Mustang Express

August 25, 2023

Dear Meadowbrook Mustangs families:

We are eagerly anticipating the start of another exciting year at Meadowbrook Elementary! On behalf of the entire MBE Mustang community, we can’t wait to see your child’s smiling faces on Monday, Aug. 28 for our first day of school.

As we put the finishing touches on our back to school preparations for the school year, I wanted to take a moment and inform you of some changes to our arrival and dismissal procedures in response to significant construction impacting the roadways around Meadowbrook Elementary.

Recently, members of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) met with myself and members of our District administration to inform us of the timeline and closures associated with the ongoing water main project. They informed us of the following:

• Pipe installation is anticipated to be complete on Meadowbrook Road from 12 to 13 Mile in late 2023, which extends the closure of Meadowbrook from 12 to 13 Mile Road until the spring of 2024.

• Thirteen Mile Road from Meadowbrook Road to M-5 is open to eastbound-only traffic as GLWA continues to install the 54-inch water main. During this time, GLWA will continue pipe installation and reconstruct the roadway.

  GLWA now anticipates completing construction of this segment by October.

• A one-mile portion of this new water main will be installed along Meadowbrook Road from 11 Mile Road to 12 Mile. The work to install the one-mile segment of transmission main will require Meadowbrook Road to be closed at 12 Mile to 11 Mile Road to southbound traffic from due to the excavations involved and our commitment to ensure the public’s safety. Northbound traffic will not be impacted. Residential and Business access will be maintained within the work zone:
• The detour route for southbound traffic is as follows: west on 12 Mile Road, south on Novi Road, east on Grand River Avenue, and north on Meadowbrook Road.
• During conversations with GLWA, it was shared that due to a number of unforeseen factors and the complexities involved in the project, pipe installation will not be complete on Meadowbrook Road from 12 to 13 Mile until late 2023. Unfortunately, this extends the closure of Meadowbrook from 12 to 13 Mile Road until spring of 2024.

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In response to this construction related road closure, we will be making some adjustments to our arrival and dismissal procedures for the upcoming school year.

To allow for the safe arrival and dismissal of all Meadowbrook Elementary students, we will be limiting the number of cars in our carline each day. All students and families designated as bus riders will be asked to utilize our transportation services both in the morning and afternoon. Saddle Up pick-up is limited and only available for School of Choice students and walkers (students that live in the MBE attendance area that do not have an assigned bus) and not registered for daily Prime Time Care. We request that students and families designated as walkers please fill out our Saddle Up form for the upcoming school year. Saddle Up will be available on a first come, first serve basis and will be limited to the total number of participants.

We recognize that this is an inconvenience for some of our families but we deemed it necessary to ensure the safe arrival and dismissal of all of our students.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on Aug. 28 for the start of an amazing school year!

Sincerely,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

Please review the following information from our transportation department:

• If your child is eligible for bus transportation, it is highly recommended that they start this routine on the first day of school.

• Bus Stops/Routes: Bus stops/routes will be posted on the district website and Skyward Family Access the week of August 22, 2023. www.wlcsd.org

• Bus Drivers - Bus drivers will be contacting all kindergarten families to introduce themselves. You can expect a phone call from your child’s driver in the coming days. Our drivers take care to ensure our kindergartners get on/off the bus safely each day.

Click on the link below to learn about the arrival and dismissal procedures for Meadowbrook. It is important that we all adhere to the structures put in place to help ensure the safety and security of our students, staff, and the greater community. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

**Important note: If you plan to drive your Kindergarten student to school each day, you should have your child begin practicing getting in and out of a booster seat, unassisted from the back, passenger side of the vehicle. Thank you!

Part of the back-to-school packet requires each family to complete a Dismissal Form to let us know your child's dismissal routine. This is a very important form that must be completed for each student. Please be sure you have completed the form that best applies to you (walker, buser, or Saddle-Up car rider) via the back-to-school online registration packet.

Thank you for your help with this task!

It is very important that you take time to review the Meadowbrook Handbook which is filled with important information, policies and procedures. Reviewing the Meadowbrook Handbook is also part of the Back-to-School Packet.

