Martell Monitor

Wednesday morning was filled with sunshine, smiling faces, and lots of Martell spirit as our students participated in our annual Fun Run! Thank you for the overwhelming support of our biggest fundraiser of the year. From our families who donated and cheered on our Mustangs to our PTO and volunteers who worked so hard to make the morning a success, we are incredibly grateful. A special thank you to Amy Benavides for her time and dedication to this amazing event. A great time was had by all, and it was wonderful to see our students running, walking, laughing, and encouraging one another. Thank you for continuing to show what makes the Martell community so special!

Staffing Updates

We also have several staffing updates to share with our families.

As previously communicated, Mrs. Mumaw made the difficult decision to accept a Resource Room teaching position at Smith Middle School. While we are sad to see her leave Martell, we are excited for her as she begins this next chapter. We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Ben Barsh to our Martell team as our new fourth-grade teacher! Mr. Barsh has already jumped right in, and we feel very fortunate to have him joining our Mustang family.

We had also previously shared that Mrs. Shadia Martin would be joining Martell as our Media Specialist. Due to challenges filling the second-grade position she would be leaving at Wass, Mrs. Martin has made the decision to remain with her second graders at Wass. In the meantime, Mrs. Mary Burns has been assigned to Martell during the mornings, and Mrs. Saranya Murugesan, one of Martell’s building substitute teachers, will be supporting our Kindergarten and first-grade students in the Media Center for the time being. We appreciate their flexibility and support as we continue to navigate this transition.

Finally, we are excited to welcome Lia Chirinos Arriaga to our main office as Martell’s new Attendance Secretary! Mrs. Arriaga will officially join us beginning Monday. Please take a moment to stop by the front desk, introduce yourself, and give her a warm Martell welcome!

Character Education at Martell

Earlier this week, families received an email about our work to strengthen character education at Martell through the Martell MINDSET. As we begin this important work, your feedback will help us understand what our families value and guide the direction of our character education program. If you have not already done so, please take a few minutes to complete our Martell MINDSET Parent/Family Survey by the end of the weekend, if possible. Complete the survey here. The survey should take just a few minutes to complete, and your voice is incredibly important to us.

Thank you for another wonderful week.

Warmly,

Colette

Martell FUN RUN

Red Robin PTO Fundraiser

Message from the Martell PTO

What an awesome Fun Run! The obstacle course was a huge success and everyone looked like they had such fun! Photos are posted on our PTO FB page. Shoutout to - Mrs. Allen for all of your help with the obstacle course, Shelby Swinburnson for making sure the class shirts were ready for the Fun Run, The Troy Fire Department for bringing the fire truck to kick off the event, Red Robin of Troy (and the Red Robin mascot!) for their support, Amy Benavides for the course design, Manal Geibig and family for donating our bubble and fog machine, our student volunteers from Smith Middle School for coming to help with the various obstacles, and all of our parent volunteers, donors, and of course the students!

Fundraising is still open! We’re trending toward our goal of $23,000 - but we still need your support. Please use the attached flyer to donate and/or share.

Congrats to our class winners so far:

Kindergarten voted a PJ Spirit Day (Tier One)
Third graders will enjoy popsicles and extended recess (Tier Two)
Second grade has earned a picnic and DJ lunch (Tier Three)
Second grade has earned a pizza party with Mrs. Ivey (Tier Four)

Let’s help make sure we earn the school-wide goal and the Exotic Zoo visit!!

Highlight of the week:

Our first Dining Out Fundraiser is coming up on Monday, September 28 at Red Robin (5460 Corporate Drive, Troy). Throughout the day, when you dine in or carryout, mention Martell and show the flyer, digital or hard copy (attached), and 20% of your total bill will come back to Martell. Red Robin has been a great supporter of Martell - please join us Monday!

Stay Connected!

Email us anytime: martellpto.contact@gmail.com

Our Facebook Page

must have a Facebook account and be a member of the page - request access now!

Martell Elementary PTO website

PTO Calendar of Events

Career Readiness, Grades K-5

Dear Troy School District Families,

Career readiness begins much earlier than most families realize. Research shows that children start forming ideas about “what people like me can be” by age seven — and without intentional, positive exposure to a wide range of careers, those ideas can be shaped by stereotypes rather than possibility. That’s why Troy School District begins career readiness in kindergarten, not high school. Our goal in the elementary years is simple: help every child discover the incredible range of careers available to them, build the vocabulary to talk about their interests and strengths, and see the connection between what they are learning in the classroom today and the opportunities available to them tomorrow.

