Turrill Family Newsletter

Dear Turrill Families,

Welcome to February! It's hard to believe that we are almost two-thirds of the way through the school year. This is the time of the year when we evaluate the pacing of our curriculum to ensure that we cover all the necessary content by years end. It's also a time to pay attention to your child's attendance.

Consistent school attendance is one of the key indicators for children being able to read by 3rd grade and graduating high school. Please monitor your child's attendance and make every effort to get students to school.

Student Count Day is Wednesday, February 12th. Please make every effort for your child to be at school on this day and every day. Thank you for your attention and support. Click on the link below for more information regarding attendance. #bettertogether

Click Here to discover 10 Facts About School Attendance

Warmly,

Kelly Vangel

Principal, Turrill Elementary

• 2/5 PTC Closed Mtg (Board Members Only)
• 2/7 Little Caesar Pizza Kit Pick Up (1:30-3:30 & 4:15–7:30)
• 2/7 PTC Shoe Drop (4:15-7:30)
• 2/12 Spring Count Day
• 2/13 PTC Popcorn Day
• 2/14-17 Mid-Winter Break - No School
• 2/18-21 Intersession - No School
• 2/24 Records Day - No School
• 2/27 PTC Shoe Drop (4:00-7:00)

We are excited to announce that beginning on Monday, January 27th, E5-2nd grade students will be allowed to enter the building at 8:40 to eat breakfast in the cafeteria until the bell rings at 8:50. At that time, students will take their breakfast back to classrooms to finish. 3rd-5th grade students will follow the same breakfast procedure as before. This change will allow our youngest learners to utilize the cafeteria more.

Mark your calendars for winter intersession! We will be hosting intersession Tuesday, February 18th-21st for students who signed up via Google from 1/24-1/31. No programming on the 17th due to mid-winter break for traditional buildings.

If you signed up, we look forward to seeing you. If you did not sign up, please enjoy your time off with family and friends. Please contact Sherry Howey at sharon.howey@lapeerschools.org for details.

This year we will be holding the 5th grade Spelling Bee on Tuesday, February 13th at 2:00. If your child is participating in the 5th grade Spelling Bee, we encourage you to join in the fun by practicing their word pack with them at home. Turrill 4th graders and parents of 5th grade Spelling Bee participants will be welcome to attend in person on the 10th. S-E-E you then:)

We had so much fun kicking off this year’s Kids Heart Challenge and watching the Kangaroo Kids! Alongside this year's heart heroes, we’re learning about healthy hearts and life lessons like staying active, asking for help, resting well, and being kind. Your student will get a free wristband for signing up using the AHA Schools app or following the link below to Turrills KHC page. Finn’s Mission is here to guide us on this journey, and you can also help earn Amazon gift cards for your classroom.

• Teachers receive a $25 Amazon gift card when 50% of your classroom students register online.
• Teachers receive a $25 Amazon gift card when 3 or more of your students complete Finn’s Mission. Families will learn Hands-Only CPR and the warning signs of a stroke.

Fundraising Due Date: 2.13.2025

Fundraising Link: https://www2.heart.org/site/TR?pg=company&fr_id=11261&company_id=477017

Any questions please contact Ms. Eisinger (ashlee.eisinger@lapeerschools.org)

Are you looking for a job that fits your child's year round schedule? Do you love working with children? Are you patient and kind? If you said, "Yes!" to these questions, then we have a job for you at Turrill as a Paraprofessional. We have several openings to fill. Please contact our Dean, Shayna Raymond, to learn more about our special job openings.

As many of you are aware, LCS continues the year-round option at Rolland Warner for 5th and 6th grades. If you would like to continue year-round programming at the middle school level and your child is currently at Turrill, they are automatically enrolled in the YR program and there is no need to fill out forms.

If you have a neighbor or friend who is currently not enrolled at Turrill, but would like to for the 25-26 school year, please share the application form below with them. Conversely, if your child is currently in the year-round program, but you would like to move to the traditional calendar, a withdrawal form needs to be completed. Please see the below for both forms.

25-26 Year-Round Application

25-26 Turrill Sibling Form

25-26 Withdrawal From Year Round Form

If you have a child or if you have friends or neighbors with school aged children, please mark your calendars for Kindergarten Round Up on March 18th & 20th from 3:00-7:00 at the Administration and Service Center (250 Second Street) to register for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. Children who will be 5 years old by September 1st (or by December 1st with a signed waiver) are eligible to attend either our early fives or kindergarten program.