Hello and welcome to another exciting school year at Meadowbrook Elementary! My name is Sarah Mizen-Reese and I am your PTA President this year. (Not only am I a member of the PTA, but I am also entering my 3rd year as a building substitute teacher at MBE). I have a 5th grade daughter and 2nd grade son at Meadowbrook and my oldest son is a junior at Walled Lake Western this year. I am lucky to have the opportunity to be fully engaged with the Meadowbrook community as both an employee and parent. I think this gives me the unique opportunity to bring both sides to the table as we plan for an AMAZING year of fun, community building activities that support our students, families and staff.

I am a firm believer in the expression: “It takes a village to raise a child” and I feel deeply that involvement in the PTA is one way to achieve that goal. We are all a group of parents (most of whom work part or full time jobs) and staff that volunteer our time to plan and execute all kinds of activities (ex: book fairs, our fun run-The Mustang Mile, spelling bee, Battle of the Books, 5th grade celebration, , staff appreciation week, etc.) to help enrich the experiences of our students, build connections within our school community and help the staff feel appreciated as they support our children’s learning and growth. Of course, there are larger roles you can hold, but even just coming to a meeting and sharing your ideas or volunteering to complete a small task makes the year that much smoother. I do hope you will join us in our efforts this year by becoming a PTA member!

Congratulations to the elected 2023-2024 Meadowbrook PTA board and officers:

President: Sarah Mizen-Reese

VP: open

Treasurer: Nichole Keppen

Secretary: Helen Davis

Fundraising: Lori Boyle

Community Liaison: Mersiha Cunmulaj

Membership Chairperson: Theresa Braithwaite

Reflections: Joy Scott-Reeder

Volunteer Coordinator: Paige Early

Legislative Representative: open

Thank you so much for your generous offer of service to the Meadowbrook school community! We are looking forward to an amazing year working together

We have an incredible group for our board this year. It is a great mix of returning and new members! We still have some open positions. If you are curious AT ALL, find a current board member to discuss what the job entails. We can even have co-chairs, so grab a friend and split the work. We promise that asking questions is NOT a commitment :)

Thank you so much for your generous offer of service to the Meadowbrook school community! We are looking forward to an amazing year working together

We are encouraging all families to join the Meadowbrook PTA! To join, simply click the link below. The fee is $10.00 and can now easily be done electronically below. Joining the PTA does not commit you to anything but it does ensure you have a voice and partnership with the Parent/Teacher Association at Meadowbrook Elementary!

Each year we encourage our families to attend Curriculum Night, as this is an important opportunity to learn about what your child's educational journey will look like this year. Please see the dates and times below.

August

8/28: First Day of School for Students (Full Day Grades 1-5, Half Day Staggered Start for Kindergarten)

8/30: Back-to-School Resource Fair @ Richardson Senior Community Center, 4:30 - 6:30 PM

September

9/1: No School

9/4: No School-Labor Day

9/6: PTA Meeting @ 6 PM (Meadowbrook Media Center), Childcare Provided

9/7: Regular Board of Education Meeting @ 7 PM

9/12: Curriculum Night @ 6 PM, Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten | 6:30 PM, 1st grade | 7 PM, 2nd grade

9/13: Curriculum Night @ 6 PM, 3rd grade | 6:30 PM, 4th grade | 7 PM, 5th grade

9/19: LAYA Taste of the Lakes @ 5:00 PM

9/21: Half Day of School, Staff Professional Development

9/22: Walled Western Homecoming, Meadowbrook students invited

9/25: No School- Yom Kippur

October

10/4:PTA Meeting @ 6 PM

10/4: Student Count Day

10/5: Regular Board of Education Meeting @ 7 PM

10/13: PTA Sponsored Mustang Mile

10/13: Walled Western Annual Pink Out Game, Meadowbrook students invited

10/20: PTA Sponsored Halloween Fun Fest

10/31: Half Day of School (Staff Professional Development)

Principal: jennifervanwagnen@wlcsd.org

Kellan Watkins

Principal's Secretary: kellanwatkins@wlcsd.org

Jennifer Schloegl

Building Secretary: jenniferschloegl@wlcsd.org

Important Phone Numbers:

Main Line: 248-956-2700

Attendance: 248-956-2790