The Jayhawk Journal

A week of introductions and unveilings sure brought some good energy our way to the community. For those who have not heard, Mr. Joe Bublitz was approved on Monday the 15th by the LPS School Board to be our new Assistant Principal. He will officially take over on the 29th of September, with his introduction letter to soon follow. He was able to attend Open House this week, and I hope you all are as impressed with him, as much as we are here in the building. For those of you who were able to attend Open House, thank you! It was a success, and it was so nice to finally have all of our families in the building this year. Please remember that we are partners for your students, the more students see it, the better the year we are going to have. We were so excited to finally unveil both the new LMC and the basketball courts! We have attached some photos of our new projects here in the building. Looking forward to starting next week off with a Lions Spirit Day for Monday Night Football! Please wear your Lions (or other favorite football team gear) on Monday the 22nd. Hats will be allowed if they are a part of your Spirit Wear. Looking forward to seeing a sea of Honolulu Blue on Monday! Thank you all for a wonderful week!

- 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.

We would like to officially welcome Mr. Joe Bublitz to our Johnson Team. Mr. B was approved by the board this week and will be our new Assistant Principal starting on September 29th. He is a former LPS Grad, worked many years at Emerson Middle School, and served as an Elementary Administrator for Plymouth Canton Schools since 2018. He is happy to be returning to Livonia Public Schools and we are happy to have him here!

For the month of September, we will continue to have a heavy focus on all routines and procedures in the classroom. We want to set students up for success and we want all students to understand the expectations of the building. This week we focused on bathroom expectations. We focused on using the appropriate amount of paper, and making sure the restrooms are clean. Also, there was a focus on how to report if you notice an issue. Please see the attached matrix to go over SOARing expectations for all aspects of the building. We look forward to celebrating positive behavior with SOAR Bucks and Clubs in the upcoming year!

We would like to congratulate Mr. Santi for being voted this award by his colleagues this week. Mr. Santi is a 5th Grade Teacher here at Johnson. He is a wonderful teacher who is smart, funny, and always willing to lend a hand. His kindness, caring nature, and sense of humor shine through to all the students and staff that he supports. He is a leader in our building for other staff members, and he is always willing to do whatever it takes in any situation. He makes our school a better place to be, and we are so lucky to have him on our team!

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

The students, the staff, and the community!

Some Of My Favorite Things

Place To Travel: Mexico

Foods: Pizza

Color: Blue

College: Michigan

TV Show: Shrinking

Sports Team: Detroit Pistons, Lions and Michigan

School Subject: Social Studies

My Hobbies....

Coaching, hanging out with my family, and traveling.

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

We are proud that we were finally able to unveil a few new projects here that will help give our students a unique experience at Johnson. Please see some pictures of our new LMC, Basketball Courts and Outdoor Classroom!

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we have worked with transportation to make sure all bus stops, routes, pick-ups, and drop-offs are ran more efficiently to help our families. Please be aware that some changes went into effect on Thursday (9/18) to help with the process. Please make sure that your student is outside and ready for the bus at the stop with their new scheduled times.

Monday 9/22 Lions Spirit Day (Hats will be allowed if part of Spirit Wear)

Tuesday 9/23

Wednesday 9/24

Thursday 9/25

Friday 9/26

9/29 - No School (District PD)

9/30 - PTA Skate Night at Riverside 6 p.m.

10/8 - Parent Teacher Conferences

10/9 - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences

10/10 - SOAR Clubs

10/16 - Picture Retake Day

10/17 - Color Run

10/22 - PTA Halloween Bingo Family Night

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.

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." - Vidal Sassoon