Lakes Elementary Newsletter January 10th

Principal Matt Zokoe

Matt Zokoe - Principal
mzokoe@rockfordschools.org

Address: 6849 Young Avenue, Rockford, MI 49341
Website: www.rockfordschools.org

Phone: (616) 863-6340

Winter Weather is Here!

Staying in for Recess?

The recess period provides a change of pace, exercise and release of tension. If your child is well enough to come to school, we can assume he/she is well enough to go outside for recess. Children coming down with or having colds, sore throats, etc. and are unable to play outside should stay home from school. All children are expected to go outside unless the weather in not suitable. If there is a medical need, a doctor's note is required for a student to be excluded from recess.

Warm Clothing

We highly encourage all students to dress for the weather and wear the outer clothing that they brought to school. This includes hats, mittens, boots, snow pants, and coats. We ask that all students bring boots to school each day from Thanksgiving through Spring Break. Conditions change quickly and our playground often goes from muddy to snowy to just plain wet in a matter of hours. Due to this, students will be removing their outdoor foot attire when they go into the classrooms. Therefore, all students must have a pair of shoes at school along with their boots.

Feel free to pack an extra pair of socks and sweatpants in your child's backpack during the winter months. Don’t forget to put your child’s name on coats, snow pants, boots, etc. Thank you!

Weather Alert

For up-to-date information regarding Rockford Public Schools delays and/or closings, events and safety alerts, send a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our district’s short code number, 67587.

Opt out any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.

Be sure to tune in on icy or snowy mornings!

Generosity Star Students

Congratulations to our December Star Students whose classroom or specials teacher nominated them for demonstrating generosity.

* Isla J * Michael K * Trinity G * Livia M * Silas S * Oscar C * Emma T * Daisy V *

* Ian B * Zoe F * Savannah R * Mogan B * Liam G * Lexi N * Oscar D * Hazel W *

* Claire S * Olive A * Cylas D * Lillian M * Ben T *

4 pictures placed together with 21 smiling students

Reminders

Office Reminders

Student Absences

Absences MUST be called into the office 616.863.6366 or emailed to the front office - jsiciliano@rockfordschools.org

Please leave a message on our general voicemail box if you are calling after hours. Whether you are reporting an absence on our voicemail or speaking with our office, we need to know the following things:

Student's name and teacher
Reason for absence - if it is an illness we need to know the symptoms of the illness - vomiting, coughing, fever (over 100.4), cold, diarrhea, etc.

Label Everything

The winter weather is here, and students are dressing in layers, which means our lost and found will be growing. To avoid your students' clothing from going into the lost and found PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!!! Label all coats, boots, mittens, hats, etc. Labeling items will ensure they will back it back home!

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Background Checks

Daily Volunteers

We now have some daily volunteer opportunities for families to help foster our Lakes Community. Please visit the link for additional details and to select a time slot.

Lunchroom (11:30 am - 12:50 pm) - How to support in the lunchroom:

Walk around and interact with students.
Help open lunch materials.
Review lunchroom procedures to help with the end of the lunchtime.
Push the trash bin around to gather trash materials.
Play a game with the 5th-grade students at their table.
Encourage students to walk to recess.

Lunch Recess (11:10 am - 1:00 pm) - How to support at lunch recess:

Play or organize a game.
Encourage positive play.
Help with chalk art.
Walk around with a group of students.
Organize a coloring table.
Support the quiet area with quiet area activities.

Last Recess (2:15 pm - 3:30 pm) - How to support at last recess:

Play or organize a game.
Encourage positive play.
Help with chalk art.
Walk around with a group of students.
Organize a coloring table.
Support the quiet area with quiet area activities.

Dads of Great Students

Who can participate: Fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, uncles, and other father figures.

Watch D.O.G.S can serve full days (8:15 am - 3:45 pm) or half days (pm option). Watch D.O.G.S can be assigned to classrooms as needed by the teachers, perform recess duty, complete ground checks, or other various tasks. When possible, Watch D.O.G.S will have the opportunity to work with their students or their student's classrooms. However, they may also be called to serve in a separate space as needed.

