The Spencer Scoop

Chelsea Boyd - Principal

Email: boydc@brightonk12.com
Website: https://spencer.brightonk12.com/
Address: 10639 Spencer Road, Brighton, MI 48114
Phone: 810-299-4350

Home of the Roadrunners

Hello Roadrunner Families!

I hope you all had a restful and family filled Thanksgiving Break! We have truly been enjoying the snow at recess and the snow bags and boots are filling the hallways. It seems hard to believe that we are so close to the end of 2025. Have a wonderful weekend and we always look forward to seeing our Roadrunners on Monday :)

Mrs. Boyd

Parents, it is that time of year again where it is important to be checking your students head for head lice. While they are not harmful they most certainly are a nuisance and can be difficult to get rid of. Please notify your school if your child has a case of head lice so we can take measures to hopefully stop them from spreading. Should you need any more information here is a link for your reference:https://www.cdc.gov/lice/about/head-lice.html

We sincerely appreciate your help and understanding in this matter!

Student Drop Off: 8:55 AM

First Bell: 9:01 AM

Second Bell: 9:05 AM

Starting Time In Class: 9:05 AM

Dismissal Time: 3:58 PM

Students eating Breakfast may enter the cafeteria at 8:45 AM

Attendance Line: 810-299-4354

*Please remember to call your child's absence in as early as possible.

December

19 - Popcorn Friday

22 - Holiday Break Begins

January

5 - School Resumes from Holiday Break

19 - No School (MLK Day)

26 - No School (Professional Development)

Report Cards will be viewable through your student's Parent Connect account on Dec 5th. Please note we no longer send report cards home and you will need to access them through Parent Connect. If you need a hard copy printed, please contact your student's teacher. For instructions on how to access your child's report card, please reference the Parent Connect tab in the Spencer Parent Resource Guide.

Last Tuesday marked the end of the 1st trimester and I ran the Chronic Absence Report. Per the Student Handbook, "If a child is absent for 10% of the marking period or more, a letter from the principal addressing the absence issue may be sent to the parents". I compiled letters for students who were absent for 10% or more of the marking period. Those letters went out in today's mail. These absences will not include ones that have been excused by sending in a doctor's note for an extended illness. They will include absences for vacations and extended illnesses with no accompanying doctor's note. If you do receive an attendance notification in the mail, I have also included a copy of your student's attendance history.

We did have a few students (59 to be exact) that managed to avoid the germs and illnesses that go around the school and had perfect attendance so far for this school year. Hopefully they continue to stay healthy. While we no longer award students who have perfect attendance, I thought I would share how many we had during the 1st trimester.

The Design Studio is officially up and running, and our students couldn’t be more excited! Every grade level is diving into the Engineering Design Process during their STEAM special (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). One of their favorite steps is the “build” phase — when they get to bring their ideas to life using recycled and repurposed materials.

If you’re cleaning out a craft room, have a stash of recycled materials, or extra manufacturing supplies lying around, we’d love to give them a second life in our Design Studio!

A huge thank you to all our amazing Spencer families who have donated materials in the past — your generosity helps keep our makerspace buzzing with creativity and innovation.

Here are some of the materials our students love to build with:
corks, paper towel tubes, wrapping paper tubes, coffee filters, straws, pipe cleaners, rubber bands, pom-poms, Q-tips, popsicle sticks, cupcake liners, masking tape, glue sticks, cotton balls, felt, string, small wood pieces, nuts and bolts, and more!

If you have any questions about materials, feel free to email me at mccolgg@brightonk12.com.

Thank you, Spencer families, for helping our young engineers dream, design, and create!

— Gillian McColgan

All students are invited to participate in Music Share Days starting next month. Music Share Day is an opportunity for students to share a musical talent with their class or show and tell about an instrument from home. Music Share Day also lets students practice their polite audience skills. Music Share Days will take place during students’ regular music class from 12/5-12/10 (see schedule below). If students have multiple instruments or shares, I will ask them to choose one to start with and then they may be able to share more if time allows. Sharing is voluntary. Students may choose to just be an audience member. Music Share Days are opportunities for students to perform for their class informally. Music Share Days are not a formal performance or talent show.

Click Here For More Music Share Day Details and Ideas!

Music Share Day Calendar

12/5 - Sobo, Llama Room, Rowe, Zebra Room, Haden, Urso

12/8- Juodokis, Price, Monkey Room, Gunn, Kahl

12/9- Jastrzebski, Flamingo Room, Phillips, Bear Room, Garza, Hukkala

12/10- Ball, Anderson, Frog Room, Cowgill, Ferguson

Michigan weather is so unpredictable. It is advisable to check the weather each morning and ensure your student is properly dressed for the elements. We have had some students on the colder days this week come to school without a coat. It won't be long until we will see some snow and colder temperatures, so students should wear adequate clothing. Coats, hats and gloves are mandatory during winter months and boots are necessary as the playground areas get muddy. If the temperature and/or wind chill is 0°(F) or below, the children will stay inside.

