Sunset Lake Elementary

Principal Amie McCaw

Together we are Building Leaders!

Email: amccaw@vicksburgschools.org
Website: Vicksburgcommunityschools.org
Location: 201 N Boulevard St, Vicksburg, MI, United States
Phone: (269)321-1500
Twitter: @TLIMPrincipal

Happy May Sunset Lake Families,

This month is one of our busiest of the year!

Our annual PTSO Walk-a-Thon is scheduled for this Friday, May 5th in the afternoon. Our students will be walking/running the track to earn $ for Sunset Lake. This year's goal was to raise $30,000 and we are super close to reaching our goal! We have several field trips and other programs on our calendar as well during the month of May.

Our first Leadership Day is schedule for the morning of May 19th. We are super excited to have guests come and see our student leaders in action. Nearby schools will be visiting to learn more about The Leader in Me process and what goes into becoming a Leader in Me school.

May is also our time to reach those year-long goals of student achievement. Your child will be assessed in the different content areas and will track their growth in their Leadership Binders.

Finally, I want to share out our big goal of SUMMER READING. We hope to have every child read through out the summer break and to encourage that our students find the JOY in reading. We are collecting books in our lobby for any donations your family may be able to share with us. Our goal is to have each child borrow four books to read over the summer and to be able to choose those four books during our last two weeks of school. PLEASE take some time during spring cleaning and send in your gently used books that your child has outgrown or no longer uses. We thank you in advance for your support!

Reminder, if you feel you need to share out specific information about your child in regards to our class placement for next year the Student Learning Style Forms are due this Friday in our office. For the most part, we have found our teachers have a strong understanding of what environment works best for your child and/or you have been in contact with your child's teacher to communicate your thoughts.

Yours in Learning,

Amie McCaw

Sunset Lake Elementary Principal

• May 1st & 2nd- Kindergarten Screening
• May 5th- 2nd Grade Economic Sale and Walkathon
• May 5th -5th Grade Rock and Mineral Show
• May 12th- 1st grade Musical-2:15pm
• May 19th- Leadership Day
• May 29th- No School

Our Kindergarten Enrollment is in full force. Our Kick-Off night had many families attend and our screening dates have been scheduled for May 1st and 2nd. If you have any questions, please call the office at 321-1500 or 321-1000.

http://www.theleaderinmeblog.org/?utm_campaign=EDUTLIM_NWS_EM_28042017_CommunityNewsletter_April&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

In order to help us better understand student behavior and the incidents of our building we have added a new student monitoring system called SWIS. SWIS stands for School Wide Information System. This will be a data warehouse for us to track and review our student incidents during each school day. We have changed from a detention form to a new record called Office Referral Form. This form is on a full pink page and has more items on it to track time, location and possible causes as well as the type of incident. If a child goes home with an Office Referral Form it needs to be signed by a parent and sent back the next day. As always many of the incidents will warrant a phone call home to let parents know that the form will be coming home for a signature and the consequence will be shared with the parents. Our data shows that this change will only affect about 20% of our student population; however, I wanted to inform all parents for a clear communication about our discipline tracking. Please do not hesitate to call Mrs. McCaw at 321-1550 if you have any questions.

NEW ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM

Dear Sunset Lake Families,

Vicksburg Community Schools continues to look for ways to ensure the security and welfare of our students and staff. As part of this practice, we will be implementing a new access control system at all of our school buildings.

Starting in the new year all exterior doors will be locked throughout the school day.

Exterior doors will be unlocked in the morning from 6:15 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. for the morning arrival of students. After 9:00 a.m. all doors will automatically lock and visitors will be required to “buzz in” to gain access to the building through a closed circuit monitoring system. The doors will reopen at 3:30 p.m until 9:00 p.m..

Procedures to enter the buildings at either of the above locations:

1. To the right of the door is an intercom/camera.

2. Press the button on the intercom.

3. Place yourself in front of the camera on the panel.

4. Someone will see you and will respond verbally.

5. They can then release the door for you to enter the building.

6. You will then report to the office.

We need your help and cooperation for our system to work effectively. Our office staff is handling multiple tasks and although they will work diligently to help you gain access into the building as quickly as possible, there may be a short delay until someone can view you on the monitor and allow access. Please help by identifying yourself and providing your child’s name. Again, all visitors must come to the office immediately after gaining access to the building to receive a visitor’s badge.

We ask for your patience as we all get acquainted with this new system and remember that we have your child’s best interest at heart.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Amie McCaw Sunset Lake Elementary Principal @TLIMPrincipal

Don't Forget to get your Yearbook. They are only $9.00. You can put a check (Geskus Photography) or cash in a envelope. Write the student name and teacher on the front of it. Any questions call the office at 269-321-1500.

In the era of high-stakes assessments, testing in an especially stressful experience for students. Fortunately, there are ways parents can help their kids prepare.

http://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/RtP_TestPrep_0.pdf

May 5th Walk A Thon Schedule

GSRP, BK & K Walk 11:35 – 12:00 Games 1:30 – 2:00

1st & 2nd :Walk 1:00 – 1:25

Games 1:30 – 2:00

3rd, 4th & 5th :Walk 1:45 – 2:05

Games: 2:10– 2:45

Entire School : 2:50 Cafeteria

Announcement of Prize Winners

Please be sure to check out our Sunset Lake Elementary PTSO Facebook Page. This is a great place for updates and the most recent news that affect our school. Here is the new web site for our PTSO.

http://sunsetlakeptso.weebly.com/

In the month of May we are working on Habit #7 Sharpen the Saw. This habit helps teach our students that they need to take care of their whole self. We want our students to know it's important they eat right, exercise and get plenty of sleep. We want our students to know it is a good thing to spend time with family and friends. We teach our students that we can learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just at school. We want our students to find meaningful ways to help others.

Safe Kids Kalamazoo County, led by Bronson Children's Hospital, is again, offering Bicycle Helmets at a Reduced Cost

($10 cash only) minimum donation: See attached fliers

BLITZ:

• CALL TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT: Bronson HealthAnswers at (269) 341-7723
• DATE: Saturday May 6, 2017
• TIME: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• LOCATION: Bronson Methodist Hospital - Gilmore Center for Health Education – Forum Room A

Children & Adult Sizes Available: (based, in part, on head circumference)

Toddler - 18.11” to 20.47”
Small - 19.68” to 21.25”

Medium - 21.25” to 22.83”

Large - 22.83” to 24.4”

X-Large - 23.22” to 24.8”

Individuals receiving a helmet must be present.
Colors: Red, Blue, Silver - Toddler helmets available in pink and blue.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MONTHLY APPOINTMENTS:

• CALL TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT: Bronson Trauma Services at (269) 341-7959
• DATES: 1st & 3rd Thursday of each month
• TIME: Noon - 4:00 PM
• LOCATION: M-308

Healthy Kids Running Seris-Portage, MI. A program that includes both boys and girls ages 2-14 years.

https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/?ui=2&ik=b315cc2e17&view=att&th=15a874de2f4cdca5&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_izpt881n0&safe=1&zw

http://www.healthykidsrunningseries.org/race_locations/portage-mi/