Watch D.O.G.S. Facebook

School assistance program (SAP)

Access support today!

Say “I have an SAP with Rockford Public Schools” when you call 800.442.0809 and press “1.” Every RPS family member in your household is eligible. The Rockford Education Foundation (REF) has proudly partnered with Rockford Public Schools to provide expert counseling, therapy, and resources through Pine Rest’s School Assistance Program (SAP).

Confidential counseling services for all family members
-The SAP includes three free confidential counseling sessions per episode of care. All benefits are available to every member of the household.

Free online resources with personal advantage library
-Access to a library of articles, videos, webinars, calculators, locators, assessments and trainings on personal finance, legal matters, health and wellness.

Free financial and legal consultations with wallet wisdom
-Includes a financial recourse library of webinars, calculators and articles to help you with debt consolidation, student loans, retirement saving, mortgage lending and more.

Grasp is back!

GRASP is a correspondence program for students in Kindergarten through 8^th grades which helps students maintain reading and math skills while they are on summer break. Enrolled students will receive a packet of materials with a booklet containing nine lessons. It should take your student approximately one hour to complete each weekly lesson. They can complete one lesson a week or work at their own pace, as long as all lessons are submitted before August 8th. The students can mail the lessons to GRASP for scoring and the results will be returned to them, via the email provided. Or, new this year, lessons can be scored with a parent/guardian cell phone instead of mailing them in! Details regarding this process will be sent in May to the email provided on the order. There is also an on-line version of GRASP for students in 4th through 8th grade and these students will also receive results via the email provided.

Students who successfully complete and submit at least seven lessons with 70% accuracy are awarded a certificate. Those who successfully complete and submit all nine lessons with 70% accuracy will receive a medal! Certificates and medals will be distributed by your student’s school at the beginning of the next school year.

Please order your student’s CURRENT grade level. If there are extenuating circumstances, order the level that is appropriate for your student. The fees for the summer of 2025 are $26 for one subject or $48 for both subjects for each student. You can enroll your student for the book version (grades K-8) or the optional online version (grades 4-8) by completing the registration and payment online.

PTO Corner

Parents at Perrin! A Lakes parent mixer, brought to you by the Lakes PTO and our gracious partner Perrin Brewing Company. Join us for a kid-free evening of delicious food, drinks and fun entertainment. Tickets must be purchased in advance, visit linktr.ee/lakespto to buy yours today. This is a 21+ event; we hope to see you there!

Activity Pass Reminder

Hello Lakes parents!

We hope that the school year is off to a great start for you and your family!

As you know, your student's Activity Pass is their ticket to field trips and other enriching activities throughout the school year. Here's how that breaks down:

$34 goes toward school-wide activities for students and staff, such as assemblies, field days, staff appreciation and grants, and more.

The remaining amount (varies by grade level) covers field trip entry fees and transportation costs.

We are striving for 100% participation, and we are getting close! Over 65% of students have received their activity pass for 2024-25.

Pay Now online via Paypal or Venmo
If you are a family experiencing financial hardship, please reach out to Mr. Zokoe for a confidential discussion.
If you have a business that'd like to donate to the PTO scholarship fund to cover families experiencing financial hardship, please respond to this email for more information.

For students who have not paid, an itemized bill will be sent home to ensure equal opportunities. Thank you for your support!

Lakes PTO and admin

Recycling Initiatives

NexTrex Recycling

Bins located in front vestibule. All bags should be clean and free of food or other debris.

Produce bags, grocery bags, ice bags, cereal box liners, bread bags, bubble wrap, dry cleaning bags - Plastics that can stretch.

Papergator Recycling

Green dumpster located in the side parking lot.

Office/School papers, newspaper, junk mail, magazines, shredded paper, and cereal boxes (paper board that can be torn), etc.

Popcan Tabs

Can be turned in to the front office. Collected and sent to Ronald McDonald House.

Enrollment opens 2/13/25

Enrollment for the 2025/2026 school year opens February 13th. Children who turn five years old on or before December 1, 2025 are eligible to enroll for the 2025/2026 school year.