February 9, 2024

Wacousta is celebrating National Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) week, next week, from February 12th through the 16th. A random act of kindness is a selfless act performed unexpectedly for others, often for strangers, but also for friends and family, with no intention of receiving anything in return. Join us in spreading kindness throughout our school while also dressing up to support each other. 

Monday:  "Share your words of kindness" while wearing shirts with kind or inspirational words
Kind act: Write an encouraging note to a friend or stranger. 

Tuesday: "Kindness gives those warm & fuzzy feelings" so wear your best warm and fuzzy clothes
Kind act: Do a task or chore for someone without being asked.

Wednesday: "Spread love and kindness" while wearing your favorite Valentine outfit
Kind act: Give a Valentine to someone unexpected (a neighbor, the mail carrier, a stranger at the store, etc.)

Thursday: "Team up for kindness" while wearing a team jersey or shirt
Kind act: Work as a team to make sure everyone feels included in a game, conversation, or other activity

Friday: "Light up the world with kindness" while wearing bright neon colors
Kind act: Smile at 5 people you don't normally interact with, like someone in another grade. 

A special thank you goes out to Kelsey Burzynski in recognition of school counselors month.  

Have you ever wondered what a school counselor does? You might remember meeting with your ‘guidance counselor’ in high school about colleges or careers, but if ycan recall the adults in your school building prior to age 10, can you picture who your school counselor was or what he or she did? If not, you wouldn’t be alone in that. The prevalence of school counselors, especially in the elementary school setting, has grown over the last 20 years. So back to the pivotal question: what does a school counselor do exactly? Here are a few fast facts to help answer that question.

School counselors: 

Your School Counselor, 

Kelsey Burzynski, MEd, EdS, NCC
Wacousta Elementary School Counselor
Office Phone: 517-925-5972

These students are being recognized for exhibiting "Engaged" behavior in their class and with their peers and school staff in the month of January: Alex Lopez, Easton Whinnie, Dallas Clark, Harlow Barnes, Sydney Hiltner, Maisie Cobbett, Eloise Lund, Isabella Manore, Amelia Holly, Teigan Bell, Lucy Barnes, Alaina Levey, Alina Villarreal, Austin Hoeksema, Dominic Hill, Ethan Wilson

When you call in your students absence from school due to  illness, please also include the symptoms they are experiencing, such as: fever, vomiting, diarrhea, sore threat, congestion etc.  If your student or someone in your household has tested postitive for COVID or been in contact with someone with a positive reading, please go to the Grand Ledge Public Schools website and click on the health link to report.  The Health Team will then reach out to you with guidance.  Thank you for your cooperation.

We have student's getting dropped off in the morning before we have staff available to supervise them.   Student safety is our number one priority.  Students may not be dropped off prior to 8:40 a.m. when we can accommodate supervision each day.

Please remember to put your students last name in their outwear: jackets, snowpants, boots, hats and gloves.  Doing so helps us get misplaced items back to the rightful owners!

Thank you to everyone who volunteers for our lunch time help!  You are so greatly appreciated during this busy time of the day.  If you haven't had a chance to volunteer previously, we are still in great need of support each day.  Please consider donating a few hours of time.  You can sign-up using this link.  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084DAEA629A4F85-lunch#/

Please continue to collect Box Tops for Education! This program is completely online now. To get the app please go to www.Boxtops4education.com

You can follow the Wacousta Elementary School PTIA on Facebook and email us at ptiawacousta@gmail.com

When calling in for any of the following reasons please identify your student by first and last name, grade, and teacher.

School Arrival:  Students may not be dropped off prior to 8:40 a.m. since we do not have supervision available. If your student will be getting breakfast it is important that they arrive at the drop off time and go directly to the cafeteria.  Arriving late, makes them late for class start time at 9:00.

School Dismissal:  School ends at 3:55 p.m.  All students should be picked up no later than 4:05 p.m. If you are picking up your child at the end of the day and want to meet them at parent pick up, please do not get in the parent pick up line.  We ask that you park in a parking spot and walk to meet your child.  ALSO, PLEASE DO NOT GO PAST THE CONES TO COLLECT YOUR CHILD.  WE HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE STUDENTS.  If you remain in your vehicle, please continue to move up in line and we'll get your student(s) to you. ~Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Half-day dismissal:  Is at 12:10 p.m.

Late Arrivals:  If you know your child is going to be arriving late, please call or email the school office to let us know.  It is also helpful to let us know if they need a school lunch and which option they'd prefer.  We'll make sure to get that ordered for them.

Parent Pick-Up:  If you are planning to  pick-up your child after school, or change from parent pick-up to riding the bus, please call the school office no later than 2:30 p.m.  We distribute the pick-up list to teachers and staff at this time and are unable to accommodate last minute changes.

Absences:  If your student will be absent or becomes ill and cannot attend school, please call the office and let us know your students name, teacher, reason for absence and symptoms if ill.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Illness Reminder: We ask that your child be 24 hours free of fever, vomiting or diarrhea before you send them back to school after they have been out sick.  We appreciate your cooperation with this!

To report a positive Covid case, please complete the Covid Reporting Form.

All medication needs to be brought to school by a parent/guardian.  This includes all over the counter medication (cough drops, Tylenol, etc).  Prescription and over the counter medications require a doctors order for the school to administer them, that includes creams or lotions. You will find medication documents at this link: medication and health information Click on School Health Information and Forms.

Due to the number of life-threatening allergies we have in our building, we respectfully request that you do not send in any type of food for birthday treats.  Mr. Groves celebrates each child by announcing their name during the morning announcements and he personally presents them with a birthday pencil.

If you so choose, you are welcome to bring in a non-edible treat for your child's classmates but they may not include any type of gum or candy.  Some parents choose to send in something small like a pencil or stickers, but that is up to each family.  It is definitely your choice and we understand that not all families are able to do something like this.

We also request that you do not send birthday invitations to school.  If you would like an address list, we will have School Directories available in the near future for $1.00.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Is your student missing their jacket, hat, gloves, water bottle, lunch box?  Our lost and found table and coat rack are beginning to fill up again.  Stop in to reclaim items your student may have misplaced.

Future forecast? COLD and SNOW.  Please make sure your student wears a jacket, has a hat, gloves, boots, snow pants, so they are prepared for the weather. Please also check your students backpack for appropriate extra clothing.  Shorts and short sleeved shirt days have expired.   An extra pair of socks comes in handy for the wet days when our feet just can't stay out of the puddles!

If you are in need of assistance with clothing and outwear please contact the office. You can also find community support information below in the "District and Community News" section of this newsletter.

Thanks for your support and cooperation in keeping our kiddos warm and dry this season.