The Jayhawk Journal

This week was full of many beginnings that will help shape our year! First and foremost, welcome to our staff, Mr. Joe Bublitz! Mr. B came in this week and has been a great addition to our staff as he begins his new role as the Assistant Principal. I want to remind you once again the importance of what happened this Monday as our staff worked for the day with no students. All of our teachers were able to meet with myself, Mr. B, and other resource staff to discuss all of our students. We were able to look over data, identify needs, and put together a plan on how to best address the needs of our students. Small Group Instruction will make up an hour of our day moving forward, and all teachers were now able to make groups, put together plans, and instill routines for all students to help them grow this school year! Parent-Teacher Conferences will be this Wednesday (10/8) and Thursday (10/9). Please make sure you contact your student's teacher to set up a conference if you have already not done so. Now is a perfect time to check-in and see the progress of your student. We are a team here, and nothing is better for your student than when our staff and parents are working together as one! Finally, just wanted to say thank you to all of our students who participated in Tigers Spirit Day. Although I am from Livonia, I spent the beginning of my education career in Florida, where there weren't too many Lions or Tigers fans. Any time our school can come together and root for a hometown team, we will always enjoy those days! Wishing you all the best as we gear up for conference week!

- Mr. Traub

Johnson Upper Elementary School is committed to providing a safe, respectful environment that supports the academic and socio-emotional needs of every student as they develop the necessary skills to become capable, confident, life-long learners.

This week we focused on cafeteria expectations. Our cafeteria is a vital part of many parts of the day. We serve breakfast to start the day, hold four different lunch periods, and use it to help with bus dismissal at the end of the day. Students have been working very hard to keep it clean, be respectful, and make it a fun place to be. Please see the attached matrix to go over SOARing expectations for all aspects of the building. This week we will hold our first SOAR Clubs on Friday the 10th. Take the time to talk with your student about what they have done to earn 10 SOAR Bucks and what Clubs interest them next week.

We would like to congratulate Mrs. Rice for being voted this award by her colleagues this week! Mrs. Rice is a 5th Grade Teacher here at Johnson. Mrs. Rice has such a unique relationship with this building as she has been a student, an intern, and is now a teacher here. Mrs. Rice has a calm demeanor and can make adjustments on anything that is needed throughout the day. She is a great colleague, works well with others, and gives her all to her students. We are so lucky to have her!

My Favorite Part of Being A Jayhawk Is....

Getting to know all of the staff and students!

Some Of My Favorite Things

Place To Travel: Anywhere with a lake!

Foods: Pasta Salad

Color: Yellow

College: Michigan

TV Show: Survivor

Sports Team: Detroit Lions

School Subject: Math

My Hobbies....

Hiking, painting, hanging out with my friends and family.

Thank you Jayhawk Family for all of your donations! We are glad to report that we are over $12,000. With 2 weeks to go, we are on track to reach our goal of $18,000. Just a reminder that we use this money to help keep field trip costs down, bring in supplies for students, and it helps us pay for the many fun activities that we have throughout the year. Just for a little more incentive.....If we hit our goal, Mr. Traub will have an assembly where students are able to throw pie at him as a celebration!

For the month of October, all LPS schools will focus on showing and building respect. Take the time to talk with your student about what that means to them and your family.

The following menu changes will occur during these dates here at Johnson.

10/6 MONDAY-

#1 PB & J

#2 Turkey Stick

10/7 TUESDAY -

#1 Italian Wrap

#3 Turkey Stick

10/8 WEDNESDAY -

#1 Domino's

#2 Turkey Stick

10/9 THURSDAY

NO SCHOOL

Monday 10/6

Tuesday 10/7 PTA Meeting at 6 p.m.

Wednesday 10/8 Conference Night

Thursday 10/9 No School - Conferences All Day and Night

Friday 10/10 SOAR Clubs

10/8 - Parent Teacher Conferences at Night

10/9 - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences All Day and Night

10/10 - SOAR Clubs

10/16 - Picture Retake Day

10/17 - Color Run

10/22 - PTA Halloween Bingo Family Night

Planning to volunteer this year? Fill out the iChat form now and you'll be all set for the year! Just enter today's date (or a day next week) for when you plan to begin volunteering. Then, you'll be all set when it comes time to help with Holiday Shop, Field Day, and other events.

We ask all parents/guardians to complete the welcome back checklist on parent connect. Why? This information is who we will contact in the event of an emergency. Year after year contacts will follow a student's file if they go unchecked. Please make sure all the contacts are current.

A nutritious lunch and breakfast is available for free each day at Johnson and at all Livonia Public Schools. If you forget to pack a lunch or just run out of time, we understand. Please know we will provide your student one of our lunch options always, no matter what. We hope this option will save you a trip up to the school. We also would like to remind parents that for safety reasons, we do not allow Door Dash orders for students. Thank you for understanding.

Students cannot be dropped off for school in the morning prior to 8:15am. This is when the doors open for breakfast and when staff is available to supervise students. Prior to this time, all school doors are locked. Students are not to be left unattended, arrangements must be made. Also, dismissal is at 3:30pm daily and at 11:45am on half days. It is required that all students who are picked up in the car loop be picked up no later than 3:45pm. Staff is not available to supervise students beyond that time. The district offers a SACC program for those students that cannot be picked up by 3:45pm. Please contact SACC at (734)744-2966 to make arrangements.

If your student is arriving after the last tardy bell, please note they need to check in at the office. They should enter the building through door number one (with the arch) and check in on the chromebook in the office. Parents do NOT need to come in to drop off students only to pick up.

If you need to pick up your student prior to the end of the school day, please know you will need to come into the office to sign them out and be verified by the office staff. Whomever is picking up a student early, must be listed on the Emergency Card.

Oftentimes a student will come to the office with a medical need. The office staff is able to dispense medication as needed as long as the medication is: 1) Delivered to school by a parent in the original unopened package or prescription container, {NO MEDICATION can be brought to school by students} 2) As long as there is an individual, signed medical authorization on file for each medication {form available in the office and online} Medication includes but is not limited to cough drops, aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, prescription drugs, creams, lotions, vitamins, inhalers, EpiPens, etc.… We cannot administer any medication that is not listed on file in the office. Please reach out to Jill Jablonski or Amy Dimmer in the office to set up a time to bring in medications and to review your student’s medical needs when they are in the building.

“Don't let yesterday take up too much of today." - Unknown