What Career Readiness Looks Like in Grades K–5

At the elementary level, career readiness is not about choosing a job — it’s about awareness. Students learn career-related vocabulary, explore how core subjects like reading, math, and science connect to real careers, and are introduced to people and professions they may not otherwise encounter. This early foundation sets the stage for the more in-depth career exploration and planning students will do in middle and high school.

Introducing Michigan’s Six Career Zones

To make the world of work easier for young learners to understand, Troy elementary students are introduced to Michigan’s Six Career Zones — broad groupings of careers that share similar interests, strengths, and skills. Thinking in terms of “zones” rather than hundreds of individual job titles helps children recognize patterns in what excites them and gives teachers and families a shared language for talking about careers at any age.

Arts & Communication

Careers in the visual and performing arts, literature, journalism, and media — from graphic designers and musicians to authors and broadcasters.

Business, Management, Marketing & Technology

Careers in accounting, business administration, finance, information technology, and marketing — the people who help organizations run and grow.

Engineering/Manufacturing & Industrial Technology

Careers that design, build, install, and maintain the products, machines, and systems we use every day, from bridges to robotics.

Health Sciences

Careers focused on promoting wellness and treating illness and injury — doctors, nurses, therapists, technicians, and many more.

Human Services

Careers that help people and communities thrive, including early childhood education, teaching, social work, public safety, and hospitality.

Natural Resources & Agriscience

Careers connected to agriculture, the environment, and natural resources — from farmers and veterinarians to conservation scientists.

Exploring the Career Zones with Pathful Junior

Troy School District uses Pathful Junior, an online career-awareness platform built specifically for K–5 students, to bring the Six Career Zones to life. Pathful Junior is colorful, interactive, and designed to be developmentally appropriate at every grade band. In it, students can:

Visit Career Central to independently browse careers that interest them

Watch short, kid-friendly cluster videos introducing different careers and career zones

Complete teacher-assigned lessons that combine videos, games, and familiar characters

Take a first interest survey that begins to connect their personal interests to career zones

Earn badges and track their exploration on a student dashboard

The platform is fully accessible and available in more than 50 languages, so every student — regardless of learning style or home language — can take part.

How You Can Support Career Readiness at Home

Families are one of the most powerful influences on how children see their future. A few simple ways to keep the conversation going at home:

Ask your child what career zone(s) they explored in Pathful Junior as the school year progresses

Talk about your own job or the jobs of family members, and how they connect to a career zone.

Point out careers you encounter together in everyday life — at the grocery store, the doctor’s office, or on a walk around the neighborhood

Encourage curiosity rather than a single “right answer” — at this age, the goal is exposure, not decision-making

Thank you for partnering with us to help every Troy student build a strong foundation for their future.

Fall Enrichment Classes

End of Day Pick-up

To help keep dismissal safe, efficient, and moving smoothly, we highly encourage families picking up by vehicle to use the designated pick-up lanes and avoid the side parking lot. Cars entering and exiting the side lot create an additional layer of congestion during an already busy dismissal time.

A few reminders to help keep traffic flowing:

Pull forward as far as possible behind the vehicle in front of you so we can accommodate as many cars as possible.
If using the left lane, please continue all the way to the front before merging.
Please do not attempt to merge two or three cars back from the front of the line, as this can slow the flow of traffic for everyone.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work together to keep our Martell Mustangs safe at dismissal!

Changes to Your Child's Dismissal Plan

If your child's pick up will be different than normal, please ALWAYS send a note to your child’s teacher Red Communication Folder.

Please do NOT rely on email to a teacher. Teachers are teaching during the day, and sometimes cannot get back to their computer if it's a late message! We do not want to miss a dismissal message.

We will not vary your child’s end of the day routine unless we have a note from you.

Should you have same day changes and need to modify your child's dismissal plan, please call the office before 2:30 p.m.

Volunteer Guidelines

The Troy School District values those who volunteer in our classrooms and schools. If a volunteer will be with students for a significant length of time without a TSD employee being present, or will be with students on a regular basis, that volunteer is required to have a Michigan State Police Internet Criminal History Access Tool (I-CHAT) screening annually. All results will remain confidential and will only be used by the TSD administration to determine if you have been convicted of an offense that would otherwise prohibit you from working in our schools.

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2025 New Volunteer Background Check Form 6 11 24 (1).pdf

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Medication

If your child requires any kind of medication either over the counter or prescribed, you will need to fill out a medical form and have it signed by your physician.

If your child has a severe medical condition, please turn in this form and the medication prior to the first day of school.

All medication must be brought into school by an adult.

Below is a link to the forms you will need.

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TSDMedicationAuthorizationForm52222 (1).pdf