
Welcome to Kindergarten!
School starts on Monday, August 28, 2023
Welcome from Mrs. VanWagnen
Dear Kindergarten Families,
Welcome to Meadowbrook Elementary! I hope you have had a wonderful summer with your family and friends. I am so excited to partner with you as your child begins his/her educational journey. This is my seventh year as a principal and my 21st year in education. I can honestly say that I love what I do and I look forward to coming to Meadowbrook each day!
The beginning of Kindergarten is a very exciting time in your child’s life! Your child is in kind, capable hands with our kindergarten teachers and our entire staff. Below you will find important information about our Welcome Back event, transportation, the first day of school, and general Meadowbrook procedures.
I know this will be a great year for our newest Mustangs!
Warmly,
Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal
Enrollment
If you have not already done so, all Kindergarten families should complete the online enrollment process ASAP. You will receive an email confirmation once your enrollment has been processed. The Student Service Department is often flooded with enrollments at this time and finalization can take time. If you have completed all steps and submitted all paperwork, you should hear from Student Services soon letting you know that everything has been finalized.
If you have questions about enrollment, please contact Student Services at 248-956-2085 or 248-956-2086. You can also contact our main office for help.
IS IT TIME TO ENROLL MY CHILD FOR KINDERGARTEN?
Families are eligible to enroll kindergartners who will be five-years-old, on or before Sept. 1, 2023. We are pleased to offer Junior Kindergarten for our youngest learners, also.
Exception: According to Michigan Law, a child may be enrolled in kindergarten if he/she is not five years of age on September 1, 2023, but will be five years of age no later than December 1, 2023 and parent or legal guardian notifies the school district in writing (Kindergarten Waiver Form) that he or she intends to enroll the child in kindergarten.
If you are considering enrolling your student using a Waiver Form, we STRONGLY suggest that you reach out to our team to talk through your child's readiness. If this is you, please email the principal at jennifervanwagnen@wlcsd.org.
IMPORTANT TASK THAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED BY EVERY FAMILY
Every family MUST complete Walled Lake's annual registration/first-day packet process. Important Note: This is in ADDITION to enrolling your Kindergarten student in the district.
The District will be using the Family Access/Skyward system to automate the process for updating and completing documents such as the emergency card, Food Service application, FERPA form, fee payments, Code of Conduct, and other important annual school forms that require parent/guardian approval.
A Skyward Family Access parent account is required in order to complete the Online Back-to-School Packet process for all schools. (A parent account username is alphanumeric - SMITHMAD000; a student account username is the student's ID number - 1234567.)
To acquire a new or lost parent account code, email FamilyAccess@wlcsd.org or call (248) 956-2190. Include ALL of the following information in the body of your message.
Guardian name
The name of each child in the district and school they attend
Guardian's email address that is currently on file with the district
Daytime phone numbe
Student classroom placements will be available sometime after 4:00pm on August 22nd if your Online Back to School packet is completed.
Staggered Start for K Students: Monday, August 29
Starting Kindergarten (and Junior Kindergarten) is a big step for children. While some students have little trouble adjusting, Kindergarten can be a bit overwhelming at first. Even children who have been in day care or preschool, or who have older siblings at the school, may feel a bit apprehensive. It's a new building, a new teacher, and a new set of classmates, after all, so it does take time for kids to get comfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings. Our JK and Kindergarten staff in Walled Lake do an excellent job of preparing for your child to have a comfortable and positive first experience. With that said, we specifically tailor our first day of school to ease your child into a new learning environment. Please see the staggered start times for our Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs (by last name) on August 28, 2023:
Last Names A-M: 9:00-11:30 a.m.
Last Names N-Z: 1:30-4:00 p.m.
*Lunch will not be served to Kindergarten students on this first day.
*For those eligible to receive it, transportation WILL be provided to and from school for both AM and PM students.
Meet our Wonderful Kinder Team
Michelle Covert
Amanda Kelty
Josselyn Gorman
Tiffany Pardo
Nancy Scherr
Jennifer VanWagnen
Kellan Watkins
Jennifer Schloegl
Meet and Greet: Thursday, August 24
Lunch for First Week of School
Lunch can be tricky for our youngest learners to navigate in the beginning of the school year. Therefore, we kindly ask that your kindergarten student bring a lunch from home for the first week of school which aides in adjusting to the lunchroom routine.
Lunches from home should be healthy and protein-based so that they nourish the body and brain. Treats should be saved for dessert at home. If you decide to pack a lunch, only pack what your child can eat in 20 minutes or less. Your child’s stomach is only the size of their fist. We ask for your partnership helping your child understand how much time they have to eat and why we say eat inside, talk outside. To aide in this understanding, it is important to practice before school begins.
1. Pack their lunch in the containers and lunch box they will use.
2. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
3. Hand your child their lunch and let them practice opening everything unassisted, eat, put all items back into their lunch box, and clean up their area.
Students will need to accomplish all of the above steps independently and will have time to eat when they finish these steps within that 15 minutes. If your child struggles, it is important that they continue to practice so they are prepared.
If you decide to pack a lunch beyond the first week of school, here are some suggestions:
1. Only pack what your child can eat in 20 or fewer minutes.
2. All packed items need to be easily opened by your child. We suggest pre-cutting packaging so your child can tear it open. Or, open all items and wrap them in aluminum foil.
3. For easy accessibility, peel oranges and pre-cut other fruits and vegetables.
4. Lunchables are NOT child friendly. If you decide to use those, these must be opened and put into aluminum foil or a reusable container.
In exciting news, Michigan lawmakers have approved funding for universal free meals at all schools throughout the state. The program covers free breakfast and free lunch for students from Pre-K through 12th grade for the 2023-24 school year. Meadowbrook will offer breakfast items each morning until approximately 9:00 AM and lunch during your child’s scheduled lunch period.
We continue to encourage all families to apply for the Food Assistance Program this year because this program also gives our school extra funds for hiring additional teachers and purchasing supplies based on family income levels. All of this information remains confidential. Click here for more information on applying for the Food Assistance Program. This application can also be found in the Online Back-to-School Packet you complete in your child’s Skyward Family Access BEFORE school begins.
Transportation Updates
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.
- Students who are school of choice and/or in-district transfer can request busing using the Google Form. Once busing counts have been conducted, we will notify these individuals via email if a bus is available. Those emails will begin to go out on September 15th.
- Bus Stops/Routes: Bus routes will be available to parents via Skyward and the WLCSD Transportation website on Friday, August 18th (attached below).
- 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.
Suggested School Supply Lists
please review the meadowbrook family handbook
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
**Important note: All students that are eligible to ride a bus should do so. If your child is eligible for car transportation, you should have your child begin practicing getting in and out of a booster seat, unassisted from the back, driver's side of the vehicle. Thank you!