Enrolling during Kindergarten Round Up in March (instead of waiting until school starts) is vital for school programming, such as staffing, planning bus routes, and so much more! I encourage you to get the word out about KIndergarten Round Up. If you know someone who would like to know more about Turrill's year round program or would like a tour prior to Kindergarten Round Up, I would be more than happy to accommodate.

Turrill will be hosting Kona Ice days at Turrill this year to spread a little frosty joy to our students. Kona Ice treats are $4.00 and will be served from 12:00-3:00 on the dates below. If you would like your child to enjoy a Kona Ice, you may send in $4.00 cash with your child on the day of the event (money must come in by 10:30). Funds raised from Kona Ice sales will go towards classroom field trips. Thanks!

• March 19, 2025

• April 30, 2025

• May 21, 2025

• June 11, 2025

I am beyond excited to announce that we are partnering with The Positivity Project at Turrill this year for character trait building. The Positivity Project is currently used at both Rolland Warner and Zemmer campuses, as well as Schickler for 2024-2025. To learn more about The Positivity Project, click here to watch Of This, I'm Positive, as well as The Positivity Project's Founding Story

Our students love P2 at Turrill! Students learn about positive character traits daily during the Turrill Today newscast where our newscasters educate our students on a weekly topic, such as kindness, love, leadership, and many more. In addition, 5th grade students created Positivity Project posters to showcase positive character traits.

Teachers and students utilize the P2 banner located in the cafeteria to discuss positive character traits. Pictured below are students showing their own character strengths.

We're SO proud of our November/December Students of the Month! Check out these winners who celebrated by enjoying a hot cocoa bar:

• Bransyn Moore
• Hudson Fitzpatrick
• Beau Kish
• William Harrington
• Oliver Baerwolf
• Ryan Sharp
• Norah Comstock
• Bryson Knowlton
• Avery Hunter
• Charlotte Fuhr
• Paige Mullins
• Monroe Sedely
• Jaxon Pritchard
• Anthony Mayes
• Averill Durst

BOLT Bucks

Students can earn BOLT Bucks from adults throughout the school day for exhibiting positive behavior. Students can use BOLT Bucks in each month to buy prizes. Students can also buy extra recess, lunch with a staff member, or be "Principal for the Day." If you would like to donate PBIS prizes to Turrill, we would really appreciate it. Prize examples include: pencils, erasers, fidgets, small games, small toys, etc.

Compliment Chains

Classrooms have compliment chains made out of paper links in their classrooms to measure compliments they receive from adults. When a class meets their personal goal, they enjoy a compliment party of their choice.

Students are busily taking assessments at all grade levels E5-12th grades across Michigan. At Turrill, your child will take part in literacy assessments to gauge their progress in reading, spelling, letter ID and sound identification, and sight word identification. Students are also taking the NWEA Reading and Math MAP tests. MAP tests are just one of the winter assessments that your student will take during this month. You will learn the results of your child's testing in the upcoming months. For more information about MAP tests, check out the article below.

A Parents Guide to MAP

Be on the lookout for February Reading Logs! Students have a goal of reading at home for at least 20 minutes every day and completing a reading log throughout the month. Reading at home with your child is part of Read-by-Grade Three Law.

Click here for a list of books about patience and perseverance to read with your child.

Be on the lookout for December Reading Logs! Students have a goal of reading at home for at least 20 minutes every day and completing a reading log throughout the month.

Reading with your child is a proven way to promote early literacy. One of the most important things you can do to prepare your child for his/her future is helping to make sure that your child is reading at grade level by third grade. You can influence your child’s success in school by making reading a daily routine in your home. Research shows that students who read at least 20 minutes per day score in the 90th percentile on standardized tests. Do you want to help your child to be successful in school? They simply need to read. Click here to access the K-3 Read-at-Home Booklet.

Click here for online math fact practice

Click here for some more math at home activities

For more information on math skills by age level, click here

Lapeer Community Schools

December 11, 2024

Last month, U.S. News and World Report released its “Best 2025 K-8 Schools Rankings,” naming three Lapeer Community Schools elementary buildings as best of the best across Michigan.

