grade

• December 1 - World AIDS Day

• December 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

• December 10 - International Human Rights Day

• December 12 - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Mexico’s patron saint

• December 16-24 - Las Posadas - nine-day Mexican celebration

• December 21 - Winter Solstice

• December 25 - Christmas: Christian celebration

• December 25 - January 2 - Hanukkah: Jewish holiday

• December 26 – Zartosht No-Diso - Zoroastrian holiday

• December 26 - January 1 - Kwanzaa: African-American - a tribute to African festivals of harvest

This week at Gretchko!

We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair. This event is an opportunity for students of all ages to build their home libraries and further their love of reading. As always, all purchases benefit our school. Our Book Fair shopping will take place from December 9-13 in the Gretchko Makerspace. Students will shop during their iCenter time throughout the week (see schedule below).

Our Book Fair offers eWallet, a safe and secure alternative to cash. Simply create a free account to add funds and/or invite family and friends to contribute so your child can select their own books. Any unused funds can be spent at The Scholastic Store Online or to fund a future eWallet. As always, students may bring cash to shop, however the safest way to make sure money is not misplaced or lost on the bus, is to set up an eWallet for your child.

At this fair, we will be allowing parent volunteers to assist our shoppers during their iCenter class times. Interested volunteers must complete a volunteer form and provide a copy of their driver’s license/ID to the school’s office staff. Visit our Gretchko Book Fair Homepage to get started with eWallet, online shopping, and to sign up to volunteer.

We’re excited to celebrate our love of books together at the Gretchko Book Fair. I look forward to seeing your child there!

Gretchko Book Fair Homepage

Book Fair Volunteer Signup

eWallet Registration

Principal’s Pick Order Form

We hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend!!

The Gretchko spirit wear store has a holiday sale for a few more days! Choose from hundreds of designs and garments, all with home delivery guaranteed by December 23rd! Shop at https://1stplace.sale/48679

Dates to Note:

Next Week- Book Fair is happening!!!

12-11 Late Start

12-13 Bagel Day

12-18 Marco's Pizza Night

Ongoing Fundraisers: TRUE Martial Arts is offering a special to check them out and proceeds come back to the school! Gretchko Elementary PTO Fundraiser (sparkpages.io)

Volunteers needed:

Mileage Club needs you! The more days we have volunteers- the more we can offer it to the kiddos! Mileage Club: Gretchko Mileage Club (signupgenius.com)

The teachers' rescue team, aka Buoy Crew, needs your help! Join the fun, sign up for a shift, and give some love back to those amazing educators who adore our mini-mes, K-2 mornings, 3-5 afternoons - simple, yet epic!

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0D4FA4A922A6FDC70-51534931-buoy

We are always here for you via ( https://facebook.com/groups/gretchkopto/ ) and subscribe to our linktree Gretchko Elementary PTO | Facebook | Linktree or email pto.gretchko@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Your Gretchko PTO

The Gretchko spirit wear store has launched a holiday sale! Choose from hundreds of designs and garments, all with home delivery guaranteed by December 23rd! Shop at https://1stplace.sale/48679

Please consider joining our Watch D.O.G.S. male parent volunteer group. We really appreciate our volunteers!Here is the next month's sign up. I believe we have our few main consistent helpers, but just in case any others ever want to sign up. Here is the next month's sign up. I believe we have our few main consistent helpers, but just in case any others ever want to sign up. :)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E094DA4AF2EA2FA7-53625719-january

Thanks,

Stephanie Donnay

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!

Dec 6 - Blizzard Day at Lunch

Dec 11 - Late Start (10:10am, doors open for students at 9:55am)

Dec 13 - Bagel Day

Dec 16-20 - Spirit Week (Details to come) and Classroom Spelling Bees

Dec 23-Jan 3 - NO SCHOOL for winter break

Jan 8 - Late Start (10:10am, doors open for students at 9:55am)

Attention 1st - 3rd Grade Parents

FIRST Lego League EXPLORE makes learning STEM and coding skills fun! All skill levels are welcome!

STUDENT SEASON THEME: Using creative thinking and LEGO technology to explore the layers of the ocean as they “sea” into the future.

Click here to view the SUBMERGED Explore Set and here to check out the EXPLORE story.

Program Highlights:

• Students will work in teams of 6, with 1 or 2 parent coaches per team
• Team Meetings will begin in late Jan/early February
• Ten meetings total, plus the LakerBot Event (Showcase Event in April, date TBD).
• One 90 minute in-person meeting per week at Doherty, Gretchko, Sheiko, and Scotch directly after school
• Each school will have 1 "Teacher Leader" as a facilitator, however, we will need 1-2 parent volunteer for every 6 students to help coach teams. The number of volunteers will determine the number of teams we will offer. Guarantee your child's participation by volunteering to coach.

STAY TUNED FOR REGISTRATION INFO. Email andrea.frank@wbsd.org for questions.

The WBSD 3-year-old program is tuition based. Call or visit the website for information on the two preschool options available through West Bloomfield Preschool Academy.

"Continue the Dream and Build Bridges of Unity”

Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy by participating in meaningful events that inspire creativity, service, and community connection. This year’s theme, "Continue the Dream and Build Bridges of Unity," encourages everyone to contribute to a vision of inclusion and togetherness. From the Button Contest and Oratorical Contest to Donation Day and the United We Walk Celebration, there are opportunities for all ages to get involved. Let’s join hands to celebrate Dr. King’s life and make a lasting impact in our schools and community. Below are event details below and help us "Continue the Dream"!

Thank you for supporting our annual United We Walk program!

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, we invite every student and staff member to contribute to our district-wide Donation Day. We are collecting:

• Non-perishable food items to support Fueling Kids’ Future (see attached flyer)

• Toiletries and mittens to benefit a local shelter

Buildings and classrooms are encouraged to get creative and generate excitement around this special day of giving. While there will be other opportunities for students and families to donate, Donation Day is our major event to come together as a community in support of one another and to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We invite all buildings and members of the school community to join in celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will feature engaging activities for students and families, a program showcasing student groups, and meaningful Day of Service activities.

We will also need student and adult volunteers to assist with sorting and packing donations. Your participation will help make this day a true reflection of community and service. Our goal is at least 100 kids per building participating that day with signs and banners and buttons and smiles.

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.