Parsons Pirate Update
August 21st, 2024
Welcome Back Pirates!
Hello Pirate Family,
I am so excited to begin my third year as the principal of Parsons Elementary. While I am familiar with most of you, I thought it might be important to share some information about myself for new families. This is my 24th year in education. Prior to being a principal, I taught K-5 media information, 1st-4th grade, and was a reading interventionist. I have worked in several districts and can honestly say that Gibraltar is such a special community!
For all of those new kindergarten parents who are sending their babies off to school, I feel your pain. My oldest daughter is off to Northern Michigan University this fall! I have two more daughters in 11th and 8th grade and my son is entering 4th grade. It is such an exciting time!
Our custodial staff has been hard at work preparing the school for the new year. We are excited to welcome a new third grade teacher, Mrs. Emily Ingram, and a new Y5 or K teacher, Ms. Blake. As many of you know, our staff is amazing and we are thrilled to add to our team.
As we begin the school year, please do not hesitate to reach out with questions. Our PTO also does a fabulous job of communicating and implementing many wonderful opportunities for our students and families. We are thankful for our very supportive community. As our Pirates say, "Be Respecful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Kinder Than Necessary."
Sincerely,
Sarah Aherne
On August 27th, you will receive an email from your child's teacher and learn their classroom placement for this year. This email contains important information from your child’s teacher regarding classroom expectations and procedures.The email will be sent to the address you have on file in your parent portal. If you do not receive an email, please let me know. Information regarding updates and accessing your parent portal is provided below.
We are going to have our Open House PRIOR to the first day of school! We hope you can join us on August 28th anytime between 5:30-7:00. This gives you and your student(s) a chance to see their new classroom, meet their teacher, and bring their school supplies so they're ready to go on the first day of school!
When we have our open house prior to school starting, it does not give our teachers much time to prepare. It's important to note that some bulletin boards might be unfinished, nametags might not be labeled, and a few items might be out of place. As a staff, we believe that although not every detail will be finalized, the priority is for our students to meet their teachers, familiarize themselves with the classroom, locate their desks, and practice entering and exiting the classroom through the designated exits.
We invite all kindergarteners to come get a tasty treat on the small playground from 5:00-5:30 before Open House on August 28th.
Our kindergarten students will begin their first day of school on Tuesday, September 3rd with a 9:00 start time. This will allow our youngest learners to enter without the excitement of everyone else. We are asking that all students come with a parent or guardian if possible. If your child is riding the bus, we will welcome them at the regular time. The teachers will hold an important meeting with all parents and they will have a scavenger hunt. Students will go home following the scavenger hunt. The kindergarten teachers will tell more in their welcome letter.
We have a wonderful crossing guard, Ms Tammy, and a fabulous parent, Ms Brandy, who help us keep our students safe in the parking lot. Please ensure that when you are dropping off or picking up in the driveline that you pull all the way up. Please do not block the crosswalk. If you are not in the driveline, you must park. If you are parking in the front lot or the side lot, please walk your child up to school or walk up to the front doors to collect your child. We don’t want a child hit from running in the parking lot. Do not enter from Fryer Road. It is one way!
We encourage kindergarten families to utilize the gravel parking lot on Fryer Road or the church parking lot across the street. Children will only be released to parents or guardians after the teacher has made contact.
As much as we love your dogs, please do not bring your dog (unless it’s a service animal) to arrival and dismissal. We do not want a child to be bitten. Also, we have several students who are allergic to dogs and have epipens in the office. Please help us keep kids safe!
Arrival Areas
All students who are dropped off by a family member enter through the Main Front Doors. (This is a change for Kindergarten from past years.)
Students arriving by bus enter through the K/1 door by the bus loop.
Dismissal Areas
Kindergarten-Parking Lot Doors by Mrs. Przepiora’s room near Fryer Street
First Grade-Fifth Grade-Main Front Doors
Buses-Bus loop by K/1 Grade Doors
If your child needs medication to be administered at school or requires a medical plan, please call the school secretary, Ms. Veronica, at 734-379-7050, and set up an appointment with her by Thursday, August 29th. Check out the nurse documents for administration of medication here.
Governor Whitmer has made school breakfast and lunch free again this school year. You will receive free and reduced lunch forms the first day of school. Even though meals are free we encourage all families to fill out the forms. The completion of the application by our families helps us receive federal funding. Lunch menus will be available online, in the weekly update, and on our Facebook pages.
Only water is allowed in the classroom. Please do not send your child into school with Starbucks, slushies, pop, etc. They may have special drinks at lunch but they are not allowed in the classroom.
We have a new company for Parsons spirit wear this year. The great news is that you can order Parsons or Carlson gear throughout the year. They also have many sales and specials. Check out the link here and the flyer for the weekly ad below.
Download the Parent Square App today! Use your email and phone number you used when you registered to log in.
We use ParentSquare at the District, school and classroom level to communicate with families.
What is ParentSquare?
ParentSquare is a simple-to-use platform that provides a safe way for everyone at a school to connect. With ParentSquare, you'll be able to:
- Receive messages from the district and school via email, text or app notification
- Communicate in your preferred language
- Comment on school postings to engage in your school community
- Direct message teachers, staff and other parents
- Participate in group messages
- Sign up for parent-teacher conferences
- Sign forms & permission slips
- And more all from your phone or web portal!
