Yake Gator Bites

• December 20th - January 4th - No School for Winter Break!

• January 5th - Students return for a full day of school!
• January 10th - Yake Parent's Night Out! Music BINGO at the Woodhaven Moose from 7:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. *We had so much fun at this event last year!
• January 16th - -Kalahari Reservations must be in if any rooms are still available!
• January 19th - No School for Students for MLK Day!

Our PTO really appreciates all of our volunteers who helped us these last few weeks and would like to say thank you.

Yake Elementary School’s new U.S. News Award!

We are proud to announce that Yake Elementary School is ranked #127 (up from #131 last year) out of 2,601 (Top 5%) elementary schools in the state of Michigan. For the second year in a row, we are the top ranked school in the district and in the Downriver area, with the second closest school in the district being ranked #323. In comparison to neighbor elementary schools, Meridian on Grosse Ile is ranked #611. Anderson Elementary School in Trenton is #673. Click here (https://www.usnews.com/.../yake-elementary-school-249626) for Yake’s full report.

I want to offer a shout out to the staff, PTO, families and Gators who continue to make Yake a destination school Downriver. We are Gator Strong!

Good morning,

As you know, Monday, February 16, 2026 is President's Day and the Yake Family Fun Day at Kalahari. By booking your room in the Yake block, your room would only cost $154!! Please make reservations no later than January 18, 2026!! Mark your calendar to take a break!! Support your school while having fun! Get away without going too far from home to America's LARGEST indoor waterpark and enjoy a special rate for families and friends! Rooms are ONLY $154 and feature 2 Queen beds and INCLUDE waterpark passes! A portion from EACH room booked will benefit Yake Elementary School. BOOK EARLY to avoid being shut out. For reservations call: 1-877-525-2427. or click on this link to book. (Click here to book your room) Yake families have a blast at this event every year. Be sure to book early and join us for a day of fun! We were only at 25 rooms booked at this time last November and we booked 126 rooms and sold out! Currently, we have 44 rooms booked. Be sure to book early to make sure you have a room.

I look forward to seeing many of my Gator and their families there.

Tim Podlewski

Take a peek at pictures of our Watch D.O.G.S. who joined us this past week!

For the week of December 1st, we had 257 (down from 281 a few weeks ago) Gators who had perfect attendance! Through our raffle, $10.00 Rev'D Up Fun arcade gift cards were awarded to Emma & Brianna. Our next raffle will take place on Monday morning where two more gift cards will be awarded to Gators who had perfect attendance this week. Big "Thank you!" to Rev'D Up Fun for supporting our attendance incentives once again this year. Such a great community partner with Yake Elementary School.

This is a reminder about the importance to children attending school on time, for the full day, every day. At Yake Elementary School, we follow a rigorous curriculum which is reflected in our high performing school. Every day and every minute counts. As a reminder, we will be starting a rewards program that will include weekly raffles (perfect weekly attendance), monthly prizes (1 or fewer absences or tardies each month) and a family celebration BBR/Event for any Gator with over a 95% attendance rate (9 or fewer absences for the year). Please remember that our attendance incentives are for perfect attendance. Doctors appointments, dentist appointments, Friday sporting events, etc. even with excuses would result in a child missing out on the perfect attendance incentives.

We appreciate your help in getting Yake back to a 95%+ attendance rate for the 2025/26 school year. We made significant improvements last year and were over the 85% attendance rate, which was the highest in the district. Let's keep those Gators growing and striving towards reaching their highest potential this year!

As noted above, we are continuing with our perfect attendance raffles for Rev'D Up Fun gift cards every Monday morning. Please note that perfect attendance means no absences, tardies or ealy pick-ups from school for the week. If you Gator is not eligible for the raffle on Monday morning, no worries as Monday begins a new week and a fresh chance at perfect attendance.

Please note that late bus arrivals are not recorded as tardies. As a reminder, we will have monthly prizes for any Gator who has one or fewer absences (excused or unexcused) during the month of September and we will have an end of the the year BBQ for any Gators and their families who have maintained a 95% attendance rate or higher for the year. This BBQ was a lot of fun last June.

Please know that we know that our kindergarten and young fives Gators are building up their immune systems and they will more than likely get sick at some point this year. Hopefully, as the year goes on their immune systems will build up and they will be less likely to miss school due to being sick.

Thank you for your efforts in getting our Gators to school on time each and every day!

Some reminders for the week:

• Please do not drive through the staff parking lot to drop off students (unless you are in of of our ASD classrooms) . This causes extra traffic while our teachers are coming in to work and clog up the bus lanes. Even if they are going in early for breakfast- USE THE VISITOR'S LOT DROP OFF LANE.
• Please DROP OFF in the drop off lane that is in the visitor's parking lot. This is a *KISS AND GO ZONE*. Please do not park there, we need traffic flowing to ensure smooth drop offs.
• Pull up next to the sidewalk to let your student out of your vehicle from the passenger side ONLY. Please do not drop off your students in the parking lot or in the second lane of traffic.
• Parents are welcome to park in the visitor's lot and walk children to their exterior classroom door versus using the drop off lane.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Click on the links below to see the agendas and minutes from our September PTO meeting.

PTO Meeting Agenda (coming soon)

Principal's Agenda

We hope to see you at our next meeting (see the dates below).

Our Watch D.O.G.S. calendar is full and we have started an on-call list for fathers/father figures who would like to be Watch D.O.G.S. but aren't on the calendar, yet. Please see the updated expectations below, as well as our current calendar.

