Weekly Update

Please keep your child home from school if they are too sick to learn and need time to rest and recover from their illness. Some reasons to keep your child home include:

Fever - Students must be fever free for 24 hours, without the use of medications, before returning to school.

Vomiting and/or Diarrhea - These are symptoms that can indicate your child is fighting off an infection. Please keep your child home until they no longer have symptoms.

Respiratory symptoms - If your child's respiratory symptoms are getting worse or not improving, they should stay home.

Infectious illness - If your child has any infectious illness they should stay home.

Other symptoms that may indicate your child should stay home include:

• Nausea
• Listlessness or lethargy
• Trouble breathing
• Chills or body aches

You know your child best. If you suspect your child won't be able to comfortably make it through their school day, they should stay home.

On Tuesday, December 3rd, all 8th grade students will travel to the Mott Performing Arts Center to attend Pack in the PAC. Students will experience what being part of the Waterford School District Performing Arts program is like. They will experience a performance featuring high school Band, Choir, Orchestra, and Theatre students. Students will attend three 10-minute workshops led by high school Band, Choir, Orchestra and Theatre students. They will have an opportunity to talk about what it is like being a student-artist with students who are currently a part of the Performing and Visual Arts program at the high school. Students can discuss the logistics of being a student-artist with being involve din all of the other things that comes along with being a student.

The Pack in the Pac is free to students and is paid for by the Mary Lou Simmons Foundation.

Your 8th grader will bring home a permission slip that must be signed by parent and returned to their 1st hour teacher by Monday, December 2nd.

We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works.

That's why our school is joining in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code. More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code.

Our Hour of Code is a statement that Pierce is ready to teacher these foundational 21st century skills. We will be offering this wonderful free event with Ms. Brokaw to our students on Tuesday, December 3rd, directly after school until 4:15 p.m. This event will be open to the first 25 students who register.

The first 25 students who register will be able to participate on December 3rd. Please be aware that this is an after school event and students must be picked up from school at 4:15 p.m.; there will be no busing available for this event.

Space is limited to the first twenty-five students who register through Community Education. We are thrilled to announce online registration has begun at www.wsdmi.org/learn. The activity number for this offering is: 2514.400.

Michigan families, especially minors, are becoming inundated with adult advertisements through different internet and cell phone inboxes. Thankfully, the State of Michigan offers a free program to stop adult advertisements from reaching emails, text messages, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Discord, TikTok, Twitch and X, formerly Twitter. The Michigan Child Protection Registry is a free do-not-contact service for Michigan's families. Parents can register their children's social media handles, phone numbers, and email addresses to block adult-themed content (ads promoting alcohol, tobacco/vape, pornography/obscene materials, and online gambling) from reaching their child's phone, tablet, or other electronic device. Sign up is easy and only takes a few minutes.

Donations are needed for our Holiday Extravaganza which will be held on December 20, 2024. Money earned from the Holiday Extravaganza helps to support our Giving Tree to help Pierce families in need during the holiday season. Click the link below to view and sign up for the various items needed for the Extravaganza. Items need to be dropped off in the main office by Monday, December 16.

Questions can be directed to Rebecca Sternberg at sternr01@wsdmi.org.

We are excited to announce that Girls Who Code, an after school program, is returning to our buildings this winter. The mission of Girls Who Code is to work to inspire, educate and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. This after school program will begin to inspire girls into future careers that involve technology, collaboration, teamwork, engineering and problem solving. It will provide those who participate with a lifelong global alumni network with Girls Who Code that includes the potential for future college and career opportunities.

In a Girls Who Code club, students learn core computer science concepts through projects based on their interests, such as music, art or games. There is no experience necessary to be a part of this opportunity. All girls who participate become part of a diverse sisterhood while gaining many female role models who are working at the world's leading engineering and tech companies.

Cost: Free for eight sessions

Our Girls Who Code (GWC) club at Pierce will meet on the following

Wednesdays directly after school until 4:30 p.m. with Mrs. Noble.

If school is closed due to inclement weather the session may be rescheduled.

Space is limited to the first twenty students who register through Community Education. We are thrilled to announce online registration has begun at www.wsdmi.org/learn.

The activity number of this offering is: 2514.201

Let the learning for tomorrow begin today!

Michigan law requires Oakland County Health Division to provide no cost hearing and vision screenings to preschool and school-age children. At the middle school level, 7th grade students receive vision screening. The Oakland County Health Department vision screening technician will be at Pierce the week of December 2-6 to vision screen all 7th graders. See the flyer below for additional information.

The Waterford Goodfellows support families within the Waterford School District every Christmas season. This years Christmas Basket information is as follows:

1. Sign up will be on December 7th from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
2. Sign up will be done only at Waterford Community Center, 5640 Williams Lake Road.
3. Families that have an ID with OTHER than a Waterford address will need to bring a current report card (for 2024-2025 year) or letter from the school they attend.
4. Families will be given time to pick up items, along with a number that they will need to bring with them. Pick up date is December 21st ONLY.
5. We will be collecting non-perishable items from the schools again. Pick up will be done on December 20th by noon.
6. Any questions can be sent to waterfordgoodfellows@gmail.com.

If your child lost their student ID card, we are able to print another one for them. The cost for a replacement card is $5.00. Students may drop the money off in the office in the morning and will receive their new ID card by the end of the school day.

In an effort to support our local community, Pierce PTO has partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings for monthly fundraiser days! The way it works is you just need to show the fundraiser ticket below (on a mobile device or printed out) and Buffalo Wild Wings will give back 20% of all sales (on the specific dates indicated), to Pierce Middle School. You may use these fundraiser tickets for both dine-in and carryout, including alcohol. It's a fun way to get together, have great food and earn money for our school! Thank you for your support!

As a school, our goal is to offer an environment that is conducive to learning. We are an educational institution, preparing our children for life-long learning and the world of work. With this in mind, we work hard to establish an atmosphere that is respectful to all, encourages work, is safe and does not distract from the learning process. Our dress code policy is aligned with these goals.

The school has a right to ask a student to change his/her dress or personal grooming habits if it is deemed inappropriate or disruptive to the educational environment. Repeat violations of the dress and grooming code shall be considered defiance of authority and may result in disciplinary action as described in the Student Code of Conduct. Administrators will make the final determination as to what constitutes appropriate attire.