German students from North enjoyed completing an amazing two week homestay in Germany this summer. They were even interviewed and featured in a German newspaper!

Our Safety Town program is designed for rising kindergarten and first graders. This one-week, fun-filled safety education program encourages children to keep their surroundings safe through hands-on activities and exercises. We thank our local first responders and representatives from community organizations for their participation in our program!

The Grosse Pointe Summer Music Festival took place July 8 - July 19 at Brownell Middle School. Sixty-five students in grades 5-8 from across the district took part in Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band and Fiddling culminating in a Closing Concert on July 19.

Grosse Pointe North's Marching Band celebrates their successful marching band camp with a trip to perform at Cedar Point!

Jason Wesley (Parcells' new principal), Nick Symonette and Debbie Redlin hit the pavement to introduce Mr. Wesley to many of our local businesses. They stopped by a few homes of students so they could meet their new principal!

Third graders in Mrs. Plieth’s class trekked through bird island peninsula to learn about native plant and animal species. They then went into the discovery workshop area to dissect owl pellets and build a mock beaver dam to repel water. Thank you to the staff for being so knowledgeable and helpful with our young learners!

Students in summer pointes also had the opportunity to visit the DIA!

Camp O'Fun had a great time exploring and learning at Lake St. Clair Metropark this summer.

Two National Honor Society students from North, Alex and Jhilmil, volunteered to work the GPPSS table at the Little League World Series. Our display included a variety of district promotional items such as a brochure, pen, bookmark and koozie. We were happy to showcase our district and community to families from teams across the country!

GPSC held their finale concerts on Friday, Aug. 16th, in the PAC at North. Around 280 students participated in the program and a special guest conductor from MSU, Dr. Derrick Fox, joined to conduct the high school choir. Thank you to our music faculty, PAC crew, support staff and volunteers for continuing to support the performing arts students at GPPSS!

Grosse Pointe South Cheerleading hosted their annual Red Barons cheerleading camp. Many of their athletes are former Red Barons cheerleaders, so they loved getting the opportunity to work with younger cheerleaders.

Grosse Pointe High School Class of 1969 celebrated their 50th Class Reunion in 2019. Being the last class to graduate from Grosse Pointe High School before the split between South and North, they wanted to commemorate that time in some way. A Silent Auction was held at the 50th reunion and enough funds were made to purchase a granite bench. It took five years, but the Legacy Bench was installed on the front lawn to celebrate their time at this great school. This was a joint effort between the Grosse Pointe High School Class of 1969, our School Board, our school facilities and South's Mother’s Club.

We are happy to welcome new administrators and staff to our buildings. Throughout August, the district held an Admin Retreat, New Teacher Orientation, and our Opening Day Kick Off to start the new school year. We are excited to start the year as we move forward together!

We are pleased to announce that Grosse Pointe Public Schools will be participating in the

Michigan School Meals Program for the 2024-25 school year. This will provide each student in

Kindergarten through 12th Grade one free school breakfast and one free school lunch!

No application is required to receive the free meals, see what qualifies as a free meal on the

free meal qualification sheets.

If any of your household members meets the following criteria we will need your household

family to complete an Education and Nutrition Benefits Application:

• A household member participates in SNAP, TANF, or FDPIR and has a case number.
• Your household’s income is within the limits of the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines (guidelines and other information are on the frequently asked questions document)

This Education and Nutrition Benefits Application is critical in determining the amount of

money that our school receives from a variety of State and Federal supplemental programs like

Title I A, At-risk (31a), Title II A, etc. These supplemental programs have the potential to offer

support services for our students including, but not limited to:

• Instructional supports (staff, supplies & materials, etc.)
• Non-instructional services (counseling, social work, health services, etc.)
• Professional Learning for Staff
• Technology

We ask that you please complete and submit the Education and Nutrition Benefits Application as

soon as possible to ensure that additional funding for our school is available to meet the needs of

our students. All information on the report is confidential. Without your assistance in completing

and returning the report, our school cannot maximize the use of available State and Federal

funds. To complete this form, click here.

If you have any questions please email johnsoh@gpschools.org

We want to update you on the ongoing construction project affecting North High School’s parking lot. Over the summer, the District initiated a repaving project for the South end parking lot, which is used primarily by North High School staff, Central Office staff, and Special Education buses. Unfortunately, due to weather delays and underground utility issues, the project is now expected to extend into the beginning of the new school year. The revised completion date is currently set for the end of September.

To ensure a smooth start to the school year, we have developed some changes to address the temporary traffic and parking needs:

1. Traffic Rerouting: With the back parking lot unavailable until the end of September, there will be increased use of the student parking lot. To help manage this, we will have additional law enforcement officers on Vernier to assist with directing traffic, particularly for buses dropping off students with special needs.
2. Transportation for students with special needs: Buses will drop students off at doors QQ (between the cafeteria and the gym). We will be working with the Student Services Department as well as the North Special Education staff to prepare appropriately for this change.
3. Wedgewood Entrance Closure: Please note that the Wedgewood entrance, commonly used by students walking into school, will be closed during this period. There will be no access to North High School from this entrance.
4. Encouraging Alternative Transportation: To reduce traffic congestion, we strongly encourage students to walk, bike, or carpool to school if possible during these days.
5. Ongoing Construction and Noise: To meet our goal of reopening the back parking lot by the end of September, construction will continue throughout the school day. As a result, students and staff may experience more noise than usual. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to complete this project.

We understand that these changes may cause some inconvenience, and we are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible. Thank you for your cooperation and support. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the school office.

On Tuesday, Aug. 27th, the Board of Education held a regular meeting where they approved the following:

• Regular Meeting Minutes for July 16, 2024
• HR Report
• Proposed Revisions to Policies and AG’s
• Lease Agreement with Grosse Pointe Theatre
• Calendar
• PAATS Contract
• Tentative Agreement and Recommendation of Approval pending GPEA ratification
• Repeater Purchase for North
• North Bleachers Proposal

You may review each item on the Board of Education agenda by visiting the district calendar and clicking the date of the meeting, then clicking the agenda, then each hyperlinked action item.

Please watch the district calendar on the website for the latest information on board and committee meetings. Upcoming BOE meetings now include:

• BOE Regular Meeting, TUESDAY, September 10, 2024, 5:30 pm, Brownell