Parke Lane & Meridian Elementary
March 4, 2025
Parke Lane and Meridian Families,
March Reading Month has arrived with all of our fun activities to celebrate our love for reading! Make sure to check out our calendar for all of our events, Breakfast and Books, and our annual BINGO! This Wednesday is our Breakfast and Books for all elementary families with the last name starting A-H. Please make sure to RSVP and join us at 7:15am at Meridian with your child and enjoy some breakfast while reading your favorite book to help us celebrate reading month!
Don't forget our Spring Picture Day is March 12th. For Spring Pictures, all students will be photographed. You can purchase pictures prior to the day as well as get the proof and then purchase pictures after.
This Friday is a half-day, for records day.
Our annual Kids Heart Challenge Assemblies will be held on February 25th. We ask that all of our families login, register, and sign up for Finn's Mission! This mission does not have to include collecting money. Our students and families can learn more about heart health, hands-only CPI, and help their classroom just for logging in!
Warm wishes,
Nicole Garza, Principal
Michele Barringer, Assistant Principal
This Week:
Monday-March PBIS Assemblies
Tuesday-Student Council Meeting
Wednesday-Breakfast and Books, A-H at Meridian, 7:15am
Thursday-Winter Huron League Senior Scholar Athletes Reading
Friday-1/2 Day, Records Day
..........Meridian PBIS Clubs
Upcoming;
3-9 Daylight Savings Time Begins
3-12 Spring Picture Day
3-13 & 3-14 Half Day of School, Parent Teacher Conferences
3-14 Virtual Author Visit for Reading Month-Thank you, PAT!
3-18 Student Council Meeting
3-21 Half Day of School
Every week I do a staff newsletter so if you would like to give a staff member a shout-out this year please send me an email at garzan@gischools.org! We have the best elementary staff and we want to show them how much they are appreciated!
Severe Weather Awareness Week
The Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD) is responsible for coordinating the dates of Severe Weather Awareness Week and the Statewide Tornado Drill in partnership with the National Weather Service (NWS).
Severe Weather Awareness Week – March 16-22, 2025
Voluntary Statewide Tornado Drill – Wednesday, March 19th
Tornado Terminology Tornadoes can happen abruptly, especially during Michigan’s late spring and early summer seasons. Learn the terms to understand and know what do before, during and after a tornado.
Tornado terms:
Tornado: A violently rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach over 200 mph.
Tornado Watch: Tornadoes are possible in your area. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio reports, commercial radio and television reports for further information.
Tornado Warning: A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar in your area. Take shelter immediately.
Supercell: A system producing severe thunderstorms, featuring rotating winds sustained by a prolonged updraft that may result in hail or tornadoes.
Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale: Rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States and Canada. There are six categories for the EF scale and are in order of increasing intensity. *It is a based on wind estimates of a three second gust.*
- EF0: Tornadoes with estimated wind speed of 65-85 mph and leads to light damage.
- EF1: Estimated wind speed of 86-110 mph with the potential of moderate damage.
- EF2: Estimated wind speeds of 111-135 mph with significant damage potential.
- EF3: Estimated wind speeds of 136-165 mph with severe damage potential.
- EF4: Estimated wind speeds of 166-200 mph with devastating damage potential
- EF5: Estimated wind speeds of over 200 mph with incredible damage potential.
Help Keep Us All Healthy!
We have unfortunately had several cases of strep throat, influenza, COVID, and stomach bugs with vomiting and diarrhea. We are doing everything we can to keep our students safe by frequent hand washing, hand sanitizing, and cleaning of the classrooms and school. To help keep all of our students and staff safe, we ask that families monitor their child’s physical well-being before sending them to school in the morning. This includes monitoring your child's temperature, not exceeding 100.4.
If a student has a fever, vomits, appears ill, or is complaining of severe stomach pain, he or she will be sent home per our board policy. In the same sense, if a child has these symptoms or an illness with vomiting and diarrhea, he/she should be kept home until symptom-free without the aid of medication for 24 hours before returning to school.
We are excited to announce that we are using IXL to support our students learning in the classroom, and your child has access to this online program at home for math, reading, science, and social studies!
IXL is a learning platform that lets students practice skills that they’re learning and guides them to material that will help them grow the most. Click the link below for the parent letter and look for more communication from your child's teacher about IXL!
We are pleased to have Grosse Ile Township Schools participate in the 2025 MI Student Voice Perception Surveys, joining the growing consortium of districts across the state committed to prioritizing the role of student voice in district and school improvement planning. You received an email with a this parent letter with a detailed explanation regarding the student, parent, and staff surveys.
As a parent, you have the opportunity to complete the MI Student Voice Parent/Guardian Perception Survey. Topics covered in the survey fall into four categories: Parent/Guardian Satisfaction, Parent/Guardian Involvement, Student Engagement & Connection, and Belonging. This survey can be completed online using a computer, tablet, or mobile device. The anonymous survey is designed to protect your privacy and the privacy of your student(s). The survey has under 40 questions and is expected to take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Note: If you have multiple children enrolled in the school district, you will answer the questions based on your eldest child. You are welcome to take the survey again for additional children, if you would like.
PBIS at Our Elementary Schools!
We had our third PBIS Assemblies at both Parke Lane and Meridian! During our assemblies, we recognized our Star Students of the Week who received Star Student Tickets for being respectful, responsible, or safe throughout the school day. We also gave out trophies for our specials classes, lunchroom behavior, bus behavior, and which grade levels earned their grade level extra recess by receiving pom poms for displaying the GITS Portrait of a Graduate Trait of the month.
For the month of MARCH our focus is EMPATHY!
POG EMPATHY Definition Shared with Students:
- Recognizing Feelings: Notice and name different emotions, from simple ones like happy and sad to more complex ones like pride or frustration and can discuss the cause of these feelings.
- Responding to Others: Show kindness, like sharing or helping, and grow into supporting friends with thoughtful words and actions and help resolve conflicts by acknowledging different viewpoints.
- Perspective-Taking: Understand that others may feel differently, and also learn to see things from their point of view
We were excited to share some pictures of the progress that is happening with construction!
The first row of pictures are of our new addition space which will be our kindergarten and first grade classrooms and extended learning zones. The second row of pictures are the beginnings of how our building is starting to transform inside!
SIGN-UP TO BE A WATCH DOG!
Dads Of Great Students
Click here to view our WatchDOG Presentation from our WatchDOG Night!
- Click here for Parke Lane's WatchDOG Sign-Up
- Click here for Meridian's WatchDOG Sign-Up
Watch DOGs t-shirts can be purchased at https://simply-gray.com/
- All volunteers must have an approved background check yearly and completed before volunteering using the Google Form below:
Elementary Lunch Letter and Menu
Free Lunch and Breakfast Letter
Elementary Dining Link to Website
Each salad is made fresh every morning. If a student is tardy after 9am, they will automatically get the hot lunch option and not a salad.
Half Days:
February 14, March 7, 13, 14, & 21
Early Release Days:
June 11 & 12
*Meridian dismisses at 10:35AM on these dates; Parke Lane dismisses at 11:15AM on these dates
No School:
February 17, March 24-March 28, April 18, May 26
Parent/Teacher Conference Dates:
Spring Conferences:
March 13th: Afternoon and Evening times available
March 14th: Afternoon times available
Find Up-to-Date Information on Facebook and Our School Websites!
Nicole Garza, Principal
Email: garzan@gischools.org
Website: GITS Website
Phone: 734-362-2600, 734-362-2700
Facebook: GITS Facebook Page