Mill Valley Weekly

What an incredible week to be part of our Mill Valley Family! Between the crisp, sunny fall afternoons that have made outdoor recess an absolute blast and the historic excitement of our Milwaukee Brewers bringing home a World Series Championship, school spirit is running at an all-time high. The halls are buzzing with energy, and the fun continues tomorrow as we celebrate Halloween. We can’t wait to see all the creative costumes during our classroom celebrations and parade! What an unforgettable, joyful season for our kids.

Go Brewers and stay safe trick-or-treating this weekend!

In Partnership,

Allyce Harris

Mill Valley Principal

We are excited to continue our Halloween parade tradition this year! To make the parade easier for families to attend, our parade will take place outdoors around the Mill Valley blacktop area. This will allow families to enjoy the parade without needing to enter the building or check in through the office.

Families are invited to stand along the designated parade route outside the school to watch students and staff parade by in their costumes (SEE MAP BELOW). The parade will begin at 2:15pm starting with kindergarten. Students will exit the building with their classes follow the parade route and then return inside with their teachers.

Students going home early after the parade will follow the Halloween Dismissal Plan (see below).

🎃 Reminders about costumes:

• No scary or violent costumes

• No weapons

• No make-up or colored hair

• Bring your costume to change into right before the parade starts (do not wear costumes to school)

When I think about play at my house when my boys were growing up, I think about noise. My boys wrestled constantly. Games of tag turned into shirt-grabbing, and over the years we lost a few shirts to rips. When one brother dropped a thrown ball, the teasing started right away. At home, this was just part of being brothers. They knew each other well, they knew where the limits were, and I was right there to step in if things went too far.

School is a different kind of place, and the playground is where that difference shows up most. At Mill Valley, our students play with many different friends, some they know well and some they are still getting to know. Not every child is comfortable with rough play, and a joke that two brothers laugh off can really sting a classmate. Play that feels fine at home may not feel fine to everyone on the playground.

Mrs. Losey and I visited every Kindergarten class this fall to discuss playground safety and norms and believe these three concepts apply to all of our students.

Be Kind
We talked about using kind and supportive words when playing with friends. When someone misses a catch or loses a game, we cheer them on instead of teasing. Encouraging words help everyone want to keep playing. We also discussed our “Buddy Bench” and how to include others who are left out and invite them to join the game.

Be Respectful
We also talked about keeping our hands to ourselves, and that a gentle tap on the shoulder or back is the way to get a friend’s attention or tag them. We never tackle or pull on others, even during sports games, because everyone deserves to feel safe on the playground.

Be Responsible
When recess is over, our students put away all equipment so our Educational Assistants (EAs) don’t have to clean up after them. We also line up quietly so the EAs can give directions and get everyone back to class smoothly. Taking care of our shared space is a big job, and our students are ready for it.

How You Can Help at Home
You don’t have to stop the wrestling and silly games at home. Those are part of growing up, and they can be great fun. But you can help your child understand that different places have different rules. Here are a few questions to try:

• “What is a kind thing you can say when a friend drops the ball?”

• “How could you include someone who looks left out at recess?”

• “What’s the difference between how we play at home and how we play at school?”

When children understand that the rules change with the setting, they learn to read situations and think about others’ feelings, and those skills will help them well beyond the playground.

Thank you for partnering with us. Together, we can make recess a place where every child feels safe, included, and ready to play.

Dr. S

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we continue through the school year, student safety remains our highest priority—and we need your help to keep our kids safe at bus stops across our community.

We are issuing an urgent reminder regarding state traffic laws around school buses:

• Yellow Flashing Lights: When a school bus activates yellow flashing lights, it indicates the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. Drivers are required by law to slow down and prepare to stop.

• Red Flashing Lights & Extended Stop Arm: When the red lights are flashing and the stop sign is extended, traffic in both directions (unless separated by a physical median) must come to a complete stop. You must remain stopped until the red lights turn off and the stop arm retracts.

Passing a stopped school bus is not only extremely dangerous to our students, but it is also illegal.

Please be aware that our drivers actively document drivers who bypass flashing lights, and our local Police Department is aggressively following up on these reports. Violations will be reported and investigated. Violators may receive law enforcement visits and costly citations.

Please give yourself extra time during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up hours, stay alert, and eliminate distractions while driving. Let’s work together to make sure every child gets to and from school safely.

Thank you for your cooperation and commitment to student safety.

Ski and Snowboard Club provides students with the opportunity to purchase lift tickets and rentals at significantly discounted rates at Alpine Valley Monday–Friday, as well as on Sundays after 3:00 PM.

Students enroll in the discount program by purchasing a $32 Club Card. The Club Card includes:

• One free lesson on scheduled Ski and Snowboard Club dates

• Access to discounted lift tickets and rentals

• The ability for friends and family to take advantage of special club pricing on designated dates

CLICK HERE for details and to sign up!

To view current support staff job vacancies, click HERE

Email: allyce.harris@muskegonorway.org
Website: muskegonorway.org
Location: W191 S6445 Hillendale Dr, Muskego Wi, 53150
Phone: 262-971-1830
Facebook: facebook.com/millvalleyelementary