Murphy (No. 182), Turrill (No. 531), and Schickler (No. 570) all earned recognition in the annual rankings.

In total, U.S. News and World Report ranks 47,573 elementary schools, 23,861 middle schools, and 17,656 annually across the United States.

The high school rankings will come out later this year.

According to Lapeer Community Schools Superintendent Matt Wandrie, seeing several LCS buildings in the rankings is not a surprise.

“We have the hardest working staff and students who are clearly dedicated to improved academic performance,” said Wandrie. “This recognition from U.S. News and World Report is a feather in our collective caps, no doubt, but we all know our work is never done and we’ll continue to do what we do best for the continued growth of our students.”

Michelle Bradford, LCS assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, echoed Wandrie’s sentiments.

“This is great news and supports the work teachers do to focus on the importance of collaboration and planning for differentiation,” said Bradford. “Our staff values professional learning together such as ‘data days’ and simply collaborating around shared practices within their building and across the district. It's a pleasure supporting the real work that goes into daily classroom instruction.”

U.S. News and World Report uses a detailed methodology in ranking schools which includes the proficiency of students in mathematics and reading/language arts. Along with simple proficiency, U.S. News and World Report also reviews performance in the context of student demographics, stating that “the top-ranked schools are all high-achieving and have succeeded at educating all their students.”

For more information, visit the official LCS website and the U.S. News and World Report website.

LCS Community –

As the bond work continues throughout the 2024-25 school year at many Lapeer Community Schools buildings, we want to provide another update with you on how the work will coincide with the district’s planning for the reconfiguration that will take place for the 2025-26 school year.

As a reminder, the 2025-26 school year will look like this:

• All elementary buildings (Lynch, Murphy, Schickler, Turrill) will be Kindergarten through 4th grade

• Rolland-Warner will transition to 5th and 6th grade campus (Traditional/Year-Round)

• Year-round options will be offered for Kindergarten through 6th grade (Turrill, Rolland-Warner)

• Zemmer will transition to 7th and 8th grade campus

• Lapeer High School will be a traditional 9th grade through 12th grade campus

• CFI will remain Lapeer Community High School

• Lapeer Virtual Partnership will remain at the Cramton campus

Moving forward, here are important items that will start to come to the forefront of positive changes across our district:

• Due to the construction work happening at Lapeer High School next summer, which will see the building closed all summer, the weight room will be available but with added safety precautions put in place by the fire marshal. More information on these plans will be communicated once they are finalized.

• The driveway to Schickler Elementary School is planned to be redone and paved next summer. This has been a long time coming and a project that was earmarked to be done with bond dollars.

• Construction on the new LHS auditorium will start toward the end of the 2024-25 school year. Renderings will soon be available.

• With the grade levels changing at several buildings, there will be possible staffing movement. Once all these updates have been finalized, a communication will be sent to staff and families.

• Bussing for the 2025-26 school year is being examined and once any changes are made, those will be communicated to staff and families.

For more information, click here to read the entire article.

Lapeer Community Schools is excited to announce the upcoming implementation of Raptor (www.raptortech.com), a program that will be used to enhance the district’s safety and security measures.

Essentially, Raptor is an electronic program that will screen EVERY visitor that comes through the doors of school buildings during instructional hours.

Visitors can only enter with a valid U.S. government-issued ID (driver's license (U.S. state issued including U.S. Territories), non-driver photo ID (U.S. state issued including U.S. Territories), U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, foreign passport, U.S. Military ID card, U.S. Military dependent's ID card, Tribal card).

Once the ID is scanned, the system will prompt the user to take a photo. If the photo matches the ID photo, a temporary visitor badge will print with the visitor’s name and photo, as well as date and time the badge was processed.

The visitor is then permitted to enter the school building.

Please know this visitor management system is being used across the country in businesses, public school systems, universities and by neighboring school districts right here in Michigan.

In the ever-changing world of school safety, we believe Raptor is the next step in adding another layer to our already robust overall security protocols. We recognize this will be a change for our frequent visitors and ask for your patience and support as we make our buildings more secure.

The plan is for all buildings in the district to have Raptor installed and running by mid-January. More information will be communicated as the date gets closer.

For any questions, please contact the LCS Operations Department at operations@lapeerschools.org or (810) 538-1622.