Parents - Please make sure you pack a change of clothes (that are weather appropriate) in your child's backpack EVERY DAY. This is for ALL students, grades JK-4th, you never know when your student may have a nosebleed, or loose a tooth, or spill food/milk on their shirt, or find a mud puddle outside, or have a bathroom accident. If your student keeps a change of clothing in their backpack, then we can take care of it here, otherwise we need you to bring up a change of clothes. Thank you for your cooperation.

I would LOVE your help in gathering photos! You can submit your candid photos to me by scanning the QR Code in the graphic above, clicking on the Yearbook URL below, or send them to me via email at: berryl@brightonk12.com. The attached PDF has all the information you need to send me photos through the Community Image Upload. Please remember to tag your photos with the teacher's name.

The Yearbook URL is: https://community.lifetouch.com/invite?code=SPENCER-ROADRUNNERS-26

The Yearbook Invite Code is: SPENCER-ROADRUNNERS-26

It's time for CLAY and your students are so excited for the opportunity to build, sculpt and carve. Our unit will start when we return from Thanksgiving break and will end when we go home for Winter break. Attendance is important for your student(s) to have a successful project.

Kindergarten Parents, have you been hearing about our fun mongo bongo tri-colored corn pieces? Well, they are heading home with your student(s) for Thanksgiving break. If your student does not bring one before break, look for a note in their red folder. There were several student pieces that were chosen to be hung in the school, and your student has a paper to explain that to you.

PTO News

2025/2026 PTO Board

Colleen Gaiefsky - Co- President
Amber Gaines - Co- President
Mandy Oswalt - Vice-President
Amanda Dennis - Co-Secretary
Lindsey Kovacs - Co-Secretary
Michele Lewis- Co-Treasurer
Brandy Solanick- Co-Treasurer

Katelyn Bill - Member-at-Large

Kendra Cupp - Member-at-Large

Amber Czajka - Member at Large

Stephanie Day -Member-at-Large
Ashley Kasmierczak- Member-at-Large
Angela Kissel - Member-at-Large
Melissa Rife- Member-at-Large

Save The Date

December 19th - Popcorn Friday!

Popcorn Friday Sign UP

The PTO is excited to announce that they are funding Popcorn Fridays this year! Below is the sign up to volunteer (must have background check completed).

Popcorn Friday Volunteer Signup

LET'S STAY CONNECTED

For the most up-to-date happenings with Spencer Elementary PTO, follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/402232026502881 or visit our page online at https://spencerroadpto.weebly.com/

You will find the Drop Off Cabinet near the main entrance to the school. Here you will put those forgotten items that your student may need. Simply fill out the small slip of paper with the student's name and teacher, and a staff member will deliver the item to your student.

Spencer has a Food Pantry that was gifted to us by our Spencer Class of 2024 students and PTO. It is located outside in the front of the school behind the Teacher's Retreat near Door #3. Feel free to visit if you need some assistance with food. We are also accepting donations to stock up the Food Pantry. If you are so inclined to help with that, it would be greatly appreciated.

We have a brand new Lost & Found in a brand new location this year. It is now located at the front of the building near Door #3 next to the Food Pantry.

Please remember to send your child to school each day with a refillable water bottle with their name on it. Spencer has water refilling stations throughout the building and we encourage students to drink water throughout the day.

Please remember to bring your ID with you EVERY day you come to pick up your student! We frequently have substitute teachers that will not recognize you and will send you back to your vehicle to get your ID before releasing your child to you. This is for the safety and security of your student.

If you are planning to volunteer in classrooms or on field trips this year, you must fill out a background check. This needs to be done each year and if you have students in other buildings around the district, you only have to fill out the form one time and indicate which buildings you would like to volunteer in. Here are the steps to get to the form...

Go to www.brightonk12.com

Click on District

Click on Donate & Volunteer

Click on Volunteers & Student Teachers

Click on ONLINE Volunteer/Student Teacher Form

We are continuing our efforts to maximize security and minimize traffic in our lobby where students frequently pass through at any given time during the course of a school day, and will again use the QR code system for parents/guardians when either 1) signing in your student tardy or 2) picking up your student early. The QR codes will be affixed outside Door #1 (the main entrance door) and you will simply use the camera on your phone to scan the QR codes (NOTE: one code is for signing IN a student and one code is for signing OUT a student). After you scan the code, it will direct you to either the Student Sign In or Sign Out Google Form. The office and/or safety officer will then locate your student and send them out to you where you will show your ID. **NOTE** This year you will have to wait outside for your student to come down for an early pick up so be mindful of the weather conditions (ie: bring an umbrella if it's raining). To expedite this process, it will be helpful to you to send in a note with your student in the morning to give to the teacher if you will be picking up your student early.

Here are the QR Links. You can always save these to your phone for quick reference.

GOOGLE FORM FOR STUDENT SIGN IN

GOOGLE FORM FOR STUDENT SIGN OUT

This Spencer Parent Resource Guide is filled with important information and answers to most (if not all) the questions you may have.