Roberts Review

2400 Belle View

Shelby Township, MI 48316

586.797.6100

Attendance Line: 586.797.6199

Email: robertsquestions@uticaK12.org

School hours: 9:05 am-3:55 pm

Half days: 9:05 am-12:09 pm

The Roberts staff has collaborated to place your children in the most cohesive classroom. Our Kindergarten team screened many of the incoming students and made initial placement. As students are placed together in classroom groups, we look at many factors such as general academics, reading abilities, and sociability to create a well-balanced classroom. Once classroom groups are designed, that is when a teacher is assigned to that group of students.

Classroom placement is an extremely long and arduous process each year that is well thought out by our team. As it is difficult for me to honor specific teacher requests, I am confident that the team will place all children in an environment where they can be most successful. Therefore, I am unable to make changes to classroom placements.

We thank you in advance for support and trust in this area as classroom teacher changes will not be made.

As a reminder, kindergarten and first grade iPads will remain at school. Keeping devices at school will allow us to maximize instructional use during the school day, ensure devices remain charged and available for learning, and reduce the risk of unintended use outside of educational purposes. Students will continue to have regular access to their iPads throughout the school day as part of their learning experience. We appreciate your support as we make this adjustment to best meet the needs of our youngest learners.

We also want to make families aware of a change with the new iPads. The new devices use a USB-C connection for headphones, so traditional headphones with the older headphone jack will not connect directly to the iPad.

If your child needs a new pair of headphones, you may want to consider USB-C to USB-C wired headphones. Here is one option available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G5HRDJCX

Please note that this is simply a suggestion, and families are welcome to purchase any headphones that are compatible with a USB-C connection.

As we get ready for a great year, please take a moment to review our Elementary Handbook, available on the district website. It includes key information about attendance, behavior, and school expectations.

📱 PowerSchool App – Stay connected! Use the PowerSchool app to view your child’s grades, absences, and other important updates.

✈️ Planning a Vacation? Families may request up to 10 days of pre-approved vacation time. Anything beyond 10 days will be marked as unexcused, and students may be dropped from enrollment if more than 10 unexcused days occur. The excused days will count on your child's attendance record.

💳 Fines & Fees – Any school-related fees (such as lost books or materials) can be viewed and paid online through the web version of PowerSchool.

The initial fee to purchase device insurance ($20.00 per device) can be paid online using your debit card or credit card through PaySchools Central. The link to PaySchools Central can be found on the UCS homepage, under “For Families” - “Resources and Forms” - “Device Insurance Plan”.

Note to new kindergarten families and families new to the district - You will need to first create the PaySchools account for your family.

• Complete the account registration by selecting register, enter your profile details, setting up your password via the email link that will be sent to you, then logging in.
• Add your children to your account using their student ID numbers. ID numbers are found in PowerSchool, and on their report card available through PowerSchool.
• If you like, enter credit card and/or banking information as forms of payments to use with your PaySchools account.

In order to be considered enrolled in the optional Technology Device Insurance Program, payments for the 2026-2027 school year must be received no later than Friday, September 4, 2026.

We would like to share that Utica Community Schools will be consolidating its district, school, and classroom communications into a single program this school year. Messages will now be shared via the ParentSquare program.

ParentSquare will be used to share district and school emails, texts, and phone calls. In addition, ParentSquare recently acquired the Remind system, which is used by our teachers, advisors and coaches to share messages with families. Our goal is to streamline communication in a way that is more efficient, effective, and convenient for UCS families.

A few quick things to know:
No Account Required to Start: While you don't need an account to receive district messages, creating one gives you a central hub to view past announcements, calendar events, and forms.
Custom Preferences: If you choose, ParentSquare allows you to determine how (email, text, app) and when (instant vs. daily digest) you receive notifications. You can set up these permissions by registering an account. Take a look at this Getting Started One-Pager or watch this quick Family Introduction Video to see how it works.

What to look out for: While this transition will be seamless for families, you may notice a few minor updates in how messages arrive:

• Text Messages: Texts will now come from the short code 66458.
• Longer Announcements: Broader community messages will include full content via a browser link or directly inside the free ParentSquare app

Any condition that may involve special dietary considerations, activity accommodations, medications, or treatment of urgent problems requires a health plan. A signature from a licensed provider is required on all health plans. Please use the link below if your student has health concerns that require a health plan to be on file.

IMPORTANT: All families need to fill out Educational Benefit Forms (EBF) to help maintain Title 1 funding. Paper forms will come home for the oldest/youngest household members. You can also go to https://utica.familyportal.cloud to apply online. This process is quicker than paper

Food Allergies

We take food allergies and student safety very seriously. Families with allergies need to have an MDE Special Dietary Needs Form filled out and signed by a physician every year. If your student has any food allergies, please have your physician fill out the MDE Dietary Needs Form and return it to the food service office. MDE Special Diet Form. Please scan and email this form to foodservice@uticak12.org or turn it into your school's main office.

