The Jayhawk Journal

Another week that was slightly altered by Mother Nature, but our Jayhawks continued to stay strong! This week was full of a few activities that brought some warmth to inside our building. Tuesday night we welcomed in some students and their families for Fleece and Thank You as part of Youth Making A Difference. It was great to see families working together to help a great cause for our community.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. Watching our SOAR Clubs develop over the years has to be one of my proudest moments as the principal here at Johnson. The amount of dedication and work that our teachers put in cannot be thanked enough. Every month they find something that fits the interests of our students, and provide a place for them to enjoy those activities. Our students have done a tremendous job in showing responsibility as they transition from class to clubs and from clubs back to class. Well done Jayhawks!

Our 6th Graders have worked hard and have shown grit as they work through the COGAT Tests. The last week to test will be this week, please reach out to your teachers if you have any questions about the tests.

As we begin February, something that we have always done to celebrate Black History Month begins with our students. For the month of February, we ask that students provide a quote for Black History Month. Those students are able to provide the quote to myself, and I will approve them to come on the announcements. This way we start off every morning with an important quote for Black History Month that is student led on the announcements. If your student is interested, please have them bring the quote to the front office.

Let's continue to stay warm out here!

- 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 expectations in the hallways. With our 6th Grade taking the COGAT Test, we want to ensure our noise levels in the halls are good for a testing environment. This will also be our goal when MSTEP begins in April, as well. Thank you to our staff and students who participated in our SOAR Clubs this week! We are looking forward to the next time we do clubs on Friday, February 27th.

We would like to congratulate Mrs. Koczara for being voted this award by her colleagues this week! Mrs. Koczara is an instructional coach here at Johnson. She does a lot of work behind the scenes with our teachers when it comes to planning and carrying out instruction. She brings a wealth of knowledge and resources that helps our staff plan lessons to help meet the needs of all of our students. In addition to planning, she can be seen in the classrooms working with teachers and helping out students in their daily lessons. She brings so much to our building, and we are lucky to have her!

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

The kids and the staff.

Some Of My Favorite Things

Place To Travel: Traverse City and Up North

Foods: Anything Italian

Color: Blue

College: Michigan

TV Show: The Office

Sports Team: Detroit Lions

School Subject: ELA

My Hobbies....

Whatever my kids wants to do!

We look forward to seeing you at our PTA Meeting on February 10th! Please see our flyer for joining the PTA. PTA Membership must be bought in January to count for the contest!

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

Monday 2/2 "Roll Into" February PJ Day

Tuesday 2/3

Wednesday 2/4

Thursday 2/5 Bagel Money Due

Friday 2/6

2/2 "Roll Into" February PJ Day

2/5 Bagel Money Due

2/10 PTA Meeting at Johnson

2/13 Bagel Day

2/16 No School Mid-Winter Break

2/17 No School Mid-Winter Break

2/23 6th Grade Day of Music

2/27 SOAR Clubs

Parents, just a friendly reminder that we do not allow food to be dropped off at the office from outside services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, or Door Dash for students. Our number one priority is student safety, and using drop-offs like this, is not what is best for our students. In addition, meals and things are not coming on time which makes students get food outside of their lunchtime or hour, which takes away from our academics. We understand that things happen, and something may need to be dropped off by a family member every once in a while, we are happy to work with you in those situations. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Just a reminder for the upcoming weather that is expected. Please drive with extra caution in the parking lot as snow begins to fall. Practice patience and understanding as our staff works to keep all students and parents safe in the parking lot. We appreciate your ongoing partnership in these areas!

We will be going outside for recess as much as we can! We will only stay inside if the windchill is below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. This will be determined by using the Real Feel on Accuweather.com. Students are encouraged to bring boots and change in their lockers. If snow is on the ground, students can go anywhere if they have boots on. If students are in shoes, they will stay on the blacktop to play during that time.

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.

"The triumph can't be had without the struggle." - Wilma Rudolph