CUBS COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION

2024-2025 Calendar Overview.pdf

112.1 KB

COMMUNITY UPDATE

Welcome to Week 7-

Greetings CUBS! GOOO Tigers! Tigers spirit day today! Our school completed our NWEA assessment and the window has officially closed. A special thanks to our PTO for supporting our building with a very successful MUM fundraiser! Our newest fundraiser continues to be the Little Ceasar's Pizza Kits through next week.

STUDENT BEHAVIORS & LANGUAGE

Families, we have had an uptick in students not adhering to our student code of conduct, particularly, during recess times. Students have been reminded to keep their hands, feet, and objects to themselves as well as keeping woodchips on the ground. Additionally, please talk with your children about making sure they are following all our school rules and using kind and appropriate language. We have a very special recess reward system we will be implementing next week to reward those with positive incentives! Stay tuned! Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

ARRIVAL DISMISSAL & SAFETY UPDATES

CROSSWALKS: We appreciate your attention to the details and crossing at the designated crosswalks. These are for safety purposes. We have a community liaison that works to support the students and families to cross at these designated spots.
STREET PARKING: We understand parking is tight, especially at the end of the day. Please be mindful of the signs that state NO PARKING. This is placed there to help our busses get out of our parking lot and do so on-time so that they may proceed to their next route. Thank you.
SCOOTERS/BIKES: Just a friendly reminder to please be sure to lock your items/belongings up a the bike/scooter rack if you are planning to keep them at the school for the remainder of the day. Thank you.

SCHOOL SAFETY DRILLS:

We will continue to host a variety of safety drills in school. Thank you!

SCHOOL SAFETY PROCEDURES REMINDER:

Thank you to all those families who have completed background checks prior to volunteering in your child's classroom. Our background checks must be completed every year and takes approximately 2-3 weeks to return back to us. Thank you!

Wishing you a great week ahead-

Warm regards,

Principal Ciacchella

HALLOWEEN PARTY AND PARADES

We are looking forward to celebrating our Halloween parties and parades with you all! Please note that parties will be communicated with families from classroom teachers. We also have a half-day of school. In addition, the parade will be after the parties from 10:45-11:15 outside our school or inside the gym if it rains. Dismissal will be at 11:29AM and we have an additional half-day of school on Friday, November 1, 2024.

SCHOOL SAFETY UPDATE

Safety remains a priority for our school. Collins Elementary is once again providing training to our students on our safety protocols. The protocols identify actions that students may be asked to take in the event of a potential incident: hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter.

The training is provided through a short, animated video. In the video, the teacher – Mrs. Appleton – and her students walk through the different responses in a very relaxed and engaging way for younger children. The script was written by our staff.

The protocols will continue to be part of the training while practicing our regular school safety drills, such as fire drills, security drills, tornado drills, evacuation procedures, etc.

The video is available for you to review at this link: UCS School Safety: Standard Response Protocol - Elementary - YouTube If you have any questions, please contact our office.

SCHOOL SAFETY VIDEO

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP WEEK October 14-18

Previous OPEN HOUSE INFORMATION

TITLE ONE and CURRICULUM NIGHT PRESENTATION

Collins Elementary TITLE I Parent SURVEY

* TITLE ONE & MICHIGAN SCHOOL MEALS*

Dear families-

"All meals are free this year thanks to the Michigan School Meals law. Students that would like to be eligible for benefits, such as pay-to-participate sports, college entrance fees, AP testing fees and more still need to fill out the Education Benefits Form or the School Meals Form. These forms are available at https://utica.familyportal.cloud."

Parents/Families, although our meals are free thanks to the Michigan School Meals, you are highly encouraged to still complete form to ensure our school receives proper TITLE I funds to be utilized on INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT for ALL our Cubs! Please complete the form below and applications will be sent home as well. Only ONE form from each home at each school is required (if you have multiple students at Collins, only one form is required to be completed and submitted).

