Family Newsletter

How do you fix a broken pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch!

I hope you are getting into the fall spirit--in my house, that means enjoying crisp mornings with my morning cup of tea while I watch the leaves falling in the yard. At school, we have had a wonderful week enjoying the playgrounds in this weather, and students are starting to get excited for their fall class parties and our evening Spooktacular event. Today, our kindergarten students enjoyed a field trip to Bower's school farm to learn all about the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals and the places they live. Thank you to the PTO for sponsoring this field trip, in addition to the glow party we had on Thursday to celebrate surpassing our FunD Run goal!

Coming up this week, we have our first "late start" on Wednesday, October 16. These late start days throughout our school calendar allow teachers the opportunity to meet across grade levels and buildings to strengthen our delivery of curriculum and instruction. School starts exactly one hour later on these days, so 10:10 for Gretchko. Buses will pick students up one hour later than normally scheduled, and doors to the building will open up at 9:55.

On Friday next week, we hope your family will join us for Spooktacular from 5:30-8:30pm. This annual family event is a time to dress up in costume, dance, play Halloween-inspired games, and hang out with friends old and new. We hope to see you there! Additionally, on October 31st, we will have our fall parties and a costume parade. Teachers will be sharing out more detail in the coming weeks. For your planning purposes, the parade will be at 2:30 pm, and class parties will all be at 3:00pm.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Jen Teal, Principal

When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling

For one young girl, summer is the season of no school, of days spent at the pool, and of picking golden limes off the trees. But summer doesn’t start until her lola—her grandmother from the Philippines—comes for her annual visit. Summer is special. For her lola fills the house with the aroma of mango jam, funny stories of baking mishaps, and her quiet sweet singing in Tagalog. And in turn, her granddaughter brings Lola to the beach, to view fireworks at the park, and to catch fish at their lake. When Lola visits, the whole family gathers to cook and eat and share in their happiness of another season spent together. Yet as summer transitions to fall, her lola must return home—but not without a surprise for her granddaughter to preserve their special summer a bit longer.

Here at Gretchko, we love recognizing students who are following our classroom social contracts and demonstrating responsibility, respect, safety, and kindness. This week, we have been on the lookout for students who are setting a great example and we have been handing out many Rockin' Croc tickets. A copy of the ticket goes home so you can celebrate with your student as well, and the other half is entered into our Friday drawing. This week's winners are: Mary Whitmer, Joshua Mershman, Riley Diep, Sylvester McNeil, Jordyn Murph, Liam Leister, Mia Myers, Oliver Krull, Annabelle Neal, Sophia Alexiev, Brian Puckett, Ava Kowalski, Sullivan Lee, Mia Garza Carcamo, Riaan Seth, and Blake Wise.

Spooktacular is 1 week away!

Each class will have a pumpkin or basket they are working on for auction. If you have not received info for your class, please follow up with the Head Room Parent or us. The highest selling basket or pumpkin winning class gets $20 Zap Zone gift cards for the kids and lunch for the teacher!

We can definitely use help at Spooktacular (Oct. 18, 5:30-8:30pm), you can sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094AA4AC29A6F8C61-50974124-spooktacular#/

We hope to see you there!

Have a fabulous weekend!

- Your Gretchko PTO

Detroit Lions vs Tennessee Titans
Game Date & Time: Sunday, October 27 at 1 p.m.
Location: Ford Field, Detroit
Seats: Section 113, Row 29, Seats 12&13
Purchase Raffle Tickets Here

Drawing for the two tickets will be on Tuesday, October 22 at 10:22 a.m.
Winner will be notified immediately after the drawing.

Math Pentathlon teaches and reinforces basic math concepts and skills, stimulates creative thinking, develops problem-solving skills, develops spatial computational and logical reasoning, and good sportsmanship. Registration is OPEN! Practice Dates and More Info, Click Here

Division 1: K-1st Grade

Division 2: 2nd & 3rd Grade

Division 3: 4th & 5th Grade

Division 4: 6th & 7th Grade

Multiple positions are available working with students of all ages from preschool through post-secondary.

• Competitive pay and excellent benefits
• Four-day per week and five-day per week positions available
• Additional pay if you have a degree (associate's degree or higher)

Support children who need caring adults!

Contact:

Eric Whitney at West Bloomfield School District

5810 Commerce Road

West Bloomfield, MI 48324

Phone: (248) 865-6426

If you have time to spare on a Wednesday during the school day OR at home throughout the week, sign up HERE.

We're a team of parent volunteers who are ready to tackle the time consuming jobs that bog down our wonderful teachers! From copies to display boards to anything in between, we're here to fill in the gaps! We'll have 3 groups, 9-12 for our K-2 teachers, 1-4 for our 3-5 teachers & a special 'take home team' who will be managing projects from the comfort of home for anyone who can't make it in during the school day!

“Dads of Great Students” is a nationally recognized program that has brought over a million fathers and father figures into the school classrooms and hallways across the country, creating millions of hours of “in school” volunteer time and having a tremendously positive impact on the educational process. Have an hour, half a day, or a whole day when you'd like to volunteer? Click HERE to sign up.

If approved by voters, library millage funds would be used for:

• replacement of aging building components
• updates to IT Infrastructure, including 24/7 holds pickup lockers
• improvements to programming areas, including the Meeting Room and outdoor spaces
• expanded digital collections (eBooks, eAudiobooks, etc.)

Learn more at wblib.org/millage.

School pictures are ready! To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's school ID number. All families can also log on and order a FREE Digital SmileSafe card. More about the Smilesafe program here.

If you missed the September 5th picture day at Gretchko, retakes will be taken October 30th.

WBSD Community Education offers an array of enrichment and recreation classes. For more information and online registration, click here. Use the search feature to type in the program.
Stay tuned for Math Pentathlon, FIRST Lego League info, and more!

Fall elementary programming at Gretchko includes:

• Karate on Wednesdays starting 11/13 for 1st-5th

WBSD has partnered with ParentGuidance.org to give parents free access to resources and helpful information. We have shared this information with our families. We hope that it will be useful for some of you as well!

ParentGuidance.org is an online service by licensed therapists that provides trusted and specialized courses, professional support, and a safe community for parents to learn how to support their children and get answers to mental health questions.

There are many community resources available to families in need. See the Oakland County Community Resource Guide, which includes resources about topics including Abuse & Protective Services; Food Pantries, Clothing & Household Support; Healthcare Services; Housing Assistance; and Parenting & Pregnancy Resources.

211 (United Way) offers resources/connections for family support as well. Parents/adults can call, text, or email. Here is the link to the 211 website, which is searchable by topic. Additionally, see these 211 flyers in English, Spanish, and Arabic.

Finally, here are some resources for Food Pantry/Supplies near WB/Oakland County.

Phone:

• Main Office Phone: (248)865-6570
• SAFELINE to report absences: (248) 865-6572. This is a 24 hour answering machine.