Dear Allen Eagle Community,
Our Allen Eagles and team have had a busy couple of weeks at school! NWEA testing, Curriculum Night, Parent Council meetings, and just our daily routines and activities. Thank to all of our families who were able to join us for our Curriculum Night! As promised you can click the following link to access our Allen Curriculum Night slides, you will find the QR codes and information shared during the administrator presentation.
I hope you had a chance to view the amazing work that was posted around the building and you had a chance to connect with your child's classroom teachers. With our yearly conference window opening soon, please be sure to review your child's classroom newsletter to sign up to meet.
In partnership,
Mrs. Cruz and Dr. Webster
Ms. Jessica Cruz, Principal: cruzj@aaps.k12.mi.us
Dr. Terra Webster, Assistant Principal: webster@aaps.k12.mi.us
Ms. Michele Barkoot, Office Professional: allen@aaps.k12.mi.us
Ms. Sacha Yee, Teacher Clerk: allen@aaps.k12.mi.us
Nurse Beth Araujo, School Nurse, araujob@aaps.k12.mi.us
- Sunday, September 15th: First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month
- Tuesday, September 24th: Early Release Day, dismissal will be at 1:00 pm
- Friday, October 11th- Monday, October 14th: No School- Fall Break
- Tuesday, October 15th: School Resumes
Monday, October 28th: Picture Retake Day
Thursday, October 31st: Early Release Day, Dismissal at 1:00 pm
Friday, November 1st: First Day of American Indian Heritage Month
Sunday, November 3rd: Daylight Savings Time Ends, Turn back your clocks 1 hour
Tuesday, November 5th: No School, Election Day
Hispanic Heritage Month is a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture. While we celebrate Hispanic and Latino communities beyond this month, from September 15 to October 15 we give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and much more.
Hispanic Heritage Month provides an additional opportunity to explore the incredible impact Latinas and Latinos have had on the United States for generations. The Latino presence in America spans centuries, predating Spain’s colonization of what is now part of the United States, and they have been an integral part of shaping our nation since the Revolutionary War. Through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Treaty of Paris that followed the Mexican-American and Spanish-American wars, the United States gained territories in the Southwest and Puerto Rico. This incorporated the people of this area into the United States and further expanded the presence of Hispanic Americans.
Today, the Latino population in the United States today is over 60 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This makes up 18.9% of the total population and is the largest racial or ethnic group. Latinos continue to help fuel our economy and enrich our nation as entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, entertainers, scientists, public servants, and much more.
Credit to Smithsonian Natural History Museum of them American Latino
Our Librarian, Ms. Woelmer, will share a monthly newsletter with the Allen Eagle community. This newsletter will contain information about the learning that is happening in class, resources that are available and ways for you to volunteer or support her at school. Please click the following link to access the September LIBRARY NEWSLETTER.
We are looking for volunteers to support us during our lunch and lunch recess times. You would be supporting the noon hour team with monitoring and supporting our students in the lunchroom and on the playground. In the lunchroom, this would include helping open students lunch items, wiping tables, helping remind students to stay seated while they eat. On the playground, you would support the noon hour supervisors as they watch to make sure our students are safe while they play, help solve problem that come up during soccer, basketball or other friendship disagreements.
If you are interested in volunteering you can click the following link to access our Allen Lunch and Recess Volunteer sign up genius. Remember in order to volunteer you will also need to complete the volunteer background check form.
Every year we are required to complete drills to help prepare our students for what to do in the event an emergency happens. This past week we completed our first round of safety drills at school, these drills included Fire, Severe Weather, and Security drills. As we begin these drill the staff takes the time to discuss, in a developmentally appropriate way, the reason for the drill and what they will do for each type of drill.
For instance for a fire drill, the students were prepared for the sound the fire alarm makes and how their responsibility is to stop, listen and line up so they can leave the building quickly and quietly. If there was severe weather, we discussed how we would stay safe if there was severe weather that required us to move away from the windows due to high wind. The students moved into the hallways and kneeled next to the walls leaning forward with their hands covering their necks. Finally, we talked about our security drills and practiced what to do if there was something outside the building that was not safe but we were safe to continue our learning inside the building. The teachers talked about staying in the classrooms with their doors closed and being ready to listen for any additional information to be shared over the classroom speakers.
During the drills we focused on listening to the adults in their rooms, keeping our voices down so everyone can hear the information that is shared so everyone knows what to do. Talking about and practicing these types of drills throughout the year help our staff and students be prepared.
SAVE THE DATE! Science Olympiad Competition is on April 26, 2025 at Pioneer High School. I'll be recruiting Event Coaches in November, student sign-ups for events will be in December and Practices will begin at the end of January!
What is Science Olympiad? Students at Allen Elementary in grades 2nd through 5th are invited to participate in Science Olympiad. They will engage in around 10 weekly practices, guided by dedicated Event Coaches, often parent volunteers. These practices begin in January and are aimed at preparing students for the county-wide competition scheduled for April. For additional information and to get involved, please visit our website: https://sites.google.com/view/allen-weso/
Please click the following link to access the September 2024 Community Resource Update
Resources Include:
- Emergency Need, Home Repair, academic support and Clothing Resources for families
- Workshops for parents around mental health, parenting support and more
