Grizzly Gazette

In the month of September we had 122 students with Perfect Attendance. This is a huge accomplishment and it was wonderful to recognize these students. We will be doing this at the end of each month to help remind students of the importance of being in school each and every day. I am hoping to recognize more than 122 students next month!

While we know things happen and students get sick, this is an incentive to motivate students and show them that each day of school is important and unless they are sick or have an extenuating circumstance they need to be in school to learn and grow. Learning stops for no one!

We don't just celebrate students monthly, we also celebrate weekly Attendance HEROes for students that are here, everyday, ready, and on-time to learn with no tardies or early releases from the week before. These students get a certificate, a snack of their choice, and their name displayed on the Greenwood attendance bulletin board for the week.

Thank you parents for ensuring that your child is here, every day, ready, and on time to learn!

This week I wanted to do a focus on working and learning together. Our students do a lot of collaboration others here are some highlights from this week.

• Tuesday, October 20th: 1st Grade Field Trip to the Real Life Farm
• Tuesday, October 20th: 3rd Graders Get Dictionaries from Shorewood Kiwanis Club
• Wednesday, October 21st: Boo Grams Forms Due
• Wednesday, October 21st: PTO Meeting at 4:00 pm
• Thursday, October 22nd: Half Day with Dismissal at 11:25 am
• Friday, October 23rd: Popcorn Friday
• Friday, October 23rd: Picture Retake Day

Greenwood students lined up at assigned grade level doors around the building each morning. Please see the map below for grade level specifics. Please remember that parking in the bus loop on Elmdale Street is prohibited during arrival and dismissal.

• Arrival line supervision begins a few minutes after 8:00 am. for safety purposes, please plan for your student to arrive to school between 8:05 am and 8:13 am. Greenwood staff asks that students arrive as close the 8:13 am bell as possible as students will be lining up outside in all types of weather. We will only switch to indoor line up in extreme weather conditions.
• Dismissal is at 3:19 pm each day. Your child will be dismissed from their grade level door. If your student is not enrolled in latchkey, please have a plan in place for your student to be picked up each day at 3:19 pm. While we understand the occasional issue may come up please ensure you call the office to inform them if you will be late as we will need to make arrangements for supervision.
  

With Jefferson and the High School being so close older siblings can be standing around Greenwood waiting for dismissal for up to 30 minutes. We want our older siblings to demonstrate role model behavior and not disrupt the learning environment at Greenwood while they are waiting. Therefore we have put the following systems in place:

• Kindergarten, First, and Third Grade Siblings stand/sit along the wall on Elmdale Street. At 3:15 procedure to your siblings door.
• Fourth grade siblings stand along the playground fence outside of the 4th grade door. Do not gather outside of the office door and block the entrance.
• Second and Fifth Grade Siblings proceed to your siblings door and wait for dismissal.
• Green tags: During the first weeks of school we will be provide middle and high school siblings with tags of the names of their siblings that they can display on their backpack, purse, or keychain. This helps to ensure that only students picking up Greenwood siblings are waiting on the Greenwood property. Friends can wait for them down the street or across the street as we simply do not have the capacity to monitor additional students with the 50+ siblings that are coming each day.
• Please discuss appropriate behavior with your student as they are waiting, they should find a spot to sit or stand and if speaking with others using appropriate language. If a staff member or parent speaks to them asking them to move to a different spot, wait until the gate opens, or redirects their behavior please discuss with them the appropriate response.
• Middle school students either walk 11 Mile or Meier to Joan if they are picking up 2nd or 5th grade siblings. If they are picking up a Kinder or 1st grade sibling they will be asked to wait at the gate outside the Lower Elementary Playground until 3:15pm.

Our fantastic PTO created an organized list of their events throughout the year as well as half days and early releases. This is a great resource to print out and hang on your fridge to keep you informed of fun events for the entire year.

Breakfast is 7:45 am each day in the cafeteria before school begins. If you plan on having your student eat breakfast at school please ensure they are in line before 7:55 am as this gives them time to get their breakfast and eat it prior to school starting. Students eating breakfast will enter through the 5th grade entrance on the map above.

Students getting milk with their home lunch will be charged 50 cents. If you want your student to have milk simply have them order a school lunch along with their home lunch and the milk will be free.

Also to learn more about our food service program you can click the link below as well as view the monthly lunch menu.

Here at Greenwood we offer before and after school Latchkey for families that are not able to have timely and reliable student drop-off and pick-up at the scheduled bell times. REGISTRATION FOR LATCHKEY IS REQUIRED. Please click the link below for more information or to register.

If your student has any medical concerns that you would like us to be aware of or need attention throughout the day, please complete the appropriate attached medical form.

In order to volunteer you must have an approved volunteer form on file and resubmit it every school year.

We are so excited for what this school year will bring and truly appreciate your partnership in your child's education! If you need anything or have questions please feel free to reach out.

-Ms. Petz