TRUE BLUE NEWS - Richmond Community Schools … · "Pink Piggies". They also learned about the color wheel and created St. Patrick rainbows using colorful torn paper. Please see the

WILL L. LEE ELMENTARY

April 2019

GOVERNOR WHITMER READING TO STUDENTS AT LEE CONTACT INFORMATION

It is hard to believe that the month

of April is upon us. Last month

was full of fun and exciting

activities for March is Reading

Month. Mr. Kochan and Ms.

Napier enjoyed being able to

spend time with the students as

they read to several classes. The

students and staff were excited to

have Governor Gretchen Whitmer

come to Lee to read to the

students. The students were able

to ask questions after the governor

was done reading.

The 3rd and 4th grade students and

staff are preparing for the M-

STEP. The 3rd grade students are

assessed in English Language Arts

and Math and 4th grade students

are assessed in English Language

Arts, and Math, The test window

is April 29-May 31. Please do

your best to avoid scheduling

appointments or vacations

during the testing windows. A

schedule will be sent home prior

to the start of testing.

Check out the Richmond

Facebook Page for pictures and

information about events at Lee

Elementary.

All newsletters will be located on

the Lee Elementary website.

www.richmond.k12.mi.us

If you would like a paper copy,

please contact the office.

April Showers, Bring May Flowers …

TRUE BLUE NEWS

Lee Elementary

68399 Forest, Richmond, MI 48062

Office # - (586) 727-2509

Fax #: (586) 727-9223

Principal – Mr. David Kochan

Dean of Students – Ms. Heidi Napier

Office Staff – Mrs. Pinskey and

Mrs. Propst

START TIMES

Full Day K-4 – 7:50-2:50 p.m.

Half-Day for K-4 – 7:50-11:15 a.m.

Pre-School

3-year old – 7:50-10:50 am (M/W/F)

4-year old (5 day) – 7:50-10:50 a.m.

4-year old (3 day) (M/W/F)

11:30-2:30 p.m.

Great Start Readiness Program

Full Day – 7:50-2:50 p.m. (M-Th)

Half-Day – 11:50-2:50 (M-Th)

WILL L. LEE ELMENTARY

Preschool and Kindergarten Registration

If you, or someone you know, want to register a student for preschool or kindergarten, please bring all registration

materials to Pam Dailey at the board office (located behind the middle school). The registration packets may be

found on the district website on the enrolling student page or may be picked up at the board office. We will be

using the enrollment numbers to determine the staffing needs so please register as soon as possible.

Mrs. Boettcher’s Technology Update

In the Computer Lab 3rd and 4th grade students have been learning how to read and write code using the website

Hour of Code. This website allows students to think and plan out ways to make their character move about the

computer screen. Through their mistakes they process how to write the correct code to have the outcome they

desire. To some students this is very difficult work. So when they succeed after multiple attempts I see a lot of

proud faces. I tell them the only way you succeed is to make mistakes and learn from them. When coding the

students know that when they make mistakes they are just that much closer to success. Find the Hour of Code link

in upper left corner of my Symbaloo Tree called Mrs. Boettcher’s Mix.

March Staff of the Week

Congratulations to the following Staff Members who were nominated by fellow

team members:

Marie Cass Jodi Schroeder

Robin Ducharme Sarah Goddard

Jamie Moore

WILL L. LEE ELEMENTARY| 3

Student Council by Mrs. VanSledright and Ms. Zvonek

This month, Student Council members worked to write thank you letters to members of the Richmond Police and

Fire Departments. These letters, along with a basket of snacks and treats, were delivered to the fire department and

police department shortly after our March meeting. We are so grateful for the support and service of our local

policemen and woman and our local fire fighters!

School Improvement – Mrs. Katie VanSledright

Our School Improvement Team has been working on collecting data from both staff and families at Lee. The

information is discussed at School Improvement meetings and it's also shared with staff members to help guide our

professional development and instruction going forward. We've also been working on ways to collaborate and find

consistency both within grade levels and between grade levels. Our focuses right now include the resources teachers

use for core instruction (like math and reading), utilizing self-assessment with students in the classroom, and looking

at the resources used for writing in each grade level. We'd also like to put together a guide to help parents understand

the DRA Levels better and understand what skills are worked on at each level.

Physical Education - Mr. Barnes

I hope everyone enjoyed a pleasant and restful spring break. I certainly hope Mother Nature will cooperate with us

this spring and allow us to get outside to enjoy various exercise and activities with our families.

Over the break I ran into a couple of articles that stress the importance of physical fitness, not just in our children

but adults too. Feel free to take a peek… enjoy!

Federal government announces new physical fitness guidelines; fewer than one in three Americans meet

standards

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2018/11/12/physical-fitness-aerobic-activity-sports-social-media-

health-human-services-department/1943318002/

A Principal's Reflections: The Pivotal Role Movement Plays in Learning

http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-pivotal-role-movement-plays-in.html

Art – Ms. Hadella

"Op Art" or art that creates an optical illusion has been the theme in grade levels 1-4 for the past month. The students

have applied techniques they have learned such as wrapping lines and shading to create "worm tunnels", which has

the effect of looking 3-D. They were also introduced to black and white pattern designs which can create the illusion

of movement. And finally, to end the lesson, they are learning to draw a "hole" in their paper, which is a very cool

optical illusion! Attached are "worm tunnel" samples from each grade. You will see the first and second graders

are doing amazingly well, as are third and fourth graders. Kindergarteners practiced tracing circles to create adorable

"Pink Piggies". They also learned about the color wheel and created St. Patrick rainbows using colorful torn paper.

Please see the last page of the newsletter to look at examples of the art work.

Lego Club/Jr. FLL – Mrs. Durst

Lego Club will have two make-up dates for the Wednesday group only. Make-up dates are April 10th and April

17th. Meetings are after school from 2:50 - 3:50. After the two make-up dates, both the Tuesday and Wednesday

groups will have had the same amount of meeting dates. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate with us next year!

WILL L. LEE ELEMENTARY| 4

FLL - Our FLL teams participated in our Science Night to showcase their robots for the students. Huge shout out to

Mrs. Pacitto and Mr. DeVoogd who volunteered their time to help supervise our FLL students. Anyone interested in

joining one of our FLL teams, watch for information to be sent home last week in April, first week in May.

Jr. FLL - We are in full swing with our meetings this spring season. Our teams meet Tuesday, Wednesday, and

Thursday after school. We have begun to research a solution to problems that astronauts have while on missions.

The theme this year is, Moon Mission. Our teams will present their research and solutions, as well as present their

Lego design at our competition on May 28th. Anyone interested in joining next year, watch for information to be

sent home in October, 2019.

Second Annual Reading Leads to Careers Day!

Will L. Lee 2nd Annual Reading Leads to Careers Day! - We held our second annual Reading Leads to Careers Day

at Will L. Lee Elementary on Friday, March 22nd from 8 to 11 a.m. It was a huge success! A big thank you to all

of our volunteers who participated in this great event! I even had a few requests for certain careers for next year by

our students, so I am working on that schedule for next year.

Volunteers for Reading Leads to Careers Day:

Jeff Bolen – Electrician

April Fox - Photographer

Corey Hostetter - Geotechnical Engineer

Colleen Lannoo - Data Research Specialist/Agent in Commercial Real Estate

Lauren Riggs - Owner/Operator - Crowning Jewels Productions, LLC

Janice O'Neal - USPS Mail Carrier

Dino Stathopoulos - Contractor SAS

Megan Busen - Speech Language Pathologist

Jessica Girard - Childcare Facilitator

Barbara Caskey-Gross - Director of Community Corrections/Macomb County Sheriff Office

Amanda Kramer - RN, BSN St. John Hospital

Sara Glanville - Paramedic/Richmond-Lenox EMS

Kristin Terlesky - Vet Tech Career/Ross Medical

Music Notes – Dave Finlay

Hello and thank you for reading. I hope everyone had a great third quarter. A special note for parents of Lee

Elementary School students is our annual En-Richmond music concert this year featuring the 1st and 2nd grade of

Will Lee Elementary School. The following information has already been sent to you via your child’s Friday

folder this week and just in case for any reason you didn’t receive one...

Date: Friday Evening April 12, 2019

Concert Times:

1st Grade – 6:15 p.m. - Report at 6:00 p.m.

2nd Grade – 6:35 p.m.- Report at 6:20 p.m.

**Students will check in at High School Media Center**

WILL L. LEE ELEMENTARY| 5

The Concert will last approximately 25 minutes.

Location: Richmond High School Auditorium

Appropriate Dress: Nice Clothes (Sunday or Concert Best”)

We look forward to the Lee Elementary 1st and 2nd Grade Concert. We have been enjoying the experience of

preparing for a concert and would love to have family members attend.

[email protected]

I hope all will come and enjoy our show!

3rd and 4th grade are now finishing up their unit on the Instruments of the Orchestra featuring: Sergei

Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”. Immediately following, we will jump right into a higher-level rhythm

unit with several fun activities and a creativity project to boot. So folks, be prepared for the best, it’s a

great time to be in music!

Backpack Blessings Program

Richmond Community Schools is again partnering with United Methodist Church of Richmond in their Backpack

Blessings program. Families are welcome to contribute: there is a donation box in the school lobby for non-

perishable food items.

Pets at Lee

This is a reminder that the Richmond School board policy states that pets are permitted on school property if

properly restrained within a vehicle, such that they may not exit, including times when the doors and/or windows

to the vehicle are open. Pets are permitted on school playground only when school is not in session.

Arrival and Pick-Up Reminders

There have been concerns brought to our attention by other parents/family members. As a reminder to keep all students and family member safe, please remember to use only the marked crosswalk. This is especially concerning with people walking in front of cars in the morning during drop off. Please move quickly in the front drop off. Students should be let out and the driver should stay in the car since there are cars driving through once their students have been dropped off. As always, your patience and cooperation is truly appreciated.

PTO Happenings Another busy month has passed. The bake sale at Texas Roadhouse was filled with lots of goodies thanks to our baking volunteers.

As a PTO we love the opportunity to put on fun, free events for all the students. Science Night was a great success and we loved seeing how much fun everyone had doing the hands-on learning. Cranbrook Institute brought many stations of learning such as catapult construction, constellation finders, dinosaur digs, planet bracelets, slime making, and many other things. There was also a make and take LEGO station along with Ranger’s Rockets.

Things coming up include: Earth Day - April 22nd - PTO provides a special gift for each student Rada Fundraiser April 12th-26th

WILL L. LEE ELEMENTARY| 6

Will L. Lee is now signed up with the

Kroger Community Rewards Program

Please sign up:

Go to www.kroger.com

Go to register if you need to make an account

Or go to sign in if you have an account

Log in, then go to the Community Rewards Tab

Go to the orange tab for the school name

Search for Will L. Lee Elementary #23846

Click that you support us and you are done

Will L. Lee Elementary should show up on the bottom of your Kroger receipt

Class Lists

The Lee staff will begin working on class lists for next school year. The lists will be completed prior to the end of

the year. The staff will use data and teacher input to assign students to classes. We view the input of the teachers

as a critical part of student success for the 2019-2020 school year. We will use parent input including the student’s

strengths and areas of improvement. If anyone requests a specific teacher, we cannot guarantee that the request

will be granted. We would prefer the parents give input on the learning environment that best fits the individual

needs of the students.

M-STEP

3rd and 4th grade students will be taking the M-STEP beginning May 7. The testing schedule will be shared with

the students and parents. We will be sending information home during the month of April to prepare for the

assessment. Please visit the Michigan Department of Education website for additional information. Parents and

students may view this video to get an overview of the test. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6YEkBQ6RVk

Lost and Found

There are many items in the lost and found. Please check in at the office and you will be directed to the location of

the lost and found. Any items left will be donated to a local charity.

Upcoming Dates

April 12 EnRichmond – 1st and 2nd grade music concert

April 15 NWEA begins (see attached calendar)

April 19 No school

May 13 3rd grade M-STEP begins

May 20 4th grade M-STEP begins

Please visit the Richmond Community Schools website to view the district calendar.

