The Jayhawk Journal

This week, we were able to witness something magical that happened in this building for the first time ever. As you know, we value the diversity of our student body here, and we have worked very hard to promote inclusion here within our building. Our team was able to work with the Special Olympics and our first ever Unified Basketball game happened here in the gym in front of many students who were cheering on our athletes. Thank you to our teachers and our team for putting this together, I couldn't be prouder of their efforts. I am so proud of the community our students have created here for all of our students!

Just a reminder that we will have our SOAR Celebration on Tuesday when we return. The SOAR Celebration is an invite to any student who went the 2nd Trimester without getting 3 minors or 1 major infraction. Please know that every student will start with a clean slate for the 3rd Trimester, as we want all students to earn an invitation when we do it again in June. Looking forward to a fun day with our students on Tuesday!

This year, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame!" for March is Reading Month is up and running here at Johnson. We cannot believe how many students are already hitting singles, doubles, triples, and home runs as we just started this week. We take pride in this event, and we cannot wait to see how many of our students get their reading done! Please see the attached papers for March Is Reading Month to help guide your students.

Enjoy your long weekend!

- 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 recess and playground expectations here at Johnson. Going outside and taking a fun break is an essential part to our day. Taking the time to show students how to respond in various situations outside can help set our day up for success. Take the time to ask your student what they like to do outside on the playground. We are looking forward to our SOAR Celebration which will be held on Tuesday when we return.

We would like to congratulate Mr. Aboulhosn for being voted this award by his colleagues this week! Mr. A is our Social Worker here at Johnson. He can be seen anywhere in our building helping out our students. He is a part of many committees, groups, and teams behind the scenes. He is always working hard and is so dedicated to making our students successful, no matter what is going on. We would like to thank him for being our "Coach" for our first ever Unified Basketball Team here at Johnson. Mr. A makes this a better place to be, and we are so fortunate to have him on our team!

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

Spending time with our awesome staff and students!

Some Of My Favorite Things

Place To Travel: Anywhere with a beach

Foods: Arabic and Italian

Color: Honolulu Blue

College: Wayne State University

TV Show: The Sopranos

Sports Team: Detroit Lions, Pistons and Tigers

School Subject: Social Studies

My Hobbies....

Video games and exercising.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on March 11th. Please see our attached flyer for our Dine-In for PTA Night at P.F. Chang's.

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

Hello Johnson Family,

Our Spring Flower Sale has officially kicked off!

Each family should have received an email this morning with a unique link for your child’s sales page. Please use that link to share with friends and family so they can easily support our school.

The sale runs through March 20, and we are hoping to make this fundraiser a success! Every order helps support our students and school programs, so please help us spread the word far and wide.

Order Pickup Information:
All orders must be picked up on May 15 directly from Johnson Upper Elementary School. (Additional pickup details will be shared as the date gets closer.)

Thank you for your continued support—we can’t wait to see our community in bloom this spring!

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Beck or Mrs. Jablonski.

Monday 3/9 No School Professional Development Day for Staff

Tuesday 3/10 SOAR Celebration

Wednesday 3/11 PTA Meeting at 6 p.m.

Thursday 3/12 Bagel Money Due

Friday 3/13

3/9 No School Professional Development Day

3/9 Dine to Donate at P.F. Chang's

3/10 SOAR Celebration

3/11 PTA Meeting 6 p.m.

3/12 Bagel Money Due

3/17 Bagel Day

3/18 Frost Counselors visit 6th Grade

3/19 Frost Preview Night for Incoming 7th Graders

3/30 - 4/3 Spring Break

We currently have an overflowing Lost and Found cart. Coats, water bottles, lunch boxes, gloves, boots and so very much more. It would be very helpful if items you send to school with your student are labeled in some way with your student's name so we can try to reunite them with their belongings. Please remind your student to take a moment to look through the lost and found and collect their items. We are running out of space on our rack for items! Thank you for your help.

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.

"You have the power to write your own story." - Unknown