The Gator Gazette

Thornton Creek students and families continue to get their hands dirty in the name of science and beautification of our TC grounds. Thank you to all our volunteers, big and small!

As part of Leader in Me, each classroom focuses on their Wildly Important Goals, or W.I.G.S. The idea of these "WIGS" is to focus efforts on areas that the classroom and individuals can strengthen and grow. Sometimes these are academic, sometimes they are social, sometimes they are in other areas entirely.

This year, we have extended the reach of our "WIGS" by including them in the cafeteria and we are already seeing a positive change. Our focus to begin the year with each lunchroom "TEAM" is to be mindful of the noise in the cafeteria. With the help of our students and lunchroom supervisors/volunteers, we have been tracking our goal of achieving 15 successful days and I am thrilled to report that 2 of our 3 lunches have met their goal and have achieved their first Gator Puzzle Piece with the letter, "O". This letter represents the skill of "pulling together" and is a part of the bigger puzzle, which when completed, will spell out the word "TEAMWORK".

Congratulations to our 1st/2nd grade lunch and our 4th/5th grade lunch. You've met your first goal.

Our K/3rd grade lunch is hot on their heels and may reach their goal this coming week!

With several fun occasions throughout the school year and a few of them coming up soon, now is a great time to review our school policies around these fun events.

Please read the following excerpt from our Student Handbook related to Parties / Treats / Holidays:

• Generally, classrooms celebrate the following days with class parties: Halloween, December holidays, Valentine's Day, and the end of the school year. Birthday celebrations can be noted with a small, non-food token. In an effort to support healthy life choices, the district is requesting your support in this matter. Please clear these tokens with your child’s teacher. Please note that invitations for birthday parties, other celebrations, or play opportunities taking place outside of school MAY NOT be distributed at school.
• In accordance with District policy, no weapons of any kind (real or toy) are permitted at school, and may not be included as a part of a Halloween costume. Students may be asked to remove masks or other portions of a costume that may interfere with their work or which might be disruptive to the rest of the class.

Of special note is the section regarding birthdays. Although we appreciate the joy and excitement that comes with a birthday, it is District policy that children may not bring food items to share with others either at school or in a "goodie bag". This includes candy as well as all food items.

Suggestions, if you are interested, might include purchasing a gift for the class in your child's name such as a book or pencils for each student. You might also donate playground items for the class or indoor recess items such as board games, card games, puzzles, etc.

We are excited to announce that our annual STEAM Glow Week is just around the corner! Glow Week is a special event where we encourage students to explore creativity, science, (and fun!) through a series of exciting activities that connect this year’s theme of “Space.” From October 28 through November 1, your child will have the opportunity to participate in a Glow Day during their regularly scheduled STEAM class. To help add to the fun, students can wear white, neon, or fluorescent clothing on that day to add to the glow-tastic environment.

We couldn’t do this without our partnership with the Northville Educational Foundation, who sponsors this memorable week for our students. Thank you NEF!!

Thornton Creek will be having a Spirit Week starting October 28th to kick off our Socktober Sock Drive and celebrate the week of Halloween. The spirit days are below:

Monday, 10/28 - Sports Day

Tuesday, 10/29 - Wear Your Favorite Color Day

Wednesday, 10/30 - USA Patriotic Spirit Day

Thursday, 10/31 - Halloween Costume

Friday, 11/1 - Gator Gear for our Turkey Trot

For your long term planning purposes, this year we will have three spirit weeks. One is for Halloween (above). Our second one is during Inclusion Week in March which is a whole district spirit week. The last one is in May as it ties in with our annual TC Make a Difference Week and Hat Day with Mrs. Gertley.

Thanks so much for your participation in these fun days!

Elise Harley, the student marketing manager for Northville High School’s Drama Club, reached out to share a fun family friendly event taking place this weekend. The Drama Club is putting on a haunted house! I know what you might be thinking, is a haunted house appropriate for little ones? Well, maybe :)

In this particular case, the main Haunted House attraction is recommended for students over the age of 10, however there is also a free walkthrough on Sunday for the younger kids.

Please see the images below for more information.

With Halloween steadily "creeping" up on us, it is time to provide a few noteworthy items.

First up, Thornton Creek will be having our annual Costume Parade on Thursday, October 31st @ 9:15. As always, we will have two routes mapped out for the event. Route A will be for if the weather cooperates and we can parade around the OUTSIDE of the building. Route B will be for inclement weather, in which case we would parade through the building. Please know that families are welcome to attend regardless of the weather as we will be prepared to host either way :)

Second, each year I receive several inquiries as to what is acceptable or not as it relates to student costumes. Please see the "Costume Check" below for answers to most, if not all your costume queries.

COSTUME CHECK:

I am excited and ready for Halloween!

Let's see if my costume is ready too!

IS MY COSTUME...

Appropriate for school? (no pretend weapons & no bloody makeup)

Something I can sit, learn, and have fun in?

Something I can take off all by myself?

Something I am comfortable in?

If you answered YES to all of these questions...you are ready!

Please mark on your calendars that our traditional Turkey Trot is being moved from the week of Thanksgiving to the afternoon of November 1st.

Although this move jumps us up a couple of weeks, this was done as our beloved Mrs. Woodall will be going in for a total knee replacement in mid-November and thus, unable to "run" this event at our typical time in November.

We are thrilled to still be able to hold our annual trot and are appreciative of Mrs. Woodall's efforts.

Additional information to follow, but please mark that date on your calendars.

Although the in-person book fair is still a few weeks out, "early adopters" can take advantage now of the online book fair as it has already begun!! To access the online store, click HERE.

After a record number of submissions last year, we're hoping to increase the number of students entering this contest this year. Any level of artistic ability is encouraged and please explore the categories as it does not have to be limited to hand-drawn art, it can include a self-made dance, a poem, or even a photograph! I know we have many talented students at Thornton Creek and everyone should consider submitting a work of art!

There are several different categories a student can submit an entry for and there are no limits on the number of categories a student can enter in. Please review the rules and descriptions for the different categories here: https://sites.google.com/view/michigan-reflections/home

There are two age levels, Kindergarten through 2nd grade and then 3rd through 5th grades. Entry forms can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Omcg13JIWlFF6JHaChYLyJ3d0uoSqntL/view?usp=drivesdk

Watch the Gator Gazette and Monday envelope for more information. We will have a box for entries located in the office. Submissions (along with the entry form) will be due by November 27, 2024. Please contact Kate Sikorski (kate.bensmiller@gmail.com) with any questions!

Be in the know – learn more about what is happening in your child’s school and district
Tap into a network – meet school and district staff as well as fellow parents and connect with valuable resources
Be part of the solution – have a voice and help make positive changes in your child’s school

Next Meeting dates are:

11/6 @ 9:00 AM ( Wednesday meeting due to election day)

1/14 @ 6 PM - Grade 4 Presents!

2/11@ 9AM - Grade 2 Presents!

3/11 @ 9 AM - Grade 3 Presents!

4/8 @ 9 AM - Grade 1 Presents!

5/13 @ 9 AM

Join TC PTA Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/920347345361627

Website: https://thorntoncreek.northvilleschools.org/
Location: 46180 West 9 Mile Road, Novi, MI, USA
Phone: 248-465-2350
Twitter: @CreekGators