The Jayhawk Journal

Thank you all for such a wonderful end to the week! Thank you to our students, teachers, and community members for fundraising this month. A special thank you to our PTA for always organizing and putting this fun event together. Great news, we are now sitting just above $17,000. This means that we have less than $1,000 to go, and we can keep fundraising until this Monday, the 20th. Let's hit our goal so Mr. Bublitz and myself will have to go through an assembly where pies are thrown at us.

We will have a Lions Spirit Day for Monday Night Football, followed by a Spirit Week 10/27-10/31 (details will be in the next letter) that will take us to Halloween on Friday the 31st. At Johnson, we believe that we like to enjoy the last years of our students being in Elementary, and we allow costumes (school appropriate) on Halloween Day. We have worked very hard the last few weeks, so we are looking forward to having some fun with that Spirit Week ahead.

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 being an Anti-Bully and an Upstander. Please see the attached article at the bottom of the letter as October Is Bullying Prevention Month. Please see the attached matrix to go over SOARing expectations for all aspects of the building. The next SOAR Club will be on Friday, October 31st. Talk to your student about what club they went to, and what will be their plan to earn 10 more SOAR Bucks between now and the 31st.

We would like to congratulate Ms. Tina for being voted this award by her colleagues this week! Ms. Tina is one of our secretaries here at Johnson. She is normally the first face you will see when you walk in our building, and does a great job in welcoming anyone to Johnson. She is always willing to lend a hand to either a student or staff member when they are in need. She loves her job and passes on that joy to anyone she sees or talks to on the phone. She is extremely dedicated and does so much for our school. We are so lucky to have her!

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

The staff and the kids that we have here!

Some Of My Favorite Things

Place To Travel: Malta

Foods: Italian and Spicy

Color: Yellow

College: Michigan State

TV Show: Cooking Shows

Sports Team: Detroit Lions

School Subject: Recess

My Hobbies....

Cooking, working in the yard, and hanging out with my family.

Thank you Jayhawk Family for all of your donations! We are glad to report that we are now sitting just above $17,000. With 3 days 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 and Mr. Bublitz will have an assembly where students are able to throw pie at us 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.

Dear School Community,

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. As a school community, we want to encourage everyone to stay informed about the signs of bullying, the impact it can have, and what to do if you see it happening.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines bullying as behavior that is:

• Unwanted: The behavior is not wanted by the victim.
• Aggressive: The behavior involves some form of aggression, such as physical force, threats, or intimidation.
• Repeated: The behavior happens more than once or has the potential to happen again.

Acts of bullying may involve physical contact, words or gestures, or social exclusion. Bullying can happen in person or online.

The signs of bullying include:

• Physical signs: bruises, cuts, torn clothing, missing items
• Emotional signs: changes in mood, withdrawal from friends and activities, anxiety, depression
• Behavioral signs: aggressive behavior, changes in eating or sleeping habits, truancy
• Social signs: being excluded from activities, being made fun of or called names

If you see bullying happening, it's important to do something. Here are some things you can do:

• Talk to the bully and tell them to stop.
• Talk to the victim and offer your support.
• Report the bullying to a trusted adult, such as a teacher, counselor, or parent.

If you or someone you know is being bullied, there are resources available to help:

• The National Bullying Prevention Center
• The Trevor Project
• StopBullying.gov

In addition, Care Solace is available 24/7/365 to connect individuals to care. Call 888-515-0595 or visit caresolace.com/livonia.

Together, we can create a safe and supportive school community for all students!

Sincerely,

Livonia Public Schools

Monday 10/20 - Lions Spirit Day

Tuesday 10/21

Wednesday 10/22 - PTA Halloween Bingo Night @ 6 p.m.

Thursday 10/23

Friday 10/24 - Michigan Vs. Michigan State Spirit Day

10/22 - PTA Halloween Bingo Family Night

10/29 - 5th Grade Field Trip - Henry Ford

10/31 - 6th Grade Field Trip - Riverside Arena

10/31 - SOAR Clubs and Halloween Fun

11/10 - 11/12 - 6th Grade Camp

11/17 - PTA Meeting

11/20 - Bagel Day

11/25 - SOAR Clubs

11/26 - 11/28 - Thanksgiving Break

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 journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu