The Jayhawk Journal

One week into the near year and we are off to a great start here at Johnson. This week we are taking the time to revisit routines, procedures, and expectations across the building as we come back in from our Holiday Break. This week, we went over our data for December and set goals for January at our SOAR Assembly. December was a great month, and we are working with our students to keep that momentum going for the months ahead.

If you have not joined our PTA this year, we have attached a flyer below to sign up. We will be holding a competition amongst the classes this month to see who can get the most new members in their class. This week, we also added a new program to our classrooms called Struggly which helps students develop their thinking and math solving skills. Talk to your students to have them show it to you and discuss what they like about the program.

Looking forward to a wonderful start to this month and this year!

- 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.

This week we focused on classroom expectations. As we come back from break, we will take the next few weeks to go over and review routines and procedures here in the building. We remind our students that their job is to come here and learn. This all starts in the classroom. Please take the time to discuss the importance of classroom expectations for your students as this sets the tone and sets them up for success. Just a reminder that we will have our SOAR Clubs on Friday, January 30th. Talk with your students about their plans to earn 10 SOAR Bucks and what club they will be interested in.

Report Cards are available to view on Parent Connect for Trimester 1. Your child's report card can be found under Student Documents once you are logged in. To learn how to view the report card you can find PDF directions HERE or video directions HERE. If you have any questions about these reports, feel free to reach out.

iReady Reports were emailed to you from LPS. Please check your email for these important documents.

IMPORTANT: Report Card Changes for Art

New Changes:

*Instead of reporting your student's progress as Meets Standards /On Target/Approaching Standard - we will be replacing letters with numbers:

1- Needs one on one support

2- Progressing towards grade level expectations

3- Performing at grade level expectations

4- Performing above grade level expectations

*There will be no art grades for Trimester 2. Art grades will only appear for Trimester 1 and Trimester 3

If you have any questions, please reach out.

- Mr. Traub and Mr. Bublitz

We would like to congratulate Mrs. Cantore for being voted this award by her colleagues this week! Mrs. Cantore is a Paraprofessional here at Johnson. In her first year here in our building, she has done a tremendous job in supporting students. She is kind, caring, and looks out for the students that she works with. She works well with colleagues and is willing to do whatever is necessary to make the day successful for her students. She has been a great addition to our team, and we are so lucky to have her!

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

Learning a lot from the students and teachers every day.

Some Of My Favorite Things

Place To Travel: Glenn Arbor

Foods: Seafood

Color: Pink

College: Oakland University

TV Show: Stranger Things

Sports Team: Detroit Lions

School Subject: Math

My Hobbies....

Shopping, going to the gym, hanging out with my family.

We look forward to seeing you at our PTA Meeting this week! Please see our flyer for joining the PTA this month.

For the month of January, all LPS schools will focus on displaying grit. Take the time to talk with your student about what that means to them and your family.

Monday 1/12

Tuesday 1/13 PTA Meeting 6 p.m.

Wednesday 1/14

Thursday 1/15 Bagel Money Due

Friday 1/16

1/13 PTA Meeting

1/15 Bagel Money Due

1/19 No School MLK Day

1/22 Bagel Day

1/27 PTA Youth Making A Difference Fleece Blanket Making Night @ Johnson

1/30 SOAR Clubs

Parents, just a friendly reminder that we do not allow food to be dropped off at the office from outside services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, or Door Dash for students. Our number one priority is student safety, and using drop-offs like this, is not what is best for our students. In addition, meals and things are not coming on time which makes students get food outside of their lunchtime or hour, which takes away from our academics. We understand that things happen, and something may need to be dropped off by a family member every once in a while, we are happy to work with you in those situations. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Just a reminder for the upcoming weather that is expected. Please drive with extra caution in the parking lot as snow begins to fall. Practice patience and understanding as our staff works to keep all students are parents safe in the parking lot. We appreciate your ongoing partnership in these areas!

We will be going outside for recess as much as we can! We will only stay inside if the windchill is below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. This will be determined by using the Real Feel on Accuweather.com. Students are encouraged to bring boots and change in their lockers. If snow is on the ground, students can go anywhere if they have boots on. If students are in shoes, they will stay on the blacktop to play during that time.

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.

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." - Albert Einstein