MESSMORE MESSENGER COMMUNICATION

Our mission in Utica Community Schools ignites a passion for learning in all students. We strengthen our community by welcoming all learners, honoring culture, and inspiring remarkable growth and achievement.

SCHOOL HOURS: 8:30-3:20 DAILY

HALF-DAY HOURS: 8:30-11:34

BREAKFAST OPENS @ 8:10-8:25

email: mailto:officemessmore@uticak12.org

website: https://messmore.uticak12.org

Location: 8742 Dill Drive, Sterling Heights, MI 48312

Phone: 586-797-5600

Attendance Line: 586-797-5699 (24 hours)

AUGUST DATES:

31: First day of School HALF-DAY DISMISSAL @ 11:34 AM NO SPECIALS!

31: 1:30PM LUNCH SUPERVISOR MEETING in GYM

SEPTEMBER DATES:

4-7: NO SCHOOL LABOR DAY WEEKEND

9: MMA Pre-K Meet and Greet 8:35 AM in GYMNASIUM

10: MMA Parent Meeting in Gym @ 8:45 after drop off!

11: MMA Fun RUN KICK OFF ASSEMBLY!

16: NO SCHOOL DPPD

24: MESSMORE FUN RUN EVENT!!

FUTURE DATES:

October 5: Buddy's Pizza Night

October 6: PICTURE DAY!

October 16: Trunk or Treat

Welcome Back, Mavericks!

The excitement is in the air, and we are thrilled to welcome you to the 2026–2027 school year! Our halls are ready, our classrooms are prepared, and most importantly, our hearts are full of anticipation for all that this new year will bring.

There is something truly special about the beginning of a school year: the fresh start, the familiar smiles, the new friendships, and the wonderful sense of possibility that fills our school. As a Montessori community, we know that every new beginning is an opportunity for growth, discovery, independence, and connection. We look forward to watching our Mavericks wonder, explore, ask thoughtful questions, take on new challenges, and grow into the confident learners we know they can be.

Thank you to all of our families who joined us for our Meet and Greet Teacher event. It was such a joy to see our community come together, meet our incredible educators, reconnect with friends, and begin building the relationships that make Messmore Montessori such a special place. Your enthusiasm and support set a wonderful tone for the year ahead.

A very special thank you to the MMA for the impressive balloon setup! The beautiful display added an extra touch of celebration and excitement and helped make our Meet and Greet feel like the joyful beginning it was meant to be. We are so grateful for the time, creativity, and care you put into making our school feel festive and welcoming. A Meet and Greet Sneak Peek was designed for students to meet the teacher and drop off supplies. As our classrooms were a work in progress, we appreciated the enthusiasm and wonderful compliments received by many families. Our teachers and staff work diligently and devoted hours of their own time, voluntarily, to set up the classroom before it was expected. Thank you to our TEACHERS and STAFF!

As we embark on this new journey together, let us continue to embrace the Montessori values that guide us: respect, independence, curiosity, kindness, and a love of learning. When children feel known, supported, and inspired, they flourish, and that is exactly what we hope to cultivate each day at Maverick.

Here’s to a year filled with discovery, meaningful connections, joyful moments, and countless opportunities to grow.

Welcome back, Mavericks! The 2026–2027 school year is going to be extraordinary, and we cannot wait to experience it together! See you on MONDAY, August 31, for a HALF-DAY of SCHOOL with dismissal at 11:34am.

With warmest wishes,

Principal Ciacchella

As we begin the school year, please keep these important reminders in mind:

🗓️ Monday, August 31 — Half Day of School

• Students will be dismissed at 11:34 AM.
• No lunch will be served on Monday.
• Breakfast doors open at 8:10 AM.
• Students who eat breakfast should remain in the cafeteria for the duration of breakfast.

🔔MESSMORE CLASS BELLS:

• New this year will be our Breakfast Bell!
• BREAKFAST BELL WILL RING @ 8:25- this will signal to our independent Montessori students that it is time to head to class calmly and smoothly.
• SCHOOL BEGINS BELL @ 8:30 AM
• SCHOOL ENDS BELL @ 3:20 PM
• Tardy slips will be issued at 8:45 for our students. Thank you for helping them to be on -time and ready to learn in a peaceful Montessori way.

