Panther Pulse

I hope you had a great Easter weekend. Please remember there will not be school for the students on Friday, April18 and Monday April 21.

April 23-25 is the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip. Hopefully the cherry blossoms will be in bloom and the weather will cooperate for the walking tours.

The MSTEP will continue this week. Please make sure your students get a good night's sleep and come prepared to give their best efforts.

I would also like to give a shout out to our amazing swim team. They broke several Parcells records this week in their meet against Pierce Middle School.

Please enjoy the extended weekend!

Joe Spryszak

Interim Principal Parcells Middle School

Parcells is excited to present our 3rd Quarter and final 2024-2025 Medallion Ceremony, on Tuesday, April 22nd during 2nd hour. We have over 300 medal recipients. This quarter, we are able to schedule one ceremony for all grades, therefore, only medal recipients will be in attendance. The ceremony will continue to be recorded and uploaded onto the Parcells website for your viewing.

As we approach the end of the school year, we encourage all students to stay focused and finish strong. Continue making progress with MAP Accelerator and Lexia PowerUp, and keep striving for your academic goals.

Please note: Because the school year concludes before we are able to collect fourth-quarter data, we will not be holding a Medallion Ceremony, and medals will not be issued 4th quarter.

Thank you for all of your support this year!

The Parcells Data Team

This years 8th Grade Promotion is being planned for Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM. Further details will be provided at a later date.

See the linked document for a copy of our building assessment schedule.

Upcoming dates include:

• 6th Grade - MSTEP ELA & Math- April 23 & 24

• 5th Grade - MSTEP Science & Social Studies -May 1 & 2

Some helpful notes:

• Eat a healthy meal before school and consider sending an extra snack.

• On testing days, students will require headphones and we encourage you to send a pair that your child is comfortable with. We will have extras available.

• Chromebook readiness is imperative. Since our building carts are used for testing each day, there will be limited to no daily checkouts- especially in cases where students have their own functioning 1:1 device.

• We need your student to arrive on time each day. PSAT testing requires a set start time. Students who arrive late for PSAT will be sent home.

• You can support your child as their cheerleader at home! Acknowledge nerves or concerns your child may feel. Celebrate their successes and encourage them to take their time, work carefully and show what they know.

• Healthy sleep matters. Continue to support a bedtime routine that facilitates ample nighttime sleep.

Seeing Through a New Lens: The Power of Perspective

In moments of challenge, taking a step back to see a situation from another perspective can make all the difference. Whether it’s a disagreement, a tough decision, or a learning hurdle, encouraging our children (and ourselves) to pause and consider different viewpoints fosters empathy, problem-solving, and resilience. When we shift our lens, we open doors to understanding, collaboration, and growth—important skills that extend far beyond the classroom. Let’s work together to model this mindset for our students, showing them that a fresh perspective can turn obstacles into opportunities.

Let’s build stronger bridges together.

Your school Academic/Behavioral Coordinator,

Dear Cross Country and Track Parents, and all of our Parcells Community. Coach Alexis Lecznar and Lora Tod, 7th grade parent, are excited to announce that we are having a fundraiser for our very own Parcells branded sport tent for cross country and track meets. For those of you who were at the District Cross Country meet last fall, you remember that we may have been the only school without a tent, on what was a very cool day. This will be great for our runners to protect them from the weather in the fall and spring, and also show our Panther Pride! Our estimate for a 10x15 tent and roller bag is $1,400. We now have a lot of families with runners, so if we all pitch in with a donation at the level we can, we believe we can raise the funds we need soon and hopefully have this tent even before the end of track season! Please send cash to the office, track practice, or Mrs. Lecznar's room by the end of next week marked "tent fundraiser", or you may also Venmo Lora at Lora-Tod (not Lora-Tod-1) Thank you for your support and thank you to Mrs. Maria Quint and Mrs. Samantha Lamberti McGrath for their guidance and support of this project.

Congratulations to our Parcells swimmers that broke Parcells school swim records during the meet against Pierce on April 15!

Ava VanBecelaere broke the 50 Backstroke Record with a time of 31.13.

Ava VanBecelaere, Ada Cavanagh, Isabella Orlando, and Emma Stepulla broke the 200 Medley Relay Record with a time of 2:04.96.

Isabella Orlando, Ada Cavanagh, Ava VanBecelaere, and Emma Stepulla also broke the 200 Freestyle Relay Record with a time of 1:53.10.

Dear GPPSS Families,

We are excited to announce that community registration for Camp O’Fun 2025 will open at 7:00 AM on Tuesday, April 1, 2025! To begin the registration process, please visit the Camp O’Fun website and complete the online Google form.

Registration Steps:

1. Complete the Google form on the Camp O’Fun website.
2. Submit the six state-required enrollment forms, available on the Camp O’Fun website.
3. Once we receive all required forms, our billing department will contact you with payment details.
4. After the initial payment is made, your registration will be complete.

