CUBS COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION

Our mission at Collins, with the help of the community, is to foster a caring and enriching environment that enables all students to grow academically and socially, to reach their individual potential as they become lifelong learners.

SCHOOL HOURS: 8:25-3:15 DAILY

HALF-DAY HOURS: 8:25-11:29

BREAKFAST OPENS @ 8:10-8:25

email: mailto:officecollins@uticak12.org

website: https://collins.uticak12.org

Location: 12900 Grand Haven, Sterling Heights, MI 48312

Phone: 586-797-4200

Attendance Line: 586-797-4299 (24 hours)

COLLINS Facebook: www.facebook.com/CollinsCubs

PTO Facebook: www.facebook.com/BruceCollinsPTO

DECEMBER DATES

2-6: KIWANIS CANNED FOOD DRIVE!

9: A&G Music Night

9-13: PTO SANTA SHOP

10: Holiday Concert for Grades 5 and 6. 6 pm

12: SCIENCE ASSEMBLY!

19: PAWS Assembly 2:00pm

23-Jan. 3, 2025: NO SCHOOL for K-12 Students Winter Break

JANUARY DATES

6: WELCOME BACK! First day back after Winter Break.

20: NO SCHOOL MLK JR. HOLIDAY OBSERVED

FEBRUARY DATES

17-21: NO SCHOOL MID-WINTER BREAK

Greetings Collins Cubs!

Happy December to you all! We hope you enjoyed your special break with family. We are happy to have the students back for a full 3 weeks of school together. Let's make them a great few weeks together!

WEEKS AHEAD:

• 2-6 KIWANIS CANNED FOOD CLUB
• 9-13 PTO SPONSORED SANTA SHOP

WEATHER APPROPRIATE CLOTHING

Once again, we will be planning to go outside daily for recess. Please help your child to be dressed appropriately including hats, gloves, long pants, and appropriate shoes to wear outside. If you need additional support finding jackets, gloves, hats, etc., please remember our COLLINS CLOSET!

HANDICAP PARKING & ANIMALS AT DISMISSAL

Our Blue Handicap parking spots are reserved for those with handicap license plates or tags. We have had several families in need of a handicap parking place but they are unavailable due to cars without handicap stickers choosing to park in these locations. We appreciate your attention to this matter and leaving the parking reserved for those with handicap licenses. Thank you. 🐾

Wishing you a great start to your week!

Warm regards,

Principal Ciacchella

The wonderful STUDENT COUNCIL will once again be collecting Canned Food for the Kiwanis Club. This event will take place from November 25-26, and again when we return from the break from December 2-6th. Thank you Student Council!

Please see the letter from our crossing guards:

As winter begins, we just want to remind all parents of a few things. With winter we will see snow coming, which will cause less parking availability. Drivers need to slow down, pay attention and follow the directions of all crossing guards. We are asking that you or your students DO NOT cross the parking lot or streets outside of the crosswalks. This is for the safety of everyone and to keep traffic flowing. Please follow the directions of the painted arrows and posted signs in the parking lot. At stop signs please stop BEFORE the crosswalk and/or sidewalk. When parking in the street please note that state law requires you to be 20 feet away from any crosswalk and 15 feet from any fire hydrant. Stopping over the sidewalk or crosswalk makes it unsafe for walkers and crossing guards! Also, please remember that the exit from the school parking lot is NOT a 4-way stop! Traffic exiting the parking lot MUST stop and wait for ALL street traffic to clear. Also please do not exit the lot until you can be completely clear of the intersection. We are having too many drivers pull out and block lanes of traffic and crosswalks. This causes backups and is unsafe for everyone. Please give yourself extra time if needed and be patient as we are all trying to get where we need to be and stay safe!

Thank you!

We are absolutely THRILLED to share with our community that we have been selected to be a host school and partner with Oakland University's Nursing School program. Through this partnership, our school will be hosting Nursing students for their community service practicum in our buildings on Tuesdays, beginning on Tuesday October 22 and continuing through December 3rd. During this time, the nursing students will be working on teaching lessons and rotating through classrooms, recess, lunch, and gym. WELCOME OAKLAND!!

While in the classrooms, OU students will be focusing on topics that include:

• Hand washing
• Cold season-covering coughs
• Healthy choices for snacks
• Bed time and physical wellness

We are only one of four elementary school selected to welcome our Nursing Students in from Oakland University.

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.

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

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! Volunteer background checks may take longer than 4 weeks, please plan accordingly and they will do the best they can to get it approvied as soon as possible.

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.

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!!

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

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

https://www.edustaff.org

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.

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.

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.

Bond Issue Updates / Bond Issue Updates (uticak12.org)

Principal of Collins Elementary

Email: collinsquestions@uticak12.org
Website: https://www.uticak12.org/Collins
Location: 12900 Grand Haven Drive, Sterling Heights, MI, USA
Phone: (586)797-4200
Facebook: facebook.com/collins