Greetings Winn Families and Students,

My name is Laurie Richards and I am the PROUD Principal of Winn Elementary School. This upcoming school year will be my 5th year as Principal at Winn Elementary! The legacy of academic excellence at Winn Elementary is rich and continues to be a cornerstone of the community of our Winn families.

My goal as your principal is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to experience deeper learning in an authentic classroom environment. The students, staff, parents and community of Winn Elementary are all important ingredients in the recipe of student success. As the old proverb states, “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.” Thank you in advance for your support and dedication as we enter into the 2023-2024 school year!

Winn Elementary's motto is "Everything a Kid Needs". We are here for our students and our families. We look forward to working with you throughout the year!

Your partner in learning,

Laurie Richards

We want to welcome you back to the 23-24 school year here at Winn Elementary. We are so excited about this new year! Here are some reminders to help you navigate the school year:

1. If you have a concern about your child, please reach out to your classroom teacher. You can contact them via Remind, email, or phone. Talk to your teacher about what you are seeing and let us know how we can help.
2. We have cool "Note to School" pads that we give our families to help make note writing quicker. It is important for you to send a note with your child if there is a change of plans or you need to let us know something. These note pads are all set up to help you! Let us know if you would like one.
3. If you are dropping your child off in the morning, please wait until a Winn staff member is outside. Students can enter the building at 7:40. Breakfast begins at 7:40. Birthdays are celebrated at 7:50 each day. School begins at 8:00.
4. We love to celebrate birthdays here! If you are bringing in a treat, you are welcome to park in the front lot and bring them into the school.
5. If you are dropping off paperwork or need to speak to the office, please park in the parking lot and come into the building.
6. School Dismissal is at 3:00 pm.
7. WAAC after school begins at 3:00 and runs until 5:30pm each day
8. Thanks so much for helping with drop-off and pick-up each day. The "orange car tags" are coming tomorrow with your child. We appreciate everyone utilizing the "orange car tags" signs in their cars to help us call for your child. At the end of the day, we want to remind everyone to stay in their vehicles so we can keep our line moving as quickly as possible. We will bring your kids to you :)

1. Pull into the lot traveling along the south side. You will be pulling up towards the building. Please stay in your car. Do not park in the parking lot.

2. All of the number spots are labeled in front of the school.

3. Pull up as far as you can.

4. At 7:40, we will come out of the building to welcome you! Please do not let your child out of the car until 7:40.

5. Help your kids get out of the car and give them a big hug!

6. We will help them into the building!

Thanks to a Saginaw Chippewa Tribal grant, Winn was able to purchase a therapy dog for our school two years ago. Penny is an Australian Labradoodle. Penny has been working so hard getting ready for the new school. She works with a trainer here at school all year. If you see Penny, give her a wave! She is a little shy and is not used to her new home. If you want to visit, just ask if you can say hi to Penny!

Penny lives with Mrs. Richards and her family. Penny loves to hold stuffed animals in her mouth. Her best friend is Ruth Barker, the airedale dog!

This year, we are all new! We have never worked here together as a staff. The kids have never come to school here. We understand that everyone is a little excited and a little scared.

One of the best things we can do is to talk with our kids. Take time to go over the routine at home and what you are going to do each day. Give them examples of times when you might have been scared and how you dealt with that. Reassure them and stay positive. I have attached some tips to help with big emotions too.

We are also so LUCKY to have Ms. Hinsman as our full time counselor here. If you feel your child needs access to her for any reason, please call the school. Ms. Hinsman visits all the classrooms so you can share that with the kids too. She is an amazing resource for our building and our families!

All year, I have a chance to read to your families! I do a LIVE Facebook read to students each Tuesday at 7:30. It is a great chance to spend time together and listen to a great book. It will also help you get to know me. If you haven't joined our "Winn Elementary Facebook" page yet you will want to join it so your family can come to listen to the book.

I am sharing the feature we had on 9 & 10 news. They came in to school to film a short special on "Tucked in Tuesday." Click the link below to watch the video and celebrate our, "Tucked in Tuesdays!"

I can't wait to start reading again. We have a ton of fun together and your family could win some FREE books too! See you Tuesday, August 28th at 7:30pm on the Winn Elementary Facebook page. Don't forget to type in your child's name(s) when you visit. I love to say hello LIVE!

We appreciate all of the kindness and grace that has been offered to us as we open the new building. Thank you for sharing your child with our family here at Winn. We are so happy to be able to open our new doors to our students and families. If your family needs help in any way please reach out. My door is always open for our families.

Email: LRichards@shepherdschools.net
Website: https://www.shepherdschools.net/o/winn-elementary-school
Location: Winn Elementary School, 8190 Church Street, Winn, MI, USA
Phone: (989)866-2250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winnelementary
Twitter: @WinnElementary