Thank you for helping us make the start of the school year safe, smooth, and successful for everyone! 💙

🚗 Parking Lot Expectations

Please help us keep our parking lot safe and organized!! 😀

• Be mindful of student crossers and families walking through the parking lot.
• Please follow all posted signs and directions.
• Do not park in designated staff parking areas.
• Please allow extra time and bring patience as everyone adjusts to the routines of a new school year.

BREAKFAST EXPECTATIONS:

If your child plans to attend breakfast, Messmore doors open at 8:10AM.

• Students that are attending breakfast are expected to remain in the cafeteria for the duration of breakfast.
• Students stay until the Breakfast Ends Bell rings at 8:25.
• Peaceful behaviors are expected to be displayed at all times and respectful language utilized with our students and staff working the cafeteria.
• The school day bell will ring at 8:30.
• Student should be ready to learn by 8:30.

**Due to allergens, all food items must remain in the cafeteria.**

Thank you for reminding our independent Montessori students of the peaceful expectations in the cafeteria during breakfast time. We appreciate your support and guidance with our Mavericks!

Safety remains a priority for our school. Elementary is once again providing training to our students on our safety protocols. The protocols identify actions that students may be asked to take in the event of a potential incident: hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter.

The training is provided through a short, animated video. In the video, the teacher – Mrs. Appleton – and her students walk through the different responses in a very relaxed and engaging way for younger children. The script was written by our staff.

The protocols will continue to be part of the training while practicing our regular school safety drills, such as fire drills, security drills, tornado drills, evacuation procedures, etc.

The video is available for you to review at this link: UCS School Safety: Standard Response Protocol - Elementary - YouTube If you have any questions, please contact our office.

ATTENTION ART STUDENTS: Please see the attached suggested supply list for our 5th and 6th grade students enrolled in ART. (This is not for K-4 students).

ATTENTION KINDERGARTEN (5yo) Families- The supply list has since been revised and updated for our Kindergarten Families. As the Kindergarten students are receiving the new updated versions of i-pads, there was one addition made for the suggested earbuds on the supply list. Please see the picture below.

We are asking for your support to help keep our students safe.

• All visitors to the classroom areas of our school are now being asked to swipe their driver’s license or government issued ID before entering the main part of our building. This swipe will quickly provide an updated check against national sex offender registries. This process is for anyone who is going past our school office for any reason.

• If you are planning to volunteer in our classrooms or work directly with a student, you will need to have a volunteer background form on file. The form is located at this link. The background check involves multiple state and federal law enforcement data bases.

· apps.raptortech.com/Apply/OTQ4Mjplbi1VUw==

We greatly appreciate the involvement of our families and the difference you make at Messmore Elementary. Thank you for your partnership with this extra step that will improve safety in our school.

📘 Important Back-to-School Reminders for Families

As we get ready for a great year, please take a moment to review our Elementary Handbook, available on the district website. It includes key information about attendance, behavior, and school expectations.

📱 PowerSchool App – Stay connected! Use the PowerSchool app to view your child’s grades, absences, and other important updates.

✈️ Planning a Vacation? Families may request up to 10 days of pre-approved vacation time using the proper absence request form. Anything beyond 10 days will be marked as unexcused, and students may be dropped from enrollment if more than 10 unexcused days occur.

💳 Fines & Fees – Any school-related fees (such as lost books or materials) can be viewed and paid online through the web version of PowerSchool.

Attention Messmore Families-

If your child has any health concerns, allergies (food related), asthma, and/or other needs that requires medications to be administered at school, please know that all forms must be completed prior to the start of the school year and shared with the front office staff. There is a Health Plan SMORE below for more information. Additionally, please see our district's guidelines and requirements at the website below.