You must fill out a physician-signed MDE Special Needs Accommodation form and send it to the Food Service office. Without this, we cannot make any accommodations. Please make sure to be specific with regard to the allergy (Example: all dairy or just fluid milk intolerance, etc.)

1. Because allergies can change, you MUST fill out a new form EVERY YEAR.
2. You must indicate to your child's school which days and which menu item you would like at least 48 hours in advance. We will not automatically have these available if we do not hear from parents in advance.
3. A vegetarian and nut-free options are available every day, so please see the regular menu.
4. Juice or water are not acceptable substitutes per USDA guidelines. At this time, we have Kikkoman Soy milk as a substitute. You're welcome to send in your own milk with your child if they don't like it.
5. We will do the best we can to accommodate other requests, but there may be some limitations. For questions, please call our food service office at 586-797-1180.

Families that wish to put money in their students’ Meal Magic account(s) via credit card will need to create a Family Portal account. Please go to https://utica.familyportal.cloud to create the account. This is also where parents can fill out the Educational Benefit Forms (EBF). Menus can still be found online at https://uticak12.nutrislice.com.

Please take a moment to read the following regarding cell phones, smart watches, and other personal devices. Our district policy says: "Elementary students may bring a device to school, but the device must remain in their backpacks or locker area."

Cell phones and smart watches can cause big distractions. In the past, we’ve seen students texting each other during lessons, taking photos, and even getting mid-math updates from Mom or Dad. While those messages are well-intentioned, they pull students away from the deep thinking and learning happening in the classroom.

• Students should keep cell phones and smart watches at home.
• If your child needs phone for after-school safety (like walking home), the phone must be:
1. Stored out of sight in their backpack.
2. On silent and not used at all during the school day
• This policy also applies to UCS bus transportation- no cell phones/laptops/etc. should be out during bus rides.

By following Board Policy and our Student Code of Conduct, the implementation of this will allow our school to be a place where kids can focus, connect face-to-face, and enjoy a much-needed break from constant notifications.

If you need to get a message to your child during the school day, please call our office at (586) 797-6100, and we will be sure they get it.

Our kiddos already have plenty of screen time in their lives. Let’s work together to protect their learning space and give them the gift of being fully present during the school day.

Safety remains a priority for our school. Roberts Elementary will be providing training to our students on our safety protocols. The protocols identify actions that students may be asked to take in the event of a potential incident: hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter.

The training is provided through a short, animated video. In the video, the teacher – Mrs. Appleton – and her students walk through the different responses in a very relaxed and engaging way for younger children.

The protocols will continue to be part of the training while practicing our regular school safety drills, such as fire drills, security drills, tornado drills, evacuation procedures, etc.

The video is available for you to review at this link: UCS School Safety: Standard Response Protocol - Elementary - YouTube If you have any questions, please contact our office.

Volunteer applications need to be renewed annually. If the volunteer application was submitted in November, a new application does not need to be renewed until November (one calendar year). Raptor will automatically send a renewal application when the current volunteer approval is approaching its expiration date.

We are asking for your support to help keep our students safe. All visitors to the classroom areas of our school are now being asked to swipe their driver’s license or government issued ID before entering the main part of our building. This swipe will quickly provide an updated check against national sex offender registries. This process is for anyone who is going past our school office for any reason.

If you are planning to volunteer in our classrooms or work directly with a student, you will need to have a volunteer background form on file. The form is located at this link. The background check involves multiple state and federal law enforcement data bases.

Reminder: Guests must have an appointment to meet with a staff member during instructional hours. In addition, we are asking you to not let any visitors in the door as you enter (and they come up behind you) or as you exit the building.

We greatly appreciate the involvement of our families and the difference you make at Roberts. Thank you for your partnership with this extra step that will improve safety in our school.

It is strongly recommended parents/guardians download the Raptor Safe app in order to create a visitor profile. The Raptor Safe app offers a convenient and secure way for visitors to manage and verify their identify before arriving at school. This profile provides a Raptor Passport which can be used to quickly and easily check in at the school office via the app.

As we get ready for the new school year, we want to remind everyone that food delivery services such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub are not allowed at school for students. This policy helps us maintain a safe and secure environment and ensures that all students follow consistent meal procedures during the school day. Thank you for your understanding and support!

August

August 31: 1st Day of School (half-day / school dismisses at 12:09)

September

September 4: No School

September 7: No School (Labor Day)

September 8: School Resumes (full day)

September 16: No School (PD Day)

September 17: Picture Day

October

October 13: Evening Conferences

October 14: Conferences (half-day / school dismisses 12:09)

October 16: Fun Run DATE CHANGE (Rain Day 10/23)

October 21: No School (PD Day)

October 30: Half-Day (school dismisses at 12:09)

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