Bison Blurb

As I reflect on my first year as principal at New Buffalo Elementary, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here! I have learned so much and have enjoyed every minute of getting to come to school each day with your children. The smiles, hugs, and laughs have filled my heart with so much joy. I hope that you all have a wonderful summer with your families and look forward to welcoming you back in the fall!

On Friday, June 6 at 11:00 there will be a special awards ceremony for 5th grade. We will be honoring students for their hard work. If your child is receiving an award you will receive a letter in the mail or a phone call home. Please join us for dismissal for the 5th grade farewell tunnel. We will line the sidewalks beginning at 11:55. There will be bubble machines and music to celebrate and send them off to middle school!

Students will still be getting summer reading books and packets this year again! They will be getting help from staff to select their 6 books at school on June 2 and 3. This will be different than years past since we aren't hosting the PTO carnival. Be on the lookout for those to come home. Students that complete the summer reading challenge will receive a prize in the fall!

Congratulations to our Platinum class compliment winners! They will be getting a visit from the Kona shaved ice truck on Monday, June 2.

Ms. Seifert, Mr. Brewster, and Mrs. Piotrowski's classes are the lucky winners!!

Our school is partnering for an on-going fundraiser with Mabel’s Labels, with 20% of your purchase going back to the school. You can pick out whatever labels or product you want, and it will ship for free directly to your house. If you’re not familiar with Mabel’s Labels, they are personalized, durable, waterproof labels, great for everything from shoes, clothing tags, water bottles and backpacks. You can customize them with your name and a design, and they are dishwasher, laundry and microwave safe. Mabel’s Labels also offers clothing stamps, silicone bands for water bottles and medical alert labels. This is a great way to ensure your items don’t end up in the lost & found or mixed up.

To support our fundraiser, visit campaigns.mabelslabels.com and select NEW BUFFALO ELEMENTARY PTO. Thank you for supporting us!

When: 1st-5th Grade: Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11 from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM each day

6th-8th Grade: Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11 from 10:15 AM to 12:15 PM

Where: New Buffalo High School-Gold Gym

Who: All Students (boys and girls) who will be in 1st-8th grade next school year

1. The last day of BASE is Wednesday, June 4.

2. This is the last week for BASE enrichments.

3. During BASE hours, if you need to enter the building, please ring the bell at the BASE door 1A.

4. Please remember to check the Lost & Found located by the BASE office before June 4th!

Items left after June 4th will be donated

Camp Lifetimes 2025 will be a “Grief Wilderness Journey” at The Woods Fitness Park. Participants ages 6-11 years old are welcome to register to join us June 25, 2025. Families will also have an electronic waver to sign for the The Woods Fitness Park. Lory’s Place will be covering the $10 lifetime membership cost for participants and facilitators.

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=ZUzVzZwwcUam-FsrxYeC_4SQnep6rdtNh4KlbsI1WN5UMkpPTFNUV0tEMFI2WjZYMzNETVRMSTg1Vy4u&origin=QRCode&route=shorturl

The word of the month for May is Creativity.

This month we will focus on teaching students about creativity at school. At the end of the month we will have a schoolwide assembly to celebrate all of the hard work of our students.

New Buffalo Elementary has a zero tolerance for bullying! If you believe your child is being bullied you may use the link below to report it to our staff. We encourage you to talk with your child's teacher or myself if you have concerns at any time.

https://nobullyingschools.com/

New Buffalo Educational Trust Scholarship

It pays to be a New Buffalo graduate, literally! In 2010, New Buffalo Area Schools established the NB Educational Trust. The Trust was created to provide each graduate of New Buffalo Area Schools (School Code 11-200) an opportunity to attend postsecondary education or a certification program. These funds are made available through a compact between the state of Michigan and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. Each eligible graduate receives $25,000 ($2,500 per semester for ten semesters). This program provides up to five years of post-secondary educational expenses (per the scale above). The post-secondary education must be completed within 10 years of the date of high school graduation. Exceptions to this requirement are granted for military service (equal to one additional year for each year of active military service). One of the New Buffalo district’s primary jobs is to familiarize pupils with college and foster an understanding of the value and cost of a post-secondary education. New Buffalo Area Schools take all four high school class levels on college visitations. Each year they choose a different Michigan campus to visit. In recent years they have increased their focus on promoting skilled trades. The NB Educational Trust fund is being used to certify electricians, welders, carpenters, truck drivers, train engineers and college degrees. NB promotes all certifications that assist in our graduates adding to their skills and training that help advance their employability. The class of 2010 was the first class to receive these funds. Since 2010 NB has financially assisted 517 graduates.

June 3- 5th grade wax museum

June 4- Fun day at 1:00

June 5- 1/2 day for students

June 6- 1/2 day for students

June 6- last day of school

June 6- Awards ceremony for 5th grade students in gym at 11:00

Melissa Lijewski, Elementary Principal- mlijewski@nbas.org, (269) 469-6060

Jenna Wendel, Administrative Assistant- jwendel@nbas.org, (269) 469-6060

Renee Bowen, Student Services- rbowen@nbas.org, (269) 469-6069

Madeline Selby, BASE Director- mselby@nbas.org, (269) 469- 6062

Tom Whitsel, Transportation Director- twhitsel@nbas.org, (269) 469- 6009

Jacob Stella, Technology Director- techstaff@nbas.org, (269) 469-6020

Susan Martinic, Food Service Director- smartinic@nbas.org, (269) 469-6048

New Buffalo Elementary Website

New Buffalo Elementary Facebook

Child Nutrition and Education Benefits Application

Cafeteria on-line payments

Food Service Menu

Annual Bullying Notice here

Contact information for all departments found here

Every student. Every day.