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

OCTOBER DATES

19: UCS FREE WELLNESS FAIR and Henry Ford High School

28: Texas Roadhouse Night PTO

28-11/1: PTO Donut Day Pre-Sales ONLY

30: PAWS ASSEMBLY @ 1:30

31: HALF- DAY DISMISSAL @ 11:29 Parade and Parties-TBD.

NOVEMBER DATES

1: HALF-DAY DISMISSAL @ 11:29 END OF QUARTER 1

5: NO SCHOOL ELECTION DAY

4-15: PTO Texas Roadhouse Gift Cards Fundraiser

7: HALF DAY OF SCHOOL DISMISSAL @ 11:29 Afternoon Conferences 12:15-3:15pm

7: Fall Conferences Evening 4:00-7:00pm

12: Bagel Day PTO

14: Fall Conferences Online or In-Person Evening Only 4-7pm

27-29: THANKSGIVING BREAK

DECEMBER DATES

19: PAWS Assembly 2:00pm

*Music Concert @ Collins for 5th and 6th Grade Choir TBD 6-7pm

Happy Monday!

A very special thank you to our PTO for a wonderful TRUNK OR TREAT! Thank you for your dedication to making this event a success. Next week, we will have two half-days: October 31st and November 1st with a dismissal at 11:29. We will also have our Halloween parade from 10:45-11:15 outside of our building, weather permitting. If it rains, we will invite parents into the gymnasium for a parade inside. We also have conferences coming on November 7th and on November 14th. Please see our SPECIAL SMORE EDITION on SIGNING UP FOR CONFERENCES BELOW!

WELCOME OAKLAND UNIVERSITY NURSES!!

Please see the description below. We are THRILLED to share that Oakland University has selected our school to be one of four UCS elementary schools to partner with their nursing school candidates. During this partnership, OU student nurses will be working in our building to teach small wellness and health lessons with our students from October 22-December 3rd during most Tuesdays. Please see the letter below! WELCOME OU NURSES and thank you for choosing us!

FREE and REDUCED LUNCHES!

All forms expired on October 10th, 2024. Therefore, please be sure to complete the FREE AND REDUCED MEALS APPLICATION. As required by federal guidelines, students without an approved 2024-2025 Educational Benefits Form on file will not be eligible to receive additional benefits such as EBT assistance, reduced pay to participate, and AP test fees and other items. Please complete one located at: https://utica.familyportal.cloud as soon as possible.

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

We are very excited to once again, provide families options to "shop" from our FREE HALLOWEEN slightly used costumes. If your child needs one, we have a variety of costumes available in the front office. As a reminder, we are not allowed any weapons (fake or real) and/or fake blood of any kind on costumes. We appreciate your attention to this matter.

SCHOOL SAFETY DRILLS:

We will continue to host a variety of safety drills in school. Thank you!

Wishing you a great week ahead-

Warm regards,

Principal Ciacchella

Fall conferences will be held at Bruce Collins or virtually this year. Please see our special SMORE CONFERENCE edition to sign-up for FALL CONFERENCES.

November 7th: 12:15-3:15 (IN-PERSON CONFERENCES PREFERRED)

November 7th: 4:00-7:00 (IN-PERSON CONFERENCES PREFERRED)

November 14th: 4:00-7:00 (VIRTUAL CONFERENCES PREFERRED)

We are looking forward to celebrating our Halloween parties and parades with you all! Please note that parties will be communicated with families from classroom teachers. We also have a half-day of school. In addition, the parade will be after the parties from 10:45-11:15 outside our school or inside the gym if it rains. Dismissal will be at 11:29AM and we have an additional half-day of school on Friday, November 1, 2024.

LOOKING FOR A COSTUME?

A special thanks to staff members that have donated almost new Halloween Costumes. If your child needs a costume to wear, please be sure to stop by the front office!

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!

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