April 5, 2024

Welcome Back from Spring Break

Superintendent: Superintendent Messages

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April 5, 2024

GLPS Families,

Welcome back from spring break! It was great to see your students again this week, and to begin the busy stretch from spring break to the end of the year. A couple of updates for today:

At our March Caregiver School Improvement Team meeting, I asked for some feedback on our academic supports. I would love to hear from all of our families, so please take a moment to complete this brief survey. We appreciate your input, as it helps us improve our programs.

As I am sure you are aware by now, there will be a solar eclipse next Monday. Here in the Lansing area, we should experience about 90% coverage, which means it will get very dark at around 3:15 pm. At that time, our elementary school students will still be in school, while our secondary students will be home, traveling home, or at after school activities. While this will be an incredible event to experience, and one that does not happen often, there are some things we can do to help our students stay safe while enjoying the experience.

- We have purchased eclipse glasses for everyone in the district, and buildings will be distributing them to all students. We reached out to a local optometrist to ensure that we were purchasing the correct ones. Please remind your children that they should not look at the eclipse without wearing these specific glasses. Our staff will be planning activities throughout the district, but given the timing of it, our secondary students will not be in class when it occurs. We will remind students about wearing the glasses, but your assistance is appreciated.
- We understand that eclipses have religious and cultural significance for some of our students and families, so we will be mindful and respectful of the various perspectives that your students may bring to the event and create space for them to experience it in alignment with their beliefs. If you have any information that would be helpful for your student’s experience of the event, please communicate with your child’s teacher.
- Our parking lot lights will be on, as it will seem like dusk during elementary and secondary pick up times, and it will be dark at around 3:15.
- I have received a few questions about altering our schedule for the day, and I know that some districts changed their dismissal times. However, given where the eclipse falls in our day, I thought it was best to maintain our schedule and help create a memorable learning experience for our students, while also keeping them safe. Therefore, we will be running our regular schedule for dismissal on Monday.
- For more information about the eclipse, please see these resources: Eclipse Safety Sheet and NASA Eclipse Information.

This week, the Grand Ledge Public Schools Health Center had its’ soft opening. The University of Michigan-Sparrow staff was onsite at the high school each day to answer questions and interact with students. It was a very positive start, and many students stopped by the center to meet the team and learn more about the services offered. As a reminder, if you are interested in your child accessing the center, you can complete the consent form and return it in one of the following ways:

- Your school’s main office.
- Your Beagle student’s check and connect classroom.
- Your high school student’s C3 classroom.
- The Grand Ledge Public Schools Health Center in room 118 (door 20) at Grand Ledge High School.
- Mail it to the Health Center at 820 Spring Street, Suite 100, Grand Ledge, MI 48837.
- Elementary or intermediate school parents who will be bringing your child to the center, can fill the form out in advance, or you can fill it out at the center when/if you visit.

That is it for this week. As always, we appreciate your support and the opportunity to work with you and your child every day.

Have a wonderful weekend; I am #proudtobeacomet!