We encourage families to register as early as possible, as spots fill quickly. If you have any questions, please reach out to Kimberly Danielewicz at danielki@gpschools.org for assistance.

We look forward to another fun-filled summer at Camp O’Fun!

Best,
The Camp O’Fun Team

Thank you so much for all the generous donations already.

Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Program!

Take a look over our Amazon Wish List where you can easily purchase and send items directly to us that will help support our Color Run, Friday Snack Cart for our Panther Buck Rewards, or for getting our School Store started.

Let’s Treat Our Teachers!
Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up, and we want to show our amazing educators just how much we value them—with a delicious lunch on us! We’re collecting donations to help cover the cost of lunch for our hardworking teachers. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference.

Click below to donate and thank our teachers!

https://square.link/u/JkA6jKjb

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=94AZUS9GLZCUY

Please Help Fulfill Parcells’ PBIS Wish List

Your donation will support our school store for Wild Wednesdays, where students use real money to purchase pizza and snacks after school. It will also help fill our Snack Cart, a part of our PBIS Rewards program for students to earn Panther Bucks and purchase snacks. For any items sold, proceeds go to our PBIS programming. Students LOVE Wild Wednesdays and Rewards!

Parcells PBIS Wish List. Thank you in advance for your support.

April Parcells Restaurant Nights

The Parcells Restaurant Night program is an ongoing community partnership established by the PTO. Each Wednesday of the month, a local partner will host “Restaurant Night” during specific hours and generously donate a portion of sales to Parcells.

Support our school by dining at the following area Restaurant Night partner next week:

Wednesday, April 23rd Telly’s Place from 4 to 9 p.m. (dine in only)

May 3rd and 4th Fundraiser Collection Drive

Mark your calendars! Parcells PTO is hosting a collection drive fundraiser on Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th from 8 am to 8 pm. It’s a convenient way to donate items you no longer use and help raise funds for the school. New or gently preowned clothing, shoes, purses, accessories, jewelry and toys smaller than 18 inches are accepted. Simply place bagged items inside a drop-off trailer that will be located in the school's parking lot off Mack Ave. See the flier for additional details.

Volunteers Needed for WILD Wednesdays

Each Wednesday from 3:15 - 3:45 p.m. is WILD Wednesday at Parcells. This is a fun after-school opportunity for students to purchase pizza and/or snacks and get recharged mid-week! All proceeds from sales benefit school programming such as events, curriculum, and school improvement. Please sign up to volunteer for WILD Wednesdays here.

Get Connected!

Stay updated on PTO events and volunteer opportunities on the Parcells PTO Facebook page.

Also, connect with other parents on the Parcells Middle School Parent Discussion Facebook page (moderated by the PTO).

April 18

• Mackinac Island All Music Field Trip

• District Instrumental Concert at Brownell

• 8th Grade Promotion @ 6:00 PM

• All Grade Level Field Trips

• 8th Grade Celebration

• Please talk to your child the night before or in the morning before school about any after school plans. It is disruptive to get messages to the students during class time. WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES THERE ARE LAST MINUTE CHANGES AND THAT IS OK TO CALL FOR!!!

• Students should not be calling home because they forgot something unless the teacher asks them to. This is also disruptive to class time. Please instill in your child the importance of planning ahead. If you drop something off to your student during the school day your student will get an email to their schoology. Please remind them to check their schoology email throughout the school day. Calling the classrooms is very disruptive. Thank you for your understanding.

• After the school bell rings in the morning the only entrance that should be used is the one along Sunningdale at the end of the GP Woods Library Parking Lot. The door is called the H door and it is PARCELLS SECURE ENTRANCE. This is also the door that students should come in if they are late or parents should come in if needing to enter the building during the school day.

If your student is staying home for any reason please call the attendance line at 313-432-4601 or email hargera@gpschools.org and leave a reason for the absence.

If your child needs a modified diet in the cafeteria, please follow the link above to obtain a form that will need to be filled out by your child's physician. Please return the completed form to your school office.

LUNCH MENU

Parcells Breakfast Times: Monday - 8:35 AM, Tuesday - Friday 7:50 AM

Students can enter through the doors by the main gym or Mack Ave.

They can only enter at these times if they are having breakfast.

Interim Principal - Joseph Spryszak: spryszj@gpschools.org

Vice Principal - Samantha McGrath: lambers@gpschools.org

Vice Principal - Debra Redlin: redlind@gpschools.org

Counselor - Amy Macey: maceya@gpschools.org

Counselor -Carla Palffy:palffyc@gpschools.org

Secretary- Lisa Sicklesteel: sicklel@gpschools.org

Attendance Clerk - Ashley Harger: hargera@gpschools.org

Office Clerk - Karen Cueny: cuenyk@gpschools.org

Website: https://www.gpschools.org/Domain/597

Location: 20600 Mack Avenue, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, USA
Phone: 313-432-4600