Click on the link below to see the current Watch D.O.G.S. calendar.

Thank you, former PTO Board Member, Jennifer Harold

for putting together a series of quotes for us!

Once a Gator...Always a Gator!

When dropping off and picking up students, we ask you observe the following safety procedures:

Drop Off:

• The drop-off lane is open.

• This is our KISS & GO ZONE. Pull up next to the sidewalk to let your student out of your vehicle from the passenger side ONLY.

• Please do not drop off your students in the parking lot or in the second lane of traffic.

• If your student needs assistance exiting the car, you MUST park your car in the lot and walk your student to the front of the school to ensure a safe crossing from the parking lot.

• Students should not be permitted to walk past parked or moving cars unescorted.

• All students will line up outside at their classroom doors.

Pick Up:

• Y5 & K car rider parents will pick up their child from their classroom’s exterior doors at 3:25pm.

• 1st grade car rider parents will pick up their child from their classroom’s exterior doors at 3:30pm

• 2 - 4 grade walkers / car riders will be released from their classroom exterior doors at 3:45pm

• You may meet your child at their classroom doors and escort them to your car.

• Do not call your student to your car if you are parked in the main lot

*Bus routes may be updated, as there are always adjustments to be made and bugs to work out each year.

Please click here or on the image below to see this year's bus routes. They should be similar last year.

Please click here for more information about our Transportation Department as listed on our District website.

As a reminder, no outside visitors will be allowed in our school unless they are volunteering or have an appointment. Any parent or visitor wishing to drop off or pick up a child, drop off a backpack or a lunch, etc. will need to call our office at (734)692-2230 for assistance. Staff members will welcome student in, escort students out and/or pick up backpacks, lunches and/or similar items as needed.

Yes, volunteers are welcome. However, they must be i-chat approved and the application is due one week prior to volunteering. To assess an IChat form, (Click here) and then click on the IChat form.

If parents wish to pick students up prior to dismissal, our office must be called before 3:20 p.m. Children will not be walked out to parents after 3:20 p.m.

Please take a moment to read the letter below from our Superintendent in regards to Free Breakfast and Lunches this year. The commitment from our Superintendent, School Board and community to doing what is best for our kids is one of the reasons why I love living and working in the Woodhaven-Brownstown community.

-Mr. Podlewski

Erving, Wegienka & Yake are scheduled to break ground on June 11th to begin our Bond renovations. While the completed work is about two years away, I wanted to share some images about what is to come. A big element of the design process centered around developing natural environments that centered around the mascots of each school. In our case, our theme will center around gators and the Everglades. I will share some images from our Design Playbook as we move through the year to share some glimpses into Yake Elementary School's transformation.

As we head into the home stretch of the summer break, I wanted to take a moment to share a special recognition that our school received. This is an indicator that showcases the excellence of our team at Yake Elementary School. Staff, parents, and Gators continue to set a high bar and it doesn't go unnoticed. Enjoy the rest of your well deserved summer break and enjoy the pat on the back that our team deserves. Keep Giving and Expecting the Best, Gators!

We have a back to school packet for families to complete in Parent Connect. MiStar updates (emergency contacts, numbers, emails, etc.) will be made automatically when families complete the online packet. In Parent Connect on the top there is a link that states 2025-2026 Back (coming soon) to School Packet. Click on the link below for directions and a short video explaining how to complete the Parent Connect Packet. The deadline to complete the online Parent Connect packets is Friday, September 5th.

https://www.mywbsd.org/page/parent-connect-resources

Our 4th graders have been selected to participate in the 2026 NAEP this year. Please see the images below for more information, but as a snapshot, our 4th graders will be selected to take tests in reading and math and our results will be used a part of "The Nation's Report Card." Testing will take place between January 26th and March 20th and would take no more than two hours. I am confident that our 4th grade Gators will be ready to boost our Nation's Report Card when they represent our school, school district, Michigan and the United States of America when they take the tests at the start of the new year.

Are you smarter than a 4th grader? Test yourself by clicking here or on the link below to try our some of the NAEP questions for yourself. Would you be able to help our Nation's Report Card?

Please take a peek at Yake's 2025/26 building calendar. This calendar is subject to change and will be updated as we move through the new school year.

We are waiting with fingers crossed to see if breakfast and lunch will be available for all students for free once again this year. Stay tuned...

New this year, all breakfast and lunch menus are available for families to view through the Nutrislice app. View menus online or with the Nutrislice app.

mywbsd.nutrislice.com

Children who are coming in for breakfast will be allowed to enter Yake through the maind doors at 8:40 a.m. and head to the cafeteria for breakfast. Kindergarten & Young Fives Gators will be allowed to enter through the front doors and line-up outside of their classrooms starting at 8:50 a.m. All other Gators in grades 1-4 will enter their classes through the exterior classroom doors at 9:00 a.m.

All about i-Ready for parents! Please see the videos below for information about the i-Ready diagnostic and the i-Ready program.

Additional information will be coming throughout the year. i-Ready is a great resource for tracking your Gator's academic growth in Reading and Math, particularly when reviewing initial (September), mid-year (January) and end of the year (May) data.

We will all work diligently to help our Gators demonstrate academic growth throughout the year.

Home of the Gators!

Where our Gators "Give and Expect the Best!" everyday!

Email: podlewt@wbsdweb.com
Website: https://www.mywbsd.org/yes
Phone: (734)692-2230
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yakepto
Twitter: @YakeGators