FOOD ALLERGIES

"Students with food allergies that wish to use school meals must have a Special Dietary Needs form filled out and signed by a physician. Forms need to be submitted to the office of Food and Nutrition Service. Without this form we cannot make accommodations. This form must be updated every year to ensure accuracy. Since all schools have vegetarian options available, parents do not need to fill out a form for this option.

MEAL MAGIC:
"Families that wish to put money in their students’ Meal Magic account(s) via credit card will need to create a Family Portal account. Please go to https://utica.familyportal.cloud to create the account. This is also where parents can fill out the Educational Benefit Forms (EBF). Menus are online at https://uticak12.nutrislice.com .

FREE MEALS

Great news, free meals will be provided again this year due to Michigan School Meals. However, in order to continue to provide service, we will still need the Educational Benefit Forms completed in order to maintain our Title I funding.

Please complete this form to apply online below.
Families with food allergies should complete the MDE Special Dietary Needs form filled out and signed by a physician each year and submitted to the Food Service Office. SEE BELOW

FREE AND REDUCED MEALS APPLICATION PLEASE COMPLETE

SUBMIT FOOD ALLERGY FORM HERE

UCS Special Diet Statement.pdf

SCHOOL MEALS FORM

EDUCATION BENEFITS FORM

297.2 KB

COLLINS VOLUNTEERS

VOLUNTER FORMS SUBMITTED EACH YEAR:

We love having volunteers into Collins Elementary! Each year, every volunteer must complete a NEW volunteer form. Please be sure to view and complete the form below. THANK YOU!

SECURITY:

We appreciate all family members complying with our security measures. Please be sure to have your ID ready to be displayed to our front cameras, prior to entry. ALL VISITORS MUST BE BUZZED IN THROUGH THE MAIN FRONT OFFICE DOORS (Not DOOR 1 or any other door entry). We appreciate your support and cooperation in keeping all our CUBS safe and secure.

Volunteer Form Fillable.pdf

https://uticak12.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

203.5 KB

INTERESTED IN WORKING FOR UCS?

EDUSTAFF APPLICATION APPLY HERE

We have several positions that will be open and available for Utica Community Schools for the 2024-2025 school year. If you have every considered getting involved in this amazing community, this is the time to do so! Please be sure to check out the website FREQUENTLY!!

If you'd like to SUBSTITUTE TEACH in our building, please visit the website below!!

https://www.edustaff.org

WELLNESS and WELL-BEING🌞

There is always support available to you and your family. Should you need to contact our Care Match site is always running. At anytime, students, staff, or families can submit an anonymous request to care through your district's custom link caresolace.com/utica.

Utica Community Schools - Care Solace for Families.pdf

1.1 MB

UCS WELLNESS RESOURCES

CARE SOLACE HELP

COLLINS BEHAVIOR POLICY FYI

P.A.W.S.

SUPER CUBS SHOW THEIR P.A.W.S!

P: Positive Choices

A: Act Responsibly

W: Will be Respectful

S: Shows Integrity

All Collins Cubs are expected to follow protocols and procedures while showing their PAWS! That includes inside the classrooms, during the hallways, on the playgrounds, and for arrivial/dismissal as well. Teachers will be on the lookout for ways to celebrate students showing their PAWS and have a chance to earn incentives.

PAWS COMMUNITY LETTER 2024.pdf

Behavior communication 2024-2025.pdf

24.25 COLLINS ELEMENTARY BEHAVIOR CONTRACT.pdf

330.8 KB

UTICA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PARENT HANDBOOK FOR BEHAVIORS

Please review all Utica Community Schools behavior policies in the Parent Handbook attached to the link below. It is expected that all UCS policies and procedures will be adhered to at any/all school functions and on school properties. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

2024-2025 Parent/Student Handbook

Please be sure to check out the UCS parent handbook for student discipline and any other information.

Parent Hand Book