WILL L. LEE ELEMENTARY| 7

2019 March True Blue Students

2nd Grade

Javier Acevedo-Leon (Ricossa)

Dominic Dresden (Goddard)

Kaiden Finlay (Schroeder)

Dominic Garcia (Barrett)

Mya Holliday (Schroeder)

Damian Mason (Ricossa)

Bella Papastergion (Ricossa)

Alaina Reaume (Goddard)

Alexis Stathopoulos (Barrett)

Isabella Sypniewski (Goddard)

3rd Grade

Evelyn Carkuff (Powers)

Emily Casey (Studer)

Alivia Crechiolo (hooks)

Daymeon Durrant (Kreger)

Emily Gillies (Powers)

William Hebel (Hooks)

Kai Hirata (Studer)

Skylar Marcial (Kreger)

Savanna Palmer (Kreger)

4th Grade

Elizabeth Bass (Gillespie)

Madelynn Dudley (Munro)

Gabrielle Garcia (Walters)

Madilynn Gnesda (Gillespie)

Bryce Iskra (Munro)

Hadesha Pelini (Walters)

Pre School

Gwynievere Brooks (L. Ottenbacher/Mrs. C)

Raina Carlson (Spratke)

Jon Duncil Jr (L. Ottenbacher/Mrs. C)

McKinley Hitzelberger (Kukuk)

Abigail Jagoda (LaGrois)

Lilly Lyon (Spratke)

Ellenore Schoof (E. Ottenbacher/Ms. Jessica)

Michael Turoski (LaGrois)

Kingston Tyson (E. Ottenbacher/Ms. Jessica)

Kindergarten

Beverly David (McCoy)

Kensington Durst (Zvonek)

Weston Lang (Stevenson)

Miguel Mendez-Sanchez (Gibson)

Raegan Prieskorn (Stevenson)

Palmer Ptach (McCoy)

Liam Pinch (Zvonek)

Farrah Teltow (Gibson)

1st Grade

Finleigh Davis (Constance)

Dylan Finlay (Ranger)

Layla Kleinhans (Ranger)

Elle Lannoo (Dorsey)

Georgia Miller (Constance)

Alexis Olvera (VanSledright)

Leyland Parker (VanSledright)

Daniel Queck (Dorsey)

Adalyne Williams (Dorsey)

WILL L. LEE ELEMENTARY| 8

Kindergarten Art 1st Grade Art 2nd Grade Art

3rd Grade Art 4TH Grade Art

Non-Discrimination Statement

In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education amendments of 1972, Section 504 of Rehabilitation

Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title II of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, and Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights

Act of 1977, it is the policy of the Richmond Community School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion ,military

status, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual orientation), disability, age (except as authorized by law,) height, weight, or

marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discrimination during any program, activity,

service or employment. Inquiries related to any nondiscrimination policies should be directed to the Superintendent, 35276 Division

Road, Richmond, MI 48062, (586) 727-3565.

NWEA Testing

Testing Dates: April 15-29, 2019

NWEA Testing for Kindergarten – Second Grade

April 15-22

April 23-29

3rd Grade

April 23 (Reading), April 24 (Math), April 25 (Language Usage)

4th Grade

April 30 (Reading), May 1 (Math), May 2 (Language Usage),

Monday April 15

Tuesday April 16

Wednesday April 17

Thursday April 18

Monday April 22

Computer

Lab

8:05-9:15

VanSledright

Reading

Dorsey Reading

Constance

Reading

Goddard Reading

Ricossa Reading

Computer Lab

9:25-10:25

Goddard

Lang Usage

Barrett Reading

Schroeder Reading

Ranger Reading

Schroeder

Lang Usage

Library Lab

8:05-9:15

Stevenson

Reading

Zvonek Reading

Ricossa

Lang. Usage

McCoy Math

Gibson Math

Tuesday April 23

Wednesday April 24

Thursday April 25

Friday April 26

Monday April 29

Computer

Lab

8:05-9:15

Dorsey Math

Ranger Math

Constance

Math

VanSledright

Math

Make Ups

Computer Lab

9:25-10:25

Make Ups

Ricossa Math

Schroeder

Math

Barrett Math

Goddard

Math

Library Lab

8:05-9:15

Stevenson Math

Zvonek Math

McCoy

Reading

Gibson

Reading

Barrett

Lang. Usage