Families had so much fun experiencing our LCS robotics program, playing games, and doing math activities during our Family Math Night. Students pictured below won board games in a door raffle, while others estimated the amount of candy in jars and then won the candy.

Students are having fun trying to match baby pictures to their favorite Turrill staff members! Can you guess who is who?

Calling all volunteers! Turrill has an amazing PTC that needs your help. Check out the newsletter below to find out more.

Please make sure to fill out the LCS Volunteer Application below if you plan to volunteer in your child's classroom, attend parties, chaperone field trips, or volunteer in other capacities.

Each year we need to seek input on our Family Engagement Plan. Below is a link to our plan. Please take some time to review it. If you see anything that needs revision or have any recommendations please email me at kelly.vangel@lapeerschools.org .

Turrill Family Engagement Plan 2024-2025

Early Fives and Kindergarten families (2037 Cohort Group) will be introduced the the LEAF Program this month. Be on the lookout for an information packet and a piggy bank later this month welcoming your student to LEAF. Students will be able to make their first donation on 2/11.

LEAF, the Lapeer County Education Attainment Fund, promotes fiscal responsibility in children and encourages them to save money for college. LEAF deposit days are listed below:

• November 12
• February 11
• March 18
• April 22

For more information on the LEAF program, please CLICK HERE.

We absolutely LOVE reading, which means March is our favorite month because we celebrate March is Reading Month. Be on the lookout for information about our March is Reading Month student activities that will build a love of reading in our students.

Parent Strategies for Improving Their Child’s Reading and Writing by Kara Bobowski

Today, perhaps more than ever, parents play an important role in their child’s education. Gone are the days when it was solely the school’s job to educate. Parents are an active part of the teaching and learning process, which can be challenging combined with all the other tasks of providing for a family.

The following ideas are intended to help increase your child’s understanding of reading and writing skills and to develop confidence in learning, while providing parents with a general framework for how to get this all done. Choose two or three of the following strategies and use them throughout the year.

Click Here for the Remainder of the Article

8:00 Office Opens

8:45 Student Drop off Begins

8:50 Students Allowed to Rooms

8:54 Classes Begin

2024-2025 Recess Schedule:

11:15-11:45 4th - 5th Grades

11:45-12:15 2nd - 3rd Grade and CI Classrooms

12:15-12:45 E5/KDG - 1st Grade

2024-2025 Lunch Schedule:

11:45-12:054th - 5th Grades

12:15-12:35 2nd, 2/3 Split, 3rd Grade, and CI Classrooms

12:45-1:05E5/KDG - 1st Grade

3:50 Dismissal

4:30 Office Closes

As in years past, we plan on offering programs during our intersession weeks. Stay tuned for more information regarding the programming and intersession themes. The dates for intersession are as follows:

1st Intersession: October 21-24 (Monday-Thursday)

2nd Intersession: February 18-21 (Tuesday-Friday)

3rd Intersession: March 24-28 (Monday-Friday)

Lapeer has mental health resources to support families. Click on the link below to access a valuable list of mental health resources in our area.

The New York Life Foundation has approved $500 to support Turrill Elementary School in efforts as a Grief-Sensitive School. With this $500 grant, Turrill will be able to purchase classroom materials, such as storybooks, to support students experiencing grief, as well as have access to grievingstudents.org. We're so thankful to be able to support our students and families in this manner.

We have two lovely Mental Health Specialists at Turrill - Miss Chittle and Ms. Schneider. Their role at Turrill is to provide a listening ear to students. They work on social skills, emotions, and so much more with students. Students are able to meet with Miss Chittle and Ms. Schneider with your permission by filling out an Informed Consent Form (pictured below). Informed Consent Forms will be available during Open House night as you meet your child's new teacher.

Click here to explore a valuable mental health resource from Children's Advocacy Centers of Michigan.

Click here to access the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services.

Email: kelly.vangel@lapeerschools.org
Website: http://turrill.lapeerschools.org/
Location: 785 S Elm St, Lapeer, MI 48446
Phone: (810) 667-2438
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Turrill-Elementary-1415374235385217/

Mission: We will use our talents and compassion to educate our students in order to create a world in which all children embrace the journey of learning.

Turrill Vision: We are a kind family built on trust.

Turrill Motto: Better together!