FOOD ALLERGY: Food_Allergy_and_Anaphylaxis_Form.pdf

SPECIAL DIET PLAN: Special Diet Form

ASTHMA PLAN: UCS_Asthma_Health_Care_Plan.pdf

DIABETIC PLAN: UCS_Diabetes_Health_Care_Plan.pdf

SEIZURE PLAN: Seizure_Action_Plan_Epilepsy_Foundation_9-13-2023.pdf

AUTHORIZATION for MEDICATION: 5325_FORM_1_Fillable.pdf

HEART CONDITION PLAN: UCS_Heart_Condition_Health_Care_Plan.pdf

GENERAL PLAN: UCS_General_Health_Care_Plan.pdf

FOOD ALLERGIES: Students with food allergies that wish to use school meals must have a Special Dietary Needs form (21A) filled out and signed by a physician. Forms must be submitted to the office of Food and Nutrition Service. Without this form we cannot make accommodations. This form must be updated every year to ensure accuracy. Since all schools have vegetarian options available, parents do not need to fill out a form for this option.

We encourage and strongly suggest purchasing device insurance policy from Technology. Utica Community Schools provides personal devices to students to support their learning. Technology device insurance for the 2026-2027 school year will be available for purchase via PaySchools Central between Monday, August 10, 2026 and Friday, September 4, 2026.

The initial fee to purchase device insurance can be paid online using your checking account, debit card or credit card through PaySchools. The link to PaySchools is the same for ALL schools: https://www.payschoolscentral.com/

Just follow these easy steps:

• Log in to your account from your computer or tablet at: www.payschoolscentral.com (Important - it is not recommended to use the app as it does not properly support UCS content).
• Search for Technology Device Insurance

Please note that the insurance will not be available to purchase until after August 10th.

Note to new kindergarten families and families new to the district - You will need to first create the PaySchools account for your family.

• Complete the account registration by selecting register, enter your profile details, setting up your password via the email link that will be sent to you, then logging in.
• Add your children to your account using their student ID numbers. ID numbers are found in PowerSchool, and on their report card available through PowerSchool.
• If you like, enter credit card and/or banking information as forms of payments to use with your PaySchools account.

Need help with your PaySchools Central account?
8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET (M-F)
psc_help@payschools.com
877-393-6628

PaySchools is PCI-compliant and maintains industry-standard SSL certificates, ensuring all your family’s data is safe and secure.

9: Pre-K Meet and Greet in Gym 8:35 AM

10: MMA MEETING in GYM 8:45 AM

11: Fun RUN KICKOFF ASSSEMBLY IN AM

24: FUN RUN!!

25: Last day for Mum Orders

30: Pickup Mum Orders

OCTOBER MMA DATES:

5: Buddy's Pizza Nigh

16: TRUNK OR TREAT

From UCS:

"Meals for the 2026-27 School Year are Free for All UCS Students!

All UCS families are asked to complete the Education Benefits form Here - enter "Utica Community Schools" and follow the prompts. These forms help maintain our Title 1 funding as well as other essential funding for our schools. It can also help reduce fees for pay-to-play sports, lower internet costs, reduced AP/college application fees and more!

Most online forms are processed within two (2) working days compared to 10 using paper applications. Paper copies of these forms are distributed to all student households or are available at your child’s school.

Complete the forms and return them to your child’s school or mail them to: Utica Community Schools, Food & Nutrition Services, 11303 Greendale, Sterling Heights, MI 48312."

MEAL MAGIC ACCOUNT:

Families that wish to put money in their students’ Meal Magic account(s) via credit card will need to create a Family Portal account. Please go to https://utica.familyportal.cloud to create the account. This is also where parents can fill out the Educational Benefit Forms (EBF). Menus can still be found online at https://uticak12.nutrislice.com .

1. August 14, 2026 Messmore Messenger
2. August 21, 2026 Messmore Messenger

Principal of Messmore Elementary School

Email: messmorequestions@uticak12.org
Website: https://www.uticak12.org/Messmore
Location: 8742 Dill Drive, Sterling Heights, MI, 48312 USA
Phone: (586)797-5600
Facebook: facebook.com/Messmore