Dear Lakeside Elementary Families,

Welcome back! I hope that you enjoyed the extra time with your child(ren) over Spring Break and were able to get outdoors in the slowly warming spring temperatures. For those who left home, I hope that you had safe and easy travels. Throughout the past week, I was thankful to get to spend time exploring Nashville, TN with my husband, Corey, and kids, Kara, Grady, and Myles. 

It is always great to welcome students back into the building for the final eight weeks of the school year. As the temperatures start warming up, more students will be walking and biking to school.  Please review these safety reminders with your child(ren).

• Remember to always try and walk with other students on the way to school and home.

• Please cross at intersections that have our safeties or crossing guards.

• Students should not be walking across parking lots.  Please use the sidewalks.

• It is important to wear a helmet if you are riding your bike or scooter.

• When on school property, please walk your bike or scooter.

• Remember to always look both ways before crossing a street.

• Never approach a car that you don’t recognize and never go with a stranger or accept anything from a stranger.

 

Additional Safety Reminders
Recently there has been an increase in student drop-offs in the middle of Hall Street, which has resulted in a number of close calls. If you are dropping off or picking up students from Lakeside Elementary using the south side of the building, please park your vehicle and have students utilize the crosswalk on Hall Street (pictured below) or the Breton/Hall crosswalks with our crossing guard, Mr. Howard. Thank you for your understanding and your commitment to keeping students safe!   

Spring Assessments
During the months of April and May, students in all grades will be assessed in various subject areas to measure progress this school year. Please watch for communication directly from your child(ren)’s teacher(s) regarding Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) Benchmark Assessments for Reading, as well as Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) testing for students in grades K-5. In addition to the F&P and MAP assessments, students in grades 3-5 will take the M-STEP state standardized assessment. Please see the M-STEP information listed below.

Class Placement for 2022-2023
One of our most important tasks is preparing the class lists for next year.  I will meet with staff later this spring to begin student placements for the 2022-2023 school year.  To guide us in this important process, we will follow the East Grand Rapids Board of Education Policy #8040: 

To the extent possible, students are assigned to specific classes, grade levels, and teachers by the building Principal. In making assignments, Principals may consider (with input from teachers and parent(s)/guardian(s) the following factors: (i) individual student needs; (ii) learning styles of students; (iii) teaching styles; (iv) gender ratio; (v) heterogeneous make-up of the class; (vi) class size; and (vii) special education needs. 

Your input is valuable. If you wish to contribute information about your child, please fill out the optional Student Placement Information Google Form found here. Please do not request a specific teacher as many factors go into the placement decision and we have yearly changes in teaching assignments. This form needs to be completed by Friday, April 29, 2022.

 

Change to Hot Lunch Ordering
Starting today, online lunch orders will no longer be required for students in grades K-8. Elementary classes have returned to the routine of taking morning lunch counts directly from students and middle school lunch operations are now able to adjust to varying daily demand without food supply issues. High School lunch orders must still occur online for the remainder of the year as these meals are produced at the middle school and delivered daily to the high school.  All meals remain free for the remainder of this school year. The lunch menu may be found at grps.nutrislice.com. 
 

 Important Calendar Dates

• April 12:  Running Club begins

• April 18:  Board of Education meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the EGR Middle School Learning Commons

• April 27:  Reproductive Health Parent Night for Fifth Grade Parents

Please click here for tips on talking to your child(ren) about the crisis in Ukraine.

It's spring, the time of year for outdoor yardwork! Please support our student-athletes by buying your yard mulch through the Team Boosters Mulch Sale, orders will be accepted through June 1.

      EGRHS Drama Department Presents

Once Upon A Mattress - April 28 & 29 @ 7 p.m. and  April 30 @ 8 p.m.
Click here for more information.

  City of EGR Open Houses
Sign up to receive the City's East Express e-newsletter for specific topics for each open house and dates for future input sessions. Notices won't be mailed for each project, so sign up today at:
                         E-Newsletter signup:  https://www.eastgr.org/list.aspx  
 

 Michigan Girls Future Flight Challenge

The Women of Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan would like to announce the Michigan Girls Future Flight Challenge:  Create a sustainable, unique way of flight to solve a problem. The Michigan Girls Future Flight Challenge is a virtual, state-wide aerospace competition for groups of 2-5 girls in 4th-8th grade. While using teamwork and critical thinking skills in the areas of Engineering, Marketing & Design, and Business Planning & Sales the girls will be asked to create a unique, sustainable way of flight to solve a problem of their choosing! The girls will have the opportunity to directly connect with women working in the aerospace industry in Michigan who will serve as mentors for their project, over a period of several weeks.

Virtual Kickoff:  4/23 10:00-11:00AM/Virtual Final Project Presentations: May 21st

 Please click here for a flyer with more information.