Vowles Elementary

If you aren't currently following us on Facebook, please visit our page Vowles Elementary and "Like" us. You can receive all the latest updates on classroom, school and event information for our building!

May 1-19th- Classroom Requests can be picked up in the Office

May 15th-19th- NWEA Testing

May 17th- DK Fieldtrip to Discovery Museum

May 17th- Writing Night Family Event 6:00-7:00 @ Vowles- Return RSVP's on Monday

May 19th- Classroom Requests due

May 26th- 1st Grade Fieldtrip to Potter's Park

May 29th- No School~ Memorial Day

May 30th- 1st Grade Fieldtrip to the local Library

June 1st- Field Day; All School Picnic from 12:00-12:45 p.m.

June 2nd- Kindergarten Park Day

June 5th- Field Day Make-up

June 5th- Kindergarten Graduation 6:00-7:30 @ Vowles

June 7th- Last Day of School (report cards go home) ~ Dismissal at 11:47

*MPPS School Calendar for 2022-2023

Thank you so much to all our families that were able to help support our Teacher Appreciation Week efforts. You helped make this a special week for some very special people!

Let us know how our staff is doing and help us to recognize them by completing our Staff Shout Out. You can recognize an amazing teacher by filling out a few questions in the link below. We will present them with a Shout Out Certificate that tells what they were recognized for and by who.

Staff Shout Out

Families~

Have you recently moved? If so, please call our office so we can change your address for our records and to be sure any summer and Back to School mailings get to you.

If your address is no longer a Vowles address, you will need to fill out School of Choice paperwork to stay at Vowles School for the 2023-2024 School Year.

We want to ensure your child's enrollment and classroom placement for next year is not last minute and stressful for you. Please be sure to keep us updated throughout the summer. Leave us a message at 775-2280.

Vowles will be hosting our Field Day for students on Thursday, June 1st. Rain Date is Monday, June 5th. A flyer will be coming soon!

What you need to know about this day:

• All School Family Lunch- Outside- 12:00-12:45 pm. Bring blankets, towels, or chairs to sit on. Some benches and tables will be available. Bring a lunch. Enjoy some time together.
• Students/Families can order a Sack Lunch from our Hot Lunch Program on the morning of Field Day or plan to bring their own lunch. Our Lunch Program will be offering a Turkey Sandwich lunch.
• Mrs. Long, a PaperPie Representative will be on hand doing a mini Book Fair for students and families to purchase books before summer.
• Mr. Hofer and staff have developed different scheduled times of the day for students to go out and have some fun Outdoors.
• Vowles PTO will be providing a snack and Inflatables for outdoor fun.
• Watch the weather. You may want to apply sunscreen to your child before leaving the house that day as they will be outside a bit more than normal.
• Volunteer opportunities are available. Fill out this Volunteer Sign Up and the MPPS Background Check .

It is hard to think that school will be ending in just a couple of months and it will be summer break.

At Vowles, we have a couple options for extending your child's learning during the summer.

Think Stretch:

• This is a FREE workbook that every child at Vowles will receive with the support of Title 1 funding. It will be grade-level specific and be given to your child in the last week of school before going on summer break. It has reading, math, and writing components to it. A medal will be awarded in the fall to those students that participate and complete most of their book. Books can be handed in at our Vowles or Fancher Open houses in August.

Vikings on a Voyage:

• We will be sharing a summer program schedule that allows our students and families to meet up with teachers during 6 weeks of the summer at different locations for students to listen to a story, do an activity, have a snack, pick out a book to take home and get their Think Stretch Workbook glanced at. We will be sharing our dates and weekly themes with you in May. We will look forward to seeing our Vikings this summer!

This is a reminder that we have a No Food or Outside Drink policy for our students. The exceptions are Book Nics or family picnic or engagement events. We ask that you utilize the SFE lunch program or cold lunches for lunch time.

Vowles students have been learning about Bus Expectations. We understand that not every student rides the bus regularly. However, at some point this spring, usually classes take field trips where they utilize the bus. Students also had a chance to go on the bus with their class to hear about the expectations from our drivers. Students that ride regularly, may, bring home a BUS BUCK. A BUS BUCK certificate can be turned into their school for a chance for a prize.

We focused on 3 main things to make a successful bus ride:

1. Students must be stayed fully seated while on the bus.

2. Students must use quiet/low voices so the driver can focus on the roads, hear emergency sirens or use his/her walkie to talk to other students while the bus is moving.

3. Students must keep their hands and feet to themselves while on the bus.

We are hoping that families that particularly have students that ride frequently can review these expectations with their child at home.

Arrival and Pick Up~

As a reminder for your safety and the safety of your child, please use our Crosswalk when you are dropping off or picking up your child. Our circle drive is a "fluid" drive. Cars are coming and leaving. It is difficult to see a student walking in between cars. It is also NOT a good practice that we want students thinking they should walk between cars.

We appreciate your attention to this!

*When it is raining outside or too cold to be out, students will enter the building upon arrival to school.

If your child is in need of assistance with clothing or winter clothes, you can reach out to the Clothing, Inc. organization. You can fill out this link to make an appointment with them.

Classrooms/Grade levels will be selling Popcorn on "most" Fridays when we are in session on those days. Cost is $.50 per bag.

During the course of the school year, our buildings are obligated to practice at least 5 Fire Drills, 2 Tornado Drills and 3 Lockdown drills. At times, we do have our YSU Liason or other officers from the Police Department assist in our drills. We cover with our students the locations of where to go for each drill, what to do during specific drills, and how to properly evacuate when it is needed. You can also find this information in your child's Handbook at the front of the student agenda.

I also encourage you to check out our district website where we have information that pertains to our district school safety. Click here to get to the website.

To Request for Transportation, use the form linked here:

Request for Transportation

Other forms linked on the Transportation website:

• Permission to Leave Along
• In City Busing Reduction

We still have some Youth Medium, Large, and Extra Large child shirts available. The cost is $7. If you would like one, please send in $7 in a baggie and write Vowles Shirt and Size. We will be sure to send one home.

Please see the Covid Protocols in the picture below. If your child is positive, please call our district office at 989-775-2300 to let them know. Our district can help with a return date and mask update. Central Office will notify us. If there is work that could be picked up, we will have the classroom teacher touch base with you.

If you have not set up an account online to pay for your child's lunch, you do still have the option to send money in. Please put it in your child's agenda pocket in an envelope or sandwich baggie and mark your child's Name, Grade, and Amount. The classroom teachers will bring it to the Office.

A child will always be served a lunch whether they forgot their lunch, didn't sign up that day for lunch or have not set up their online account yet.

If you have not yet filled out a Free and Reduce Form, please call our office for a hard copy to be sent home. Or, fill out a Free and Reduced form online by clicking here.

Office Hours during the school year- 8:00 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Website: https://www.mtpleasantschools.net/
Location: 1560 Watson Road, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA
Phone: 989-775-2280
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vowleselementary/